Midland Small Businesses: 15 to Watch
Midland is a hub of small business success in the chemical and technology industries, and our showing in the State of Michigan's 50 Companies to Watch Awards proves it. From 2006-2009,
fifteen Midland second-stage businesses were honored as Companies to Watch - an amazing 7.5 percent of the total Companies to Watch winners from a county with less than 1 percent of the state's population.
The 50 Companies to Watch Awards are granted by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center in partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation. They recognize second-stage small businesses with great accomplishments and significant growth potential.
Read below to learn more about the innovative second-stage technology businesses in Midland that have won recognition as Companies to Watch. They are helping to move Midland and Michigan toward a prosperous and sustainable future.
2009 Winners: GANTEC Inc., Ingenuity IEQ, Precision Torque Control
2008 Winners: Allis Information Management, Falcon RME, New-Tech™, Omni Tech International
2007 Winners: C M Rubber Recycling, Caltech Industries, The Savant Group, SPACE Inc.
2006 Winners: AEGIS Environments, The Apothecary Shoppe Pharmacies, Dendritech Inc., FS4 USA
2009
GANTEC Inc.GANTEC involves workers in Africa and Midland to process seeds from the African neem tree into organic, environmentally friendly pesticides and granular soil adjuvants. Their products enhance plant growth and productivity without toxic chemical residue. The company is currently testing its products for greenhouse application and commercialization. They have received loan assistance through the RSPPA program, an initiative administered by Midland Tomorrow and Michigan State University that provides seed money for developing technology companies with unique and market-valuable products and services.
Ingenuity IEQIngenuity IEQ offers a total solution for indoor environmental quality, protecting the health and comfort of building occupants while decreasing costs for energy and building maintenance. They address four key aspects of indoor environmental quality: Airflow, air quality, surfaces and measurement. In 2007, Ingenuity partnered with Midland-based ÆGIS Environments to apply ÆGIS’ Microbe Shield antimicrobial technology to interior building surfaces. In addition, Ingenuity has engineered, installed and recommissioned hundreds of airflow control systems for university, pharmaceutical, private and corporate research labs as well as hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Ingenuity continues to grow despite Michigan’s economic climate.
Precision Torque ControlPrecision Torque Control, Inc. specializes in providing long-term solutions for tensioning and torque limiting applications. All their products are designed, machined, assembled and tested at their Midland facility in order to supply their customers with a superior product at a competitive price. Precision Torque’s business is continuing to grow: In 2005, Precision Torque built a 7,000-square-foot addition to their existing building. This shows the confidence company leadership has in their ability to maintain and grow their business, and also the importance of their value-added services to the Midland community.
2008
Allis Information ManagementAllis Information Management (AIM) is a woman-owned small business that has spent over 25 years providing competitive intelligence to major local clients, including Fortune 100 companies, government agencies and trade associations. They are one of the only marketing intelligence firms in the area, providing expert services in market intelligence, competitive analysis, technical information research and crisis/issue management services. AIM provides invaluable support and information to local industry leaders and other businesses of all sizes to assist them with intelligence gathering and business decisions. Their unique summary chart format allows them to take the comprehensive research reports they provide clients and distill them into a visual executive summary for presentation at Board meetings and similar venues. Aside from pure competitive research, AIM also leverages their skills into a comprehensive crisis management support function. This service provides vital research to businesses and their PR firms to assist them in formulating plans to validate product or market opportunities or vulnerabilities.
Falcon Road Maintenance EquipmentFalcon Road Maintenance Equipment has become the brand leader for asphalt transfer trailers with annual sales growing over 100 percent three years running. Municipalities and state departments of transportation in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Louisiana, and Ontario (Canada) utilize Falcon equipment in their road maintenance operations. Lean manufacturing principles drive both the business strategy and company culture. In the municipal market, the low cost-producer holds a sustainable competitive advantage because most municipalities adhere to a low-bid procurement process. Falcon's lean manufacturing process has made it the industry's low-cost producer.
New-Tech™New-Tech™, a division of Zeigler Enterprises, Inc., was founded in 1993. New-Tech is a woman-owned, family-run business. They design custom chemistry laboratory equipment to meet specific needs of customers. New-Tech offers a wide range of equipment to fit the needs of any laboratory, from bench hoods, custom hoods and enclosures, down draft tables and fan platform assemblies to spot exhausters, slot exhausters, vent boxes and paper cutters. New-Tech custom designs equipment to meet the needs of their industrial clients, from second-stage technology companies to Fortune 500 firms. Their custom designs are subsequently made available as options to other customers who have similar requirements. In 2008, New-Tech constructed a new 5,800-square-foot facility in Midland, Michigan, designed to house new research and development of existing and new products. The building was engineered for future expansion to double the size of the facility.
Omni Tech InternationalOmni Tech International, Ltd., is a consulting company specializing in technical and business consulting in the Biobased Industry. Omni Tech has experienced significant growth in sales in the area of biobased consulting and education. They offer services in strategy, technical support, research and commercialization. They were established as a consulting and staffing services company in 1986 by six former Dow Chemical Company executives; the company now staffs 25 full-time employees with a database of 250+ Consulting Associates. Company headquarters are in Midland, MI, with satellite offices in Houston, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Kansas City. Originally focused on technology services, staffing services, and commercial development and research, Omni Tech has expanded in the last 15 years to include quality, environmental, and business consulting. The most exciting and profitable growth area for Omni Tech (and their focus for the future) is in biobased product development and commercialization. They are promoting and expanding the use of renewable resources. Omni Tech's exceptionally talented team has received over 100 patents and has launched hundreds of biobased and chemical products.
2007
C M Rubber RecyclingC M Rubber Recycling opened for business in October of 2004 to provide a DEQ-compliant facility for the disposal of scrap tires and to recycle the tires into a valuable and functional product. In early 2005, C M Rubber became a distribution center for PermaLife Products, LLC, and began distributing landscaping mulch and playground material. At the end of 2005, they entered into a full partnership with PermaLife Products, enabling them to produce rubber landscaping mulch and playground materials at their facility. Their work revitalizes a formerly blighted building and area in Midland County’s Warren Township.
Caltech IndustriesThe employees of Caltech Industries, Inc. are point-of-care decontamination experts, specializing in products and services that protect healthcare workers from contamination by dangerous pathogens. These cleaner disinfectants control cross-contamination via environmental surfaces and medical equipment. The products are designed to be used by professional healthcare personnel in point-of-care situations that require safe, fast and efficient on-the-spot decontamination. Caltech products are certified to be effective by independent labs and are registered with the EPA for hospital-level use. Showing their commitment to future growth and innovation, Caltech expanded in 2007 from their old office into an expanded facility in Midland’s MidMichigan Innovation Center. In 2010, Clorox purchased Caltech and retained all the company's local employees.
The Savant GroupThe Savant Group comprises three independent corporations operating within the lubricant industry: Savant, Inc.; Tannas Co.; and The Institute of Materials, Inc. Customers include petroleum and additive producers, small and large lubricant blenders, and original equipment manufacturers.
Savant, Inc. was founded in 1969 as a consulting firm specializing in the development of advanced lubrication technology. Over the years, it has become a world-class independent testing laboratory and research center with an emphasis on standardized and custom-designed testing for engine oils, transmission fluids, and other types of lubricants. Tannas Co. was started in 1981 as a manufacturer of highly specialized precision instruments for lubricant testing. Today, the company develops, manufacturers, and markets its laboratory instruments worldwide. The Institute of Materials, Inc. was formed in 1984 to provide an unbiased, independent resource for information on engine oil properties and performance. Samples of engine oil are purchased from the retail market worldwide and shipped to IOM where a battery of tests are run on each oil. The data are compiled into reports that are sold to the industry and to consumers. IOM is the only source of this type of engine oil information and has been called “the Bible of the industry.”
SPACE, Inc.Originally established as Gorman's Business Interiors (GBI) in 1989 in Midland, Michigan, SPACE, Incorporated, is a quality company that specializes in marketing functional office interiors. They create a hallmark of distinction in every new office their staff designs. A professionally trained team of certified designers, product specialists and customer service experts focus on developing total working environments that enhance worker productivity. Their projects are monitored from beginning to end in order to provide each customer the finest in turn-key services. SPACE's professional designers have both the educational background and the experience to help clients define their needs and convert their requirements into productive workspaces. Their in-house flooring and window treatment experts are ready to work with clients to create the perfect office environment. And, their installation crew takes pride in their work and assumes full responsibility for customers' complete satisfaction. In 2003 the company applied for and eventually received a GSA contract under the category of a small, woman-owned business.
2006
ÆGIS EnvironmentsÆGIS Environments is the world leader in antimicrobial technologies with support centers in every region of the globe. The company began by licensing technology from Dow Corning Corporation that utilized silanes to permanently bond pesticides to target surfaces. Successful applications of this technology in Burlington Industries’ Bioguard® brand socks and American Hospital Supply Corporation surgical draperies led to the ÆGIS Microbe Shield™. Rather than dissipating into a medium and poisoning microbes as traditional antimicrobials do, the Microbe Shield attracts microbes and ruptures their cell membranes upon direct contact. Because the antimicrobial agent does not dissipate or leach, it does not lose strength over time and does not cause the development of new, resistant microbes. After more than 25 years of problem-free and daily direct contact with millions of consumers, the Microbe Shield has been proven in a myriad of uses, including mill-treated woven and non-woven fabrics, organic foams, and by a network of certified applicators to treat contamination in businesses, homes, hospitals, schools and offices.
The Apothecary Shoppe PharmaciesThe Apothecary Shoppe, LLC, is an independently owned and operated pharmacy headquartered in Midland. The Apothecary Shoppe began operations in 2000 under its proprietors, Kevin and Amy Roeder, and began with a staff of six employees. It now employs almost 100 full- and part-time employees, offering a diverse range of services: prescription medications, medical supplies, over-the-counter products, and compounded pharmaceuticals. Clients include individuals, physicians, long-term care facilities and third-party insurers. In June 2006, The Apothecary Shoppe unveiled a new state-of-the-art Compounding Center, one of only two in the United States that had five “clean rooms” dedicated to the compounding of prescriptions. Since then, the business's headquarters have moved again to a new, $6 million building in a growing area of Midland. With their latest move, Apothecary Shoppe management estimate they are on track to employ up to 250 people within the next five years.
Dendritech, Inc.Dendritech is a specialty polymer company focused on the development of dendritic, hyperbranched and tailor-made polymer products. Dendrimers are a special type of polymer with a nano-scale branched molecular structure instead of the rigid structure of traditional polymers. This unique configuration gives them a host of potential applications that are only now being discovered, such as artificial blood, coatings for clothing to protect against biological weapons, and more. Dendritech is one of Michigan’s few thriving nanotechnology companies. They are also one of only a handful of facilities in the world able to produce dendrimers in large quantities. Dendritech operates a multimillion-dollar manufacturing plant on a 10-acre site in Eastwick Industrial Park in Midland, Michigan. The 6400 square foot building houses a state-of-the-art research laboratory and complete facilities for the development and manufacturing of the PAMAM dendrimers. Dendritech is staffed with seven full-and part-time experienced personnel from the chemical industry in research, manufacturing, and business development.
FS4 USA (formerly Pilgrim Technology, LLC)
FS4 USA was founded in 2002 as a technology consulting company. They are one of the few new Department of Defense suppliers in Michigan, involved in advanced research and development for the United States Army in the area of secure wireless transmission using AES and NIST FIPS 140-2 validation. Their work with RFID integration for U.S. Navy allows personnel to perform EMI checks of 300 pieces of equipment at once, rather than scanning each item individually. They have also worked with HMWVV radio integration for the U.S. Army. In addition, Pilgrim does wireless engineering across a variety of platforms. They also have engineering expertise in standards management, information security, systems engineering, application development and architecture and design planning. They have strengths in technical due diligence, communications protocols, MEMS technology and low power devices, among others.
For more information on the Companies to Watch competition, please visit the
Michigan 50 Companies to Watch Web site.