Ann Arbor USA Blog » funding

Akervall Technologies Repays $15,000 Michigan Microloan Fund Program Award

Jenn Cornell — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:23:08 +0000

Sassa Akervall, COO of Akervall Technologies, and Skip Simms, senior vice president of Ann Arbor SPARK

Akervall Technologies recently repaid its Michigan Microloan Fund Program award, making it the first microloan recipient to repay funding. The company, whose work on the innovative Protech Dent™ mouth guard was also awarded phase I SBIR funding, repaid its $15,000 microloan in just 15 months, nine months before it was due.

“Akervall Technologies is the perfect example of how the microloan funding is suppose to work,” said Skip Simms, Ann Arbor SPARK senior vice president and administrator of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program. “Microloan funding helped Akervall jump the chasm between development and commercialization, providing a boost that the company used to market its product and acquire customers. The Michigan Microloan Fund Program fills a critical funding gap for emerging companies entering the market.”

The Protech Dent is a semi-custom mouth guard made of a non-compressible thermoplastic with precisely positioned perforations that disperse impact forces before they can reach the teeth, using crumple zones to further reduce impact.

“The microloan we received from Ann Arbor SPARK helped us to buy goods for our first inventory of products and to redo our website,” said Sassa Akervall, chief operating officer, Akervall Technologies. “We were also able to bring in consultants to help us with social media marketing and a market analysis, activities that were invaluable in helping us lining up the right avenues for marketing and sales.”

“Akervall Technologies is now in a position of seeing our sales increase by 300 percent this year,” Akervall added. “We are currently launching a new sales organization for North America and are also seeing an increase in international sales. All of this activity was initiated with the help of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program award.”

The $15,000 of principal plus interest Akervall Technologies paid will be re-invested in the Michigan Microloan Fund Program.

Liebherr-Aerospace expands facility, adds 20 jobs

Jenn Cornell — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:24:20 +0000

Liebherr-Aerospace, located in Saline, is adding 33,000 sq ft to its existing 100,000 sq ft facility. As part of the company’s expansion, it will also add 15-20 new jobs. This expansion will help the company accommodate increased demand for its services.

“Liebherr-Aerospace is able to expand in the Ann Arbor region, in part, because of its access to highly skilled, technical talent,” said Paul Krutko, Ann Arbor SPARK president and CEO. “The region’s talent base provides a distinct competitive advantage for manufacturers and service providers; Ann Arbor is rich with the ingredients that businesses of all sizes need to grow. Ann Arbor SPARK is pleased to have worked with Liebherr and the City of Saline in securing economic incentives to support this expansion.”

According to its website, Liebherr is a supplier of technically innovative user-oriented products and services in numerous fields.

Liebherr will start its expansion soon, with completion scheduled for spring 2012.

AnnArbor.com has a great article on the expansion, including additional details on hiring and the company’s operations.

Lakeside Software to Expand with New Ann Arbor Facility

admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:16:42 +0000

Lakeside Software will grow its software development operations in Michigan, with a new location in Ann Arbor and an expansion to its existing operations in Bloomfield Hills. The company recently received a Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) tax credit totaling $731,244 to help encourage the expansion.

Lakeside Software plans to invest $6.1 million to expand existing operations in Bloomfield Hills, as well as locate operations in Ann Arbor. The company expects the projects to create up to a total of 198 direct new jobs, 73 in Ann Arbor.

“The Ann Arbor region is rich in software development talent,” said Skip Simms, interim director and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. “For a fast growing company like Lakeside Software, that immediate access to talent is an important consideration when choosing a location for expansion. Being able to hire the right talent, quickly, will boost Lakeside Software’s expansion efforts.”

The MEGA award helped convince Lakeside Software to invest in Michigan over a competing site in California.

Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund Invests $2.5 Million in 2010

admin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:28:23 +0000

Several Michigan companies recently received investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, pushing the total investments made through the Fund to over $11.6 million. To date, 52 Michigan companies have received seed funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan’s SmartZones.

“Companies that received support from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund are currently employing 285 people throughout the state and have attracted outside investment. Matching support from other funding sources totaled $16.4 million for these Michigan companies.

A combined $2.5 million in Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund investments in 2010 were awarded to:

Advanced Battery Concepts
Armune BioScience, Inc.
Current Motor Company
Downstream, LLC
Intervention Insights
Innovative Surgical Solutions
InfoReady Corporation
InPore Technologies
Inventure Enterprises
NextCAT, Inc.
Tangent Medical Technologies

Three Companies Receive Combined $110,000 From Michigan Microloan Fund Program

admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:47:35 +0000

Three Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $110,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, bringing the total amount invested through the Fund to over $1.69 million. GreenSand Corporation, iQ-Telematics and MyBandStock Corporation received the funding to support commercialization of their core products.

Since the Michigan Microloan Fund Program was established in July 2009, 42 companies have received over $1.6 million in subordinated loans.

Three More Companies Receive Microloans

admin — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:21:30 +0000

Three Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $140,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, bringing the total amount invested through the Fund to over $1.4 million. Detroit Electric, Ergun Technologies, and Local Orbit received the funding to support commercialization of their core products. Read about the companies.

Three Companies Receive Michigan Microloan Funding

Maricat Eggenberger — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:52:45 +0000

Three Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $104,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program. This brings the total amount invested through the Fund to over $1.3 million. Terra-Telesis, KnowledgeWatch, and uwemp received the funding to support commercialization of their core products.

Terra-Telesis is based in Okemos and received Microloan funding for the commercialization of emerging technology based on its unique low profile, vertical axis wind turbine. This core technology is being used to create a new innovation for use in airport facilities that will significantly decrease and in some cases eliminate their dependence on power from fossil fuels. Based in Ann Arbor, KnowledgeWatch will use the microloan funding to support commercialization of its automated online knowledge product. KnowledgeWatch tracks and harvests multiple information sources to deliver one page, convenient, custom, intuitive, real-time news digests for knowledge workers and decision makers. Also based in Ann Arbor, uwemp is an educational software company. Microloan funding will support commercialization of uwemp’s Confidence-Based Learning, its co-developed and licensed patented web-based learning engine. Confidence-Based Learning offers students engaging and relevant curricula and programs to equip them with the necessary skills to succeed in today’s competitive economy.

Buycentives, CIMple Integrations and Local Orbit Awarded Microloans

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:19:42 +0000

Three Michigan companies recently received a combined total of $95,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program. Buycentives, CIMple Integrations, and Local Orbit received the funding to support commercialization of their core products.

Microloans available through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program range from $10,000 to $50,000. To qualify, companies must be a small business located in Michigan, have ownership or license to innovative technology, and be privately held.

Ann Arbor SPARK Assists Applicants with Recovery Zone Bonds

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:36:13 +0000

Ann Arbor SPARK is assisting applicants with funding available through Recovery Zone Economic Development and Facility Bonds. Appropriated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Recovery Zone Bonds provide reduced rate financing and stimulate economic growth in Recovery Zones.

In Washtenaw County, over $33 million is available through the Recovery Zone Facility Bonds program. An additional $17 million is available in the City of Ann Arbor through the Recovery Zone Facility Bonds program.

Four Michigan Companies Receive Combined Total of $170,000

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:38:59 +0000

Four companies recently received a combined total of $170,000 in funding from the Michigan Microloan Fund Program. CTC Holdings, Energy Management Devices, MemCatch and Motor City Wipers will use the microloan funding to commercialize their products and accelerate business growth.