Tech Tour Day Zero: Southfield to Kalamazoo

By Matt Roush

Greetings from Kalamazoo, where the Great Lakes IT Report's Spring Tech Tour 2009 kicks off this morning.

For the fifth straight spring, I'll be driving all over Michigan looking for the latest and greatest in the high-tech economy that's going to turn this state around.

The spring tour focuses mostly on smaller companies and entrepreneurship, and that's reflected in the companies I'll be seeing.

Tomorrow, for instance, I'm meeting with everything from a software developer to a major regional health information exchange effort to a mail-order iPod repair shop to an e-merchant.

In the days ahead I'll be meeting with specialty industry software developers, telecom providers, various types of e-merchants, alternative energy manufacturers and researchers in everything from wind to solar to batteries, and more.

You'll be able to hear about my experiences on the radio at 5:20 and 8:20 a.m. and 3:40 p.m. daily, as well as right here on www.glitr.com and a special Tech Tour page at www.wwj.com.

Oh, and this spring's Tech Tour Mobile? A very spiffy GMC Yukon Hybrid from LaFontaine Automotive Group in Highland. Like its cousin the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid that I drove last year, the big truck features good road manners and an amazing 25 mpg at highway speeds -- in a huge truck that seats eight comfortably and can tow 6,000 pounds. I'll be enjoying putting about 1,500 miles on this puppy the next seven days.

The rest of the Tech Tour stops are as follows: The West Shore from South Haven to Manistee Thursday, Traverse City Friday, Marquette Saturday, Mt. Pleasant and the Tri-Cities Monday, Flint Tuesday and Lansing next Wednesday, May 13.

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