< Previous46 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E ome of the world’s most highly advanced industrial furnaces are designed and built to order at Deltech, a - year old manufacturing fi rm just north of Denver. Deltech’s custom machines help mold complex scientifi c products, from laboratory implements to semi-conductor components. Owner Mary Stevenson says the company’s primary markets include national laboratories, research universities and ceramics manufacturers. “We’re not making cardboard boxes here,” Stevenson jokes. “We’re making products that need a wealth of engineering and scientifi c knowledge. And we’re marketing those products to engineers and scientists.” A family-run business north of Denver brings the heat to the tech world. by GA R Y DA U G HTE R S S S MA LL B U S I N E S SC O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 47 Deltech’s clients have included Los Alamos, Livermore and Sandia National Labs; universities worldwide; NASA, for which Deltech designed furnaces for the Jet Propulsion Lab and for a project to study moon rocks; and CoorsTek, the billion dollar, Colorado-based ceramics manufacturer. Deltech’s home is a modest , sq.-ft. facility in unincorporated Adams County. e truly amazing part is this: Deltech serves its high-end, global clientele with a staff that numbers people, recently up from nine. “I have two engineers,” says Stevenson. “One is my son, our engineering manager. He’s worked in the business since he was in high school and has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Our other engineer is my late husband’s grandson from his fi rst marriage. We also have an excellent drafter. Other than that, we have me and an administrative person and a production crew of six. “We are truly a small business, a family-run business.” Stevenson adds proudly. “People who come into our facility are absolutely stunned that we manage to produce what we do with such a small number of people and a small space.” For a high-tech manufacturer that’s been in business through fi ve decades of technical transformation, standing still is never an option. Needing more space, Deltech moved from Denver to Adams County in . e county, says Stevenson, quickly lived up to its business-friendly reputation. “Within a very few months,” she says, “I was visited by people from Adams County Economic Development, and they introduced me to local businesses in the area like insurance companies, bankers, and marketing people, all of which was very important to moving us along.” e company later reached out to ACED for managerial input. rough ACED’s connections to the local Small Business Development Center, Deltech was matched with Jon Jaggers, a long- time manufacturing consultant. e service was free, and the results were priceless. “John has been our small business consultant for fi ve years,” Stevenson says. “We have face-to-face meetings all the time. He’s helped us with management issues, accounting and business planning. I feel like we’re a transformed company. In terms of raising the bar here at Deltech, that’s defi nitely happened. Last year, we had our best year ever.” So good, in fact, that Deltech was named the Small Business Administration’s Exporter of the Year for Colorado and surrounding states. Stevenson attributes the company’s rising exports to a surge in sales to government research labs in India. In addition, with the help of Colorado state training grants, Deltech earned two valuable certifi cations, including one that’s expected to open the door to contracts with the nuclear industry and the federal Department of Energy. It may surprise some that Colorado’s manufacturing sector contributes more to state GDP (about $ billion per year) than the state’s better-known tourism industry. Some % of the state’s , manufacturing operations, like Deltech, employ fewer than people. “ e state, itself, and particularly the metro Denver area,” says Stevenson, “has great access for manufacturing companies. In manufacturing, you have to worry about logistics, and we have good access to highways, we have DIA [Denver International Airport], and we have way better weather than a lot of places, which means we’re not being constantly disrupted by serious weather events. “I think,” says Stevenson, “that Colorado’s a manufacturing state for sure.” The Deltech team ts a quartz process tube into a furnace at the company’s manufacturing center. Photo courtesy of Deltech48 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E ou may associate Colorado with the Rocky Mountains, snowboarding, the Denver Broncos and the Air Force Academy, but did you know that Colorado also gave the world the teddy bear, the root beer float, Jolly Ranchers, the cheeseburger and outdoor Christmas lights? In fact, what you may not realize is that Colorado consistently ranks as one of the leading states in the nation for innovation and entrepreneurship. When Amazon recently ranked Colorado fourth in the nation for startups, based on the state’s number of small-business sellers, it was but the latest evidence that Coloradans love to build business empires. Consider the tale of the tape: • The Kauffman Index recently ranked Colorado No. 8 out of the 25 states with the highest growth in entrepreneurship. • WalletHub says Colorado is the seventh best state in which to start a business. • FitSmallBusiness.com says Colorado is the fifth best state for female entrepreneurs. • U.S. News & World Report says Colorado is the fourth best state for business. • Business.org says Denver is the tenth best city in America for entrepreneurs and startups. On top of these accolades, WalletHub recently published its annual list of the Best Cities to Start a Business and ranked the top 180 large cities in the country. Denver checked in at No. 12, while Colorado Springs ranked 32nd and Aurora placed 44th. Why do so many entrepreneurs choose to make Colorado their home base? To answer that question, it helps to ask the business builders. Weston Blakeslee, chief clinical officer for RxRevu, which created an integrated platform for medical prescribers to make the best prescription decisions, said, “We’re trying to solve issues with prescribing Entrepreneurs build world-changing businesses in the shadow of the Rockies. by R ON S TA R N E R Y Watermill Express is helping to bring purified water to places that need it most. Photos courtesy of Adams County ED E N T R E P R E NE U R SHI P & I NN O V A T I O N Colorado: Where Ideas Sprout WingsC O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 49 where it matters most, at the point of care. If we didn’t have health system partners that recognize the existence of these issues and want to engage in pragmatic solutions to these problems, we wouldn’t have gotten very far.” RxRevu, which started in Denver in , is an active member of the Colorado Bioscience Association and has collaborated with other companies like Children’s Hospital Colorado, National Institute of Mental Health and the Offi ce of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. It helped that the Colorado Offi ce of Economic Development and International Trade provided RxRevu with an early-stage capital and retention grant of $, in . e fi rm said this grant was instrumental in its early success and helped RxRevu solidify a partnership with UCHealth. e company also applied recently for a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment grant with UCHealth collaborators. Because of the state’s help, RxRevu now has employees in advanced medicine in Denver and plans to add more workers in the future. Another local success story is Watermill Express, which began in the mid-s in Colorado as a way to create a multi-barrier water purifi cation system when the creators, Lani and Don Dolifka, were living near a Superfund site where their drinking water had been declared unsafe. e company has since grown into the nation’s largest drive-up pure drinking water and ice concept in the U.S. with more than , locations. Watermill Express today employs people nationwide, with working at the corporate headquarters in Brighton. With plans to expand, Watermill Express recently bought a larger facility in Brighton. As the owners were looking for new space, they said they never considered leaving Adams County. Staying in their hometown and retaining their dedicated and highly skilled workforce was too critical, they noted. Stories like this abound across Colorado. Garrett Brown Designs recently moved into a ,-sq.- ft. woodworking and metal fabrication shop in Westminster and has grown from a one-person design shop to a fi rm employing eight people with half a million dollars in revenue. GitPrime is a successful software service platform that has grown to high-tech workers in Durango; and Oz Snowboards continues to make some of the world’s most advanced carbon fi ber snowboards found anywhere on the slopes of Aspen and Vail. All these ventures began as ideas in the minds of Colorado entrepreneurs. Just like Chipotle, Coors beer and Crocs. Yes, Colorado brought each of these novelties to the world as well. Best U.S. Cities to Start a Business 12thDenver 32nd Colorado Springs 44th Aurora Source: WalletHub Watermill Express50 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E hen your state has established a renewable energy portfolio standard as ambitious as Colorado’s, it stands to reason that sustainable power companies will follow. Colorado intends to derive 100 percent of its energy from clean, renewable sources by 2040, and the state appears to be well on its way to achieving this lofty goal. Gov. Jared Polis continues to push for aggressive climate-change legislation that phases out reliance on fossil fuels and incentivizes people and industries to use alternative sources of energy. These initiatives, some of which have been in place for years, are part of the explanation behind Colorado’s No. 1 ranking among all U.S. states in Site Selection Magazine’s annual Sustainability Ranking for 2019. The ranking, just out this month, is based on a variety of criteria attached to sustainable practices, including LEED certified building construction, green energy projects, brownfields redevelopment and other measures designed to Despite an ambitious renewable energy standard, traditional power sources still play a big role in Colorado. by R ON S TA R N E R W R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y & N A T U R A L R E S O U R C E Sclean up the environment and eliminate dependence on non- renewable sources of power. Two Colorado metro areas score exceptionally well in Site Selection’s ranking of all national metros as well, with Denver-Aurora- Lakewood placing ninth and Boulder placing 29th. These rankings continue a trend seen throughout Northern Colorado for a number of years. The nine-county Metro Denver and Northern Colorado region ranked fourth among the nation’s 50 largest metros for cleantech employment concentration in 2016. Colorado was the first state to pass a voter-approved renewable energy portfolio standard. The state’s investor-owned utilities are required to obtain at least 30 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. To help them achieve this milestone, a world-class hub of local research universities and agencies — including Colorado State University in Fort Collins and federal labs like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden — are helping the state develop an innovative and balanced energy mix. Statewide, some 6,000 energy companies employ nearly 150,000 people representing an annual payroll of $11.4 billion. While Colorado has quadrupled its crude oil production over the last 10 years and doubled its natural gas production since 2001, it has also achieved 18% of the state’s net power generation from renewables. SOLAR FIRMS EXPAND IN THE ROCKIES Much of this renewable energy comes from wind and solar. Colorado ranks seventh in the nation for wind power generation capacity installed and eighth for C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 51 In Wind Power Generation Capacity 7th 8th Colorado Ranks In Solar Power Generated Per Capita Photo: Getty Images52 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E solar power generated per capita. Numbers like this are attracting even more alternative power investors. One of them is Vivent Solar, which announced in mid- that it would expand availability of its solar energy systems in Colorado. Vivent said it would service the Denver and Boulder areas and set up a sales offi ce in Centennial. “We’re pleased to bring aff ordable solar energy systems to Colorado as part of our ongoing expansion strategy,” said David Bywater, CEO of Vivent Solar, who added that his company now operates in states. Husk Power Systems Inc., meanwhile, announced last year that it would move its headquarters to the Colorado State University Powerhouse Energy Campus in Fort Collins. e rural distributed utility company, which provides electricity through solar operations in rural parts of India and Tanzania, said it hopes to attract talent and do research in collaboration with the Energy Institute that is based there. While Colorado continues to make strides in alternative energy sectors like wind and solar, its traditional energy industry still thrives as well, with natural gas, oil and coal all playing vital roles in fi lling out the state’s balanced energy economy. Due to its ample natural resources, Colorado ranks among the top energy-rich regions in the country and is a top producer of oil, coal and natural gas. e state produced a record . million barrels of oil in , driven by new wells, particularly in Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg Basin and Niobrara formations. e Niobrara is estimated to hold as much as . billion barrels of oil, which could provide up to years of local energy production. A STATE PORTFOLIO OF KEY ASSETS Talent is a driver of Colorado’s energy sector. e state has one of the highest per-capita concentrations of federal research facilities in the nation, with federal laboratories contributing over $. billion annually to the state’s economy. NREL in Golden is considered the premier alternative energy research lab in the world. Major energy employers in the state include Agilent Technologies, Amtel Corp., Anadarko Petroleum, Colorado Springs Utilities, Encana Corp., Halliburton, Noble Energy, Vestas, Woodward and Xcel Energy. Key location factors for companies in the energy sector include the following: • Access to one of the most energy-rich states in the U.S. Colorado produces .% of natural gas in the country. • Newly enacted requirements for renewable energy generation and access to clean energy resources. • Proximity to energy-related higher education programs and research centers. Colorado School of Mines in Golden off ers programs from bachelor’s degree to Ph.D. in all key fi elds related to energy, and Education Corp. of America’s Ecotech Institute is the fi rst and only college in the U.S. focused on training students for careers in cleantech. • Access to the research of a broad collection of federal labs and private R&D centers. • Business organizations and public policy programs designed to encourage industry growth. • Generous incentives. Sales and use taxes are exempt for equipment used in R&D of clean technology. e exemption refunds up to $, per year in sales and use taxes for companies with less than employees if more than percent are employed in Colorado. • Ability to hire top talent. Colorado ranks ninth in the U.S. for the number of science, engineering and health graduate students per , individuals ages to years old, according to the National Science Foundation (). Colorado produces 7.2% of the country’s natural gasC O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 53 olorado has been building an infrastructure and logistics empire for decades. Now it has the corporate capital investment to match. On March , BNSF Railway announced that construction is underway at its newest logistics center, Logistics Center Hudson, a fully permitted development that is designed to help customers more easily reach Denver and surrounding markets via new rail-served sites. Like other BNSF Logistics Centers, customers that locate at Hudson can save nine months or more of development time and expense. Logistics Center Hudson is a -acre facility featuring sites for customers who want to ship via individual railcars and a unit train site for customers who ship entire trainloads. e site is located about miles north of Denver International Airport and miles northeast of downtown Denver. It off ers unrestricted access to a high-population-growth area where the industrial market continues to strengthen. “Establishing logistics centers, including the one in Hudson, is the latest way we are working to make sure new, existing and potential customers who want to locate on rail in a densely populated, growing industrial market have the option to do so,” said Colby Tanner, assistant vice president for economic development for BNSF Railway. “By purchasing and developing land in advance, we can help our customers save time and money when they are looking to expand or relocate their facility.” BNSF is not alone. Other major corporations are joining BNSF in developing large logistics centers in Colorado. Recently, both Amazon and United Parcel Service made major announcements of new projects. Amazon decided to develop , sq. ft. of logistics space in Aurora in Adams County, where Colorado continually invests into the infrastructure of its transportation network. by R ON S TA R N E R C The Logistics Capital of the West Denver International Airport Tent Towers Photo courtesy of Metro Denver EDC/DIA I N F R A S T R U C T U R E & L O G I S T I C S54 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 54 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E the world’s largest online retailer is expected to add over , new jobs. UPS followed suit by announcing it would create a ,-sq.-ft. logistics operation in Aurora and hire workers. Hyperloop One, meanwhile, continues to evaluate Colorado as a potential location of its fi rst commercial track, and French self- driving shuttle company EasyMile set up its U.S. headquarters in Denver, where it debuted its autonomous shuttle bus. Michelle Hadwiger, director of global business development for the Colorado Offi ce of Economic Development and International Trade, said that Colorado’s unique array of transportation assets make the state a natural fi t for logistics investors. “For transportation and logistics industry companies that are pioneering new technologies, Colorado’s greatest asset is undoubtedly its highly educated workforce,” Hadwiger says. “We have an amazing concentration of engineering talent that can take transportation technology to the next level.” Nearly , companies have transportation or logistics- related operations in the state, employing a total of , workers. In addition, some , fi rms are engaged in infrastructure engineering in Colorado and employ another , people. “Our geographic location is also ideal for companies that want convenient access to major population centers in the western half of the U.S.,” adds Hadwiger. “We have seen many companies whose projects include major logistical components choose to set up operations in Colorado specifi cally for the excellent highway C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 55 access to the California market. By setting up in Colorado, they get the benefi ts of a lower-cost business environment than if they had set up their operations within California itself, but can keep logistical costs relatively low.” e transportation network in Colorado is globally competitive, with miles of interstate highway and , total highway miles, , miles of Class rail track and intermodal train/ truck facilities, , daily fl ights from Denver International Airport, airports across the state, and miles of light rail. DIA also boasts daily nonstop fl ights and is ranked as the th busiest airport in the world. Colorado is also home to the Transportation Technology Center, located in Pueblo. It serves as the premier facility in the U.S. for testing rail technology. e state is not standing pat, however. Under the new administration of Gov. Jared Polis, the Colorado Department of Transportation is taking a fresh look at the future of transportation in Colorado. e state recently tore up its $-billion transportation improvement plan and is going to all counties statewide for input to make sure it addresses top priorities. Constant improvement of the state’s transportation network has resulted in the fl ow of more investment capital from expanding companies, notes Hadwiger. “We are seeing a great deal of activity among ecommerce fulfi llment centers and sorting centers,” she says. “Amazon has multiple fulfi llment and distribution centers up and down the I- corridor, which runs through major population centers of Colorado. In addition, companies like Symbia are growing quickly and are expanding their reach from facilities in Colorado.” “We have an amazing concentration of engineering talent that can take transportation technology to the next level. ” — Michelle Hadwiger, Director of Global Business Development, Colorado Of ce of Economic Development and International TradeNext >