Not all University of Michigan spin-offs live in Ann Arbor. Issys was born from the university in 1995 but it now calls Ypsilanti its home ...and it's creating more and more jobs there.
The high-tech company makes big bucks off of little fluids, specializing in microelectromechanical systems for medical and scientific sensing applications. In everyday English that translates to using micro fluids for research in things like fuel cells. It's hard-to-understand stuff but there's no mistaking the contracts the company's been attracting.
Issys has expanded to 30 employees and hopes to add another six before the end of the year. The firm is able to do this by forming strategic partnerships so it can branch out into new industries, like fuel cells and petro chemicals.
The company recently received a patent for developing a process of making microtube and microfluidic devices. These types of things are helping the company streamline the microfluidic process, making it cheaper.
"Traditionally, this type of technology is somewhat expensive," says Doug Sparks, vice president of Issys.
Source: Doug Sparks, vice president of Issys
Writer: Jon Zemke
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.