Llamas might not be the easiest animals to work with at times, but the technicians at LLamasoft are proving to be a easy fit when it comes to compatability. The Ann Arbor-based firm has plans to open an office in Europe and add a handful of new workers this year.
Ann Arbor is scoring again, this time luring California-based MyBuys to set up an office in Tree Town. The deal, brokered by the Michigan Economic Development Corportation, will create 250 new jobs directly and another 350 spin-off jobs.
The commercial art firm Hook plans to start creating a bigger presence in Ann Arbor. The 3-D advertising start-up plans to add up to six people by the end of the year and another half dozen next year.
Laser technology is joining the ranks of new economy industries taking root in Ann Arbor. Laser-maker IMRA America is moving forward with plans to expand its R&D facilities in Ann Arbor Township and add another 20 jobs.
Keeping track of men and materials can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency. That's why a couple of Metro Detroit entrepreneurs started ERT Systems. The start-up hopes to add six more people to its payroll this year and another 12 or so next year.
Third time is definitely the charm for Ann Arbor's NanoBio. The UofM spin-off recently received its third installment of venture capital ($10 million) and it hopes to create more research jobs in the near future.
More work, more money and more jobs are in line for ForeSee Results. The Ann Arbor-based, Web site-information firm expects to add 45 people this year for a total of about 150 employees.
A couple of entrepreneurs are working to build a better tent in Ypsilanti, a tent that will generate electricity with solar panels. The startup ShadePlex is ready to spread it wings this year, start raising money and hire people.
A little Ann Arbor new media start up is starting to really gear up for some success. Fluency Media recently helped make Michigan's travel Web site the most popular in the U.S. last year. Fluency also expects to grow its revenue by 50 percent this year.
David Fry, the computer science doctor from Harvard, grew a family printing and publishing company from Mechanicsburg, Penn., into Fry, Inc., a $55-million-a-year electronic commerce business in Ann Arbor.
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