A technology giant that grew up in Paw Paw and has become the top selling battery case manufacturer in North America is expanding its footprint in Michigan's Great Southwest and will create 65 new jobs as a result. Mophie, the now California-based tech company that manufactures accessories for smartphones and other mobile devices, will invest $685,000 in a new call center in Texas Township between Paw Paw and Kalamazoo thanks to the help of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation which helped land the center in Michigan rather than a competing site in Utah.
Mophie was actually launched ten years ago as mStation Audio in California but quickly relocated to the Paw Paw area in a pole barn next to co-founder Shawn Dougherty's childhood home. A year later mStation Audio acquired Vermont-based Mophie and released its first Juice Pack battery devices for iPhone users, and adopted the Mophie name. In 2009 they relocated corporate headquarters back to Santa Ana, California to capitalize on its proximity to Apple, but maintained back of house operations from distribution to tech support and customer service here in Southwest Michigan.
Earlier this year, Zagg, a consumer electronics accessories retailer, acquired Mophie for $100-million, and Mophie is listed as an Inc. 5000 company and earned a rating on the Top 100 Consumer Products & Services Companies list in 2013 when they scored $215.4-million in sales.
This week Mophie received a $374,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant from the MEDC's Michigan Strategic Fund. Steve Arwood is Chief Executive Officer at the MEDC. He calls the Mophie deal a great one, saying their "decision to expand in Michigan rather than in another state will mean additional jobs for years to come." Mophie's parent corporation Zagg is headquartered in Salt Lake City, and that was the other optional site for the new call center that Michigan wins.
The 65 new jobs on the way are tabbed at $15 per hour, and the MEDC grant is contingent upon the company coming through with those jobs. Arwood also calls Mophie's decision to invest in Michigan, "further evidence of Michigan's talented workforce and our commitment to helping companies grow and generate new jobs."
Mophie also garnered support from Kalamazoo's Southwest Michigan First who provided staff time and resources as an economic development agency working to win the project for Michigan.
In addition to Mophie headquarters in California and here in Southwest Michigan, the tech company also has international operations in the Netherlands, Hong Kong and China.
