Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Holland-based Energetx to hire 140 workers in 2010

Holland - About 140 new workers will be employed by Energetx Composites by the end of 2010. The West Michigan company also plans to create 1,000 green jobs by 2016, part of the 80,000 environmentally-friendly jobs Michigan expects to add in coming years.

Launched the summer of 2008 by the Slikker family, Energetx Composites is an advanced fiberglass composites manufacturer. Additionally, the company will provide engineering, tooling, design, process development and assembly for wind turbine components.

"Energetx is a proud Michigan company with a solid foundation that instead of resting on its laurels, decided to build on its strengths and expand into clean-energy manufacturing," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a state news release. "Its effort takes us one step closer to our goal of making Michigan the center of the nation's new energy economy."

Currently employing 18 workers, Energetx is in the process of hiring five to 10 additional employees to engineer, design and set-up the company's new manufacturing operations. Engineering professionals in tooling, advance composite design, manufacturing, quality systems and sales engineering are being recruited, and according to the company's Web site, the ideal candidate would be a "creative, energetic problem solver" posessing an engineering degree and project management experience in today's emerging wind energy markets.

The company expects to employ 160 people by the end of 2010 and offers medical, prescription and dental benefits, as well as opportunites to participate in training programs, health and wellness courses and recreational sports leagues. Employees also receive 401 (K) plans and may qualify for tuition reimbursement.

For additional employment information and current openings, visit www.energetxcomposites.com/job_openings.html.

Fisker Automotive closing Pontiac facility, 2 dozen jobs head to SoCal

Just one year after opening its Michigan engineering center in Pontiac, Fisker Automotive is relocating all two dozen Michigan employees to its Southern California headquarters.

The company announced beginning March 1st, its Irvine, Calif. headquarters will host all design, engineering, sales, marketing and administrative positions.

When Fisker Automotive, a venture-capital funded company founded by Fisker Coachbuild and Quantum Technologies, announced the opening of the 34,000 sq. ft. Michigan facility last year, the green-luxury-sports-car maker expected to employ up to 200 engineers and designers to work on development and production of the company's first extended-range plug-in hybrid, the Fisker Karma.

Sale of the $88,000 Fisker Karma has yet to launch, but after several reported delays, Green Car Advisor reports the hybrid is expected to go on sale later this year.

Relocating the Michigan jobs was part of a consolidation as the two-year-old company revs up its next extended-range plug-in hybrid program. The automaker also reported it will "dramatically" increase hiring in California, although the company has not specified when hiring will begin nor which positions will be filled.