20120102-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 12/30/2011 3:01 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 28, No. 1 JANUARY 2 – 8, 2012 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 From Water board to review suspensions Florida subject to a three-year suspension with Agency wants bidders far from Kilpatrick stigma by virtue of their roles in the Kil- hope: patrick investigation, under a res- BY CHAD HALCOM should be ready to clear a higher ready recognize they are not tar- olution passed by the water board Investor CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ethical hurdle than demonstrating gets. There are still serious issues in late December. All have the it is “not a target” of the Kilpatrick involving in- right to appeal that decision, but sees The Detroit Water and Sewerage federal investigation. tegrity in the in- the committee to review those ap- promise Department wants any bidder on fu- “The board recognizes that the dictment that peals has yet to be formed by Fau- ture contracts to put serious dis- level of proof necessary to bring we need some sone. in Detroit tance between itself and the feder- criminal charges is much higher sort of assur- “It’s sort of strange that we al charges pending against former than for a board finding that a ances on. And would have to prove our innocence Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick company is not a responsible bid- that would have rather than the burden being on Tons of exhibits and four co-defendants. der,” said James Fausone, manag- to be ad- someone to prove our guilt,” said mean plenty The department’s Board of Wa- ing partner of Northville-based dressed.” John Rakolta, Chairman and CEO ter Commissioners could begin re- Fausone Bohn LLP and chairman of And some of Detroit-based Walbridge Aldinger of caution in viewing appeals within a month the water board. may have an Co., one of the affected companies. from the 14 companies suspended “We appreciate that these com- easier time do- Fausone “That seems pretty un-American, setup phase from bidding or receiving new panies are not targets of the FBI in- ing that than others. and we plan on challenging the le- at Cobo contracts late last month. But its vestigation — but if that’s all In all, 14 companies were chairman said any appellant they’re going to offer us, we al- deemed non-responsible bidders See Suspensions, Page 17 Inside Chamber launches MichAuto to reclaim future, Page 5 Quest for ‘holy grail’ of Newsmakers of the Year This Just In 2011 Area bank stocks rated solar drives Ovshinsky on index of best, worst Three of metro Detroit’s Investors sought; largest banks were promi- nent in the tally of worst- and best-performing bank stocks $17 million needed on the KBY Bank Index, a closely watched exchange- traded fund of 24 national and to finance plant large regional banks on the BY TOM HENDERSON Philadelphia Stock Exchange. CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Bank of America Corp. was the worst performer in 2011, Stanford Ovshinsky did not go losing 58.7 percent of its share gently into retirement when he price and $79 billion in mar- was forced out of Auburn Hills- ket capitalization. It is the based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. third-largest bank in the five- more than four years ago. county region of Southeast At 89, he has spent $6 million of Michigan, with a deposit mar- his own money to form another so- ket share of 12.77 percent. lar photovoltaic Comerica Inc., the second- company, largest local bank, with a de- UPS, DOWNS Bloomfield posit share of 21.09 percent, Ovshinsky’s life: Hills-based was the fourth-worst bank Marked by Ovshinsky Solar stock, losing 37.5 percent of achievements, LLC, and has its share price and dropping red ink, Page 16 been meeting $2 billion in market capital- with potential ization. investors for the $17 million for a TOM HENDERSON/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS PNC Financial Services Inc., plant to begin manufacturing. Founder Stanford Ovshinsky (left) at Ovshinsky Solar LLC’s laboratory with David fourth in local market share Ovshinsky was granted three Strand, vice president of operations. at 11.24 percent, was the fifth- patents last year for a process that best-performing stock on the he says will achieve within a few layers of vaporized elements on Ovshinsky says his process results index, even though it had a years the long-elusive goal of mak- stainless steel substrates at what in vapor deposition at 300 price decline of 1.9 percent ing electricity from sunlight are claimed to be up to 150 times angstroms a second. (An angstrom and a decrease in market cap cheaper than making it from coal. the industry standard. Ovshinsky is one ten-billionth of a meter; a of $1 billion. The patents by the U.S. Patent Of- expects at least several other million angstroms of something — Tom Henderson fice cover both the materials and patents of the 17 still pending to be laid end to end would be about the the process used to deposit thin granted soon. width of the average human hair.) “We’re building an edifice of Analysts and venture capitalists patents, a fort to protect the sci- say that despite his age, years of ence and the technology,” said red ink at his former company and Ovshinsky. the current shakeout in the solar Layers of vaporized elements on industry that has ECD fighting for steel will trap some of the sunlight its survival and has put other com- PROFILES and convert it to electricity in panies, including Solyndra LLC, out How these 10 made their mark thin-film forms of photovoltaics. of business, you can’t count NEWSPAPER Typically, vapor is deposited at in 2011, Pages 8-9 two angstroms a second, but See Ovshinsky, Page 16 20120102-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 12/30/2011 2:33 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS January 2, 2012 MICHIGAN BRIEFS Snyder appoints 4 replacements dustries in the U.P. expect slight growth in sales, flat employment to Michigan Strategic Fund Solar startup hopes to beat industry heat by heading north and some decreases in capital in- Gov. Rick Snyder last week an- vestment. A solar manufacturer that had planned to bring months. In August, Evergreen Solar Inc. announced nounced the appointment of four 500 jobs and a $177 million production plant to Sagi- that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The new members to the 11-member naw announced last week that it would relocate up Marlboro, Mass.-based company closed its Midland Lansing airport lands key Michigan Strategic Fund: north next month. plant, where 40 employees had worked since 2009 Ⅲ Mike Jackson, executive secre- designation as aerotropolis “It’s not an expansion. It’s more of a cost opti- manufacturing high-temperature filaments used in tary and treasurer of the Michigan mization,” said Sanjeev Chitre, CEO of San Jose, wafers for solar panels. Move over, Detroit Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters. Calif.-based GlobalWatt Inc. “We came there with “It’s disappointing, but not unexpected, as start- Airport. Capital Region International Ⅲ Sabrina Keeley, COO of Busi- good intentions, but the solar industry has changed ing a business is difficult and even more so in this Airport near Lansing has received ness Leaders for Michigan and previ- dramatically in the last year and a half, and we just economy,” said JoAnn Crary, president and CEO of approval from the Michigan Strate- ously president and CEO of the Ann have to manage reality.” Saginaw Future, the city’s economic development or- gic Fund to be designated an “aero- Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce. High overhead and an increasingly competitive ganization. “State and local government provided tropolis” — meaning another Ⅲ Bill Martin, CEO of the Michigan climate in the solar industry led to the decision to performance-based incentives, but at the end of the group of local government officials Association of Realtors and, before relocate solar module production to Copemish, day, a company has to have enough sales revenue to will have to explain to the uniniti- that, commissioner of the Michigan about 30 miles south of Traverse City, Chitre said. cover fixed costs.” ated what an aerotropolis is. Lottery and director of the Michigan The move will allow the company to be closer to its GlobalWatt was to have received Michigan Econom- A Next Michigan Development Department of Corrections. module distributor and save on transportation, in- ic Growth Authority tax credits but never received Corp. — the formal name for an Ⅲ Shaun Wilson, vice president ventory and overhead. them because it failed to invest at least $25 million aerotropolis — offers tax incen- and director of client and commu- GlobalWatt is not the first solar company in the and create at least 48 jobs. tives to attract manufacturing, dis- nity relations at PNC Financial Ser- region to suffer financial difficulties in recent — Jenny Cromie tribution, technology and other vices Group in Troy. businesses around the airport. Only five designations are allowed ArtPrize, painted by numbers: Rick DeVos, drew an average of commissioned by Experience Grand gion, while the unemployment rate statewide. The state’s only other 17,000 visitors a day from Sept. 21 Rapids, the area’s convention and should drop to 9.4 percent by the aerotropolis is at Metro and Wil- $15.4M impact in GR area to Oct. 9, mostly from West Michi- visitors bureau. end of the fourth quarter.