Three outlet mall plans in battle over anchors

It only takes twosignatures to payout $1 million instate businessincentives. Is that ...

Efficient ortoo littleoversight?

BY CHRIS GAUTZ

CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

Since 2011, more than $65 mil-lion in state funds have beenawarded to businesses

around the state with the signa-tures of just two individuals — infact, most business incentives areapproved that way.

An expedited approval processdubbed “delegated authority” al-lows Michael Finney, presidentand CEO of theMichigan EconomicDevelopment Corp.;state TreasurerKevin Clinton orhis designee; andMark Morante,the interimstrategic fundmanager, to ap-prove incentivesof $1 million orless, as long astwo of them signoff.

Businesseshave been award-ed 129 projectsunder delegatedauthority since2011, comparedwith 89 projectsapproved in public meetings bythe Michigan Strategic Fund board.

“The whole idea is to keep pro-jects moving as efficiently as possi-ble,” Finney said. Delegated au-thority can shave off a few days toa month of approval time, depend-ing on where it falls between theStrategic Fund board’s monthlymeetings.

Delegated authority is similar topolicies in companies that requirefewer signoffs on relatively small-

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Hilfinger leaves MEDC post,returns to Foley & Lardner

Michigan Economic Develop-ment Corp. COO and Execu-tive Vice President Steve Hil-finger is leaving Friday toreturn to Foley & Lardner LLP,the law firm he left for an ap-pointment by Gov. Rick Sny-

der in 2011.Hilfin-

ger, 52, ofBeverlyHills, willbe in thefirm’s De-troit office,where hewas man-aging part-ner before

becoming director of the De-partment of Licensing and Regu-latory Affairs. He moved to theMEDC in December 2012.

Hilfinger helped found theDetroit office in 2000, and willbe a partner in Foley’s trans-actional and securities prac-tice.

— Chad Halcom

This Just In

Page 3

ON THE WEBA database ofMEDC incentivesapproved since 2011,crainsdetroit.com/medcdata

JULY 24THE HENRY, DEARBORN

7:30 – 10 a.m.

Register at crainsdetroit.com/events

Stories of David vs. Goliath

First-hand tales from executives competing against much larger rivals

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CRAIN’S MICHIGAN BUSINESS

Three outlet mall plans in battle over anchors

BY SHERRI WELCH

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

There’s not just one new outletshopping center planned for metroDetroit — there are three.

And the race is on to see whichproject will be able to land the retailanchors needed to launch construc-tion first.

Last week, Newton, Mass.-basedNew England Development made newswhen it announced plans to con-struct a 325,000-square-foot outletcenter in Romulus near Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

But outlet center projects are also quietly comingtogether in two other metro Detroit communities,Canton Township and Chesterfield Township.

Birmingham-based Center Man-agement Services Inc. and Cincin-nati-based Jeffrey R. Anderson RealEstate Inc. are developing the Out-lets of Southeast Michigan inChesterfield Township on the eastside of I-94, north of M-59, on landthey purchased four years ago.

And Baltimore-based ParagonOutlet Partners LLC is under con-tract to purchase about 50 acres ofland in Canton Township at I-275and Ford Road for a center totaling375,000 square feet of retail space.

This project is scheduled to open in summer 2016.Although one of the project developers — the air-

COURTESY OF NEW ENGLAND DEVELOPMENT

New England Development plans tobuild an outlet center near DetroitMetropolitan Airport.

See MEDC Page 31

Finney

Developers take to land, sea, air to woo retailers

From zero to 20,000How one man’s vision is bringing thousands to the streets of Detroit. Story on Page 32

From zero to 20,000How one man’s vision is bringing thousands to the streets of Detroit. Story on Page 32

Mt. Pleasant electronicsrecycler seeks space

Golf grip maker gets aholdof one, as sales take flight

Survey finds biz bracing for 7%jump in health care costs

Vapor chase: Firms take upthe growing e-inhaler habit

Salute to Entrepreneurs: Themany faces of success, Page 21

Hilfinger

ANTHONY BARCHOCK

See Outlets, Page 30

20140609-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 6/6/2014 6:08 PM Page 1

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June 9, 2014CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESSPage 2

Grand Rapids transit systemponders quicker bus line to GVSU

As the Grand Rapids area’s tran-sit system nears completion of theSilver Line (Crain’s, May 12)through the heart of the city, TheRapid is now pursuing a similarbus rapid transit system connect-ing downtown Grand Rapids andthe Grand Valley State Universitycampus in Allendale, the GrandRapids Business Journal reported.

“Once we have the study com-pleted and have that analysis done,then that will determine howthings move forward,” Rapid CEOPeter Varga said. The so-calledLaker Line is being sold as a betterand faster connection between thetwo areas.

Schuette: Chesapeake Energylied to landowners on leases

Oklahoma City-based ChesapeakeEnergy Corp., already facing antitrustclaims in Michigan over bids on gasexploration rights, was chargedwith racketeering and fraud for al-legedly lying to landowners aboutleases it took out on their property,Bloomberg News reported.

The allegations announced byMichigan Attorney General BillSchuette follow earlier accusa-tions that the company colludedwith a unit of Calgary, Alberta-based Encana Corp. to divide theMichigan counties in which they’d

bid for exploration rights in 2010,driving down prices at auction.

Boaters still trying to get theirsea legs as winter delays season

That winter we thought wouldnever end apparently left boaterswith a hangover. The GrandRapids Press reported that ordersare stacking up for seasonal dockand lift installations. Some plansto put boats in the water at mari-nas also have been delayed.

Kevin Zoodsma of Action WaterSports in Hudsonville said morepeople waited longer to prepare forthe boating season. Zoodsma saidsome pushed back plans until afterMemorial Day weekend, typicallythe start of boating season. At RiverHaven Marina in Grand Haven,owner Dave Lenger said snow and

ice melted later than usual, delay-ing work by about two weeks.

MICH-CELLANEOUS� DTE Energy Co. is buying one of

two Pheasant Run wind parks inHuron County in the Thumb froma subsidiary of NextEra Energy Re-sources LLC and will rename itBrookfield Wind Park, The Associat-ed Press reported. The park has 44wind turbines.

� Grand Rapids-based Mercan-tile Bank Corp. and Alma-basedFirstbank Corp. have completedtheir merger, creating the third-largest bank based in Michigan.The merged bank has $2.9 billionin assets and 53 offices in the state.

� Borgess Health President andCEO Paul Spaude plans to retire inSeptember, MiBiz reported.

Spaude, who joined the Kalama-zoo-based health system in 2005,said he wants to spend time withhis father, who is critically ill.

� Mary Kay VanDriel wasnamed president of the Big Rapidsand Reed City hospitals that arepart of Grand Rapids-based Spec-trum Health System. VanDriel will

replace President Sam Daughertywhen he retires June 30.

� Atlanta-based Newell Rubber-maid said it has opened a 40,000-square-foot design center in Kala-mazoo, which will be staffed byabout 100 design professionalswhen at full capacity, the GrandRapids Business Journal reported.

� Flint Community Schools plansto lay off 250 employees as part of a$10.4 deficit elimination plan, TheFlint Journal reported. No teach-ers are included in the list.

� Grand Rapids Community Col-lege and Grand Valley State Universitysigned an agreement to make iteasier for students to transfer be-tween the two institutions, The As-sociated Press reported.

MICHIGAN BRIEFS

What would you think if you heard that Dow Chem-ical Co. was going to help restore a coveted painting?Scrubbing Bubbles? It turns out that research fromthe Midland-based company had a hand — and a del-icate one at that — in the restoration of a MarkRothko painting, which has been returned to publicdisplay at London’s Tate Modern museum.

In 2012, Rothko “Black on Maroon” was damagedby graffiti. It took 18 months of conservation workthat relied on analytical information from Dow coat-ing material experts to successfully restore it,MLive reported.

Dow experts analyzed ink from the graffiti, thenidentified possible solvents to clean it. Dow scien-tists spent two days testing solvents on dried sam-ples of the graffiti ink.

“We were able to narrow it down to a small list ofsolvents and microemulsions for consideration inthe Rothko restoration,” Dow scientist MelindaKeefe said in a statement. “We sent this list of sol-vents to Tate, and their conservation experts addedthese to the range of options they were testing in or-der to determine the best possible solution: a blendof benzyl alcohol and ethyl lactate.”

Dow helps remove unwelcome abstract expressionism

CORRECTIONS� An incorrect date for the Walsh College commencement was given inthe June 2 edition. It is June 21. Also, an incorrect date was given for theretirement of the keynote speaker, Jeffrey Bergeron. He will retire fromthe Detroit office of Ernst & Young LLP at the end of this month. A pastmanaging partner of the firm, he is currently senior advisory partner.� A story on Page M28 of the June 2 issue mistakenly reported thatOsama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, has daughterswho were harassed because of political views expressed in that newspa-per. Siblani has been harassed for those views, but he does not havedaughters.

Find business news fromaround the state at crainsdetroit.com/crainsmichiganbusiness.

Sign up for the Crain’s Michi-gan Morning e-newsletter atcrainsdetroit.com/emailsignup.


June 9, 2014 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 3

These companies have significant mention in thisweek’s Crain’s Detroit Business:3S International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

ACLU of Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

AGS Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

American Iron and Steel Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Atlas Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Atwater Brewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Avomeen Analytical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Belfor USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Beyond Gaming of Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Brewery Vivant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Cascade Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Center Management Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation . . . . . 10

Chrysler Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Detroit Economic Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Detroit Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

DiverseNote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Domino’s Pizza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Dow Chemical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Dragonmead Microbrewery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Driven Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

EOS Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Fairpoint Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Fresh Corner Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

George Matick Chevrolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

GolfWRX.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Hatch Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Impact Management Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Karp & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

LorAnn Oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Mackinac Center for Public Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Mango Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Mayser Polymer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

McGraw Wentworth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Michigan Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Michigan Muslim Community Council . . . . . . . . . . 32

Mister-E-Liquid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Motus Integrated Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Perrigo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Plasan Carbon Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Prolim Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Revolve Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

RGIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

SuperStroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Tomcor North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Victory Electronic Cigarettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Wild Bill’s Tobacco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

THIS WEEK @WWW.CRAINSDETROIT.COM

Company index

Department index

Just like mother used to make (Yeah, right)Lime poached shrimp on avocado mousse and cilantro, topped with tomato relish isjust one of the dishes at four restaurants new to downtown Detroit. View a photogallery accompanying “Salad, kabobs and small plates” at crainsdetroit.com.

Atwater wanted to, so now

it can — in cans, Page 6

Inside

BANKRUPTCIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

BUSINESS DIARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

CLASSIFIED ADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

KEITH CRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

MARY KRAMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

OTHER VOICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

RUMBLINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

STAGE TWO STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . 26

WEEK ON THE WEB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

BY BILL SHEA


Golfers, as a breed, are sometimesknown to buy the latest gadgets in des-peration to shave strokes from their

game, while equipment makers come and go.If the weekend duffer sees a PGA Tour pro

using something new to win tournaments,odds are that equipment manufacturer willsee a payday.

That’s held true for Wixom-based Super-Stroke, a maker of patented oversized rubbergrips for putters. A quarter of PGA players ina given week’s tournament are using Super-Stroke grips.

Several high-profile PGA Tour victories

and strong finishes by pros using Super-Stroke grips have turned owner Dean Ding-man’s $750,000 purchase of the brand in 2009into a business forecast to post revenue of $30 million this year.

In 2009, SuperStroke sold 5,000 grips for$700,000. Last year, it sold 1.5 million grips for$15 million.

The success has Dingman, the company’sco-owner and president, planning to moveinto grips for other clubs.

SuperStroke isn’t Dingman’s first forayinto golf equipment.

In the late 1990s, Dingman and his brother,Darin, launched a line of low-priced golf clubs

Electronics recycler seeks spacePlant couldcreate 20-50local jobs

BY KIRK PINHO


An electronics recycling compa-ny owned by a former Mt. Pleasantmayor and members of the politi-cally well-known Yob family is try-ing to open its first recycling plant

in Southeast Michigan. Mt. Pleasant-based 3S Internation-

al LLC, founded in March 2013, hasplans to open a total of six more re-cycling centers in metropolitan ar-eas in the next 3½ years years afteropening a 60,000-square-foot plantin Tinley Park, Ill., about 30 milessouthwest of Chicago, according toGina Yob, vice president of salesand marketing.

Yob said 3S — whose namestands for “safe, secure and sustain-able” — is considering locations inthe tri-county area. It expects to oc-cupy 40,000 to 80,000 square feet andcreate between 20 and 50 mostly

full-time jobs bythe end of theyear.

She declinedto say how largeof an invest-ment the localplant would be.

The companydoes not plannew construc-tion. Finding an

existing building for the plant hasproven difficult because 3S needsceilings at least 21 feet high, Yobsaid.

The company has considered for-

mer General Motors Co. buildings nowbeing marketed by the RACER Trust,but their square footages are “waybeyond what we need,” she said.

In the Michigan plant, therecould be two recycling machines,each of which could recycle about14 million pounds of electronics,which is the current electronicsconsumption rate of about 6 mil-lion people, Yob said.

Cellphones, flat-screen TVs, lap-top and desktop computers, DVDplayers, video game consoles andothers are among the items 3S canrecycle.

Yob

Growth takes hold forgolf club grip maker

See Recycler, Page 29

SuperStroke ownerDean Dingmanpaid $750,000 forthe brand in 2009.The business isforecast to post$30 million inrevenue this year.

JOHN SOBCZAK

SuperStroke sales soar from $700,000 to $15M

See Grips, Page 33

Survey: Biz sees7% jump in costsfor health care

BY JAY GREENE


Employers in Southeast Michigan project anacceleration of health care cost increases thisyear — a 7 percent jump, up from 4 percent in2013 — as taxes and fees from the Patient Pro-tection and Affordable Care Act add to typicalannual inflationaryincreases in healthcosts, according toMcGraw Wentworth’s2014 Southeast Michi-gan Mid-MarketGroup Benefits sur-vey.

The cost increasesfor Southeast Michi-gan employers alsoare higher than na-tional projections of5.2 percent.

“We knew thatchanges related tohealth reform (taxesand fees) would add 1percent to 5 percent” toemployer costs thisyear, said BeckyMcLaughlan, manag-ing director at Troy-based McGraw Went-worth.

The Obamacarefees, which began insmall doses last year,were imposed onhealth insurers andemployers to pay forsubsidies for expand-ed coverage and create a special fund to protectinsurers from losses for covering sicker pa-tients with higher costs in the individual mar-ket. Insurance companies passed on these coststo their insured clients and self-insured em-ployers paid the pass-through costs.

But McLaughlan said she is surprised that em-ployers, in turn, haven’t passed along the federal-ly mandated fees to employees as much as they

See Survey, Page 30

ANJANA SCHROEDER/CDB

SURVEYING COSTSProjected increases inemployer health carecosts2014: 7 percent2013: 4 percent

FamilymonthlyPPO costs2014: $391

FamilymonthlyHMO costs2014: $308

Percentage of premiumcosts paid by employeefor family PPO coverage2014: 27 percent2013: 26 percent

Percentage of premiumcosts paid by employeefor family HMO coverage2014: 25 percent2013: 27 percent

�5%

�11%


BY BILL SHEA


The Detroit/Wayne County Port Au-thority likely won’t have a new ex-ecutive director in place until Jan.1, the organization’s board chair-man said.

Until then, the authority willspend its time concentrating on thesummer shipping and tourism sea-son, bringing the five-memberboard’s two newest members up tospeed, and working out what itwants in a new top executive, saidTom Orzechowski, who was electedchairman in May.

“We’re kind of a blank slate, andwe can craft it,” he said.

The authority must replaceJohn Jamian, whose three-yearcontract ended May 31. Orze-chowski said he expected thesearch to fill the position to beginlater this year and wrap up with ahire in place at the start of 2015.

New prioritiesBoosting the authority’s eco-

nomic development ability so thatit creates jobswill be a priorityunder the nextexecutive direc-tor, said Orze-chowski, theAlgonac-basedvice president ofthe Seafarers In-ternational Union’sLakes and In-land Waters Dis-

trict. The union represents U.S.merchant mariners.

“We want to develop (the au-thority) more as an economic en-gine,” he said.

Orzechowski said he wants to seethe authority continue its effort toseek legislative permission to fi-nance bond projects away from theriverfront, an issue that has drawnpolitical opposition as a confusingand unnecessary replication of ser-vices already available in the city.

Such a move would requiretalks to ensure understanding andcooperation from agencies thathave expressed opposition, such asthe Detroit Economic Growth Corp.,Orzechowski said.

The port authority currently ispermitted to finance projects relat-ed to the port facilities or develop-ment along the riverfront.

For example, it was the conduitfor $43 million in bonds issued in2004 to aid construction of theBeaubien Place parking garage ad-jacent to the Renaissance Center.

Jamian had said fees generatedby bonds would help offset re-liance on tax dollars. The nonprof-it port lost $643,000 in 2012.

Regional transportation cooper-ation has been an ongoing topic inmetro Detroit, and having the au-thority become part of a trans-portation hub is something Orze-chowski said he wants to explore.

“Are we set up for that right now?The answer is probably no, but Ithink we can get there,” he said.

He cited The Port Authority of NewYork and New Jersey as a successful ex-ample of a regional transportationeffort. That organization, authorized

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Orzechowski

Port Authority eyes Jamian successorby early 2015; jobs will be key priority

NATHAN SKID/CDB

The port authority’s Public Dock and Passenger Terminal opened in 2011.

by Congress in 1921, has oversight ofseaports, airports, bridges, tunnels,trains and bus lines.

Orzechowski also said he’d liketo start talks with Chevrolet DetroitBelle Isle Grand Prix organizers tore-establish the water taxi serviceto the island during the race.

InfrastructureFerry service to Windsor is also

on Orzechowski’s list of topics forthe future. So are increasing thenumber of passenger ships stop-ping at the authority’s passengerterminal, and attracting more ves-sels that people come to visit.

The authority in recent yearscompleted construction of a $15million, 21,000-square-foot ship ter-minal and $7.1 million offshore

See Next Page

20140609-NEWS--0004,0005-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 6/6/2014 5:01 PM Page 1


wharf to serve cruise ships andother deep-draft vessels in the De-troit River bringing tourists —and their money — to the city.

One local logistics insider said ahard, realistic look at authoritymust be taken by all stakeholders.

“There needs to be a major re-assessment of the role, if any, thatthis authority has. What can it do?What should it do? What shouldn’t itdo?” said John Taylor, associate pro-fessor of supply chain managementand chairman of the department ofmarketing and supply chain man-agement at Wayne State University.

“It’s unclear what role it playsin facilitating effective logistics inthe region, with the exception ofthe foreign trade zone activities.”

Taylor noted that the actual portfacilities are almost all privatelyowned and operated in Detroit, andthat the city isn’t a container portlike Los Angeles or New Orleans —meaning it’s going to be limited tolargely inland bulk raw materials.

New port authority board mem-ber Lorron James, vice president ofDetroit-based logistics firm JamesGroup International, was appointedby Duggan in April. He said thepending construction of a secondDetroit River bridge could be a cat-alyst for increasing raw materialshipping to the city’s ports, andnew riverfront development.

“With the new bridge, we can fi-nally talk about bringing in morematerial to our ports,” saidJames, a 2011 Crain’s 20 in their20s honoree.

“There is a lotof waterfrontproperty that wecan revitalize.”

Helping to geta long-discussed$400 millionmodern rail tun-nel built be-tween Detroitand Windsoralso should be a

future port authority goal, Jamessaid.

Another ongoing issue for theauthority that James said is a con-cern of his is getting Michigan en-vironmental law governing bal-lasts for oceangoing cargo shipsrelaxed to match the rules in On-tario and other Great Lakes states.

The rule prompts vessels to un-load in Toledo and Windsor ratherthan Detroit, in an attempt to limitany waterborne invasive speciesin Michigan waters. Easing thelaw would mean 40 or 50 addition-al ships would ply Michigan’sports, Jamian has long said.

Changing the law to match otherports would mean more steel deliv-ered in Detroit, and more farm prod-ucts exported by ship, James said.

“More steel in and more grainout,” he said.

The other new board member isJonathan Kinloch, appointed byMayor Mike Duggan in April.

Kinloch is an at-large DetroitPublic Schools Board of Educationmember and serves on the execu-tive committees for the Detroitbranch of the NAACP and the Michi-gan Democratic Party.

The port authority board com-prises two members appointed bythe mayor of Detroit, two appoint-ed by the Wayne County Commissionand one by the governor. Theboard hires the executive director.

From Previous Page Jamian’s departureJamian, a former state legislator

and state and federal official, saidhe’s leaving to work in maritimeeducation. His 2011-14 stint runningthe authority, which is chargedwith economic development on theDetroit River waterfront and over-sight of the city’s commercial tradeport, was his second. Jamian waspaid $145,000/year for each year ofthe contract.

“John’s departure is almost mu-tual in a sense. He was moving on tosome other things. We as a boardcan’t force him to stay. If anything,it was mutual,” Orzechowski said.

Deputy Director Kyle Burleson,the acting director in the interim,deferred questions to Orzechowski.

The authority bills itself as “theprimary public conduit between

private sector businesses in thePort of Detroit and the public sec-tor. In this role, the Port Authorityoffers assistance in capital fi-nance, development, applicationsand disbursement of public sectorand foundation grant programs.”

According to port authority sta-tistics, companies contractuallyuse its privately managed port fa-cilities and terminals to manage 17million tons of cargo annually.

The authority’s fiscal year 2014budget is about $1 million.

Thirty-one companies operateat the 29 terminals overseen by theauthority. The authority owns thecity’s only general cargo terminal.

The port stores about one-sixthof the nation’s aluminum supplyin 1,000-pound ingot bars housedin bonded warehouses — takingadvantage of the port being the

DETROIT/WAYNE COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY BOARD MEMBERSThe Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority board is composed of twomembers appointed by the mayor of Detroit, two appointed by the WayneCounty Commission and one by the governor.The members are: � Tom Orzechowski, the chairman of the authority board and Algonac-based vice president of the Seafarers International Union’s Lakes andInland Waters District. He was appointed by the county.� Alisha Bell, a Wayne County commissioner since 2002. Appointed by thecounty.� Lorron James, vice president of Detroit-based logistics firm James GroupInternational. Appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan. � Jonathan Kinloch, an at-large Detroit Public Schools’ Board of Educationmember. Appointed by Duggan.� Frederick Hoffman, a former Chrysler executive and state official now ofcounsel in Clark Hill PLC’s Detroit office. Appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.

largest U.S. free-trade zone.The port authority was created

by the Legislature in 1978 to re-place the Detroit Wayne County PortDistrict. The authority’s next meet-

ing is 9 a.m. Monday at its officesat 130 E. Atwater St.

Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626,[email protected]. Twitter:@bill_shea19

James


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Now that canned beer is on shelves,Atwater focuses on distilled spirits

BY NATALIE BRODA

SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

When Mark Rieth took over At-water Brewing Co. in 2005, one of hismain goals was to get the compa-ny’s beer into cans. Now, just lessthan a decade later, that goal hascome to fruition.

A month ago, Atwater begancanning its Dirty Blonde, GrandCircus IPA and Atwater Lager atthe contract brewery Brew DetroitLLC at 1401 Abbott St. in Corktown.Within the next week, those canswere being shipped to retailers,bars and restaurants by Atwater’sdistributor, Imperial Beverage Co.The cans have been on shelves inselected stores for three weeks.

The story of how the beer gotinto the cans goes further back.Three years ago, Rieth began can-ning and selling Atwater out of CityBrewing Co. LLC in Wisconsin. Hewanted to see how the cans faredin the market and was persuadedby their success to bring the can-ning here to Atwater’s home.

While the company rolls out thecanned beer, it is also working onthe rollout of distilled spirits madein Detroit, starting with DirtyBlonde Vodka.

The canned beer productionmarks a major milestone for Atwa-ter, and Detroit, Rieth said.

beers to the can family in the firstquarter of 2015. Final decisionshave not yet been made, but Riethsaid there’s a strong chance theVanilla Java Porter will be releasedin a 16-ounce four-pack, and the D-Light, a beer with qualities both ofale and lager, in 19-ounce cans.

But not everyone is convinced.Larry Channell, co-owner of Drag-

onmead Microbrewery LC in Warren,said although cans are moreportable and may protect your beer,they have a stigma in the industry.

“When I see a can, my brain tellsme, ‘Well, that’s cheap,’ ” Channellsaid. “It tastes wrong to me.”

Brewery Vivant LLC in GrandRapids would disagree. Ben Dar-cie, brewery representative andsales manager, said there are twoenemies to beer — oxygen andlight — and cans eliminate both.

Darcie said it’s also one-thirdcheaper to can products than tobottle them, and Vivant hasenough flexibility with canning torelease 14 different brands of beerthis year. He said he believes can-ning is the future for Michiganand Detroit beer, now that bigplayers like Founders Brewing Co.and Bell’s Brewery Inc. are releasingtheir top sellers in cans.

“It’s inevitable,” Darcie said. Atwater is being sold in 18

states, with plans for breweries tobe built in Texas and North Caroli-na in the next five years. Riethsaid he doesn’t want Atwater to beeverywhere, though.

“We just want to be everywherethat makes sense for us. Areas thatare thriving,” he said. “But Detroitis priority.”

International market growth isanother focus area: A bar in Mu-nich carries Atwater on tap, andRieth has been in talks to get At-water into Canada and Australia.Rieth said he would like sales to be20-25 percent exports.

In about 60 days, Rieth expectsto be granted a license to producespirits in a micro-distillery at At-water’s 237 Jos. Campau location.

First on the still list is DirtyBlonde Vodka. Rieth said he wantsto start with clear spirits first andthen move on to darker, more agedspirits. By early October, patronswill be able to buy Atwater spiritsat the Detroit distillery; Rieth saidthe company hopes to add storedistribution in the future.

Atwater is in its 10th consecu-tive year of record sales, and is ontrack to gross $10 million this yearwith 60,000 barrels of beer, Riethsaid. The company reported 2013revenue of $4 million.

COURTESY OF ATWATER BREWING CO.

A month ago, Atwater began canning its Dirty Blonde, Grand Circus IPA andAtwater Lager at the contract-brewery Brew Detroit LLC in Corktown.

This is the first time since 1985,when Stroh Brewery closed its 135-year-old location, that beer is be-ing packaged in cans in Detroit, ac-cording to Rieth.

“You miss out on 30 percent ofthe market when you only sell bot-tle or draft,” he said.

While not fully embraced by all,cans have advantages such as bet-ter portability and fewer restric-tions (such as parks or othervenues that do not allow glass.)

While consumer demand was amajor reason, another motivator isa longer-term goal to bring the cul-ture of Detroit across the country.

“For us, from a can standpoint,our ad says: ‘It’s a craft beer youcan totally shotgun,’ ” Rieth said.

Atwater plans to add three more


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Financing secured; former United Waybuilding to be offices, lofts by 2015

BY KIRK PINHO


The redevelopment of the for-mer United Way building in Capi-tol Park is expected to be complet-ed by the end of the year now thatthe developer secured $38.5 millionin federal, state and private financ-ing.

The 126,000-square-foot buildingat 1212 Griswold St. will be turnedinto new office space for 185 Arch-diocese of Detroit employees and 56loft-style apartment units.

Financing for the project camefrom federal New Markets and his-toric tax credits; state historic andbrownfield tax credits; Beech-wood, Ohio-based Liberty Bank NA;Chase Bank; J.P. Morgan Chase; theChicago-based Urban PartnershipBank; the Chicago-based NationalCommunity Investment Fund; InvestDetroit; and Lansing-based DevelopMichigan Inc., said Richard Karp,principal of Lansing-based Karpand Associates LLC, one of the devel-opers of the project.

Karp said units will range from500 to 1,300 square feet. Rentalrates won’t be known until the fall,but he expects them to rent forabout $1.95 per square foot.

Most of the units will have onebedroom, but there will also betwo- and three-bedroom units, hesaid. The development group forthe project, Capitol Park Partnership,includes Karp; Kevin Prater, own-er of Lansing-based Prater Develop-ment Ltd.; and Richard Hosey III, aformer senior vice president forBank of America who is now theowner of Detroit-based Hosey Devel-opment LLC. Lansing-basedBuildtech Ltd., owned by Karp, is thegeneral contractor on the project.

The Downtown Detroit Partner-ship’s Live Downtown Programwill provide financial incentivesto employees of several companiesto move into the former UnitedWay building, according to the re-lease.

The Downtown Development Au-thority purchased the former Unit-ed Way building for $1.75 millionand the 72,000-square-foot CapitolPark Building at 1145 Griswold, ac-cording to Washington, D.C.-basedreal estate information serviceCoStar Group Inc.

Capitol Park Partnership ownsthe former United Way building,Karp said. The DDA still owns theCapitol Park Building, but CapitolPark Partnership has developmentagreements on that building andthe 110,000-square-foot FarwellBuilding at 1249 Griswold, whichwas purchased by the MichiganLand Bank in 2009 for $3.3 million.

The DDA approved the develop-ment agreement for the threebuildings in 2012.

“This is probably the fastestpublic/private partnership devel-opment in Detroit in the last 40years,” Karp said.

Demolition and abatement be-gan this month at the Capitol ParkBuilding to turn it into retail/of-fice space and 63 loft-style apart-ments. The Farwell Building willbe redeveloped to feature first-

floor retail space and 83 loft-styleapartments, Karp said.

He said he expects to close on fi-nancing for the Capitol ParkBuilding in the next four months,and the Farwell Building in thenext six.

The archdiocese announced last

year that it is moving into the for-mer United Way building from theGabriel Richard Building at 305Michigan Ave. and the ChanceryBuilding at 1234 Washington Blvd.

Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412,[email protected]. Twitter:@kirkpinhoCDB

The former United Waybuilding, at 1212Griswold St. in CapitolPark, will be turned intooffice space for theArchdiocese of Detroitand 56 loft-styleapartments.

COSTAR GROUP INC.



Editor:When I saw the May 19 headline

“Highest-paid execs earned theirkeep,” I had to double-check thedate of the issue; I thought it mightbe April 1. What a joke!

It would be interesting to see thecompensation figures for midlevelexecutives and nonexecutives em-ployed at these same companies.How much did their compensationincrease in the past year — if atall? A generous 3 percent? This ar-ticle only confirms that senior ex-ecutives’ compensation has spi-raled out of control.

The fact that a company’s stockprice increased from Dec. 31, 2012,to Dec. 31 2013, is only significantto shareholderswho sold theirstock that day.Stock prices re-flect the market’sperception of val-ue at a particularmoment in time— which often isbased on the gen-eral economy,world events andemotions like theso-called “irra-tional exuber-ance.” It bears lit-tle correlation toCEO and senior-executive perfor-mance.

What shareholders really valueare dividends. However, dividendsand lower-level employees are usu-ally the first things cut when acompany fails to perform. Mean-while, the CEO flies away on theplatinum parachute given by theboard when he or she first took thejob.

The opinions of so-called execu-tive compensation experts arehardly a proper gauge. Their opin-ions are bought and paid for bycorporate boards made up entirelyof C-suite club members who allpledge “I’ll vote for your package ifyou’ll vote for mine.” These com-pensation experts are well paid toslice and dice data collected fromother companies who overpaytheir senior executives to con-clude that these multimillion-dol-lar compensation packages aresomehow appropriate.

If the executive compensationcompany actually told a CEO the

truth, that he or she was grosslyoverpaid, it would be fired imme-diately. And, by the way, has any-one noticed that board members’compensation has risen dramati-

cally as well?This is not a coin-cidence.

If the folks whoreally mattered— shareholdersand customers —decided seniorexecutive com-pensation, thenumbers wouldlook very differ-ent. Suggestingthat such extrav-agant compensa-tion is necessaryto attract the bestand the brightestis ridiculous.

Most of these companies alreadyemploy the best and the brightest— the midlevel executives andnonexecutive employees who ac-tually run the companies day today.

I’ll bet every one of the listed ex-ecutives is whining that an in-crease in the minimum wage willdestroy jobs and complainingabout the cost of having to providedecent health insurance under theAffordable Care Act. Rather thanincreasing the minimum hourlywage to $10.10, perhaps the lawshould be that the lowest-paidworker must make at least 10 per-cent of what the CEO makes.

What disease did any of theseexecs cure last year? What life-saving technology did any ofthem personally invent? Whatmajor money-saving or money-making idea did they alone comeup with and implement at theircompany?

Arianna Huffington said it best

when she wrote Pigs at theTrough.

Maureen ThomasWhite Lake

Don’t overlookArmenians’ roleEditor:

I read with great delight BillShea’s article “Built by immi-grants: Foreign-born workers inte-gral part of Detroit’s history, econ-omy” in the June 2 issue.

Many ethnicities were men-tioned in Bill’s article, but I wouldlike to bring attention to one im-portant ethnic group that madesome valuable contributions to De-troit — the Armenians.

One of the most well-known anddiverse communities in south-western Detroit from approxi-mately 1900-1960 was Delray. Thiscommunity was a bit of a meltingpot for many ethnic groups; proba-bly most prominent were the Hun-garians and Armenians.

Before 1900, there were fewerthan 60 Armenians living in De-troit, but after the Armenian geno-cide of 1915, in which more than1.5 million Armenians were mas-sacred by the Turkish OttomanEmpire government, this numberrose to more than 2,000. The num-ber of Armenians living in Detroitgrew with each passing year. TheArmenians spread into otherneighborhoods, such as HighlandPark, Dearborn and Pontiac, and,in the process, played an impor-tant role in the growth of the De-troit community contributing agreat deal to the small-businesscommunity.

As Mr. Shea’s article men-tioned, the $5 work day created byHenry Ford was also a major at-traction to the Armenians. Theysettled on streets such as SolvayStreet, where rail cars would stopand the conductor would an-nounce its arrival to “ArmenianBoulevard.”

Eventually, the Armenian popu-lation rose to more than 30,000-40,000 dispersed throughout De-troit and the suburbs. Bravo toCrain’s and Bill Shea for recogniz-ing the importance of the manyethnic groups that helped shapethe metro Detroit area.

Ara TopouzianFarmington Hills

Port future needscareful planning T he Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority is taking a few

months before choosing a successor to Executive Direc-tor John Jamian, who left when his contract expired last

month, and maybe that’s wise. (See story, Page 4.)The port wants to be an economic engine for the region, but

it faces obstacles, primarily lack of funding, that require con-sideration and definition before launching a search for a newexecutive director.

One source of funding the port has sought in the past is leg-islation that would have given it added bonding authority —along with the ability to collect developer fees on bond issues— in competition with the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

That bonding authority would have included bonds for pro-jects away from the waterfront.

The goal was worthy: Jamian was seeking financial self-sufficiency for the nonprofit port, which lost $643,000 in 2012,according to its Form 990 filed with the IRS.

But the move came as a surprise to the DEGC and others,and seemed destined to be moving money from one local pock-et to another rather than create more economic value.

New board Chairman Tom Orzechowski still hopes forsuch legislation to be passed and says he understands thattalks are needed before proceeding.

We applaud that thought, but remain unconvinced suchlegislation is a good idea. Although we’re not in favor of fief-doms for their own sake, there’s nothing to be gained from du-plicative efforts or situations that potentially could have a de-veloper pitting the port against the DEGC.

Strong, responsive, coordinated economic development ef-forts are what we need.

Persistence brings conferenceIt’s easy to think a single person can’t make a difference,

but, as Senior Reporter Sherri Welch reports on Page 32, that’snot always true.

The Islamic Society of North America’s national conven-tion, which draws around 20,000 people, is coming to Detroitthis year because med student Syed Mohiuddin looked out hiswindow and thought the streets were too empty.

That led to a four-year personal journey of false starts, vol-unteering and community building that led to the merger ofthe two major local Islamic organizations. That merger, alongwith improving conditions in the city, created the infrastruc-ture to win a bid for the 2014 convention last year.

Mohiuddin allows that he had no idea the effort would takethis long or that he would become so involved.

But he kept pushing, and in so doing, has left his mark.

Top execs’ high pay not deserved

Kudos to Roger Penske, BudDenker and the entire Penske or-ganization for putting on theChevrolet Belle Isle Grand Prix. Itwas great if you were there, butmore importantly, it looked mag-nificent to the millions of viewerswho saw Detroit on television.

Once again, an automotiveevent generated Super Bowl-likeeconomic development for the cityand region.

Last week, the Detroit CityCouncil voted unanimously in fa-vor of the Detroit Institute of Artsto agree to create a trust for thejewels of our city, the art of the

DIA.There is a lot going on

in our city and our com-munity.

There is a lot more op-timism going on in ourcity. Some of it is de-served; some of it is sim-ply hope for the future.

The stock marketusually performs basedon future expectations.All of us who live andwork in Southeast Michigan havethat same optimism for our cityand our region.

There are still plenty of prob-

lems. There are stillplenty of hurdles, butthere is a real feelingthat we’re going to getthis done.

The leaders of ourstate and communityare getting it done anddone right. There is, re-gardless of the politicalaffiliation, lots of coop-eration among politi-cians to do the right

thing. In an era of political bicker-ing, that is a very remarkable oc-currence.

Cooperation. Optimism.

Those are two words that wehaven’t heard in a very long time.But it’s real and it is happening.

Sure, it is very fragile. But it ex-ists and it’s real.

Now it’s up to all of us to makesure it grows.

The next time you hear anaysayer, just tell them that theyare wrong. There is a silver lining.

We are attacking the blight, andwe are lighting up the city, onelight at a time. We are seeing newbusinesses, big and small, openingin our city. People, young peoplemainly, are moving into the centerof the city, and you can’t find an

apartment or a loft to rent or buy.It is just a beginning, but it is a

beginning. Every journey starts with a step

and Detroit is making big steps for-ward.

Building blocks that will turnthis city back into the thriving me-tropolis it once was.

We need more jobs. We needmore public safety. But we have abeginning.

That’s truly quite remarkable.Detroit is on a roll. Let’s all do

whatever it takes to keep it on thatroll.

It is all very exciting.

Crain’s Detroit Businesswelcomes letters to the editor.All letters will be considered forpublication, provided they aresigned and do not defameindividuals or organizations.Letters may be edited for lengthand clarity.Write: Editor, Crain’s DetroitBusiness, 1155 Gratiot Ave.,Detroit, MI 48207-2997.Email: [email protected]

Let’s keep the momentum going in Detroit

LETTERSOPINION

KEITH CRAIN:

If the folks whoreally mattered –shareholders and

customers – decidedsenior executive

compensation, thenumbers would look

very different.”

“



Those in today’syounger generation bringto the workplace a per-spective that they wantwhat they do every day tomean something to them.They don’t want to go towork and punch a clockand stay at a desk foreight hours and not carewhat they’re doing allday. They want to make

an impact.One of the biggest myths is that

people in this generation doesn’trespect generations that came be-fore them. Actually, they hunger

for the wisdom they can get fromcolleagues and superiors. Theywant knowledge; they want men-tors. Yes, they may bring ad-vanced technological skills andwisdom, but they are eager tolearn and want to bridge any per-

ceived generational gaps.Our workplaces today are a mix

of generations, with more retireesrealizing they might want to starta new career or may have to stayin the workplace longer thanplanned. Generations are going to

overlap, and we must encourageall ages to cross paths in the work-place, share skill sets and appreci-ate what each generation offers,rather than butting heads just be-cause we do things differently.

All the skills and talents andyears of experience we bring toeach position can truly be foreveryone’s benefit — and boost thebottom line. Let’s capitalize on thestrengths of this new working par-adigm, for the sake of corporateAmerica and so we can build a bet-ter economic future for all.

Tara Miceli is director of theWalsh Institute at Walsh College.

Throughout my ca-reer, it has never oc-curred to me to expectmy superiors to be olderthan I am, and those thatI manage to be younger.Apparently, I’m uniquein that regard becausemany people expect theworkplace hierarchy toreflect years of hard-wonseniority, with the eldeststaff members in top positionsand their younger counterpartsfuriously climbing the corpo-rate ladder beneath them.

I’ve been in my current posi-tion for nearly three years,working alongside (and manag-ing) employees who are olderthan I am. We work well togeth-er — despite the fact that theyare all more than a decade mysenior. It just doesn’t occur tome that this is exceptional be-cause I’ve always been in posi-tions where employees are old-er and it just never seemed tomatter.

We’re seeing that more andmore nowadays, with a work-place that looks a lot differentthan workplaces of yore. Inmany companies, you’ll see upto four different generations onthe clock at the same time.

When I was 21 and managinga loan department and invest-ment programs for a creditunion, I had to learn that ageshouldn’t matter — and really itdoesn’t. When you sit in front ofa woman in her 50s and tell hershe’s denied a loan, you quicklylearn the art of corporate fi-nesse. Business is person to per-son, not one age over another.

Over time, I’ve learned themost important workplace les-son: how to deal with people, un-derstanding their needs in thebusiness world and what theyrequire from their work. I’vealso learned that workplaceneeds don’t overshadow person-al desires, and that the art ofmanaging others comes fromseeing the whole person andbringing the appropriate com-passion to the task at hand.

It’s never about coming inand telling people what to do. Idon’t care what age you are, orwhat position, you’ll never besuccessful if that’s your ap-proach.

I was never intimidated bythe fact that my entire team isolder than I am. And I hope theteam doesn’t see immaturity inmy younger age. How we per-form on the job has more to dowith who we are as people thanwhat age we project.

Throughout many differentleadership and management ex-periences, I’ve learned that themanager’s top job is realizingwhat somebody’s talents are,what they’re good at, and hav-ing the right people in the rightseats, regardless of age.

It’s also imperative to learnabout what’s important to eachgeneration. They’re all differ-ent, and so are the mentalitiesshaped by what people havelived through.

Keep your business heading in theright direction.

Follow the latest market trends @firstmerit_mkt

Member FDIC 2411_FM14

firstmerit.com

TO L E A R N MOR E, C ON T A C T : PJ Danhoff, Treasury Management Sales Officer, at 248-228-1706 or [email protected].

Treasury Management from FirstMerit Bank When John talked to FirstMerit Bank’s Treasury Management team, his goal

was to increase his company’s working capital. Together, they came up with a

plan to help John effectively manage receivables, control payments, and improve

his company’s overall cash flow. Now John has all the tools he needs to keep his

business moving in the right direction — forward.

Age diversity makes for better workplacesOTHER VOICES:

Tara Miceli

Let’s capitalize on the strengths of thisnew working paradigm, for the sake of

corporate America and so we can build abetter economic future for all.”

“

20140609-NEWS--0009-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 6/6/2014 10:31 AM Page 1

BANKRUPTCIES


Children’s Hospital foundationseeks input to broaden impact

BY SHERRI WELCH


Children’s Hospital of MichiganFoundation’s roots go back adecade, but in a way, the founda-tion is still in startup mode.

Since beginning fully indepen-dent operation in 2011, followingthe 2010 sale of Detroit Medical Cen-ter to what was then VanguardHealth Systems Inc., the foundationhas launched a formal biannualgrant-making program and a cam-paign to support new areas of pedi-atric health care and research, hir-ing new fundraisers to helpre-establish connections withdonors after losing many amid theDMC sale.

The foundation inherited $90million in charitable assets raisedfor DMC Children’s Hospital of Michi-gan following the sale of DMC andits conversion to a for-profit healthsystem.

It made $16.3 million in grantsbetween 2011 and 2013 in three pe-diatric focus areas stemmingfrom the original donor intent be-hind those assets: research, com-munity benefit and education onthings such as new pediatric pro-cedures.

The grants have gone primarilyto researchers and physicians as-sociated with Children’s Hospitaland Wayne State University.

But the foundation is also look-ing to carve out a new identity inorder to have the greatest impact,said Chairman David Page, part-ner at Honigman Miller Schwartz andCohn LLP in Detroit.

“We felt if we were simply tosteward the assets we were given,it would be good,” he said. “Butgetting contributions from thecommunity for other things bene-fiting children would be even bet-ter.”

“We have to figure out where’sthe best place to put our next $100million,” Page said.

To that end, the foundation isseeking input from physicians,researchers and administrationat DMC Children’s Hospital ofMichigan, which remains itshome base, and others in thecommunity such as foundationsmaking grants in health care andschool-based health centers, said

The following businesses filed for pro-tection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court inDetroit May 30-June 6. Under Chap-ter 11, a company files for reorganiza-tion. Chapter 7 involves total liquida-tion.Marty M. Powell DDS PC, 14356 E. Jef-ferson Ave., Detroit, voluntary Chap-ter 7. Assets: $271,524; liabilities:$442,724.47. Palushi Inc, 12033 Grand River Ave.,Detroit, voluntary Chapter 11. Assets:$12,348.65; liabilities: $151,524.72. Summit Mobility Products Inc, 24711Sherwood Ave., Center Line, volun-tary Chapter 7. Assets: $0; liabilitiesnot available.

— Natalie Broda

foundation President and CEOTony Werner.

“In my mind, the foundation hasto be relevant to community needsas well as donors’ wishes,” he said.

Werner joined the foundation inearly 2013 after spending a decadeas president of three foundationsthat benefited Toledo, Ohio, hospi-tals: Mercy Children’s Hospital Foun-dation, Mercy St. Vincent Foundationand St. Marguerite d’Youville Founda-tion II.

Much of the $90 million in assetsthe foundation inherited were re-stricted or designated for specificprograms. Securing new, unre-stricted support will give the foun-dation’s board the flexibility tomake grants in new pediatric areaswhere the needs are greatest, Wern-er said.

To rebuild its fundraising team,

which was largely depleted amidthe DMC sale, the foundation hashired four fundraisers, giving itabout a dozen, among 19 total em-ployees.

As of the end of May, the founda-tion had $108 million in assets,Werner said. It’s taking grant solic-itations only from pediatric physi-cians and researchers at Children’sHospital or community organiza-tions that work collaborativelywith the hospital.

The foundation consideredchanging its name, but the Chil-dren’s Hospital of Michigan Foun-dation name is so well known thatthe board decided against it, Pagesaid.

Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694,[email protected]. Twitter:@sherriwelch

In my mind, the foundationhas to be relevant to community

needs as well as donors’wishes.

Tony Werner, Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation”

“



Biz leads wayto strike downdiscrimination

When advocates for endingdiscrimination based on sexualpreference plotted strategy, they knewthey needed powerful business allies.

They found them in politicallyconservative West Michigan.

Office furniture makers Steelcase Inc.of Grand Rapids and Zeeland-basedHerman Miller Inc., Battle Creek-basedKellogg Co. and Holland-based Padnos,a scrap metal processing and recyclingcompany, are among those that signedon early to the Michigan CompetitiveWorkforce Coalition.

The group, formed by the Michiganchapter of the American Civil LibertiesUnion, is lobbying the Legislature toamend Michigan’s 1976 Elliott-LarsenCivil Rights Act to include protectionsfor lesbian, gay, bisexual andtransgender residents, commonlyknown as LGBT. The Legislature,prodded by Gov. Rick Snyder, may takeup the issue this year.

Elliott-Larsen protects residents fromdiscrimination in employment, housing,education or “public accommodations”based on religion, race, color, nationalorigin, age, sex or marital status.

The Michigan ACLU opened anoffice in Grand Rapids nearly fiveyears ago. “We wondered: WouldACLU be welcome? What issues wereon people’s minds?” ExecutiveDirector Kary Moss recalled last week.

To her surprise, in interviews withcommunity and business leaders,three issues arose: LGBT rights, racialprofiling and religious freedom.

Ironically, some base opposition toLGBT rights on religious freedom. IfElliott-Larsen is amended, it means arestaurateur whose religion doesn’tcondone homosexuality can’t refuse toserve gay customers or fire a waitressbecause he discovers she is a lesbian.

Employers see LGBT rights as atalent issue. If they want the best, theyneed to be open to all. Coalitionmembers include Blue Cross BlueShield of Michigan, Chrysler Group LLC,Consumers Energy, Dow Chemical Co.and Strategic Staffing Solutions.

So is this the first step towardlegislative action to legalize gaymarriage in Michigan? The two are notconnected, Moss said. But it’s hard tosee how they aren’t linked.

In 2004, Michigan voters approveda constitutional amendment banningsame-sex marriage and civil unions.But a federal judge struck that downin March, briefly opening the door tomore than 300 gay marriages beforean injunction was filed. Opponents ofgay marriage say Michigan voters’preferences should be protected.

But public attitudes on gay issueshave evolved. National polling shows a70 percent approval rating of gaymarriage among people ages 18-39.

It will be interesting to see whetheremployers support gay marriage asstrongly as the LGBT protections.

PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK

Mary Kramer

Contact MaryKramer atmkramer

@crain.com.


BY MATTHEW GRYCZAN


Chances are good that by thistime next year you willhave firsthand contact withsomeone who vapes — usesan electronic inhaler that

simulates the act of smoking.And when you observe the thick

cloud of vapor emanating from thatperson’s mouth instead of smoke, youmay be witnessing the biggest singleplay in consumable products that someindustry executives say is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“In my career, there has not been a

sector that has so much potential andis so untapped in terms of value andglobal reach,” said Jim McCormick,CFO of Victory Electronic CigarettesCorp. (OTCQB: ECIG), a West Michigancompany that aims to be the nation’slargest independent producer of vapingproducts.

Daniel Lawitzke, a Grand Rapidsentrepreneur who pioneered the retailmarket in vaping liquids and devices inWest Michigan, likens it to the rush tothe marketplace by dietary supple-ments in the 1990s, when “antioxi-dants” became a household word — fol-lowed by the need for the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration tostep in with regulations.

Instead of smoking“analog” cigarettes thatcontain hundreds ofchemicals resulting from thecombustion of tobacco, peopleare inhaling a vapor of vegetableglycerin and propylene glycol, flavor-ings and nicotine. To produce the vaporas they inhale, users activate a devicethat generally has a battery-poweredheating element surrounding a wicksaturated with the e-liquid.

Companies take in revenue as e-inhalers gain in popularity

Rising with the vapors

See Vapor, Page 12

Nunica, Mich.-based Victory Electronic Cigarettes has grown through acquisition and now plans to raise $149.5 million in a public sale of stock.

Retail sales of e-cigarettesreached about $3.5 billionworldwide last year — barely a puff of thetotal $756 billionmarket stilldominated bytobacco.

JON BROUWER

ISTOCK PHOTO


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Vapor: Where there’s smoke, there’s fired-up entrepreneurs■ From Page 11

Lawitzke, who launched Mister-E-Liquid LLC in the summer of 2010after he was able to quit smokingthrough vaping, now employs 43full- and part-time people at a16,000-square-foot laboratory andtwo retail outlets in Grand Rapids,with plans to open a third store inLansing this month.

Brick-and-mortar outlets suchas Lawitzke’s that are springingup throughout Michigan are only awisp of the industry’s vapor cloud.More than a thousand businessesworldwide hope to strike it rich as

suppliers to people who vape,ranging from gargantuan corpora-tions such as Altria Group Inc. andLorillard Inc. to tiny operations withwhimsical names such as Planet ofthe Vapes that sell e-liquids online.Some mom-and-pop operations lit-erally whip up their e-liquid for-mulas in kitchens, garages andbasements.

Wild Bill’s Tobacco, a Clawson-based owner of 21 tobacco special-ty stores and franchiser or busi-ness partner in an additional 29such stores throughout Michigan,

is shifting gears to capture marketshare in vaping. The company,founded in 1994 as the Smoker’s Out-let, has launched two stores calledMr. Vapor that cater specifically tothe vaping consumer, said WildBill’s chief marketing officer,Justin Samona.

Over the next year, Wild Bill’shopes to open 10 additional Mr. Va-por stores, mostly in the Detroitarea. In addition, all Wild Bill’sstores now have Mr. Vapor sec-tions, which offer a variety ofproducts and “gourmet juice bars”

that allow storepersonnel tomix customizede-liquid blendsfor customers.

“Every day,customers areswitching overfrom tobaccocigarettes toelectronic ciga-rettes because

they see it as a healthier alterna-tive — also a cheaper and cleaneralternative,” Samona said. “In-

stead of having to go outside tosmoke a cigarette — especiallywhen it is cold — it is somethingthey can do inside their homes andmaybe even their workplaces.”

One website lists more than 180retail outlets in metro Detroit asselling vaping products.

Samona said his company isslowing down expansion of theWild Bill’s concept and focusingmore on Mr. Vapor, a move thatalso serves to protect existing WildBill’s locations from losing cus-tomers to other vape shops. A Mr.Vapor shop may carry three timesthe selection of e-cigarettes, dis-posables, starter kits and e-liquidsthat a Wild Bill’s carries, he said.

The company employs about 120people throughout its chain ofstores and at its 15,000-square-footdistribution center in Clawson.

Other companies such as LorAnnOils Inc. in Lansing are being sweptup unintentionally by the vapingrevolution. LorAnn, established in1962, is an old-line manufacturerand distributor of flavorings andessential oils used by homecrafters and professionals whomake candy, baked goods, frozendesserts and soaps. But several va-ping websites recommend LorAnnOils flavorings for e-liquids, evenoffering a color-coded list of thosebest for inhalation.

“We are in a bit of a quandary,”said John Grettenberger Jr.,grandson of LorAnn Oils founderO.K. Grettenberger. “Our flavor-ing products are FDA-approved foringestion, and no one knows theresult of them being used for in-halation. We would never suggestthat our products be used this way,and we wouldn’t even think aboutgoing after this market.”

Speed is of the essence Victory Electronic Cigarettes

has embarked on a go-big-or-go-home strategy that its president,Brent Willis, likens to a militarycampaign. The West Point graduateeven invokes the name of the leg-endary war strategist Carl vonClausewitz when he talks aboutgrowing share in the vaping mar-ket.

“In his study of war, Clausewitztalked about the ability of maneu-ver — for us, that means speed,moving faster than the competi-tion,” Willis said. “You have to dothe right thing — and you have todo the right thing at the righttime.”

Doing the right thing at the righttime has placed Victory Electronicon a tear when it comes to acquir-ing other businesses. It has conclud-ed three acquisitions of companiesthis year, and Willis said the com-pany has agreed on terms to pur-chase seven more companies or dis-tribution platforms in 2014 tofurther consolidate its sales and dis-tribution channels.

Last month, Victory Electronicfiled its federal S-1 registration forthe public sale of stock to raise upto $149.5 million.

“So we have gone from zero inmid-2013 to about $75 million in rev-enues on a pro forma basis, and we

See Next Page

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expect to be well over $200 millionin revenues by the end of thisyear,” Willis said in an interviewbefore the company filed its S-1 reg-istration. Pro forma statementsfiled in the S-1 showed a net lossfrom operations of about $12.7 mil-lion.

The company intends to changeits name to Electronic Cigarettes In-ternational Group Ltd. to match itsticker symbol, but the newmoniker also reflects its world-wide sales strategy. Victory Elec-tronic purchased Atlanta-basedFIN Electronic Cigarette Corp. Inc. inFebruary, United Kingdom-basedVapestick Holdings Ltd. in Januaryand Must Have Limited in April.

Willis intends to put his interna-tional experience as a former exec-utive for the Coca Cola Co., KraftFoods Inc., Cott Corp. and InBev towork opening the internationalmarkets for Victory Electronic Cig-arettes.

Big plans from a small spaceTo say that Victory Electronic is

flying below the radar is an under-statement: The company sharesspace with a woodworking busi-ness owned by Willis’ father-in-law in rural Nunica, about 26miles east of Grand Rapids. A tow-ering grain elevator and parkedsemis of a nearby business over-shadow the parking lot of VersatileWood Solutions, a manufacturer of

store displays and architecturalmillwork.

No sign marks the fact that Vic-tory Electronic Cigarettes is oper-ating in about 3,000 square feet atthe plant.

“Every penny counts,” Willissaid with a grin when asked aboutthe humble surroundings thatserve as the nerve center for Victo-ry Electronic. The company em-ploys more than 100 people locally

and at offices and distribution cen-ters in Atlanta and the UnitedKingdom.

What is quickly thinning thecrowd among vaping competitorsis access to distribution throughconvenience stores and mass mer-chandisers such as Wal-Mart StoresInc. and Rite Aid Corp., which servea majority of the 1.3 billion peoplewho the American Cancer Society es-timates smoke worldwide.

“Retailers are already making(vaping) space for the big tobaccoguys — Lorillard, Reynolds and Al-tria,” Willis said. “But the big to-bacco companies have some realweaknesses that we can exploit.”

Brand, price and flavor selec-tion aren’t the biggest factorswhen it comes to consumers mak-ing purchasing decisions at thispoint, he said. “Right now, 65 per-cent of all brand choice today ismade on what’s there, what’savailable, what’s on display,”Willis said.

With the recent acquisitions,Victory Electronic sells its prod-ucts through more than 50,000 re-tail outlets in the United Statesand Europe, which together makeup an estimated 70 percent of e-cig-arette sales worldwide, accordingto estimates from Euromonitor Inter-national, a London-based providerof global business intelligence.

Euromonitor estimated that re-tail sales of e-cigarettes reachedabout $3.5 billion worldwide lastyear, less than one-half percent ofthe total $756 billion retail tobacco

market globally. Sales of e-ciga-rettes grew more than 180 percentin the United States in 2013 fromthe prior year, the firm said, andthe sector is expected to continueto take more market share fromcombustible cigarettes.

Willis and McCormick hope tocapture more shelf space by cut-ting lucrative deals with distribu-tors and retailers that large tobac-co companies will find hard tomatch. Tobacco companies typi-cally offer distributors a 3 percentmarkup off of cost, while VictoryElectronic Cigarettes can offer upto 25 percent markup off of cost,Willis said.

“That changes the economics fordistributors in a very significantway,” he said. “We offer 30-daypayment terms to distributors,and the tobacco companies offernet minus five — you pay for yourproduct on Monday and you re-ceive it on Friday.

“We also offer very favorableprofit margins for retailers likeMeijer. The tobacco companies areat about 8 percent, while we can of-fer profit margins up to 50 per-cent.”

In a study of 25 state laws thatset minimum prices for cigarettewholesaling and retailing opera-tions, the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention in Atlanta found in2010 that the median wholesalemarkup was 4 percent and the me-dian retail markup 8 percent.

From Previous Page

See Vapor, Page 14

JON BROUWER

Brent Willis, president of Victory Electronic Cigarettes, has big ambitions —more than $200 million in revenue by year’s end — for a company that currentlyoperates out of space it shares with a woodworking business.


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Vapor: Alternative to tobacco’s taste■ From Page 13

With such high stakes, theworld’s largest tobacco companieshave acquired or launched e-ciga-rette brands themselves. Sincebuying Blu Ecigs in 2012, Lorillardhas built Blu into a leading e-ciga-rette brand with heavy promotionthat tapped celebrity Jenny Mc-Carthy.

Reynolds American Inc. launchedits own Vuse brand in July lastyear, and Altria Group introducedits MarkTen brand in August.

Blueberry? Cotton candy?Aside from elbowing for space

on cigarette shelves, companiesthat make vaping products alsoare struggling to understand whattheir customers want. A bewilder-ing array of delivery devices haveflooded the market — such as“cig-a-likes” that are the size andshape of ordinary cigarettes withrechargeable batteries, refillableatomizers about the size of a cigarand hundreds of formulas ofe-liquids that are flavored to simu-late blueberries, chocolate or even

cotton candy. “We don’t know how the product

is going to evolve — e-liquids, va-porizers, disposables, recharge-ables,” Willis said. “Anyone whosays they know exactly where themarket is headed is lying. So do itall. … Take the best ideas and bringthem to market very quickly.”

For example, Victory Electronicis introducing at Walgreen Co.stores this month a disposableclearomiser system discovered inEurope that lets customers see thelevel of e-liquids left in the unit.

Lawitzke of Mister-E-Liquid hasbuilt a business on anticipating themarket with a variety of ready-to-use, refillable and disposable deliv-ery systems along with separatecomponents such as batteries, coilsand tips so customers can assembletheir own personal vaping equip-ment.

More than half of Mister-E-Liquid’s revenue comes fromwholesale and retail sales of morethan 100 flavors of custom-mixede-liquids, which range from Gran-E’s Apple Pie to Maniac MintChocolate. The company sellsproducts in 47 countries and sup-plies liquids to more than 300 vapeshops nationally.

Instead of competition, Law-itzke views companies such as Vic-tory Electronic and Blu as portalsfor smokers-turned-vapers to findhis business online.

“They think that people want adevice that looks like a cigarette,but what we’ve learned is that peo-ple who are vaping really don’twant to be associated with smok-ers,” he said.

Soon after they try e-cigarettes,people often search out deliverydevices that are higher-poweredand refillable, Lawitzke said.“When they get them home and see$20 for a five-pack of cartridges,their first instinct is to say: ‘I’m go-ing to search Google and find themcheaper. And that’s where wecome in.’ ”

Another misconception is thatadults don’t like a variety of fla-vors. “The majority of our clientbase started with tobacco-flavorede-liquid, and they wanted it totaste like a cigarette when theyfirst started,” Lawitzke said.“What we found is after a month or

so, our customers don’t want totaste tobacco anymore — it’s gross.

“After their taste buds regaintheir sense of taste, tobacco does-n’t taste as good as strawberries orblueberries. The thing that getspeople off analog cigarettes in thelong term is the flavoring — thefact that you can taste apple pie ifyou want to taste apple pie.”

Willis and Lawitzke wereadamant about enforcing age re-strictions on the sale of their prod-ucts and the need for FDA regula-tions. In April, the federal agencyproposed rules that would requirevaping product companies to reg-ister, list ingredients in e-liquidsand impose minimum age andidentification restrictions to pre-vent sales to those under age 18. Atthe end of a 75-day public commentperiod, the agency will enact therules that it deems necessary.

In the manufacture of e-liquids,“people are just picking up whatlooks good, and they are mixing itin their kitchens or, God forbid,their garages or bathrooms,” Law-itzke said. “That’s part of the prob-lem. There’s no accountability.”

Mister-E-Liquid purchases itsbase materials, flavorings andnicotine from suppliers that docu-ment the concentrations and puri-ty of their products and mixes theingredients in its ISO-certifiedClass 6 clean room in GrandRapids. The company, a foundingmember of the American E-LiquidManufacturing StandardsAssociation, does regular testing offinal product, Lawitzke said.

Willis said Victory ElectronicCigarettes imports its productsfrom China, but it has plans tomove manufacturing to the UnitedStates during the next year.

“It’s our intention to be the lead-ing independent electronic ciga-rette company in the world, fullyin control of our own destiny, righthere in West Michigan,” he said.

“Frankly, the thing that keepsme up at night is the money thatbig tobacco — and big pharma, forthat matter — can throw aroundbecause we are eating into thesmoking cessation business.”

Matthew Gryczan: (616) 916-8158,[email protected]. Twitter:@mattgryczan

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New supplier to run ex-JCI unit in HollandBY KERRI JANSEN

CRAIN NEWS SERVICE

A new tier-one auto supplier hasbeen formed to operate a headlinerand sun visor business acquiredfrom Johnson Controls Inc.

Motus Integrated Technologies,backed by the private equity firm At-las Holdings LLC, will have its NorthAmerican headquarters in Holland.

JCI announced the planned sale,which left the auto supplier with aportion of its interiors unit, in Feb-ruary. Terms of the deal were notdisclosed.

It later announced a deal to spinoff the remainder of its interiorsgroup into a joint venture with Yan-feng Automotive Trim Systems Co. Ltd.

“Motus is being built from solidautomotive manufacturing busi-

nesses with outstanding productsthat are burdened by circum-stances where their true value andpotential are constrained,” MotusChairman Tim Lee said in a state-ment. “Our focus at Motus is to re-move the barriers and provide thecapital required to enable our com-pany to flourish.”

Besides its Holland location, Mo-tus will continue operations inRamos Arizpe, Mexico; Uberherrn,Germany; and Creutzwald, France,and will have production capabili-ties in Cottondale, Ala.

Lee is a former longtime GeneralMotors Co. executive who retired inApril as chairman of GM China.Shannon White, a former execu-tive with United Plastics Group Inc.,is president and CEO.

From Plastics News

Dow’s Liveris answerscriticism with numbers

BY FRANK ESPOSITO

CRAIN NEWS SERVICE

It’s barely June and Dow Chemi-cal Co. CEO Andrew Liveris al-ready has had one heck of a year.

Things got rolling for Liveris onJan. 21 when activist investor

Daniel Loeb andhis Third PointLLC hedge fundblasted Mid-land-based Dowin a letter to in-vestors for whatwas describedas “a poor oper-ational trackrecord acrossmultiple busi-

ness segments.” Loeb and ThirdPoint also called for Dow — one ofthe world’s largest plastics andchemicals makers — to be splitinto two companies, with its petro-chemicals business in one.

Within days, Liveris — a 38-yearDow veteran who has occupied thecorner office since 2004 — had metwith American business guru War-ren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hath-away firm is a Dow shareholder.Buffett assured Liveris that Dowwas heading in the right direction.

Liveris, naturally, didn’t keepBuffett’s assurances to himself. Hetook to the airwaves Jan. 29 onCNBC’s “Squawk Box” program toshare that info with viewers.

On the show, Liveris said Buf-fett had told him that “we’re anowner and we like being an own-er,” adding that “we think (Liv-eris) has been running the compa-ny for the investors who will stayvs. investors who will leave.”

Somewhere in New York, Loebhad to wince at those words. Liv-eris had to feel like a happy pastorwho just had the Pope show up athis church’s bake sale.

CNBC’s website wrote about Liv-eris’ appearance under the head-line, “Hey Loeb, Buffett has myback.” On that same date, Dow an-nounced that full-year profit for2013 grew more than four times to

$4.8 billion. Part of that increasewas a $2.5 billion settlement from aKuwaiti firm over a failed businessdeal in 2008.

In a Q&A session with analysts,Liveris didn’t mention Loeb orThird Point by name, but he didsay he “agreed with the investorthat there is an upside” to Dow’sstrategy. And Liveris pointed outthat Dow already had sold off $10billion of assets in recent yearsand in late 2013 announced plansto sell off $5 billion more.

Dow’s plans to increase its sharebuyback program and to sell offother small businesses was seen bysome as a response to Loeb’s criti-cism. Company officials said thesemoves were part of an existingstrategy. And like other companiesin the region, Dow has announcedplans to add polyethylene and eth-ylene capacity to take advantage ofnewfound supplies of shale-basednatural gas.

Liveris was able to deliver moregood news for Dow on April 23 whenthe company announced that first-quarter 2014 profit was up morethan 60 percent to just under $1.1 bil-lion, even though sales essentiallywere flat at almost $14.5 billion.

What has Dow’s per-share stockprice been doing amid all this hub-bub? Well, it was around $43 beforebeing goosed by the Loeb letter inlate January. It proceeded to shootup above $50 in late March beforesettling down a bit to close near$49.30 on May 19.

So do the higher profits andstock price mean that Liveris canrelax a little?

Maybe not. On April 30, Loeband Third Point fired another shotacross Dow’s bow. According to aletter to investors that was ob-tained by Reuters, Loeb said thatDow’s integrated strategy is cost-ing shareholders billions and thatexecutives should work harder toboost results and transparency.

To date, Dow has declined tocomment on Loeb’s recent com-ments.

From Plastics News

Liveris

20140609-NEWS--0011,0012,0013,0014,0015-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 6/5/2014 4:34 PM Page 5

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Analysts consider impact of CO2 regulations on state

The Obama adminis-tration’s plan to reducecarbon dioxide emissionsfrom existing U.S. coal-fired power plants by 30percent by 2030 is creat-ing the expected mael-strom of backlash. Theproposal is being labeleda jobs killer and a detri-ment to American manu-facturing.

The proposal, releasedlast week by the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency, is de-signed to battle global warming,but at what cost? What is its effecton Michigan industry? Will the pro-posed cuts save polar bears but killmanufacturing? Analysts are start-ing to weigh in.

The plan, which sets different tar-gets in each state, would requireMichigan to reduce CO2 output by31.5 percent from 2012 levels, TheAssociated Press reported. Nearlyhalf, 49 percent, of electricity in thestate is produced from coal, abovethe 39 percent national average.Michigan is the 11th-highest carbondioxide producer in the country.

President Barack Obama hasasked the EPA, which has the au-thority to go around Congress underthe Clean Air Act, to finalize thenew rules by June 2015. States haveuntil 2016 to submit their plans — or2017, if they choose to work in a jointeffort with another state.

The National Association of Manu-facturers has taken a strong stanceagainst the EPA proposal. Jay Tim-mons, president of the Washington,D.C.-based NAM, said stricter regu-lations would force manufacturersto move manufacturing to lower-cost, less-regulated countries.

Cold reaction from steelThe steel industry, ground zero

for automotive production, is oftencited as a major producer of pollu-tants, including carbon dioxide.Experts predict the industry con-tributes roughly 5 percent of glob-al carbon emissions.

Thomas Gibson, president andCEO of the American Iron and Steel In-stitute, which has an office in South-field, said the proposal would crip-ple the steel industry and raisecosts for manufacturers and con-sumers.

“Energy, in particular electrici-ty, is one of the most significant costdrivers for the production of steel,”Gibson said in an emailed state-ment to Crain’s. “This proposal willresult in increased electricity costsfor industrial consumers, who ulti-mately have the compliance costsand risks passed on to them. A regu-lation from EPA that will dispro-portionately impact coal-generatedelectricity will have a detrimentaleffect on steelmaking.”

Dearborn-based Severstal NorthAmerica Inc., which the Michigan De-partment of Environmental Quality ap-proved for a controversial emis-sions plan last month, declined tocomment directly on this story.

However, most steelmakers inMichigan, including Severstal,

don’t use electricity tofuel their operations.They use … you guessedit … coal. The proposedregulations are limited tocoal-fired power plants,not coal-fired steel plants.

So the effects could beminimal, said John An-ton, Washington, D.C.-based director of steelservice for analysis firmIHS Inc.

Anton said the in-creased use of natural gas in theU.S., thanks to the oft-debatedfracking in parts of the country, isactually offsetting much of the pro-posed emissions cuts anyway.

“The natural gas boom reallymade this easier to take and miti-gates a lot of the pain of this pro-posal,” Anton said.

Anton said increasing naturalgas production will likely offset alarge portion of CO2 emissions.Michigan gets approximately 20percent of its electricity from nat-ural gas.

OEMs yet to weigh inThe automotive industry has so

far remained silent on the EPA pro-posal. The industry is already facing

steep challenges in meeting the fed-eral Corporate Average Fuel Econo-my (CAFE) standards, which re-quire automaker fleets to reach 54.5mpg by 2025.

For the new EPA standards roll-out, the auto industry feels a state-by-state set of deadlines would bechallenging, said Julie Fream,president and CEO of Troy-basedOriginal Equipment Suppliers Associa-tion.

“OESA is concerned what thenew emissions proposal will dorelative to energy costs for allmanufacturers, including ourmembers,” Fream said in anemailed statement. “Additionally,the proposal allows state-by-stateimplementation of the require-ments, increasing the complexityfor manufacturers.”

New regulations and extremeweather, whether global warming-related or not, affects automotiveproduction and will cost Michiganindustry.

How much? That’s going to bedebated in the months and yearsahead as much as climate change.

This column originally appearedas a blog post on crainsdetroit.com.Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042,[email protected]. Twitter :@dustinpwalsh

Dustin Walsh

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Cascade Engineering Inc.Based: Grand RapidsOperations: Cascade has a 50-50 joint ven-

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Chrysler Group LLCBased: Auburn HillsOperations: Fiat Chrysler operates in Israel

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throughout the country; Israel’s operationis based in Jerusalem.

Employees: 100Products: Pizza, beverages, side itemsTop executive: Yossi Elbaz, CEO of Domi-

no’s Pizza IsraelClients: Retail pizza customers

Fusepoint SolutionsBased: Ann ArborOperations: Research and development

center in HolonEmployees: 5Products: Internet of Things/Connected

Vehicles software, which connects the In-ternet to objects to transfer data wirelessly

Top executive: Ehud Naamani, CEO

General Motors Co. Based: Detroit Operations: Has a regional marketing of-

fice focused on providing sales support for

Israel and the West Bank. This is located atimporter UMI’s headquarters in RishonLeZion. There is also an advanced technolo-gy center in Herzliya.

Employees: Approximately 50 people workat the GM Advanced Technology Centre.About 400 people work at UMI, though theyare not GM employees.

Products: A range of Chevrolet and Cadil-lac vehicles is sold in Israel (via importerUMI). Additionally, Opel vehicles are im-ported into Israel (direct from Opel in Ger-many) via another importer.

Top executive: Ray Schmit, country man-ager

More information: In 2013, Chevrolet salesin Israel totaled 7,897 units. Chevrolet mar-ket share is 3.5 percent. So far in 2014,Chevrolet sales have already reached 5,304units, with market share growing to 5.6 per-cent.

Perrigo Corp.Based: AlleganOperations: Perrigo Israel has four business

units, in Ramat Hovav, Yad Eliyahu, BneiBrak and Yeruham.

Employees: 1,300 Products: Develops and manufactures

generic oral prescription drugs, mainly fo-cusing on active pharmaceutical ingredi-ents. Also produces generic and OTC phar-maceuticals, branded OTC, vitamins andmineral supplement products. Perrigo alsosells diagnostic and other medical pharma-ceutical products in Israel.

Top executives: Joseph Papa, chairman,president and CEO; Sharon Kochan, vicepresident and general manager interna-tional

Clients: Israeli, European and U.S. mar-kets

Plasan Carbon Composites Inc. Based: Wixom Operations: A subsidiary of Israeli defense

company Plasan Sasa, Plasan Carbon Com-posities has a headquarters, R&D center,and engineering and production facilities inKibbutz Sasa, in northern Israel.

Employees: 330 Products: Vehicle armorTop executive: Dani Ziv, CEOClients: Oshkosh, AM General, Lockheed Mar-

tin, General Dynamics Land Systems Canada

RGIS LLCBased: Auburn HillsIsrael operations: An office in Rishon

LeZion services the entire country. Employees: 300Services: Physical inventory, store map-

ping, fixed asset inventories, equipmentrental, seasonal staffing

Top executive: Guy Ratzenberg, countrymanager

Clients: Alon Blue Square Israel Ltd., Super-Pharm, Shufersal, Rami Levi Hashikma Market-ing, Ace, Osher Ad, Dor Alon, idigital

Tomcar North America Based: Rochester HillsOperations: Development and manufactur-

ing operations located near Tel AvivEmployees: 9Products: Tomcar, a military grade off-

road vehicleTop executive: Yoram Zarchi, managing di-

rector Clients: Tomcar NA, Tomcar Australia, South

Sudan Ministry of Interior

— Compiled by Bridget Vis and Natalie BrodaMichigan Israel Business Bridge assisted in

the research for this report.

Month ly

WHERE MICHIGAN DOES BUSINESS

Tomcar North America makes off-road vehicles.

Domino’s Pizza operates 49 stores in Israel.

Cascade employs 25 in a joint venture.

Perrigo’s four business units in Israel include this one in Yeruham.

IsraelIsrael has a growing high-tech sector, including

companies focused on aviation, communications,computer-aided design and medical electronics, in

addition to traditional manufacturing.Israel’s GDP for 2013 was $272.7 billion, up $29.8

billion since 2011. According to the CIA World Fact-book, services comprise 66.4 percent of Israel’s econo-my, with 80.3 percent of the workforce working inthat sector.

High-tech equipment, cut diamonds and pharma-ceuticals are some of Israel’s leading exports, worth$60.67 billion in 2013. Israel’s most common importsinclude raw materials, military equipment, fuels andconsumer goods. Its largest trading partner is theU.S.

Natural gas fields were discovered off Israel’scoast in 2009 and are expected to give the country’senergy sector a boost in the coming years.

Crain’s World Watch Month-ly report showcases companiesleading the way in internation-al business, as well as those ex-panding their global operations.

If you know of a Michigancompany that exports, manu-factures abroad or has facilitiesabroad, email Jennette Smith,managing editor, [email protected].

COMING UPJuly: United KingdomAugust: Thailand/Malaysia

Haifa

Yeruham

Jerusalem

Bnei BrakHerzliyaHolonRishon LeZionTel AvivYad Eliyahu

ISRAEL

Beersheba


Choon’s Design Choon Ng

Inventor and entrepreneur Choon Ng created a way to weave rubber bands into brightly colored bracelets, rings, gures and other items kids wear and share with their friends. It is the winner of four Toy Industry of America awards, including the coveted Toy of the Year award.

Reliable Aftermarket Parts Inc. Thomas Salisbury

Professional dedication and competitiveness are a few of the qualities that helped Thomas Salisbury take a company from startup to multimillion dollars in just ve years. He’s been able to use multiple e-commerce platforms to provide aftermarket agriculture and construction equipment parts.

Gold sh Swim School Franchising LLC Chris McCuiston

Chris McCuiston has grown his business from one location and 2,800 students per week to 13 locations and 18,000 students. He developed a proprietary swim curriculum, uses an ef cient computer based scheduling system, invested in his building infrastructure and established an intense customer focus—which is the families.

RETAIL & CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Flatout Inc. Stacey and Mike Marsh

Stacey and Mike Marsh recognized a void in the marketplace for a atbread that could become a

premier carrier for many food applications. Flatout is now a full line of artisan atbreads sold in retail stores across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Biggby CoffeeL: Michael McFall R: Bob Fish

Equal partners Mike McFall and Bob Fish have always had clear roles. Bob is the strategist and the face of Biggby while Mike focuses on sales, nances and legal matters. While each hold very different roles in the business, one thing they both agree on is their focus. Their ve simple cultural values are imbedded in everything they do and every decision made.

Zoup! Fresh Soup Company Eric Ersher

Zoup has grown from one location in 1998 to its current roster of 62 in 15 states and Ontario. Eric Ersher’s focus has always been on quality and an “everything matters” philosophy that is one of the pillars of the company’s deliberate culture.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Summit Health Inc. Richard Penington

Richard Penington built Summit Health from the ground up. He took strategic risks along the way, such as reinvesting heavily in the IT infrastructure at a time when others weren’t. These risks have pushed the organization toward new goals and innovation, and instilled a culture of creativity.

Forensic Fluids Laboratories Bridget Lemberg

Bridget Lorenz Lemberg turned a simple and innovative vision—a quick, precise drug test using saliva —into a growing startup, and one of the few female-led technology companies in the nation. Her recipe for success is her determination to succeed and her commitment to staf ng FFL with the very best innovative employees.

Applied Imaging John Lowery

John Lowery brings a “yes-it-can-be-done” vision to Applied Imaging. He has attracted a strong group of professionals and challenged them to remain ahead of the technology curve. His leadership style allows him to be approachable, present and available, and unify his team behind his vision.

Arrow Strategies Jeffrey Styers

The combination of a career as a professional boxer followed by 10 years in the staf ng industry led Jeffrey Styers to start his own company, Arrow Strategies. It started with one of ce and is now providing contract staf ng services in IT, engineering, health care and professional services across seven of ces in the U.S.

Rapid Global Business Solutions Inc. Nanua Singh

As head of an engineering services, workforce management and software development rm, Nanua Singh recognized the need to diversify out of doing mostly automotive work in 2006. Now in the aerospace, locomotive and medical equipment industries, the rm has been consistently recognized as a fast-growing company.

TECHNOLOGY

Computerized Facility Integration LLC Robert Verdun

Surviving the Tech Bubble of 2001 and the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 has brought lessons and a more solid business model to Robert Verdun. It taught him to keep high standards and diversify his business base.

WorkForce Software Kevin Choksi

In 1999, Kevin Choksi and his co-founders created WorkForce Software to address an unmet need among large employers. Since then the rm is in new global markets, with hundreds of clients in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.

Information Systems Resources Inc.Luther Elliott

Luther Elliott started Information Systems Resources Inc. out of his Farmington Hills home 16 years ago. The company has grown not by selling computer systems, but by recycling those no longer being used. Each year, the company processes 2 million pounds of electronic hardware.

LLamasoft Inc. Donald Hicks

In 10 years, Donald Hicks grew LLamasoft from one person (himself) to a 100-person rm. He created LLamasoft because the industry needed a solution, and he felt that, “if I didn’t make this happen, maybe no one would.”

DIVERSIFIED

SERVICES

Sachse Construction Todd Sachse

Todd Sachse has built his company by exceeding in many niches: renovating historical buildings; constructing of ce buildings, hotels, schools and shopping centers; and completing build-outs in retail centers, airports, medical of ces and general of ce buildings.

Honoring those who drive growth and innovation …Since 1986, EY has celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit of men and women who have followed and achieved their dreams. These leaders have changed the lives of countless others by building their businesses and giving back to their communities. Their passion, vision and persistence stand as a testament to their dedication. Twenty-eight years ago, EY founded the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Program to recognize these dynamic leaders and to build an in uential community of innovative entrepreneurs. Each June, we host celebrations in 25 U.S. cities to welcome the men and women who are regional nalists into our community and to toast their vision. Their energy and strategic vision have turned their dreams into reality. We applaud them all for taking the road less traveled to launch new companies, open new markets and fuel job growth. Join us in celebrating their passion, innovation and unwavering commitment to win in the marketplace. Congratulations to all of our nalists!

Angie KellyPartner, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Michigan & Northwest Ohio Program Director

RETAIL & CONSUMER PRODUCTS Continued

EMERGING BUSINESS SERVICES Continued

TECHNOLOGYContinued

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

ADVERTISEMENT

P.M. Environmental Inc.L: Michael KulkaR: Pete BosanicStarting in 1992 with a single truck and some business cards, Michael Kulka and Pete Bosanic have grown PM Environmental to a company that works with banks, government agencies and numerous other businesses throughout the U.S. as an environmental risk expert.

Kyyba Inc. Tel Ganesan When Tel Ganesan left Chrysler in 2005, his goal was to chase his entrepreneurial dreams. His risk paid off with the creation of Kyyba, which offers engineering and IT staf ng services and software development.

Alliance Franchise Brands LLC Michael Marcantonio

Michael Marcantonio started as an investor in 2000 and became CEO by 2011. As CEO he has been instrumental in planning the future of the company and positioning it as a driving force in the marketing and visual communications industry.

CONSUMER

SERVICES

Great Expressions Dental Centers Rich Beckman

As CEO, Rich Beckman identi ed acquisitions as the critical growth driver for the company and strengthened the existing infrastructure. Under his leadership, Great Expressions became pro table in 2000 and has seen both top- and bottom-line growth every year since.

Mango Languages Jason Teshuba

As a lifelong lover of language and culture, Jason Teshuba has always been frustrated by the poor quality of the options in the language-learning market. It was this unmet need that led to Mango Languages, a product line now used for 60 languages.

Level One Bank Patrick Fehring

Patrick Fehring created Level One Bank in 2007 because, after 26 years in the industry, he thought he could build a better bank. Starting with card tables in a rented of ce, the bank has gone from zero assets to $600 million under management.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit Lorna Utley

In the six years that Lorna Utley has led Goodwill Industries, she not only helped the nonpro t survive the recession, but also grow. A crucial piece was re-entering the retail market; in the last three years, Goodwill has opened three stores that created 75 new jobs.

DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING

Alta Equipment CompanySteven Greenawalt

Steven Greenawalt articulates a vision to his employees and stresses the importance of creating “customers for life.” Alta has been on a growth path after a bold move in 2009 when the company made four acquisitions in one month that grew both the territory and the product portfolio.

Indratech Surendra Khambete

In founding Indratech, Surendra Khambete brought technology together with manufacturing. The end result is a technology-based company offering an effective and sustainable replacement for cushioning products that reduces problems associated with recycling or disposal.

MPF Acquisitions Inc. dba Marshall Plastic Film John Roggow

When Marshall Plastic Film went into bankruptcy, John Roggow took the opportunity to buy the company for which he had been working. Together with three investors, they started the company from scratch in 2003, working to bring back former customers and grow the business.

MachineTools.com Stuart Carlin

Stuart Carlin founded MachineTools.com on a simple idea: Bring buyers and sellers of industrial equipment to one online marketplace. With a user-friendly interface and transparent pricing, the site now has a presence in 200 countries.

Auburn Pharmaceutical Jeffrey Farber

When Jeffrey Farber worked for the company his father owned, he learned the values, as well as the missteps, of running a drug distribution company. With those lessons learned, he started his own company when the demographics, government regulation and insurance mandates were driving the consumer to generics.

BorgWarner Inc. James Verrier

Shortly after James Verrier was named BorgWarner’s president and CEO, he introduced himself to employees, saying, “I never forget where I came from, how I got here and how that made me who I am.” Humility, respect and trust are core to his value system, and he has implemented those values to the company.

Shiloh Industries Ramzi Hermiz

Ramzi Hermiz took over as CEO of Shiloh Industries in 2012 when it was a quiet, steady public company. Within three months of his arrival, Hermiz made his rst acquisition, adding two more within a year. He brings not only a vision for transforming a company, but the determination and skills to bring that goal to fruition.

MVC Holdings LLC Linda Torakis

When Linda Torakis and her husband Mike co-founded MVC Holdings LLC in 2008, it was bleeding $1.5 million per month. They were able to turn the company around in less than six months and save over 300 manufacturing jobs. Additionally, they found capital to fund future growth.

FAMILY BUSINESS

Kar’s Nuts Inc. Nick Nicolay

When Nick Nicolay took over Kar’s Nuts in 1995, he became the third generation of his family to run the company. But changes had to be made. The company diversi ed into vending channels, leading to a strategic focus on trail mix. Now the Sweet ‘n Salty Mix is the top selling trail mix in America.

Josh Linkner

L: Dan Gilbert R: Brian Hermelin

Three people with years of entrepreneurial experience wanted to help others looking to start their own enterprises. The work isn’t just capital needs, but also the serious hands-on work it takes to realize something out of thin air. Dan Gilbert, Josh Linkner and Brian Hermelin founded Detroit Venture Partners with the mission to rebuild Detroit through entrepreneurial re. Since creating DVP, they have made 23 investments in early andseed stage digital technology companies. In turn, those companies have each grown, hiring hundreds of people, creating technological and entrepreneurial density in the central business district.

Vince Thomas Chairman and founderBillhighway2011 award winner

2014 JUDGING PANEL

Andy Appleby ChairmanGeneral Sports and Entertainment2002 award winner

David ColeChairman AutoHarvestChairman Emeritus Center for Automotive Research

Brian DemkowiczManaging PartnerHuron Capital Partners2008 award winner

Willie GeiserChief Executive Of cerAllshred Services2005 award winner

Jeff IshbiaChief Executive Of cerUnited Shore Financial Service2013 award winner

Arvind PradhanChief Executive Of cerCamaco, LLC2005 award winner

Ron Shahani President and Chief Executive Of cerAcro Services2003 award winner

Michelle ShermanVice President and Chief Financial Of cerBarden Companies

DIVERSIFIED SERVICES Continued

CONSUMER SERVICES Continued

DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING Continued

AUTOMOTIVE

WINNER WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Grand Rapids Plastics Inc.Arthur Bott

Arthur Bott sold his company in 2001 to retire, but wound up buying the company back in 2006. Since then, he’s been able to reduce costs and grow the company. He’s brought in new clients like Magna International, Johnson Controls Inc. and Chrysler Group LLC and grown from 45 employees to 300.

SPIRIT OF

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Detroit Venture Partners

ADVERTISEMENT

DBspreadAD_DBspreadAD.qxd 6/4/2014 3:09 PM Page 1

Choon’s Design Choon Ng

Inventor and entrepreneur Choon Ng created a way to weave rubber bands into brightly colored bracelets, rings, gures and other items kids wear and share with their friends. It is the winner of four Toy Industry of America awards, including the coveted Toy of the Year award.

Reliable Aftermarket Parts Inc. Thomas Salisbury

Professional dedication and competitiveness are a few of the qualities that helped Thomas Salisbury take a company from startup to multimillion dollars in just ve years. He’s been able to use multiple e-commerce platforms to provide aftermarket agriculture and construction equipment parts.

Gold sh Swim School Franchising LLC Chris McCuiston

Chris McCuiston has grown his business from one location and 2,800 students per week to 13 locations and 18,000 students. He developed a proprietary swim curriculum, uses an ef cient computer based scheduling system, invested in his building infrastructure and established an intense customer focus—which is the families.

RETAIL & CONSUMER PRODUCTS

Flatout Inc. Stacey and Mike Marsh

Stacey and Mike Marsh recognized a void in the marketplace for a atbread that could become a

premier carrier for many food applications. Flatout is now a full line of artisan atbreads sold in retail stores across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Biggby CoffeeL: Michael McFall R: Bob Fish

Equal partners Mike McFall and Bob Fish have always had clear roles. Bob is the strategist and the face of Biggby while Mike focuses on sales, nances and legal matters. While each hold very different roles in the business, one thing they both agree on is their focus. Their ve simple cultural values are imbedded in everything they do and every decision made.

Zoup! Fresh Soup Company Eric Ersher

Zoup has grown from one location in 1998 to its current roster of 62 in 15 states and Ontario. Eric Ersher’s focus has always been on quality and an “everything matters” philosophy that is one of the pillars of the company’s deliberate culture.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Summit Health Inc. Richard Penington

Richard Penington built Summit Health from the ground up. He took strategic risks along the way, such as reinvesting heavily in the IT infrastructure at a time when others weren’t. These risks have pushed the organization toward new goals and innovation, and instilled a culture of creativity.

Forensic Fluids Laboratories Bridget Lemberg

Bridget Lorenz Lemberg turned a simple and innovative vision—a quick, precise drug test using saliva —into a growing startup, and one of the few female-led technology companies in the nation. Her recipe for success is her determination to succeed and her commitment to staf ng FFL with the very best innovative employees.

Applied Imaging John Lowery

John Lowery brings a “yes-it-can-be-done” vision to Applied Imaging. He has attracted a strong group of professionals and challenged them to remain ahead of the technology curve. His leadership style allows him to be approachable, present and available, and unify his team behind his vision.

Arrow Strategies Jeffrey Styers

The combination of a career as a professional boxer followed by 10 years in the staf ng industry led Jeffrey Styers to start his own company, Arrow Strategies. It started with one of ce and is now providing contract staf ng services in IT, engineering, health care and professional services across seven of ces in the U.S.

Rapid Global Business Solutions Inc. Nanua Singh

As head of an engineering services, workforce management and software development rm, Nanua Singh recognized the need to diversify out of doing mostly automotive work in 2006. Now in the aerospace, locomotive and medical equipment industries, the rm has been consistently recognized as a fast-growing company.

TECHNOLOGY

Computerized Facility Integration LLC Robert Verdun

Surviving the Tech Bubble of 2001 and the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 has brought lessons and a more solid business model to Robert Verdun. It taught him to keep high standards and diversify his business base.

WorkForce Software Kevin Choksi

In 1999, Kevin Choksi and his co-founders created WorkForce Software to address an unmet need among large employers. Since then the rm is in new global markets, with hundreds of clients in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.

Information Systems Resources Inc.Luther Elliott

Luther Elliott started Information Systems Resources Inc. out of his Farmington Hills home 16 years ago. The company has grown not by selling computer systems, but by recycling those no longer being used. Each year, the company processes 2 million pounds of electronic hardware.

LLamasoft Inc. Donald Hicks

In 10 years, Donald Hicks grew LLamasoft from one person (himself) to a 100-person rm. He created LLamasoft because the industry needed a solution, and he felt that, “if I didn’t make this happen, maybe no one would.”

DIVERSIFIED

SERVICES

Sachse Construction Todd Sachse

Todd Sachse has built his company by exceeding in many niches: renovating historical buildings; constructing of ce buildings, hotels, schools and shopping centers; and completing build-outs in retail centers, airports, medical of ces and general of ce buildings.

Honoring those who drive growth and innovation …Since 1986, EY has celebrated the entrepreneurial spirit of men and women who have followed and achieved their dreams. These leaders have changed the lives of countless others by building their businesses and giving back to their communities. Their passion, vision and persistence stand as a testament to their dedication. Twenty-eight years ago, EY founded the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Program to recognize these dynamic leaders and to build an in uential community of innovative entrepreneurs. Each June, we host celebrations in 25 U.S. cities to welcome the men and women who are regional nalists into our community and to toast their vision. Their energy and strategic vision have turned their dreams into reality. We applaud them all for taking the road less traveled to launch new companies, open new markets and fuel job growth. Join us in celebrating their passion, innovation and unwavering commitment to win in the marketplace. Congratulations to all of our nalists!

Angie KellyPartner, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Michigan & Northwest Ohio Program Director

RETAIL & CONSUMER PRODUCTS Continued

EMERGING BUSINESS SERVICES Continued

TECHNOLOGYContinued

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

ADVERTISEMENT

P.M. Environmental Inc.L: Michael KulkaR: Pete BosanicStarting in 1992 with a single truck and some business cards, Michael Kulka and Pete Bosanic have grown PM Environmental to a company that works with banks, government agencies and numerous other businesses throughout the U.S. as an environmental risk expert.

Kyyba Inc. Tel Ganesan When Tel Ganesan left Chrysler in 2005, his goal was to chase his entrepreneurial dreams. His risk paid off with the creation of Kyyba, which offers engineering and IT staf ng services and software development.

Alliance Franchise Brands LLC Michael Marcantonio

Michael Marcantonio started as an investor in 2000 and became CEO by 2011. As CEO he has been instrumental in planning the future of the company and positioning it as a driving force in the marketing and visual communications industry.

CONSUMER

SERVICES

Great Expressions Dental Centers Rich Beckman

As CEO, Rich Beckman identi ed acquisitions as the critical growth driver for the company and strengthened the existing infrastructure. Under his leadership, Great Expressions became pro table in 2000 and has seen both top- and bottom-line growth every year since.

Mango Languages Jason Teshuba

As a lifelong lover of language and culture, Jason Teshuba has always been frustrated by the poor quality of the options in the language-learning market. It was this unmet need that led to Mango Languages, a product line now used for 60 languages.

Level One Bank Patrick Fehring

Patrick Fehring created Level One Bank in 2007 because, after 26 years in the industry, he thought he could build a better bank. Starting with card tables in a rented of ce, the bank has gone from zero assets to $600 million under management.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit Lorna Utley

In the six years that Lorna Utley has led Goodwill Industries, she not only helped the nonpro t survive the recession, but also grow. A crucial piece was re-entering the retail market; in the last three years, Goodwill has opened three stores that created 75 new jobs.

DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING

Alta Equipment CompanySteven Greenawalt

Steven Greenawalt articulates a vision to his employees and stresses the importance of creating “customers for life.” Alta has been on a growth path after a bold move in 2009 when the company made four acquisitions in one month that grew both the territory and the product portfolio.

Indratech Surendra Khambete

In founding Indratech, Surendra Khambete brought technology together with manufacturing. The end result is a technology-based company offering an effective and sustainable replacement for cushioning products that reduces problems associated with recycling or disposal.

MPF Acquisitions Inc. dba Marshall Plastic Film John Roggow

When Marshall Plastic Film went into bankruptcy, John Roggow took the opportunity to buy the company for which he had been working. Together with three investors, they started the company from scratch in 2003, working to bring back former customers and grow the business.

MachineTools.com Stuart Carlin

Stuart Carlin founded MachineTools.com on a simple idea: Bring buyers and sellers of industrial equipment to one online marketplace. With a user-friendly interface and transparent pricing, the site now has a presence in 200 countries.

Auburn Pharmaceutical Jeffrey Farber

When Jeffrey Farber worked for the company his father owned, he learned the values, as well as the missteps, of running a drug distribution company. With those lessons learned, he started his own company when the demographics, government regulation and insurance mandates were driving the consumer to generics.

BorgWarner Inc. James Verrier

Shortly after James Verrier was named BorgWarner’s president and CEO, he introduced himself to employees, saying, “I never forget where I came from, how I got here and how that made me who I am.” Humility, respect and trust are core to his value system, and he has implemented those values to the company.

Shiloh Industries Ramzi Hermiz

Ramzi Hermiz took over as CEO of Shiloh Industries in 2012 when it was a quiet, steady public company. Within three months of his arrival, Hermiz made his rst acquisition, adding two more within a year. He brings not only a vision for transforming a company, but the determination and skills to bring that goal to fruition.

MVC Holdings LLC Linda Torakis

When Linda Torakis and her husband Mike co-founded MVC Holdings LLC in 2008, it was bleeding $1.5 million per month. They were able to turn the company around in less than six months and save over 300 manufacturing jobs. Additionally, they found capital to fund future growth.

FAMILY BUSINESS

Kar’s Nuts Inc. Nick Nicolay

When Nick Nicolay took over Kar’s Nuts in 1995, he became the third generation of his family to run the company. But changes had to be made. The company diversi ed into vending channels, leading to a strategic focus on trail mix. Now the Sweet ‘n Salty Mix is the top selling trail mix in America.

Josh Linkner

L: Dan Gilbert R: Brian Hermelin

Three people with years of entrepreneurial experience wanted to help others looking to start their own enterprises. The work isn’t just capital needs, but also the serious hands-on work it takes to realize something out of thin air. Dan Gilbert, Josh Linkner and Brian Hermelin founded Detroit Venture Partners with the mission to rebuild Detroit through entrepreneurial re. Since creating DVP, they have made 23 investments in early andseed stage digital technology companies. In turn, those companies have each grown, hiring hundreds of people, creating technological and entrepreneurial density in the central business district.

Vince Thomas Chairman and founderBillhighway2011 award winner

2014 JUDGING PANEL

Andy Appleby ChairmanGeneral Sports and Entertainment2002 award winner

David ColeChairman AutoHarvestChairman Emeritus Center for Automotive Research

Brian DemkowiczManaging PartnerHuron Capital Partners2008 award winner

Willie GeiserChief Executive Of cerAllshred Services2005 award winner

Jeff IshbiaChief Executive Of cerUnited Shore Financial Service2013 award winner

Arvind PradhanChief Executive Of cerCamaco, LLC2005 award winner

Ron Shahani President and Chief Executive Of cerAcro Services2003 award winner

Michelle ShermanVice President and Chief Financial Of cerBarden Companies

DIVERSIFIED SERVICES Continued

CONSUMER SERVICES Continued

DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING Continued

AUTOMOTIVE

WINNER WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Grand Rapids Plastics Inc.Arthur Bott

Arthur Bott sold his company in 2001 to retire, but wound up buying the company back in 2006. Since then, he’s been able to reduce costs and grow the company. He’s brought in new clients like Magna International, Johnson Controls Inc. and Chrysler Group LLC and grown from 45 employees to 300.

SPIRIT OF

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Detroit Venture Partners

ADVERTISEMENT

DBspreadAD_DBspreadAD.qxd 6/4/2014 3:09 PM Page 1


Like the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Detroit

celebrates diversity and all its possibilities. This June, along with 8,000

of their conference attendees, we’re ready to celebrate the newly renovated

Cobo Center. Our city is fi lled with fabulous eateries, amazing attractions and

much more. Such variety promises that their estimated spending of almost

$14 million will be worth every penny — and garner Detroit plenty of praise.

Be part of America’s great comeback city. For more comeback stories, visit meetdetroit.com/comeback-stories.

– TIMOTHY MCCARTHY CHAIRMAN, SOAVE ENTERPRISES TRANSPORTATION GROUP BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, DMCVB

WE’RE LOOKINGFORWARD TOHEARING NOTHINGBUT PRAISE.

CRAIN'S LIST: LARGEST MICHIGAN BIOTECH COMPANIES Ranked by 2013 revenue

Rank

CompanyAddressPhone; website Top local executive

Revenue($000,000)

2013

Revenue($000,000)

2012Percentchange

Full-timelocal

employeesJanuary 2014 Type of business

1.Stryker Corp.2825 Airview Blvd., Kalamazoo 49002(269) 385-2600; www.stryker.com

Kevin Lobopresident and CEO

$9,021.0 $8,657.0 4.2% 0 Manufactures medical devices and medical equipment, includingreconstructive, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology andspine products

2.Perrigo North America B

515 Eastern Ave., Allegan 49010(269) 673-8451; www.perrigo.com

Joseph Papachairman, president andCEO, Perrigo Co. plc

3,539.8 C 3,173.2 11.6 0 Pharmaceuticals

3.Neogen Corp.620 Lesher Place, Lansing 48912(517) 372-9200; www.neogen.com

James Herbertchairman and CEO

106.2 C 91.1 16.6 NA Develops and markets products dedicated to food and animalsafety. Revenue is for food safety only.

4.InfuSystem Holdings Inc.31700 Research Park Drive, Madison Heights 48071-4627(800) 962-9656; www.infusystem.com

Eric SteenCEO

62.3 58.8 5.9 NA Supplier of infusion services to oncologists and other outpatienttreatment settings

5.Rockwell Medical Inc.30142 Wixom Road, Wixom 48393(248) 960-9009; www.rockwellmed.com

Rob Chioinifounder, chairman,president and CEO

52.4 49.8 5.1 110 Hemodialysis products and specialty pharmaceuticals for thetreatment of iron deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism

6.Medcart Specialty Pharmacy32131 Industrial Road, Livonia 48150(877) 770-4633; www.medcartpharmacy.com

Eddie Abueida and EdSalehco-CEOs

52.0 35.0 48.6 70 Specialty pharmacy services

7.Ash Stevens Inc.18655 Krause St., Riverview 48193(734) 282-3370; www.ashstevens.com

Stephen Munkpresident and CEO

22.7 21.5 5.6 79 Makes active pharmaceutical ingredients; develops processes andanalytical methods, and manufactures such ingredients as pre- andpost-FDA approval

8.Aastrom Biosciences Inc.24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive, Lobby K, Ann Arbor 48105(800) 556-0311; www.aastrom.com

Nick Colangelopresident and CEO

19.0 21.0 -9.5 NA Regenerative medicine company and developer of expanded,autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of severe, chroniccardiovascular diseases

9.Xoran Technologies Inc.5210 S. State Road, Ann Arbor 48108(800) 709-6726; www.xorantech.com

Ronald Doriapresident

12.0 NA NA NA Medical device: Compact, low-dose radiation specialty CTscanners

10.Custom Biogenic Systems Inc.74100 Van Dyke Road, Bruce Township 48065(586) 331-2600; www.custombiogenics.com

John Brotherspresident and CEO

7.0 8.0 -12.5 32 Life science equipment manufacturer

This list of Michigan biotech companies is an approximate compilation of the largest companies involved in the research and development or manufacture of products designed to improve the health and well-being of humans. It is not a complete listing but the mostcomprehensive available. Accuri Cytometers, No. 4 on last year's list and which Crain's believes would make the list, was unable to provide figures, and a reliable estimate could not be made. Crain's estimates are based on industry analyses and benchmarks,news reports and a wide range of other sources. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Michigan office. Actual revenue figures mayvary. NA = not available.B Perrigo Co. acquired Elan Corp. plc Dec. 18, 2013. They operate under the global name Perrigo Co. plc, incorporated in Ireland.C Fiscal year end 6/29/13

LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA HILL



growing small businesses

Time to Hatchnew biz ideas

Every year, I look forward to theComerica Hatch Detroit businesscompetition.

Every year, I wonder what new retailideas local entrepreneurs will dreamup to open in the city of Detroit. Everyyear, I hope a shoe store will beamong the finalists.

Nobody has yet fulfilled my dream ofcowboy boots and whimsical heels,but that’s OK because the pastwinners have already woventhemselves into the fabric of ourcommunity. Hugh, the bachelor-lifestyle store, has become a mainstayin Midtown. La Feria, the Spanishtapas restaurant, took way longer thanexpected to open, but it’s now afavorite dining destination. And I lookforward to the day that last year’s bigwinner, Batch Brewing Co., opens inCorktown.

Even more exciting, though, is thenetwork of finalists that thecompetition fosters. While there canbe only one $50,000 prize winnereach year, many small-businessowners use the competition to build acustomer base before ever openingtheir doors.

Take Busted!, for example: The brashop was a top 10 finalist last yearand used the momentum to open inMidtown’s Park Shelton. Owner LeePadgett was told that a bra shop wouldnever work in the city of Detroit, butshe had to order more — twice! —before her doors ever opened lastDecember.

And now there is some extra helpfor entrepreneurs such as Padgett.This year, the Detroit Lions signed onas a sponsor, agreeing to providefinancial assistance to thecompetition’s previous finalists.

“This furthers our commitment toDetroit’s neighborhoods and broadensour collaboration with Hatch Detroit,”said Tom Lewand, Lions president.“The growth of small business inDetroit continues to be a significantpart of the city’s resurgence and is animportant part of the Lions communityengagement strategy.”

The 2014 competition kicked off onJune 1, and submissions are due byJuly 16. After that, Hatch Detroitexecutive director Vittoria Katanskiand a team of judges will narrow downthe submissions to their top 10 andthen push them out for public voting.

To submit your idea, visithatchdetroit.com.

THE HONOREES

$30.1 million to$100 millionWinner: George MatickChevroletKarl Zimmermann, (left)

$5.1 million to $30 millionWinner: Prolim GlobalCorp.Prabhu Patil, Page 22Finalist: MangoLanguages, Page 25

Under $5 millionWinner: Beyond GamingGabe Rubin and NoahKrugel, Page 23Finalist: AvomeenAnalytical Services, Page 25

IntrapreneurWinners: Michael Forsythand Lori AllanRevolve Detroit, Page 24

Social entrepreneurWinner: Tekisha LeeDiverseNote, Page 25Finalist: Noam Kimelman,Page 25

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Amy Haimerl

Amy Haimerl isentrepreneurshipeditor and coversthe city of Detroit.She can be reached at (313) 446-0416 or [email protected]

The faces of successC rain’s annually recognizes entrepreneurs who

are noteworthy for their innovation, problem-solving ability or sheer relentlessness. Winners

are divided into revenue categories, with another forsocial entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.

This year’s winners and runners-up range from ateam redeveloping Detroit’s neighborhoods to a busi-ness that connects diverse candidates with employersdesperate for top talent.

Crain’s will honor the winners at a breakfast July24 at The Henry in Dearborn. Join us to celebratethese entrepreneurs and hear first-hand David-vs.-Goliath stories as small companies talk about suc-ceeding against their larger rivals. Additionally,roundtables will discuss everything from how tomanage growth to how your banker sees your busi-ness.

For more information, go to crainsdetroit.com/events.

George Matick ChevroletKarl ZimmermannRedford Township

It’s not the 100-car showroom, high-vol-ume Corvettes or massive new collision shopthat have made George Matick Chevrolet one ofthe top 1 percent of U.S. Chevy dealers basedon sales volume.

Rather, it is employees’ obsessive ap-proach to customer service, owner Karl Zim-mermann said of the Redford Township deal-ership.

For starters, Matick Chevrolet works ongreetings. Walk in the front door and head tothe counter in the back corner. You’ll passseveral employees who make eye contact andgreet you, but they wait for you to initiatefurther conversation. That’s the normthroughout the building.

“Our rule of thumb isto greet anybody within10 feet of you,” GeneralManager Molly Williamssaid. “We’re big on train-ing.”

Top to bottom, employ-ees recognize that a good customer experi-ence is the dealership’s edge, she said.

George Matick Jr. founded the company in1967 when he purchased and renamed PaulMcGlone Chevrolet on Joy and Evergreenroads in Detroit. In 1977, he converted a de-partment store and a connected Farmer Jackgrocery store at I-96 and Telegraph Road intoa rambling dealership with 107,500 squarefeet under one roof — and a massive show-room as his centerpiece and competitive ad-vantage.

New-car sales have almost tripled since2009. Last year, the dealership sold 2,022 new

vehicles and generatedrevenue of $99 million.Sales Manager Paul Zim-mermann, Karl’s youngerbrother, credits his experi-enced 19-member salesstaff.

“One’s been here 34years, another 20, and wehave eight to 10 with atleast eight years,” he said.

The Zimmermanns willimprovise to gain an edge. A decade ago, asurvey found that customers considered thedealership’s service expertise ordinary. Sothe store made Corvettes a priority, bettingthe required investment in service equip-ment and certification would boost the deal-ership’s technology cred.

WINNER$30.1 MILLION

to $100 MILLION

LARRY PEPLIN

Karl Zimmermann wanted to renovate George Matick Chevrolet back in 2008. But his GMAC representative told him to savehis cash for a recession that was just around the corner.

See Matick, Page 22

Paul Zimmermann



Second Stage

Matick: Love blossomed into a career■ From Page 21

It did. And as ’Vette salesjumped from single digits annual-ly to triple digits, the specializa-tion also boosted overall volumeand helped make Matick Chevy abuyer’s destination.

Since last summer, the originalbuilding has been stripped to thebones, reconfigured and rebuilt tothe latest green standards. It culmi-nates a plan first drawn up in 1997.One that almost didn’t happen.

When he sat down in GeorgeMatick’s spacious, wood-paneledoffice in 1992, Karl Zimmermannwas a frequent-flying young execu-tive for Andersen Consulting.

“I came to ask for his daughterSarah’s hand in marriage,” saidKarl, now 49. Matick was 65 andlooking to sell his dealership.

“He was old school,” Zimmer-mann recalled. “I was young and alittle full of myself.”

Matick saw enough to offer hisprospective son-in-law a job and a

shot at becoming a dealer.“The lure was a chance to own

something,” said Zimmermann,who started in 1993 as a car-order-ing planner.

The two often bumped heads.Four years later, as general man-ager, he wasn’t certain his father-in-law would sell to him. But latethat year, after Karl’s team com-pleted the dealership update plan,Matick sold him 15 percent, with a10-year buyout plan. With threedaughters, Matick wanted to cre-ate a liquid estate. Matick died inFebruary this year.

“I thought I knew a lot when Igot here,” Zimmermann said.“Now I realize how much hetaught me.”

The next challenge was timing.Zimmermann took full ownershipin January 2008 as the recessionwas brewing.

“In August, my GMAC guycalled to raise my floor plan (inter-

est) rate 50 basis points and warnme to conserve cash,” Zimmer-mann recalled. “He said, ‘If yourroof leaks, don’t fix it.’ ”

The makeover plan went back inthe drawer.

But this year, Zimmermann hascovered every horizontal surfacein Matick’s former elegant officewith construction blueprints, bothfor the dealership makeover and anew 38,000-square-foot body shopabout a mile southwest.

The biggest change is the show-room.

“It’s still Michigan’s largestshowroom,” Zimmermann said.“But instead of cramming 162 carsin there, we’re adding other fea-tures like a seven-car new-vehicledelivery area that lets customersdrive straight out the front. Wecan still get 100 cars on the floor ifwe need to.”

— Jesse Snyder

Prolim Global Corp.Prabhu Patil

Farmington Hills

As a scientist in the early 1990s,Prabhu Patil built surface-to-airmissiles for India’s Ministry of De-fense.

But while working on that pro-ject, he became increasingly inter-ested in product lifecycle manage-ment, which deals with theproduct from its beginning,through engineering design andmanufacture to service and, final-ly, disposal.

“Customers want more func-tional features, faster and at a low-

er cost,” saidPatil, presi-dent and CEOof FarmingtonHills-basedProlim GlobalCorp. “PLM

technology enables this.”Prolim, founded in 2010, makes

Web-based tools that track workflow processes within organiza-tions. The company has developedsoftware that allows customers tofind qualified people and hirethem within 48-56 hours.

The company’s consulting ser-vices include PLM software andservices, program managementand IT architecture.

Prolim employs more than 200and provides IT consulting to com-panies such as Siemens Corp., IBMand Cisco Systems Inc. The compa-ny posted revenue of $5.1 millionin 2013, up from $1 million in 2012.

Prolim has been recognized byInc. magazine as one of the coun-try’s fastest-growing private com-panies and was named one ofMichigan’s 50 companies to watchby the Cassopolis-based EdwardLowe Foundation.

Patil came to the U.S. in 1997,working for IBM in Charlotte, N.C.,as a project manager in IT consult-ing. While there, his fascinationwith product lifecycle manage-ment grew.

Two years later, Patil moved toDetroit — “the hub of PLM in the

automotive industry,” he said — towork as a senior manager forSiemens PLM Software, a businessunit of the company’s Industry Au-tomation Division. Patil worked onthe Ford Motor Co. account, han-dling PLM consulting in 13 coun-tries.

“PLM technology usage is high-ly matured in automotive andaerospace OEMs and their suppli-ers,” Patil said. “But there are still

many small and midsized cus-tomers who are not aware or arenot leveraging this technology.”

Patil could’ve stayed in the six-figure salary position at Siemens,but he had wanted to run his ownbusinesses since he was a child.

“That’s the biggest challenge,”said Patil, who has an MBA in cor-porate strategy and marketing fromthe University of Michigan. “Quittingthat kind of a job, where everythingis established, and knowing thatthere will be no office, no set salaryand no person to work for you … it’slike jumping into ice cold water.”

Prolim is working with LawrenceTechnological University to create alab to train students in productlifecycle management.

“There is a huge shortage ofPLM engineers,” Patil said. “Weare focused on building these engi-neers by working with universi-ties and engineering colleges toimpart PLM technology in theircurriculum.”

— Shawn Wright

COURTESY OF PROLIM GLOBAL CORP.

Prabhu Patil’s interest in product lifecycle management led to the creation ofProlim Global, which makes Web-based tools that track work flow processes.

WINNER$5.1 MILLION

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Second Stage

Beyond Gaming of Michigan LLC

Gabe Rubin and Noah KrugelBirmingham

It was during an online cross-country game of “NHL Hockey ’95”

against his brother on a SonyPlayStation 2 in 2006 that Gabe Ru-bin came up with the idea of creat-ing an online video game tourna-ment service.

Not long after, Beyond Gaming ofMichigan LLC was born.

Rubin, 34, co-founded the compa-

ny with friendand Web de-signer NoahKrugel, 42,who is chiefcreative offi-cer. Beyond

Gaming is the parent of GamerSa-loon.com, which allows players toenter tournaments for cash prizesin states that allow games of skillfor money.

Players compete in bracket-stylehead-to-head competition on con-sole game systems such as Xboxand PlayStation. They play mostlysports games — soccer is popularright now because of the World Cup,Rubin said — while first-personshooter games such as “Call ofDuty” and the “Battlefield” seriesare growing in popularity on thesystem.

“That’s what spurred the idea,my passion for video games,” Ru-bin said.

The system attracts about 5,000unique players a month, and theypay either a fee for each tourna-ment or $7.98 for a monthly sub-scription.

More than 1 million tourna-ments have been played and about$19 million paid out in prize mon-ey. Player winnings total about$500,000 a month.

Revenue last year was $4.9 mil-lion, up from $3.7 million in 2012.

Rubin credits Beyond Gam-ing’s success to its internal sys-tem, which can quickly adapt to

next-gen game consoles as theyarrive on the market, as well asan emphasis on customer service.He also said they were careful notto overspend on frivolous market-ing.

The company, which is prepar-ing for a Series A funding round,recently relocated to a Birming-ham office that overlooks Wood-ward Avenue. Expansion plans in-

clude launching a social mobilegame this summer and a fantasysports game linked to charityfundraising in the fall.

That will necessitate a handfulof new hires, including at leastfour developers.

“We consider ourselves to be apioneer of this industry,” said Ru-bin, who previously worked in realestate.

— Bill Shea

GLENN TRIEST

Gabe Rubin (left) came up with the idea for Beyond Gaming of Michigan, whichhe co-founded with friend and Web designer Noah Krugel.

WINNERUNDER $5 MILLION


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Second Stage

Michael Forsyth and Lori AllanRevolve Detroit

DetroitWhen Michael Forsyth joined

the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. asbusiness development managernearly three years ago, he was giv-en the task of increasing the num-ber of small businesses outside the

immediate downtown Detroit area.“The sheer scope and amount of

challenges of that was daunting atfirst,” Forsyth said. “It really tooka year of listening, understandingrelationships and the problems.”

Forsyth used the DEGC’s skills ofarranging and securing real estate,completing complex deals and mak-ing connections to create Revolve De-troit. But he also had to be a bit of anintraprenuer, creating something

entirely newinside thecity’s econom-ic developmentarm.

Revolve,launched in October 2012, joinswith community leaders, buildingowners, entrepreneurs and artiststo fill vacant storefronts with busi-nesses and art installations. Thegoal is to foster the evolution and vi-brancy of Detroit’s neighborhoodbusiness districts.

“Being an intrapreneur is aboutunderstanding the mission of yourorganization and staying true tothat, but taking a different path toget there,” said Forsyth, directorof Revolve. “When you’re able todeliver good results in a relativelyshort period of time, it’s easy tomake the case to do more.”

One of the program’s most recentsuccesses has been the city’s WestVillage neighborhood, with newstores and restaurants such as CraftWork, The Red Hook, Tarot & Tea andDetroit Vegan Soul operating in whatwas once a vacant block. Currently,Revolve seeks entrepreneurs to cre-ate two pop-up shops on Grand Riv-er Avenue in the city’s GrandmontRosedale community.

Forsyth is quick to point outthat Revolve couldn’t have beenaccomplished without his right-hand woman, Lori Allan.

Allan joined Revolve last year asan intern while attending the Uni-versity of Detroit Mercy, where sheearned a bachelor of arts in digital

media studies and minors in archi-tecture and creative writing.

During her time at Revolve, Al-lan managed and launched the pro-gram’s website, headed all commu-nications and graphic design, ledan international call for artistsand entrepreneurs, and grew Re-volve’s social media following bynearly eightfold.

“It was completely new and dif-ferent than anything I’ve everdone,” Allan said of Revolve. “Itwas different learning about busi-ness development and everythingthat goes into a pop-up” business.

Currently, Allan is the marketingand communications manager at theDEGC. This fall, she plans to pursue

a master’s degree in design at HowardUniversity in Washington, D.C.

Allan also served as a reliable,do-anything team member duringa four-month project to revitalizeDetroit’s historic Avenue of Fash-ion, Forsyth said, and played anessential role in the selection andexecution of more than 30 art andretail projects and production of aregional design festival.

“Lori wouldn’t brag about it, butshe’s been such an integral part ofour program,” Forsyth said. “Weboth, respectively, have to play‘MacGyver’ once in a while and dowhatever it takes. … We’ve made apretty good team of two.”

— Shawn Wright

KENNY CORBIN

Michael Forsyth and Lori Allan have made “a pretty good team of two” indeveloping Revolve Detroit projects, Forsyth says.

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Second Stage

Tekisha LeeDiverseNoteYpsilanti

For Tekisha Lee, connect-ing minority job candidateswith prospective employersisn’t just a career. It’s her pas-sion.

That’s why she founded Yp-silanti-based DiverseNote, a ca-

reer man-agementsocial net-work forprofes-sionalswithin

the diversity community. Sheconnects them with organiza-tions seeking top talent by cre-ating partnerships with re-cruiters, Fortune 500companies and mentors.

“Diversity is a broad as-pect; it’s not just ethnicity orrace. There are several different facets,” saidLee, CEO. “Our goal has been to focus on allof them … veterans, gender, and the lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender community.”

The idea for DiverseNote came while Leewas working at Campbell Ewald (now LoweCampbell Ewald). She was working on an ac-count that had a big problem finding diverse,minority candidates. She knew there had tobe a better way.

Founded in 2012, DiverseNote now hasmore than 100,000 members nationwide.Membership is free for employee candidates.Through DiverseNote’s social network, jobcandidates self-identify, opt-in and are demo-

graphically categorized.This helps recruitersfind specific candidatesthat are needed.

About 85 percent of themembers are collegegraduates, Lee said, withcandidates and recruitscoming from all indus-tries, with qualificationsat all career levels.

Revenue last year was$1.2 million, and Lee pro-jects this year’s revenueto be $2.3 million. Themajority of revenuecomes from employerswho sign up. To date, 112recruiters use Di-verseNote, representingcorporations and federalorganizations. Clientsinclude Warren-basedMSX International, Detroit-based Bedrock Real EstateServices LLC and the U.S.Department of the Interior.

DiverseNote also has partnerships andworking relationships with more than 200colleges, universities and alumni associa-tions across the U.S. While employee candi-dates continue to grow, Lee said she wouldlike to see more involvement and registra-tion from the business side.

“In the first year, career candidates reallyjumped at the opportunity to sign up,” Leesaid. “But in reference to corporate clients,we are working diligently to get them awareof DiverseNote and to use us as a source fordiversity recruitment and training.”

— Shawn Wright

DAVID HALL

Tekisha Lee was inspired to createDiverseNote after an experience at theformer Campbell Ewald.

WINNERSOCIAL

ENTREPRENEUR

U P T O $ 5 M I L L I O NI N R E V E N U E

Avomeen Analytical ServicesLLC

Shri Thanedar, a longtime chemist andentrepreneur, retired at age 55, then de-cided the quiet life wasn’t for him. In De-cember 2010, he launched Avomeen Analyti-cal Services LLC, an Ann Arbor-basedchemical testing facility.

Avomeen provides analytical chemistryand drug testing to a wide spectrum of in-dustries, including researchers, manufac-turers, laboratories and entrepreneurs.For example, Doggyarchy LLC, a pet supplycompany in Vail, Colo., hired Avomeen todevelop a nonpetroleum-based coating toprotect dogs’ paws during the snowymonths.

Revenue grew from $2.25 million in 2012to $3.85 million last year. Thanedar hopesto double employees and revenue over thenext two years; within seven years, hehopes to employ 100 and have revenue of$20 million.

— Anjana Schroeder

$ 5 M I L L I O N T O $ 3 0 M I L L I O N

Mango LanguagesFarmington Hills-based Mango Lan-

guages provides online language learningresources to libraries, schools, corpora-tions, government agencies and individu-als.

Mango’s software can be accessed viacomputer or the company’s free mobileapp, allowing customers to learn a lan-guage anywhere. Customers can sign upand choose from more than 50 languages

— from Latin American or CastilianSpanish to Urdu — that the softwarebreaks down into easy-to-learn phrases.

Founders Jason Teshuba, Mike Teshu-ba, Ryan Whalen and Mike Goulaslaunched Mango Languages in 2007 andhave built a network of more than 500teachers. The company recently launchedMango Premiere, which teaches languagethrough movies.

In 2012, the company posted revenue of $7million. In 2013, that grew to $7.9 million.


S O C I A L E N T R E P R E N E U R

Noam KimelmanFresh Corner Café L3C, a Detroit-based

fresh food distributor and catering ser-vice, was formed in 2010 in response to thelack of access to high-quality, healthyfood in the city.

The company sells products to morethan 25 party stores and other small-scaleretailers to provide healthy, ready-to-gofoods, such as salads that sell for $3.95 andsandwiches for $4.95. The most popularitems are the chef salad with doublesmoked turkey and ranch dressing for$3.95 and the garlic jerk chicken sandwichfor $4.95.

Founder Noam Kimelman won theMichigan Social Entrepreneurship Chal-lenge in 2013, an honor that brought aware-ness of her business along with $20,000.

Fresh Corner’s revenue has nearly dou-bled, jumping from $94,000 in 2012 to$172,000 in 2013.


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Second Stage

BY GARY ANGLEBRANDT

SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

For many second-stage busi-nesses, growing pains come fromhaving to form a department forthe first time. For Impact Manage-ment Services LLC, it came fromhaving to get rid of one.

Impact, a staffing firm formed in

that had staff members thinkingnot about scaling the business butabout how to deal with greater pa-perwork.

Impact now manages 800 placedworkers and is on target to hit $30million in revenue this year, Davissaid. “We’re hitting this ramp nowbecause we found those outsourcingsolutions that don’t slow you downby doing it internally,” he said.

Risks and considerations: Whilein retrospect it seems like an obvi-ous enough move, the switch gaveImpact some discomfort at thetime. The point at which placedworkers deal with their staffingfirm most often is when it comestime to be paid. Losing control ofhow that occurs wasn’t a decisiontaken lightly.

“When an employee called abouta paycheck, we controlled the mes-sage and how that person wastreated. Now they’re going to call apayroll company directly aboutcertain issues like tax withhold-ings. How that person is treated isno longer something I’m in com-plete control of,” Davis said.

Davis also was worried aboutthe ability of a PEO to absorb hun-dreds of workers at once, and thento continually manage the churnof temporary workers — a busi-ness characteristic not exhibitedby a PEO’s average customer.

“You have no idea the fire hosethat’s going to turn on,” Davis saidwhen the PEO offered to do thepayroll migration very quickly.

Impact held a series of meetingsto make clear how it wanted itspeople to be treated when callingabout pay issues and to let the PEOknow there would be many suchcalls to ease the transition.

The outsourcing still needsmaintenance from time to time.Impact had to hire someone inter-nally to handle overflows of workthat the PEO couldn’t manage.Last year, Impact switched to onethat could handle Impact’s grow-ing number of workers.

Expert opinion: Gino Wickman,founder of EOS Worldwide LLC inLivonia, coaches second-stagecompanies to stay laser-focused ontheir core business and is a big be-

liever in out-sourcing.

“That’s whysmall business-es are so strong:all these nichecompanies do-ing niche thingsbetter than oth-er companiescan do them,” hesaid. “The closer

my clients get to their core, andoutsourcing and stop doing thingsthat aren’t core, they tend to bemore creative, make more moneyand grow faster.”

It’s up to every company to lookat its present situation and goals todetermine if the function is some-thing it should outsource. But gen-erally the signal to do it is “whenthings are starting to get complexor starting to take you away fromyour core,” Wickman said.

“If you’re forced to keep it andit’s not core, you have to make itcore by going out and finding thebest talent.”

Staffing company outsources payroll to better manage growthIMPACT MANAGEMENT SERVICESLocation: SouthfieldDescription: Staffing and recruitingservicesPresident: Pete DavisEmployees: 21Revenue: $16.5 million in 2013

2002, watched its revenue climbevery year since the recession,from $7 million in 2010 to $16.5 mil-lion last year. The company thismonth will open its first satelliteoffice, in Chesterfield Township,to be closer to manufacturingclients in that area.

Problem: Managing growth andthe payroll department.

In 2010, the company had about300 workers placed with clients to

manage. Compa-ny leadershipsaw that asmore workerswere placed, thehairier thingsgot in the pay-roll department.President PeteDavis estimatedthat for roughlyevery 75 work-

ers placed, Impact had to put an-other person on payroll duties,which include the tasks of check-ing attendance, workers’ compen-sation and disciplinary issues.

At this point, he had three peopleworking on payroll managementand already the processes were be-coming disorderly. As more em-ployees became involved, more ba-sic organizational issues popped up.

“The complexities continued tomount. We were dedicating tremen-dous resources and effort to solve is-sues there and adding layers of

Band-Aids,”Davis said.

The problemwas badenough that itcaused man-agement stressjust thinkingabout how itwas going to

take on new clients — normallysomething to cheer about.

Solution: Davis took what hecalled an unconventional ap-proach for a staffing firm — he be-gan outsourcing his work. The de-cision came after the companyrealized it should listen to its ownsales pitch.

“The ‘a-ha’ moment was whenwe said, what are we telling ourcustomers to do on a regular basis?Outsource to us. Do what yourcore business function is while wedeal with recruiting,” Davis said.

Impact hired a professional em-ployer organization, or PEO, totake care of all payroll-relatedfunctions. A PEO also would beable to absorb much of the regula-tory hassle that comes when em-ploying people in other states, anice service for a growing compa-ny to have.

The work with the PEO began in2011, and it freed up several hun-dred thousand dollars in staffcosts. But more important toDavis, it removed a distraction

Davis

Wickman

STAGE 2STRATEGIESA look atproblem-solvingby growingcompanies


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CALENDAR

CALENDAR GUIDELINESIf you want to ensure listing onlineand be considered for printpublication in Crain’s DetroitBusiness, please use the onlinecalendar listings section ofwww.crainsdetroit.com. Here’show to submit your events:From the Crain’s home page, click“Events” in the red bar near thetop of the page. Then, click“Submit Your Events” from thedrop-down menu that will appear,and you’ll be taken to our onlinesubmission form. Fill out the formas instructed, and then click the“Submit event” button at thebottom of the page. That’s allthere is to it.More Calendar items can be foundon the Web atwww.crainsdetroit.com.

TUESDAYJ U N E 1 0

ABCs of ACA Health Plans for SmallCompanies. 8-11:30 a.m. Walsh Busi-ness Leadership Center. Targetingsmall companies with 50 or fewer em-ployees. Walsh College, Troy. Free.Contact: Jan Hubbard, (248) 823-1392;email: [email protected];website: thewalshinstitute.com.

2014 Michigan Environmental Compli-ance Conference. 8:15 a.m.-4:15 p.m.Michigan Department of Environmen-tal Quality. More than 20 sessions de-signed to help businesses and environ-mental professionals comply withenvironmental requirements, includ-ing waste and wastewater manage-ment, air quality, remediation andpollution prevention. Laurel Manor,Livonia. Cost: $130. Contact: JenniferAcevedo, (517) 284-6850; email: [email protected]; website: michigan.gov/deqworkshops.

Midyear Economic Forecast and Stateof the Industry Luncheon. 10:30 a.m.-2p.m. Construction Association ofMichigan, Home Builders Associationof Southeastern Michigan. Focus onthe status of Michigan’s economy.With L. Brooks Patterson, OaklandCounty executive, and W. Jay Wortley,director of the Office of Revenue andTax Analysis, State of Michigan. Sub-urban Collection Showplace, Novi.$50. Contact: Mary Carabott, (248) 972-1000; email: [email protected]; website: cam-online.com.

Retooling Global Operations forStrategic Advantage. 11:30 a.m.-1:20p.m.Detroit Economic Club. With JimMoffatt, chairman and CEO, DeloitteConsulting LLP; David Cole, chairmanemeritus, Center for Automotive Re-search, chairman, AutoHarvest; andDavid Szczupak, executive vice presi-dent, global product organization,Whirlpool Corp. Cobo Center, Detroit.$45 DEC members, $55 guests of mem-bers, $75 nonmembers. 11:30 a.m.speaker reception open only to board,life and gold members. Contact: De-troit Economic Club, (313) 963-8547;email: [email protected]; website:econclub.org.

WEDNESDAYJ U N E 1 1

Incoterms 2010: International Chamberof Commerce Rules Explained. 8:15a.m.-noon. World Trade Center De-troit/Windsor Association. Learnabout Incoterms (international com-mercial terms), a key part of the lan-guage of international trade, and howgoods are purchased and shipped. With

Frank Reynolds, president, Internation-al Projects Inc. WTC Detroit/Windsoroffices, Detroit. $175 WTC members,$195 nonmembers. Contact: (313) 962-2345, ext. 222; email: [email protected]; website: wtcdw.com.

Considering Digital Accessibility forCustomers and Prospects With Disabili-ties. 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Ann Arbor Spark.With Marisa Smith of The Whole BrainGroup LLC. Many Americans who livewith a disability need to use assistivetechnology to interact with websitesand digital marketing materials. Web-sites incompatible with these devicesexclude people who otherwise mightbecome customers. Conor O’Neill’s,Ann Arbor. Free. Contact: (734) 272-4698; email: [email protected]; website:annarborusa.org.

THURSDAYJ U N E 1 2

Strictly Business. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.JVS. Annual networking and awards

luncheon. With keynote speaker MarkFields, COO, Ford Motor Co.; JacquesPanis, president, Shinola/Detroit LLC,2014 JVS Business Leadership awardwinner; and Max Surnow, co-founder,Cooper Street Cookies, recipient ofthe 2014 JVS Rising EntrepreneurAward. The Henry, Dearborn. $150.Contact: Judy Strongman, (248) 233-4213; email: [email protected];website: jvsdet.org/strictlybiz.

FRIDAYJ U N E 1 3

Detroit — Engage China Auto Industry.2:30-9 p.m. Detroit Chinese BusinessAssociation. Seminar and networkingwith more than 40 executives of Chi-nese original equipment manufactur-ers and auto suppliers. With YangDong, vice chairman and general sec-retary, China Association of Automo-bile Manufacturers. Petruzzello’s Ban-quet and Conference Center, Troy.$48-$150. Contact: (248) 918-0391; email:[email protected]; website: dcba.com.

UPCOMING EVENTSCybersecurity Breakfast: How IsraeliTech Companies Set Standard for Ex-cellence. 8-9:30 a.m. June 17. Michi-gan Israel Business Bridge. WithRami Efrati, founder and CEO, Fermi-tas, and former head, civilian divi-sion, Israel National Cyber Bureau;and Sharon Nimirovski, CEO, White-Hat Ltd. Dearborn Inn, Dear-born. $15 members, $20 nonmembers.Contact: (248) 642-1701; email:[email protected]; website:michiganisrael.com.

Become a Talented Trainer: GuideYour Employees, Temps and Contrac-tors to Success. 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. June18. Michigan Chamber of Commerce.Gain practical skills and strategiesthat work. Walsh College-Novi Cam-pus, Novi. $270 MCC members, $295nonmembers. Contact: Tammy Smith,(517) 371-7670; email: [email protected]; website: michamber.com.

Community Investment Breakfast.7:30-9:30 a.m. June 19. Southwest De-troit Business Association. Withkeynote speaker Carol Coletta, vicepresident, community and nationalinitiatives, Knight Foundation; DennisArcher, chairman and CEO, Dennis W.Archer PLLC and former mayor of De-troit; and master of ceremonies GuyGordon, anchor, WDIV-Channel 4. Mo-torCity Casino Hotel, Detroit. $75.Contact: (313) 842-0986, ext. 26; email:[email protected]; web-site: southwestdetroit.com.

Leadership Breakfast. 7-9 a.m. June20. Business Roundtable. With NickNicolay, president and CEO, Kar’sNuts. Birmingham Country Club,Birmingham. $25. Contact: ChristaMoxon, (269) 685-7829; email:[email protected];thebusinessrt.org.

UM SYMPOSIUM INTRODUCESINVESTORS TO ENTREPRENEURSJoin the University of Michigan RossSchool of Business Zell LurieInstitute of Entrepreneurship 10:30a.m.-6 p.m. June 17 and 7:30 a.m.-2p.m. June 18 for the Michigan GrowthCapital Symposium. The eventpresents an opportunity for venturecapitalists and angel investors tomeet executives of early-stage andemerging-growth companies seeking$1 million to $20 million in funding.The event takes place at the AnnArbor Marriott Ypsilanti at EagleCrest, Ypsilanti Township.The keynote speaker is KevinConroy, CEO and president of ExactSciences. Among other speakers areEd Torres, managing director, LillyPartners; Jack Miner, director of theVenture Center, University ofMichigan; Russ Straate, associatedirector, Venture Center, Universityof Minnesota; Jeff Banker, CEO inresidence, Spartan Innovations,Michigan State University; and JedTaylor, assistant director,Technology Entrepreneur Center,University of Illinois. Tickets range from $195 to $425.Online registration is availablethrough June 13; onsite registrationopens at 10 a.m. June 17. For ticket information, call KerryVelez at (734) 615-4419 or visitmichigan-gcs.com.



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BUSINESS DIARYPEOPLEFINANCE

Beverley Loyd to senior businessbanker, Urban Partnership Bank, De-troit, from asset manager, managedasset group. Also, Kevin Sweeney tomarket director, from director for theMidwest market, Nonprofit FinanceFund, Detroit.

Usha Chinoy toassistant manag-er, Lotus Bank,Novi, from headpersonal banker.

HOSPITALITYScott Stromer toexecutive chef,MotorCity CasinoHotel, Detroit,from executivedirector of culi-

nary operations, Sullivan University,Louisville, Ky.Donald Ponniah to general manager,Doubletree by Hilton Dearborn-Detroit, Detroit, from president andgeneral manager, Grand Traverse Re-sort Spa, Acme. Also, SherylChampine to director of sales andmarketing, from area director ofsales and marketing, Pillar Hotels &Resorts, Flint; and Guillermo Valenciato executive chef, from executivechef, Trump National Golf and Coun-

try Club, Washington, D.C., PotomacFalls, Va.

LAWThomas Hallin topartner, Rader,Fishman &Grauer PLLC,Bloomfield Hills,from of counsel,Price HeneveldLLP, GrandRapids.Monica Moons toshareholder,Couzens, Lansky,Fealk, Ellis, Roed-er and Lazar PC,

Farmington Hills, from of counsel.George Contis to partner, Giarmarco,Mullins & Horton PC, Troy, from part-

ner, Maddin Hauser Roth & HellerPC, Southfield.

MANUFACTURING

John Doychich to executive vice presi-dent, Daifuku Webb Holding Co.,Farmington Hills, from senior vicepresident and CFO. Also, Tetsuya Hibito senior vice president and CFO,from general manager of global busi-ness administration, Daifuku Co.Ltd., Osaka, Japan.Aline Daniel to director of strategicaccounts, Sloan Valve Co., Detroit,from director of government sales.

NONPROFITSKaren Salomoneto executive di-rector, Fish &Loaves Communi-ty Food Pantry,Taylor, from nu-trition programmanager, WayneMetropolitanCommunity Ac-tion Agency,Westland.Jarrod Holmes todirector of field

service/COO, Great Lakes Field Ser-vice Council, Boy Scouts of America,Detroit, from director of develop-ment.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERSComputing Source, Southfield, a digi-tal evidence and legal support firm,acquired MuniDeals, Southfield, a ser-vice provider for municipal financeprofessionals. MuniDeals will retainits name and existing team but oper-ate as a business unit of ComputingSource and relocate within an exist-ing or new Computing Source facility.Websites: munideals.com, computingsource.com.Arrow Strategies LLC, BinghamFarms, a staffing firm specializing ininformation technology, engineering,health care and professional posi-tions, acquired the controlling inter-est of Hire Talent LLC, Clinton Town-ship, a recruiting company with afocus on permanent placement ser-vices in information technology andengineering. Websites: arrowstrategies.com, hiretalentllc.com.Huron Capital Partners LLC, Detroit,acquired American Auto Action GroupLLC, Charleston, S.C., a provider ofdealer-to-dealer auction services, andannounced the formation of an autoremarketing service platform. Web-sites: huroncapital.com, americanaag.com. DTE Energy Co., Detroit, exercised itsoption to purchase one of the twoPheasant Run wind parks from a sub-sidiary of NextEra Energy ResourcesLLC, Juno Beach, Fla. The 75-megawattPheasant Run II wind park in HuronCounty will be renamed the BrookfieldWind Park. A subsidiary of NextErawill continue to own and operatePheasant Run I, the energy from whichwill continue to be purchased by DTEEnergy. Website: dteenergy.com. C/D/H, a technology consulting firmwith offices in Detroit and GrandRapids, merged with the Coil GroupInc., Rochester, a mobile software

firm. Websites: cdh.com, thecoilgroup.com.

CONTRACTSIPS Technology Services, Troy, won ayearlong contract renewal with Feder-al-Mogul Corp., Southfield, to supplySharePoint development, administra-tion and support services. Website:ipstechnologyservices.com.RouteOne LLC, Farmington Hills,a Web-based credit application man-agement system for dealers and fi-nance sources, announced that 1stCommunity Federal Credit Union, SanAngelo, Texas, is using RouteOne’se-contracting platform via its newDiscountOne tool. Websites:routeone.com, 1cfcu.org.

EXPANSIONSBrembo North America Inc., PlymouthTownship, manufacturer of brakingsystems for vehicles and part of Brem-bo SpA, Stezzano, Italy, expanded itsmanufacturing facility in Homer. The facility produces brake discs,calipers and corner modules for carsand commercial vehicles. Website:brembo.com. Bright Side Dental, Sterling Heights,opened an office at 28609 Hoover Road,Warren. Telephone: (586) 486-3802.Website: brightsidedental.com.Planet Fitness, Newington, N.H.,opened a franchise at 345 S. LivernoisRoad, Rochester Hills. Telephone: (248)923-2014. Website: planetfitness.com.Art Van Furniture Inc., Warren, openeda franchise store at 2090 M-32 High-way West, Gaylord. Telephone: (989)448-2228. Website: artvan.com.

MOVESFour Seasons Garden Center & Cus-tom Landscape Services, Oak Park,moved its design studio offices from261 E. Maple Road to 460 N. Old Wood-ward Ave., Birmingham. Website:fourseasonsgardencenter.com.

NEW PRODUCTSAcromag Inc., Wixom, introduced itsXCOM-6400 COM Express Module,which provides heat sink capabilitiesnot available on traditional COM Ex-press designs, and is designed for usein defense, aerospace and industrialapplications. Website: www.acromag.com.TurtleCell LLC, Ann Arbor, developeda protective case for the iPhone 5 and5s with in-ear, retractable headphonesbuilt into the case. The TurtleCell casecan be preordered at turtlecell.com.

NEW SERVICESSouth Eastern Michigan Bowling Cen-ters Association, Clarkston, launcheda new website, sembca.com.Domino’s Pizza Inc., Ann Arbor, is of-fering the Group Ordering Tool fea-ture on its website to calculate an esti-mate of the number of pizzas needed tofeed a specific amount of people. Web-site: dominos.com.Proquest LLC, Ann Arbor, added theAustin American Statesman, Austin,Texas, to the Proquest HistoricalNewspaper collection. The archive in-cludes searchable, full-text coveragefrom the origin of the paper in 1871 asthe Democratic Statesman. Website:proquest.com.

DIARY GUIDELINESEmail news releases for BusinessDiary to [email protected] or mail to Departments,Crain’s Detroit Business, 1155Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997. Use any Business Diary itemas a model for your release, andlook for the appropriate category.Without complete information, youritem will not run. Photos arewelcome, but we cannot guaranteethey will be used.

Hallin

SweeneyLoyd

IN THE SPOTLIGHTHarvey Hohauser & Associates,Troy, a retained executive searchfirm, has named Todd Hohauser

CEO. He hadbeen presidentand COO andsucceeds CEOand founderHarveyHohauser, whois retiring butwill remainactive in someaspects of thebusiness.Todd

Hohauser, 43, earned abachelor’s degree in psychologyfrom Western Michigan University,Kalamazoo, and a master’s inbusiness management from WalshCollege, Troy.

Chinoy

Doychich Hibi

Salomone

Hohauser


POSITIONS AVAILABLE

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BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES COINS, COLLECTABLES & GOLD

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The Crain’s reader: 29.2% are with companiescontemplating moving/expanding. Help them find you by advertising in Crain’s Real Estate section.

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SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Software Engineer for Bosch Automotive Service Solutions LLC in Allen Park, MI. Duties: Leadthe design & develop of software installation packages using Installshield & FLEXNET, incl’gserv’g as technical expert & report’g into a remote manager. Analyze customer rqmts,recommend & develop technical solutions, debug complex installation issues, & investigate newtechnologies. Liaise w/ customer tech & managerial representatives, incl’g lead’g customermeet’gs. Provide accurate time estimates for implement’g system features & assist w/ projectplan’g activities. Lead installation test’g activities, incl’g creat’g test plans & resource schedul’g &ensur’g that correct product documentation is maintained. Req’s: Master in Comp Sci or CompEng’g; 2 yrs exp in software eng’g pos focused on installers or operat’g systems (or Bach Deg & 5yrs of applicable work exp). Exp must include: develop’g Windows & UNIX installation packagesfor automotive diagnostic software tools using FLEXNET & Installshield w/ Installscript; fullsoftware devel lifecycle & work flow management w/ Microsoft Team System, incl’g report’g into aremote manager; development & usage of virtual environments for software installation test’g; &customer interaction for proj req’s gather’g, development & test’g. Exp can be acq’d concurrently.

Mail resumes to:

Sha-Ron Worthen, HR

Bosch Automotive Service Solutions

28635 Mound Rd, Warren, MI 48092

Identify: Software Engineer Pos. EOE.

PEOPLESOFT DEVELOPER

ITC Holdings Corp. in Novi, MI. is in needof a PeopleSoft Developer. Duties Include:analyze, plan, design & dev PeopleSoftapps, inc’l providing implementation,upgrade & prod’n support for Finan’l &Supply Chain modules. Full duties availableat www.itctransco.com. Req’s: Mas Deg IT,Comp Sci, or Electrical, Electronic, orComp Sys Eng’g. 3 yrs exp in PeopleSoftprogramming & analysis pos’n (or BachDeg & 5 yrs exp). Exp must inc’l:integrating PeopleSoft HCM & finan’lprocesses w/Integration Broker & ApprovalWorkflow Engine; creating & integratingOracle databases for PeopleSoft apps, inc’ldeveloping reports w/XML Publisher;customizing apps w/PeopleSoft InternetArchitecture, inc’l nVision functionality;component Interface integration w/Application Engine for supply chaininventory portals. Exp can be acq’dconcurrently.

Apply at www.itctransco.com

EOE

HEAD OF GLOBAL PURCHASING

Syncreon America Inc. is in need of Head ofGlobal Purchasing in Auburn Hills, MI.Duties: consolidate & lead company’spurchasing & sourcing functions, incl’gassuming overall managerial resp fordeveloping & deploying comprehensivepurchasing strategies & performance. Fullduties at www.syncreon.com. 30% travel,domestic & int’l. Req’s: Bach Deg inBusiness or foreign equiv. Will also acceptequiv to Bach Deg through any suitablecombination of ed, training, or exp; 5 yrsexp in sr purchasing mgmt pos in globallogistics industry. Exp must inc’l: purchasinglogistics products & services for air & seafreight distribution centers, final delivery, &returns; logistics supplier selection & mgmt,incl’g contractual negotiations & preparingRFQs; coordin’g freight-related processesw/ logistics operational & salesprofessionals; developing comprehensiveglobal procurement strategies whilemanaging quality & cost of purchased goods& services; training & implementingcontinuous improvement activities forpurchasing. Exp can be acq’d concurrently.

Send Resumes To:Ms. Ann Lipsitz

2851 High Meadow Circle, Ste 250Auburn Hills, MI 48326

Ref. Head of Global PurchasingEOE

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Recycler: Newcomer promises to shred tech, byte by bit■ From Page 3

At the topThe company’s majority owner

is W. Sidney Smith, the formermayor who founded real estate de-velopment company Smith Equitiesin 1968.

Gina Yob is a minority share-holder, as is her cousin, 3S CEOJoe Yob, who has been in the in-dustry since 1989 and has authoredtextbook chapters and white pa-pers on the subject.

Gina Yob is the daughter ofChuck Yob, a former Republican Na-tional Committee member, and sis-ter of John Yob, founder of GrandRapids-based GOP political con-sulting firm Strategic National Cam-paigning Management LLC.

She was the finance director forRepublican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizen-ga’s congressional campaign in2011 and 2012; senior counsel forLansing-based GOP political con-sulting firm The Sterling Corp.; andchief of staff for Lt. Gov. Brian Cal-ley in 2008 and 2009 when he was astate representative.

Shred techThe company — which is trying

to earn International Organizationfor Standardization 14001 and e-Stewards certifications — uses arecycling technology calledBlubox that allows it to shred elec-tronics into small, recyclablepieces. It also removes toxins likemercury in batteries and lead insolder. Things like copper, steel,

glass and aluminum are separatedand then sold to smelters for reuse.

During the Blubox shreddingprocess, the pieces are cut com-pletely flat so they can’t hold mer-cury in the curled corners that areoften produced with other shred-ding processes.

The company has a contract withthe Land of Lincoln Goodwill in Illinoisto process its electronics donations.It also provides recycling in the pri-vate and public sector.

Land of Lincoln — which serves33 counties in Illinois and four in In-diana — was recycling about 1 mil-lion pounds of electronics per year,Gina Yob said, adding that the 3Scontract will allow it to recycleabout 3 million pounds per year.

According to data from the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency,there were 3.42 million tons of con-sumer electronics recycled in 2012,and 3.41 million in 2011.

Last year, the 67 companies regis-tered with the state’s Michigan Elec-tronics Takeback Program, whichwas started in 2009, recycled morethan 30 million pounds of e-waste,according to the Michigan Departmentof Environmental Quality. Samsung,Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, BestBuy and Dell were the top electronicsrecyclers, with each recycling morethan 3 million pounds in 2013, ac-cording to the DEQ.

Job hazard“Recycling electronic waste is

particularly challenging because

of the potential to create environ-mental and public health hazardsin the process such as from mer-cury release and exposure,” saidBryce Feighner, acting chief ofthe DEQ’s Office of Waste Man-agement and Radiological Protec-tion.

“The 3S system proposes toprocess these electronic wastesin an innovative way that elimi-nates or minimizes those haz-ards,” he said. “We are still eval-uating the technical aspects ofthe system at this time. If in factit does what it purports, it is avery exciting process. No doubtabout it.”

Nathan Zack, president of War-ren-based Great Lakes ElectronicsCorp., which recycles electronicsand also has locations in SterlingHeights, Pontiac and Melvindale,said there is a need for more elec-tronics recycling companies aslong as they have the right certifi-cations like ISO 14001 or R2. R2stands for Responsible RecyclingPractices and is one of two EPA-ac-credited certification standardsalong with e-Stewards.

“That’s really the main thing,”Zack said. “If they are not R2 (or e-Stewards-certified), they are notdoing things properly. If they areable to adhere to it and get the cer-tification, they are doing thingsthe right way.”

Jeff McKeen, general managerof the Southeast Oakland County Re-source Recovery Authority, saidSOCRRA recycles electronics

with Vintage Tech LLC, aRomeoville, Ill.-based companywith a 26,000-square-foot plant inCanton Township. However, theyonly do “some rudimentary recy-cling” of electronics there. SOCR-RA has 12 member communities— Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birm-ingham, Clawson, Ferndale,Hazel Park, Huntington Woods,Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleas-

ant Ridge, Royal Oak and Troy —that have a combined populationof 283,000 and total area of 75square miles.

“If they (3S) are going to put in afull-fledged recycling facility, thatwould be great for the area,” McK-een said.

Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412, [email protected]. Twitter: @kirkpin-hoCDB



Survey: Firms report higher health costs, adapt benefit plans■ From Page 3

could have this year through moredrastic cost-shifting changes in em-ployee benefit plans.

Overall in 2014, single employeecosts for preferred provider organiza-tions rose only 3.6 percent to $116 amonth, or 23 percent of total premiumcosts. Single coverage through healthmaintenance organizations dropped 4percent to $95 a month, or 21 percent ofpremium costs.

But family monthly employeecosts have increased 11 percent to$391 for PPO and 5 percent to $308 forHMO coverage, the survey found.

As a percentage of premium, fami-ly PPO coverage is increasing toonly 27 percent of premium this yearfrom 26 percent in 2013, the surveyfound. HMO family coverage is downto 25 percent of premium from 27

percent in 2013.“With the labor

market improving(and strong com-petition for work-ers), employersdidn’t want tomake too manychanges” in theirbenefit plans,McLaughlan said.

But for someemployers, the lack of changes thisyear may have been a short-term de-cision tied to the federal govern-ment’s decision to delay the employ-er mandate penalties until 2015.

“Employers who are impacted bythe (mandate) could be looking atmore significant changes in 2015 asthe result of their cost to complywith the law,” McLaughlan said.

Still, reflecting an interest in low-ering costs, fewer employers thisyear offered PPO plans to employees.Eighty-six percent of employers areoffering at least one PPO plan, down

from 89 percent in 2013. At the same time, the survey

found that 42 percent of employers,up from 38 percent in 2013, are offer-ing HMO plans, which generally aremore restrictive in use of medicalservices and providers.

Old, new ways to cut costsEmployers continued tried-and-

true cost reduction strategies.Those included moving employee

product offerings to more high-de-ductible health plans, increasing theuse of spousal surcharges, and well-ness programs.

Employers also embarked on newstrategies to use telemedicine andhealth advocacy programs to con-tain costs. Leading the way were Mc-Graw Wentworth’stop-performingemployers — called “Trendbenders”for their aggressiveness in holdingdown health cost increases.

This year, the 103 Trendbenders,which amounted to 23 percent of thesurvey’s 454 companies with 100 to10,000 employees, reported an averageincrease of 2.5 percent or less inhealth costs the past two years.

These top performers were morelikely to use high-deductible healthplans (45 percent, compared with 38percent of all employers) and limited-provider network HMO plans (47 per-cent compared with 42 percent). Theyalso were higher users of health ad-vocacy (17 percent to 14 percent),telemedicine (5 percent to 4 percent)and outcomes-based wellness pro-grams (35 percent to 27 percent).

For 2014, even with Obamacare’sadded fees, McGraw Wentworth’sTrendbenders project a 1 percent de-cline in health care costs.

While fewer employers this yearare offering a wellness program — 78

percent in 2014, compared with 81percent in 2013 — 27 percent of em-ployers are using outcomes-basedwellness programs that tie financialincentives to health goals.

‘More aggressive on wellness’At Taylor-based Atlas Oil Co., Laila

Powers, director of human resources,said the company’s outcomes-basedwellness program with Priority Healthhas helped hold down costs to nearlyno increase from last year.

“Our health plan costs were flat,but the (Affordable Care Act fees)cost us $60,000 this year,” Powerssaid, adding: “We have had no in-creases the past three years and onlya slight increase for our team mem-bers (employees).”

Of Atlas’ 454 employees, Powerssaid, the 300 who have companyhealth benefits now must meet fivehealth criteria — including smok-ing, body weight, blood pressure andcholesterol levels — to receive lowercopayments for services.

“We have become more aggressiveon wellness, and we have had goodresults with our team members,”Powers said.

Powers said Atlas will begin usinga telemedicine program that allowsemployees to call in for a virtual of-fice visit and get a medical evalua-tion. The telemedicine call costs em-ployees a $40 copayment.

“Fifty percent of our team membersare drivers,” Powers said. “They work10 to 12 hours a day and often don’thave time to go in for a visit. This ismore of a benefit than a cost savings,but it could reduce overall health costsif it prevents” a medical problem.

Jay Greene: (313) 446-0325,[email protected]. Twitter:@jaybgreene

McLaughlan

OTHER SURVEY RESULTS

Market share� Despite a continued dip in market share this year, Blue Cross BlueShield of Michigan still holds a dominant 72 percent share of themarket for preferred provider organizations. Those numbers aredown from 76 percent in 2013 and 79 percent in 2011.� Health Alliance Plan of Michigan increased PPO market share to17 percent this year from 13 percent in 2013. HealthPlus ofMichigan increased to 7 percent from 4 percent. Priority Health heldsteady at 8 percent.

Impact of health care reform� 89 percent of surveyed employers plan to continue to offer healthbenefits to full-time employees in 2015 and 2016, up from 84percent in 2013.� The overwhelming majority of employers — 95 percent — saidemployee retention and recruiting was the primary reason to keephealth benefit plans. Other reasons included company culture (70percent), savings didn’t justify change (29 percent) and unionconcerns (26 percent). � The percentage of employers offering coverage to employees whowork 30 or more hours a week increased to 74 percent this yearfrom 59 percent in 2013. That appears to be in anticipation of aJan. 1, 2015, requirement for companies with the equivalent of morethan 50 full-time employees to offer health insurance to workersaveraging more than 30 hours a week or pay a penalty.

High-deductible health plans� 38 percent of employers this year are offering high-deductiblehealth plans, up from 35 percent in 2013.The plans are typically less expensive than other plans and feature atax-free health savings account or health reimbursement accountwith employer contributions. The plans are lower cost because theyare usually designed with deductibles of $1,200 to $2,500.

Other results� 38 percent of local employers — more than double the nationaltrend of 16 percent — are using spousal surcharges (20 percent) toemployee premiums or spousal force-outs (18 percent) for spouseswho are eligible for coverage from other sources.� 14 percent of employers offer health advocacy programs — phoneassistance for employees with claims questions, coordination ofcare and navigating the health care system. An additional 18 percentare considering such programs for 2015. � 4 percent of Southeast Michigan employers offer telemedicine asa care provider option, with 19 percent considering it for 2015.

port-area project — wouldn’t dis-close estimated investment, eachof the projects could drive about$100 million in investment, 75 ormore retailers and up to 1,500 jobs,developers said.

Those are the plans. But the developers all say they

need a critical mass of signed leasedeals before the planned projectscan become reality.

“The one thing the three of us willagree on is that the (market) willdefinitely support one,” saidThomas Guastello, owner and presi-dent of Center Management, a localdeveloper on the Chesterfield Town-ship site.

“And we probably all agree itshould be (our) site.”

Selling the regionLast week, Guastello and partner

Jeff Anderson hosted more than 20national retailers for a site tour.Guastello and Anderson plan a350,000-square-foot center with aprojected completion date of April2016.

In addition to common majorbrands seen at many outlet malls,“we are courting some of the veryhigh-end brands ... like Gucci, (Sal-vatore) Ferragamo and some other

ones,” Guastello said.The developers also have a letter

of intent from Countryside, Ill.-based Cooper’s Hawk, a restaurantand winery, to bring a 12,000-square-foot location to the property, he said.

They reminded retailers of the 4.6million people living in the region,and during the tour, Larry Alexan-der, president and CEO of the DetroitMetro Convention & Visitors Bureau,highlighted, among other things,the large numbers of Canadianshoppers who come to shop in theregion. The bureau has promotedDetroit-area retail in Southern On-

tario markets for the past threeyears.

Guasetello and Anderson alsotook the retailers on a tour of theregion “by land, sea and air.”

They took them on a boat tour ofthe Detroit River and border cross-ing and drove them along the HallRoad/M-59 corridor, which “has be-come the Rodeo Drive of suburbanshopping,” said Guastello, whoowns Shelby Town Center on HallRoad. That development is acrossfrom Lakeside Mall, with more than300,000 square feet of retail andrestaurants.

And they chartered three heli-copters for an aerial view of thehousing stock and traffic patternsnear their Chesterfield Townshipsite, its proximity to Canadian traf-fic from both Detroit and the BlueWater Bridge in Port Huron — andprovided aerial views of the Romu-lus and Canton Township sites com-peting for outlet center retail ten-ants.

“They’re going to look at themall anyway, so you might as well beup front,” Anderson said.

“We’re confident,” Guastellosaid, “with the feedback we’ve got-ten, now that they’ve seen all threesites.”

Retailers like Neiman Marcus,Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, RalphLauren, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany &Co. have other stores in these mar-kets and know the area, Andersonsaid, which should increase theirlevel of comfort in locating at aluxury outlet like the one plannedin Chesterfield Township.

“There’s only one set of retailersthat go into outlet centers ... (they)are going to pick the best site andthe one that gets developed first,”Anderson said.

“We think we can go fast be-cause we own the land.”

But the developers behind pro-

posals in Romulus and Canton feelequally strongly about their sites,and Anderson said he believes themarket could potentially supporttwo additional centers, one oneach side of town.

Airport areaNew England Development is un-

der contract to purchase about 36acres of vacant land at the north-east corner of Vining Road and I-94for an undisclosed amount fromSouthfield-based Nemer PropertyGroup, he said.

Vice President Michael Barellideclined to say what the developerwould invest in the 325,000-square-foot project, which is set to open in2016. But he said it isn’t planningto pursue tax incentives.

“There’s been a ton of invest-ment in infrastructure in the area,and the roads are in great shape,which helps,” Barelli said.

The site is across from a majorairport that serves 32 million pas-sengers each year, on the majorhighway between Detroit andChicago and will be the closest out-let center in Michigan to the Cana-dian border, the developer said.

Outlets: For developers of 3 malls, the race is on for retailers ■ From Page 1

COURTESY OF PARAGON OUTLET PARTNERS LLC

Paragon Outlet Partners LLC plans to put an outlet center in Canton Township atI-275 and Ford Road.

See Next Page



MEDC: Expedited incentive signoffs questioned ■ From Page 1

er transactions, but in a publicsetting, it can raise questions oftransparency.

Strategic Fund board membersare notified via email of approvedprojects within 24 hours of theclosing of the deals, and the boardalso receives quarterly reports onthe projects approved.

But, even though all approvedincentives are made publicthrough press releases issuedthrough the Strategic Fund, thereleases don’t say how they wereapproved.

“Most people do not understandit,” said Rep. Jeff Farrington, R-Uti-ca, chairman of the House Tax Poli-cy Committee. “I think MEDC andthe fund board already have issueswith transparency and oversight,and this makes it even worse.”

Farrington said he has notheard of problems arising fromexpedited approvals, but said hewould like to see the use of dele-gated authority more transparentso everyone knows how state taxdollars are being handed out.

“They are controlling verylarge purse strings with very littleaccountability,” he said.

The processJosh Hundt, director of busi-

ness incentives for the MEDC,said Finney, Morante and Clintonindividually have the ability toveto any proposed incentive.Finney said he doesn’t recall thathappening, but if it does, the pro-posed incentive goes to the Strate-gic Fund board for consideration.

All projects considered for in-centives go through the same re-view process, according to theMEDC.

MEDC staff members conduct abackground review of the compa-ny and its key personnel and a le-gal review of the project. Individu-als who sign off on the deal have tosign a form saying they do nothave a conflict of interest with theproject. If they do, they have to re-cuse themselves.

Hundt said the MEDC staff,when selecting projects for ap-proval, looks at how many high-paying jobs will be created, thelevel of private investment thatwill occur, how quickly the pro-ject can begin if given a stategrant and if it will provide a netpositive return to the state.

The MEDC says delegated au-thority allows the state to movewith speed, especially with lowerdollar-value projects that Finneybelieves the board would approve.So rather than wait until the nextmonthly board meeting, a dealcan be approved when it is ready,Hundt said.

“I’ve never had concerns ex-pressed about transparency,”Finney said. “The phone calls thatI get are about us not moving fastenough.”

There has been discussionabout legislative changes to eitherstop or change delegated authori-ty, but it has not been a high prior-ity, he said.

“We don’t see the process asbroken, so we don’t have anyplans for changes, but we would ifit became necessary,” Finneysaid. “Continuous improvementis good and something we are al-

ways striving for.”

How it’s done elsewhereSurrounding states have vary-

ing ways of handling incentive ap-provals.

In Ohio, all incentives are ap-proved by a board in a publicmeeting.

In Indiana, incentives totalingless than $3 million are approved bythe management staff of the IndianaEconomic Development Corp. The restare approved by a board. In 2013, 261projects received incentives, andless than a dozen were approved bythe full board, said RebeccaHelmke, media relations and publicaffairs manager for the IEDC.

It is key, with the projects ap-proved outside of the public meet-ings, to ensure there is trans-parency, Finney said, but hebelieves there is no problem inthat regard. He said the fact thatall approved deals are made pub-lic via press releases is key to pro-viding transparency.

“I think the (delegated authori-ty) policy is a good policy,” he said.“We’ve not had any complaintsabout the integrity of our process.”

Sen. Mike Kowall, R-WhiteLake Township, chairman of theSenate Economic DevelopmentCommittee, said he understandsthe need for quick turnaround,but also understands transparen-cy concerns.

“I’d probably prefer to have it goin front of a board, but at the sametime, that’s what Mike (Finney)was hired for,” Kowall said. “If

that’s part of his job, then that’spart of his job.”

He said dele-gated authoritydoes allow thestate to reactmore quicklythan it could be-fore.

“That’s whatit was designedfor,” he said.

With smallbusinesses, op-

portunities to expand because of anew customer or to add a productline can come up and go awayquickly, Kowall said.

“If you don’t move in an expe-dited fashion, then you’re going tomiss the window of opportunity,”he said.

For example, Kowall said, a com-pany may have the opportunity totake on a new customer, but doingso would require expanding its fac-tory. Delegated authority can bequicker than waiting for a Strate-gic Fund board vote, Finney said.

Finney said that’s true, but theMEDC does not use that as a sell-ing point with companies.

Michael LaFaive, director of fis-cal policy for the Mackinac Centerfor Public Policy, said he doesn’tthink it matters if two people orthe full board approve projects.He thinks they will fail in thesame way other state incentiveprograms he’s studied have done.

He said tax incentives pro-grams he has studied during theGranholm administration fell far

short of the job projections.“Taking money from many in

the state and giving it to a few doesnot create net new jobs over time,”he said. “The evidence is clear.”

But having only two peoplemake the final decision does lead toquestions of transparency, he said.

“There will be fewer peoplelooking over the shoulder of thestate,” LaFaive said. “In the past,the state has promised there weresafeguards in place, but still madeawful decisions on how to investour money,” he said.

He cited the case of former felonRichard Short, who conned theMEDC into approving a $9.1 mil-lion incentive for a company hewas said to be operating out of hismobile home in 2010. The incen-tive was never paid.

Making promisesNot surprisingly, the compa-

nies that get the incentives likeexpedited approval.

William Fournier, president ofMayser Polymer USA in CantonTownship, said working with thestate was quite easy and allowedthe company to move forward withits $3.9 million expansion project.

“It was a pretty simple process,”he said.

In September 2012, the companywas awarded a $200,000 perfor-mance-based grant through dele-gated authority to expand its oper-ations to assemble its anti-pinchsensors, a safety feature that goeson most automated lift gates.

Fournier promised to create 50new jobs within two years on top ofthe 12 people he already employed.

At the end of the first year, hewas to have added at least 25 jobsto receive the first half of the mon-ey, but at that point he alreadyhad 59 full-time workers — justthree shy of the target he had tohit the next year.

“We will be definitely be there,”he said.

Finney said this is indicative ofthe response the MEDC has beenreceiving.

“Our early data say companiesare overachieving,” he said.

According to the MEDC, of the22 business development programincentives that were approvedwith delegated authority in fiscalyear 2012, 19 have met or exceededtheir milestones related to thejobs they had to create in order toearn their incentive.

In May 2012, AGS Automotive wasawarded a $900,000 grant to expandits Sterling Heights facility, whichmakes automotive bumper systemassemblies, and create 90 jobs.

Lisa Boulton, general counselwith AGS, said she did not haveexact numbers readily available,but said the company is far aheadof its job projections.

Boulton said the company had agreat experience dealing with thestate as it was looking for helpwith the expansion project.

“I don’t think I’ve ever experi-enced a situation where govern-ment has ever responded in suchan expedited manner,” she said.“It was remarkable how efficient-ly it was handled.”

Chris Gautz: (517) 403-4403,[email protected]. Twitter:@chrisgautza oo

FAST TRACK WINNERSSince 2011, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. has approved129 projects through an expedited sign-off process rather than approval bythe Michigan Strategic Fund board. Below is a partial list of those projects. The full list appears atcrainsdetroit.com/medcdata.

Michigan Community Revitalization Program grants

� Ellington LLC, an entity of developer Peter Cummings, $1 million tooffset costs and site preparation for the Detroit Whole Foods project. 65jobs and $14.9 million in investment were expected.� Hall Street Partners Inc., Grand Rapids, $310,000 toward renovation ofa historic grocery store into a mixed-use development. 15 jobs, $1.4million in investment.� Marquette Food Co-op, $615,000 to renovate two vacant buildings toexpand operations, including a teaching kitchen and classroom. 30 jobs,$3.4 million in investment.� Michigan Historic Preservation Network, Lansing, $68,187 to renovatethe historic Thelma Joyce Osteen Comfort Station. One job, up to$682,284 investment.� Rebuild Lebowsky LLC — Shiawassee Center, Owosso. $446,000 for thenonprofit Owosso Community Players to renovate the Joseph H. LebowskyTheatre. Two jobs, $6.7 million in investment.� Woodward Theater LLC, Detroit, $750,000 to help developer GeorgeStewart renovate the Garden Theater on Woodward Avenue. 84 jobs,$12.3 million in investment.� Woodward Willis LLC, Detroit, $745,000 for a new Midtown Detroit-owned mixed-use building to house a Lawrence Technological Universitydesign center. 100 jobs, $6.4 million investment.

Michigan Business Development Program grants

� AGS Automotive Systems. $900,000 to renovate an idled BorgWarnerInc. plant in Sterling Heights. 90 jobs, $21 million in investment.� GKN Driveline North America. $1 million to expand automotiveengineering and testing services operations in Auburn Hills. 50 jobs, $5.1million in investment.� Hark Orchids LP. $500,000 to establish a 30,000-square-foot lab andclimatic chambers facility for Orchids in Kalamazoo. Company’s first facilityoutside Germany. 80 jobs, $5 million in investment.� HCL America. IT and software development company establishes a newfacility in Jackson. 300 jobs, up to $3.35 million in investment.� Herbruck Poultry Ranch, Saranac. $500,000 to expand egg productionand processing facilities. 50 jobs, $33 million investment.� ReNu Wireless USA. $900,000 to open a new communicationsremanufacturing operation in Roseville. 228 jobs, $5.3 million in investment.

Kowall

New England is working withKimley-Horn & Associates Inc. inTroy as civil engineer for the pro-ject and Strobl & Sharp PC in Bloom-field Hills as its land use attorney.It plans to request bids for a gener-al contractor within six months,Barelli said.

With only two outlet malls serv-ing metro Detroit, Great Lakes Cross-ing Outlets in Auburn Hills andTanger Outlets in Howell, “I think weall realize that Detroit needs anoth-er outlet center,” he said.

“We believe the place for that isin the southwest part of the metroto serve Ann Arbor and downriver... northwest Ohio, even.”

Ready-to-assemble in CantonThe demographics of the Canton

Township site “are clearly thestrongest,” said Nicholas King, aprincipal in developer ParagonOutlet Partners.

The site’s location of less than amile from the only Michigan Ikea— a destination unto itself — waspart of the attraction, he said. Andits proximity to Detroit, Ann Ar-bor and Canadian traffic are otherselling points of the 50 acresParagon has under contract, Kingsaid.

Paragon typically does its de-sign and architecture in-house andis in the process of contracting alocal engineering firm and legalcounsel, King said.

Paragon previewed the site andproject at the International Councilof Shopping Centers’ Global RetailReal Estate Convention in Las Ve-gas in May, he said.

“We have a lot of tenant interest,and we anticipate it will be verysuccessful,” King said.

The Canton property, most ofwhich has never been developed,

is already zonedfor general com-mercial, saidKristenThomas, CantonTownship’s eco-nomic develop-ment manager.

The timing forthe developmentwould work wellwith the planned

paving of Lotz Road, which runsalong one side of the property, par-allel to I-275, she said, adding thatthe township plans to work with itsDDA to see if there is any availablefunding for the project.

Regardless of which get devel-oped, the outlet centers would be aboon for the local economy, notonly for the jobs they’d create, butalso from the ancillary uptick forlocal restaurant s, hotels and eventourist destinations.

“We know from our hoteliersthat a lot of people choose tomake shopping a weekend desti-nation,” said Renee Monforton,director of communications atthe Detroit Metro Convention & Visi-tors Bureau.

About 14 million people visitmetro Detroit annually, accordingto the bureau’s 2013 visitor study,and of those, about 4 million haveindicated that they shop whenthey’re in town, she said.

“If we enhance the shopping op-tions, we can assume that willmove the needle even more on visi-tors,” Monforton said.

Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694,[email protected]. Twitter: @sherriwelch

From Previous Page

Thomas



A conventional way to boost city

BY SHERRI WELCH


The view from Syed Mohi-uddin’s 15th-floor apart-ment balcony in down-

town Detroit was idyllic, withthe glint of the Detroit River,Hart Plaza, Campus MartiusPark and cityscape all in view.

But as he looked down on a Julyday in 2009, there was one thingmissing: No one was walkingaround.

The urge to help find a way tobring people downtown spurredMohiuddin, a doctor now finishinghis residency at DMC Sinai-GraceHospital, to launch what became afour-year effort to bring the IslamicSociety of North America’s nationalconvention to Detroit.

It paid off.ISNA is bringing its annual con-

ference, the largest Muslim gath-ering in the U.S. — with 20,000 at-tendees and a projected $20million in economic impact — toDetroit for the first time Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

That wouldn’t have happened ifMohiuddin, now 31, hadn’t refusedto take “no” for an answer.

Tough sellMohiuddin, then a Michigan

State University medical student,picked up the phone and calledPlainfield, Ind.-based ISNA oneday to ask if the association wouldbring the convention to Detroit.

The immediate answer waslaughter.

Not only was Mohiuddin youngand unknown in the Muslim com-munity, but Detroit groups had at-tempted and failed to attract theconvention, Basharat Saleem,ISNA’s director of conventionsand conferences, told him.

The host city for ISNA’s nation-al convention, its largest gather-ing of the year, needed to have asignificant population of Muslimpeople from which the event coulddraw attendees, Saleem said. De-troit had that. But there were lo-gistical factors when the city wasbeing considered in the early2000s for an event three to fouryears into the future.

At that time, Cobo Center hadissues, and Detroit didn’t haveenough hotel rooms downtown toaccommodate attendees. “That’swhy our convention has predomi-nantly been in Washington, D.C.,or Chicago,” Saleem said.

There were also safety concernsabout Detroit that ISNA feared

would prevent people from attend-ing, and the region lacked a well-managed local Muslim group withenough pull to help organize andrecruit hundreds of volunteersand assist on marketing the event.

Mohiuddin told Saleem: “Let meget back to you once I’ve ad-dressed these issues.”

Push for a mergerIn between his medical studies,

Mohiuddin, who already hadearned a bachelor’s degree in eco-nomics from the University of Michi-gan and a master’s in medical sci-ences from Boston University, beganvolunteering with the Council ofthe Islamic Organizations ofMichigan. He hoped, as a first step,to help figure out how it could be-come strong enough to serve asthe local host of the convention.

To get the council’s attentionand bring new energy, Mohiuddinoffered to connect the council withthe Muslim Students Associationchapters at Wayne State University,UM and MSU and Muslim highschool groups. In exchange for thestudent groups bringing volun-teers and attendees to its events,the council provided sponsorshipsfor their events. Through the ef-fort, Mohiuddin engaged 500-600young people for the council.

In 2010, Mohiuddin also began

attending the council’s boardmeetings to gain insight into itsoperations and meeting with theformer and acting executive direc-tors and supporters of another lo-cal group, the Islamic Shura Councilof Michigan.

He asked about the Shura Coun-cil’s value proposition, why therewas a need for the organization tohave formed in 2006 when theCouncil of the Islamic Organiza-tions had been around since 1988,and what supporters envisionedfor the Shura Council’s future.

It was a brazen move, he admits,but after many months, Mohiud-din sent a letter to the chairmanand vice chairman of both localMuslim councils, asking them toconsider a merger. He knew thevice chairman of the Shura Coun-cil and thought he might be recep-tive. But the letter riled bothgroups as a whole, because theywere competing for dollars and in-fluence, Mohiuddin said.

“I got a lot of ‘who the hell areyou?’ at first, but they got it,” hesaid. “It made sense … and theywere all tired of not seeing the out-comes they wanted.”

The organizations had a com-mon goal of wanting to make theMichigan Muslim communitystronger. And there were gaps inhow both went about it that theother filled, he said.

The Council of the Islamic Orga-nizations invited Mohiuddin tojoin its board, and he helped per-suade the two groups to merge in2011. They created the MichiganMuslim Community Council and re-cruited Muzammil Ahmed, a part-ner and urologist at Royal Oak-based Comprehensive Medical CenterPLLC, to chair it.

Ahmed was well known in theMuslim community “and (could)make things happen with phonecalls,” Mohiuddin said.

Both councils knew Mohiud-din’s push for the merger was fu-eled by the desire to bring theISNA convention to Detroit. “Butat the end of the day, they knew ...it was good for both organizationsand the community,” he said.

The merged council hosted twolocal diversity events in 2011 and2012, showing it could organizeevents, recruit volunteers anddraw attendees. The events wereaimed at building understandingamong different segments of theMuslim community, including theSunni and Shiite sects and the dif-ferent racial and ethnic communi-ties, including Arab-American,African-American and SouthAsian-American Muslims. About800 people showed up the firstyear, Saleem said.

MMCC, which is operating on abudget of about $150,000, accord-

ing to Mohiuddin, rolled out thered carpet for ISNA staff andspeakers to the events, bookingthem into suites with downtownriver views, leaving bags of made-in-Michigan goodies in their hotelrooms, offering snacks and the op-portunity to talk with Detroit lead-ers in the hospitality rooms at theDoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Detroit-Dearborn and the Islamic Center ofAmerica in Dearborn, one of theoldest and largest mosques in thecountry.

During a winter visit from theISNA team, the council alsobooked the Fountain Bistro at Cam-pus Martius Park for s’mores andice skating.

The fact that the Shiite popula-tion in metro Detroit is more bal-anced with Sunni populationshere than in other parts of worldwas also an attraction for ISNA,which wanted to engage the Shiitepopulation, Mohiuddin said.

Around the same time, the logis-tics of hosting an event in Detroitbegan improving.

The $299 million renovation ofCobo Center was well underway,the Crowne Plaza Detroit DowntownRiverfront hotel reopened, the De-troit Marriott at the Renaissance Cen-ter’s $30 million renovation beganto take shape, and shuttle servicefrom Detroit Metropolitan Airportwas launched.

MMCC’s board members andother supporters in the local Mus-lim community began contactingISNA to share their enthusiasmover the investment and rejuvena-tion taking place in the city, Mohi-uddin said. He also began mailingthe national office clips of everygood piece of news being reportedabout investment and momentumin the city.

Last year, ISNA made the deci-sion to bring the national conven-tion to Detroit this August.

The logistical improvements,better security in the city, thestronger local Muslim council andinterest from the Muslim commu-nity helped swing things in De-troit’s favor.

And young people like Mohiud-din coming forward and showinginterest, “really helped for us tofurther make up our minds tobring the event to Detroit,”ISNA’s Saleem said.

In setting out to land the ISNAconvention, Mohiuddin said, hehad no idea it would take this longor that he would get so involved inthe community.

“But you do what it takes,” hesaid.

Mohiuddin will leave Detroit foran associate position at McKinsey &Co. in Chicago in July, joining hiswife, Atiya, a mechanical engineerwho was recently promoted to aposition at Smith Group JJR’s Chica-go office.

But there’s no question — he’llbe back in August for the ISNAconvention.

Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694,[email protected]. Twitter: @sherriwelch

From the balcony of his apartment in downtownDetroit, Syed Mohiuddin saw that no one was downthere and decided to do something. The result: 20,000people will be downtown during the Islamic Society ofNorth America’s national convention.

ANTHONY BARCHOCK

I got a lot of ‘who the hell are you?’ at first, but they got it. “ ”Syed Mohiuddin

How one man’s visionpersuaded nationalIslamic conferenceto come to Detroit



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Grips: SuperStroke to move beyond putter grips■ From Page 3

called Techniques, and later ex-panded into upscale custom put-ters in the $300 range.

They bought the Tiger Shark golfclub brand in 2000 from Japanese-owned Allied Holdings Inc. in Cali-fornia for $350,000, and for yearsmarketed the clubs in the U.S.,Asia and Europe.

Dean Dingman, 47, said hebought the SuperStroke brand,then based in Wisconsin and ad-vertising on infomercials, aftergetting into a squabble over trade-mark names for a grip.

After talks to resolve the issue,the former owner expressed inter-est in buying Tiger Shark so that itwould have a putter to sell with itsgrips, but eventually Dingmanended up buying SuperStroke.

His plan was to exit the golf clubmanufacturing and sales businessin five years and solely concen-trate on grips.

“We did it in three years,” hesaid. Tiger Shark was closed.

The concept of the oversized gripintrigued Dingman as a golf prod-uct, and he thought SuperStrokecould be tweaked into somethingthat would interest touring prosand the buying public.

“The original product was com-pletely different other than theshape,” Dingman said. “We likedthe technology, but the productwasn’t right. We just weren’t soldon the design, weight and feel ofthe grip they had.”

PGA golfer K.J. Choi had wontwice using the old SuperStroke,giving the concept some cachetamong touring pros and the public.

Using the relationships alreadybuilt from Tiger Shark, and thebudding interest in oversized put-ter grips, Dingman made the rightchoices in which pro golfers hepaid to endorse his grips.

One is 20-year-old phenom Jor-dan Spieth, the PGA Tour’s 2013rookie of the year and winner oflast year’s John Deere Classic. Hebegan 2014 in impressive style byfinishing tied for second at theiconic Masters Tournament in Aprilusing SuperStroke’s Flatso Ultra.

The other is Jason Dufner, a 37-year-old three-time PGA Tour win-ner who won the 2013 PGA Champi-onship last August while using theSuperStroke grip.

Dufner lost the 2011 PGA Cham-pionship in a playoff, and the atten-tion on him and his equipment washeightened because the tournamentis one of the PGA’s four majors.

“The big jump was with Dufner,”Dingman said. “It gave us so muchvisibility. It put us on the map.”

Most recently, Dufner finishedsecond after losing in a playoff atthe Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colo-nial on May 24, using a Super-Stroke Slim 3.0 17-inch grip on hisScott Cameron Futura X Dual Bal-ance putter.

SuperStroke also got a boost lastyear when Phil Mickelson won theBritish Open while using the compa-ny’s grips. He’s not a paid endorser.

A quarter of PGA touring pros ina given week’s tournament are us-ing SuperStroke putter grips, andthe company is airing commercialson the Golf Channel featuring Dufn-er and Spieth touting the product.

“How quickly (SuperStroke has)been able to establish themselveson tour is unbelievable,” said Zak

Kozuchowski, managing editor ofDearborn-based GolfWRX.com, agolf equipment and news websiteaffiliated with Golf Digest.

SuperStroke has staffers on site atevery tournament on all of the progolf tours — the PGA, LPGA, the de-velopmental Web.com Tour, the Cham-pions Tour for pros 50 and older, andtours in Europe and Korea, Ding-man said.

“We have a guy on the PGA Tour;Monday through Wednesday he’sstanding on the putting green, get-ting them product, letting them testit,” he said. “The relationships starton the putting green when they’reout playing their practice rounds.”

Dingman struck gold with theputter grips as a business becauseregular golfers typically will ownseveral putters, Kozuchowski said.

“These golfersare willing tospend $15 or $25to upgrade aputter. That’s asmart play byDean to recog-nize that golfersare willing tospend on theirputters,” hesaid.

SuperStroke also has industryinterest: Carlsbad, Calif.-basedgolf club giant Callaway Golf Co. hasa deal with Dingman to put the 15-inch SuperStroke as the standardgrip on its Tank Cruiser counter-balanced putters in its ultra-popu-lar Odyssey line.

The technologySuperStroke grips are simply

fatter rubber grips for putters, andthey don’t taper. The patented de-sign means there is less use ofhand muscles in putting, whichcan translate into fewer strokes.

“What makes it so popular? Un-like a standard putter grip, the over-sized version takes the hands off theequation and puts an emphasis onusing bigger muscles to develop arepeatable stroke,” wrotePGATour.com equipment writerJonathan Wall in August. “There’sa reason why SuperStroke, one ofthe most popular oversized optionson the PGA Tour, has between 23-35players in the field each week usingthe grip.”

The secret of the thick grip isthat it doesn’t taper, Dingman said.

“It takes the right hand out of it.All other grips taper,” he said.

The colorful grips — they fea-ture a prominent logo easily seenon TV — come in a variety of styles

and sizes.Like much golf equipment, the

grips are manufactured in China,and SuperStroke this year openeda Beijing office.

Thirty percent of the firm’s salescome from golf-mad Asia. Half ofits sales are in the U.S. and 20 per-cent are in Europe, Dingman said.

The Ferndale-based marketingagency Driven Solutions Inc. createdSuperStroke’s logo and advertisingcampaign last year.

“We knew we had to get thebrand right, and the ‘Play BetterGrips’ positioning helped them be-come the technological leader inthe category,” said Driven COOand principal Kevin Woods.“There haven’t been many golfproduct newcomers with PGAplayer success, and SuperStroke isone of them.”

Dingman, a Farmington Hillsnative, said he started his golfbusiness in Warren, but moved it,for convenience, to Wixom in 2010after he moved to Brighton.

What’s nextSuperStroke is moving next into

grips for drivers, woods, irons andwedges, Dingman said, and the planis to introduce the new products atthe annual PGA Merchandise Showin Orlando, Fla., next year.

“The other 13 clubs, we’re not inthat business yet,” he said. “Wefeel with our brand and technologywe bring, we feel we can take someshare.”

Oversized grips work only onputters, so SuperStroke has spentthe past 18 months working onwhat Dingman terms a premiumrubber compound to, he said, givethe grips “a material differencethe pros will appreciate.”

The expansion will necessitateadding inside sales and marketingstaff, he said. The company has 11employees in Wixom, another 25sales reps in the field, and two inChina to handle manufacturer con-tracts.

“With this extra growth, we’regoing to need more people,” Ding-man said.

SuperStroke also is in talksabout a business relationship withDave Stockton, the former touringpro and Ryder Cup captain whohas become the PGA Tour’s $500-an-hour putting guru, Dingmansaid.

The move into grips for all clubsis a challenge to grab market sharefrom Southern Pines, N.C.-basedGolf Pride, which says about 80 per-cent of all professional golfers are

using the company’s grips on someor all of their clubs.

Golf Pride, founded in Clevelandin 1949, is a division of Sumter,S.C.-based Eaton Corp., a $22 billionmanufacturer of industrial andaerospace power products.

“The overall golf business cli-mate has been challenging for thelast decade, so growing the gameby adding new golfers has been amajor priority in the industry forseveral years now,” said BrandonSowell, global sales and marketingdirector for Eaton’s golf grip divi-sion, via email.

“With that, we’ve focused muchof our energy on educating playersabout the importance of annual re-gripping to save strokes and en-hance their experience on thecourse.

“In the putter grip categoryspecifically, players’ preferencesare very individualized — reflec-tive of the many different waysplayers hold the club, their stancesand postures — which all impacttheir grip preferences.”

A bright spotSuperStroke’s success comes as

golf suffers economic malaise.The Jupiter, Fla.-based National

Golf Foundation reported that totalrounds played nationally weredown 5 percent in 2013 comparedto 2012. It also reported that 14 newU.S. golf courses opened last yearwhile 157 closed, the eighthstraight year closures have out-paced openings.

A study of American and Japan-ese golf equipment sales releasedat the PGA Merchandise Show inJanuary shows that putter salesamong the U.S.’s 24 million golfersdeclined 4 percent last year to $173million from about $180 million in2012, according to Bloomberg.

In a first-quarter earnings con-ference call, Dick’s Sporting GoodsCEO Edward Stack pinned thecompany’s poor results on declin-ing golf equipment sales.

“We anticipated softness, but in-stead we saw significant decline.We underestimated how signifi-cant a decline this would be. Wenow expect this trend could con-tinue for the balance of the year,”he said, adding that there’s a“glut” of wholesale and retail golfequipment inventory.

Golf ranges between 10 percentand 25 percent of the retailer’sbusiness each quarter, and Dick’splans to reduce golf equipmentfloor space in its stores because ofsoft demand. Its inventory in-cludes SuperStroke putter grips.

Retailers are excited about Su-perStroke, GolfWRX.com’s Kozu-chowski said, because it’s some-thing customers haven’t seen. Andwith an established name, expan-sion into grips for other clubscould also prove popular in termsof retail sales.

“At least in the beginning, theinterest will be high and the saleswill be good,” he said.

Either way, Kozuchowski said,he expects the oversized grips tocontinue to increase in popularity.

“I don’t think large-size gripsare a fad,” he said.

Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626,[email protected]. Twitter:@bill_shea19

Kozuchowski

JOHN SOBCZAK

PGATour.com equipment writer Jonathan Wall on the appeal of the SuperStroke:“Unlike a standard putter grip, the oversized version takes the hands off the equationand puts an emphasis on using bigger muscles to develop a repeatable stroke.”



Wayne Statenames bizschool dean

obert Forsythe, a for-mer dean of the busi-ness school at the Uni-

versity of South Florida, wasappointeddean ofWayne StateUniversity’sSchool ofBusiness Ad-ministration,effectiveJuly 21.Forsythe,64, succeeds

interim dean MargaretWilliams, who was appointedto the position in 2011 whenDavid Williams stepped down.

ON THE MOVE� The Detroit Pistons

named Jeff Bower, 53, asgeneral manager. He wasmost recently head basket-ball coach at Marist Collegein New York and was previ-ously in the National Basket-ball Association as a generalmanager and coach withthe New Orleans Hornets.

� Southfield-based JVS,which provides counseling,training and support ser-vices, named longtime COOLeah Rosenbaum as presi-dent and CEO. Rosenbaum,interim head of the non-profit since October, suc-ceeds Barbara Nurenberg,who retired last fall.

COMPANY NEWS� Dan Gilbert is buying

four more Detroit centralbusiness district proper-ties, this time from theDowntown Development Au-thority, whose board ap-proved selling the formergarage site at 126 MonroeSt. and buildings at 1322,1326 and 1332 Broadway.The Broadway buildings —which may be redevelopedas lofts — are being sold for$500,000, and the MonroeStreet site sale price is $1.5 million, according toDDA board documents.

� General Motors Co. sub-sidiary Riverfront HoldingsInc. purchased three vacantbuildings and a parking lotnear the Detroit riverfronteast of the Renaissance Cen-ter. Sale prices undisclosed.

� Sterling Heights-basedGeneral Dynamics Land Sys-tems said it expects to layoff 163 full-time employees,primarily engineers, afterlosing funding on one con-tract program and declin-ing to bid on another.

� Stockholm-based Auto-liv Inc. agreed to pay $65million to plaintiffs in a De-troit civil lawsuit over

global automotive supplierprice-fixing.

� Southfield-based con-struction manager BartonMalow Co. was named one offour companies hired tobuild a $622 million stadi-um for Major League Base-ball’s Atlanta Braves.

� A lawsuit againstNovi-based Lotus Bank overracist emails by two execu-tives will go to trial, Oak-land County Circuit CourtJudge Denise Langford Morrisruled. A trial date is to beset at a hearing this week.

� Eyeglass World openedits fourth metro Detroitstore, in Madison Heights,and said it plans to openseven more in the area be-fore year’s end.

� Denso InternationalAmerica Inc. acquired a ma-jority stake in Pennsylva-nia vehicle diagnostics andtelematics company EaseSimulation Inc. The South-field-based subsidiary ofJapan’s Denso Corp. ac-quired a 72.1 percent stakein Ease, which will retainits name and location.

� Detroit-based MeridianHealth Plan said it plans towithdraw from the Medic-aid program in New Hamp-shire on June 30 to focus ongrowth in Michigan, Illi-nois and Iowa.

� Detroit Rescue MissionMinistries took over opera-tion of Lighthouse OutreachCenter in Roseville.

� Old National Bancorp,which owns 18 United Bank& Trust branches in fourMichigan counties and ispurchasing Ann Arbor-based United Bancorp, said itis buying Lafayette, Ind.-based savings and loan LSBFinancial Corp.

� Lawrence TechnologicalUniversity plans to close itsCenter for Nonprofit Manage-ment at month’s end after adecade of operation, a resultof restructuring at theSouthfield-based university.

� Seelio Inc., an Ann Ar-bor social media companythat enables college studentsto post their work in onlineportfolios, has been boughtby Lenexa, Kan.-basedPlattForm, a marketing andenrollment recruitmentcompany serving collegesand universities. Termswere not announced.

OTHER NEWS� The Michigan Senate ap-

proved a $195 million statecontribution to resolve De-troit’s bankruptcy, sendingthe legislation to Gov. RickSnyder. A bill that wouldhave prevented the Detroit In-stitute of Arts from seekinganother millage was left outof the legislation passed bythe Senate, and the DetroitCity Council approved a reso-lution to move artworkthreatened by the bankrupt-cy into a charitable trust. In

a related move, Detroit-based Skillman Foundationpledged $3.5 million to helpoffset health care cuts to cityretirees.

� A federal judge ruledthe U.S. Coast Guard did notbreak the law by refusingto approve a bridge linkingDetroit and Windsor — aproject driven by ManuelMaroun, whose Detroit Inter-national Bridge Co. owns theAmbassador Bridge — be-cause the builder lackedpower to compel landrights to be turned over.

� A federal grand jury inDetroit indicted formerTakata Corp. executive Gik-ou Nakajima on a charge ofparticipating in a conspira-cy to fix the prices for seatbelts, the U.S. Department ofJustice said.

� The Michigan Court ofClaims granted a requestfrom a group of charities,permanent charity pokerrooms and gaming suppli-ers for an injunction block-ing new charity poker rulesthat took effect in May.

� The public is invited toprovide feedback on six de-signs for the rebuilding of I-375 at an open house June12 in Shed 5 at Eastern Mar-ket. The event is being host-ed by the Detroit DowntownDevelopment Authority,Michigan Department ofTransportation and DetroitRiverFront Conservancy.

� The University of Michi-gan’s Institute for Researchon Labor, Employment andthe Economy was awarded agrant of nearly $2.5 million,in partnership with OhioState University and PurdueUniversity, to help small-and medium-size compa-nies affected by militaryspending cuts, AP reported.

� The Michigan Senate vot-ed to dedicate part of thestate sales tax collected ongasoline to road funding, APreported. The legislationwould move $128 million ayear from Michigan’s gener-al fund to transportation.

OBITUARIES� Dean Becharas, owner

of Highland Park-basedBecharas Brothers CoffeeCo., died June 2. He was 79.

� Don Davis, a Grammy-winningmusicproducerwho be-came co-founder,chair-man andCEO ofDetroit-basedFirst Inde-

pendence Bank, died June 5.He was 75.

� Dominic Russo Sr., co-founder of Detroit-basedRocky Produce Inc. andRocky Peanut Inc., died May21. He was 82.

Steve Case is coming toDetroit. And he’sbringing investment

money.The America Online founder

is doing a four-city tour cele-brating entrepreneurshipand the startup culture.

Case’s focus, since step-ping down as chairman ofthe merged AOL and Time

Warner Inc.in 2003, hasbeen invest-ing in realestate, tech-nology andhospitality— as well asfirms that“can changethe world”

— through his Revolution LLC.Recently, Revolution in-

vested $30 million in Oak-land, Calif.-based RevolutionFoods, which it believes willrevolutionize school lunches.

Now Case wants to seewhat revolutions Detroithas to offer.

On June 24, he will host afireside chat with Dan Gilbertat Grand Circus Detroit LLC’s of-fices. Then he’ll head to theMadison Building for a pitchcompetition and happy hour.One lucky local startup willwalk away with a $100,000 in-vestment from Case.

Case is also a benefactorof Detroit-based iRule LLC,which took home a $100,000commitment from Case inApril as part of the Googlefor Entrepreneurs Demo Daycompetition.

See riseoftherest.com fordetails on the local events.

Detroit’s ‘Reboot’ storyto travel to France

Detroit’s story is also be-ing told on the internation-al creative stage.

Detroit-based Lowe Camp-bell Ewald Chief Creative Of-ficer Mark Simon, Detroit DJand producer Carl Craig andLowe + Partners Chief Cre-ative Officer Jose MiguelSokoloff will tell the story of“Detroit: Reboot City” at aJune 20 session at the CannesLions International Festival ofCreativity in France.

They plan to talk aboutthe “people, passion, ideasand thinking behind thecreative companies helpingto define the future of thecity.” A video posted at de-troitreboot.tumblr.com as partof the initiative featurespanoramic views of the cityand glimpses of creativespaces ranging from the De-

troit Institute of Music Educa-tion to Craig’s music studio.

Reboot City even has itsown playlist compilation in-cluding Detroit artists (alsoavailable at the tumblr site).

Growing cloud-security firmsigns lease for bigger space

Providing highly securecloud computing servicesrequires a growing numberof employees — and morebrick-and-mortar space —for Duo Security Inc.

Duo signed a lease Thurs-day for larger office spacein downtown Ann Arbor. Itplans to make the move into14,000 square feet at 123 N.Ashley St., spread overthree floors, sometime inthe fourth quarter.

CEO Dug Song, who co-founded the company in2009, said he has been hir-

ingsteadilyand plansto be near100 em-ployeesby year’send.

Duo Se-curityprovidestwo-factor

authentication — which ver-ifies the identity of an entitytrying to access services in acomputer or network — tomore than 4,000 organiza-tions worldwide.

Song was a member of the2012 class of Crain’s 40 Un-der 40. In 2000, he was one offive self-described geeksand hackers who co-found-ed Arbor Networks, a Universi-ty of Michigan spinoff thatwas later sold to TektronixCommunications.

Arbor Networks’ securitysoftware is used by morethan 80 percent of theworld’s Internet providers.

Song co-founded the TechBrewery, an Ann Arbor techincubator, and is one of theorganizers of a 30,000-square-foot skate park, slated toopen June 21, at VeteransMemorial Park in Ann Arbor.

TechTown hires Riser forentrepreneurship post

Detroit-based TechTownhas hired Paul Riser Jr. asmanaging director of tech-nology-based entrepreneur-ship. He replaces CharlieMoret, who left the WayneState University-affiliated in-cubator in April to become

RUMBLINGS WEEK ON THE WEBF R O M W W W . C R A I N S D E T R O I T . C O M , W E E K O F M A Y 3 1 - J U N E 6

Case comes toDetroit readyto invest R

president and CEO of InvestMichigan, a new nonprofitthat manages the $6.8 mil-lion Michigan Pre-SeedCapital Fund 2.0.

Riser, a Detroit native andgraduate of Cass TechnicalHigh School, has 17 years ofexperience in technology. He

was a pro-ject man-ager forSun Mi-crosystemsInc. beforefoundinghis ownconsult-ing firm,RiserGroup LLC,

in Northville in 2002.Most recently, he was

chief technology officer atInnovative Health Technolo-gies LLC, a Detroit-basedbiotech startup. He is alsoco-owner of Ferndale-basedBLAC magazine (black life,arts and culture). Riser be-gins his new job June 16.

Riser’s father, Paul RiserSr., was a trombonist in thelegendary Funk Brothers, stu-dio musicians who played onmany Motown hits of the‘60s and ‘70s. He also wroteor arranged on such Motownhits as “My Girl,” “I Heard ItThrough the Grapevine” and“Stop in the Name of Love.”

Troy Rotary’s new presidenthas field experience

A name familiar to fansof the Detroit Lions and theMichigan State Spartans,Monte Clark, was sworn inlast week as the new presi-dent of the Troy Rotary.

Clark, who goes by hismiddle name of Bryan, is theson of the late Monte Clark,head coach of the Lionsfrom 1977 to 1984. The

youngerClarkplayedquarter-backfrom 1978to 1981 atMSU andthenspent twoseasonsin the Na-

tional Football League, withthe San Francisco 49ers andCincinnati Bengals.

Clark didn’t play muchhis freshman year at MSU,but says a highlight — orpossibly a lowlight — wasgetting yelled at by All-American senior Kirk Gibsonif his passes in pregamewarm-ups were off target.

Clark started much of hissenior year, one highlight be-ing passing for 318 yards andtwo touchdowns in a loss tothe University of Michigan.

The Rotary ceremonywas held at the St. NicholasCulture Center in Troy.These days, Bryan Clark isan insurance agent with theMcLeod-Koski Agency Inc. ofBloomfield Hills.

Case

Forsythe

Riser

Clark

Song

Davis


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