Innovation & Job News

Saline's JAC Products to add 87 jobs; diversifies into lithium ion batteries and solar panel racks

Concentrate Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The diversification of JAC Products is a move that is allowing the Saline-based automotive supplier to add dozens of jobs.

The 43-year-old Tier 1 supplier recently received a $572,000 state tax credit over the next five years to help fund its expansion. The deal should mean another 87 jobs, thanks to a $6.2 million project. Most of those jobs will be created in the first few years of the tax credit, which was awarded by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

JAC Products primarily makes automotive exterior parts, such as roof racks. It has recently expanded into manufacturing both lithium ion batteries and solar panel racks. The tax credit helped persuade the company to expand at its work spaces in Saline and Shelby Township instead of its plant in Georgia.

"It (the diversification) will help dampen the cycles in the auto industry," says Dan Smoke, CFO for JAC Products. "They call this a cyclical industry for a reason."

The new expansion will add 30,000 square feet to the company's Saline operations. That's where the bulk of its workforce is located. The company employs 412 people, with about 35 located at its Shelby Township plant and a few engineers in Pontiac.

Source: Dan Smoke, CFO for JAC Products
Writer: Jon Zemke

Quantum Signal invests $1.29M, plans 47 hires

Concentrate Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Quantum Signal is sending all of the right messages these days - hiring half a dozen people, about to hire another 47, and making a $1.29 million investment in the Ann Arbor community.

The 10-year-old firm recently added six people, rounding out its staff to 35 with another 2-3 interns. That's up from a headcount of just under 30 when we checked in with the company in January. The Ann Arbor-based firm plans to hire 9-10 people per year over the next five years so it can hit its target of 47 new employees in that same time period.

"We're very much in growth mode right now," says Mitch Rohde, COO of Quantum Signal. "We have a lot of projects in the pipeline so we have to expand our facilities. We're constantly understaffed."

Quantum Signal uses high-end engineering mathematics and algorithms to extract information from visual data. Think the type of software used in face-recognition devices. It also develops military training simulations and commercial video games under its Reactor Zero subsidiary. It took a lot of these algorithms from the likes of the University of Michigan.

"We wanted to take something out of the ivory tower and apply it worldwide," Rohde says.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp gave Quantum Signal a $206,083 tax credit over five years, helping it make the choice to expand in Michigan instead of Washington, D.C. The firm also plans to move to Saline as part of its expansion.

Source: Mitch Rohde, COO of Quantum Signal
Writer: Jon Zemke

Pair of Docs co-founder becomes CEO of Inpore Tech

Concentrate Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Gerry Roston's plan for Pair of Docs is working quite well. The Saline-based entrepreneur has used the consulting firm to help secure a top executive position at up-and-coming firm Inpore Technologies.

Roston is now the CEO of the East Lansing-based plastic polymers manufacturer. He is helping the Michigan State University spin-off finish its first round of angel investments this summer. He expects it to be fully operational and profitable within a year or two and to have 7-8 employees (there are now three) by the end of this year.

"That model is working very well now," Roston says.

Pair of Docs won't just fade away with Roston's exit. His partner in the Saline-based business will fill in as Roston focuses on Inpore Technologies.

Inpore Technologies makes a polymer additive to make plastics stronger and more flexible - no easy task. Its product is biodegradable, thereby shortening the time that automotive plastics spend in landfills to a few years rather than indefinitely. It also makes the plastic more fire retardant and non-toxic if it actually does burn.

"There are all sorts of neat opportunities with this product," Roston says.

Source: Gerry Roston, partner with Pair of Docs and CEO of Inpore Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke

Women�s Exchange of Washtenaw wins SBA champion award

Concentrate Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Women's Exchange of Washtenaw is making room on its shelf for a new award and room in its ranks for a new chapter or two.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will present the non-profit's co-founders, Carrie Hensel and Debra Power, with the "U.S. Small Business Administration�s Michigan Women in Business Champion of the Year for 2010" award later this week. That will come as the duo make preparations to grow the organization across the state in the near future.

"We think we have found something very unique and special and we want to share it," Power says.

Women's Exchange of Washtenaw was founded two years ago as a place for businesswomen to network and create new business opportunities, generate referrals and find work. It now has a database of 800 women who partake in the organization. Women's Exchange of Washtenaw is not a membership organization, which allows participants the freedom to pay as they go.

Hensel and Powers have enjoyed quite a bit of success with this model, creating an open and engaging environment for entrepreneurs without a Y chromosome. They expect to try and spread this model into the Lansing market later this year.

Women's Exchange of Washtenaw will host the Women's Exchange of Washtenaw Forum 10 on May 21 at Kensington Court, 610 Hilton Blvd in Ann Arbor. The all-day event will feature regional speakers, workshops, breakout sessions and networking activities to engage the business community and work through the common issues women business leaders face in their efforts to grow and improve their companies. The event costs $75 before May 1 and $95 after. For information, click here.

Source: Debra Power, co-founder of Women's Exchange of Washtenaw
Writer: Jon Zemke

Saline's Latitude Learning plans to hire 5-10

Concentrate Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Latitude Learning knows how to take a punch and come back swinging. That's what the Saline-based firm did after the recent recession clocked it good last year, setting up the firm for a comeback.

The technology consulting company cut its staff in half after the Big Three took it on the chin last year, leaving the downtown-based firm with 30 people and a couple of independent contractors. However, the software-as-a-service product it launched last year is starting to gain traction this year, allowing the firm to begin hiring 5-10 people later this year.

"This year we started to roll out marketing full force," says Jeff Walter, president of Latitude Learning. "We're adding people and we expect to grow."

Its new learning management system product allows companies to train employees and track their training through systems large and small, local and global. Its open source philosophy has made it flexible and popular with its customers.

"It's very functionally rich," Walter says.

Source: Jeff Walter, president of Latitude Learning
Writer: Jon Zemke

Google Fiber means 2 things to Ann Arbor: Choice, opportunity

Concentrate Wednesday, March 24, 2010

When Steve Pierce thinks about what Google's Fiber community would mean for Ann Arbor or Saline/Pittsfield Township he weighs the long-term impact. The co-founder of Wireless Ypsi and expert of just about all things Internet sees the Google pilot program providing two things most people aren't talking about: Opportunity and choice.

Choice, as in competition between Internet service providers, who will be forced to provide better service at an even better price. Opportunity, as in the economic opportunities this will provide for Washtenaw County.

"That connection provides opportunity for entrepreneurs whether it�s a start-up or a big company," says Pierce, who lives in downtown Ypsilanti and runs his business from his laptop. "Bandwidth is king. No matter how fast your connection is you could always use more."

Google plans to build and test ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of communities across the country. These lines will stream data at 1 gigabit per second, about 100 times faster than most Americans get through their current cable and DSL providers.

Ann Arbor got on the bandwagon quickly, launching A2Fiber, a Facebook fan page, a YouTube contest and other online efforts to rally support for its application. The University of Michigan and Ypsilanti are backing Ann Arbor's effort. Saline and Pittsfield Township are filing a competing joint application. As for the local media's talk of competition between the two applications, Pierce thinks its irrelevant.

"It doesn't matter who the heck wins," Pierce says. "We just need to get this to the county. We need to get past the first round so the Google people will come here and check us out."

Pierce believes that Google is looking for a community of about 250,000 people, meaning it wouldn't just be Ann Arbor or Saline/Pittsfield Township alone. It would probably be Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, such as the city, the adjacent townships and probably some nearby towns.

That would actually play to Washtenaw County's favor because the general Ann Arbor area features both urban, suburban and rural settings for Google to test. Local municipalities also have an educated population and business community with an almost unquenchable demand for Internet. But even if Google just choose to set up the project in downtown Ann Arbor, the economic ripple affects would be felt for miles away.

"It's still going to help Ypsilanti because it's going to attract more people to the community," Pierce says. "Where are they going to live? Some are going to live in Ypsilanti. Some are going to shop and eat in Ypsilanti. It's going to be huge for the community if we can land these guys here."

Source: Steve Pierce, co-founder of Wireless Ypsi.
Writer: Jon Zemke

Saline's Flatout Flatbread Co scores capital infusion

Concentrate Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Capital might not be flowing with the force it once did, but a couple of Saline entrepreneurs have found a big enough trickle to quench their thirst.

Flatout Flatbread Co. recently received a capital infusion (terms and amount were not released) from the private equity firm North Castle Partners. The Saline-based firm was founded by Stacey and Mike Marsh. It specializes in making, surprise, flatbread and wraps.

Greenwich, Conn.-based North Castle has worked with and helped build niche brands before, such as Naked Juice and Nutrition Solutions. The private equity firm focuses on investing in consumer businesses that promote health and wellness. It also plans to lend expertise in strategy, marketing, operations and IT to help grow the Flatout brand.

Glencoe Capital and the Michigan Opportunities Fund also participated in making the deal happen. Glencoe Capital is a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies. It participates in the InvestMichigan! initiative established by the state in 2008.

Source: Flatout Flatbread Co.
Writer: Jon Zemke

Successful ACE shows Mich ahead of the entrepreneurial curve

Concentrate Wednesday, January 27, 2010

There is a new bit of conventional wisdom forming in local circles: Michigan (the Ann Arbor area especially) is way ahead of the rest of nation when it comes to building small businesses and cultivating entrepreneurs.

Some concrete evidence of that popped up last week at the Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship in Ann Arbor's Skyline High School. Attendance almost doubled, going from 550 last year to 917 last week. That helped create a buzz of optimism about the state's small business climate that seems to be hitting a tipping point.

"Michigan really does do certain things well," says Gerry Roston, chair of the planning committee for this year's ACE and owner of the Pair of Docs Consulting in Saline. "There are a number of organizations that support entrepreneurship. We seem to have a lot more of these than other states and they work together really well."

He points to newcomers like Ann Arbor SPARK as gaining traction and working well with established organizations, like the New Enterprise Forum. A main focus of groups like this revolve around the idea of what's best for the entrepreneur. It's ethos like this that have attracted economic development agencies from Delaware and California to this year's ACE.

"They come to Michigan to see how it's done," Roston says.

That's not to say the local entrepreneur community has arrived. There is a lot of work to be done to support these burgeoning small businesses. Chief among those is start-up capital in an environment where it seems lenders are frozen in carbonite Han Solo style.

"We need to grow our venture capital community," Roston says. "We have funds here. They're great funds but they're smaller funds."

Which might explain one of the reasons why ACE was so popular this year. The event holds several contests that feature cold, hard start-up cash for the winners. Some of those include $1,000 for Intercollegiate Business Idea Pitch Competition (won by Ken Lange of Saginaw Valley State University for a telescoping dock), a year of corporate membership for NEF and virtual incubator tenancy in Ann Arbor SPARK (won by Howard Brown of Franklin-based CircleBuilder) and even $140 for the Twitter Biz Idea Contest, which was won by Barbara O�Connell of Ypsilanti's WhereToFindCare.com.

On top of all of that, it was announced that Great Lake Entrepreneur Quest is partnering with the SmartZones/Michigan Economic Development Corp to offer a $100,000 pre-seed investment through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which is administered by Ann Arbor SPARK.

Source: Gerry Roston, chair of the planning committee for Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship
Writer: Jon Zemke

eVjump makes move from Saline to downtown Ann Arbor

Concentrate Wednesday, November 04, 2009

The high price of installing solar panels isn't all wrapped up in research and development. Some of it involves good old American manufacturing.

Saline-based eVjump specializes in lowering solar installation costs through the latter, and it's going to do it in downtown Ann Arbor. The year-old start-up is moving to Ann Arbor SPARK's central incubator with all eight of its employees.

"It's not so much the technology of the solar cell but how you go about it," says Mike Medvec, head of business development for eVjump.

The idea is that driving down the manufacturing and installation costs can make solar panel installation more feasible for more consumers. That way the technology can arrive to the mass market sooner by finding efficiencies elsewhere in the process.

The company's name is a reference to an electron volt, specifically when an electron jumps off its rotation to create electricity in alternative energy fields like solar.

Source: Mike Medvec, head of business development for eVjump
Writer: Jon Zemke

Michigan makes loan to hire Pfizer talent in Saline

Concentrate Wednesday, November 04, 2009

The Pfizer-is-leaving announcement seems farther and farther away with each passing day, but state officials are still working to keep that drug development talent in Michigan.

Saline- and Kalamazoo-based firms have received loans from the Company Formation and Growth fund, a state-based initiative to keep Pfizer talent and assets in Michigan.

Research Essential Services of Saline will receive $200,000 so it can occupy space in the newly opened Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center in Plymouth. That money will also allow the company to hire four ex-Pfizer scientists and purchase some old Pfizer assets.

The other winner is Kalamazoo-based Kalexsyn, which will use its $150,000 to hire three ex-Pfizer scientists. The Company Formation and Growth fund has approved $7.25 million in loans for 34 life-sciences firms in the Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Metro Detroit communities since Pfizer announced it was leaving Michigan.

Source: Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Writer: Jon Zemke

Saline couple leap into entrepreneurship with Two Ten

Concentrate Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Two Ten's name isn�t based on what the new start-up does but where it's at. Two Ten (210) is the address of Steven and Deborah C. Elmore's house in downtown Saline.

The couple has spent decades working for two of Michigan�s biggest institutions - General Motors and the University of Michigan. Steven recently retired as an engineer from GM and Deborah left U-M for a start-up but then decided to join her husband in business.

"We're fledgling entrepreneurs and looking for alternative options other than depending on someone else for employment," says Deborah. "We want to be independent."

Two Ten has a dual focus reflecting the interests of its two founders. Steve is focusing on pursuing a patent that would greatly improve bar code reading technology.

Deborah is capitalizing on her U-M experience in corporate event planning. She is working to merge event planning with new social media technologies; some of which will help verify attendance and to see how long people stayed.

Source: Steven and Deborah C. Elmore, co-founders of Two Ten
Writer: Jon Zemke

Molded Materials consolidates operations in Saline

Concentrate Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Molded Materials is casting a new die in Saline. The advanced materials technology company is consolidating its operations in the city southwest of Ann Arbor thanks largely to a tax break approved by the state.

"It keeps us in Michgan, basically," says Tom Elkington, chief operating officer of Molded Materials. "It was the tipping point for keeping us in Michigan."

The state tax credit totals $420,388 over seven years and will result in hiring 29 people within the next five years, on top of its current staff of 45. Those jobs will come mainly from Molded Materials merging two of three plants in Saline, investing $2.9 million. It's Plymouth operation will also remain, but Saline will be the center of growth for Molded Materials.

"This community is very open and willing to work with companies to help them grow," Elkington says.

Molded Materials designs, engineers and manufactures advanced composite components for a wide variety of industries.

Source: Tom Elkington, chief operating officer of Molded Materials
Writer: Jon Zemke

Saline's DesignHub wins two awards, adds 1 new employee

Concentrate Wednesday, March 04, 2009

DesignHub isn't trying to set the world on fire with rocketing growth. In fact the Saline-based firm is happy staying at about the same size it is today.

"We've always planned to stay relatively small," says Chris Kochmanski, a partner with DesignHub. "The three partners are between 45-55 years old so we're not trying to conquer the world or anything."

That doesn't mean the creative service and marketing firm isn't growing. It added another employee last year, so its head count hits five employees and one independent contractor. It might add another person in the near future, but Kochmanski sees the company barely breaking into the double-digit employee ranks, despite its growing track record.

DesignHub is celebrating its 10th year. The firm gets most of its work through website development, the rest comes from things like creating brochures.

Source: Chris Kochmanski, partner with DesignHub
Writer: Jon Zemke

Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship to mix it up in Ann Arbor

Concentrate Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The call is going out for all new economy entrepreneurs in the Great Lakes to come to the Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship in Ann Arbor on Jan. 22.

The event will serve as a forum and mixer for entrepreneurs and innovators from more than just the Mitten State but also all the states that border the Great Lakes.

"We're trying to build education and we're trying to build growth," says Gerry Rosten, planning chairman for the Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship. He also runs his own consulting company for start-ups call Pair of Docs.

This is not something new. The Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship has been at this for nine years, and has watched a number of successful start-ups participate over that time. They include ElectroJet, which has been sealing deal after deal in Asia, and Hybra-Drive Systems, a big winner of 21st Century Jobs Fund money.

"The companies we have been putting up for presentations and into the pitch competition have become very successful," Rosten says.

This year's showcase presenter is Roger Newton, CEO of Esperion Therapeutics. There will also be an elevator pitch competition and an interactive workshop.

The event will be held between 4-9 p.m. at the Morris Lawrence Building in Washtenaw Community College. Pre-registration costs $9 or $20 at the door.

Source: Gerry Rosten, planning chairman for the Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship
Writer: Jon Zemke

Saline's Pro-face turns industrial into high-tech, plans to add 10-20

Concentrate Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Pro-face of America is the type of industrial-based firm Michigan wishes it had more of. The Saline-based company creates touch-screen computers for factories. It's similar to ATM technology but for factory robots and machines.

"It's basically a PC screen but much more capable," says Gary Labadie, marketing manager with Pro-face of America.

Over the last couple years applications for this technology have expanded, creating a boom for the 30-plus-year-old company, formerly known as Xycom.

Pro-face has added dozens of jobs recently, growing its sales department from nine to 40 people and doubling its marketing department to six people.

The company has done particularly well selling their product around the world, especially in Asia. It is now focusing on greater North American penentration. Labadie expects growth from this market to result in the addition of another 10-20 people within the next year or two.

Source: Gary Labadie, marketing manager with Pro-face of America
Writer: Jon Zemke

Saline : Innovation & Job News