Join the City of Chandler in celebrating the exploration of invention by attending the Chandler Innovation Fair. This annual event showcases businesses, artists, students and innovators in the community as Chandler participates in the statewide Arizona SciTech Festival. This year's festivities will be held in Downtown Chandler on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Now in its 14th year, this free event offers unique opportunities for attendees to explore the discoveries of science engineered in their own backyard and taught in Chandler Unified schools. More than 150 exhibitors from local technology companies and schools are registered to participate.

Event sponsors include technology companies Avnet, Cirrus Logic, Intel, Microchip Technology, Northrop Grumman and NXP Semiconductors, along with Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Pride Group, Salt River Project (SRP) and WM Arizona.

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The Mahoney Group, Arizona's largest independent insurance, risk management, and employee benefits brokerage, has announced its upcoming move to a new, modern office space in Chandler.

Located at 2625 W. Geronimo Place on the Price Corridor, the new space spans 35,198 square feet and will initially be home for 90 employees with room to accommodate close to 160 employees on a single floor.

“We are thrilled to welcome The Mahoney Group to Chandler and our vibrant Price Corridor," Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke said. "Financial services have long been a targeted industry cluster in Chandler, and we continue to see strong growth in this cluster throughout our community. We congratulate The Mahoney Group on their new home and look forward to building a strong relationship with them in the years to come."

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Chandler Endeavor is a free business incubator program sponsored by the city and managed by community entrepreneurship leaders from ASU's J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute. As part of its programming, Chandler Endeavor hosts monthly forums that focus on different topics critical to business success. The next forum will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 5, and the topic is navigating legal, regulatory, and industry standards.

You will learn about:

• Industry certifications that can open doors to new markets
• Compliance strategies that reduce risk and build investor confidence
• How to craft a compliance roadmap to guide your growth

The monthly forum will start at 5 pm and include an overview of Chandler Endeavor for first-time participants. Chandler Endeavor events are held at the ASU Chandler Innovation Center, 249 E Chicago St. Register online to save yourself a seat.

Venture Madness, the longest-running venture capital and pitch conference in Arizona, has announced finalists for this year's competition. Among the 16 finalists selected from more than 125 applicants is EnKoat, a startup that has been participating in the Chandler Endeavor incubator program. EnKoat will join the other finalists in pitching their company for a chance to win cash prizes at the event on April 2-3.

EnKoat is an advanced materials company that has developed a rooftop coating (IntelliKoat) designed to lower building heat and energy costs. The company has been collaborating with Arizona State University (ASU) and Salt River Project (SRP) to test its product on several ASU buildings.

A dedicated member of the Chandler Endeavor program, EnKoat also recently was awarded the top prize in the Fall 2024 Chandler Endeavor Venture Challenge pitch competition.

Phoenix Business Journal Article

VIAVI Solutions recently announced that it is supporting NASA's Europa Clipper mission by supplying a vital component for a space exploration instrument that will be used to perform analyses of Jupiter's moon Europa. VIAVI's precision order sorting filter will ensure the optimal performance of the Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa (pictured on the right), which is designed to analyze the surface composition of Europa and determine the habitability of its subsurface ocean.

Headquartered in Chandler, VIAVI has decades of leadership in precision thin film optical coatings for mission-critical space applications. In addition to its Chandler headquarters, VIAVI has a 104,000 SF advanced manufacturing facility in the Airpark Area where it recently opened its VIAVI Automated Lab-as-a-Service (VALOR) testing facility.

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AZRE: Arizona Commercial Real Estate Magazine recently published a feature on how communities in the East Valley are working to attract businesses and drive economic growth. Our economic development director, Micah Miranda, was interviewed and below is his quote on some of Chandler's advantages that we highlight when speaking with businesses:

“We have very simple pillars for economic success. It's a very pro-business and politically stable community that values education. We also have a can-do attitude, and when companies are looking for locations, they want to be in a place where they know they're going to be taken care of and not have roadblocks unnecessarily thrown in the way. We have people that help get them open and operating quickly.

Another thing I'll add is that we're a financially stable community. We have extremely low taxes, and that's predicated on our bond rating. We are AAA bond rated from all three rating institutions. There are approximately 20,000 towns in America, and we're one of three dozen that has an AAA bond rating. If you're looking for a stable investment location, having three independent agencies agree that Chandler is well run and knows how to take care of its money is valuable."

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