Mass High Tech Cleantech Survey Reveals Strong Confidence Within Emerging Sector

BOSTON, April 29 /PRNewswire/ --  Mass High Tech, the journal of New England technology, this morning will announce the results of its first annual clean technology survey at today's MHT Clean Technology Forum 2010, held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston.   The overall results of the survey draw from companies represented in the MHT Cleantech Directory – focused on several key areas, including technology sector growth confidence levels, factors inhibiting growth, likely company events and projected growths.

Key findings include the following:

• Access to venture capital funding a top growth inhibitor:  Both cleantech and overall tech ranked factors inhibiting growth in the same order with access to capital ranked highest followed by policy/regulatory environment, healthcare/insurance, workforce, and supply chain/distribution challenges.  Compared with overall tech, "access to capital" was cited as a concern at a 33 percent higher rate within cleantech.    
• Cleantech companies are small but expected to grow: Of the 500 cleantech companies surveyed, two-thirds have less than 20 employees, but one-third expect to increase their workforces by at least 20 percent this year. In addition, the survey results indicated that more than two-thirds of New England cleantech companies are based in Massachusetts, indicating that Massachusetts continues to fuel cleantech company growth across New England.
• Clean technology confidence levels are on par with technology in general: The growth confidence level of the cleantech sector is positive.   Of cleantech companies surveyed, 86.1 percent were "very confident," "moderately confident," or "confident" in sector growth, compared with 85.2 percent of the overall tech sector.

Details of the survey results will be revealed in full online at http://www.masshightech.com/topics/envirotech.html.

"The results from our first annual cleantech survey reveal that while the sector is still emerging, New England continues to prove to be a hotbed for technology and cleantech innovation," said Douglas Banks, publisher and editor, Mass High Tech. "As the economy shifts towards improvement, it appears companies are gaining confidence in company growth and are looking to hire, and expand, via venture capital or equity financing this year. We look forward to continuing to cover the developments in the cleantech space in Mass High Tech, and we're excited to watch the growth in this space moving forward."

For more information on the survey, please visit www.masshightech.com.

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About the Mass High Tech Quarterly Forum Breakfast Series:

Mass High Tech's quarterly Forum breakfast series explores technology business issues specific to industry verticals, from biotechnology and medical devices to clean energy and robotics. Click here for coverage of the 2009 event.

About Mass High Tech:

Mass High Tech is a media services company owned by American City Business Journals, largest owner of city business journals in the country.  MHT specializes in covering the region's incubation of next generation technologies and the people and companies behind our innovation economy.  New England's technology and life sciences executives and engineers rely on MHT to track the pulse of local market forces, to identify new trends, detect emerging competition and uncover new opportunities.

MHT has garnered its share of awards. The New England Press Association awarded the paper first place overall design in the weekly two category in its 2007 annual Better Newspaper Contest. And also in 2007, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers awarded MHT with a certificate of merit for overall excellence in the business weekly category.

SOURCE Mass High Tech