jon zemke

Climate Technologies Corp. was a classic Metro Detroit business before the automotive industry crash: A decades-old firm with a solid three quarters of its business dependent on the fortunes of the Big 3.

When the automakers went down with the rest of the economy in 2008, Climate Technologies Corp. went with them, going from a $30 million firm with 30 employees to a $5 million company with a staff of five.

But the Climate Technologies Corp. story isn't about its fall as much as its reinvention and current rise.

The latest round of tax incentives dished out by the Michigan Economic Development Corp are heavy on the automotive end again, scoring $96.5 million in new investment that should create 269 new jobs in Metro Detroit over the next five years.

Bluetrek is establishing a presence in the U.S. and it's doing it with a headquarters here in Metro Detroit.

Right now the wireless accessory company (think Bluetooth headsets) gets its software from California, product design from Europe, and manufacturing from Asia.

It sells its products, the Crescendo and Metal Evolution, in Europe but is breaking into the North American market and is using the virtual office it established six months ago in St.

Clair Shores as its base.

Most companies that took a hit and are trying to rebound after the recession. Brand Labs isn't most companies.

The Rochester-based e-commerce firm didn't miss a beat over the last couple of years, continuing to grow and hire at an accelerated pace.

It started with four people, including its two co-founders, in 2004. Today the firm employs 36 with a couple of interns and independent contractors.

It has hired at least 12 people over the last year and expects to maintain that pace for the foreseeable future.

Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize has become so successful it can't help but feel the ups and downs of the overall economy.

The 11-year-old firm took a hit when the economy tanked and big business cut marketing budgets in recent years, but is now on the rise as the economy recovers.

"This year, we're doing great," says Josh Linkner, chairman and founder of ePrize.

"We're back in growth mode. We're hiring and back in the groove."

A year and a half ago, Danotek Motion Technologies made the shift to wind turbine technology and hasn't looked back.

Since then it has moved from Ann Arbor to a bigger facility in Canton and gone on a hiring spree.

The 50-person company has doubled its staff in the last 18 months and expects to hire more. Don Naab, president & CEO of Danotek Motion Technologies, says his company is on "the cusp of significant growth."

Troy's zferral is Metro Detroit, international, and virtual-based, all at the same time. The North Woodward Tech Incubator-housed start-up has founders and programmers here and in Poland who constantly work over Skype to build their new business.

"We're definitely growing," says Jeff Epstein, co-founder of zferral.

"I expect to add some staff here in Michigan soon."

Last week was a healthy one for Beringea and its Michigan-based portfolio. The state's largest venture capital firm invested in a smart phone accessory company and received subsequent backup for one of its previous green-tech investments in Ann Arbor-based Sakti3.

The electrification of the automobile is supposed to be the future of motorized vehicles. If so it will mean a lot of new jobs in the area, and Detroit Electric is stepping up as the latest company to fill that void.

A major international corporation is making a major investment in Metro Detroit now that General Electric is dropping $20 million into its Van Buren Township office.

The 118-year-old company originally founded by Thomas Edison is setting up a proprietary development and manufacturing process center that should creat