Innovation + Job News

The people behind Saleztrack see their business as sort of a Petri dish. They have been experimenting with their technology since the company's founding in 2002 and are now confident to start spreading it across the country to grow the business.

"We are really in launch mode over here," says John Sykes, vice president of sales and marketing for Saleztrack. "We think we have the best technology out there and we're ready to go."

Saleztrack specializes in direct marketing for automotive dealerships. It basically allows them to target customers one on one with things like interactive email and streamlining videos.

Right now 45 people work for the company, which is headquartered out of Troy. Of those about a half dozen work out of its office in TechTown. The firm plans to methodically expand through targeted Midwest markets this year as part of a bigger expansion plan for the whole country. Saleztrack hopes to add 12 sales positions within the next six months and 97 within three years.

Revenue for the business has increased 400 percent year over year for the last 36 months. It hopes to quadruple sales numbers within the next year as it expands.

"It's been proven in a small model so we're ready to take it national," says Bill Lloyd, CEO of Saleztrack. "We have a very aggressive growth pattern."

Source: John Sykes, vice president of sales and marketing for Saleztrack and Bill Lloyd, CEO of Salestrack
Writer: Jon Zemke

Accurate Personnel Management is a TechTown start-up that handles human resources for other new economy start-ups.

"When you're a genius in one field it makes more sense to concentrate more of your time in that field," says James Lavender, a managing member with Accurate Personnel Management.

Lavender and his partner Thor Thorson started Accurate Personnel Management late last year after realizing their knowledge of human resources could make them money by letting other companies make money.

Lavender helped start a new business called Digital 10 Network (the company that put the digital signage on the secretary of state offices) and knew he made the most money when he could make the most of his time.

"Essentially what we do is let these small and mid-sized tech companies to concentrate on their core strategy and leave the mundane HR work to us," Lavender says.

Even though the company is only six or so months old, it now has three employees including the Lavender and Thorson. It hopes to add two more within the not too distant future.

The pair chose TechTown because of its proximity to tech-based start-ups (big surprise) but also because both of them have lived in Detroit for long periods of time and believe in its potential. Lavender had been involved with Ann Arbor SPARK and sees the same things that are making it successful are low-hanging fruit in Detroit.

"We want to be in at the ground floor of that excitement," Lavender says. "We really believe."

Source: James Lavender, a managing member with Accurate Personnel Management
Writer: Jon Zemke

Detroit is still the home of automotive innovation and another chance to revolutionize the industry to make it greener (both environmentally and economically) is coming from the College of Creative Studies. A CCS student's solar-powered car concept won an award from Ford to invent the Model T of the future.

Excerpt:

Automotive industry insiders agree: The gasoline-powered automobile is on the verge of a revolution.

Dong Tran, a 24-year-old junior at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, gave the world a glimpse of what that future might look like Wednesday.

His lithe crossover utility vehicle, with high ground clearance, a strongly differentiated platform and vehicle body and innovative powering concepts won a contest to invent the Model T of the future.

Read the rest of this Detroit Free Press story here.

Being a bit player isn't so bad, especially when it brings in more jobs to an area in need of them. That's what's happening as Hollywood studios are setting up shop in Michigan and opening offices in downtown Detroit.

Excerpt:

Whether Clint Eastwood shoots his next "Dirty Harry" flick in Michigan or not, many in the state say they're feeling lucky because plenty of movie types have already arrived.

Just three weeks ago, the state created what's described as the most progressive incentive package in the nation aimed at attracting film, television and digital media productions. Crews have already set up offices in at least two downtown Detroit buildings as they scout locations ranging from gritty inner city to tony suburb, while a Hollywood producer is training the unemployed in western Michigan for technical positions behind the camera.

Read the rest of this The Detroit News story here.

Display Group — a Corktown-based company — provides products and services for marketing and special events. The 25-person firm (with about another dozen part-time people) expects to hire another half dozen people within the next year.

"The year just ended and our revenue is up 10 percent across the board," says Rick Portwood, president of Display Group. "We had a lot of big clients pull out and we still found ways to fill the gaps."

The 17-year-old company does everything from renting out supplies for tradeshows and corporate events to creating marketing graphics for its customers. The idea is to make their clients look as good as possible to whoever is paying attention.

The firm has been quite successful at it, looking to expand its space on Fort Street on the south side of Corktown. It's currently remodeling 10,000 square feet of its four-story, 165,000-square-foot facility. That new space will be used as a showroom and event space.

Source: Rick Portwood, president of Display Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

An "absolute hatred of the (phone) business" has driven Mark Stackpoole and Ryan Hathaway to create their company, GTS. "The hardest thing I did out of college was get quotes and pricing from these phone companies," Stackpoole says.

GTS deals with primarily with setting up the best deal for telecommunications for its customers. GTS presents itself as a one-stop shop for pricing quotes and service setup for voice and data service providers, i.e. phone companies.

After battling with phone companies for a long time, Stackpoole and Hathaway realized they probably weren’t the only people going through this, which inspired them to start GTS. "Now we're in the trenches helping our clients with the companies," Stackpoole says, adding that their customers don't pay a dime for their services.

"The service is 100 percent free of charge," Stackpoole says. "We get paid by the service providers. We've found that free is looked upon well in this economy."

GTS's revenues have went up 100 percent last year for the six-year-old company with 500 clients and three employees. Stackpoole expects to hire up to five people by the end of the year.

Source: Mark Stackpoole, CEO of GTS
Writer: Jon Zemke

Working together. That's what the editorial board at the Detroit Free Press is advocating in regards to the two light rail plans for the Woodward corridor. The hope is that if the two parties behind the plans (one private and one public) work together, they will bring about the much-needed mass transit line and the much-needed investment and jobs that will follow it.

Excerpt:

Private developers who want to build a light-rail line on Woodward in Detroit might hold the key to this region's first real step toward a mass transit system. To make the most of this opportunity, however, investors must come forward -- now.

Read the rest of this Detroit Free Press story here.

Big money investment is in the plans for two of Michigan's biggest cities. More than $3 billion is improvements to Detroit and Dearborn are set to wrap up by 2010, pumping jobs into the industrialized area.

Excerpt:

A three-square-mile area in southwest Detroit and south Dearborn could see more than $3 billion in improvements to industrial landmarks by the time construction wraps up in 2009-10.

Topping the list is Marathon Petroleum Co. L.L.C.'s Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrade Project between Fort Street and Oakwood Boulevard east of Schaefer Road in southwest Detroit.

It's a $1.9 billion proposal to expand production capacity at Michigan's only oil refinery. The project will be the subject of a public hearing Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality at the Kemeny Center gymnasium in Detroit.

DEQ division manager George Shaffner at the Detroit facility said he will attend that hearing and expects a fair amount of discussion about jobs and the environmental impact.

“We've seen a lot of interest in the jobs that will be generated. That seems to be the biggest concern in the region,” he said.

Read the rest of this Crain's Detroit Business story here.

West Side-based NLM, logistics company since 1987, is expanding its services offered, client list and employee base.

"We expect to experience notable growth over the next several years," says Greg Humes, president of NLM. "We believe our expansion into the aerospace and alternative energy sectors will largely fuel this growth. And despite the dismal news we read in the newspapers, there are opportunities for expansion in the automotive and manufacturing industries for NLM, especially as we continue to adapt and evolve our service offerings."

NLM uses the Internet to manage and support freight shipments and other logistical issues. Its technology allows its customers to bid on freight shipments over the Internet and view their shipments online.

The firm has expanded its services significantly recently, adding Mexico-shipment-management capabilities while nearly doubling its product line-up. It has also been able to make significant impact in the heavy truck market.

NLM expects to expand its employment staff in the near future to help it keep up with demand. However, it intends to match its investment in people with market conditions and service demands.

The company hopes to keep its growth numbers up by expanding a number of key areas, including creating new alliances that will open new doors for the firm to make money and remain flexible. For example, its recent partnership with Ann Arbor-based A3 Integration, a software systems integrator, allows NLM to offer clients a wider range of technology and services.

Source: Jennifer Korail, a spokeswoman for NLM
Writer: Jon Zemke

One of the nation's largest labor law firms is setting up shop in downtown Detroit now that San Francisco-based Littler Mendelson is taking over the boutique law firm DeWitt, Balke & Vincent.

The three attorneys at DeWitt, Balke & Vincent will now head up Littler Mendelson's operations in Detroit as the management-representing firm of more than 700 attorneys expands its offices across the country. Littler Mendelson, founded in 1942, has 45 offices nationwide, in places such as Chicago, Cleveland and Minneapolis.

The Detroit office, located in the Renaissance Center, will represent various businesses in Metro Detroit as well as national entities with labor or employment issues in Michigan. DeWitt, Balke & Vincent tackled similar issues and has worked with Littler Mendelson for more than a decade.

"This addition to Littler Mendelson will significantly enhance our ability to assist employers in this key area of the country," says Marko Mrkonich, managing director and president of Littler Mendelson. "The skills that the DeWitt lawyers bring, combined with a presence in Detroit’s business center, will allow Littler Mendelson to reach a new pool of employers."

Source: Littler Mendelson
Writer: Jon Zemke