Novi

NOVA Consultants’ alternative energy work creates 20 jobs

By Newsroom

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April 28, 2011

NOVA Consultants got its start nearly 20 years ago as an environmental engineering company. Since then the Novi-based firm has transitioned to construction management, and most recently to an alternative energy firm where it has really hit its stride.NOVA Consultants beat out dozens of other firms, some much bigger, in 2009 to become one of the companies managing DTE Energy's SolarCurrents program. Since then it has hired more than 20 people, expanding its staff to 35 employees, 15 independent contractors, and 1-2 interns. Most of them are working on solar energy projects."It provided numerous employment opportunities in Michigan," says Sunil Agrawal, president of NOVA Consultants. "One hundred percent of the work we do is in Michigan."NOVA Consultants now considers itself a renewable energy services firm and is riding that wave to significant growth. It plans to continue working with the SolarCurrents program through its second phase, a move that should allow the company to double its revenue and add another 20 jobs over the next year.Source: Sunil Agrawal, president of NOVA ConsultantsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

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By Prosper Oakland County, MI

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Arts and Culture

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April 18, 2011

Garmin to open office in Novi

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 14, 2011

Garmin, the name most associated with auto navigation technology, has decided to take up residence in the Detroit area. Hmmm. It wouldn't have anything to do with the Big Three's recent claim on one-third of the U.S. auto market? Nah. Probably just a coincidence. Excerpt: "This new office will expand our presence in the Detroit area and provide our present and future (automotive original equipment manufacturers) customers with immediate, on-the-ground service," Garmin President and COO Cliff Pemble said in a Monday release. The new office "at the hub of the automotive industry will only improve our ability to serve our global customers," he said. Read the rest of the story here.

Red Level Networks grows biz, ranked as a best and brightest company to work for

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 14, 2011

Red Level Networks is ramping up its revenue numbers and raking in some awards this year.The Novi-based IT firm has watched its revenue jump another 20 percent in the last year, consistent with its history of 20 percent year-over-year gains. Making that possible is a 25 percent increase in its data storage services and double-digit expansion of its cloud services arm."We saw a tremendous amount of growth through data storage and data storage virtualization," says David King, president & CEO of Red Level Networks. He adds that "there was such a lull in 2008-09 that there is a pent up demand that took hold last year and is continuing to drive the market today."Red Level Networks has also been racking up the awards recently. It was listed as one of Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. King was also recognized as an Entrepreneur of Distinction in Corp! Magazine last year, the second year in a row.Red Level Networks added three positions last year, rounding out its headcount to 20. King expects to hire a few engineers and account executives later this year.Source: David King, president & CEO of Red Level NetworksWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Oakland County Medical Main Street now $61M program; 45,000 jobs to come

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 7, 2011

A now 3-year-old Anderson Economic Group study called for the health-care and life science sector to be the fastest-growing in Oakland County, prompting it to create the Medical Main Street program to encourage investment. That prediction is beginning to ring true today.The Oakland County Medical Main Street program scored investments totaling $34.8 million from five companies either moving or expanding in the county in the first quarter of this year. This contributed to the creation or retention of more than 1,000 jobs. Fifteen companies have put $61 million into Medical Main Street since it was founded in 2008, a trend Oakland County officials expect to continue as the economy rebounds."We're seeing this accelerating," says David Schreiber, chief strategist for Oakland County Economic Development. "This is trending upward."Among the recent investments are $3.7 million (162 new jobs) from Ascendant MDx for a new clinical laboratory for diagnostic tests in Farmington Hills and $28 million (640 new jobs) from health-care info tech provider CareTech Solutions to complete the second phase of its expansion project. Oakland County already had a strong base in the health-care and life sciences industries. The 2008 study shows approximately 93,000 jobs at about 4,300 life science and medical facilities there. About 45,000 more positions are expected over the next 10 years.Source: David Schreiber, chief strategist for Oakland County Economic DevelopmentWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Smart meters spreading across Oakland County

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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April 7, 2011

Installation of high-tech electric meters that will change the way DTE Energy receives power usage information and increase customers' control over energy use has begun in Oakland County.Over the next several months about 350,000 meters will be placed at homes and businesses in 25 communities: Berkley, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Clawson, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Franklin, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Northville, Novi, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Royal Oak Township, Southfield, Southfield Township, Troy, Walled Lake, and Wixom.This portion of the installation of the "smart" meters come at a cost of about $168 million, half of it from a Smart Grid Investment Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The meters will form what DTE Energy is calling "the backbone" of its SmartCurrents program. DTE's matching $84 million grant helps achieve a nationwide effort to update the country's electrical grid.The meters will provide detailed information about energy usage directly to DTE, recognize power outages without customer input, and allow DTE to quickly locate and repair outages and other service problems. The meters will nearly eliminate estimated billing and allow for service to be remotely connected or disconnected rather than requiring appointments with technicians. In addition, technology will be wired into the meters to allow customers to better manage their energy usage and bills. The SmartCurrents technology can be tied to similarly "smart" appliances, thermostats, and such. The DOE funding will allow DTE Energy to offer an in-home display product and special thermostats to nearly 1,500 customers. Check out smartcurrents.com for more information.DTE has installed about 250,000 meters so far in Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Commerce Township, Grosse Ile, Harsen's Island, and West Bloomfield Township. By early 2012 a total of about 600,000 meters will have been installed.Source: Scott Simons, spokesman, DTE EnergyWriter: Kim North Shine

Oakland County surfs for new ideas via crowdsourcing site

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 24, 2011

Lots of politicians pay lip service to listening to their constituents' ideas and even implementing a few here and there. Oakland County is looking to take that a step further with its new online crowdsourcing initiative.Excerpt:Every city, county and state these days is faced with hard decisions about budget cuts and reorganization — and even harsher feedback from residents after the cuts are made. Oakland County, Mich., has found a way to use technology to spark that citizen-to-government communication during the decision-making process. County officials launched an online public forum so residents can be an integral part of making tough budget decisions. The website, http://oakgov.ideascale.com, gives citizens the opportunity to respond to questions, make suggestions and post comments. Citizens can also rank the county's proposals by voting for the ideas they like best on every issue, from technology to parks and recreation."Since we are using social media in so many different ways here, we thought … what is the next wave of how we engage our citizens in the process?" said Phil Bertolini, Oakland County's deputy county executive and CIO. "In a focus group, you put 20 people in a room, you ask the idea and you get 20 opinions. If you use crowdsourcing, you put out an idea and you get thousands of opinions. More minds and more ideas make for a better product."Read the rest of the story here.

DornerWorks opens engineering office in Novi, plans for 10-15 hires

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 17, 2011

DornerWorks is moving east and setting up a Metro Detroit office this year.The Grand Rapids-based engineering firm is in the process of opening up an office in Novi that will serve its clients in the tri-county, Flint and Ann Arbor areas. Five employees will seed the Metro Detroit office, which is expected to hold 15-20 people by the end of the year."Our business on the east side of the state has been growing dramatically in the last 9-12 months," says Jason Lovell, vice president of sales & marketing for DornerWorks. "To better service our customers on the east side we want to be closer to them. And we want to attract some new customers."DornerWorks specializes mainly in aerospace engineering services. However, the Novi location will primarily handle engineering work in the automotive, medical and industrial sectors. Source: Jason Lovell, vice president of sales & marketing for DornerWorksWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Oakland County announces cloud computing, Wi-Fi initiatives

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 3, 2011

Oakland County is making more and more of its IT and tech services wireless, according to County Executive L Brooks Patterson in his State of the County speech on Tuesday.Oakland County will introduce a cloud computing initiative where it will conduct its own IT services through the cloud computing platform, and offer the services to local municipalities. The new program will eliminate the need for each local government entity to have its own servers and applications, instead accessing the county's for a nominal fee. The first offering will be Oakland County's eHealth software.The county is also revamping its Wireless Oakland initiative with a new partnership with Frankenmuth-based Air Advantage. The 8-year-old Internet provider will provide Wi-Fi services to communities in northern Oakland County, utilizing the county's towers. In exchange for selling these services, Air Advantage will provide free wireless Internet in some downtowns, starting with Holly, Oxford and Clarkston. More communities will be announced later this year."Our philosophy is all people should have access to the Internet," says Scott Zimmer, president of Air Advantage. "The Internet is becoming a necessary utility like electricity or water."Making this deal possible is a $64 million grant from the federal stimulus package. The grant is meant to help Air Advantage make Internet services available in underserved areas within a 13-county section of eastern Michigan. That section stretches from Bay County to the north, Shiawassee County to the west and Oakland County to the south.Source: Oakland County and Scott Zimmer, president of Air AdvantageWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Service And Sustenance

By Kelly Quintanilla

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Community Development

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February 3, 2011

April Meyers is from here, wanted to stay here, and wanted to make a difference. But that's harder than it sounds when you're a recent college grad in search of work. Luckily, VISTA offered her an opportunity to do good and do it in Metro Detroit. Now, Meyers is helping establish a food pantry and community garden program at Schoolcraft College.