The Irvine Incubation Center, which opened about a year ago with a goal of helping fledgling technology companies take flight, is expected to shut down now that it has lost its only sponsor.
The Irvine Chamber of Commerce pulled funding in late September and said it plans to dissolve the organization.
An email sent Sept. 26 to Managing Director Bob Flack, hired a year ago to lead operations at the center, said in part that, “The Executive Committee has decided to end Irvine Chamber support, financial or in-kind, for the IIC.”
“It was completely out of left field,” Flack said. “There was no advanced warning.”
The center struggled to find alternative sponsors and a proven business model, according to Flack.
The chamber said Flack failed to meet a number of objectives, from securing more occupants to launching a virtual participation program.
“Financially it was losing lots of money without any particular end in sight and it was not able to generate cash flow,” said Chris Lynch, vice president of economic development at the Irvine chamber. “We just decided it was not the prudent thing to continue to support that organization.”
The Irvine chamber is funded through membership fees and hotel taxes collected through the city.
In addition to the chamber sponsorship, the center received monthly lease payments from participating companies and entrepreneurs.
The center had an initial annual budget of about $370,000, according to Flack.
It occupied 11,000 square feet near the University of California, Irvine.
The center opened in October 2010 with a stated goal of assisting startups and small- to-medium-sized businesses with mentorship, information on funding sources and networking opportunities.
The center had about nine companies in residence at the time it closed.
Microsemi Plant Closures
Aliso Viejo chipmaker Microsemi Corp. was forced to shut down a second plant in the past month as widespread flooding affected Bangkok, Thailand and surrounding areas.
The closures are expected to affect revenue in the current and coming quarters, according to Chief Executive James Peterson.
“We remain focused on the safety of our team and the community as we are working on a recovery plan to identify solutions that ensure our customers’ needs are met as soon as is safe and practicable,” he said.
Last month, Microsemi suspended operations at a manufacturing plant in the Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya, about 40 miles north of Bangkok.
Heavy flood damage was reported, and the industrial park lost power. Thai officials ordered an evacuation of the area.
Microsemi’s equipment sustained damage there as well, according to Rob Adams, vice president of corporate development.
That operation remained out of commission due to high water levels, as of last week.
The second closure came in Bangkok.
The two shuttered factories together account for as much as 5% of Microsemi’s quarterly revenue, executives said.
The company posted record sales of $216.7 million in the June quarter, up 59% from a year earlier.
Microsemi is scheduled to release September-quarter financials Nov. 10.
Microsemi is the third-largest chipmaker based in Orange County.
It’s one of several local companies that have suffered disruptions to operations in Thailand, where the combination of a heavy monsoon season and typhoons has caused one of the worst floods in decades.
Bits and Pieces
Irvine-based eDocuPlus Inc. has been acquired by Flex Discovery, an Austin, Texas, company that provides data management services to law firms and legal departments. EDocuPlus provides document management and outsourcing services. Financial details of the transaction were undisclosed … Huntington Beach-based AnyMeeting, which provides free Web conferencing and webinar services, has rolled out a new user interface that allows six-way video conferencing.
The company, funded by Tech Coast Angels and a similar group in Pasadena, allows users to edit and record meetings and access bookmarks for specific points in a presentation. AnyMeeting is supported by advertising. Display ads run on the right side of media rooms during conferences and are rotated every minute.
