Automation Alley Expands, Creates An Eight-County Presence

TROY, Mich., April 19 -- Automation Alley, Southeast Michigan's regional technology cluster, announced today the expansion of its geographic reach to reflect an eight-county presence. Automation Alley now extends beyond Genesee County and Oakland County to include the City of Detroit, the Economic Development Council of Livingston County, Macomb County Government, Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation, the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County and the Washtenaw Development Council.

"The expansion of Automation Alley into an eight-county presence will translate into increased collaboration in the development of new technologies," said Ken Rogers, executive director, Automation Alley. "As this growth in product development continues, the visibility of Southeast Michigan as one of the nation's premier technology clusters will continue to be enhanced."

By joining Automation Alley, the municipalities are able to not only establish a partnership between each other, but also create connections with education institutions and businesses within the region to develop new economic growth. To further strengthen these connections, municipalities can promote to their local business people and citizens the resources available to them through the Automation Alley Member Consortium, including the Automation Alley Technology Center, Trading Company and the GLIMA Network, the Association of Interactive Professionals.

"Creating Automation Alley in 1999 with 45 companies in the I-75 and I-696 area we had the vision that it would extend far beyond these borders and become a powerhouse that could compete with areas such as Silicon Valley," said L. Brooks Patterson, executive of Oakland County and founder of Automation Alley. "With our true regional partnerships we now have approximately 485 member businesses, education institutions and government entities working together to showcase Southeast Michigan's technology force."

There are various ways the municipality members can benefit from Automation Alley. Each local government can work to advance its economy through expanding technology-related jobs with assistance from the Automation Alley Technology Center. The Technology Center provides financial and business assistance to companies and entrepreneurs seeking to bring a new technology to market. In addition, area businesses will benefit from opportunities to expand globally with assistance from the Automation Alley Export Center. Lastly, the Automation Alley Member Consortium and the GLIMA Network provide a range of professional development and networking opportunities to encourage a robust exchange of new ideas.

About Automation Alley

Automation Alley is Southeast Michigan's regional technology cluster, attracting the creators and consumers of diverse technologies from a variety of industries around the world. The Automation Alley Member Consortium is a membership of technologically diverse, progressive business, governmental and educational visionaries working in concert to attract world-class talent and businesses to Southeast Michigan. For more information, visit www.automationalley.com .

About the Automation Alley Technology Center

Located within Southeast Michigan's global technology cluster, the Automation Alley Technology Center leverages businesses, educators and government to help entrepreneurs bring new technologies to market quicker and more efficiently. Automation Alley Technology Center assistance includes seed capital investments for technology commercialization, business plan and strategy development support as well as a powerful network of experts and mentors.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For logos and additional information visit www.automationalley.com/groundbreaking.