TROY – Automation Alley announced Tuesday it has
invested a total of $75,000 from the Automation Alley Pre-Seed Fund in
Civionics of Ann Arbor and Lighthouse Molding of Sterling Heights, two of
association’s 7Cs client companies.
As clients of Automation Alley’s 7Cs program, both Civionics and Lighthouse
Molding have received assistance and guidance from Automation Alley’s entrepreneurship
team to help accelerate the growth of the companies. Automation Alley launched
the 7Cs program in December with a specific emphasis on helping advanced
manufacturing startups across Southeast Michigan. The program includes intense
coaching and a commitment from Automation Alley to invest resources and
capital.
The program includes a $25,000 directed investment from Automation Alley in
each company accepted into the program. The $25,000 is used to cover the costs
of the program. Companies accepted into the program are required to repay the
$25,000 at the end of two years, thus making the funding available for
investment in additional companies. However, there is also an opportunity for
each of the accepted companies to receive up to an additional $100,000 in
investment from the Automation Alley Pre-Seed Fund after they complete the
program.
To date, Automation Alley has invested $8.95 million in 47 startup companies
across Southeast Michigan through its Pre-Seed Fund.
“We decided to invest in both of these companies above and beyond the $25,000
offered through our 7Cs program because we believe they are poised for rapid
growth,” said Tom Kelly, Automation Alley’s COO and director of the 7Cs
program.
Civionics, a provider of intelligent wireless sensor networks and cloud-based
data services, received an additional $25,000 from the Pre-Seed Fund. Because
Civionics’ wireless sensing hardware is designed to process sensor data before
transmitting it, the systems can significantly reduce or eliminate many
problems associated with other wireless monitoring platforms (such as high
bandwidth demand, limited battery life, inadequate storage capacity, and
decision-making paralysis due to data inundation). Within the past decade,
Civionics products have been used to monitor long-span bridges, wind turbines,
naval combatant vessels and other engineered systems around the world.
“We’re extremely grateful for the support that we’ve received from
Automation Alley this year, both through the 7Cs program and through the
Pre-Seed Fund. This recent investment will allow us to finalize several
important product features and to build inventory for our upcoming product
launch. Most importantly, we feel that this investment will give us the
opportunity to see our products take hold in the marketplace by the end of the
summer,” said Andy Zimmerman, CEO of Civionics.
Lighthouse Molding, a technology leader in low pressure overmolding, received
an additional $50,000 from the Pre-Seed Fund. Lighthouse Molding’s low pressure
overmolding technology encapsulates electronics that protect valuable
components against dust, dirt, moisture, humidity, shock and vibration while
generating cost savings, product performance improvements, better reliability
and production efficiencies.
“Lighthouse has ramped up growth in 2015; we have already matched our full year
2014 sales. The loan from Automation Alley has allowed us to better manage this
growth. It has provided a working capital cushion, and we are going to hire a
new employee next quarter because this loan has given us the financial
flexibility to bring this person on earlier,” said Scott Reisfield, Lighthouse
Molding’s chief marketing officer.
The Automation Alley 7Cs program is funded by the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation. For more information, or to apply, contact Automation Alley at
800-427-5100 or [email protected].
