North American Bancard uses interns to fill future jobs
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
North American Bancard isn't looking to
only hire members of Metro Detroit's existing work force, it wants to
create its own, too.
The Troy-based firm is turning its
internship program into a talent pool from which it is beginning to
draw heavily. The company is looking to fill out a dozen internships
this year, including a couple for web development and nearly half a
dozen for php application development. More information on those
internships here.
"We've had really good success with our interns," says Deb Fonseca, corporate recruiter for North American Bancard. "We either hire them or extend the internship for another 12 weeks."
The
electronic payment company currently employs 325 people in Troy. It
expects to hire 60 more this year as part of a plan to create 1,500 new
jobs over the next decade. A sizeable portion of those new hires will
come from the firm's internship program, which is expected to expand
rapidly over the next few years.
"We're growing incredibly fast," Fonseca says. "This is a great environment for interns."
North American Bancard, founded in 1992, creates the hardware and software shoppers use to swipe debit and credit cards. The Michigan Economic Development Corp recently gave the company a $21.5 million tax credit over 12 years so it would focus its expansion efforts in Metro Detroit.
Source: Deb Fonseca, corporate recruiter for North American Bancard
Writer: Jon Zemke
Retail 3 opens doors in Troy with 52 new jobs
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
Troy-based Retail 3 has three focuses
when it comes to building businesses – retail strategy, retail
activation, and retail metrics. It's where the new advertising firm's name comes from.
"It's the best time to start a company like this," says Harold Kobakof, president of Retail 3. "Retail has never been tougher than it is right now and every dollar needs to be maximized."
The new company has a staff of 52, many of whom come from BBDO Worldwide, the former ad house for Chrysler. It hopes to grow its staff as the company establishes itself as a national advertising firm.
Retail
3 uses a proprietary system to analyze the productivity of every
marketing effort. The idea is to identify what drives traffic and
advertising and how to best maximize the profit potential each
represents.
"We make a connection between the message, the medium and the sale," says Kobakof.
Source: Harold Kobakof, president of Retail 3
Writer: Jon Zemke
Oakland INCubator plans to create microloan fund
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
Ann Arbor SPARK isn't going to be the
only economic development agency with a microloan fund, now that
Oakland University's INCubator is taking steps to create its own.
"During
the spring and summer months we will be forming the microloan fund and
seeking interested investors to initiate that fund," says David
Spencer, executive director of the Oakland University INCubator. "As soon as that fund is fully formed we will be seeking candidates interested in participating with this new program."
Right
now it's working out an agreement with the Rochester Downtown
Development Authority. After that is finalized, the INCubator will
begin fundraising efforts with a goal of raising $300,000-$400,000 in
private sector cash. The Rochester DDA might also choose to match a
portion of this fund up to $100,000. Spencer also stresses that the
INCubator will not begin taking applications for loans until the fund
is formed and an announcement saying as much is made.
After the money is raised the INCUbator will identify key emerging sectors to target with the money, such as Medical Mainstreet. It could also identify retail businesses that would be attractive to bring to downtown Rochester that currently don't exist.
Microloan funds make loans
from between a few thousand to tens of thousands dollars to small
businesses, usually of the new economy kind. Ann Arbor SPARK
administers Michigan's Microloan Fund, plus a few geared specifically
for Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor businesses.
The INCubator's microloan
fund will provide loans from $5,000 to $50,000 to entrepreneurs, early
stage ventures, and growth companies in an effort to attract more new
companies to the northern Oakland County area. Organizers anticipate
the loan fund will be available in the next 12-18 months.
The $1.5 million Michigan Microloan Fund Program
is made up of three distinct microloan funds, including the Eastern
Washtenaw Microloan Fund ($225,000), Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund ($1
million), and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Local Development Financing
Authority ($275,000). The Michigan Microloan Fund Program, which is
administered by Ann Arbor SPARK, has distributed $911,500 to 23 companies since last year.
Source: Oakland University and David Spencer, executive director of the Oakland University INCubator
Writer: Jon Zemke
Automation Alley partners in education program to create 3,000 defense jobs
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
Automation Alley is helping Metro Detroit
capitalize on its re-emerging defense sector by spearheading a new
education program that promises to create a retooled local workforce in
the defense industry.
The Southeast Michigan Educational
Partnership Program is a collaboration between the Oakland County
Technology Business Association, the Defense Acquisition University,
and a number of local colleges, universities, and area defense
organizations. It's focusing on college students, disabled veterans,
and unemployed workers. It's expected to help create 3,000 new jobs in
southeast Michigan over the next five years.
"The graduates will
be able to apply for jobs at defense contractors, the Dept of Defense,
and other federal agencies across the U.S.," says Carl Hayden,
associate dean of academics for the Midwest Region of the Defense Acquisition University.
It
will specialize in technical areas, such as contracting; life cycle
logistics, systems planning, R&D, and financial management, among
many others. For information, contact Automation Alley’s Resource Center at (800) 427-5100 or info@automationalley.com.
Source:
Automation Alley and Carl Hayden, associate dean of academics for the
Midwest Region of the Defense Acquisition University
Writer: Jon Zemke
Troy's ilumisys sets sights on expansion of LED market
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
Troy-based ilumisys sees some big future gains for its lighting products, especially the growing LED market.
The subsidiary of Altair Engineering
expects to hire as many as 200 people over the next five years as the
LED light movement gains traction. LED lights are the
ultra-energy-efficient lights that are seen as the next generation of
lighting and eventual replacement of fluorescent tube lights, like CFLs.
"It can safely be assumed that LEDs can take 10 percent of the fluorescent tube market," says David Simon, president of ilumisys. "That becomes a very large number."
That
market checks in at about $10 billion, and LEDs are seen as the primary
successor to it. So much so that ilumisys is increasingly drawing on
its parent company's resources to meet its demand, stepping up its
research and development efforts by 50 percent in 2009.
"Many,
many people from Altair Engineering contribute to ilumisys," Simon
says. "This is one of the advantages of being part of a global company."
Source: David Simon, president of ilumisys
Writer: Jon Zemke
Team Detroit diversifies client base; up to 60 job openings
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
Nearly four years ago, seven advertising
companies under the Ford banner combined into one super advertising
agency – Team Detroit. Today, that consolidated entity is diversifying
its clients and hiring.
The Dearborn-based firm that started
with Ford now counts the likes of Scott's Miracle Gro, Bell Helicopter,
and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as its clients. It added six new
clients in 2009 and has 50-60 open positions today.
"We wanted to do a different business model of advertising," says George Rogers, president and CEO of Team Detroit. "We created a grocery store of advertising options where everyone works together."
That
includes people from well-known names like J Walter Thompson making up
a staff of 1,100 people. Today, that staff is helping Team Detroit
further diversify its client base and making Ford more globally active
in places, like Europe, Asia, and South America.
Source: George Rogers, president and CEO of Team Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
DTE Energy signs $18M solar energy contract
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
DTE Energy is taking another step toward
reaching Michigan's new Renewable Portfolio Standard for alternative
energy, now that it's getting ready to install a whole bunch of solar
panels.
Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of the downtown Detroit-based firm, has signed an $18 million contract with Novi-based Nova Consultants.
The two will work with the utility's SolarCurrents renewable energy
program to create three megawatts of new solar panels in southeast
Michigan over the next year.
Nova will analyze the feasibility,
design, and installation of photovoltaic solar systems on the roofs of
both Detroit Edison-owned buildings and those of its customers. Think
large industrial buildings.
"We're in the beginning stages of a number of different solar projects," says Scott Simons, a spokesman for DTE Energy.
The
RPS requires that 10 percent of the utility's power generation come
from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2015. DTE Energy has acquired easements
on 75,000 acres of land in Huron County in Michigan's Thumb region for
development of large-scale wind farms. The company also has two solar
energy pilot projects that could produce about 20 megawatts of power.
Source: Scott Simons, a spokesman for DTE Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke
Stunt3 Multimedia hires 6, plans to hire more
Source: metromode, 3/11/2010
Stunt3 Multimedia might be working on a film about the little leagues, but it's starting to line up some big league hits.
The
downtown Detroit-based start-up is finishing a promising documentary
about Little League Baseball and is getting ready to take on an even
larger project about it this year. All of this work has allowed the
company, which works out of the Ford Building, to hire six people,
bring on an intern, and give work to two independent contractors. The
company hopes to double or even triple its employee staff of seven
people within the next two years.
Brian Kruger started the
company a year and a half ago after he sustained a profitable exit from
another company he started in 2002. Stunt3 Multimedia focuses on motion picture production, film restoration, and online media software.
The company has spent the last eight months working on The Girl in Centerfield, a full-length documentary about Carol King and how she became the first girl to play Little League Baseball
in 1973. It is looking at either taking the film through the festival
circuit or selling it to a premium cable TV channel, such as HBO.
"We're
planning for a June 1st release date," says Kruger, who serves at
Stunt3 Multimedia's president and CEO. "It's 90 percent done."
The
company is also planning to film a series of 5-10 minute vignettes
about famous Little League players for ESPN this summer. The series
would focus on people who might be legends in the Little League world
but didn't necessarily latch on to professional sports.
Stunt3
Multimedia is also trying to bring film restoration (both traditional
and digital film) work to Detroit. The industry, which is mainly based
in India at present, could lead to 100-200 new jobs at the company if
it can pull off its plans to make that happen.
Source: Brian Kruger, president and CEO of Stunt3 Multimedia
Writer: Jon Zemke