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SPARKnewsletters
Ann Arbor SPARK Newsletters
- June 2008
Fielding job inquiries in Ann Arbor Posted by nbomey June 09, 2008 11:05AM Since I often write about companies that are planning expansions in the Ann Arbor area, I also seem to get regular calls from readers who want a job from those companies. Not sure if that's a sign of the sluggish economy or just a natural extension of what I do. Probably both, I'm guessing. Problem is I don't hire people. Sorry. However, I still like to help people out, and one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to sign up for Ann Arbor SPARK's weekly job postings newsletter . Amy Cell, managing director of talent enhancement for SPARK, the economic development organization for this region, is constantly communicating with local companies about job openings. Every week she compiles job postings and sends out an e-mail blast to anyone who subscribes. (It's free.) Not only is this a great tool for local jobseekers. But it can also be interesting to see what industries are experiencing growth. In December, I talked to Amy about the trends she was foreseeing for job growth in 2008. Last year, most of the growth was in information technology, life sciences, engineering and marketing and business development. I'd expect that trend to continue this year.Read more from Nathan Bomey in his Ann Arbor Business Review blog, "Michigan Business Innovation." http://blog.mlive.com/businessinnovation/ TOP Ann Arbor SPARK Hosts Annual Board of Director Meeting - Announces New Executive Committee Members, Ypsilanti Incubator Commitment and Pre-Seed Fund Investment Return At the Ann Arbor SPARK annual board meeting, two new members were elected to the Executive Committee. Joining the Executive Committee are Robert J. Buckler, president and COO of Detroit Edison, and Timothy G. Marshall, president and CEO of the Bank of Ann Arbor. Michael A. Finney, president and chief executive officer said that "The new members of our leadership team support Ann Arbor SPARK's goal of engaging community leaders to drive the growth and success of the Ann Arbor region and southeast Michigan." With partners Washtenaw County and Eastern Michigan University, SPARK also announced the approval to negotiate a lease for a business incubator to be located in downtown Ypsilanti, Michigan. Specifically, SPARK is authorized to negotiate and enter into a lease on a business incubator located in downtown Ypsilanti at 15 South Washington Street in a building formerly housing Smith Furniture Company. The SPARK East Business Incubator is planned for approximately 13,000 square feet, housing up to 15 companies. The incubator is expected to be finished for occupancy in the fall of 2008. "In these difficult economic times, SPARK is committed not only to achieving near term positive results such as today's news but also helping to create an exciting long term future for our area." said Rick Snyder, chairman, Ann Arbor SPARK. Additionally, SPARK received the first return on investment from Danotek Motion Technologies, a Pre-Seed Capital investment. "The Pre-Seed Capital Fund is less than a year old and we are very excited to realize the first payback of capital investment with interest. It is a strong sign that these early-stage companies are receiving the funding and resources necessary for their business growth" said Finney. The SPARK Board and Executive Committee received a Pre-Seed Capital Fund update which included the news that Danotek Motion Technologies was the first Pre-Seed recipient to provide a return on investment to the fund of their $100,000 loan with interest. In addition, three other Pre-Seed recipients were acknowledged for their increase in value since the initial fund investment in March, 2007. In total, Danotek Technologies, Pixel Velocity, Inc., OtoMedicine Inc. and Venomix, Inc., increased in valuation of 63%. TOP Business Retention Expansion and Attraction (BREA) Pipeline Includes 62 CompaniesAnn Arbor SPARK?s Business Retention Expansion and Attraction (BREA) Pipeline, the companies that are potential retention or attraction candidates, currently contains 62 companies. James Gartin, SPARK?s managing director of Business Development, believes that the quality of Ann Arbor?s workforce attracts many companies to the Ann Arbor area. Additionally, the high quality of life and low cost of occupancy Michigan offers for employees and companies, respectively, are also significant motivators. The University of Michigan has also attracted new companies to the area by creating both a highly educated workforce that draws companies to the area and innovative students who often create their own start-up companies. Also, SPARK?s business incubators will positively impact the pipeline by contributing start-up companies that outgrow the incubators, such as MyBuys and boomdash. The 2008 BREA pipeline is much larger than 2007?s, a clear sign that SPARK?s efforts are yielding results. Furthermore, Gartin states that expansion and attraction figures for these two years have been similar, which can be seen as an encouraging indication that, ?Our economy has been positive from one year to the next.? A few of our critical expansion and retention successes in 2008 include Sakti3, Toyota and Jac Products. Sakti3 is a start-up which came from the University of Michigan. Specializing in battery technology, Sakti3 hopes to commercialize the battery manufacturing process, hopefully for electric cars, has received over 2 million in funding, and is now in business. Toyota Technical Center announced the expansion of their York Township R&D facility with $102 million in capital investments, creating 465 new jobs. Finally, corporate headquarters for Jac Products considered closing Ann Arbor?s plant and facilities as they closed several of their other plants across the country. However, SPARK worked with local operations and government to provide an attractive incentive package for the company, and was able to entice Jac Products into moving their other facilities to Ann Arbor. This is a key example of both a retention and expansion success. As the year progresses, SPARK hopes to attract a total of five companies, and work with between 30 and 35 companies to expand in terms of either capital investment or employees. TOP SPARK Central Business Incubator Opens SPARK Central business incubator, funded by the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti SmartZone Local Development Finance Authority, recently opened in downtown Ann Arbor. One of the program?s main goals is to reduce the overhead costs many new businesses incur, and thus permit greater business growth. Our CEO Michael A. Finney stresses that ?SPARK Central is designed as a location where early-stage ventures can share infrastructure needs and costs, ultimately freeing up capital to support business acceleration.? Elements of these physical facilities that make them especially responsive to new businesses? needs include flexible and inexpensive leases, access to copiers and fax machines, large meeting spaces, and telephone and internet connections. Businesses selected for the incubator not only receive first-rate office space; our Business Accelerator program also assists these companies in developing their business plans, finding funding, training employees, marketing their business, and networking with other local businesses. Thus, the incubator has become essential to the survival and growth of many innovative new businesses. Businesses currently occupying SPARK Central include urTurn.com, a online social networking company; Boomdash, an internet software service; Vison Interface Technologies, a company that hopes to automate daily actions using cameras that are linked to computers; GTI Risk Management, a personal intelligence agency; and Health Cure, a life science company that hopes to diminish the occurrence of hospital acquired infections. Additionally, due to the success of the SPARK Central business incubator and the Wet Lab at Travelwood, there are plans...