20120507-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 5/4/2012 6:45 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 28, No. 19 MAY 7 – 13, 2012 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 Patent office Recent slaying Bridge ballot question may put new rail tunnel at risk expected to highlights store owners’ battle New owner says there’s spur broad against crime promise in BY SHERRI WELCH Penobscot job growth CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Building Last week’s murder of BY CHAD HALCOM Faraj “Fred” Dally CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS brought to the forefront The U.S. Patent and Trademark Of- once again the danger Inside fice in Detroit probably will spur owners of small stores much more local job growth than sometimes face doing Court to hear bid to halt the 120 government positions it will create directly. business in and near De- sale of ECD assets, Page 7 The agency is slightly ahead of troit. schedule on its mid-July timetable Dally, 63, the former to open the Elijah J. McCoy United States Patent and Trademark Office at chairman of the Associat- Crain’s Lists Stroh River ed Food and Petroleum Deal- Place east of ers, was gunned down VIDEO downtown, Largest residential brokers, early May 1 as he opened “A lot of with Robin Page 14 cities ... are very Evans as De- the Medicine Chest, a jealous (of troit regional liquor store he’d operated Detroit),” says a manager. Largest nonresidential U.S. Patent and If the office on the city’s west side property managers, Page 15 Trademark Office establishes a since the 1970s. official, network con- Criminals are getting crainsdetroit.com nection with /video bolder because they its headquar- This Just In ters in time, know police response the first 25 patent examiners and times in Detroit’s outly- Minnesotan hired as some support staff could begin pro- ing neighborhoods are cessing patent applications a few DSO concertmaster weeks before the official July 16 incredibly long — if they opening date. ever come, store owners The Detroit Symphony Orches- Another 25 patent examiners say. tra has hired Yoonshin Song as could be in place by August and 100 its new concertmaster. examiners by February, along with JOHN SOBCZAK “It’s like a game of Song, 30, currently a mem- several support staffers and man- Jason Kassab, at his Handy Spot Market on Eight Mile Road in chess,” said Jason Kassab, ber of the St. Paul Chamber Or- agement employees. An additional Detroit, says something needs to be done about the lack of police chestra in Minnesota, is ex- presence in the city. See Crime, Page 25 pected to join the DSO in See Patent, Page 23 September. She’ll succeed Kimberly Ann Kaloyanides Kennedy, who has served as acting concertmas- ter since last July, when Em- manuelle Boisvert left the DSO New challenge for Rush after 23 years to become asso- ciate concertmaster at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The concertmaster sets the Ford-driven interiors venture with Faurecia is next big test tone and style for the orches- BY DUSTIN WALSH Ford Motor Co. sold its $1.1 billion book of busi- tra and acts as conduit be- CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ness at its Saline interiors plant last week to tween the conductor and the Faurecia, which operates its North American rest of the musicians. Andra Rush has a history of capitalizing on business from Auburn Hills. As part of the deal, Including Song, the DSO opportunities — from growing a meager truck- Faurecia and Wayne-based Rush Group Ltd. cre- has hired six new young mu- ing company funded by personal ated the joint venture Detroit Manu- sicians this season. credit cards into a $115 million op- facturing Systems LLC. The operation The DSO now has 77 musi- eration to creating an interiors is based out of the Gateway Indus- cians. It is seeking to fill four joint venture with Canadian sup- trial Center off the Southfield Free- open positions to bring it to KEVIN MIYAZAKI/REDUX plier Magna International Inc. way and I-96 in Detroit. the maximum of 81 musi- Leading a Detroit-based joint venture that will take But a new venture with French Rush owns 55 percent of the cians outlined in the musi- on $700 million in business from Ford Motor Co. is cians’ contract. Andra Rush, CEO of Rush Group Ltd., which owns auto supplier Faurecia SA could be See more in Crain’s joint venture, with Faurecia own- — Sherri Welch 55 percent of the new venture. her biggest accomplishment — and weekly online newscast, challenge — yet. crainsdetroit.com/video See Rush, Page 22 19,800 Crain’s subscribers get one of our Sign up now at FREE e-mail newsletters. Are you one of them? crainsdetroit.com/getemail NEWSPAPER 20120507-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 5/4/2012 4:48 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS May 7, 2012 MICHIGAN BRIEFS Did weather hurt state farmers? profits fund fresh water wells in de- veloping countries. Does Poland grow tart cherries? Wolverine World Wide set to expand its footprint Ⅲ The Michigan Department of Envi- Last October, Crain’s Michigan ronmental Quality has approved the Business profiled self-styled “am- A consortium of companies including Rockford- the wholesale and retail operations of the Sperry Top- plans of Orvana Resources U.S. Corp. bassador for cherries” Bob Suther- based Wolverine World Wide Inc. announced last week Sider, Saucony, Stride Rite and Keds brands. for a copper and silver mine in the land of Glen Arbor-based Cherry Re- that it plans to acquire Collective Brands Inc. for near- Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital will jointly far western Upper Peninsula. Or- public. His growing business ly $2 billion, including the assumption of debt. acquire the operations of Payless ShoeSource and vana hopes to mine 798 million statewide weathered a recession. Known for its casual-footwear brands Hush Pup- Collective Licensing International. Combined, the pounds of copper and 3.5 million Now it has to weather the weather. pies and Merrell, Wolverine joined with private eq- two divisions had annual revenue of about $2.4 bil- ounces of silver in an underground March’s summerlike tempera- uity firms Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital Part- lion in the past fiscal year. deposit near Ironwood, AP reported. tures, followed by summerlike ners to acquire Topeka, Kan.-based Collective Wolverine CEO Blake Krueger said the deal cata- Ⅲ Whirlpool Corp. officially cherry blossoms, followed by April Brands, maker of Keds, Sperry Top-Sider and other pults his company from annual revenue of $1.4 bil- opened its new office campus in frosts, have devastated many footwear. Collective Brands also owns the 4,300- lion to projected annual revenue of more than $2.5 Benton Harbor. The appliance Michigan farmers. Up north, farm- store Payless ShoeSource retail business, as well as a billion. He told analysts the deal will help Wolverine maker said the $70 million project ers and extension agents say the global licensing business. plug some openings in its lineup, including in ath- is part of a plan to consolidate 15 fa- tart cherry crop is all but wiped Upon close of the deal, Wolverine will acquire Col- letic and kids shoes. Of the brands in the acquisi- cilities into three office campuses. out, The Associated Press reported. lective Brands’ Performance + Lifestyle Group for tion, he said the most potential comes from Sperry Ⅲ Florida-based Pratt Industries Sweet cherries, apples, pears and about $1.23 billion. PLG had annual revenue of $1 bil- Top-Sider. Inc. will open a plant in Berrien peaches have suffered extensive lion in the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31 and includes — Joe Boomgaard, MiBiz County about 80 miles south of damage. Same with juice grapes. Grand Rapids, AP reported. By the end of the year, up to 400 people So just in case, Sutherland said, expansion plans last week in Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares the first three recipients of initial are expected to be employed there. he ordered 150,000 pounds of cher- Grand Rapids. Inc., had bought the 15 branches $5,000 investments. Start Garden se- ries from Poland. And if things get Grand Rapids-based Steelcase Inc. and $818.2 million in assets of Dear- lected Click Plow, which allows con- Find business news from really dire, Sutherland told will design the in-store branches. born-based Fidelity Bank after state sumers to schedule snow removal around the state at crainsdetroit AnnArbor.com, some of Cherry Huntington will open 22 branch- and federal regulators shut it down. online only when they need it; and .com/crainsmichiganbusiness. Republic’s dried-cherry and choco- es in the state this year, the first According to the Federal Deposit NxtMile Sport Insoles. Visitors to the Sign up for Crain’s Michigan late-covered products would in- May 17 in Bath, near Lansing. The Insurance Corp., as of last June 30, Start Garden website picked the Business e-newsletter at crains clude (dramatic pause) dried cran- deal will expand Huntington’s Huntington was eighth in the state third idea — Dirty Water Beer, whose detroit.com/emailsignup. berries from Wisconsin. footprint into Lansing, Ann Arbor, with 129 branches. Ninety-five Flint, Jackson, Battle Creek, Gay- more would boost it to No. 4. Huntington Bank to open lord and Cadillac. — Tom Henderson Most of the branches, which will CORRECTION 80-plus branches in Meijer stores be open for extended hours seven Ⅲ In the April 30 issue, Crain’s was given incorrect information that Huntington National Bank will ex- days a week, are to be open by 2016, MICH-CELLANEOUS the agenda for a joint Michigan Senate and House health policy com- pand significantly in Michigan by although a few may not open until Ⅲ The Michigan Briefs of April 30 mittee hearing on certificate-of-need rules would include a hospital opening more than 80 branches in- as late as 2019, bank officials said.