Anderson's banner effort; Flagship Enterprise Center boosts entrepreneurship as city bounces back from the loss of auto jobs
BYLINE: SANDY FUGATE SANDY.FUGATE@INDYSTAR.COM
It's entirely possible that Hoosiers soon will drive electric cars with nanoparticle batteries, have their car seats adjusted continuously for better comfort, and then park those cars in garages they ordered off the Internet.
Those are just a few of the ideas being pursued by entrepreneurs at the Flagship Enterprise Center in Anderson.
The center, a joint effort of the city of Anderson and Anderson University, opened in 2005 with the goal of attracting new and more diverse businesses to the area.
It's a ray of hope in a city battered by the loss of 27,000 auto industry jobs since the late 1970s, as is Forbes magazine's recent ranking of Anderson among the 100 Best Small Places for Business and Careers.
That apparent contradiction isn't surprising to Flagship President and Chief Executive Charles Staley.
Staley, who runs the Office of Engagement at Anderson University, says the electrical expertise of many former employees at auto industry businesses such as Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. and Guide Corp. offers the seeds for entrepreneurship. Although they have lost their jobs, they are filled with business ideas, skill and an overwhelming desire to work, Staley said.
"There's this incredible entrepreneurial spirit in Indiana," said Arthur Patterson, Flagship's executive director. "Entrepreneurs have lots of ideas. They are full of passion. What they need is structure. . . . We want to tap into that passion and those ideas to help them become independent, viable businesses."
The Flagship Enterprise Center is housed in a 40,000- square-foot building just off I-69 that provides various kinds of structure and support to fledgling entrepreneurs: It helps raise startup money, provides consultants to work out business plans and offers inexpensive office or manufacturing space.
Some clients operate off-site but still may use the facility's teleconferencing facilities and meeting rooms.
One company making use of the Flagship facility in a big way is Nevada-based Altairnano, which opened in the center in 2005. It produces and tests nanotechnology battery packs for automobiles.
Altairnano's Anderson site manager Dave Lynch, a former Delphi electrical engineer, said he and a small group of other former Delphi colleagues became interested in Altairnano after seeing the company's display at an industry show. Not long after that, the group reached an agreement with Altairnano to produce automotive battery packs that can be recharged quickly and in cold weather.
It's just one example. But Patterson is confident about the future.
"It is a process, and it doesn't happen overnight, but in 10 years you're going to see a very different Indiana," he said.
So far, Flagship has had enough success to warrant construction of a 55,000- square-foot addition that will house an education center, including classroom space for Purdue and Anderson university students beginning next fall.
"It will be one of the few places where you can earn your degree and go across a hall and apply it (to practical use). That's an exciting concept," Staley said.
Flagship also plans to open a 70,000-square-foot business accelerator just down the block from the Enterprise Center on June 1. The accelerator will offer low-cost office and light industrial space for startup companies.
Call Star reporter Sandy Fugate at (317) 444-6868.
__________________________
Flagship Center Clients
1NUM Corp.
Altairnano Technologies
Anderson Business Incubator
Anderson Champions LLC
Anderson Media Group
Anderson University (Falls School of Business)
Comfort Motion Technologies
EMA Archery LLC
eMerge Inc.
Esource Resource
Flagship Energy Systems Center
HealthMatch
ID Graphics
Integrated Dynamics
McCardwell Inc.
MEDiSURG Inc.
MLM Enterprise LLC
O2Diesel Corp.
P-Modular LLC
Purdue University TAP
Rivers Resources
Sun Power Technologies
SuperDrive Inc.
Symphony Motors
TAWAS ICMS
Technology Management Inc.
TechnoSoft Inc.
WorldWide Batteries
XADS
___________________
How to become a client
Flagship Enterprise Center selects clients based on a variety of factors, including how many and what type of jobs would be created by the applicant's business and the viability of the proposed business. To apply for Flagship assistance, call Arthur Patterson at (765) 622-0800.