Ann Arbor SPARK helped secure 2,118 new jobs for region, officials say
Economic development organization Ann Arbor SPARK said today that it had helped 33 companies announce expansions in 2009 with plans to hire 2,118 workers.
SPARK released a report saying that its business support efforts had helped secure $147 million in investment for the region.
Among the highlights were California information technology startup Systems In Motion, which plans to hire more than 1,000 workers for an IT operation in Pittsfield Township, and engineering firm AVL Powertrain, which plans to hire 40 workers for an alternative propulsion technology operation.
Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Michael Finney
SPARK is a public-private nonprofit partnership formed in 2005 by a coalition of universities, business leaders and political officials. The organization helps companies get business resources, connect with talent, find funding and secure state support.
SPARK said that in 2009 it:
-Provided low-cost space to 78 companies at office incubators in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and a life sciences incubator in Plymouth Township. The Ypsilanti and Plymouth Township incubators opened in 2009.
-Helped 61 companies get various business planning and marketing services, intellectual property assistance and other funding services.
-Continued to manage the state's Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, delivering $3.6 million in funds to startup companies.
"The Ann Arbor region continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise dim economy," SPARK CEO Michael Finney said in a statement.
Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.
Comments
cook1888
Sat, Feb 6, 2010 : 4:01 p.m.
Even if well intentioned this sounds like another boondoggle at the taxpayer's expense.
Karen Sidney
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 3:13 p.m.
According to the 2008 form 990 filed for SPARK, Finney's 2008 compensation was $258,423. Forms 990 for all not for profits are available on guidestar.org. Search for Ann Arbor Spark The city formed an LDFA several years ago. It is a tax capture entity similar to the DDA except that it only captures school taxes. Most of the money collected by the LDFA is turned over to SPARK. How SPARK has spent the money has been controversial and caused Mike Reid to resign from the LDFA board when that board refused to ask for a refund.
jeff4179
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 2:33 p.m.
Here's more reason for skepticism. I read the full press release, and did a little digging. My admittedly shallow research (plugged a couple of business names into the site's search mechanism) pulled up a story showing that Atwell-Hicks was evicted from one Ann Arbor site, moved its headquarters to Southfield, reorganized, and opened a smaller Ann Arbor office than previously existed. SPARK puts Atwell-Hicks on the list of companies that "located and expanded" in Ann Arbor during the last year. Does using SPARK money to move its headquarters out of Ann Arbor but retain a smaller Ann Arbor office count as a SPARK success story? http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/ann-arbors-edwards-brothers-book-manufacturer-competes-in-shrinking-market/ Also, I looked up Edwards Brothers, and a recent article indicates that revenues were down in 2009, and that Edwards Brothers lost employees during 2009. So how did Edwards Brothers make the list? http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/ann-arbors-edwards-brothers-book-manufacturer-competes-in-shrinking-market/ I'm not trying to pick on those two companies. Just wondering why we would be giving taxpayer money to long-time Ann Arbor companies who end up on a SPARK report as a "success story" despite the evidence to the contrary on this website. Is there any other way to get additional information about SPARK's "success stories?"
Nathan Bomey
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 1:07 p.m.
SPARK is not claiming that the 2,118 jobs have been created yet. Today's announcement -- an annual compilation of SPARK's activity in the community -- discusses the companies that have promised to create these jobs and make these investments. Suspicion of promises to create jobs is certainly understandable. Not all companies come through. Take Google, for example, which in 2006 said it would hire 1,000 workers in Ann Arbor by 2011. The company is only about 1/4th of the way to that benchmark. Note also that we chose not to include SPARK's claim about "retained" jobs, because that's difficult to measure and is typically controversial. Companies' promises to create jobs -- albeit occasionally dubious -- are easier to track. This story was not meant to take a deep dive into SPARK's claims. That may be good idea for the future project, however. Below is a link to the press release SPARK issued. The release includes a list of the 33 companies SPARK is referring to. Thanks for the comments! http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ann-arbor-spark-announces-2009-results-83640752.html
Top Cat
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 12:58 p.m.
Show us the proof to back up this claim or admit that it is a guess and a bunch of self-serving hooey.
Moose
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 12:40 p.m.
What is a "secured" job? Is it different from "created"? Are those secured jobs new, saved, full, part time, with or without benefits? Please define "secure" and tell us the number of actual new, permanent, full time jobs with benefits and how much public subsidy was needed for each new full time job. How much is Mr. Finney's wage and benefit package?
Kvetchmeister
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.
Karen Sidney, the problem with your approach (for this site) is that it sounds like it involved actual investigation, asking questions, etc. I can understand your confusion, but this site is really more for you know, free PR.
Karen Sidney
Fri, Feb 5, 2010 : noon
Can AnnArbor.com make this report available? Are these 2,118 actual new jobs or just press releases claiming new jobs? I define a new job as the difference between the number of employees a company has today over the number of employees they had when they asked for SPARK help. When I talked to SPARK staff members several weeks ago and asked if they had documentation that showed changes in actual employment figures for the companies they had helped, I was told that SPARK did not have the resources to keep track of this information.