The Accelerator puts pedal to mettle

Three firms have found new secondary homes at The Accelerator — a 60,000-square-foot incubator that rents space and equipment to fledgling and expanding technology companies and affiliated with the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. GE Aviation, which opened an Ellisville, Miss., plant in May, recently rented laboratory space there to train new employees to make components for jet engines. A second group is Vatican Capital, an investment firm focusing on making growth investments for small Catholic-owned businesses in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The third firm is Radiance Technologies - established in 1999 in Huntsville, Ala. - develops electronics, polymers and military applications; and provides operational support for the Defense Department, intelligence and other government agencies. Source: Hattiesburg American, July 8, 2013.