Are they on your speed dial? Check Crain’s 50 Real Estate Names to Know, Page 9 JUNE 27-JULY 3, 2016 Southeast Michigan Brexit may stall navigates smart roads, but nancing business investment Experts uncertain “The big picture here is that remains uncertain (Brexit) creates a very large amount of long-term impact of uncertainty about what happens next,” said Kyle Handley, assistant By Dustin Walsh professor of business economics [email protected] and public policy at the University of United Kingdom voters’ choice to Michigan. “We don’t know how this is leave the European Union sent mar- going to play out, but it’s likely this is kets into a tizzy last week. But the going to cast a damper on invest- lasting global effects of the “Brexit,” ment and decisions for Michigan particularly in Southeast Michigan, businesses with operations in the are foggier than a spring morning U.K. and the EU.” on the English Channel. U.K.’s exit strategy from the EU — What is certain is that the British which operates as a 28-country exit from the EU introduces uncer- (soon to be 27) bargaining chip for tainty that will affect businesses’ in- trade agreements, immigration pol- vestment decisions and planning in icy, etc. — will take years to play out, coming months. Handley said. Locally, the stock market impact The U.K. will begin to renegotiate hit hard. Troy-based Delphi Automo- trade deals with the EU. It currently tive plc, which is incorporated in the operates with complete free trade, MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION U.K., watched its shares plummet zero tariffs, among the EU member Sensors like these, intended to communicate with autonomous vehicles, are starting to pop up on roads in Southeast Michigan. more than 12 percent — losing $2.2 nations. The U.S., which has no free billion in market value. Bloomfi eld trade agreement with the EU, oper- Hills-based Penske Automotive ates under the World Trade Organiza- Group Inc.’s shares fell more than 10 tion standards with the member Coming to sensors percent. SEE BREXIT, PAGE 16 By Lindsay VanHulle edge of all things mobility, given Crain’s Detroit Business/Bridge Magazine Inside: More about where the competition from other states. Shinola case begs question: LANSING — The smart roads of 115 sensors exist in the area, But the technology also adds a the not-too-distant future are be- Page 18 new layer of complexity to the on- ing built in Southeast Michigan. going question about how the state What is ‘American made’? Along a 125-mile triangle from velopment of automated cars, funds its infrastructure: How to pay St. Clair Shores to Brighton and these so-called vehicle-to-infra- for the systems we’ll need in the fu- By Dustin Walsh Both seem innocuous statements Ann Arbor and back, more than structure projects will be crucial ture, not just the ones we have to- [email protected] about the watchmaker’s use of local 100 sensors capable of detecting a not only to understanding how the day. The answer isn’t yet clear. What does it mean to be made in employees, yet the government vehicle’s speed and location are in- technology works to improve vehi- The market for connected vehi- America? called into question Shinola’s use of stalled along the side of the road — cle safety, but also, many hope, to cle technology is emerging amid It’s a sweeping assertion of na- foreign parts. many of them in Oakland County. attracting the economic benefi ts the broader context that Michigan tional pride, implying the notion of Experts say the use of the volun- State and federal transportation that come with being an R&D hub. for years has under-invested in its high-quality products manufac- tary slogan, and iterations, present a managers want to see how these The Michigan Department of infrastructure, one of the reasons tured by U.S. citizens. But it’s also minefi eld for businesses looking to sensors interact with the connect- Transportation applied for a share the state ranked last among the 50 not easy to defi ne. market their products to a consum- ed and driverless vehicle proto- of a $60 million federal grant last states in a 2009 study by the Ameri- Last week, the federal govern- er base keen on buying American types automakers are developing, week to buy more of these devic- can Society of Civil Engineers. The ment settled with Bedrock Manufac- goods. especially when it comes to alert- es, in conjunction with the Univer- state is hardly alone; the ASCE esti- turing Co. LLC, and its Shinola brand, The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ing cars to oncoming hazards — sity of Michigan in Ann Arbor, mated in a recent report that slight- over the advertising slogan of said Shinola’s claims overstated the red traffi c lights, icy roads, work where the federal government ly more than half of the nation’s in- “Where American Is Made” and the extent to which its products are zones or lane closures. launched a connected vehicle pilot frastructure needs are funded. label on its watches “Built in De- made or built in the U.S., according As Michigan aspires to lead the program several years ago. The goal Many of the sensors set up troit.” SEE SHINOLA, PAGE 17 nation in mobility research and de- is to keep Michigan on the cutting around metro Detroit were bought with federal dollars. Michigan’s Shinola agreed to transportation department says it stop using the slogan has spent close to $3 million “Where American Is © Entire contents copyright 2016 Made” to appease by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved through multiple funding sources, Federal Trade crainsdetroit.com Vol. 32 No 26 $2 a copy. $59 a year. mostly federal money with match- Commission ing state contributions. regulators. But federal grants have limits. So do state and local transporta- FILE PHOTO tion budgets. In response, state transportation administrators and Oakland County government NEWSPAPER leaders, including the county SEE SENSORS, PAGE 18 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // JUNE 27, 2016 con Valley approach to find the food The city is only 17 miles from the MICHIGAN industry’s next growth engine, lake but is just outside the Great INSIDE Bloomberg reported. The fund — Lakes watershed. The 2008 compact THIS ISSUE named Eighteen94 Capital, a nod to prohibits most diversions across the CLASSIFIED ADS ...............................15 the year the cereal maker was watershed boundary but creates a KEITH CRAIN.......................................6 founded — will look to take minori- potential exception for communi- OPINION ..............................................6 ty stakes in startups developing new ties in counties that straddle the line. OTHER VOICES ...................................6 packaging, ingredients, products n Michigan consumers are ex- PEOPLE ...............................................14 RUMBLINGS .......................................19 BRIEFS and technology. pected to get as much as $10.1 mil- WEEK ON THE WEB ..........................19 Firms sued over Flint water gence or public nuisance. The com- Kellogg joins packaged-food ri- lion as part of a settlement with Ap- let online responses ow panies together face well above 50 of vals General Mills Inc. and Campbell ple Inc. stemming from a 2012 the 250 individual and class-action Soup Co. in turning to venture funds electronic books price-fixing law- COMPANY INDEX: The engineering services firm lawsuits brought since last November to cope with a changing industry. Big suit, AP reported. Attorney General SEE PAGE 18 that handled refits to the Flint Water in various state and federal courts. food companies have suffered from Bill Schuette announced the update Treatment Plant is making a case for But both companies seemed par- U.S. consumers shifting to more nat- on the case, saying account credits ican Federation of Teachers Michigan, itself online, after Michigan Attor- ticularly irked by Schuette’s entry into ural and fresh products, a move away or checks are coming soon. The U.S. confirmed they have been in talks ney General Bill Schuette said last that fray, and cited the Advisory Task from many grocery-store stalwarts. Supreme Court in March rejected an on a possible merger for more than week it was one of two companies Force and its finding that the state With startups taking market share, appeal from Apple and left in place a year, though they haven’t settled that contributed to the city’s was accountable, in online state- Campbell announced a $125 million a ruling that the company conspired on a decision. If they joined forces, lead-tainted water crisis. ments responding to the new suit. venture fund in February. The Gen- with publishers to raise e-book pric- the combined union would have Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam “Veolia was given rigid parame- eral Mills fund, 301 Inc., has invested es. The case pertains to e-books sold close to 175,000 members, includ- Inc., a Houston-based engineering ters around what we were and were in companies that are working on from April 1, 2010, to May 21, 2012. ing teachers and support staff mem- services and program-management not allowed to do and we followed vegan products. In a court settlement, Apple agreed bers at K-12 and charter schools, company with a Flint office, on Fri- those directions. We made a series to pay about $400 million. intermediate school districts and day unveiled LANwaterlitigation. of recommendations and they were MICH-CELLANEOUS n German forklift maker Kion community colleges. com, a website devoted to “clarify its ignored,” a Veolia statement reads. n Representatives of the eight Group AG agreed to buy robot maker n A new Delta College satellite role in the events in Flint and appro- “In fact, when Veolia raised poten- states adjoining the Great Lakes, in- Dematic for about $2.1 billion to ex- campus for downtown Saginaw priately inform the media and gen- tial lead and copper issues, city offi- cluding Michigan, voted to allow the pand in the U.S.