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Press Release: September 27, 2006
Congressman John W. Olver
1111 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-2101

Tel: 202-225-5335
Fax: 202-226-1224

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLVER ANNOUNCES HOUSE APPROVES $1 MILLION FOR BUSINESS MOVING INTO PUTNAM PLACE IN FITCHBURG

WASHINGTON, D.C. ­ Congressman John W. Olver (D-1st District) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a conference report of the Defense Appropriations bill that includes $1 million for a Massachusetts defense contractor, mZeal Communications, that has moved its business into Fitchburg's Putnam Place.

mZeal will develop an automated communication system that could warn combat troops of impeding ambushes and other dangers. Threats are currently flagged by humans on an overloaded system that fails to distinguish the immediate location and intended targets of enemies.

The redevelopment of Putnam Place is a piece of the city of Fitchburg's downtown revitalization efforts.

Olver is a member of the Appropriations Committee and worked to secure the funding in the FY07 Defense Appropriations bill. The House passed the conference report, the final version reconciling the House and Senate versions, on September 26. The Senate is expected to approve the conference report shortly, and the President is expected to sign the bill.

"Fitchburg's revitalization efforts are clearly paying off," Olver said. "I am pleased that Putnam Place has become home to yet another vibrant business with the arrival of mZeal Communications."

Putnam Place is an 8-acre, four-building complex on the site of the former General Electric Company (GE) facility on Boulder Drive in Fitchburg. It has more than 300,000 square feet of manufacturing, research and development, and office space. GE shut down its steam turbine facility in 1998, but federal funding has allowed the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority to clean up the brownfield site and develop a strategy to reuse the site to maximize job creation, private investment and long-term sustainability.



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For more information on this project, contact: Steven Bonavita, Economic Development Assistant, 978-345-9602, or Rajini Anachi, President, mZeal Communications, 978-665-0281

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