Entegris Inc. "i2M Center for Advanced Materials Science."

Entegris Inc. has bought a building at 9 Crosby Drive and plans to invest as much as $50 million over the next two years remaking it into a research and development and manufacturing center, according to company officials.

Entegris, based in Billerica, bought the 80,000-square-foot property including land for what will be its “i2M Center for Advanced Materials Science.” The center will include 6,000-square-feet of rated clean room space.

The $50 million will be spent on upgrading the building’s infrastructure and specific equipment over the next two years. Entegris, which reported a record $749 million in sales in fiscal 2011, expects the first phase of the center to be operational in early 2013.

It expects to transfer 90 employees from its other Massachusetts facilities in Bedford, Burlington and Billerica to the new center and to hire at least 10 new engineering or highly technically skilled employees. It leases space in Bedford where it makes its advanced membranes and in Burlington, where it makes its specialty coatings.

It chose Bedford as the best place for its center because of its closeness to the company’s existing facilities and employee base; its access to highly trained materials science and membrane engineering talent, according to company officials.

“Bringing corporations into Bedford, especially opening an innovation center, is great news for Bedford and we hope it’s great news for the company,” said Selectmen Chairman Catherine Cordes. “We welcome them with open arms and we’re thrilled they’ve chosen Bedford; it’s a great place for them.”

The “i2M” stands for “ideas to market,” which will be the new center’s focus – innovating in material science. The company develops and makes filtration and media technologies, electrostatic clamps, also know as E-Chucks and proprietary, innovative low-temperature coating technologies.

The products are used in filtration and purification solutions used in semiconductor and other electronic device manufacturing environments. They are also used in the building blocks of items such as computers, cell phones and other mobile devices, data storage components, televisions, monitors and automobiles.

“We deal with all types of challenges,” said Steve Cantor, Entegris vice president of corporate relations. “For the next generation of semiconductor devices, the manufacturing environment must reach levels of purity that are measured in parts per quadrillion. That’s the equivalent of looking for a drop of water in an area the size of the Empire State Building.”

The previous tenant of the building, which has recently been vacant, was Sprint Nextel, according to the town.

Entegris was formed by the 1999 merger of Fluoroware Inc. and Empak Inc., and was based in Minnesota. It merged with Mykrolis, which was formerly the microelectronics division of Millipore Corp., in 2005, and retained the name Entegris. Source: WickedLocal

Solar Energy Company Joule based at 18 Crosby Drive in Bedford recently announced it has raised an additional $70 Million in funding. This brings the total amount raised to $110 Million. According to it’s website, Joule offers a technology platform to directly and continuously converts sunlight and waste CO2 to infrastructure-ready diesel, ethanol or commodity chemicals with no dependence on biomass feedstocks, downstream processing or precious natural resources.

More details.

Here’s a partial list of technology companies that are located in Bedford.

1Fastbite.com
Acme Packet
Aeturnum, Inc.
Altranex Energy
Amptek
Anika Therapeurics
Applied Biosystem
Argos Systems
Aware Inc.
Ayantek
Bare Bones Software
Baren-Boym Company
BD Biosciences
Biokit USA
Cardinal Health
CFM Inc.
Cognition Corporation
Computrition Inc
Contental Resources
CouponSurfer.com
D. A. Zeskind & Associates
Dangel Robots & Machinery
Data Direct
Data Intensity
Delaero, Inc.
Diversified Technologies, Inc.
DocuTemp Wireless
EM4 Inc.
EMC
Empirix
EnterpriseDB
First Light Biosciences, Inc.
FirstBest
GateRocket
GCC Printers
GSI Group
Hologic
iLantern
InnerSea Technology
Innovative Applied Solutions
Instrumentation Laboratory
Insulet Corporation
Integrated Computer Solutions
Interactive Data Corporation
iRobot
Joule Unlimited
Kofax
Liquid Pixels
Mabbett & Associates
Medica Corporation
Mettler-Toledo Ingold
MicroE Systems
Millipore
MindLeaf Technologies, Inc.
Minuteman Advisory Partners
Mitre Corporation
NetClarity, Inc.
Nimsoft
Ocular Therapeutix
Orbital Therapy, LLC
Perma Inc.
Pharmalucence
Progress Software
Q-Peak, Inc.
Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc.
Release Engineering Inc.
ReliSource Corporation
Rovi
RSA
Schneeberger Linear Technology
Science Applications International Corporation
SilkRoad technolog
Software Pundits
Soundbite Coomunications
Spire Corporation
STAR Analytical Services
Stewart Radiance Lab
Tecolote Research, Inc.
TimeTrade Systems, Inc.
Toxikon Corporation
TTG Incorporated
Vedas
wTe Corporation
Zink Imaging

Bedford currently houses 11 public companies. The market cap for these companies range from 6 Million to just under 5 Billion dollars. Here are the companies:

Map of Public Companies in Bedford

Creiger Group, Boston Art Rentals, with corporate office in Bedford has been a fixture of the Boston art scene for three decades, has launched a new art rental program that allows clients to partake in the firm’s expertise and services by annually selecting artworks from the extensive collection firm founder and owner Joyce Creiger has amassed over 35 years in art sales.

“With our new program, clients can enjoy the benefits of a rotating fine art collection without the high acquisition cost and time-consuming selection process,” said Creiger. “Experimenting with different looks constantly refreshes and transforms the viewers experience of the office space without dramatic, and expensive, remodeling. No matter the budget, you can find the right artworks that will make the right statement about your company or your facility.”

To celebrate the launch of the new program, Creiger Group is offering a $200 gift coupon to any past client or new client against their next framed art purchase of $1,000 or more. The $200 coupon is good through April 15, 2009. “We want to do our part to stimulate the economy by making art more affordable to clients,” said Creiger.

Creiger Group - Boston Art Rentals

Creiger Group provides full services from selection to framing to installation. Sample gallery albums illustrating the wide range of artwork that is available through the company can be viewed at the company’s Web site  art portfolio. Both the art rental program and the purchase programs are tailored to the clients specific needs and would need an initial consultation and then specific recommendations would be made for the clients review.

“This new service is an important new adjunct to our core business of selling artwork to companies and institutions of all types,” said Creiger. “In today’s economy, it’s important to offer a variety of value-oriented options for clients.”

About the Creiger Group

Founded in 1973, Creiger Group has provided personalized corporate art services with a qualitative commitment to clients. The firm is committed to providing the highest quality fine artworks, sculptures and accessories within clients’ specific parameters. Having participated in the national and international art scene for over 30 years, the firm’s unlimited resources and connections give Creiger Group access to distinctive artists, publishers, dealers and galleries worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.bostonartrentals.com or call 617-699-7077.

In the past few months, the Governor and Lt. Governor have toured a number of innovative businesses based in  Bedford including:

ACME Packet (Computer Communications)

iWalk (Advanced Bionics)

MITRE (Advanced Cyber Security Center)

Toxikon (Biotech)

While Bedford’s population is only slightly over 13,000, the number of retail businesses is on par with a much larger town. Bedford has 2 Full Size Grocery Stores while other towns such as Lexington which has over 30K, has only 1 supermarket (although there are several just over the border). Bedford also had 3 different TJX Department Stores (Marshall’s, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods). Only 2 other much larger towns in Eastern Massachusetts (Framingham and Braintree) share this distinction. In addition to larger stores, Bedford also has a very diverse set of smaller shops.

These numbers are very large. The reason for this is two fold:

1. The large number of people who work in Bedford (the population of Bedford increases significantly during the day).

2. A lot of people drive through Bedford on their way to and from work.

This leads to a more diverse set of retail businesses. The vacancy rate for retail in Bedford is lower than other nearby communities.

Bedford also has a wide variety of space including lower cost smaller spaces that makes it more compelling for people looking to start businesses.  In talking with many of these small businesses, the low rental rates have been a major factor in getting them to open up their first retail business.