EcoMotors launches tech center in Troy, to create 156 jobs

One hundred miles-per-gallon sounds pretty nice. Especially since the pain at the pump doesn’t look like it will subside any time soon.

And though this development isn’t right around the corner – or even down the block – it’s what EcoMotors International Inc. is striving to achieve. In the meantime the startup diesel engine developer is looking to assist the automotive industry in hitting the 35 miles-per-gallon Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard that was approved at the beginning of the year.

To get this done, EcoMotors has decided to launch a $7 million tech center in Troy.

“The talent pool is so strong for engineers here,” President and COO John Coletti says, who spent more than 30 years with the Ford Motor Co. “I-75 corridor (in Troy) is a perfect location for the center.”

The Tech Center is expected to bring in about 150 jobs with an additional 183 spin-offs, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

“Presently we have seven employees in Southeast Michigan,” Coletti says. “By 2010 we want to be at 30, but we expect to reach about 150 employees.”

EcoMotors began in February of this year. Their engine technology has been under development for the military and will go into an actual truck by this summer. But, Coletti says, their goal is to bring this technology to the hands of the consumers.

Which will in turn, relieve the stress on their wallets.

Source: John Coletti, President and COO of EcoMotors International Inc.
Writer: Terry Parris, Jr.