Michigan Central Positioned to Support Detroit's Industrial Comeback

Michigan Central and its partner Newlab give more than 150 startups every tool they need to move ideas from prototype to production under one roof.  

“We think this is a model that will only continue to grow and drive economic transformation for Detroit, for Southeast Michigan, and for Michigan. It’s no longer the case where you have an idea and then it gets outsourced to be produced or manufactured,” said Josh Sirefman, CEO, Michigan Central. “It's literally about making things here, trying new things and iterating on them. I think we're going to continue to see that expansion, not just in the number of companies here, but their growth. They're staying in Detroit and bringing the kinds of skills and products that will define the future.” 

Companies at Michigan Central have access to:   

• 18,000 square feet of advanced prototyping and fabrication facilities with 3D printers, CNC machines, welding bays, and flexible assembly space in Newlab at Michigan Central facility.
• Nearly 30 venture capital firms are co-located at Michigan Central with access to funding, allowing startups to test their technology and bring it to market.
• The four-square-mile Transportation Innovation Zone, which offers streamlined permitting for test deployments such as connected and autonomous vehicles, delivery robots, and more.
• The three-mile Advanced Aerial Innovation Region, which supports the deployment of drone technology in an urban environment.

New Space to Grow

The next step is equipping startups with the space to grow. In addition to 8 acres of Michigan Central’s nearby industrial-zoned real estate that can potentially be activated for manufacturing, Newlab recently announced the launch of "The 23rd," a 380,000-square-foot manufacturing campus just west of the Michigan Central district in which they will have a dedicated space. The new facility aims to close a critical national gap in flexible production infrastructure, enabling early-stage companies to rapidly transition from prototyping to full-scale production and provides a full growth path that helps early-stage companies not just get started in Detroit but also expand, create jobs, and establish a lasting presence in the city. 

Scaling Up: The Story of Boaz Bikes 

Emil Nnani founded Boaz Bikes, a Detroit-based micro-mobility company specializing in shared, sit-down electric scooters, in 2018. “It started out as just making a safer scooter, but once I got into the industry, I realized that we had these equity gaps where communities don’t have access to transportation,” said Nnani. “Now our focus is safety, equity, and operating a profitable company.”  

Nnani said the greatest benefit of being at Newlab is the ecosystem at Michigan Central. 

“The advantage is being able to connect to companies and people that are a little further along than we are and that have already done some of the stuff we’re trying to do,” he said.  

Nnani was going to scrap a fleet of his vehicles that were between three and five years old and make new ones until he ran across another company at Newlab called Bloom. 

“Bloom gave us the right connections to help with supply chain, and they suggested that instead of spending the money to make 500 new vehicles, we should refurbish the older vehicles and bring them back to life with updated parts,” he explained. “Now, we just extended the lifecycle of our fleet. It’s a game-changer for us.”  

Garrett Winther, Newlab's chief product officer, explained that while you might expect competing companies, such as Boaz Bikes and Bloom, to avoid proximity at Newlab to prevent their ideas from being stolen, the reality is quite the opposite. 

“What we found is, they gravitated toward one another, forming clusters. They openly shared information, saying things like, 'Hey, I'm using this battery supplier,' or 'You made this mistake, and I learned from my recent visit to my manufacturer,’” he said. “What they discovered was that by helping each other, they all collectively benefited.” 

Boaz Bikes will soon be expanding operations to The 23rd. 

“The charging setup at Newlab worked well when our fleet was smaller,” Nnani said. " “But we needed a space that could handle higher volume as we scale. The 23rd gives us the operational room to refurbish vehicles, prep for deployment, and eventually support light assembly as we build out local manufacturing capacity.”