Plymouth - Innovation & Job News

Esperion reintroduces itself with new clinical trial, growth

Source: Concentrate, 11/19/2009

An old successful name is creating some new jobs in the Ann Arbor/Plymouth area.

Excerpt:

Back again for the first time, Esperion is getting its heart rate up as it begins its first clinical trial.

The former Ann Arbor-based firm that now calls Ann Arbor SPARK's Michigan Life Science & Innovation Center in Plymouth home started its first clinical Phase I clinical study since Pfizer spun the company back to its original founder last spring.

Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor , Plymouth

GREEN SPACE: Garden plastics find new life with Plymouth-based Peace, Love & Planet

Source: metromode, 10/22/2009

Gardening is supposed to be a feel-good activity -- healthy and green and all that jazz. What bothered Gina Adams-Levy about it was all the plastic debris she was left with after planting. Flats and containers were piling up, so she looked into options for recycling them -- and found none. She took matters into her own hands and started Peace, Love & Planet, (PLP) a non-profit dedicated to recycling garden plastic not recycled curbside and providing environmental education throughout Metro Detroit.

Two years ago, Adams-Levy, who is Plymouth-based, began her efforts at the Northville Farmers Market; this year PLP collects gardening plastic at five nurseries, two farmers markets, and a wholesale landscaper. She collected just over 7,000 pounds in total; 6,700 were recycled in-state at East Jordan Plastics and the rest was reused by farmers. The sale of the plastic netted just $465, but Adams-Levy says her not-for-profit status allows for other revenue streams, such as grants, to support operations.

PLP travels to various schools to teach kids about not just the importance of recycling, but the impact of consumption in general. "Not only am I concerned about the finite space we have here in Michigan for all of our waste and the nonrenewable resources that we are consuming with all these plastics, but in curbing our petroleum appetite, and reducing and reusing as much as possible," says Adams-Levy.

She will be conducting a series of workshops designed for children and their parents this fall and plans to continue to ramp up both her recycling and educational efforts in the coming year. "It's a hot topic, being green," she says. "But it's not a fad. (We) really need to take it seriously."

Source: Gina Adams-Levy, Peace, Love & Planet
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Sustainability

Plymouth

Keller Williams adds 21, opens downtown Plymouth office

Source: metromode, 3/26/2009

This might be the worst real-estate market in generations, but you can’t tell from the way Keller Williams Plymouth-Canton is growing.

The firm recently added 21 new people to its staff and opened a new office in downtown Plymouth. The company also has big growth plans in the near term, which could mean lots of new jobs.

"That's our big goal," says Lesley Aiello, team leader and broker for Keller Williams Plymouth-Canton. "We're at a total of 89 agents right now. We'd like to be at 110 by the end of this year and 150 within three years."

And that's while real-estate brokerages are closing left and right -- in a time when the term "foreclosure" rolls off the tongue too easily. They recently added almost a dozen new members from a rival brokerage specializing in Plymouth, including a Crain's Power Seller of the Year. Those 11 people are heading up the new downtown office.

"They wanted a presence downtown," Aiello says. "It was very important for them to get a great location."

The firm has done that by restructuring its pay package, enabling its agents to work with less debt.

"I think Keller Williams was a little bit ahead of the pack as far as package pay and carrying debt," Aiello says.

Source: Lesley Aiello, team leader and broker for Keller Williams Plymouth Canton
Writer: Jon Zemke

Wayne County

Plymouth

Secure-24 adding 250-300 jobs, investing $3.7 million in new facilities

Source: Metromode, 3/19/2009

Managed hosting provider Secure-24 is adding 250-300 IT jobs over the next five years to its Southfield and Plymouth Township operations. Secure-24 manages IT systems for middle market companies and large enterprises.

“We’ve been growing every year by about 100 percent for the last six years,” says president and CEO Matthias Horch. “I think businesses have started realizing that they should focus on their core businesses and let others handle their IT needs.”

The consistent growth has the Southfield-based company investing $3.7 million in a new 18,000 square-foot data center in Plymouth Township and a 20,000 square-foot office facility in Southfield, which will allow it to consolidate its operations.

Secure-24 received a $7.1 million tax credit over 10 years from the state to help defray the costs of the build-out.

Horch cited the credit, as well as a public-private partnership with Wayne County designed to consolidate IT projects and attract other IT firms to the area, as his reasons for staying in the state.

Secure-24 is providing 25 people for the Wayne County project. The company is known for its intensive two-year training program in which employees are trained in labs while learning the ropes. Its new hires will include junior and senior positions.

“It’s always a challenge to find the right people, but Michigan has a great resource pool with many leading universities,” Horch says.

Source: Chelsea Nimiac, DP+Company

Writer: Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains.

IT

Plymouth

New Economy Initiative makes big investment in Metro Detroit

Source: metromode, 3/5/2009

The $100 million New Economy Initiative has made its first big investment in southeast Michigan, injecting $11 million into eight projects ranging from job creation to historic renovation.

Ten foundations on the local, regional and national scene created the New Economy Initiative last year to help spur economic transformation in Metro Detroit. The idea is to give targeted grants to areas of the economy that will position southeast Michigan for a robust economic recovery by investing in education, entrepreneurship, new technologies and urban revitalization.

The first round of investments include:

$3 million for the Argonaut Building project. The College for Creative Studies is expanding its campus into the historic Albert Kahn-designed structure behind the old GM headquarters in Detroit's New Center neighborhood.
$2.5 million for Sugar Hill District development. That money will help make possible the University Cultural Center Association's $37 million project that will help develop a dense business-and-residential arts district in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood.
$1.9 million for internships for area college students. The Detroit Regional Chamber is quarterbacking the implementation of a statewide system to place 25,000 Michigan college students in internships. Students are more likely to land jobs and stay in areas where they get internships.
$1.5 million for The Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The consortium of Michigan’s 15 public universities will use the money to help accelerate collaboration and innovative, job-creating research at the universities to the tune of 20 new start-up businesses and entrepreneur initiatives.
$950,000 for Bizdom University. The non-profit that helps turn talented young adults in Detroit into entrepreneurs plans to use the money to double its enrollment this year.
$750,000 for The Life Sciences Innovation Center. That money will help Ann Arbor SPARK turn a former Pfizer laboratory into the Michigan Life Sciences and Innovation Center, a business incubator for life sciences firms and entrepreneurs.
$400,000 to support the Detroit News Bureau. The Detroit Renaissance created the Detroit News Bureau so share local stories of economic growth and transformation with journalists and other opinion makers.
$42,500 to the Detroit Renaissance to support regional planning to grow the health and bio-medical industry. Detroit Renaissance is working with the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and other regional economic development organizations to expand the local health and life-sciences industry.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is administering the New Economy Initiative. Among the participating organizations are the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, Ford Foundation, Hudson-Webber, W.K. Kellogg, John S. and James L. Knight, Kresge, McGregor Fund, Charles Stewart Mott and Skillman foundations.

Source: Edith J. Castillo, Program Officer, New Economy Initiative
Writer: Jon Zemke

Biotechnology , Entrepreneurship , Internships , Investment , Philanthropy / Volunteerism , Wayne County

Ann Arbor , Dearborn , Plymouth

Software game developer bringing 53 new jobs to Plymouth

Source: Metromode, 2/5/2009

Software developer and publisher, Stardock Systems, is expanding its Plymouth Township facility and bringing 53 new, high tech jobs to the community.

Stardock is investing $900,000 to expand its existing 9,000 square foot facility by another 6,000 square feet. Stardock President and CEO Brad Wardell says the company will expand into the new space as soon as possible.

"We were on our way to Washington, but the city and the state really intervened to keep us here," Wardell says. Stardock Systems received a $1.2 million state tax credit through the Michigan Economic Development's (MEDC) MEGA grant program for the project.

An educated workforce that will likely include recent graduates from area colleges, will help Stardock Systems continue enjoying steady growth. Wardell says the company is looking for 3D artists and people who have software development expertise.

"We try to run around a 20 to 30 percent profit margin every year," Wardell says. "The expansion will probably slow down the profit margin initially, but it will help with sustained growth."

SOURCE: Chelsea Niemiec, D+P Company
WRITER: Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains

Computer Game Technology , Entertainment Technology , Redevelopment , Software Design , Video Game Design

Plymouth

Stardock grows in Plymouth, plans to hire 12-18

Source: metromode, 9/4/2008

Stardock is getting ready to come into port this year and bring a lot more people on board, about 12-18.

Computer Game Technology , Software Design , Wayne County

Plymouth

MEDC tax breaks lead to 867 new jobs in Metro Detroit

Source: metromode, 8/21/2008

More companies are cashing in on Metro Detroit, using $11.3 million in tax breaks to invest $34 million in expansion and creation of 867 new jobs.

Alternative Energy , Engineering , Investment , Oakland County , Wayne County

Van Buren Township , Plymouth