Newswatch

The Frederick Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to deny the exemption request by the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, and its director Michael Dailey.

Commissioners David P. Gray (R), Charles A. Jenkins (R) and John ‘‘Lennie” Thompson Jr. (R) said they did not want taxpayers to subsidize the incubator. Commission President Jan H. Gardner (D), the board’s liaison to Fitci, and Kai J. Hagen (D) said they were willing to continue the discussion at a public hearing.

Glen Burnie electronics firm bought for $12M

Privately held Prizm Advanced Communications Electronics of Glen Burnie has been acquired by public company Moog of East Aurora, N.Y., for $12 million in cash, executives said this week.

Prizm designs and manufactures fiber optic and wireless video and data products used in commercial and military subsea markets for oil and gas exploration. Sales over the past year were $6 million, executives said.

Moog manufactures control components and systems for the military and aerospace companies. The company had revenue of $1.6 billion in its fiscal 2007, which ended Sept. 29, a 19 percent rise from the previous year.

Trade mission to India returns to county

Representatives from numerous businesses, Montgomery College and government entities returned last weekend from an eight-day trade mission to India sponsored by the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development.

The trip was a success, said Jack Hollerbach, president and CEO of HarVest Bank of Maryland in Rockville. He said the meetings with business, political and educational leaders in India would increase business development opportunities and help attract more Indian-owned companies to the county. The delegation’s itinerary included New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Haryana.

‘‘Our bank already has a number of Indian-owned businesses as customers,” said Hollerbach, who made his first visit to India. ‘‘It was important for me to understand the country and culture better. And I want to help the county attract new companies.”

The county department plans to release more details about results of the mission in the near future, said spokeswoman Kristina Ellis.

Exports from Maryland companies to India increased by 21 percent to $34.8 million during the first quarter of 2007 from a year ago, according to federal figures.

Fortisphere lands $10M to boost sales, marketing

Fortisphere of Glenwood, a provider of virtual machine lifecycle management software, has secured $10 million in funding co-led by Fairhaven Capital Partners and Globespan Capital Partners. Glenwood plans to use the money to further product development, grow its sales team and increase its market visibility.

‘‘The virtualization market will reach $11.7 billion over the next four years ... and by the end of this year, about half of the world’s 4.2 million servers will be virtualized,” said Paul L. Ciriello, managing partner of Fairhaven Capital Partners.