Grants help Greene contractors expand

Defense contractors will expand, retain, add high-paying jobs.

The county awards grants to support two defense contractors planning to add or keep hundreds of high-paying jobs in the area.

Greene County has awarded grants to support two defense contractors that are expanding operations and planning to add or keep hundreds of high-paying jobs in the area.

Beavercreek-based Perduco Group and Radiance Technologies Inc. have accepted grants of $50,000 and $100,000 respectively through the county’s Economic Development Incentive Program, the Greene County Department of Development announced.

Both companies develop software and have contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Combined, their expansion projects will lead to creating and/ or retaining more than 400 jobs in the county, according to the county.

Perduco Group, 3610 Pentagon Blvd., is adding space on the second floor of its building and the grant money is enabling the company to incorporate “higher-level security requirements,” according to Vice President Chris Mason.

“It will allow us to both create jobs and fulfill the needs of the government on some of the work we’re not able to do now,” Mason said.

Perduco currently has about 130 employees, about 90 in the Dayton area, and the expansion project will lead to 20 to 30 new positions.

Mason said 60 percent of the staff either have master’s degrees or doctorates, and they expect to double their local workforce over the next few years.

“The government looks to us to solve some of their harder problems,” he said. “We actually have a lot of senior level people with Air Force experience.”

Radiance Technologies is moving into a new building in the works by Synergy Building Systems off Pentagon Boulevard, according to CFO Scott Dublin.

“We are committed to the Beavercreek area,” Dublin said. “Because of the grant we were

able to commit to more square feet than we originally planned and commit to more build out than we originally planned.”

Radiance is headquartered in Huntsville, Ala., but Dublin said they consider themselves a Dayton-based company as well, with more than 200 employees in the area.

Radiance provides software development and employs intelligence experts who are “highly educated with department of defense clearances,” Dublin said.

Dublin said the county grant program made the decision to expand here easy, as there were “several options in the area” being considered. He said they’ve already added 25 employees since starting the grant-application process last year and they plan to add more than 100 jobs over the next two to three years.

Greene’s EDIP requires that companies that receive grants must commit to staying in the county for 10 years, according to Eric Henry, Greene County economic development coordinator.

Henry said new measures have been added in evaluating projects for funding to align with the county’s goals of supporting hiring veterans, small business, innovative products or services and diversifying jobs to include different wage levels.

The county is accepting new applications for the next grant cycle until the end of the month. For more information, contact Henry at ehenry@co.greene.oh.us or (937) 562-5351.