TECHburgher :: Putting some sizzle in the Pittsburgh technology sector.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council, now in its 25th year of operation, will feature 50 of southwestern Pennsylvania’s premier technology companies at its 12th annual Tech 50 awards on Thursday, October 16, 2008.

Presented in partnership with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, the awards recognize the premier companies among southwestern Pennsylvania’s technology sector, and it showcases small and large companies alike. Each year, the Tech 50 event honors those technology companies that demonstrated the strongest growth and advancement in product or sales success, financial strength, corporate citizenship, job growth and retention and innovative product or technology.

During the selection process, the Council surveyed the region for the most distinguished public and private technology-oriented companies. To be considered for the 2007 Tech 50, a company must be headquartered in the southwestern Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Somerset, Westmoreland or Washington.

This year, finalists include:

Advanced Manufacturing

• All Water Systems, Inc.
• CardiacAssist, Inc.
• Data Science Automation, Inc.
• Neuro Kinetics, Inc.
• Onmi Prepaid Group, LLC/Gift Cards.com LLC
• The Proud Company
• Respironics, Inc.
• Tollgrade Communications, Inc.

Green Technology

• BPL Global
• CNX Gas Corporation
• CONSOL Energy Inc.
• Plextronics, Inc.
• PRINT.NET, Inc.

High-Rise

• Alcoa
• ANSYS, Inc.
• Eaton Corporation
• McKesson Automation Inc.
• MEDRAD, Inc.

Information Technology

• Apangea Learning, Inc.
• BitArmor
• Carnegie Learning, Inc.
• Confluence
• InterTECH Security Group, LLC
• Motionplan, Inc.
• Tower Care Technologies, Inc.
• Vivisimo, Inc.

Life Sciences

• Celtic Healthcare, Inc.
• invivodata, inc.
• MED3000 Inc.
• medSage Technologies, LLC
• Net Health Systems, Inc.
• RedPath Integrated Pathology, Inc.
• ReGear Life Sciences, Inc.
• Starr Life Sciences Corp.

Rising Star

• Bright Innovation
• ClearCount Medical Solutions
• Cohera Medical Inc.
• e-STAFF Consulting Group, Inc.
• Etcetera Edutainment
• MobileFusion, Inc.
• Thorley Industries, LLC
• Virtus Advanced Sensors

Service Provider

• FTI Consulting
• Guru.com
• Ideal Integrations
• IMPAQT
• Information Systems Services, Inc.
• Newton Consulting
• SiGenix
• SYCOR AMERICAS Inc.

CEO of the Year

• Gregory S. Babe, Bayer MaterialScience LLC
• James E. Cashman III, ANSYS, Inc.
• Dr. Giorgio Coraluppi, Compunetics, Inc./Compunetix, Inc./Chorus Call, Inc.
• D. Raja, Computer Enterprises Inc.
• David A. Souerwine, McKesson Automation Inc.

Category leaders from this list will be announced at the Tech 50 awards ceremony on October 16, 2008.

Sheldon Ingram, WTAE Channel 4 reporter, will serve as master of ceremonies for the evening.

The featured speaker this year will be Regis McKenna, who according to the San Jose Mercury News is one of the 100 people who made Silicon Valley what it is today. McKenna has written and lectured extensively on the social and market effects of technological change advancing innovations in marketing theories and practices.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, McKenna worked with a number of entrepreneurial start-ups during their formation years including: America Online, Apple, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Intel, Linear Technology, Lotus, Microsoft, National Semiconductor, Silicon Graphics, 3COM, and many others. McKenna helped launch some of the most important technological innovations of the last thirty years including the first microprocessor (Intel Corporation), the first personal computer (Apple Computer) and the first recombinant DNA genetically engineered product (Genentech, Inc.). In the last decade, McKenna consulted on strategic marketing and business issues to industrial, consumer, transportation, healthcare, and financial firms in the United States, Japan, and Europe. McKenna continues to be involved in high tech start-up companies through his venture activities.

Event sponsors include Catalyst Connection, Highmark, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, PNC Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Supporting sponsors include Innovation Works, DQE Communications, FiberTech and On Assignment Lab Support. Production sponsors include Production Masters, Inc. and Champ Printing.