CITY OF DAYTON CITYWIDE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Steve Budd, President
CityWide Development
(937) 853-2547

City Invests in Future with RFID Incubator

The Dayton City Commission has approved a $1.4 million, four-year agreement with CityWide Development Corporation and a private investor group to create the Dayton RFID Incubator Corporation or DRIC. The RFID Incubator will be located in the Creative Technology Accelerator building of Tech Town. Its purpose will be to function as a for-profit incubator for new and small businesses in the RFID industry.

“Our goal is for DRIC to become an international leader in the RFID industry,” said Steve Nutt, director of strategic development for CityWide. “RFID technology is widely expected to replace the retail bar code in the near future, plus there are countless other possible applications in other markets.”

DRIC is expected to begin operations in the fall of 2009. By 2012, it’s expected to create at least 100 jobs with an average annual salary of $80,000. “These will be high-paying, high-tech jobs which are going to be great for Dayton’s economy,” said Nutt. “Plus, it’s likely that the companies that start out at DRIC will stay permanently in Dayton, further strengthening the local economy.”

Dayton City Manager Rashad Young explained the motivation behind this project, saying “Dayton, because of its existing technology industries and workforce, is the logical location for growing this emerging technology. The City of Dayton is actively pursuing jobs and investments in growing segments of the technology economy.”