New certificate course trains a ready workforce as biotech companies in Pearland take off

Top of the Class

There's a much greater need for biotech workers. Photo courtesy of Lonza

Biotech companies in Pearland are thriving, with big names such as Lonza, Millar Inc. Inc., and Abbott all experiencing tremendous growth in recent years.

The only challenge to this success is the increased demand for a faster workforce pipeline. Fortunately, the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) has a solution.

PEDC has partnered with Alvin Community College (ACC) and Lonza to create a two-level Biotechnology Certificate Course designed to address the need for a better-equipped entry-level workforce.

This initiative offers two options to quickly train individuals for employment in the biotech field: Level 1, a six-week commitment for Biotech: Material Handler; and Level 2, a twelve-week commitment for Biotech: Lab Technician. Each level consists of 64 contact hours, with lectures delivered online and labs and assessments conducted on-site.

Alvin Community College is offering this course, which commenced on August 21, under its Continued Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) department. This department provides programs that incorporate current and new technical courses, training partnerships with businesses and industries, and other opportunities for individuals to acquire and upgrade skills or pursue personal enrichment.

Before this initiative, the region's two- or four-year programs were only graduating a dozen or so individuals. Early discussions focused on how to expedite workforce development through a local community college's certificate program. Alvin Community College was prepared to respond to the local workforce's needs.

PEDC played a pivotal role in establishing an advisory committee comprised of industry partners responsible for vetting the Biotechnology Certificate Course curriculum. Industry partners included the University of Houston Clear Lake (UHCL) at Pearland, Lonza, Millar Inc., Merit Medical, and the nonprofit organization BioHouston.

These partners are invaluable as plans continue to expand these certification programs.

Given the ever-increasing demand for a biotechnology workforce in the Pearland area, the future wish list includes expanding the certification program to other education partners.

For more information about the Biotechnology Certificate Program at Alvin Community College, visit this link.

Photo courtesy of Kemlon

One business reveals how relocating to Pearland has paid off — and then some

Growing and Thriving

The city of Pearlandhas been ramping up its assistance and support for local businesses over the last several years, but it's long been an ideal choice for companies seeking a place for their companies to grow and thrive.

One major reason is its location, which was certainly a draw for multi-discipline energy and manufacturing company Kemlon Products.

Kemlon's vice president of engineering, Chris Ring, says relocating to Pearland in 1998 was a strategic move — one that has definitely paid off.

"We're located only four miles south of William P. Hobby International Airport, and are accessible to customers and employees via State Highway 35 and Beltway 8," says Ring.

Kemlon's 120,000-square-foot headquarters on State Highway 35 secured it as the first major high-tech manufacturing company to relocate to Pearland.

Since then, the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) has assisted Kemlon with expansion efforts, providing incentives and helping it acquire 23.5 acres purchased from the City of Pearland, as part of Catalyst No. 2 Business Park North outlined in the State Highway 35 redevelopment strategy.

But that's not all. Pearland’s affordability was another reason the company chose the city, along with exceptional schools and a potential employee base.

In 2021, PEDC conducted a survey of all businesses in the community to gain a better understanding of their needs. The survey found that 92 percent of business owners felt that Pearland is a great place to live, work, and operate a business, and more than 80 percent of survey respondents gave excellent or good marks to Pearland as a place to do business — higher than the national comparison.

With such satisfied employees and the support and incentive to continue to grow, Kemlon has now invested more than $10.8 million in the community and employs more than 120 people on its 30-acre campus.

"Many of our customers are from outside the Houston area, and especially abroad," Ring says. "As soon as these customers enter Pearland from Beltway 8, it is evident they are entering a quality community that has quality businesses."

Courtesy photo

This Pearland-based CEO explains why his city is the best HQ for small businesses

Serial Entrepreneurship

Small businesses often need a supportive home base from which to work, and there’s one Texas city in particular that has worked hard to become that haven for business owners over the years.

Pearland offers assistance and a diverse workforce for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. In fact, 83 percent of businesses in Pearland are locally owned. And when it comes to having an entrepreneurial spirit, no one is more passionate than David Graham, CEO of Pearland’s FranchiCzar.

Graham has been focusing on FranchiCzar, which provides franchise development, consulting, marketing, and vendor networks in a suite of services to help franchisees develop and scale their business.

FranchiCzar joins a collection of life science, energy, and manufacturing companies that have expanded their reach in Pearland: Millar, Inc., Lonza, Merit Medical, Cardiovascular Systems, and Endress+Hauser, to name a few.

One of Graham’s most exciting ventures launching this year is Valhallan, a youth e-sports program. Valhallan was born from the belief that video games can enrich lives and create community for young people and was developed to provide premier e-sports programming while teaching life skills. Twenty Valhallan arenas are opening soon around the country.

Graham’s serial entrepreneurship not only extends to franchise development and e-sports, but to exercise and education.

In the “exercise” category, Graham created the Iron 24 concept to offer a convenient gym experience that's accessible 24/7, all from an app. The Iron 24 app allows members to manage membership details and unlock the gym at any time, day or night, with no staff required on-site. Currently, five locations are opening around the Greater Houston area, including two in Pearland.

Going back to his educational and enrichment roots, Graham hopes to launch Math Reactor in the near future. Math Reactor is a revolutionary, fun-first approach to math that helps children in grades five through eight learn math concepts in an engaging and relevant way. Math Reactor was created from the knowledge that the best way for kids to learn math is to make it fun and practical.

Graham is also the founder and creator of a children's code-learning platform Code Ninjas, which sold just last year.

Most recently, Graham recently acquired Pinot’s Palette, a popular paint and sip franchise with more than 80 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Graham takes pride in being a longtime Pearland resident; other cities throughout the nation have failed in their attempts to poach him from Texas.

During the times when other communities were trying to entice him to leave the city, Graham shares that he was impressed by how the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) and local business leaders “stepped up in a big way to ensure Pearland kept me here, by offering us incentives.”

One way PEDC enhances Pearland's innovation entrepreneurship culture is through its Pearland Innovation Hub, which launched in May 2022. The Hub connects the city to local and regional entrepreneurship assistance programs, service providers, and funding sources to help businesses maximize their growth potential and overall success.

Additionally, Graham shares that he appreciates how “PEDC is helping to bring in powerhouse companies every year, and it has really rejuvenated our business community here.” Pearland’s diverse population has long been known as an asset, and in recent years the city has become even more racially and ethnically diverse.

“While there is no lack of diverse opinions and abilities in Pearland, everyone stands together as residents of Pearland and can all rally around making our community a better place to live and work," Graham says.

In 2021, PEDC conducted a survey of all businesses in the community to gain a better understanding of their needs. The survey found that 92 percent of business owners felt that Pearland is a great place to live, work, and operate a business, and more than 80 percent of survey respondents gave excellent or good marks to Pearland as a place to do business — higher than the national comparison.

Photo courtesy of Lonza

How Pearland is setting local businesses up for growth and success

Becoming the Best

Over the past few years, Pearland has worked hard to become a desirable home for major life sciences and manufacturing companies. Building on that, it's also leading the way in workforce development, providing access to the tools and resources necessary to create and grow a successful business.

Here's a closer look at just a few of the many resources the community offers to local businesses:

WorkinPearland
This virtual job board and resource center is an immersive and interactive website launched through a partnership between the Pearland Chamber of Commerce and the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC), where participants can register to view local jobs, regional training programs, workforce support services, and workforce ecosystem partners in the region.

Area businesses can showcase their organization and career opportunities to the community through a customizable virtual booth. The WorkInPearland platform will be launched to the community in March 2023.

Pearland Innovation Hub
Created in 2022, the hub provides valuable programming, events, and resources and establishes partnerships to start, scale, and sustain a business.
The hub cultivates Pearland’s entrepreneurship culture through networking events and activities geared to the unique needs of startups and small business owners, such as assistance programs, business coaching, service providers, and funding sources, to maximize their growth potential and overall success.

BizConnect
This resource is another result of a Pearland Chamber of Commerce and PEDC partnership, and it helps businesses expand and create jobs in the Pearland area.
Through the BizConnect program, participants can access a network of professionals willing to help with any business need.

Pearland’s workforce strategy aspires to achieve the vision of the workforce and talent focus area by leveraging existing workforce strategies and initiatives being performed by area partners, as well as implementing new strategies that respond to the needs of businesses.

It strives to bring together representatives from the business community, education and training providers, relevant nonprofits, and other vital partners dedicated to strengthening Pearland’s talent pipeline and ensuring employers have access to a competitive workforce.

To find out more about Pearland's initiative, visit here.

Get the resources you need. Courtesy photo

Pearland's Innovation Hub gives entrepreneurs and small businesses a leg up

The Hub Spot

Last May, Pearland launched the Innovation Hub, proving just how much the city values businesses of all sizes.

When the Pearland Prosperity Community Strategic Plan called for the creation of a hub for entrepreneurship and small business assistance, the idea of the Innovation Hub was born.

Customized for Pearland, the valuable program connects local entrepreneurs and small businesses with the resources they need to grow and succeed.

In order to identify market opportunities and create a supportive plan, the Market Assessment and Business Plan stepped in. It laid out how to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship culture, and connect entrepreneurs and small businesses to resources within the region.

The hub provides valuable programming, events, resources, and establishes partnerships that entrepreneurs need to start, scale, and sustain a business.

This incudes networking events and activities geared to the unique needs of startups and small business owners such as assistance programs, service providers, and funding sources to maximize growth potential and overall success.

Business-plan competitions, proactive coaching, networking events, and student programs are also offered.

Through the events — which feature members as speakers and panelists — and through business spotlights, the hub provides additional business exposure for its members in hopes that it will lead to increased clientele and growth.

Members also have exclusive access to learning opportunities as they relate to starting or scaling their business. This may include topics such as tax advisory, human resources, marketing, operations, IP and patents, and fundraising opportunities.

Pearland Innovation Hub also hosts various educational opportunities such as small business pop-ups, business-plan competitions, pitch parties, hackathons, and reverse pitches.

Upcoming events include Understanding Your Value Proposition on September 17, Addressing Your Pain Points on October 5, and Pitch Desk Prep on October 27.

Pearland Innovation Hub is funded through the Pearland Economic Development Corporation (PEDC). Oversight of the hub is provided by an advisory board and it will transition into its own nonprofit organization.

From sports to education, it's all here. Photo courtesy of PEDC

How living in Pearland puts a priority on health and happiness

Home Sweet Home

Texas is full of small towns, big cities, and everything in between, which gives residents a wide range of options when choosing where to live.

A closer look at Pearland, located south of Houston just outside of Beltway 8, reveals why it offers an ideal lifestyle for both employers and families looking to relocate.

Education is a priority in the community, evidenced by an educational attainment level that's well above the national average.

An impressive 49.7 percent of Pearland’s adult population holds a four-year degree or higher, compared to the national average of 32.9 percent, according to the latest American Community Survey estimates.

Located just off Pearland Parkway, the University of Houston-Clear Lake Campus provides the Pearland community convenient access to nationally accredited, career-building education opportunities. It offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in areas such as healthcare, education, business, criminology, and more.

Younger students in Pearland can benefit from the excellent public-school systems, with most students attending either Pearland Independent School District or Alvin Independent School District.

In Pearland, sports and recreation are a key component in the community. There are ample opportunities for children of all ages to participate in youth sports programs, and Pearland is home to the 2010, 2014, and 2015 Little League World Series finalists.

Between Pearland High School and Shadow Creek High School, a local school has played in four football state championship games in the last decade alone.

The city features world-class recreational opportunities for members of the community at any age. The 107,000-square-foot Pearland Recreation Center and Natatorium contains a gymnasium, weight room, activity room, racquetball courts, locker rooms, elevated indoor track, and a 50-meter competition pool.

With miles of trails and nearly 20 community and neighborhood parks, residents of Pearland are never far from accessible ways to prioritize their family’s health and wellness.

Pearland recently celebrated the grand opening for the second phase of the Sports Complex at Shadow Creek Ranch, which includes two turf fields and a multipurpose Miracle Field area designed to accommodate special needs athletes.

Pearland also offers public golf courses, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, soccer and multipurpose fields, numerous playgrounds and dog parks, a local YMCA, and several national and local health clubs.

To see more of what Pearland has to offer, head here.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Rice University launches hub in India to drive education, tech innovation abroad

global mission

Rice University is launching Rice Global India, which is a strategic initiative to expand India’s rapidly growing education and technology sectors.

“India is a country of tremendous opportunity, one where we see the potential to make a meaningful impact through collaboration in research, innovation and education,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches says in a news release. “Our presence in India is a critical step in expanding our global reach, and we are excited to engage more with India’s academic leaders and industries to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

The new hub will be in the country’s third-largest city and the center of the country’s high-tech industry, Bengaluru, India, and will include collaborations with top-tier research and academic institutions.

Rice continues its collaborations with institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru. The partnerships are expected to advance research initiatives, student and faculty exchanges and collaborations in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and sustainable energy.

India was a prime spot for the location due to the energy, climate change, artificial intelligence and biotechnology studies that align with Rice’s research that is outlined in its strategic plan Momentous: Personalized Scale for Global Impact.

“India’s position as one of the world’s fastest-growing education and technology markets makes it a crucial partner for Rice’s global vision,” vice president for global at Rice Caroline Levander adds. “The U.S.-India relationship, underscored by initiatives like the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, provides fertile ground for educational, technological and research exchanges.”

On November 18, the university hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Bengaluru, India to help launch the project.

“This expansion reflects our commitment to fostering a more interconnected world where education and research transcend borders,” DesRoches says.

UH-backed project secures $3.6M to transform CO2 into sustainable fuel with cutting-edge tech

funds granted

A University of Houston-associated project was selected to receive $3.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy that aims to transform sustainable fuel production.

Nonprofit research institute SRI is leading the project “Printed Microreactor for Renewable Energy Enabled Fuel Production” or PRIME-Fuel, which will try to develop a modular microreactor technology that converts carbon dioxide into methanol using renewable energy sources with UH contributing research.

“Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm says in an ARPA-E news release.

The project is part of ARPA-E’s $41 million Grid-free Renewable Energy Enabling New Ways to Economical Liquids and Long-term Storage program (or GREENWELLS, for short) that also includes 14 projects to develop technologies that use renewable energy sources to produce sustainable liquid fuels and chemicals, which can be transported and stored similarly to gasoline or oil, according to a news release.

Vemuri Balakotaiah and Praveen Bollini, faculty members of the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, are co-investigators on the project. Rahul Pandey, is a UH alum, and the senior scientist with SRI and principal investigator on the project.

Teams working on the project will develop systems that use electricity, carbon dioxide and water at renewable energy sites to produce renewable liquid renewable fuels that offer a clean alternative for sectors like transportation. Using cheaper electricity from sources like wind and solar can lower production costs, and create affordable and cleaner long-term energy storage solutions.

Researchers Rahul Pandey, senior scientist with SRI and principal investigator (left), and Praveen Bollini, a University of Houston chemical engineering faculty, are key contributors to the microreactor project. Photo via uh.edu

“As a proud UH graduate, I have always been aware of the strength of the chemical and biomolecular engineering program at UH and kept myself updated on its cutting-edge research,” Pandey says in a news release. “This project had very specific requirements, including expertise in modeling transients in microreactors and the development of high-performance catalysts. The department excelled in both areas. When I reached out to Dr. Bollini and Dr. Bala, they were eager to collaborate, and everything naturally progressed from there.”

The PRIME-Fuel project will use cutting-edge mathematical modeling and SRI’s proprietary Co-Extrusion printing technology to design and manufacture the microreactor with the ability to continue producing methanol even when the renewable energy supply dips as low as 5 percent capacity. Researchers will develop a microreactor prototype capable of producing 30 MJe/day of methanol while meeting energy efficiency and process yield targets over a three-year span. When scaled up to a 100 megawatts electricity capacity plant, it can be capable of producing 225 tons of methanol per day at a lower cost. The researchers predict five years as a “reasonable” timeline of when this can hit the market.

“What we are building here is a prototype or proof of concept for a platform technology, which has diverse applications in the entire energy and chemicals industry,” Pandey continues. “Right now, we are aiming to produce methanol, but this technology can actually be applied to a much broader set of energy carriers and chemicals.”

------

This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Houston innovator drives collaboration, access to investment with female-focused group

HOUSTON INNOVATORS PODCAST EPISODE 262

After working in technology in her home country of Pakistan, Samina Farid, who was raised in the United States, found her way to Houston in the '70s where business was booming.

She was recruited to work at Houston Natural Gas — a company that would later merge and create Enron — where she rose through the ranks and oversaw systems development for the company before taking on a role running the pipelines.

"When you're in technology, you're always looking for inefficiencies, and you always see areas where you can improve," Farid says on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining that she moved on from Enron in the mid-'80s, which was an exciting time for the industry.

"We had these silos of data across the industry, and I felt like we needed to be communicating better, having a good source of data, and making sure we weren't continuing to have the problems we were having," she says. "That was really the seed that got me started in the idea of building a company."

She co-founded Merrick Systems, a software solutions business for managing oil and gas production, with her nephew, and thus began her own entrepreneurial journey. She came to another crossroads in her career after selling that business in 2014 and surviving her own battle with breast cancer.

"I got involved in investing because the guys used to talk about it — there was always men around me," Farid says. "I was curious."

In 2019, she joined an organization called Golden Seeds. Founded in 2005 in New York, the network of angel investors funding female-founded enterprises has grown to around 280 members across eight chapters. Suzan Deison, CEO of the Houston Women's Chamber, was integral in bringing the organization to Houston, and now Farid leads it as head of the Houston Chapter of Golden Seeds.

For Farid, the opportunity for Houston is the national network of investors — both to connect local female founders to potential capital from coast to coast and to give Houston investors deal flow from across the country.

"It was so hard for me to get funding for my own company," Farid says. "Having access to capital was only on the coasts. Software and startups was too risky."

Now, with Golden Seeds, the opportunity is there — and Farid says its an extremely collaborative investor network, working with local organizations like the Houston Angel Network and TiE Houston.

"With angel investing, when we put our money in, we want these companies to succeed," she says."We want more people to see these companies and to invest in them. We're not competing. We want to work with others to help these companies succeed."

View All Listings