Economic Development

LLamasoft adds new hires, opens China and UK offices

By Newsroom

●

April 13, 2011

LLamasoft is hiring, a practice the downtown Ann Arbor-based firm is planning to keep up in the near term.When we last checked in with LLamasoft a year ago, the logistics company had just moved into new space in the First National Building and expanded its staff to 30 people. Today it has 50 employees and a few summer interns, thanks to a 120-percent revenue jump in 2010."We're hiring as fast as we can," says Toby Brzoznowski, executive vice president of LLamasoft. "We'll likely hit 65-70 employees by the end of the year. We've also opened an office in the UK and we're opening an office in China."LLamasoft has become a go-to solution in its space over the last 18-24 months, Brzoznowski says. That has led to increased demand across the board, with growth in the retail sector leading the way. The company has expanded its space in the First National building, including taking over another floor."We want to stay downtown," Brzoznowski says. "Our clients are Fortune 500 companies, global companies. They appreciate our location with the restaurants and the retail."Source: Toby Brzoznowski, executive vice president of LLamasoftWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Latest in Economic Development

Q LTD thrives on refreshing client brands

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

April 13, 2011

Q LTD knows brands. It knows when they're old, when they're new, and when they need refreshing. That last part is what is helping the Ann Arbor-based company grow these days. It recently refreshed the brand for the University of Michigan's School of Nursing, redoing its website, marketing materials for prospective students, and creating a strategy to coordinate these things. It also has done similar work for other local institutions, such as the Ypsilanti District Library. "They're 20 years old and realizing they need to have a current brand that matches what they do," says Paul Koch, creative strategist for Q LTD.The 30-year-old company has slowly grown through partnerships (it regularly collaborates with a European firm on its corporate culture) and good old slow, organic growth. It now has an employee base of 15 people and two interns, who work mostly in its Kerrytown office.This month Q LTD added a new employee, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan performing arts technology program who has worked as a media consultant for the University of Michigan Health System, Guitar World magazine, and Ghostly International. He will focus on digital media and has a decade of experience in creating websites. Source: Paul Koch, creative strategist for Q LTDWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Adeona Pharma raises $3.5 million in new capital

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

April 13, 2011

Adeona Pharmaceuticals has increased its liquidity by $3.5 million after selling 1.6 million shares of common stock.The Ann Arbor-based company plans to use that new pool of money to further the development of its reaZin and Trimesta pharmaceutical programs. "It enables us to have the funding available for additional programs in the future," says James Kou, CEO of Adeona Pharmaceuticals. "There are a lot of growth opportunities for us."Adeona Pharmaceuticals specializes in drugs that address problems in the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's. It commonly licenses these drugs at the clinical stage to large pharmaceutical companies.Trimesta, which is well into clinical trials, is being developed for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. So far the trial for the oral drug is 85 percent enrolled and is expected to fill completely later this year. Also in the midst of development is reaZin, a zinc-based medical food product candidate for Alzheimer's.Source: James Kou, CEO of Adeona PharmaceuticalsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

$1 million expansion, green redo takes hold at Ypsilanti’s Corner Brewery

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

April 13, 2011

After entering into their first international brewery franchise in Bangalore, India, Matt and Rene Greff are uncapping other ambitious plans for the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. This time it's a $1 million complete green energy renovation and new addition to the premises.Still in the final stages of obtaining necessary approvals from the city, they hope to break ground on the addition before the end of April, says co-owner Rene Greff. The 2,000-square-foot pre-fab steel structure will be used for storage and a new bottling line, which will allow for the packaging of product in advance. The company has been packaging to order, which was causing lag time and difficulty in keeping up with demand. "We have been experiencing production growth between 20-30% over the last couple of years and we definitely think that will continue and could even accelerate," she notes.The new addition will have a ground water heating and cooling temperature-controlled system and solar tube lighting. Those eco-friendly features will be echoed in the main building as well, which will be undergoing a green energy renovation with the same ground water heating and cooling system and a combination of solar thermal and photovoltaic panels for heating and electricity. New offices for management will also be constructed there. Greff hopes the addition and move will be done by mid-May and the rest of the green renovations by July.The Greffs also have a $75,000 installation of groundwater, solar, and photovoltaic technologies planned for their Arbor Brewing Company brewpub in downtown Ann Arbor. Energy cost savings should in the area of 30-50%, Greff figures, and taking into account the federal tax grants and incentives from DTE, a five-year payback period on the project. "It's a pretty incredible investment," she says.Source: Rene Greff, co-owner, Corner Brewery and Arbor Brewing CompanyWriter: Tanya Muzumdar

Ann Arbor’s downtown development paves the way for new power substation in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Development News

●

April 13, 2011

In a nod to downtown Ann Arbor's expected 24/7 population growth and the lifestyle businesses popping up to serve those new residents, DTE Energy plans to break ground on a new power substation this autumn.The $10 million, 13.2-kV Buckler substation will be built on DTE-owned property, on the rear portion of the Ann Arbor Service Center plot at 982 Broadway, says DTE Regional Manager Paul Ganz. The necessary overhead and underground lines are already in place. Representatives from the utility will go before the city planning commission next month.Some may point to the existing Argo substation across the street, Ganz notes, but "Argo is an older substation and it's been built out and modernized as much as possible and the new substation will be built in a fashion that we can accommodate the new load going in downtown and at the same time...we're going to re-balance the load." About 16 development projects either new or in-progress since 2008 include the Google AdWords headquarters and multi-unit housing at 601 Forest, the Village Green complex, and both Zaragon Place Lofts properties. And those employees and residents may want to plug in their Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF cars."Electric vehicles are an additional portion of the load that we expect to be in Ann Arbor because it is known for its environmentally conscious population," says Scott Simons, a spokesperson for DTE Energy."We expect that there'll be more electric vehicles in Ann Arbor than in other places in our service area."Ganz expects the new substation should be online by spring 2013.Sources: Paul Ganz, DTE regional manager; Scott Simons, DTE Energy spokespersonWriter: Tanya Muzumdar

The Michigan Department Of Zingerman’s?

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 13, 2011

"Bureaucrat" and "customer service" are two words that seem incompatible and contradictory. Nevertheless, Governor Rick Snyder thinks Lansing employees could learn a thing or two from Zingerman's "service culture" training. Does that mean license renewal will include a complimentary bagel with cream cheese? One can dream, right? Excerpt: "The state of Michigan wants to raise its service game, and it is turning to entrepreneurial businesses for help. Zingerman's, an Ann Arbor–based deli and food company at which doing the right thing by customers is bred in the bone, has stepped up to train government employees in service culture. Michigan's new governor, Rick Snyder, posed the idea to Paul Saginaw, a co-founder of Zingerman's, when the two crossed paths at an awards dinner last winter. "I said, 'Are you serious?' " recalls Saginaw. "But I thought, Wouldn't it be great if the orientation of public servants was, My job is to be your resource. You are paying my salary. How do I help you get your business open?"" Read the rest of the story here. And a local follow up here.

Concentrate Speaker Event – Canceled

By Concentrate Staff

●

Economic Development

●

April 13, 2011

Everyone knows it's all about who you know. Whether it's work, play, politics, or business we're all looking for a community to plug into. Concentrate's monthly Speaker Series has invited A2's version of Kevin Bacon (he's probably far less than six degrees from you) to take us through the ins and out of organizing a successful meet up. Sign up now for Ed Vielmetti's April 21st talk.

RollingEdge strategy consultancy stabilizes clients

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 6, 2011

If experience is the best teacher, then it can also serve as a decent business model. That's how Rangarajan Tirumala's second business, Rolling Edge, got started.The techie and partner at InfoSoft hung on when the company recently went through a number of ups and downs thanks to the local and national economies. He and his partners steadied the tech firm, putting it on a profitable footing once again. Now Tirumala is turning that experience into a business consultancy based in downtown Ann Arbor.Rolling Edge provides software applications that help a business get its basics back under control. That includes work flow, supply chain management, and price analysis and simulation. The 5-year-old company's team of about half a dozen people also advises companies about when they should outsource and how to do it properly and within cost limits."I wanted to build a model that instills stability in an organization," Tirumala says. Rolling Edge focuses on small-to-medium-sized businesses and is based in Ann Arbor to avail itself to the area's vibrant ecosystem of tech firms. Tirumala is shooting for his company to hit $2 million in revenue within the next year and to add a few more people to his team in that time. He is looking for experienced candidates who have been through the ups and downs of the economy."If they have seen the ups and downs then they will bring an ocean of experience," Tirumala says.Source: Rangarajan Tirumala, owner & founder of Rolling EdgeWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

CADcorporation poised to grow through Friends Learn 3-D video game arm

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

April 6, 2011

Higher education has been a major inspiration in Bhargav Sri Prakash's business life. It inspired him to start CADcorporation and reinvent it with a potentially big video game spin-off, Friends Learn.Sri Prakash started CADcorporation in 2001 after taking a business class at the University of Michigan entitled, "Idea to Ideal in 14 Weeks." A little bit of seed capital and team work later, and the budding entrepreneur began to sink his business roots in Ann Arbor."The goal of the class wasn't just to work on a business plan but to start a company," Sri Prakash says. "That got me thinking about how I could do this for real."Today CADcorporation, a simulation technology firm, has 11 employees and six independent contractors and interns. It began experimenting with video games a few years ago and ended up helping the U-M Law School create 3-D video games, now commonly called Vmerse, to recruit students.That blossomed into Friends Learn, which is producing a line of 3-D video games that revolve around higher education. About 3-5 people at CADcorporation are working on its video game arm. Sri Prakash expects Friends Learn to develop four game titles with 200,000-500,000 users, while expanding the project team to a dozen people. It's part of his plan to spin Friends Learn out into its own company."It's poised to take off," Prakash says.Source: Bhargav Sri Prakash, CEO of CADcorporationWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M Law Quadrangle to get $39 million refurbishing

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

April 6, 2011

The stone-and-Gothic Law Quadrangle, an area of the University of Michigan campus that personifies the university's "Public Ivy" cachet, is now due for a $39 million recasting. At its meeting last month, the U-M Board of Regents approved upgrades to the Lawyers Club dormitory wing and the John P. Cook buildings. The Lawyers Club was erected in 1924 and the John P. Cook Building in 1931. Their makeover will be part of a larger expansion project at U-M's law school that also calls for a new academic building to rise on the corner of State and Monroe streets. Just over half the cost will be funded through a $20 million gift from U-M alum Charles T. Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corp. The balance comes from investment proceeds and the Lawyers Club's own funds.The fixes in both buildings (with a combined total of about 159,000 square feet) will be largely mechanical. Plans call for new HVAC and fire detection and suppression systems, plumbing, and high-speed internet. In the Lawyer's Club, where approximately 260 students reside, separate "townhouse-style" entries to dorm rooms will be replaced with interior hallways and the club wing will get a new roof. The facilities' energy performance is expected to beat national energy efficiency standards by over 30 percent. The project designers will be Hartman-Cox Architects and SmithGroup. A schematic design is forthcoming.Source: University of Michigan Board of RegentsWriter: Tanya Muzumdar