Saline Archives – Page 48 of 50

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

By Newsroom

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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 AmericaWriter: Jon Zemke

Saline’s Pair of Docs sees high tech as Michigan’s economic turnaround

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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September 24, 2008

Looking at Michigan's economic future is sort of a glass half full/half empty experience as of late... except in the case of the people behind one Saline company.Gerry Roston, co-founder of Pair of Docs Consulting, definitely sees the state's glass, especially in the Ann Arbor, as half full and filling quickly."There is a lot of talk of doom and gloom in the state," says Roston. "For those of us involved with the tech start-ups … there is a lot going on. It's hard to imagine that something good isn’t going to happen soon. Something has to pop."Pair of Docs is was founded in 1999 by Roston and his wife, Lorraine Thompson, with a focus on improving business and organizational management for tech start-ups. The two PhDs (Pair of Docs, get it?) are heavily involved with Michigan's efforts to turn its brawn-based economy into a brain-based one. They have worked with the likes of Ann Arbor SPARK and the state's 21st Century Jobs Fund. Roston also serves on the advisory board for Michigan's 21st Century Emerging Technologies Fund. The Salime firm started out with the couple, which often work on separate projects, and will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future. Roston expects to expand as his firm's consulting reputation grows. As he sees it, there should be plenty of that kind of work in Michigan's future.Source: Gerry Roston, co-founder of Pair of Docs ConsultingWriter: Jon Zemke

Saline-based Latitude Consulting Group demonstrates strength of IT industry in SE Michigan

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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September 24, 2008

Latitude is growing, giving the small-town of Saline some big IT punch.Excerpt:Latitude Consulting Group, one of the area's fastest growing IT firms, is leveraging its consulting expertise to generate software solutions marketed to a broader base of clients. The Saline-based firm is seeking to use knowledge gained from specific consulting situations to offer technology to a market starving for specialized IT solutions.Latitude President Jeff Walter said his company's new strategy of identifying generalized software opportunities stemming from specific consulting relationships would foster growth and a new business model of sorts."At the end of the day, our core competency is we are very, very good at developing technical solutions to business problems," Walter said. "Our future is to build a technology service firm."Read the rest of the story here and the story Concentrate wrote about the firm in early June here.