Member news: June 2022
Lucid Motors leases space, expands in the East Valley
Lucid Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LCID) has signed a lease for more than 116,000 square feet of industrial space in Tempe. Cushman & Wakefield’s Phil Haenel, Mike Haenel and Andy Markham represented the landlord, TA Realty, as the three looked to backfill the entire space for one tenant at 525 W. 21st St. Phil Haenel confirmed that a lease was signed in March for Lucid Motors and that John Asher of AT Real Estate Services represented Lucid in the deal. Asher could not be immediately reached for comment on the deal. Read more >>
Arizona Chamber names transformational leader of the year
At its annual awards luncheon, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry today recognized Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, as the 2022 Transformational Leader of the Year. The Transformational Leader Award is one of the Chamber’s highest honors, bestowed upon individuals from Arizona’s private and public sectors who have demonstrated transformational leadership by “creating a vision for positive change in public policy, inspiring business and industry in pursuit of that vision, and enriching the future for all Arizonans. Read more >>
University of Arizona hosts Canadian startups through international soft landings program
The University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) welcomes two Canadian startups to Southern Arizona through its Global Advantage Soft Landings program to explore international expansion opportunities into the U.S. The two companies are Ecobloc which is based in St. Philip’s, Newfoundland, Canada and Longan Vision which is based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ecobloc sustainably reduces inventory loss, operational downtime and biosecurity risk resulting from rodent destruction in the global food supply chain. Longan Vision develops advanced augmented reality technology for use by first responders in dangerous environments to help save lives faster. Read more >>
Avnet and SciTech Institute partner to expand Chief Science Officers program in U.S. and internationally
Applied Energetics, Inc. gets big grant to develop optical defense systems for Marines
With a two-year, $3.89 million grant from the U.S. Navy, Tucson-based laser and optical technology company Applied Energetics Inc. will be working on an optical defense system to be used by the U.S. Marines. The grant comes from the Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) and will accelerate already ongoing research by Applied Energetics’ (OTCQB: AERG) aimed at developing and testing infrared technology as part of an ultrashort pulse laser system — with an aim toward making the technology capable of withstanding harsh conditions that Marines encounter in the field. Read more >>
GateWay partners with Greulich’s Automotive, brings new career opportunities
GateWay Community College is pleased to announce a new education and career partnership with one of Arizona’s largest automotive repair providers, Greulich’s Automotive Repair. This exciting new apprenticeship program will provide students with paid educational advancement through GateWay’s automotive program while also offering immediate employment opportunities to graduates of the program. With 18 locations in Arizona, Greulich’s Automotive Repair has been a family-owned and operated automotive empire for over 44 years. The partnership with GateWay, a workforce development leader for over 50 years, seemed like a perfect fit. Read more >>
Ideas Collide takes home four awards at the 2022 AMA Spectrum Awards
Ideas Collide is proud to announce it won four 2022 Spectrum Awards at the event hosted by American Marketing Association Phoenix which is dedicated to recognizing both the art and science of marketing. This year, Ideas Collide was nominated across numerous categories, including website, email campaigns, content marketing, television, and video. The full list of finalist categories included… Read more >>
Delta’s robotic lab proves success with local businesses
Delta Technology, LLC has announced the opening of its new Delta Robotics Lab. The lab showcases Delta Technology’s expertise and allows companies to see firsthand how they can leverage automation for their business, utilizing Delta Technology’s in-house engineering team and years of experience. Founded in 1997, Delta Technology has become known as the people who make automation move. This lab will allow other businesses to see just how automation could benefit them. And, this setting offers the unique opportunity for decision makers to see the solution before being required to make a large financial commitment. Read more >>
U.S. Space Force selects Arizona State University for partnership
The U.S. Space Force and Arizona State University signed an agreement making ASU the newest member of the service’s University Partnership Program. USSF Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Dr. Lisa Costa joined ASU President Michael M. Crow on the Tempe campus to finalize the agreement and to learn more about ASU space initiatives and capabilities. Home to the School of Earth and Space Exploration and named U.S. News & World Report’s most innovative university in the nation for seven consecutive years, ASU will now assemble partnerships and models to collaborate with the Space Force on research and education. Read more >>
Paragon Space Development Corp. part of major contract to develop NASA’s next spacesuit
An Arizona space technology company is part of the team working to develop a next-generation spacesuit to be used by NASA astronauts and others. Paragon Space Development Corp., based in Tucson, recently announced that it and Houston-based Axiom Space Inc. have been jointly awarded a 10-year contract potentially worth $3.5 billion to develop spacesuits that will allow astronauts to explore the moon’s surface and expand their spacewalk capabilities at the International Space Station. The NASA contract is part of the agency’s Exploration Extravehicular Activity (xEVAS) program. Read more >>
Digital Air Strike expands CX inventory merchandising technology solutions with Google Vehicle Ads
Digital Air Strike, the leading consumer engagement and customer experience (CX) technology and services company, today unveiled expanded inventory merchandising capabilities enabling dealers to attract, engage and retain more in-market shoppers, compete with national online retailers, and improve lead conversion rates. The company now includes advanced Google vehicle advertising capabilities in the DAS CX Tech solution suite. The solution builds on Digital Air Strike’s advanced and targeted VDP (Vehicle Details Page) technology through social media, streaming ads, and other high-impact consumer platforms. Read more >>
Uber Freight and Waymo Via partner to accelerate the future of logistics
Uber Freight and Waymo Via today announced a long-term, strategic partnership to connect their technologies and deploy autonomous trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network. This partnership brings together the power of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and leading marketplace technology, unlocking a roadmap for the thoughtful and safe implementation of autonomous trucks on America’s roads. This agreement is an important milestone that includes a deep product integration and long-term collaboration roadmap that involves building the tools and infrastructure specific to the successful deployment of autonomous trucks for Uber Freight’s shipper and carrier customers. Read more >>
Survey: 96% of Qwick employees say ‘it’s a great place to work’
Qwick, the leading on-demand platform for hospitality businesses and professionals, is a 2022 certified Great Place to Work® and has earned outstanding ratings from its employees. The company’s Great Place to Work survey results indicated that a huge 96% of Qwick’s employees agree that it is a great workplace while only 57% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company say the same about their place of employment. The company and its leadership also recently received recognition from Inc. Magazine, Ernst & Young, and multiple Arizona-based organizations where Qwick is headquartered as it continues rapid expansion across the country matching hospitality businesses and professionals shift by shift. Read more >>
Emerge launches Benchmarking, an advanced business intelligence solution providing customers with real-time market data for contracted lanes
Today, Emerge, the leading freight procurement platform, launched Emerge Benchmarking, an enhancement to its RFP solution that empowers data-driven decision-making. Enabled by Machine Learning, Emerge Benchmarking updates and aggregates freight industry data from numerous trusted sources, providing users with vital business intelligence and market insights in real-time so they can quickly evaluate options and make informed decisions. Read more >>
ZorroSign recognized as the most innovative blockchain company from Sri Lanka in 2022
ZorroSign, Inc., a global leader in digital signature solutions using blockchain technology, today announced its recognition as “Most Innovative Blockchain Company from Sri Lanka” by APAC Business Headlines. The award celebrates ZorroSign’s software development team in Sri Lanka as they lead innovation in blockchain technologies for the company’s global customers. ZorroSign’s multi-chain blockchain platform unites digital signatures, identity-as-a-service (IDaaS), contract lifecycle management (CLM), privacy compliance, patented fraud prevention, user authentication, and document validation to efficiently address the challenges of electronic document security for major corporations, government organizations, and individuals around the world. Read more >>
Joyce Mullen is a rare breed: A female CEO leading a Fortune 500 company
Joyce Mullen was looking forward to taking some time off after 21 years at Dell Technologies, but the break didn’t last long. “I had a plan to take off six months or a year, and then after about two months, my husband said, ‘This is not working for me, you have to go back to work, you’re killing me.’” Mullen (with marriage intact) set her sights on Chandler-based Insight Enterprises Inc., a company she had worked with extensively during her time at Dell. Mullen joined Insight, one of Arizona’s largest companies, back in 2020 as the president of North America operations. She moved up and became the CEO of the company in January, replacing Ken Lamneck who has retired. Read more >>
Construction, hiring on schedule at Taiwan Semiconductor’s north Phoenix factory, company says
It’s been two years since Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced plans to build a massive factory in north Phoenix and, in a rare update, the company now says it is still on track to start production in 2024. Development is progressing as planned, with structural construction of the factory buildings and all support structures nearing completion. Installation of the central chipmaking tools is now expected to start in early 2023, a key step in bringing the factory, or fab, online. TSMC is continuing to hire for the forthcoming fab, which is expected to employ thousands in the future. There are currently 500 Arizona employees training in Taiwan, following the initial batch of 250 employees the company sent overseas in April 2021. Read more >>
Honeywell partnership developing tiny electric motor for urban transport jet
A two-year-old partnership that Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace entered with Japanese company Denso Corp. is yielding fruit in the form of a tiny electric motor the two companies are developing for a jet being built by another aerospace company, Lilium. Based in Germany, Lilium is working to develop the first all-electric vertical takeoff and landing jet for use in urban centers as part of regional transportation systems, and the Honeywell-Denso partnership is part of that effort. Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) and Denso have already been working on the project for nearly two years after signing an alliance agreement in 2019 to design, develop, produce and sell electric propulsion system products for aircraft. Lilium has also been part of the development process during that time. Read more >>