2009 – Page 147 of 148

Icrontic guys turn hobby tech writing into new high-tech jobs

By Newsroom

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January 8, 2009

Brian Ambrozy grew up in a blue collar family. Auto-manufacturing jobs have sustained his parents and his grandparents and so on. But he knows those jobs won't last forever.It's one of the reasons why he thinks this will be a break-out year for his website, Icrontic. It's basically a online-only tech journal about what computer geeks love, such as hardware and software, networking and security, gaming, and digital media. "Those (manufacturing) jobs may not be there for my children," Ambrozy says. "I think Detroit is ripe for entrepreneurship in the social media landscape."The Warren-based business is backing up Ambrozy's claim with its success. The website started in 2000 with Ambrozy and two others. The partner who came up with the name died a few years ago without explaining what it meant or where it came from.Today the website employs four people and a huge stable of freelance writers around the world. It has more than doubled its monthly average of page views from 300,000 last year to 750,000 today. That jump allowed Icrontic to hire its first non-partner employee and greatly expand its independent contractor base.Ambrozy sees more growth like that and more in 2009. He wants to push the page-view average past 1 million this year and get more product previews from high-tech firms. That would allow them to add two more people this year."We're calling it the year of Icrontic," Ambrozy says. "Everything we have done in 2007 and 2008 has been laying the foundation for 2009."Source: Brian Ambrozy, Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of IcronticWriter: Jon Zemke

Plex Systems hits record growth in ’08, ready for more

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 8, 2009

Plex Systems, formerly Plexus Systems, is slimming down its name but not its staff. The Auburn Hills-based firm is growing.Plex added 52 new customers in 2008, which allowed its revenue to grow 33 percent. It went from 98 employees in 2006 to 128 today. "It was a very successful year for us," says Patrick Fetterman, vice president of marketing for Plex Systems.The company expects to hire another 20-40 people this year. Those staffers will help fill out the company's new home, which is 20,000 square feet larger.Plex Systems creates enterprise resource planning software and provides the same services on a website. The software lets manufactures work more efficiently. It's widely used in the automotive, defense, life sciences and food & beverage industries.Although it's not as widely known, Plex Systems competes with the likes of Microsoft, Oracle and the European SAP. But at the rate Plex Systems is growing, it might not stay that way for long.Source: Patrick Fetterman, vice president of marketing for Plex SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Virtualeyes sees real growth, to triple staff with 10-12 new jobs

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 8, 2009

Michael Medalia saw the virtues of diversifying Metro Detroit's economy years ago. So much so that he started practicing what he preached, leaving his job in virtual reality development for the auto industry to start his own company.That's how Virtual Eyes began in 2001 with Medalia looking for a way to get off the economic rollercoaster that is the domestic auto industry."The writing was on the wall even way back then," Medalia says.He's pretty thankful that he read it. Today he is CEO of the Troy-based firm that employs five people, three independent contractors and a few interns.Virtual Eyes finds ways to make virtual reality work for everyday businesses. For instance he created programs for destinations that worked like custom video games. It allowed potential investors and customers of the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester and the new YMCA in downtown Detroit get a 3-D feel of what those buildings would be like before they were built.He is now working on a couple of spin-offs that could do the same thing but more for the masses. It would allow DDAs or business owners create virtual reality replica's of the shopping districts and businesses so potential customers could see what they're like without even going there.Medalia is still working on how to make his staff accommodate those plans. It will probably require more hiring, about 10-12 people in the long-term."I would love to beef up staff," Medalia says.Source: Michael Medalia, CEO of Virtual EyesWriter: Jon Zemke

GREEN SPACE: Detroit goes green with new Office of Energy & Sustainibility

By Newsroom

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Environment & Sustainability

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January 8, 2009

Detroit is typically regarded as, well, not-the-most progressive of cities when it comes to sustainability. But that's slowly changing, with recycling and green building on the rise. And it sure doesn't hurt to have the mayor on the right side of the fence. Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. recently created an Office of Energy and Sustainability, which will focus on greening the city from all sides.Some tasks at hand: Evaluating the energy efficiency of city buildings; Working with urban agriculture groups to help develop more farm parcels; and The debut of a pilot curbside recycling program (Read more about that here.)."It's a significant step forward for Detroit," says task force member Jacob Corvidae of WARM Training. "It's stepping up to the demands of the 21st Century."Corvidae, who hopes the task force helps Detroit to position itself as a leader in the growing green economy, has already observed one positive about the group: "It's an important collection of people from a variety of backgrounds," he says. And, as it evolves he wants to see it "keep getting more of the right people to the table."Source: Jacob Corvidae, WARM TrainingWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

ForeSee Results expands in Ann Arbor, plans to hire 30-60

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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January 8, 2009

Ann Arbor's ForeSee Results is looking forward to some formidable growth this year.Excerpt:ForeSee Results isn't suffering from survivor syndrome, but people would understand why if the Ann Arbor-based came down with a case of it.As the economy continues its downward spiral, ForeSee Results continues to enjoy success and grow. "We've been growing at a pretty significant rate in the last couple of years despite the economy," says Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results.The 7-year-old company is moving to bigger spaces on the city's north side, expanding from 15,000 to 40,000 square feet. It needs to after hiring about 50 people last year to create a staff of 140, 85 of which work in Ann Arbor. Freed expects to hire another 30-60 this year.Read the rest of the story here.

XCEND grows to 20 people, plans to add another dozen

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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January 8, 2009

The people behind XCEND Group don't think of their business as small, at least not in the way it does business."We like to think our firm as a small business with a big business mentality," Schoenherr says.Looking at the three founders explains why. All three spent years working for big corporations before striking out on their own four years ago. They ended up creating an IT management and consulting firm.The Brighton-based company now employs 20 people and takes in millions of dollars in revenue each year. Schoenherr expects that growth to continue in 2009. The company is aiming for more than $10 million in revenue and adding about a dozen people to its payroll."It's very aggressive but we're trying to be careful at the same time," Schoenherr says. "It's the only way we can hit our revenue target."Source: Ron Schoenherr, vice president of business strategy for XCEND GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Peoplemovers aims for profits with new website, staff of 200 in 3 years

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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January 8, 2009

Peoplemovers hopes to do for community outreach what LinkedIn did for business networking. Excerpt: Keith Zendler's Peoplemovers has upgraded with a new look and more changes are planned this year. The web site, which he launched from his Boston-Edison home in 2003, serves as a social networking community, like Facebook or MySpace, that focuses on community outreach. "We're providing a low-cost way for communities and organizations to work together so these communities can thrive," Zendler says. Read the rest of the story here.

Single Source Procurement follows Pfizer’s wake, opens Ann Arbor office

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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January 8, 2009

Single Source Procurement is about to open another office, this time in Ann Arbor. Excerpt: Bob Engster is picking up the pieces left behind by Pfizer and making quite the nice chunk of change. The Kalamazoo resident founded Single Source Procurement in 2003 after Pfizer bought Upjohn. It was the corporation's move that left Engster looking for a new job, so he created his own. He was Single Source Procurement's only employee those first few years, helping small companies and start-ups save money whenever they bought, stored or fixed biotech and life sciences equipment. Today he oversees a staff of six in Kalamazoo and plans to open an Ann Arbor office with three employees later this month. It's looking for instrument repair people right now. Read the rest of the story here.

A123 Systems plans to build lithium ion battery plant in Metro Detroit

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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January 8, 2009

Good news... big news is starting to surface in Metro Detroit. The latest installment is A123Systems intention to build a large lithium ion battery manufacturing plant in southeast Michigan.Lithium-ion batteries are seen as a key component in the electrification of future gas-sipping automobiles, such as the Chevrolet Volt. A123 Systems, which has a large office in Ann Arbor, is one of the leaders in the development of this technology.The Massachusetts-based firm is applying for $1.84 billion in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program. That money will build lithium ion battery plants across the America, but the first is planned for Michigan."This plant will be a showcase to our economic turnaround in Michigan," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a press release.A number of world power players have come out in favor of the loans, ranging from the brass at the Big Three to U.S. Sen. John Kerry. If approved, the loans will allow for a dramatic expansion of lithium ion battery production. The plans call for the manufacturing facilities to make enough batteries to power five million hybrid vehicles or half a million plug-in electric vehicles per year by 2013.These plants will create more than 14,000 jobs that will supply lithium ion batteries for the seven automakers and 19 vehicle models that fall under A123 Systems’ umbrella.Source: A123 SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Detroiters Want to Recycle Here

By Jon Zemki

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Community Development

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January 6, 2009

The nonprofit Recycle Here! center is slammed with Detroiters unloading their unwanted paper, plastic and glass, but soon many Detroiters will have a curbside option, too. Green could be very "in" in Detroit in '09.