NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

Impact Napa

Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 8-10:45 a.m., Napa Valley Marriott, Napa

Best Places to Work 2008 Awards Reception

September 25, 2008, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, Rohnert Park

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The News in Brief

Engle to lead Raydiance

PETALUMA – Mel Engle, former president and chief executive officer of Merck KGaA subsidiary Dey Laboratories in Napa, was named CEO of Petaluma’s Raydiance Inc. to take the ultrashort pulse laser technology company into its next phase of growth.

Mr. Engle will take over the CEO role from Barry Schuler, the former chief executive of AOL who shepherded the company through its first commercialization phase. Mr. Schuler came on four years ago as chairman and CEO to develop commercial applications for a compact, cost-effective ultrashort pulse laser system that is fully software driven.

Twenty-four of the desktop-sized systems have been subscribed to by laboratories, research teams and startup companies. Raydiance hopes to add 100 more of what it calls “Discovery Hubs” during 2008.

BioMarin to open Peninsula satellite office

NOVATO – Drug maker BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BMRN) will open a satellite office south of San Francisco, which will be its first research and development facility outside of Marin County.

The company said the move is aimed at tapping the rich biotechnology labor pool concentrated in the Peninsula area.

Mark Wood, vice president of human resources for BioMarin, announced the satellite office at a North Bay Leadership Council morning conference focusing on the reasons businesses locate in the North Bay.

BioMarin will keep its Novato headquarters, where it employs about 500 people, and expects to employ up to 50 people on the Peninsula within the next five years, Mr. Wood said.

Mr. Wood said BioMarin chose Novato because it was a convenient place for the founders and attracting skilled biotech employees from outside the area has always been a challenge. But the situation has improved as the company has become more successful, he said.

Sonoma State University economist Robert Eyler, who issued a report of business location decisions at the conference, said having company headquarters in the North Bay helps boost the local economy more than branch offices.

More details of the conference can be found at www.northbayleadership.org.

Dilithium releases new video content adapter

PETALUMA – Dilithium released a high-capacity solution that automates real-time adaptation and delivery of video content over multiple networks to any device, notably mobile phones.

The Dilithium Content Adapter allows consumers to download videos from sites like YouTube to their cell phones and PDAs over networks such as WiFi, WiMax and 2.5G and 3G networks quickly, without the need for customized coding for each device and network type. Because the adaptation takes place on-demand during the download process it bypasses the need for expensive storage and servers.

Analyst firm ARC estimates that the mobile online video market will generate worldwide revenue of $5.4 billion in 2008.

Mill Valley theater sold

MILL VALLEY – The California Film Institute announced plans last week to purchase the historic Sequoia Theatre in downtown Mill Valley for $2.5 million.

The nonprofit operates the annual Mill Valley Film Festival held at the theater as well as the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center and Film Institute educational program.

The sale could be completed as early as summer and includes the 11,640-square-foot property with two screens and two adjacent retail properties. The theater is currently leased to Cinemark.

The organization has raised about 80 percent of the needed funds so far.

Wine services firms expand in Napa

NAPA – The owners of mobile wine filterer Winetech LLC and sister bulk-wine producer Fior di Sole have decided to expand next door to their current facility.

Owners Valentina Guolo-Migotto and Stephano Migotto had considered relocating to a light-industrial project set to be built nearby but opted to stay where their businesses currently occupy 7,000 square feet, according to Matt Bracco, a Cushman & Wakefield commercial real estate broker who represented them and the property owner. [See “Filtration, bulk wine firms expand,” March 10, 2008.]

The proprietors signed a five-and-a-

half-year lease with Irvine-based LBA Realty for the second building, which has 36,442 square feet. Cushman & Wakefield brokers Glen Dowling and Chris Neeb also brokered the deal.

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