State welcomes

small tech firm

CROFTON – The state’s top economic development official turned out Tuesday to help open a twelve-person IT firm relocating from Virginia.

Aris Melissaratos, secretary of business and economic development, pledged to introduce STN Inc. To companies throughout the state.

Marcia Owens, who purchased STN this month from Stuart Werner, relocated the firm from Falls Church.

“This kind of company is a great addition to the Maryland scene,” Mr. Melissaratos said. “Fort Meade will be adding 6,000 new federal jobs at DISA (Defense Information System Agency), and NSA will grow by 1,500 people every year for an undefined number of years.

“The impact on Central Maryland will be substantial. Growing small companies is what Maryland is all about.”

STN provides needs analysis, programming, specialized hardware and software, training and help-desk support for a broad variety of clients, including the U.S Supreme Court, Wal-Mart and the Frederick County government.

“As a woman-owned, minority business enterprise, new avenues will be opened for us, not only in government business in Maryland but in jurisdictions nationwide,” Mrs. Owens said.

“With our current client base of 100 clients around the U.S. and Puerto Rico, we will be expanding our marketing, and with that, we plan to significantly expand our employee base here in Maryland.