Automation Alley

2008 Annual Report

Automation Alley witnessed many milestones in 2008. We welcomed our 900th member and we’ve nearly reached 1,000 members. We’ve also welcomed more than 10,000 people into Automation Alley’s building and we were mentioned or featured in 400 newspaper articles, for a total circulation of 28 million.

We also conducted trade missions to China/Vietnam and Brazil. Since we began our trade mission program in 2001, we have conducted 10 trade missions to countries around the globe, taken 150 participants and have assisted in the creation of more than 200 jobs while generating $130 million in export sales, investment, and economic development for the region.

In addition, Automation Alley was awarded the Presidential “E” Award for Exporting, the highest honor the federal government can give to an American exporting company or organization. Automation Alley is the first non-profit trade organization in Michigan to receive the award.  
 
Also in 2008, we continued assisting local technology start-up companies with seed funding. In the past year, Automation Alley funded eight companies for a total of $1.4 million. To date, we have provided more than $3.6 million in seed funding to 22 companies across the region, and have assisted in the creation of nearly 150 new jobs.

To view the full report, click here.