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Four Midland companies are 'businesses to watch' |
So says Bonnie Zeigler, whose company, New-Tech, is one of four Midland businesses on a list of 50 Michigan companies likely to take off and grow. The honor means the state and Midland Tomorrow, Midland County's economic development organization, apparently are watching -- in a good way.
The four small businesses have been named among Michigan's "50 companies to watch" for 2008. They are Allis Information Management, Falcon Road Maintenance Equipment, Omni Tech International Ltd. and New-Tech.
The yearly honor comes from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center in partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation. The 50 companies are recognized for making great accomplishments and having significant growth potential. Midland had four companies in the list of 50 for both 2006 and 2007.
New-Tech, which designs custom chemistry laboratory equipment to specific customer needs, is 15 years old and has eight employees. Soon, its offices will move from what used to be Zeigler's family room to a new facility on Mark Putnam Drive.
"It's time to move out and get our home back," said Zeigler, the company president.
Companies vying for the honor must be past the startup stage and no longer worried about survival but instead looking toward future growth.
Ryan Richards, Midland Tomorrow's marketing manager, said having four companies on the list is incredible for a county Midland's size.
"We have such opportunity for businesses to take themselves as far as they want to go," he said.
The presence of The Dow Chemical Co. and Dow Corning Corp. has created a need for companies to serve them, Richards said. Companies in technical fields and those with experience building chemical plants, for example, have a place to start and grow here.
The winners will be honored at an April 24 awards banquet at the Lansing Center.
Midland Tomorrow nominated all four companies and worked closely with them on their applications, he said. A fifth Midland nominee, information technology company Linked Technologies, was not one of the 50 but turned in a very good application, Richards said.
Zeigler said New-Tech's fume vent, which routes chemical fumes away from people while they work, is one reason for the success. It has activity sensors so that, when it's not being used, it shuts down the vent window, saving energy. The vent is gaining acceptance on the east and west coasts, Zeigler said.
* Allis Information Management is a woman-owned small business that has spent more than 25 years providing competitive intelligence to major local clients, including Fortune 100 companies, government agencies and trade associations. Allis provides expert services in market intelligence, competitive analysis, technical information research and crisis/issue management services.
* Falcon Road Maintenance Equipment builds hot asphalt patchers, machines used to repair and maintain roads. Falcon offers one-ton through five-ton machines with more than 40 safety features.
* Omni Tech International is a technical consulting company specializing in the biobased industry and also provides quality, environmental and business consulting. It was established as a consulting and staffing services company in 1986 by six former executives of The Dow Chemical Co. It has 25 full-time employees with a database of more than 250 consulting associates.
For more information, visit michigan.companiestowatch.org.
