Ann Arbor SPARK supported Valicor’s recent expansion by helping the company secure more than $3.5 million in incentives from Scio Township. As part of its expansion, Valicor, located in Dexter, Mich., will invest $5 million in the expansion add 16 new jobs, mostly in research and chemical engineering.
Valicor was founded in 1997 as an industrial fluids recycling company. Valicor’s services reduce waste and cost to manufacturers by making industrial oils and fluids useful, longer.
“Separation technologies and chemistry are imperative for Valicor’s future growth,” said company CEO Tom Czartoski. “We are excited that our new facility will allow Valicor to focus on new key products and technologies for future growth –including a technology with the potential to extract valuable products from algae such as Omega 3 and oil. All of the research and development for this multi-year company project will take place at our new location. Ann Arbor SPARK has been a great partner in helping guide us through this project.”
The company currently employs 40 in Dexter and another 210 at other locations including its waste management facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. Valicor’s additional staffing will allow for expanded research and process development to support the company’s continued growth.
“Valicor is the perfect example of the type of company that can thrive in the Ann Arbor region,” said Paul Krutko, Ann Arbor SPARK president and CEO. “Its expansion is dependent on the highly skilled workforce that’s here; the researchers and scientists that call this region home are the brilliant minds that drive companies like Valicor forward. Ann Arbor SPARK is pleased to have collaborated with Scio Township to put together incentives that support Valicor’s growth.”
In addition to expanded research capabilities, Valicor’s new facility offers a model of green building technology. The building includes natural lighting, geothermal heating and cooling systems, environmentally sensitive building materials and passive solar heating.
