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Business booms nationwide for Kalamazoo’s iyeTek
Demand keeps growing for software developed for law enforcement agencies by the Kalamazoo information technology company, iyeTek.When iyeTek moved into Western Michigan University's Business and Research Park two years ago it had six employees and three interns. Today, 10 employees are on staff, and at any one time six to eight interns work on the company's software solutions for law enforcement agencies. Those are now used in 28 states compared to eight states that used iyeTek two years ago.When it moved into the research park in March 2008, iyeTek occupied 1,300 square feet of space at 4664 Campus Drive. Business has been so good since then the company has nearly doubled the amount of space it uses.The company's various software, including electronic ticket writing and crash reporting systems and information sharing with local, state and federal agencies, is now used all across Michigan. The software is used in handheld and mobile devices.Company co-founder and Director of Operations Salman Anwar gives much credit for the company's success to the support it has gotten in the BTR Park and its partnership with WMU. Among iyeTek's successes is the crash reporting system that has proved to be the most popular of its products, Anwar says."We're making the roads safer for people who drive on a daily basis," Anwar says. The iyeTek crash reporting system is one way it does that. The system helps police officers document crash details that give law enforcement agencies and traffic engineers information to analyze. It can help them determined the causes of crashes and also lead them, if need be, to take actions to make roadways more safe. "It's all about saving lives of police officers and citizens," Anwar says. Another popular software package involves information sharing that alerts officers during traffic stops and calls to be notified of any NCIC — National Crime Information Center — and FBI warnings related to a vehicle or suspect.The company was founded in Kalamazoo by Anwar and Jeremy Vainavicz, both alumni of WMU's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource Salman Anwar
$350,000 supports WMU’s study of greenhouse gas storage
A total of $350,000 in grants to Western Michigan University will further studies into greenhouse gas storage as the push for clean coal energy heats up.WMU researchers are looking for ways to further develop clean coal technology by capturing the greenhouse gases it creates and storing them deep under the earth.Success could mean economic development opportunities for the state, including the creation of high-tech jobs, more affordable energy costs for consumers and reduction of pollution from the gases.The research, which has been ongoing in some form at WMU for six years, recently got a boost of $350,000 from federal stimulus funds.Most of the money comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Illinois, which is studying four states for their suitability to store the greenhouse gas or CO2. Together, they contributed $306,000. The remaining $44,000 comes from the Department of Energy and Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc., a nonprofit member-owned utility in Cadillac and is being used for engineering design and cost estimates for the capture of 1,000 metric tons of CO2 per day from a proposed power plant in Rogers City, MI.In science-speak, what WMU is doing is carbon capture and geological carbon sequestration research. In layman's terms, they are looking at deep geological formations underground in Michigan to figure out if they could be used to store captured carbon gases.Dr.David A. Barnes, professor of geosciences at WMU, is the principal investigator on the two research projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."Fossil energy has been fundamentally responsible for development in modern industrialized societies, but the associated greenhouse gas emissions are seriously threatening our environment," Barnes says. "The capture and deep geological storage of greenhouse gas emissions provide a critical bridging technology as we move, as aggressively as possible, to renewable energy technologies."Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: David A. Barnes
Portage cheers $204,700 grant to improve city buildings
A number of projects meant to make Portage city facilities more energy-efficient are under way thanks to a $204,700 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.Thegrant comes from dollars set aside in the American Reinvestment andRecovery Act and will create additional jobs as work is done on fourseparate city buildings.City Hall will receive HVAC upgrades, window replacement, insulation and general weatherization. ThePortage Senior Center will also undergo similar work while the city'sPublic Services building will have its lighting upgraded.Fire Station No. 2 on Oakland Drive gets its boiler replaced and have a radiant heat system installed.The improvements could save the City of Portage $10,000 annually on energy bills.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: Devin Mackinder, CIO/IT Director City of Portage
Gusts off South Haven among best in state for wind energy
TThe winds that churn off South Haven's lakeshore are known for being a powerful force, and the city is looking at ways to control the turbines that could harness that wind for energy, reports the Kalamazoo Gazette.The city planning commission in August began to consider how to regulate wind turbines. A public hearing is set for April 1 to get input on the proposed rules."We know that the wind is very good here so we want to have something in place that will balance quality of life with these new technologies," says City Manager Brian Dissette. Excerpt:The wind-power potential in South Haven is maybe best seen by taking a drive along Monroe Boulevard, where trees atop a large hill that leads down to Lake Michigan are permanently bent from the west winds that blow unfettered across the open waters."There is a high level of interest in wind energy (in South Haven)," Dissette said. "That's the driving force behind this ordinance."Under the city's draft ordinance, only wind turbines 40 feet tall or shorter would be allowed within 3,000 feet of the lakeshore. Turbines taller than 40 feet but under 200 feet would be allowed in areas zoned industrial and in one area zoned for business near I-196 on the city's east side. Turbines 200 to 400 feet tall would be restricted to industrial areas.Special-use permits from the city would be required for all wind turbines, regardless of size. For those taller than 200 feet, a study of potential impact on wildlife and noise would have to be filed. Other requirements would include minimum setbacks from other structures of 1.5 to 2 times the height of the turbine. There are few parcels in South Haven that could accommodate those zoning requirements, according to Dissette."This ordinance is pretty doggone restrictive," the city manager said. "I don't see a line forming to seek installing these (turbines). Few can fund it and make it economically feasible."Read the whole story on the proposed wind turbine regulations.Source: Kalamazoo Gazette
DeVos firm, Portage company roll out energy efficiency technology
A new joint venture between a Grand Rapids investment firm owned by Dick and Betsy DeVos and Portage company, Pro Services, has launched and is expected to employ 15 people this year.Their new company, Pro Renewables, will sell what is known as Green Machine.Excerpt:The patented Green Machine invented and manufactured by ElectraTherm Inc. in Reno, Nev. has been installed in six locations worldwide and has earned awards from such respected publications as The Wall Street Journal and Popular Science magazine. One of the newest of the six Green Machine installations is in the Michigan Technical Education Center at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in Kalamazoo, where a demonstration and announcement about the new venture took place Wednesday morning. "We are pleased to announce this new venture bringing the Green Machine to the Midwest," says Dick DeVos, president of The Windquest Group. The venture, called ProRenewables, LLC, represents a partnership between The Windquest Group, DeVos' investment management firm in Grand Rapids, and Pro Services, a specialized trades contractor in Portage.The Green Machine uses heat and pressure recovery technologies to capture heat lost from virtually any geothermal or industrial operation and turn it into fuel-free, emission-free usable electricity. The escaping heat is a byproduct readily available from industrial sources, among them inefficient machines and manufacturing processes, and is abundantly available in the Midwest where there's a broad base of energy intensive industrial activity.Company officials estimate that more than two-thirds of the energy in fuel used to generate power in America is lost as heat. Read the whole story, to learn more about the company.Source: Rapid Growth Media
Fast Company magazine likes the way Whirlpool spins innovation
Products like the Smart Energy Dryer have won Whirlpool Corporation, of Benton Harbor, the No. 5 spot on Fast Company Magazine's World's Most Innovative Companies list.Whirlpool was named as an innovation leader in the consumer products category, just after household product manufacturer SC Johnson and before boot-maker Timberland.Excerpt: "Whirlpool will make 1 million 'smart' dryers by the end of 2011. Smart Energy dryers will respond to peak-energy prices by lowering power consumption, saving money for homeowners and easing stress on the electric grid. By 2015, according to Whirlpool, all of its products will be compatible with the smart grid."The story goes on to say that the company expects innovation to drive growth in 2010."It's not just about revenue growth and profit margins."It's about identifying creative models and progressive cultures – to define the many forms of innovation that exist across the business landscape."The recognition adds to a series of way-to-go's already bestowed on Whirlpool.In 2009, it was named one of FORTUNE's "Most Admired Companies" in the electronics industry, one of the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine and one of the "Top 50 Most Respected U.S. Companies" by the Reputation Institute.Whirlpool employs 67,000 people worldwide and saw annual sales of approximately $17 billion in 2009. It has an innovation pipeline worth about $4 billion and in 2009 generated $3.8 billion in revenue from its innovation efforts.Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances has 67 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world.The company markets Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, Bauknecht and other major brand names to consumers in nearly every country around the world.To read more about it visit Fast Company.Source: Fast Company
Benton Harbor Arts District starts to jump
About 75 people packed the Livery Thursday (March 4) for a town hall-style session to get ideas on rejuvenating the Benton Harbor Arts District, reports the Herald-Palladium. The event was hosted by New Territory Arts Association Executive Director Julie Katz and board President Herb Caldwell. The pair spent about two hours taking suggestions about things that people want to see happening in the Arts District.Excerpt:"We're bringing Art Hop back, because we've heard from the community, 'bring Art Hop back' - so I'll need a bus to get around to some of the locations," Katz said.Other suggestions focused on needs that are being overlooked, and finding spaces for them.Krasl Art Center Education Director Julia Gourley asked what could be done to house digital art and media, which is something that "I have people asking me every day," she said.To find out more suggestions read the whole story about revitalizing the Arts District.Source: Herald-Palladium Southwest Michigan
Diploma in hand for first Kalamazoo Promise grad
The ambitious and unique Kalamazoo Promise, with its full-ride college scholarship offer to each of the city's high school graduates, has produced its first college graduate.Stacy Westhoff, a member of the 2006 class of Kalamazoo Central High School, made quick work of her college education, finishing in January, just three and 1/2 years after Kalamazoo Promise accepted its first public high school graduates.The program, which was launched in 2005 and enrolled its first students in 2006, is funded by anonymous donors who promise to provide a college education at state institutions to all graduates of Kalamazoo's public schools.The idea behind the promise is to spark economic development in the city by attracting residents who wish to send their children to school for next to nothing. The philosophy behind it also holds that more highly-educated citizens lead to good things for a community.Westhoff, for one, says she is already seeing positive changes that she believes could be connected to the Kalamazoo Promise. "More schools are being built. More neighborhoods. More development ... I could have gone to college without this, but for so many people this is the chance of a lifetime."The 22-year-old majored in philosophy with an concentration on professional and applied ethics. She minored in business.And, she's headed toward another life milestone in May, when she will marry.Bob Jorth, Kalamazoo Promise's executive administrator, says seeing the first student cross the stage was a big deal, but May will bring many more reasons to be proud as 50 to 75 Kalamazoo Promise students are expected to don their caps and gowns.About a dozen students have already received two-year degrees or certificates, Jorth says. About 190 students from the city's high school graduating classes of 2006 remain currently enrolled, and in total 342 have used Kalamazoo Promise dollars to pay tuition. Kalamazoo Promise recipients have 10 years to complete their degree."We had no idea what our retention rate would be" Jorth says. "Of our first class we have an 80 percent retention rate. I'm not an expert on this, but I expect that number is quite high."Currently,about 1,000 students - from 2006 to the most recent high school graduating classes - are attending college on Kazoo Promise's dime.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: Bob Jorth, Kalamazoo Promise
Kalamazoo and People’s Food Co-Op partner on $1.7 million expansion
People's Food Co-Op, a 40-year-old natural grocery business currently at 436 S. Burdick St. in Kalamazoo, is working with the city's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to relocate and expand into a block-long, mostly food-business development at 507 Harrison Street in the River's Edge district.People's Food Co-Op will build a larger 6,000-square-foot building and hire at least six part-time employees. The new store would be located near MacKenzie's Bakery and One Way Products, two other brownfield relocation and redevelopment projects meant to make the most of land that was contaminated by a paper factory while also bringing cohesiveness to similar businesses.The new facility will increase People's Food Co-Op by more than four times its current size and will make room for a larger prepared foods section, with seating, as well as the addition of a fresh meat section and expanded local and organic produce, grocery, bulk foods, frozen, and refrigerated items.By expanding its storefront, the Co-Op expects to increase the amount it purchases from local farms and processors by more the $100,000 it spent in 2009 and to expand on existing programs, including the relocation of the 100-Mile Farmers Market to the new site. In addition, the project will include 1,400 square feet of space to be leased to Fair Food Matters' Can-Do Kitchen, a food business incubator which will expand their support of local entrepreneurs in the creation of unique products for resale.People's Food Co-Op is a community-owned business with over 750 individuals and families owning a shares and receiving discounts and rebates as a return on their investment.People's Co-op hopes to raise at least $450,000 in loans and equity from owner-members."We are so excited to be able to offer a way for the community to invest in good food, in local farming, and in our own economic success" says Chris Dilley, General Manager of People's Food Co-Op.Writer: Kim North ShineSource: City of Kalamazoo, People's Food Co-Op
