A designer and manufacturer of accessories that let users do more with their portable devices, mophie, is expanding and its growth is happening in Kalamazoo.
The company announced plans Wednesday for a 30,000-square-foot facility at
Business Technology and Research Park on the Western Michigan University campus. The announcement comes after several months of meetings between the university and mophie. The company expects to begin construction this fall and open the building for business in the first quarter of 2013.
WMU board of trustees voted Wednesay to proceed with negotiations on the sale of 4.28 acres of property for the facility for an as yet to be determined price.
As the company's North American distribution center, the new location will be the hub for quality control, customer and technical support, and a variety of expanding functions for mophie. The company designs and manufactures mobile intelligent devices and accessories. Its products include batteries, intelligent cases, cases, belt clips, screen shields, cables/chargers and arm-bands.
A juice pack for smartphones is among mophie's most well-known products for mophie. The advanced battery technology more than doubles battery life for the products with which they work. For example, mophie's juice pack air is an auxiliary rechargeable battery concealed inside a protective case for the iPhone. Its portable battery case was the
first certified by Apple Inc. for use with its products.
The company that got its start locally in 2005 in Oshtemo Township also has a facility in Paw Paw, which will remain in operation. The company is now headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif.
Mophie has products available in more than 100 countries, has been experiencing rapid growth and expects to continue to do so. It currently has a staff of 93 and anticipates it will add 15 employees in 2013, 17 in 2014 and 19 in 2015. Currently, the company is seeking 14 new employees, two of them for its Paw Paw operation.
Shawn Dougherty, chief operating officer for mophie, says since the company’s roots are in Southwest Michigan it is an honor to be expanding its operations with a building in the BTR Park.
"Not only will we be able to collaborate with WMU's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and its Haworth College of Business," she says, "but this facility will also hasten the expansion of our capacity, bring jobs to the area, and allow us to give back to the community."
The company already has a number of WMU graduates on staff and says it is enthusiastic about the prospect of employing student interns, as well as engaging the university's faculty on workflow design for the new building.
Bob Miller, WMU associate vice president for community outreach and point person for the development of the BTR Park, says, "Having mophie on our campus will not only create opportunities for our faculty and students, it also demonstrates once again that Western Michigan University is being increasingly recognized for the quality of its faculty, students and research."
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Shawn Dougherty, mophie
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