Tecumseh Products Co. opens 35,000-square-foot 'corporate think-tank' in Pittsfield Township
Tecumseh Products Co. purchased a 50,000-square-foot building in Pittsfield Township in 2010 for its technology center.
Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com
The 78-year-old company — which manufactures compressors for multiple types of cooling units and employs 7,300 worldwide — purchased a 50,000-square-foot building in the State Street Business Park on Hines Drive in 2010.
After transforming 35,000 square feet into various lab spaces, the company has roughly $15 million invested in the building, including new and old equipment, said CEO Jim Connor.
Tecumseh Products employee Kamel Elagamy shows the company's scanning electron microscope at its grand opening Tuesday.
At a grand opening celebration this week, the company showcased its new space and technology, much of which is devoted to developing more energy efficient and eco-friendly products.
The facility contains computer simulation, testing and analysis tools, including two large-scale environmental chambers with hydrocarbon refrigerant testing capability.
The opening of the technology center relocates 25 employees from Tecumseh to Pittsfield Township, and Connor said the company plans to bring about five more people to work at the new center.
“This is like our corporate think-tank,” Connor said. “It’s not a lot of people, but very important.”
Connor said Tecumseh Products — which already has 50 employees at its corporate headquarters on Oak Valley Drive in Pittsfield Township — chose to relocate its technology center from Tecumseh to Pittsfield largely because of the University of Michigan. The company moved its headquarters from Tecumseh to Pittsfield in 2008.
“There was a real thought process we went through of whether we should move to Mississippi,” Connor said. “When we bought this building, we knew it’d be a commitment to this area. We like it because it’s a place to draw talent. It’s a great place to live and to work.”
The opening of the Pittsfield Township technology center comes shortly after Tecumseh Products warned of additional cuts after the company posted a net loss of $73.2 million in 2011.
Its net loss rose 27.9 percent from 2010 to 2011, leading to a number of initiatives in 2011 to reduce overhead costs, including reducing headcount.
Michael Smith, the company's manager of global marketing communications and branding, said there has been no "large-scale restructuring" since the announcement in March, but that Tecumseh Products continually evaluates its staffing levels and makes adjustments.
One positive sign for the company is sales increases in Latin America, where air conditioning is becoming more common in homes.
Tecumseh Products has additional North American facilities in Mississippi, Tennessee, Canada and Mexico.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Comments
RoboLogic
Sun, May 6, 2012 : 6:22 p.m.
I worked for TPC from 1987 to 1993. Tecumseh was once the refrigeration capital of the world. They failed to adapt to an ever changing world, then lost their dominance to foreign competitors. In the mean time they used cut throat tactics (in the 80s and 90s) on their employees. I watched many 35 year seniority employees who served them faithfully... be told they had two hours to clear their desk out and leave. Also, at every contract they threatened to move the operations to MS, or KY. The Tecumseh, MI facility which once employed upwards of 5000, now sits as an empty shell, unwanted and unloved. TPC made their bed, now they (whats left of them) must lie in it. Ray W. Herrick, Founder would be ashamed. Tecumseh Products Company is ...OLD NEWS.
Marlene Consiglio
Sun, May 6, 2012 : 3:15 p.m.
This really burns me up. My husband worked for Tecumseh Products for 27 years at their "research facility" in Ann Arbor on Research Park Dr, until one day they came in and told all the employees that they were closing this facility. They gave them the option of taking early retirement if that was applicable or they might try to place them somewhere else within the Company, maybe even Brazil.. One of the carrots dangled for the employees was the company would pay Health Care for the employee and spouse as part of taking the early retirement with a lower pension than what would have been if they would stay. This happened in 2007, now in 2012, we get the letter they will no longer pay any health care for my husband or me, after 2014. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on them. Now they open this new faciility less than a mile from where the old one was. HUMM, maybe the ploy in 2007 was to get rid of all the long time higher paid employees, and now they go back on what they had promised to us. The thing now is to buy American made products, but maybe we should by American made products by companies that have a conscious, which by their actions Tecumseh Products proved they do not.
Mumbambu, Esq.
Mon, May 7, 2012 : 8:03 p.m.
What will really upset you is that Tecumseh products was revamped in 07 after BBK business consulting was brought in with Project leader, Jim Connor. Guess who became CEO after the firings! A smart man who knows a good opportunity when he sees it.
djacks24
Mon, May 7, 2012 : 2:38 a.m.
You should be thankful for what you did get for as long as you did. How many other companies are willing to fund pensions and pay family health care for retirees? Its this kind of entitlement mentality that just about ruined the American auto industry and they had to phase it out however possible to become profitable again.
clownfish
Sun, May 6, 2012 : 12:31 p.m.
I guess they did not get the memo from our .com posters, the UM is not a resource, it is a drain on society, it being a government operation.
tdw
Sun, May 6, 2012 : 12:13 p.m.
Is this the same Tecumseh that makes engines ? and do they still make them in Tecumseh ?
GarySaline
Sun, May 6, 2012 : 3:07 p.m.
Yes this is the same Tecumseh that made engines but they only make compressers now and there main plant moved to Topelo, Miss. Tecumseh Engine is no longer made since 2009.