Overview

Agriculture

	Fruits and Vegetables Grown Here Are Ripe for the Picking The sweet and earthy flavors developed in The Research Valley are appreciated throughout the country.

	Brazos Expo Center Provides Showcase For Agricultural Assets Ask “Where’s the Beef?” in Research Valley and the directions will lead to a new $20.5 million complex for livestock shows and sales in Bryan.

	Alpacas Creating Different Breed of Ranching Paul Roberts had run three startup companies, moved four times in five years and wanted something different. After some research, he shared an idea with his wife.

	Alpaca Ranching a Growing Business in the Valley Careful – they kiss. When Laurence and Donna Binder decided to raise alpacas 20 years ago, they went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, a massive event spanning three weeks with mil lions of attendees.

Texas-Size Poinsettias a Big Hit at the White House Ellison’s Greenhouses has been a blooming success in Brenham since 1969. For proof, just look at the poinsettias grown there.

	Monterey Mushrooms Scores with More Spores Business at Monterey Mushrooms Inc. in Madisonville is, well, mushrooming.

	Corn-Fed Cattle Produce Healthier Beef This is no bull: Texas A&M University has discovered the healthiest Angus beef for humans to eat.

	Research Ranges From Cloning To Combating Disease Texas A&M is the cream of the crop when it comes to conducting agricultural research at the university level.

	Madison County Stays Loyal To Its Ranching Roots Madison County has a lot to beef about. The 472-square-mile county in east central Texas has only about 12,000 human residents. But today it has about 55,000 head of cattle and calves – historic levels that mean cattle outnumber folks by about five to one.

‘E-Beam’ Lab Helps Ensure A Safe Food Supply That meal may taste good, but is it good for you? It’s a fair question to ask every time you eat. Nearly a quarter of Americans experience a foodborne illness in the United States each year.

	Blue Bell National Growth Is Steady Blue Bell sure knows how to play hard to get. Texans so love the homegrown ice cream that they’ve made it the No. 3 supermarket brand in the country. But Blue Bell is still only found in parts of 16 states.

	TAMU and Food Industry Cook up Progress In 1990, Texas A&M University created an Institute of Food Science and Engineering as a way to advance university research on food and nutrition for the public good.

	World Equine Services Sets Standards In Breeding If anywhere in North America is better for horses than Texas, the horses havent found it yet. The state of the “Great Cattle Drives” has seen every thing from Spanish vaqueros and Mexican cavalry to Comanche Indians and the fabled Texas Rangers, not to mention ranchers and U.S. soldiers.

	Valley Vineyards Become a Booming Agribusiness Plantersville entrepreneur Jerry Bernhardt has a knack for turn ing wild berries into delicious concoctions. “I grew up making jellies and jams from wild berries with my mother, and I thought I’d do it again someday when I retired,” Bernhardt says.

Business Almanac

	Nucor Is Top Recycler Nucor Bar Mill in Jewett is both a manufacturing and a recycling facility.

King Cotton Gin In 1912, more than 4,000 cotton gins were operating in Texas.

	Aggies Are in Forbes March 2, 1836, is a significant holiday in the Lone Star State.

	Green Thumbs Up Take of tour of its greenhouse? It’s true.

Where’s Merlin? The 16th century comes alive every fall weekend from mid-October through late November in Grimes County at the annual Texas Renaissance Festival.

	Don’t Be Left in the Dark Madison County proclaims itself the Mushroom Capital of Texas, so it’s natural that it would host the annual Texas Mushroom Festival.

	Let’s Go to Snook Forget your diet when visiting the tiny community of Snook in April.

	Hi, Steaks Steak and wine lovers: Mark your calendars for June 19-20, 2009.

	Charmed, I’m Sure Queen Victoria would be pleased because autumn in Robertson County always includes the Victorian Festival.

Popularity Is Mushrooming It might look strange growing out of the ground, but the mushroom is celebrated every year by the city of Madisonville.

	Thanks to Andrew The Carnegie Library in Bryan has a new name.

	The Twelfth Man The tradition of the Twelfth Man at Texas A&M is truly a tradition – since 1922.

What’s a Kolache? The heritage of the Czech people is alive and kicking in Caldwell.

	Shhh! It’s a Library Book it: College Station is home to the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

	P.O.W. Camp in Hearne When the United States entered World War II in 1941, it was suddenly forced to deal with German and Italian prisoners of war.

Sit Back & Groove Singing the blues is a daylong occurrence at the annual Navasota Bluesfest.

	Relax in Splendor The LaSalle Hotel in Bryan was built in the Roaring 20s and still retains its grandeur today.

	Open 12 Times a Year The Kraitchar House in Burleson County was built in 1891 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

	Research Valley Whether it’s finding a great quality of life for your family, the best college education for yourself or your children, or even the latest and best manufacturing process for your business, the seven counties of The Research Valley have something for you.

Pinkies in the Air Sipping tea and sampling Victorian delicacies.

	Czech It Out Where else could you enter a kolache eating contest, other than at the annual Kolache Festival in Caldwell?

Given Birth Texas was born in 1836, and its birthplace is a historic site.

	Ring the Bell We eat all we can and sell the rest.

The Whole World Is Invited Texas A&M has more than 3,700 international students from 128 different countries, so the university decided to organize an international festival.

	Fungus Fun in Madisonville The mushroom capital of Texas? It is Madisonville.

Color Them Blue The city bills itself as the Blues Capital of Texas, thanks to Mance Lipscomb.

	Hail to the Renovation Visitors can now have their photo taken sitting behind the president’s desk in the Oval Office – albeit in College Station.

Business Climate

	New Facilities Create Space for New Discoveries The name fits.

	New Park Geared Toward Clean-Energy, High-Tech Ventures With strong support from local municipalities, the business community and economic-development officials, the Next Generation Park is set to usher in a new era of high-tech innovation throughout The Research Valley.

	Prognosis Positive for Region’s Economy Just take a deep breath and say “Wow.”

	The Research Valley Creates Favorable Environment for Business High quality of life, low-cost structure, knowledge assets invite investment, expansion in leading-edge companies and research.

	Family Owned Minor League Baseball Team Draws Fans in the Valley Uri Geva and Kfir Jackson don’t claim to be baseball moguls, but their summer collegiate team, the Brazos Valley Bombers, did make it to the playoffs.

Come On Down A desirable lifestyle and a favorable business climate – both await in The Research Valley of Texas.

	The Top 10 Reasons To Do Business in the Research Valley A desirable lifestyle and a favorable business climate – both await in the Research Valley of Texas.

Partnership Helps Businesses Get Started and Grow The Research Valley doesn’t host poker games – that’s for regions along the Mississippi River – but it does lay its cards on the table. The Research Valley is biased toward business.

	Brazos Valley Boasts Wealth of Educated Workers The Research Valley has oil and coal and land – but there’s more to economic wealth than natural assets.

	Toyo Ink Chooses Bryan for its Newest Project As it marks an impressive 100 years in business, Toyo Ink continues to grow and expand, with its latest project under construction in The Research Valley.

Technology

	High-Tech Firms Keep Talent at Home Advanced technology has moved out of the incubators and into the mainstream throughout The Research Valley, and the entire region is taking notice.

	Innovation Center Hatches Tech Entrepreneurs For James Y. Lancaster, it’s a simple question: “Are you shooting for the moon or are you shooting for Mars?”

	Research Valley Climbs to Top of Best Places List William Bendix may have discovered “The Life of Riley” as an airplane riveter in the mid-20th century Los Angeles sprawl. But by the end of the century, soaring development costs and the country’s worst traffic didn’t make Santa Monica the optimal choice for expanding StataCorp.

Research Valley: Cradle for High-Tech Companies When you create an information technology company, what better way to build one than on the foundation of one of America’s leading research universities?

	Arbin Instruments Emerges as an Industry Leader John Zhang isn’t one to let his hands go idle for long. The next innovation, the next better solution for ensuring world-class power source reliability may be just around the corner of his busy College Station R&D laboratory.

	Wireless Downtown Bryan a Hot Spot for Tech Buffs Hip folks pecking wireless laptops in coffee shops across the United States have become familiar, if not commonplace.

	IT Firms Find Common Launching Pad You can’t get in the front door without gaining a sense of urgency about Andrew Nelson’s company.

	Students Inspired to Pursue High-Tech Careers Building a remote-controlled robot and testing it in a competition with other students may not be an everyday assignment for middle and high school students, but supporters of Brazos BEST hope one day it will be.

	Starvision Technologies Keeps an Eye on the Sky Thanks to assistance from the Texas A&M Technology Commercialization Center, Michael Jacox is able to keep his vision on the stars instead of the earthly concerns of starting a business.

	Research Valley Nurtures Innovation The Research Valley is fertile ground for high-tech businesses, and The Research Valley Technology Alliance, The Research Valley Partnership, Texas A&M Universitys Technology Commercialization Center and other organizations are planting and nurturing the seeds of innovation.

Biotechnology

	Where Biotech Breakthroughs are Born Researchers and entrepreneurs working to bring new medical devices and pharmaceuticals to the marketplace have an ally in the Texas A&M Institute of Preclinical Studies.

	New Ideas Brought to Life Science For proof of the brainpower in Research Valley, look at the area’s entrepreneurial life-science ventures, many of them spawned from Texas A&M University research.

	Glaucoma Researcher Focuses on Macular Degeneration Dr. George Chiou toiled in the lab for 30 years in his successful search to provide treatment options for glaucoma. Now Chiou is turning his attention to a new foe.

	Foodhorizon Uses Technology For Optimum Dining A 4-year-old Research Valley company has weighed in quickly as a heavyweight in the food service industry.

	Plantacor ‘Organic’ Drugs Take Aim at Cancer Perhaps nothing better illustrates the value of a research university partnership than Plantacor’s story. In 2004, the young biotech firm licensed several compounds developed by Texas A&M toxicology professor Stephen Safe, with a goal of developing private-market pharmaceuticals based on naturally occurring substances.

	State, Texas A&M Create Stem-Cell Research Center A $50 million boost from the Texas governors office could create 5,000 jobs statewide, all of them emanating from a new Research Valley initiative.

Energy

	Energy and Technology Merge into Development Opportunities The marriage of new technology to the challenge of finding sustainable sources of energy continues to be a happy one for businesses, academic institutions and economic development organizations throughout The Research Valley.

	Seed Crops Fuel New Energy Ideas Researchers have big hopes for flax and other tiny seeds as potential sources for biofuel.

	Fuel-Cell Technology Creates Storehouse of Power Two Research Valley companies are deep into alternative energy these days, and it involves neither the wind nor the sun.

	Technology Companies Warm up to Business Climate Technology is teeming in The Research Valley, where start-up companies and long-standing researchers do more than co-exist: They cooperate.

	Valley Ideal Site For Power Plant Construction Tom Wilkinson is justifiably ener gized about the power of Texas.

Starrotor Engine Makes Moves with Vegetable Oil With the high price of gas and oil, many people are looking for ways to stretch their transportation dollars. The solution could be right outside Texas A&M’s doors.

	Scientists Work To Make The World Clean, Green You might hear about Lynntech in discussions about several diverse industries, because the company has its fingers in so many pies. However, the College Station technology development firm benefits from a highly focused staff of about 150, much of it local talent from Texas A&M.

	Lignite Coalmine Supplies Electricity Texas is practically synonymous with oil. But it’s not all that keeps the Lone Star State running. Texas is also the nation’s fifth-largest coal-producing state.

Petroleum Engineers Renowned In The (Oil) Field Finding a good petroleum engineer is like drilling for oil, but for more than 75 years the best and most consistent field of graduates has come from Texas A&M. Since 1930, the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M has graduated more than 5,000 students and consistently been rated the top program in the United States, according to Dr. Steve Holditch, department head.

	TAMU Turns Waste Materials Into Bioenergy Toss it out, and they just might come. And when they arrive, these researchers from the Texas A&M University System will try to figure out a way to make fuel out of it. At least, that’s the plan in Aggieland.

	Students Help Test Fuel Cells TesSol Inc. is once again a Brazos County company. And proud of it.

	Coal-Fired Plants Hailed As Reliable Energy Sources Think energy … think Texas … think oil. Right? Not anymore.

	Hydrogen Electricity Research Gains Support In the search for new sources of fuel, Lynntech Corp. is concentrating its efforts on generating electricity from hydrogen.

	Researchers Look Beyond Ethanol To Meet Needs By now you’ve heard of ethanol, but there’s more to meeting America’s desire for alternatives to fossil fuel than corn.

Manufacturing

	Ergonomic Chair Manufacturer Is a Sit-Down Success Neutral Posture Inc. is a firm in high gear.

Refinery Process Captures Precious Metals It gives new meaning to the oil term “black gold.”

Posture Helped Make Ergonomics a Household Name Are you sitting down? Are you comfortable? Thank your employer for buying an ergonomically correct chair. And thank Neutral Posture, a family enterprise based in Bryan, for helping make ergonomics a household name through years of research on the human body combined with sharp business acumen.

	Shipboard Equipment Plant an International Success Most maritime operations are, for obvious reasons, located on the water. But one Texas company is making heavy equipment well inland and sending it out to the farthest, deepest reaches of the sea.

	Readfield Meats & Deli Becomes Regional Success Readfield Meats & Deli is one of those institutions that people never want to see change.

	Brenham Efforts to Attract Industry Pays Off Washington County is where Texas was made. In 1836, a delegation met there to write the Declaration of Texas Independence.

	Custom Cabinets Part of Manufacturing Landscape The name this region has bestowed on itself connotes education and technology, and there is plenty of both. Much of the landscape is rangeland or agricultural fields.

	The Best Bees Are Made in the Valley As bee wrangler Clint Weaver packs thousands of queen bees into 3-pound packages each spring, he rarely has time to reflect on R. Weaver Aviary’s success. The fourth-generation beekeeper says the company can’t keep up with the demand, so he just sends what he can.

Transportation

	Texas T-Bone High-Speed Rail Plan Moves Forward In the year 2020, how will Texans get from one side of the state to the other?

	Jet Setters Like Research Valley Airports Research Valley has a wealth of airports in its seven counties and is investing in them to capitalize on growing corporate, charter and recreational traffic.

Program Gives Lift to Commuting A ride-sharing program in Research Valley lets riders register through the Internet, find matches for trips to and from work, errands and church, and receive “points” that they can redeem for rewards from local and national retailers.

	Regional Airports Critical to Research Valley There was a time when business travel meant long, lonely hours in a company car on the road – a four-lane highway if you were lucky. Air travel was a bonus for salesmen who exceeded their quotas, and corporate air­planes were a status symbol.

	Expanded Highways Key to Economic Development On the northeast side of The Research Valley, Interstate 45 cleaves Madison County, carrying drivers from Houston to Dallas and past one of the world’s largest truck stops.

	Transportation Options Make the Valley Accessible When it comes to transportation, The Research Valley has everything to move goods and people – short of ocean going ships.

	Mobility Analyst Helps Region Plan Traffic Flow Escaping traffic congestion by relocating seems like a good plan, until the plan is embraced by the masses. New residents bring their cars and their need to commute to work, school and children’s activities. The congestion they left behind is created anew.

	Planes, Trains and Automobiles: High-Speed Rail Plan Steams Ahead The Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation, a grassroots group, is working toward a comprehensive solution to traffic challenges.

Welcome Section

	Top 10 Reasons To Do Business in The Research Valley A diverse, highly educated workforce supports Research Valley’s expanding business base.

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