Many growing companies talk about making the $1 million club; add a couple of zeroes and that's where ReCellular looks to make its mark. The cell phone recycler plans to become a $100 million operation and is taking its place as one of the Ann Arbor area's big business hitters, leasing space at the headquarters of the once mighty Borders.
"This space represent where we are today," says Mike Newman, vice president of marketing for ReCellular. "Ann Arbor is where we got our start and it's where we're staying. Being in the area is very important to us."
ReCellular got its start in the early 1990s renting out then-costly cell phones. It entered the cell phone recycling business over the last decade as those phones became ubiquitous. It plans to keep its plant operation in Dexter while moving much of its corporate staff to the new space alongside Borders. The 300-person company expects to hire a few dozen people between both locations this year.
Recellular recently closed out its "best year in company history" and expects to hit $100 million in revenue in 2011. The company has evolved its business model to take cell phones directly from consumers through its website and act as a direct reseller of refurbished cell phones. Its eBay operations generate $1 million or more each month. Officials are also looking into expansion into other electronic segments, such as netbooks.
"We're being strategic about the product categories we're entering," Newman says.
Source: Mike Newman, vice president of marketing for ReCellular
Writer: Jon Zemke
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.