On March 17, 2008, GSE Systems (listed on the AMEX as GVP) -- a high-tech developer of simulation software for operators of nuclear power facilities, chemical processors, etc.) announced its intention to move its corporate headquarters to Eldersburg. GSE currently employs 150 people in offices in the US, China and Sweden. To view the press release announcing GSE's move, click here .
To read the Press Release announcing GSE's move to Eldersburg navigate to the "Images: Downloads" page (see frame on the left-hand side of this page) and scroll down to the "GSE Systems Press Release".
Not that many years ago Eldersburg was just a small crossroads with an Esso on one corner, a packaged goods store on another, an old house that had been converted to a restaurant on the third, and nothing much at all on the last corner. These days, the Esso is an Exxon/mini-mart, the packaged goods store has been torn down , the Crown Station that replaced the restaurant that burned down has been torn down itself and construction of a Walgreen's has begun on the site, and the formerly empty field has been home to a very attractive BB&T for years now.
And, oh by the way, those are just the changes at the intersection of Routes 26 and 32. Thousands and thousands more people live in the area than did when there was just a "blinker" at "the" intersection, and there are enough new intersections to keep traffic engineers happy with their new work opportunities. There's a regional mall anchored by a K-mart and a Blockbuster (Denny's and Wendy's anchor the parking lot). There's a Wal-mart, a Rite-Aid, a KFC, an Arby's, and a Burger King. George's Super Thrift is gone, but Food Lion's been here for years and years, and so has Safeway (complete with a Starbucks inside). In the fall of 2006 Martin's finished its move to a state-of-the art store (with more than just a little to offer in the way of "whole" and "organic" foods) a few hundred yards from Freedom Village -- where Shoppers Food Warehouse is planning to take over the old Martin's space.
It's not just a community of "chain" stores, though. Sole proprietorships, and "independent" businesses still battle toe-to-toe and successfully against the "big boys" here. Just ask the sports teams and charitable organizations in the area that couldn't possibly do the work they do without the financial support they recieve from literally hundreds of local busineses, professionals and trades-people.
There's more to Eldersburg than "Chain-Stores", for sure, but the chains you do find in a marketplace say a lot about the spending habits of the people who live and work there. So, for a tour of the logos you'll find dotting the business landscape in our community, click here.
