Five area companies included in pilot program to support growing businesses

In some circles, "second-stage" companies are seen as the ones that consistently create jobs.

Five local companies are among 54 across the state that will benefit from a pilot program known as economic gardening offered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to test that theory.

The program will be administered through the Cassopolis-based Edward Lowe Foundation and will offer support in four areas: strategy and management; market research/competitive intelligence; Internet and social media strategy; and geographical information systems to help identify potential customers in other states.

Each company’s CEO will be paired with a Strategic Research Team. The team will work with the CEO to determine the specific areas of need and then supply the CEO with information about competitors, markets and customers. The work is expected to take two to three weeks to complete for each company.

Local companies chosen to participate are Forensic Fluids Laboratories, Inc., working to provide new way to drug test using saliva. The company tests for drugs of abuse, therapeutic drug monitoring and compliance. Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, provides construction services across the U.S. primarily in environmental clean-up for non-government managed sites and maintenance for petroleum pipeline and chemical industries. Both are Kalamazoo-based businesses.

In Battle Creek, corePHP offers resources for open source extensions for Joomla! development, templates, components and plugins. Nexthermal Corporation (Hotset Corporation), also of Battle Creek, manufactures and distributes heating elements and accessories.

The Richland company Alliant Enterprises, LLC, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business established in 2002, to provide medical device products and services also will participate.

The Edward Lowe Foundation says "second-stage" companies produced more jobs in the 15-year period between 1993 and 2007 than any other business segment in the state.

The companies in the pilot program were chosen based on the type and size of the markets they serve, their growth potential, and their likelihood of benefiting from the service. Second-stage companies are those that employ between 10 and 100 workers, have annual sales of at least $1 million and want to grow, according to the Lowe Foundation's definition.

The pilot program is part of a $3 billion public-private initiative that provides Michigan’s businesses new ways to buy and sell, raise capital, and connect with each other.

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source:  Michael Shore, MEDC