Wednesday, October 2, 2024

"Sirius" failure for Montgomery County, Maryland as Virginia wins UK defense firm's US HQ


Officials in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland just can't seem to get "Sirius" about economic development, coming up empty again as a U.K. defense firm has followed so many others to Virginia to establish its first U.S. headquarters. Sirius Analysis, a defense management software consulting company headquartered in Portsmouth, England, will open its American headquarters at 4525 Main Street in Virginia Beach, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced in a statement. The headquarters will bring 105 new high-wage tech jobs to the Old Dominion. 

Youngkin said Virginia and Massachusetts were the two finalists competing for the headquarters. There's no indication that Montgomery County or Maryland officials even bothered to compete. This despite Sirius having sought a location near military bases, of which Maryland has twenty, compared to Massachusetts' paltry six. Did we blow it, or what?

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin

“Sirius Analysis choosing Virginia Beach as their U.S. headquarters showcases the Commonwealth's magnetic appeal in global defense innovation,” Youngkin said in a statement. “This expansion bridges UK-US defense collaboration, bringing cutting-edge analysis capabilities to our shores and creating valuable job opportunities for Virginians.”

“The arrival of Sirius Analysis signals a bright future for our region's tech ecosystem,” Virginia State Senator Aaron Rouse said. “By choosing our Virginia Beach for their U.S. operations, Sirius Analysis is not just creating over 100 high-skilled jobs, they're planting seeds for a new wave of innovation by strengthening our position as a hub for defense technology." 

It's long past time Montgomery County and Maryland's elected officials conducted a "Sirius Analysis" of their failures to attract corporate headquarters to locate here. Virginia is laughing at us.

Photo credits: Sirius Analysis (top), Office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (bottom)

16 comments:

  1. Virginia has Norfolk Naval Base, NAVSEA headquarters, Oceana NAS, Dahlgren Naval Weapons Center and two shipyards. Sirius needed to be close to them. Not Maryland's fault this time (I think).

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    1. 8:36: It's still Maryland's fault, unfortunately, as the other finalist was Massachusetts - which is nowhere near any of those bases.

      Maryland has 20 bases, and is directly across the Potomac from Dahlgren.

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    2. Finalist because they have Charlestown Yard, Beford Naval Weapons Facility, South Weymouth Air Station, and South Boston Yards to service. So, there is/are reasons they came in second. Learning.

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    3. 11:03: Maryland has several times the number of military bases as Massachusetts, and is also adjacent to the Pentagon and Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center. We also have the Goddard Flight Center.

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    4. You can't justify your issue by throwing in everything but the kitchen sink into your rant. This firm appears, to be aimed at Naval related task, and apparently so was the location. As such Mass. was a prime candidate with their "Naval" related bases, not just every military facility in these areas. Stay focused here. It was a targeted decision and MD/MoCo didn't qualify. Try again.

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    5. 9:56: Check again. Not only are there several Naval bases in Maryland, and Dahlgren right across the river, but Sirius isn't limited to Naval contracts. They work in the defense, energy, nuclear, and space sectors. Where is the NRC located? Oh, yeah - right here in Rockville. Goddard Flight Center? Greenbelt. NAVAIR? Patuxent River.

      Just tell the MoCo Cartel to take the "L" on this one.

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  2. But they kept Marriott LOL imagine the despair in poor Bethesda if that hadn’t happened their condos may be available for under $2 million sheesh

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  3. "There's no indication that Montgomery County or Maryland officials even bothered to compete."
    They are too busy chasing windmills.

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  4. Who runs Montgomery County?

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  5. " One person's Socialism is another person's neighborliness"
    -Tim Walz

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  6. Montgomery County Council has no businessmen. They were too busy taking away "right turn on red." A bunch of knuckleheads.

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    1. And you still have a membership card. Huh!

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  7. Is my property tax going up again? Since property values are going down m, will I get a reduction this time?????

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    1. If your property value falls, you can request to have it reappraised for the lower value.

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  8. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-americans-rightly-believe-crime-is-increasing/?utm_source=recirc-mobile&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=hero&utm_content=related&utm_term=second

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  9. Vaccine passports/lawn fertilizing/banning gas blowers. Astonishing record of accomplishment by the green Council. The PRC considers the DPRK and it regime a "Communist Disneyland"...Maoist Marc can't get any investment from that part of the world here despite wasting $ going their at least twice. We are in a two decade pattern of stagnation and decline. Ask yourself: What will we look like in 2035?

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