TROY ? Technology marketing group Automation Alley has opened a defense office at the Macomb-Oakland University INCubator, in Sterling Heights.

?Automation Alley?s new defense office will act as a gateway for many military opportunities for our 1,000 members and local companies,? said Ken Rogers, executive director, Automation Alley. ?Companies will be able to access valuable resources, such as meetings with retired military consultants and introductions to PTAC, TACOM and TARDEC representatives.?

The defense office will also house Automation Alley?s Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) program and staff. Automation Alley is providing industrial base support for the TACOM LCMC DMSMS program that identifies manufactures capable of producing replacement parts for the Army that are no longer in production. These parts will be used to maintain the Army?s key weapon systems.

?Macomb County is the heart of Michigan?s defense corridor, with more than two-thirds of all defense contractors in the state having a presence right here,? said Rogers. ?It made perfect sense to locate our defense office in such close proximity to Michigan?s only military lab and being in Macomb reinforces that Automation Alley truly is a regional organization.?

On hand at the grand opening were Senator Carl Levin, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Representative Candice Miller, Representative Gary Peters, Representative Sander Levin, Paul Gielegham, Chairman of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, Mayor Richard Notte from the City of Sterling Heights and Dr. Grace Bochenek, director of the U.S. Army TARDEC/NAC.

Automation Alley?s defense office is already producing results and to date has provided defense assistance to nearly 700 local companies that are looking to work with the military. One of the DMSMS projects includes creating an industrial capabilities database to identify new suppliers that will benefit the Army, the war fighter and also the U.S. taxpayer.

Companies interested in being added to the database can do so by clicking on DMSMS-Tardec-army.Com

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