Governor Vilsack this morning announced a series of initiatives which seek to make Iowa a mecca for high-tech companies and high-tech research. Three eastern Iowa companies will split one-point-three million in state grants and loans. The state will help seven of the state’s largest companies share a “virtual” research and development shop on the Internet. And Vilsack has hired a new “technology advisor” for the state. EnzyMed, a drug and ag-chemical company in Coralville, gets 460-thousand dollars from the state.Integrated D-N-A Technologies in Coralville gets 430-thousand dollars from the state.Iowa State University gets 400-thousand dollars to establish a “biotech industrial incubator.”With the state’s help, Deere, Rockwell Collins, Maytag, Winnebago, Pella Corporation, HON Industries and Vermeer are joining forces to develop new parts on a “virtual site” on the Internet.And, a 30-year veteran of Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids has been hired as the state’s new technology advisor. Robert Tibor (tee’-bor) will continue to live in Cedar Rapids and work in a part-time capacity.Governor Vilsack travels to California next week to meet with high-tech companies and up to one-thousand former Iowans who are considering a move back to their home state.
