For the Record – Northern Virginia, July 2013

Published June 28, 2013 by Virginia Business

More than half of frequent drivers on Interstate 95 admit to using their cell phone while driving, and 20 percent said they send or view text messages, according to a new study. The study, conducted by Transurban-Fluor and AAA Mid-Atlantic, showed that 56 percent of drivers reported using their phones while driving. It also found that 17 percent of drivers admitted to reading text messages, and 11 percent said they write texts while driving. AAA Mid-Atlantic and Transurban-Fluor, the company that is building the 95 Express Lanes in Northern Virginia, are promoting a safe-driving campaign as construction on the project ramps up. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS) plans to establish an office in the Herndon area of Fairfax County to support growth of its public sector and cloud computing work, creating 500 new jobs. AWS designs and offers cloud computing services to businesses, government and educational organizations. The announcement marks Amazon.com’s third major investment in Virginia. Last year, the online retailer opened warehouses and shipping centers in Dinwiddie and Chesterfield counties. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Arlington-based ATK announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase a hunting rifles and shotgun manufacturer for $315 million. Caliber Co. is the parent company of Savage Sports Corp., which manufactures centerfire and rimfire rifles, shotguns and shooting range systems used for hunting as well as competitive and recreational target shooting. ATK will integrate Savage within its Sporting Group business. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Two Fairfax County firms are part of the Women President’ Organization’s 2013 list of the 50 fastest-growing woman-owned or -led companies in North America. Tysons Corner-based Lanmark Technology Inc. ranked ninth and Chantilly-based Ampcus Inc. ranked 36th on the list. All companies that submitted nominations for the list were ranked according to a sales growth formula that combines percentage and absolute growth. (Sun Gazette)

Raytheon Co. will locate the headquarters of its newly formed Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS) business at the company’s Dulles operations in Sterling. The unit, which was recently formed by combining Raytheon’s Technical Services and Intelligence and Information Systems businesses, will move its headquarters from North Garland, Texas. The move will affect only a small number of headquarters staff, said David Desilets, senior manager of corporate public relations for Raytheon. He did not disclose how many employees that would be. Raytheon employs about 3,500 people in Virginia, Desilets said. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

New Hampshire-based Red River, a provider of IT hardware integration, maintenance and support services, established a public sector headquarters in Reston. The headquarters house Red River’s public sector leadership team as well as engineers and project managers focused on serving government clients. Currently, more than 30 employees are working out of the Reston office, and Red River continues to expand looking for qualified candidates. (News release)

The Meridian Group, the buyer of SAIC’s corporate headquarters campus at Tysons Corner, has big plans for the property. The Bethesda, Md.-based real estate investment and development firm said in a news release that it will invest $20 million to renovate two of four buildings on the 18-acre campus. Altogether they total 900,000 square feet of space. Meridian’s purchase includes SAIC’s 600,000-square-foot, three-building headquarters complex. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

WashingtonFirst Bank has signed a new 10-year lease for 25,000 square feet in Reston Town Center. According to Cresa Washington, D.C., which represented the bank in the transaction, WashingtonFirst is adding 16,000 square feet to its current lease of 9,000 square feet at its headquarters location at 11921 Freedom Drive. WashingtonFirst Bank, which has $1.1 billion in total assets and 15 branches in the D.C. metropolitan area, will expand into the additional space during the summer. (VirginiaBusiness.com)