Tecumseh Products Company, a global maker of compressors for refrigeration and air conditioning units, has just opened a multi-million-dollar, 35,000-square-foot laboratory operation in its new technology center in Pittsfield Township's State Street Business Park.
An additional 15,000 square feet of space at the front of the facility, which totals 50,000 square feet, will be built out into office space at some point in the future, says Michael Smith, the firm's manager of global marketing communications and branding.
The facility was in a raw state when Tecumseh Products Co. purchased it in late 2010. "We actually had dirt floors in the building," Smith says.
No more. The lab space now has a slew of computer simulation, testing, and analysis tools, including two large-scale environmental chambers with hydrocarbon refrigerant testing capability, as well as full-scale reliability and calorimeter testing and a hemi-anechoic chamber.
The Pittsfield Township-based manufacturer, which employs 6,300 worldwide, moved its lab facilities from Tecumseh because "we like being near Ann Arbor. It gives us the opportunity to be close to the University of Michigan and the research hub and all the other things that Ann Arbor provides."
Twenty-five employees work at the new lab. Most are transfers from Tecumseh, but three are new hires. There are no plans to add more employees at this time, Smith says.
Source: Michael Smith, manager of global marketing communications and branding, Tecumseh Products Co.
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
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