Ann Arbor's New Eagle plans expansion as electric vehicle engineering gains momentum
New Eagle LLC is not so new.
The Ann Arbor-based engineering services firm is one year old or 10 years old - depending on how you look at it.
New Eagle founders Mickey and Rich Swortzel hope to double the company's personnel over the next year.
Photo courtesy of New Eagle
Owners Rich and Mickey Swortzel, husband and wife, launched New Eagle Software LLC in 2000 and sold it to Brunswick Corp.’s MotoTron Inc. division in 2003. MotoTron was sold in fall 2008 to Woodward Governor Company.
At around the same time, the Swortzels launched New Eagle LLC and secured a deal to distribute and provide technical support for their original embedded controls software product on behalf of Woodward.
Two years later, New Eagle is actively seeking to expand. The company’s growth is fueled in part by its momentum in engineering services for electric vehicles, hybrids and energy management systems. That segment accounts for about 40 percent of New Eagle’s business. Clients include firms like Oak Park-based Azure Dynamics Corp. and California-based battery charging network startup Better Place.
The firm, which employs about 10 engineers and five operational employees, although not all full-time, wants to double its personnel over the next year.
Rich Swortzel said New Eagle is searching for new office space, too. The startup, which has about 1,300 square feet at an office building on North Main Street and another 1,500 square feet in Scio Township, wants to consolidate into about 7,000 square feet.
Swortzel said New Eagle needs a site with office space and warehousing space that’s still attractive as a cool place to work for young engineers. He said his search has included Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and elsewhere in the area.
“You would think that space is easy to find, and it’s not,” he said.
The firm’s expertise in electronic control systems has led to new opportunities for products such as energy systems, hydraulics for wind turbines and vehicle controls.
Swortzel said New Eagle is hoping to secure pre-seed venture capital investment to support its growth. The firm also recently submitted an application to Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, a new $1 million business plan competition managed by Ann Arbor SPARK.
“We will be no more than a little company unless we can get some help,” he said. “I am exporting our products, and I need some help.”
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
Silly Sally
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 10:46 a.m.
"thats still attractive as a cool place to work for young engineers." Wow, what blatant age discrimination. There are many older engineers who have been laid off from Ford, Govt. Motors, and Fiat who would like to be considered, too. This area has all types available, including Electrical, electronics, and mechanical engineers.
David
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 10:15 a.m.
There are some attractive spaces in Saline, at reasonable rates, which have resulted in Sun Engineering, Quantum Signal and others moving to our community. Art Trapp, our Downtown Development Director, has information about all available locations in the area. He can be reached at ATrapp@cityofsaline.org As a City Council Member, I am always interested in having new businesses move to Saline.