Local Firms Star in State's Ads

High-tech companies being touted to attract others
Ann Arbor News – June 11, 2006

By Stefanie Murray

The office of T/J Technologies Inc. is a modest building off Research Park Drive in south Ann Arbor. There's only a small sign with the company's name out front and an unremarkable rear entrance.

But its occupants soon will be stars.

T/J and its president and CEO, Maria Thompson, is one of three companies in the state named to kick off a multi-million advertising campaign - led by actor and Chelsea's Purple Rose Theatre owner Jeff Daniels - aimed at promoting Michigan as a good place to do business.

"When you go outside Michigan, people think we're turning off the lights and closing the doors," said Thompson, who is featured prominently in the ads. "I think this campaign will change some perceptions - I know lots of high-tech companies, particularly in Ann Arbor, that are growing and succeeding."

T/J is a 15-year-old company focused on researching and developing advanced materials used for production of alternative energy products, like batteries and fuel cells. It was acquired by A123Systems, a Massachusetts-based lithium-ion battery developer, earlier this year, but maintains its Ann Arbor roots and presence.
At a two-year cost of $20 million with national and international radio, print and televisions ads, the campaign - created by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. - is the largest unilateral marketing blitz in Michigan's history. Most of the ads will focus on technology companies.

Ann Arbor's Advanced Photonix Inc. (AMEX: API), which makes devices that detect light and electromagnetic waves called Terahertz, is also part of the campaign's initial rollout.
Print and radio ads kicked off in Michigan and across the nation on June 1 and June 5; TV ads debuted here on June 5 and will go nationwide later this summer.

Although they're the first, T/J and Advanced Photonix won't be the only local companies to be featured. Because it's a hotbed of high-tech activity, state officials expect more Ann Arbor companies to be featured in the future.

In turn, that could make other national and international companies interested in locating here.

"Our intent is to build a library of business success stories in Michigan," said MEDC spokesman Michael Shore.

Not only will the marketing campaign promote Michigan, but it has the potential to give exposure to high-tech companies no one would have heard of otherwise. Tech companies don't mass market or advertise, usually.

The state's campaign is targeted at "C-level" business people: chief executive, operating and financial officers. In other words, decision-makers.

"We are publicly held and traded on the American Stock Exchange, so our logo is up there in these ads and our name is mentioned and it will run on CNBC, CNN," said Advanced Photonix chief financial officer Rob Risser.

"Those are the kinds of areas where potential institutional investors would be exposed, so it will help us."

Shore said the agency will soon rotate other businesses into the advertising mix. While they have companies in mind, Shore said the MEDC is open to hearing about other success stories.

Thompson and T/J were selected because not only is the company home-grown and successful, but because it's part of an industry state officials, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, keenly want to attract.

The entire campaign, unveiled June 1, is part of a $1 billion economic development package dubbed the 21st Century Jobs Fund.

The bulk of the jobs fund money - some of which comes from a national tobacco lawsuit settlement - has been set aside for $850 million in loans and grants over the next eight years to foster high-tech industry in the state.

It can take years to fully develop new technology. High-tech firms often need investors, grants or loans to help them get through different phases of development before an idea becomes profitable.

Thompson and her husband, Levi Thompson, would have loved to get a crack at some of that $850 million when they were starting out.

It was a $50,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant T/J got from another firm that helped launch the company. "Early support can make all the difference," Maria Thompson said.

T/J was born 1991 as the brainchild of Levi Thompson, who is a professor and associate dean in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan.

"Levi's idea was to come up with outstanding technology and then try to commercialize it," Maria Thompson said.

In the beginning, the couple worked from rented lab space just a few feet long in Ann Arbor. Both have degrees from the University of Michigan: She holds an MBA and a degree in industrial design, he has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and a master's degree in nuclear engineering.

In the beginning, T/J did research on ultra-hard coatings for military applications. The company went on to win other contracts and grants - some from the MEDC - and shifted to developing materials for high-powered batteries and fuel cells, both for commercial and government entities like NASA.

Today, T/J employs 24 and is a leader in alternative-energy materials research. Just three years ago in 2003, the private company had about $3 million in revenue; Maria Thompson expects 2006 revenue to be close to $5.5 million.

T/J has won more than 60 contracts worth $26 million over the company's history.
Advanced Photonix was picked by the MEDC to star in the ads not only because it's a successful Michigan tech company, but because it picked Michigan over California for its headquarters location.

In 2005, Advanced Photonix of California merged with Picometrix of Ann Arbor. The MEDC and the city of Ann Arbor pushed the company to move its main operations to Michigan by offering tax breaks.

"I hope it will give other folks the idea that Michigan could be a good place to have a high-tech company," Risser said about the MEDC's campaign. "It's a message that needs to get out."

2006, The Ann Arbor News. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Contact Stefanie Murray at smurray@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6932.