Automation Alley to Host Ninth Annual Awards Gala

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Automation Alley, Michigan’s largest technology business association, announced today that it is now accepting nominations for its upcoming Ninth Annual Awards Gala on Friday, September 25 at the Roostertail in Detroit.

This year, Automation Alley will celebrate its 10th anniversary and its many successes at the Gala, in addition to honoring Southeast Michigan's best and brightest technology leaders and companies.

The evening will be emceed by Paul W. Smith of News/Talk 760 WJR AM.

“We’re very excited to be celebrating Automation Alley’s 10 years of accomplishments, along with the Gala honorees, which are Southeast Michigan’s future-thinking, innovative leaders and companies,” said Ken Rogers, executive director, Automation Alley.

Automation Alley is seeking nominations in the following categories:
- Legend CEO (Lifetime Achievement Award)
- CEO of the Year
- Emerging Leader
- Automation Alley Member of the Year
- Technology Company of the Year
- Emerging Technology Company of the Year
- Educational Program of the Year
- Non-Profit of the Year

In addition to the announcement of award winners, Gala guests enjoy a fall evening on the Detroit River with breathtaking international views and live entertainment, as well as Automation Alley’s signature cigar lounge and afterglow reception.

To submit a nomination or secure a sponsorship, visit the Automation Alley Web site at www.automationalley.com or contact the Resource Center at info@automationalley.com or (800) 427-5100.

The nomination deadline is Friday, June 26, 2009; winners will be selected by the Automation Alley Awards Committee. All members of Southeast Michigan’s business community are eligible to enter.

Sponsorships are currently available and range from $500 - $30,000. Tickets to the event are available at $200 per person for Automation Alley members and $400 for non-members.

For additional information, please visit www.automationalley.com.

Automation Alley Gets $2 Million For Three Projects

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Automation Alley, Michigan’s largest technology business association, announced last week that the organization has been awarded more than $2 million in funding from the Omnibus Authorization Bill, which was signed into law by President Obama.

“We’re very pleased to have received funding for these critical projects,” said Ken Rogers, executive director. “Now, more than ever, we need to create high-technology products, services and jobs. These projects will allow us to better assist our members and the business community in Southeast Michigan. We thank Senator Levin, Senator Stabenow and former Congressman Knollenberg for their support in the last session and also Congressman Peters for his support in this session.”

The first project is a feasibility study on a 4,000 square foot expansion of Automation Alley’s Troy headquarters for $285,000. The current building and property will be reviewed to plan the construction of additional meeting rooms and parking, as well as renovating the facility to host international guests.

Since the building opened in 2004, Automation Alley’s membership has doubled from 500 to more than 1,000 members. Parking has become a challenge from this growth. More than 15,000 people have used Automation Alley’s headquarters in the past two years.

“The City of Troy’s partnership with Automation Alley is vital in promoting business attraction and technology company growth,” said Brian Murphy, assistant city manager/economic development services. “This construction grant will provide for renovation to bolster international business attraction to Troy and Southeast Michigan.”

The remaining two projects – the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center and the BUSolutions project – each received additional funding. The AMTC project will receive $428,000 to train displaced and dislocated adult workers in the advanced manufacturing industry.

“The equipment used in the AMTC program is state-of-the-art for the industry,” said Bill Williams, director of the AMTC program and a consultant for Oakland Schools in Career Focused Education.

“We offer software that is widely used for designing cars, trains, ships, aircraft and other manufactured products. In addition, there is also a broad array of training options for "green" technologies.”

An additional $1.6 million has been allocated to the BUSolutions project, which is a collaborative effort between government and industry, intended to demonstrate the feasibility of producing easily maintainable, efficient city transit buses.

In partnership with Altair Engineering, it is expected that the organizations will complete one prototype bus that will be delivered to SMART in 2010.

Automation Alley Officially Adds 1,000th member

Chad Halcom
Crain's Detroit

A New England defense contractor expanding its operations in Southeast Michigan officially becomes the 1,000th member of Troy-based Automation Alley, today at the organization’s annual address to its members and board election.

Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot Corp., a supplier of nearly 2,000 military ground robotic units for coalition use in Iraq and Afghanistan, plans to open a Michigan field office in Troy as part of its efforts to expand near the U.S. Army Tacom Life Cycle Management Command in Warren.

Automation Alley, the nonprofit technology-based business association, had 1,016 member businesses and organizations as of late Monday; it reached the 900-member benchmark last July.

“Starting with just 44 members in 1999, we are now 1,000 members strong,” Alley Executive Director Ken Rogers said in a statement. “This is a goal that we’ve been striving for and with (support from the) business community, we’ve been able to become the largest technology business association in the state.”

iRobot was founded in 1990 by robotics specialists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Together, iRobot and Waltham, Mass.-based Foster Miler Inc., a division of QinetiQ North America, account for a majority of ground robotic units deployed through Tacom.

Foster-Miller has also expressed an interest in opening Southeast Michigan offices to be closer to Tacom. The U.S. Department of Defense has gone from using virtually no military ground robotics in the months immediately preceding the March 2003 deployment into Iraq to having 5,000 units deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Tacom and the Tank-Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center, also in Warren. Most units are devoted to explosive ordnance disposal or military intelligence-gathering and surveillance.