One of Ann Arbor's biggest employers for engineering and R&D talent is going public. A123 Systems issued an initial public offering last week of 28,180,501 shares of its common stock at $13.50 per share.

An IPO is a sign of not only that a company has arrived but expects significant growth in the near term. The Massachusetts-based firm bought Ann Arbor's T/J Technologies in 2006 and is maintaining its presence in the city. That equals out to 300 of its 1,000 employees in Ann Arbor, and both numbers are expected to grow.

A123 Systems specializes in hybrid and high power lithium technology that goes in the next generation of cars, like the Chevrolet Volt. It plans to build a lithium-ion battery factory in Novi after receiving a $69 million investment fro General Electric.

A123 Systems is one of the main beneficiaries of the billions of dollars of federal money being invested into electric- and hybrid-car development. The federal government is making these huge investments with the idea of putting 5 million hybrid or plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2013.

Source: A123 Systems
Writer: Jon Zemke