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Readers first for 30 Years Crain’s Michigan Business CRAIN’S West Michigan struggles to recruit IT workers, DETROIT BUSINESS PAGE 9 NOVEMBER 9-15, 2015 GAINING ALTITUDE Dice roll on sports betting State floats rules changes; will they score in courts, Congress? By Lindsay VanHulle Crain’s Detroit Business/Bridge Magazine LANSING — Will changes to Michigan sports bet- ting rules be tied to a new round of state regulations, forthcoming case law decisions or a federal overhaul of the industry? So far, the answer to that question is a political roll OAKLAND COUNTY of the dice. Oakland County International Airport has seen tentative growth in corporate jet traffic after the industry fell to Earth in the Great Recession. Partly to keep up with changing technology, Michigan lawmakers are Corporate aviation taking off again; advantages rise above past scorn floating bills that would update gaming laws — some of which are By Dustin Walsh “In order to utilize our staff in a cost- turmoil and fallout from the recession, decades old — and give casinos, horse [email protected] effective manner, we really need to when jets became a symbol of corpo- tracks and millions of fantasy sports players in Michi- The $40 million Magnolia by the Lakes make sure their time is not spent at the rate greed, but is now gaining altitude gan more control over sports gambling. senior living center nestled between airport in lines and waiting on planes,” while adjusting to the new normal. Yet some of the changes lawmakers and the gam- Cass and Sylvan lakes in Keego Harbor Bagne said. “Commercial planes are The value of new corporate jets to ing industry want to see — allowing Michigan casi- is preparing to open next spring, but its often late, and delays cost us a great deal U.S. businesses and operators, an indi- nos to operate sports books and codifying legal status management is looking to the skies. of money.” cator of industry health, peaked in 2008 for fantasy sports players, among them — are either With plans to open six more “luxury Bagne and her company are looking at $14.5 billion before plummeting to forbidden in Michigan under federal law or operating European style” senior centers across to enter corporate aviation only a few $7.1 billion in 2009, according to avia- in a gray area without consistent state regulations. the U.S., President and CEO Farideh years after many local companies aban- tion analysis firm Teal Group Corp. But That means, barring any court ruling or vote by Bagne is weighing financial options for doned the practice. Southeast Michi- the industry is hitting the runway again, Congress to update federal gaming laws, the bills owning a corporate jet. gan’s industry has faced seven years of SEE AVIATION, PAGE 21 SEE BETTING, PAGE 24 VisionIT has its head in ‘cloud’on health care New lab’s first project to improve medical communications

By Tom Henderson Microsoft Inc., Henry Ford Health It will be the first product devel- [email protected] System and Detroit-based Vision In- oped by the new VisionIT Innovation Vision Information Technologies Inc. formation are collaborating on a Center that Vision Information plans is cooking up a new tech laboratory, cloud-based system called StatChat for its New Center headquarters. and its first project is intended to to let health care professionals track Vision Information has hired De- help doctors, nurses and others in patient care remotely — whether troit-based firm dPop! to design the health care solve a knotty problem they’re on a desktop computer, iPad center. Though the build-out hasn’t — communication. or smartphone. started, David Segura, Vision Infor- mation’s founder and CEO, said he © Entire contents copyright 2015 has hired 25 employees already by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. working on projects, and he will crainsdetroit.com Vol. 31 No 45 $2 a copy. $59 a year. hire 125 more over the next year. LARRY PEPLIN The innovation center will work Vision Information Technologies CEO David Segura (left) and Henry Ford Health ’s on a wide variety of projects. Some Ward Detwiler are working on a new health care communications system. will be owned by Segura’s company, some will be joint ventures with VisionIT was one of the first insti- natural fit if he needs capital to grow other large tech companies, and tutional investors in Michigan eLab, a business, including StatChat if it some will be stand-alone business- an Ann Arbor-based VC firm found- has the kind of growth he antici- es for which he will seek venture ed in 2012 by four Silicon Valley vet- pates. NEWSPAPER capital funding. erans. Segura said eLab would be a SEE TECH , PAGE 23 20151109-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 3:20 PM Page 1

2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015

moved out of five years ago, other business accelerator funds. MICHIGAN MLive.com reported. The seven- Kettering University in Flint is INSIDE story building, built for $111 million best among Michigan colleges in THIS ISSUE in the late 1980s, has been empty alumni earnings, according to the BANKRUPTCIES ...... 5 CALENDAR ...... 20 since 2010 and constitutes one of first ranking of colleges by The CLASSIFIED ADS ...... 21 the largest “white elephants” on Economist. The London-based DEALS & DETAILS ...... 18 West Michigan’s commercial and newspaper used several factors, in- MARY KRAMER ...... 9 BRIEFS industrial real estate market. cluding earnings above school rep- OPINION ...... 6 A Swedish maker of space- utation. Kettering ranked 59th na- PEOPLE ...... 20 Consumers Mutual to close lead in drinking water when crews planning software has partnered tionwide out of 1,275 four-year, RUMBLINGS ...... 26 after opt-out with state do underground work that could with Zeeland-based furniture non-vocational colleges. The state’s STAGE TWO STRATEGIES ...... 17 dislodge scale and sediment in maker Herman Miller to create more biggest schools didn’t fare so well: WEEK ON THE WEB ...... 26 East Lansing-based Consumers water pipes, the U.S. Environmental realistic digital experiences for cus- Michigan State University ranked No. Mutual Insurance of Michigan, a 2- Protection Agency told the city and tomers, the Grand Rapids Business 288 and the University of Michigan year-old health insurance coopera- state, MLive.com reported. Journal reported. Linköping, Swe- placed 574th. COMPANY INDEX: tive, will close after choosing to opt A final report from the EPA re- den-based Configura, which oper- Consumers Energy Co. is hiring SEE PAGE 25 out of the state’s health exchange for garding high lead levels in drinking ates an office in Grand Rapids, said more line workers to respond to 2016, the Michigan Department of In- water at homes in Flint warns not it will provide Herman Miller with a emergencies, enhance reliability Acme Township site despite a 15- surance and Financial Services said. only of lead leaching directly into simplified planning tool that will and restore electric service follow- year battle that included fierce op- The agency said Consumers Mu- water from lead service lines lead- allow customers to visualize prod- ing storms, The Associated Press re- position to the project over environ- tual will enter into a runoff and ing to individual homes, but for lead ucts in spatial settings. ported. The unit of Jackson-based mental concerns, an illegally wind down operations. Individual to have spread to pipes made of Grand Rapids-based private CMS Energy Corp. said last week it funded recall campaign by corpo- policies end Dec. 31. other materials, such as galvanized equity firm Blackford Capital an- plans to hire more than 50 journey- rate leaders and state investiga- Consumers Mutual was formed pipe or interior plumbing. The city nounced the appointment of Jeffrey man line workers in 2016 and up to tions, MLive.com reported. Meijer as a nonprofit co-op with help from was reconnected to Detroit’s water Johnson as managing director, 50 apprentice line workers annually first proposed a second Traverse a $72 million federal loan that must system last month after researchers MiBiz reported. Johnson had been for the next several years. City-area store nearly 15 years ago be repaid by 2033, and the co-op re- found increasing lead levels in Flint managing director for New York- Renters in the Leelanau Coun- to join its busy first location. ceived its insurance license in 2013. water and in the blood of infants based private equity fund Gilbert ty village of Northport could some- A high-tech buoy credited with Fifteen Michigan county health and children in the city. Global Equity Partners LP, where he day have an easier time finding supplying critical information plans pooled money to pay for the closed several platform investments space than under the current hous- about waves and weather on Lake loan application; plans for how the MICH-CELLANEOUS worth up to $150 million. ing crunch. The Woda Group Inc., an Michigan to researchers, the U.S. loan would be repaid were not im- Holland will get a Smart Zone Ohio-based housing developer, is Coast Guard and others for four mediately disclosed. A spokesman for Grand technology park after the project eyeing the long-empty site of the summers might not return to the Lindsay VanHulle Rapids-based The Right Place Inc. gained approval from the Michigan former Leelanau Memorial Health Cen- West Michigan coast next year un- confirmed rumors that the eco- Economic Development Corp., ter as a possible subsidized housing less money is found, MLive.com re- EPA: Lead in Flint water nomic development agency is MLive.com reported. The economic development, the Traverse City ported. LimnoTech, an Ann Arbor could continue as hazard working with a possible new tenant development zone, approved as a Record-Eagle reported. company that owns the buoy off for the giant pyramid-shaped “cor- satellite of the Grand Rapids Smart A Meijer store opened last week Port Sheldon Township, said a fed- Flint residents should be warned porate development center” that of- Zone, allows startup businesses to in Grand Traverse County, drawing eral grant is running out and no one of the potential risk of increased fice furniture company Steelcase tap into preseed microloan and thousands of customers to the has stepped forward.

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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 3 U.S.Mattress rouses in-store sales strategy

By Sherri Welch physical presence in states across the [email protected] country, Nashif said. U.S. Mattress World is looking to bricks A decade ago, the company was still to keep up king-sized growth for its mat- in its infancy and not in a position to tress sales. open more physical locations, he said. The Brighton-based company hit $50 “Fast forward to where we are now. As million in revenue last year, almost en- a business we are much stronger and tirely from the online sale of mattresses. more developed and have more re- Now, it is adding new brick-and-mortar sources,” Nashif said. stores to capture customers who want U.S. Mattress had $50 million in rev- to test their beds before they buy. enue last year, up about 5 percent from The company’s plan calls for up to 20 the year before. About 95 percent of its stores in the region over the next several sales came through its website at years — up from the two it has operated www.us-mattress.com, Nashif said. for a decade or more in Plymouth and He projects the company’s revenue Commerce Township. will increase 5 to 10 percent in the com- An outlet warehouse in Livonia is set ing year as the new stores open. to open Nov. 16, the fourth location it’s “We have built a fairly sizable busi- opened over the past year. ness online with strong brand, service Between those locations and three and product offering,” he said. “We’re more stores planned for the coming looking to expand that in the retail set- year, the company is making a $1 mil- ting.” lion investment to build out the leased The mattress business has gotten a locations, said President and CEO Joe firm bounce from the economic recov- Nashif, who founded the company in ery. 2001. The wholesale value of mattresses The local expansion will lay the sold in the U.S. last year grew 8.7 per- groundwork to begin establishing a SEE MATTRESS, PAGE 22

PHOTO COURTESY U.S. MATTRESS At U.S. Mattress’ Bloomfield Hills location, the big numbers on the wall mirror a firmness rating that the company has successfully used in its online business.

MUST READS OF THE WEEK LISA SAWYER Second Stage: How to pick a tech vendor SOURCE: CORPORATION FOR SKILLED WORKFORCE

Making IT decisions might not be the most gripping of tasks for business owners, 100,000-job goal highlights big labor gap but they concern companies’ core operations. Read how three companies made theirs, Page 13 By Dustin Walsh The harsh reality that faces the board: The city [email protected] needs to put 49,000 of its residents to work just to Drone Detroit faces a labor problem of epic propor- match the state average of labor force participa- tions. tion. Despite dozens of labor training programs, The revived Detroit Workforce Development new business investments and fixes to the city’s startup gains Board, which convened for the first time late last broken education system, the jobs aren’t coming month to tackle the goal of creating 100,000 jobs fast enough. altitude in the city, is working toward streamlining pro- “This is the biggest problem Detroit faces and grams to create a systematic, unified approach to (is) why it hasn’t been revitalized beyond down- SkySpecs closes employing Detroit residents — who are largely town and Midtown,” said Marick Masters, direc- funding round worth underemployed and undereducated. tor of Wayne State University’s labor studies pro- $3 million, adds But the problem is complex and massive in gram, Labor@Wayne. “All the other problems customers for a scope in a city where jobs don’t match the popu- devolve from this: the inability to have good system that uses lation. Just over half of Detroit residents work, schools, to have adequate lighting, the lack of in- drones for and a majority of those working have no more frastructure, housing, etc.” inspections, Page 4 than a high school diploma. SEE JOBS, PAGE 22 20151109-NEWS--0004,0005-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 3:39 PM Page 1

4 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 SkySpecs closes $3M funding round,lands first customers

TOM HENDERSON SkySpecs Inc. expects to land $1 million in revenue next year.The flight crew (from left): President and CEO Danny Ellis; Jim Adox, managing director of Venture Investors; and Tom Brady, chief technology officer.

By Tom Henderson [email protected] SkySpecs Inc., an Ann Arbor- based company that provides drones for the inspection of wind turbines, bridges and other infra- structure projects, has closed on an investment round of $3 million. A Fee-Only Wealth Management Group The company has received ap- proval from the Federal Aviation Ad- ministration to fly its drones, has Michigan’s Top NAPFA-Registered landed its first two customers and Fee-Only Financial Advisor * hopes to hit at least $1 million in revenue next year. The investment round was led by Jim Adox, managing director of the Ann Arbor office of Madison, Wis.- based Venture Investors LLC, and joined by Ann Arbor-based Huron River Partners, Detroit-based Invest Michigan and some angel investors. The investment, which will be Charles C. Zhang used to ramp up business develop- CFP®, MBA, MSFS, ChFC ment and marketing — the compa- Managing Partner ny employs eight and will soon add another eight or so, according to President and CEO Danny Ellis — comes one year after SkySpecs won $500,000 as the grand prize winner of the fifth annual Accelerate Michi- Intellectual Property | Litigation | Technology gan Innovation event at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. The sixth annual event was held last Thursday, with a seventh event Jessica L. Rossana, CFP® Jeremiah Ludington III, JD in doubt. Accelerate Michigan was Director - Client Services Manager - Client Services Transactional launched by the New Economy Initia- experience on par tive for Southeast Michigan, a founda- tion-led economic development ef- We Uphold a Fiduciary Standard with the major Silicon fort. Valley law firms. David Egner, who was instru- 101 West Big Beaver Road mental in creating Accelerate – BRAD KANCIGOR,KANCIGOR, ASSOCIATEASSOCIATE GC 14th Floor Synopsys,Synopsys, IncInc Michigan in 2010, recently an- nounced he is stepping down as Troy, MI 48084 president of the NEI to become president and CEO of the Ralph C. (248) 687-1258 (888) 777-0126 YOUNG BASILE. Wilson Jr. Foundation. www.zhangfinancial.com Strategic advisors to the world’s Egner recently told Crain’s that most innovative companies. the steering committee at NEI has Assets under custody of LPL Financial and TD Ameritrade. been discussing the possibility of *Charles Zhang is Michigan’s Top Advisor as reported in Barron’s February 23, raising a third fund to continue its 2015. Factors included in the rankings: assets under management, revenue and the quality of the advisors’ practices, and other factors. NAPFA-Registered ANN ARBOR TROY SILICON VALLEY CHICAGO economic development activities, but nothing has been decided. status reported as of September 18, 2015 on www.napfa.org. www.youngbasile.com Minimum investment requirement: $1,000,000 SEE NEXT PAGE 20151109-NEWS--0004,0005-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 3:39 PM Page 2

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 5

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE SkySpecs was the only drone com- said. “They’ll be able to inspect six “This is a real example of a company pany there and caught the eye of to eight a day with one person and a “This is a real example of a com- that wouldn’t be here without state Dave Peachey, UpWind’s vice presi- drone.” pany that wouldn’t be here without help. All these guys ... could have gone dent of engineering. Ellis said SkySpecs will own its state help,” Adox said about In January 2014, UpWind and drones and charge on a per-project SkySpecs. “All these guys could have anywhere, but they built a company SkySpecs formalized a relationship basis. Originally, SkySpecs planned got jobs at drone companies in Cali- here.” to test and eventually commercial- to manufacture drones. But its busi- fornia. They could have gone any- ize the drone technology. ness model has evolved to buying where, but they built a company Jim Adox,Venture Investors Last year, Peachey told Crain’s off-the-shelf drones, then modify- here. that the plan was, once the FAA ing them with hardware such as “It was the $500,000 they won last easy it was for them to fly and in- If SkySpecs’ funding round can gave approval, to use the drones to lasers and cameras and using its year that allowed them to get to the spect turbines in real time. They be considered proof of the success replace the current inspection proprietary software to do inspec- point where they are now, where didn’t crash; they were easy to con- of Accelerate Michigan, its relation- process. Those inspections require tions. they are able to raise a bigger fund- trol; the customer liked it. The proof ship with UpWind can be consid- ground-based cameras and visual Ellis said the second paying cus- ing round; they have their first cus- was in the pudding,” said Adox. ered proof of the success of a Pure inspection by two-person teams, tomer for SkySpecs is an Australian tomers and are going to start gener- SkySpecs’ first customer was Up- Michigan marketing effort. which involves long set-up and firm he isn’t at liberty to name. He ating revenue,” said Adox. “It proves Wind Solutions Inc., a San Diego- In 2013, SkySpecs was invited to take-down times and using ropes to said that contract will begin gener- the concept behind Accelerate based company that manages and show its wares at a booth Pure rappel down the surface of turbine ating revenue in the first quarter Michigan.” maintains large wind turbine farms Michigan rented at the American blades. next year. Ⅲ Adox said he had been following around the country and plans to Wind Energy Association’s annual “Now, it takes two or three people Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337 SkySpecs since it was launched in use SkySpecs for its inspections. trade fair in Chicago. Ellis said a day to inspect one turbine,” Adox Twitter: @TomHenderson2 2012 by three engineering students at the University of Michigan. It is not a licensee of the school. The company finished third in the student category and won $10,000 at the Accelerate Michigan event in 2012 and was a semifinalist in 2013 before winning last year. Last year was crucial in another way — SkySpecs was accepted into a Techstars incubation program in New York, which raised the compa- ny’s profile and led to informal of- fers to move the company out of Michigan. “We shot those down pretty quickly,” said Ellis. “We let everyone know we were a Michigan company and were adamant about coming back.” In 2013, SkySpecs won $50,000 When you for finishing first in the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge, invest in put on by UM and Detroit-based DTE Energy Co. In all, it won $100,000 people, you at various business plan competi- tions get a return Also in 2013, the company raised a seed round of $595,000, led by the every time Detroit-based First Step Fund. In 2014, it won a small-business you walk in innovation research grant of $150,000 from the National Science the door. Foundation, and Ellis was named a member of the 2014 class of Crain’s 20 in their 20s. Adox said a trip to the Consumers Energy Co. wind farm in Bay City early this fall clinched his decision to lead this round of funding. “There were a record number of drone-company investments in the last year, but based on our due dili- gence, most of them had nice web- sites and great animation, but few of them had actually flying proto- types,” he said. “Watching their drones fly was a milestone for me. I could see how BANKRUPTCIES

The following businesses filed for protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit Oct. 30-Nov. 5. Under Chapter 11, a company files for re- organization. Chapter 7 involves total liquidation. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network offer complete insurance Ⅲ Ron Starzyk Delivery Service Inc., 44187 Orion Drive, Sterling Heights, solutions to protect the overall health and well-being of your employees. voluntary Chapter 11. Assets and li- abilities not available. GROUP HEALTH PLANS | SPECIALTY BENEFITS | BCBSM.COM/EMPLOYERS Ⅲ The Village Apothecary Inc., 1112 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, volun-

tary Chapter 7. Assets: $36,529.40; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. liabilities: $685,049.97. Natalie Broda 20151109-NEWS--0006-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 4:23 PM Page 1

6 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 CRAIN’S LETTERS DETROIT BUSINESS Keep the politics out of proton therapy Editor: to procure it. The Nov. 2 Page 1 article, Send your letters: Crain’s Detroit Don’t be fooled by those who be- “McLaren proton center stalled: Business will consider for lieve that political fortunes and OPINION publication all signed letters to the Problems with former JV partner profit should trump effective cut- cited,” asserts that controversy sur- editor that do not defame ting-edge medical treatment. Resi- rounds proton therapy. individuals or organizations. Letters dents should count their blessings But whether insurance compa- may be edited for length and clarity. that proton therapy will soon be Road funding’s not nies will authorize payment for pro- Email: [email protected] available in our area. This life-sav- ton therapy is directly related to ing treatment will stand the test of profit and politics, not the effective- time. Meanwhile, the political non- ness of the treatment. In those in- a result, I became interested in pro- sense that has stood in the way stances where proton therapy is the ton therapy and followed the evolu- needs to be identified and disre- perfect,but it’s done best course of treatment, scientists tion of this very important treat- garded. clearly know that the precision of ment. In honor of Jon, I have Ray Dubin he road funding plan passed by the Legislature last proton therapy greatly minimizes advocated for Beaumont in its effort Farmington Hills damage to surrounding tissue while week is a stew of provisions born of horse-trading, it more effectively focuses on de- Tand it looks like it. stroying tumors. But it also reflects that the Legislature — or at least its Beaumont Health System first in- Republican majority — took seriously the message sent by troduced bringing proton therapy voters in the overwhelming defeat of an overly complicat- to Michigan in 2008. Beaumont’s Proton Therapy Center will employ ed road funding referendum in May: Do your job and fig- the most advanced proton therapy ure this out. available — intensity modulated The plan increases gas and diesel taxes starting in 2017, proton therapy. This treatment uti- along with vehicle registration fees, and starts funneling gen- lizes an image guidance system as it eral fund money toward roads in 2019. To help balance off essentially paints the radiation dose those costs for lower-income residents, more homeowners in layers onto the tumor. This treat- ment has been especially successful and renters will be eligible for a in pediatric cancer, lung cancer and In the end, homestead tax credit, and the maxi- head and neck cancer. the plan mum amount of that credit is being My lifelong friend, Jon Steinberg, sends money increased. was one of the first individuals MCLAREN HEALTH CARE And unrelated to roads, the legis- treated with proton therapy in 1983. McLaren Health Care’s planned opening of a proton beam cancer treatment center In simple terms, it saved Jon’s life. As in Flint is expected to be delayed at least until spring. toward roads lation also includes an income tax that wasn’t rollback provision tied to inflation. there before. The plan is expected to eventual- TALK ON THE WEB ly raise $1.2 billion a year, but half of Re: Ilitches add $95 million of building trades. Value creation that would come from the general fund. That’s a bet on a lot Reader responses to stories and of things, including a mostly healthy economy, a rainy day features to new Red Wings arena comes from creating a culture of blogs that appeared on Crain’s tapping an individual’s passion to de- fund for when it isn’t and that unpalatable program cuts Very excited to see this come to website. Comments may be edited liver his best in the service of others, won’t need to be made to pay for it. fruition and provide one more crown for length and clarity. not who pays the most. The risks involved are why major business groups — in- jewel for the city, taking out a few NoSpinJustFacts cluding Business Leaders for Michigan and the Detroit Re- blocks worth of eyesores in the tire Great Lakes chain of lakes. This gional Chamber — preferred a plan with $400 million from process. We will truly be the class of is not rocket science. the sports world once this is com- VehicleLibrarian the general fund and $800 million in new funding. The idea plete. was to make sure state funding was available for other critical MDA The EPA has lots of time, money needs such as lowering the cost of college, job training and and energy for other things, includ- economic development. You can’t fix a city this big ing shutting down power plants and The plan that ultimately passed isn’t perfect. But it also overnight, especially when you’ve harassing industry. This threat to seems clear that neither the Legislature nor the electorate had lost millions of people over the the Great Lakes has been systemati- years. It’s gonna take a lot of invest- cally ignored, and proposals to stop the appetite for raising an entirely new $1.2 billion annually. ments like this by Ilitch (the arena the invasive species denied. Why In the end, the plan sends money toward roads that wasn’t district will cover 45 blocks) and has the Obama administration Re: Legislature passes roads there before, and the Legislature is now free to move on to Gilbert, who’s investing in the busi- turned its back on the Great Lakes plan,sends to governor other pressing issues. ness district and Brush Park devel- and refused to act? Links to Chicago opment. shipping interests? James Announcer I don’t like the idea of taking such Detroit needs more big donors a huge chunk — $600 million — So even when Ilitch spends his Re: Sounding off on medical from the general fund, knowing it The $40 million donation by Mike and Marian Ilitch to own money to make this the best marijuana dispensaries supports so many essential servic- build and endow the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne arena in the world, people find a way es, but half that amount might be State University is an example of something Detroit could to complain about it. If this passes in a city already doable. And 2020, when this isn’t use more of: Projects named for their donors, especially liv- DCFC beset with massive substance even 2016 yet and the roads are in abuse, it will eventually be seen as a such dire condition? What is that ing ones. Re: Detroit Lions fire execs factor in the demise of a once-great about? But we’re out of time to argue. This isn’t hard to find in some other places — Grand Lewand,Mayhew city. This is the best we’re going to get Rapids comes to mind — but it’s surprisingly rare in the city Bill Martin from the Michigan Legislature, so itself. Sell the Lions already. Enough with we have to go with it. The roads The new business school will be built on land donated by the Ford family ownership. needed fixing yesterday. the Ilitches in the evolving District Detroit area being shep- TKLiar Re: Group starts petition drive to Citymec repeal prevailing-wage law herded by son Chris. Re: Congress members want All this stupidity over $54 per The Ilitches previously had endowed a chair in the medical faster action on Asian carp Gov. Snyder does not accept the year? Are you kidding me? Last school with $8.5 million, but this gift is a visible philanthrop- fact there is a shortage of skilled week I saw the price of gas jump 40 ic contribution to the city and to the area where they have Block the channels with sand until trades when for 50 years prevailing- cents a gallon. It bounces day to developed their businesses over the past 25 years. they can figure out another way to wage law has existed. This is not a day. Nobody is going to notice a gas keep the dangerous fish from get- wage issue, this is a matter of at- tax hike. Just get a real fix in place! Who’s next? ting into Lake Michigan and the en- tracting people with a passion for Rock & Roll 35 20151109-NEWS--0007-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 3:41 PM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 7 Three decades apart,Detroit mayors face similar challenges By Dustin Walsh “I suppose I’d like to be Stabilizing Detroit’s neighbor- LOOKING [email protected] remembered as the mayor hoods, along with reversing pop- BACK: On Nov. In November 1985, Coleman ulation decline, will dictate Dug- 11, 1985, Crain’s Young celebrated his re-election as who served in a period of gan’s legacy and finish what mayor of Detroit to an unprece- Young believed he started. predicted in an dented fourth term. He would win a ongoing crisis and took Young said, as documented in editorial that Detroit’s fifth term in 1989. some important steps to Bill McGraw’s 1991 book The population dip below 1 million Young, the first black mayor of keep the city together, but Quotations of Mayor Coleman A. would be seen “as one more Detroit, won in landslides during a Young: “I suppose I’d like to be re- blow against a once-great city” divisive time in the city’s history. left office with his work incomplete.” membered as the mayor who Race and economic inequality were served in a period of ongoing cri- then under the leadership of large issues then, as they are today. Coleman A.Young,former Detroit mayor sis and took some important Mayor Coleman Young. Thirty He won over the business commu- steps to keep the city together, years later, Detroit’s new leader nity by supporting large-scale proj- to the “Grand Bargain,” increased Detroit reported the fewest number but left office with his work in- deals with many of the same ects intended to revitalize a city buy-in from businesses in the city of homicides in 40 years and is no complete.” Ⅲ issues. More at whose residents continued to mi- and suburbs, and crime rates fol- longer ranked by the FBI as the Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 crainsdetroit.com/30 grate out of its limits, leaving behind lowing the national trend. In 2014, country’s most dangerous city. Twitter: @dustinpwalsh a largely black, increasingly impov- erished population. But Young ral- lied voters on the promise that De- troit was on a roll and recovery was only around the next bend. It wasn’t. Detroit lost a few hun- dred thousand residents during Young’s 20-year reign as mayor, dropping below 1 million in the mid-1990s. GIVE A GIFT THAT The current mayor, Mike Dug- gan, leads the city with many of the same widespread issues. There are LASTS FOREVER. parallels between Young and Dug- gan; the latter is also calling for more private investment, hoping to boost population, create jobs and The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan ensures your gift helps meet the needs in our end 40 years of economic decay. communities today and tomorrow. We build endowment — permanent community capital — and In an editorial titled “New term: Time to end bitterness,” published offer the maximum tax benefits under federal law for your gift. For 31 years, we’ve been helping on Nov. 11, 1985, then-Crain’s De- people in our region make a difference. Let us help you make a difference for generations to come. troit Business Publisher Peter Brown wrote: “Sometime during the Donate now at cfsem.org/gift or contact us at 1-888-WE ENDOW to learn more. mayor’s unprecedented fourth term, Detroit may drop out of the club of cities over 1 million in popu- lation. … Dropping below a million will be a psychological blow, like losing a major-league sports team … the drop will be seen as one more blow against a once-great city.” Detroit took that blow to the chin, but the Great Recession took the city to its knees, with the fallout of its largest industry, its own bank- ruptcy filing and its population falling to fewer than 700,000 resi- dents in 2013. For Duggan, growing the popula- tion is his number one goal. “I’ve said it over and over again; by the end of my first term, the pop- ulation should be rising,” Duggan said. “We see it as the ultimate goal and the unifying for our administra- tive strategy.” Duggan said Detroit’s more posi- tive image and his administration’s emphasis on blight removal, service improvements and business attrac- tion are moving the needle. “There’s no such thing as a big strategy. There’s a whole series of steps to make Detroit attractive to live,” Duggan said. “It means the grass is cut, the ambulances show up, the abandoned homes are taken down, and other homes are selling. People have been moving into downtown and Midtown for a few years now, but the critical thing is to stop them from moving out of the neighborhoods, and we’re confi- dent we’re doing that.” Duggan may have an easier go as mayor than Young with a city cleansed of billions in debt thanks 20151109-NEWS--0008-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 4:25 PM Page 1

8 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 Under pressure,Lions hunt for new president,GM

By Bill Shea Hiring a corporate headhunting managing director of the sports April who joined White, the team’s vice president of [email protected] company is increasingly common practice at Greenwich, Conn.-based the Lions in pro personnel since 2009 and an The Detroit Lions aren’t discussing for pro teams and colleges to find RSR Partners Inc. 2004. She’s act- employee for 19 years. how they’ll permanently replace the top executives and coaches. Bailey, a former Miami Dolphins ing COO rather Sports industry watchers say the front office executives fired last For example, the University of CEO and vice president of adminis- than CEO or Lions probably will use a search week, but football insiders say the Michigan used Los Angeles-based tration of the Dallas Cowboys, said president, and firm because of the team’s long his- hires will be crucial to the team re- executive search firm Korn/Ferry In- the position of team president is Ford did not tory of internally deciding to pro- versing nearly 60 years of losing and ternational to hire its last two head “vital” for a National Football League specify a title for mote or hire unqualified or repairing a battered brand. football coaches and an athletic di- club. whoever perma- mediocre executives and then wait- Team owner Martha Ford has not rector. “These kinds of searches are so Allison Maki: nently takes the ing too long to fire them — the poor said if she will use internal advisers Whatever method the Lions use, important. You want to be as good Filling Lewand’s biz, top business po- formula that’s led to just a single or hire a search firm to find replace- the pressure from fans and media to off the field as on the field because financial roles. sition in the or- playoff win since Detroit’s 1957 NFL ments for President Tom Lewand hire the right people is palpable. they’re all interconnected,” he said. ganization. championship victory. and General Manager Martin May- “You’ve got to have the elite on- Lewand’s business and financial Mayhew, who was responsible “Normally, in the NFL or in major hew, whom she fired Thursday after field performance match what you roles are filled in the interim by Alli- for all football personnel decisions, sports, if a coaching or GM position a 1-7 start to the season. do off the field,” said Joe Bailey, son Maki, the team’s CFO since is replaced for now by Sheldon comes up, you sort of know who the likely candidates are. You could do this internally,” said Michael Cramer, former Texas Rangers team president and now director of the Texas Program in Sports and Media at the University of Texas. “However, the Lions obviously have not been able to pull the trig- ger and find and hire the right per- son. They clearly have had the coaches, GM, presidents out there Give your health in the past, and somehow they don’t do a good job of picking the right person for the job.” Bailey said it’s important that any search firm hired by the Lions coverage wings. know the intricacies of NFL hiring processes. “Anybody that’s going to be a pro- fessional services provider to the Ford family, really they should be domain experts in the way the NFL works,” he said. “Part of the role is to Do you see a solution to the advise them on what you can and cannot do.” growing holes in your benefi ts? For example, the Lions must in- terview minority candidates for the Your employees may. general manager position under the league’s “Rooney Rule,” established

in 2003. Detroit was fined $200,000 It’s called voluntary insurance, and 70 percent by the NFL for failing to follow the of employees say they’re likely to purchase rule when it hired Steve Mariucci to voluntary insurance if it were offered by their replace Marty Mornhinweg as head employers.1 coach. While the rule doesn’t apply to the team presidency or CEO jobs, In an ever-changing health care landscape, the NFL recommends teams still Afl ac has offered voluntary insurance and follow it. nothing else for 60 years. And it shows. Only Ford said in a Thursday press con- Afl ac offers One Day PaySM, which allows your ference that the Lions would con- employees’ claims to get paid in just a day duct a national search, but didn’t dis- close details or take questions. The when they submit online.* team’s media relations staff declined to answer additional questions. Best of all, Afl ac comes at no direct cost The league has resources avail- to employers like you. Just add a payroll able to help the Lions find candi- deduction, notify your workforce and let it fl y. dates, said Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communica- tions. Call your local agent and visit The Career Advisory Panel, made afl ac.com/smallbiz up of some of the most recogniza- ble names in NFL history — John Madden and Tony Dungy are part of the group — meets throughout the season to identify potential head coaches and general managers. The panel added identifying po- tential team presidents to its duties this season, McCarthy said. 1 2015 Afl ac WorkForces Report, a study conducted by Research Now on behalf of Afl ac, January 20 - February 10, 2015. Includes somewhat, very and extremely likely; of those employees who Teams can request the lists, along SM ® are not currently offered voluntary insurance benefi ts by their employers. *One Day Pay available for most properly documented, individual claims submitted online through Afl ac SmartClaim with video interviews done during by 3 PM ET. Afl ac SmartClaim® not available on the following: Short-Term Disability (excluding Accident and Sickness Riders), Life, Vision, Dental, Medicare Supplement, Long-Term Care/Home Health Care, Afl ac Plus Rider and Group policies. Processing time is based on business days after all required documentation needed to render a decision is received and no further validation the annual scouting combine, he and/or research is required. Individual Company Statistic, 2015. Individual coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In New York, individual said. coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of New York. Worldwide Headquarters | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999 Coincidentally, the panel met last week. Ⅲ Z150675 7/15 Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626 Twitter: @Bill_Shea19 20151109-NEWS--0009-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:28 AM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 9 SPECIAL REPORT: MICHIGAN

MARY KRAMER Publisher [email protected] More firms need to be ‘20 percenters’ BUSINESS urray for Hush Puppies! Three of 11 directors at Wolverine World HWide Inc. are women, which puts the Rockford-based shoemaker com- fortably in the “20 percent club” in a re- search report released last week on the status of women in Michigan’s publicly traded companies. — Wolverine joins other West Michigan 404 companies on that list, including office furniture makers Herman Miller Inc. (36 percent) and Steelcase Inc. (27 percent); grocery food distributor SpartanNash (27 percent); medical equipment maker employee Stryker Corp. (22 percent); and Communi- ty Shores Bank Corp. in Muskegon (33 percent). Other standouts: Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. (25 percent) and global not found staffing company Kelly Services Inc. in Troy (27 percent). In all, I counted 18 companies on the list of 100 statewide who could boast at West Michigan IT community least 20 percent female board member- ship. But the Michigan Women’s Lead- struggles to recruit, ership Report — produced by the Info- rum Center for Leadership, the education and research arm of the state’s leading retain qualified talent women’s organization, and Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Busi- ness — shows the needle hasn’t really By Rod Kackley moved much: 11.5 percent of all seats Special to Crain’s Detroit Business on the top 100 companies are held by est Michigan’s information technology com- women, down from 11.6 percent in munity is booming. But the demand for tal- 2013. Went is outstripping supply, especially in soft- Top female C-suite earners dropped ware and application development. to 8 percent from 9.6 percent two years Doug Paulo, vice president and IT product leader in ago; the percentage of CEOs is the Kelly Services Inc.’s Centers of Excellence, said just in same, 13 percent. application development alone, over You can’t really argue that companies the past six months there were “can’t find” talented female directors. more than 670 job postings. Not when standouts like General Motors But only 51 people who sub- Co. and Kellogg Co. each have five female mitted a résumé to a job Pay comparison directors (42 percent for GM and 38 board or in some other According to the U.S. Bureau percent for cereal maker Kellogg). way expressed interest in of Labor Statistics, the mean Wayne State researchers noted that a new job applied for one hourly wage for “computer and studies suggest the closer a company is of the positions. mathematical,” as of May 2014, to its customers the greater the likeli- “In application devel- is $40.37 for the U.S., $34.98 for hood of board diversity. No surprise, Application opment, everybody is hurt- Michigan and $33.16 for metro then, that GM and Kellogg each have developers are paid an ing (for talent),” Paulo said. Grand Rapids. five women directors. annual mean wage of “The only question is the de- Some European countries have $99,500 in the U.S., gree of the hurt.” mandated that public companies hit a $81,860 in Michigan and Beth DeWilde, the owner and sen- specific target for board diversity. In the $78,860 in Grand ior technology recruiter at Paragon Recruiting U.S., Warren Buffett and Bloomberg LP Rapids. in Holland, southwest of Grand Rapids, said there has Chairman Peter Grauer created a “30% REX LARSEN been a shortage of IT workers in West Michigan for Club” to promote voluntary board di- Beth DeWilde, owner of Paragon Recruiting in Holland, said several years. versity. But they say it starts with more there has been a shortage of IT workers in West Michigan Most recently, Paragon’s summer/fall 2015 survey of women at the top in executive corpo- for several years. senior IT managers showed 60 percent of them said rate roles. they plan to hire new employees. Not a single compa- In Road to Power, reporter Laura Software systems ny planned to reduce staff. Colby’s book about Mary Barra’s rise at developers are paid a Three-fourths of the firms that will be hiring new GM, there’s a fascinating account of the mean annual wage of people also plan to increase IT pay, the Paragon survey Equal Employment Opportunity Commis- $106,050 in the U.S., showed. Half of the companies that are not planning sion UAW case against GM and the that $88,500 in Michigan and to hire expect to increase salaries and benefits. Open was settled out of court in 1983. GM $87,840 in Grand Rapids. But Meredith Bronk, the president and CEO of paid a fine and agreed to promote and Systems Technologies in Grand Rapids, said the need recruit women and minorities. Finding for qualified IT professionals and the availability of diverse talent became a management objective. SEE TALENT, PAGE 10 Could that be one reason GM today has so many top female executives? Ⅲ 20151109-NEWS--0010-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:49 AM Page 1

10 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 SPECIAL REPORT: MICHIGAN BUSINESS TALENT Not that simple FROM PAGE 9 The solution would seem simple. If there are not enough people in that talent is cyclical. It ebbs and the employment pipeline, simply flows. She has seen it worse. put more people into the pipeline. “If you look at the macro picture There are plenty of people out of over the last 18, 24 or 36 months, work or underemployed. Couldn’t which in the IT industry is a long the answer be as simple as training time, there have been some chal- them to fill the need? Reliable, modernized grid lenges,” she said. “But it has been Kelly Services has partnered with softening a little over the last three organizations like Automation Alley to six months.” and Oakland University in Southeast Energy is essential to the way we live, work and play. OST has offices in Southeast Michigan to run what amounted to Michigan, Minneapolis, Chicago IT training boot camps in an at- ITC operates, builds and maintains the region’s and London, England, along with tempt to build a workforce capable electric transmission infrastructure. We’re a Michigan- the company’s headquarters in of filling the talent void. Grand Rapids. She said the talent “But the reality is, even though based company working hard to improve electric pool and demand for that talent is we try to help with those activities, reliability and increase electric transmission capacity different in each of those markets. there just isn’t a deep enough pool Bronk said the talent supply in of people with the aptitude and ex- throughout the Midwest. Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis is perience that we can pull from,” good, if only because of the market Paulo said. size. She agreed Grand Rapids did- The two programming classes n’t have the same level of talent. Kelly ran with Automation Alley in- We’re ITC – your energy superhighway. And that’s the rub, said Mike cluded 40 or so people who were in- Williams, owner and CEO of terested, but only 15 had the apti- Springthrough, an IT consulting and tude, training and experience to be application development company admitted. that employs 43 in Grand Rapids. “Out of that, about 10-13 people He said demand is higher than he graduated,” he said. “At the end of has seen in more than 15 years. the day, all of those folks ended up “There are tons of organizations with employment.” www.itctransco.com gobbling up developer talent,” Paulo also said that in most Williams said. cases, boot camp-style training isn’t Consequently, Williams said he enough. Most managers want to see has changed some of Springth- a résumé with programming expe- rough’s practices. Chief among rience. those was the decision to bring tal- All of this means that those who ent acquisition in house a little have the IT talent and experience more than a year ago. employers are looking for are in the Williams said he decided driver’s seat, DeWilde said. Springthrough could no longer af- “It is a struggle,” said DeWilde. ford to outsource its recruiting ef- Keeping women in IT forts, nor could it sit back and wait for talent to knock on its doors. Grand Rapids also shares with “We are not in an era where peo- most markets difficulty in attracting ple are sending in résumés,” he and retaining women to IT. said. “We have to go out there and Cindy Warner, a global managing actively have conversations.” partner at IBM and the president of Williams said Kevin Johnson, the Michigan Council of Women in Springthrough’s talent acquisition Technology, said a disparity in em- lead, understands the company’s ployment and pay for men and strategy and culture. That helps him women is keeping many women find the right talent. out of IT entirely and making it diffi- “Our approach has been ‘Let’s be cult to retain the best female talent. honest. Let’s be direct. Let’s have Warner said women in Michi- great conversations’ so that when gan’s IT community are, on average, we do find people, hopefully they earning 80 cents for every dollar really fit in well and stay here for a that a man earns. good amount of time,” Williams “And that has come up, over said. “There is a talent shortage, and probably the last two or three years we want to be very purposeful by at least 10 points,” she said. “It about how we find people.” used to be 70 cents.” Johnson also works with local Warner also said, again on aver- colleges and universities to develop age, women account for only 25 new IT talent, Williams said. percent of state IT employment. Because OST has a larger and That disparity, DeWilde said, more diverse geographical footprint helps dry up the talent pool. than does a company the size of “If someone in your group is a Springthrough, Bronk said her woman or a person of diversity and company is able to transfer its peo- they are not treated as an equal in ple between markets to fill a talent terms of pay and responsibilities, at need. OST has 190 employees, 136 some point those people move on,” of whom are in Grand Rapids. she said. “They may even move on But the OST employees who are to a whole new discipline.” working on projects outside of their Warner agreed. She said that home office don’t always have to once they get into the tech field, move, thanks to technology. women may well find it’s a rather “We have folks in our Minneapo- lonely professional life. lis team working on projects that “At some point, women give up. are based in Grand Rapids, and vice They want something more fulfill- versa,” she said. “We are able to find ing than spending all day battling and use the talent we need, kind of cross geography.” SEE NEXT PAGE 20151109-NEWS--0011-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:49 AM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 11

SPECIAL REPORT: MICHIGAN BUSINESS FROM PREVIOUS PAGE a large responsibility for attracting ent crunch, a standard interview and retaining other women. line of questioning for prospective men,” Warner said. “When women She urged women to support developers would focus on their get tired of putting up with all the each other in the workplace. She knowledge of Microsoft .NET, C#, gender bias stuff all day long, it be- also stressed female managers need and other technologies. comes hard to retain them.” to commit to being mentors. Now, Williams said, Springth- Warner said when female IT pro- Bronk believes in the power of rough is open to hiring younger fessionals start jumping to other ca- mentoring other women and people who know programming reers, it should serve as a red flag. knows she is a role model for young but might not know Microsoft or “This (IT) is a career path that has women. She wants them, like her have much experience in profes- so much stability to it and so much three teenage daughters, to see sional software or application de- economic potential as you continue women running tech companies. velopment. to go up the ladder, that if some- “You can’t be what you can’t see,” He said effective mentorship body runs from it, they must really she said. bridges the gap. be feeling some pain,” Warner said. Bronk said that as one of those “It comes down to finding pas- Power of mentoring new role models, she bears a re- sionate people with good heads on sponsibility to help other women their shoulders,” he said. “Passion- Warner said it doesn’t have to be define their own reality. ate people with good heads on their this way. She stressed there are steps “My reality,” Bronk said, “is that I shoulders we can typically train and that can be taken to at least ease can be whatever I want to be.” get them to where we need them.” disparity within an IT organization. Mentorship should not be a But that attitude comes with real- Warner recommended selecting strictly female endeavor, Paulo said. world limits. visible, accessible female mentors He advised IT employers running Johnson said the company does in the organization that other short on talent to invest time put- need candidates to have some level women can look up to. ting together mentorship programs of technical training or experience. Second, go the extra mile to for prospects who might lack the “We are always willing to train make sure qualified women are desired experience on their ré- new languages or ways of doing promoted. sumés, but still have the desired ap- things … but we typically don’t have “If you have 10 slots for promo- titude and training. the ability to bring someone on who tion this year, make six of them “Utilizing your resources to men- doesn’t have some baseline under- women and four of them men,” she tor some of these people is really standing of development,” Johnson said. “But make sure those women going to pay off in spades in your said. are qualified.” ability to get more talent that you DeWilde said employers thirsting Finally, she recommends being can retain,” he said. “It also creates for IT talent are going to have recali- very visible as an organization that an emotional bond between the brate their expectations. wants to attract women and has new employee and the company.” “Even if that person only has 80 programs in place that make the An increased focus on mentor- percent of what they are looking business attractive to women. ship has worked for Springthrough. for,” she said, “they have to move on But Warner also said women bear Williams said that before the tal- it.” Ⅲ

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12 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 WORLD WATCH WHERE MICHIGAN DOES BUSINESS

Kelly Services

CHINA Based: Troy Operations: Recruitment centers hina is the Changchun in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou world’s largest and Suzhou and Shanghai, along Ceconomy with a corporate office with a 2014 Beijing Employees: 90 GDP of $10.38 Products/Services: Placement, re- trillion, accord- cruitment process outsourcing, ing to the CIA World Suzhou managed service provider, payroll The Stahls’ facility in Jiangsu Province. Chengdu Shanghai Factbook. China process outsourcing, contracting Altair’s Shanghai office. passed the United and labor dispatching Stahls’Inc. States in 2014, but still has a Top executive: Nathan Li, chief Altair Engineering Inc. lower per capita income than the Guangzhou Taiwan administration officer and chief fi- Based: Sterling Heights world average. Hong Kong nancial officer for North Asia Operations: A sales office, distri- Based: Troy China’s largest exports are electrical and other bution center, manufacturing and Operations: Offices in Beijing, machinery, furniture, textiles, apparel and integrated circuits. Its biggest Metaldyne LLC research and development facility Shanghai and Guangzhou export partners are the U.S. (16.9 percent), Hong Kong (15.5 percent), in Jiangsu Province Employees: 100 Japan (6.4 percent) and South Korea (4.3 percent). Based: Plymouth Employees: 70 Products/Services: Proprietary China’s largest imports are metal ores; motor vehicles; electrical and Operations: Two manufacturing Products/Services: Heat transfer software and services, which in- other machinery; nuclear reactor, boiler and machinery parts; medical facilities in Suzhou materials used to personalize, em- clude software for engineering sim- equipment; and soybeans. Its biggest import partners are South Korea Employees: 350 bellish and decorate textiles, gar- ulation, for on-demand computing, (9.7 percent), Japan (8.3 percent), the U.S. (8.1 percent) and Taiwan (7.8 Products/Services: Products for ment construction and assembly, industrial design, and engineering percent). automotive engine applications printed heat transfer material and Top executive: Liu Yuan, general Each World Watch features a different country. If you know of a Michi- such as powder metal connecting decorations manager of Altair China gan company that exports, manufactures abroad or has facilities abroad, rods, crankshaft dampers and bal- Top executives: Thomas Karr, Clients: SAIC Motor, Pan Asia Tech- email Gary Piatek, senior editor, at [email protected]. ance shaft assemblies, and prod- CEO of GroupeStahl Europe; Richard nical Automotive Center, Dongfeng ucts for automotive transmission Genrich, VP of supply chain Motor Corp., Chery Automobile Co., Coming up applications Geely, TRW, JAC Motors, Chang’an Au- December: Iraq Top executive: Jose Miranda, gen- TI Automotive Ltd. tomobile Group, China Railway Corp., eral manager of Metaldyne Suzhou Huawei, Lenovo, Midea, Foxconn, Avia- ters in Hong Kong, including mar- manufacturing sites in the country Clients: Chang’an Ford, Mazda En- Based: Auburn Hills tion Industry Corp. of China, Commer- keting and sales and three tech cen- Employees: 3,500 employees gine, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Auto- Operations: Manufacturing plants cial Aircraft Corp. of China ters for global product develop- Products/Services: Sustainable mobile Co., SAIC Motor, Beijing Foton in Changchun, Guangzhou, Haik- ment and engineering in Shenzhen technologies that address food Cummins Engine Co., Chery Automo- ou, Chongqing, Qinhuangdao, Amway Corp. and Suzhou safety and security, infrastructure bile Co., Cummins North America Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Employees: 150 upgrade, energy efficiency and en- Wuhan; a corporate and sales office Based: Ada Products/Services: Floor care de- vironmental protections in China Milco International in Hong Kong Operations: Headquarters in vices and consumer products plus Top executive: Peter Wong, presi- Employees: 3,500 Guangzhou, two regional offices in product testing dent for Dow Greater China Based: Warren Products/Services: Gasoline di- Beijing and Shanghai, a manufac- Top executive: Paul Voets, vice Operations: One international rect-injection lines, GDI rails, tur- turing facility in Guangzhou, an president of global operations Faurecia North America Inc. full-service supplier for resistance bocharger lines, brake and fuel R&D facility in Shanghai, a botani- welding equipment and copper lines, engine lines, transmission cal research and development cen- Cooper-Standard Based: Auburn Hills components in Hangzhou lines and more ter in Wuxi, experience centers in Automotive Inc. Operations: 38 plants and four re- Employees: 45 Top executives: Kim Ooi, manag- Shanghai and Shenzhen, and 280 search and development centers lo- Products/Services: Manual weld- ing director of fluid carrying sys- shops across 240 cities Based: Novi cated in 22 cities across the country ing guns, servo welding guns, preci- tems for Asia-Pacific; Brian Kaiser, Products/Services: More than 150 Operations: Headquarters, manu- Employees: 11,000 sion production and specialized managing director of fuel tank and products for nutrition, beauty, home facturing and technical facilities in Products/Services: Seat mecha- technical support delivery systems for Asia-Pacific Employees: 8,000 Shanghai; three manufacturing fa- nisms and frames, complete seats, Top executive: Jeff Beach, general Clients: FAW-Volkswagen, BMW, Top executives: Gan Chee Eng, re- cilities in Chongqing, Shenyang instrument panels, center consoles, manager Brilliance Auto, Kautex, Nissan, Toyota, gional president of Amway Greater and Wuhu; one joint venture man- door panels, cockpits, acoustic and Clients: General Motors, Dong Feng Audi AG, Shanghai-Volkswagen, China; Audie Wong, president of ufacturing facility in Guangzhou; trim, exhaust lines, manifolds, cat- Group, Magna, FAW Group Corp., Ford Chang’an Ford, Chang’an Mazda, LiFan, Amway China one manufacturing and one joint alytic converters, other More information: Milco Interna- DFL-Nissan, Geely, Daimler China, venture manufacturing facility in Top executive: Jean-Michel Vallin, tional’s China-based company, Great Wall Motor, Beijing Automotive Belfor Holdings Inc. Huai’an; one manufacturing and president, Faurecia China. Welform Precision LTD, was formed Industry Holdings Co., Beijing Benz one technical facility in Kunshan in Hangzhou in 2007 as a central lo- Based: Birmingham Employees: 3,743 Inteva Products LLC cation for all Milco International Visteon Corp. Operations: A location in Shang- Products: Anti-vibration systems, and Milco business in Asia. hai and an office in Dongguan fluid transfer systems, fuel and Based: Troy Based: Van Buren Township Employees: 20 break delivery systems, sealing and Operations: Manufacturing facili- MSX International Inc. Operations: Technical centers in Products/Services: Commercial trim systems ties in Changchun, Chengdu, Shanghai and Nanjing; one regional and industrial fire, smoke and Top executive: Song Min Lee, Wuhan and Waigaoqiao; two man- Based: Detroit customer and technical center in water restoration services; docu- president for Asia Pacific ufacturing and tech center joint Operations: Headquarters in Shanghai; two manufacturing facil- ment and data recovery; mold re- Clients: BMW, Chang’an Automobile venture facilities in Shanghai; one Shanghai ities each in Changchun, Shaoxing mediation; electronics and ma- Group, Chery Automobile Co., Daimler, operations and tech center in Employees: 100 and Shanghai; three manufacturing chinery restoration; and Ford, Fuyao, Geely, General Motors, Zhenjiang Products/Services: Parts and ac- facilities in Chongqing and one in environmental services Honda, Inergy Automotive Systems, Employees: 2,500 cessories sales programs, dealer Xuzhou Top executives: Tommy Kang, re- PSA, SAIC Motor, Tata, Volkswagen Products/Services: Door modules, standards, training, technical and Employees: 5,500 gional director for greater China; sunroofs, latches, window regula- warranty suppport to vehicle man- Products: Audio and infotainment, Richard Chang, China operations Dow Chemical Co. tors and motors ufacturers instrument clusters, head-up dis- manager Top executive: Richard Zheng, Top executive: Stuart Faid, man- plays and driver information Based: Midland managing director aging director of China, MSXI Clients: Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor, Bissell Homecare Inc. Operations: Nine business centers Clients: Volkswagen, SAIC Motor, Clients: BMW, Ford, Fujian Benz, In- Geely, SAIC Motor, Dongfeng-Nissan, in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, General Motors, Dongfeng Peugeot finiti, Jaguar Land Rover, Jiangling Mo- Shanghai General Motors, Shanghai Based: Grand Rapids Chengdu, Wuhan, Harbin, Ürümqi, Citroen Automobile Co., Chery Auto- tors Co., John Deere, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, Chang’an Ford Operations: Regional headquar- Hong Kong and Taiwan and 17 mobile Co., Haima Volvo Natalie Broda 20151109-NEWS--0013-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:43 AM Page 1

SPECIAL REPORT: SECOND STAGE How to know which IT is it

egardless of industry, every company needs infor- mation technology to run its business. A one-size- fits-all approach rarely suits the needs of companies Rthat have very specific products or services they offer the world to set them apart from their competitors. This month, we asked three companies how they went about selecting an IT system — what conditions their systems needed to meet, how they made sure they ended up with sys- tems that met the conditions, and who they got to do the work. We heard from Weber’s Inn, the Ann Arbor mainstay restau- rant and hotel, which has learned a few things about manag- ing operations over the years. We also heard from a lighting company and a maker of employee assessment software. “When you’re deciding which items to pursue, each up- grade or each new technology is a big undertaking, so you have to know which ones are actually going to be crucial to your business to attract more customers and which ones are going to be a waste of your time. That’s making a smart busi- ness decision for your company,” said Weber’s Inn Vice Presi- dent Michael Weber. It’s also a pricey one. Salaries for IT talent vary widely, but Courtland Anderson, an attorney at Bodman PLC’s Troy office who works on IT contracts, figures it will cost a company $150,000-$250,000 a year for a project manager and more than $200,000 for someone to run a department. “You can get a decent IT programmer for under $100,000,” Anderson said. Hiring a vendor comes with similar costs, making it all the more important to avoid costly do-overs. “IT vendors are in very high demand. They are expanding Michael Weber,vice president their functionality almost exponentially, and people are look- LON HORWEDEL ofWeber’s Inn in Ann Arbor ing for those cost-savings more than ever,” Anderson said. Ⅲ Weber’s Inn rests easier with accommodating vendors

By Rachelle Damico ware also had to be upgraded to be com- Special to Crain’s Detroit Business “As an entrepreneur, you have to pay patible with Weber’s new server. The point- eber’s Inn has had its share of attention to different technology trends of-sale upgrade cost $75,000 to replace and technology issues in its 78-year and how people want to spend their money.” install equipment and make software up- W history. grades that included technology that In the early 1980s, the Ann Arbor-based Michael Weber,vice president,Weber’s Inn makes it easier to change menu items and restaurant and hotel found a vendor that monitor guest requests. sold an optical scanning system. The tech- For this project, Weber went with the nology scanned restaurant orders from a dent of Weber’s Inn. “It ended up flopping. upgrades to its point-of-sale, accounting same company, Micros, it has used since special sheet of paper by recognizing the It was a disaster.” and frequent diners program. The project 1982. Weber’s purchased an electronic cash presence of a pencil mark made by em- The inn, with 222 employees, has been cost more than $100,000. register from the Maryland-based compa- ployees, not too different from the Scant- operating since before digital computers “Whenever you’re dealing with new ny shortly after the optical scanning tech- ron system many colleges use to score were invented. It originally tracked pur- technology, you want to try to see into the nology system failed. tests. chases and inventory by hand. future and go with what will still be rele- “At the time, Micros was a small compa- But Weber’s had issues processing or- “As an entrepreneur, you have to pay at- vant in 10 years,” said Weber. ny and hungry to do business with us,” said ders. If there was even a spot of grease on tention to different technology trends and Weber’s also had a July 15 deadline to Weber. “We chose to stay with Micros be- the paper, the scanning technology would how people want to spend their money,” upgrade its Windows Server 2003 operating cause we have a history.” not be able to read the order requests. Weber said. “It will put your business system because that’s when Microsoft Micros also rebuilt Weber’s database so “That technology was not the wave of ahead of others.” would stop supporting it. the future,” said Michael Weber, vice presi- This year, Weber’s made major software The point-of-sale and accounting soft- SEE WEBER’S, PAGE 14

Help from outside Cloud a cost saver A winning strategy When AcuMax grew too big for its IT developer, the Like many smaller companies, Arborlight Inc. uses cloud-based When Helm Inc. began losing revenue, it found a software company sought a service to help, Page 15 services as an alternative to in-house servers, Page 16 solution in managing point-of-sale displays, Page 17 20151109-NEWS--0014-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:43 AM Page 1

14 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 SPECIAL REPORT: SECOND STAGE STAFFING SOLUTIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS Omega has reinvented the standard in the WEBER’S Staffing industry. We are the company that FROM PAGE 13 candidates turn to when they want to pursue their career goals in a respectful, rewarding it would work with the new software. environment Weber’s General Manager John Sta- ples had created the original data- IT Engineering Medical Accounting/Finance Admin base more than 20 years ago and was not eager to rebuild it from scratch. Staples works with Michael Weber on negotiating vendor con- Contract and Permanent Recruiting tracts and overseeing Weber’s com- No Fee to Try! puter system. Staples said Weber’s has not changed point-of-sale vendors be- cause the software has to be inte- grated into Weber’s system to work with the company’s other software. LON HORWEDEL “I’ve gone through enough con- Michael Weber is vice president of Weber’s Inn, which has made major software up- versions at Weber’s to see that if you grades this year at a cost of more than $100,000. change how that is done, it often brings along a lot of mistakes,” Sta- the company was willing to cus- To meet Weber’s July 15 deadline, Toll Free: 855-90-OMEGA ples said. “There’s a cost factor there tomize its software to work with Weber and Staples held monthly 45000 River Ridge Drive Suite 110 Clinton Township, MI 48038 that isn’t just the product, but what Weber’s system. It also would train meetings with all of the vendors to it’s going to cost to make the con- Weber’s accounting department on answer questions, discuss how the version?” how to use it. system setup and status of the up- Staples also said that when nego- “The upgrade is the easy part. grade process. tiating contracts with a longtime The difficult part is training,” Weber “Making sure everybody’s on the vendor, they sometimes compare said. same page before it’s going live is re- prices for other companies’ software. Weber’s also needed to find a ally important,” said Weber. “They know that we’re loyal to vendor to create an app for its cus- Weber said that when it comes to them and we expect loyalty — espe- tomer loyalty program members. technology, it’s not unusual to need cially price-wise, in return,” said This allows Weber’s customers to extra time to work out some kinks. Staples. view their loyalty account online Even though Weber and Staples When it came time to upgrade and access electronic coupons from held the monthly meetings, the up- the accounting software and cus- their smartphones. dates still ended up coming down tomer loyalty programs, Staples and After tapping Weber’s vendor net- to the last minute. Weber asked its point-of-sale and work, Weber met with the CEO of “Everything always takes longer property-management vendors for AppSuite to discuss how its loyalty than you think it will,” said Weber. recommendations. software would work with Weber’s “We gave them the extra time to end “We needed companies that programming. up with a better product when we would work with the other vendors It got the job in part because the went live.” that we have,” said Weber. CEO took the time to arrange meet- Weber said the process went The vendors came back with a ings and discuss in detail how they smoother because all of the vendors list, which Weber researched by would work with Weber’s software. worked together. searching for reviews online. “We liked that they were a small “It’s important to find companies “It’s amazing what you could find company that was willing to cus- who are willing to work with you when you research companies on tomize what their normal (soft- and understand your company and your own that way,” said Weber. ware) offerings were to fit our what you’re trying to accomplish,” Weber organized a meeting with mold,” said Weber. “Some of the said Weber. “It allows more time to the accounting vendor, London- bigger players had a one-size-fits-all focus on the business and your cus- based SunAccounts. He liked that approach.” tomers.” Ⅲ Advice on how to pick an IT vendor Courtland Anderson is an attorney at Detroit- vendor or who the vendor has sued.” based Bodman PLC who works in the firm’s Troy office When negotiating, Anderson said, it’s important to YOU CAN TELL FROM OUR BUILDING and is co-founder of its enterprise procurement understand all terms and that they are accurate. WE MEAN BUSINESS. group, which negotiates IT contracts on behalf of “A lot of people can look at a document and un- clients. He offered some advice for businesses when derstand what they’re reading for the most part, but it comes to searching for an IT vendor. they may have no idea what terms aren’t The GVSU Seidman College of Business full- or “Always remember that you’re the cus- presented,” he said. part-time M.B.A. program will get you to the top. tomer,” said Anderson. “It sounds cliché, but Anderson said that, at minimum, read West Michigan’s premier business school now has these folks are asking for your money.” the contract. He has a client who recently Anderson said a lot of IT vendors have a signed a document with a different price an equally premier building, enhancing downtown tendency to intimidate customers. than originally negotiated. Grand Rapids’ growing skyline and economic climate. “You have to understand your business “They want to get out of the deal and the requirements and go out and get them,” said vendor’s not letting him out of the deal,” An- Anderson. “Avoid paying the full price until derson said. “All they had to do was look at you’ve ensured that you’ve tested the sys- Courtland the contract.” tem and have it meet your requirements.” Anderson: Vet IT Anderson also recommends negotiating He also recommends vetting IT vendors vendors for both more than once. for both small and large deals. small and large “Avoid thinking that you have to take the “There are a lot of things you can find out deals. vendor’s template as-is,” he said. “Include just by searching Google or doing litigation timeframes and remedies if the vendor searches,” said Anderson. cannot get the system fully operational within a rea- For larger transactions, Anderson said to get a list sonable amount of time.” of customer user groups or adviser groups from the Anderson said customers should always include a vendor. Trade associations also often have informa- provision for termination without cause, even if means tion on vendors. paying a fee, to protect against bad performance. NOV. 19 • 5 - 9 p.m. “Try to find customers who have left the vendor “A good contract is a necessity, but the best protec- Marriott Renaissance Center, Detroit TITLE SPONSOR and see what the problems were,” said Anderson. tion is not doing business with poor vendors or ven- REGISTER TODAY! crainsdetroit.com/events “Ask for the name of any customer who has sued the dors with poor products,” Anderson said. Ⅲ OR CALL (313) 446-0300 20151109-NEWS--0015-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:44 AM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 15 SPECIAL REPORT: SECOND STAGE “Since I’m paying After maxing out IT,AcuMax hires service less for my IT services, By Rachelle Damico sure to negotiate a four-hour re- and what he was willing to pay. not 24 hours a day, you can have I can Special to Crain’s Detroit Business sponse time for IT issues into the “Since I’m paying less for my IT something go wrong in a time zone keep my James Hawreluk, CEO and con- contract. services, I can keep my prices where that’s eight hours ahead of ours,” sultant at Dearborn-based AcuMax Hawreluk also liked that the ven- they currently are for my cus- said Hawreluk. “It gives me better prices Inc., needed to make some deci- dor was able to offer suggestions on tomers,” said Hawreluk. “I don’t peace of mind knowing that our where sions when his sole information how to improve the speed and look have to have price increases and clients can be taken care of.” technology developer told him it of AcuMax software products. can maintain our margins.” Hawreluk also believes hiring a they was time to leave the company. “It’s helpful to have someone that Another benefit that came with a professional IT service will give currently “He approached me and said has good ideas and knows where to vendor was that AcuMax didn’t AcuMax a competitive advantage. that the system was getting too big improve and make some tweaks,” need to employ staffers around the “We can get better, faster service are for my and too complex so that one person said Hawreluk. clock to meet the needs of cus- and more enhancements done on customers.” couldn’t handle it anymore,” Hawreluk said negotiations went tomers in Europe and China. the system at a lower cost,” said Hawreluk said. “As your company smoothly because he was candid “When you only have one person Hawreluk. “It only makes good James Hawreluk, CEO, consultant, grows, there will always be IT is- about what the company needed working on the system and they’re business sense.” Ⅲ AcuMax Inc. sues.” AcuMax provides employee as- sessment software to help business- es improve hiring, employee place- ment and engagement through electronic surveys and other tools. It has five employees. Upgrades to the company’s sys- tem were becoming too difficult to “ WHAT’S DTE ENERGY manage. For instance, AcuMax’s software product initially ran one survey at a time. Now it runs as DOING TO MAKE IT many as 50 at once. Hawreluk’s departing IT develop- er suggested that AcuMax form an IT department or hire a professional EASIER ON BUSINESS?” IT vendor and helpfully gave a seven-week notice before leaving the company. The new interactive eBill from DTE Energy makes it easy to analyze energy usage and pay your “It gave me a good chunk of time to talk to different vendors and do bill. The new, simple layout shows your usage at a glance, gives you links to energy-saving ideas, our due diligence,” said Hawreluk. and lets you pay your bill in a snap. There are even sections specific to your business that can After crunching numbers, he de- cided the most cost-effective solu- help you understand and manage what you use, and pay. tion was to hire an IT service. “I know what IT developers com- mand in the marketplace,” said Hawreluk. “If I was to create a team of three, it would cost me four times what it would to go with an outside firm that already has developers.” Hawreluk vetted IT companies by tapping industry contacts for rec- Sally Like, Owner ommendations. He also called the Marcile’s Fashions & Bridal companies and interviewed them. “You need to know exactly what you want and talk to as many com- panies as you can,” said Hawreluk. “Don’t ever compromise.” In August, AcuMax began to search for priced vendors that knew C#, a programming language that allows developers to run on Mi- crosoft’s .NET framework. “Some of the vendors didn’t know C# or couldn’t even do any- thing till the first quarter of 2016,” said Hawreluk. “Obviously that was too late.” Through the recommendation of an AcuMax employee, Hawreluk found Troy-based company IPS Technology Services. This October, Hawreluk met with IPS President Pradip Sengupta. He liked that IPS was willing to agree to a guarantee of prompt communications. “What happens a lot in IT is you’ll have an issue, send an email and hear crickets in return,” said Hawre- luk. In addition to monthly mainte- nance service, an approximately $100,000 contract was negotiated for a 15-month project that includes reprogramming and upgrades to AcuMax’s product. Hawreluk was 20151109-NEWS--0016-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:44 AM Page 1

16 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015

SPECIAL Niche manufacturing in Detroit? REPORT: We’ve got your accounting systems ALL SEWN UP. SECOND STAGE Cloud saves costs for Ann Our client, Detroit Denim, is a high-quality denim manufacturer poised to scale the brand nationally. Emerging startups like Arbor firm this require accounting advice that can see By Rachelle Damico Special to Crain’s Detroit Business the company through its next stage of Like many smaller companies, growth. We work with founders to ensure Ann Arbor-based Arborlight Inc. uses cloud-based services as a less costly the business' tax and accounting systems alternative to in-house servers. are right, right from the start. Because Arborlight produces LED lighting systems that appear as skylights. when it comes to choosing an accountant, The technology tracks and mimics it should be a custom fit. the sun’s lighting and positioning in real time and can be adjusted from any WiFi-enabled device. The company started in 2011 and has nine employees. It has had to build its IT processes from scratch. But going the cloud computing route means it hasn’t had to invest Contact for Inquiries in as much equipment or people to Steve Wisinski, CPA, CFE, CFFA run it. Employees access informa- Partner tion over the In- ternet instead of on local hard Eric Yelsma, Founder Steve Wisinski, Partner www.ShindelRock.com | 248.855.8833 drives, allowing Detroit Denim ShindelRock 28100 Cabot Drive Ste. 102 | Novi, MI 48377 easy access to company files and data away from the office. “It’s mainte- nance-free,” Michael Forbis: said CEO Cloud-based serv- Michael Forbis. ice cost-effective. Forbis said another benefit of using cloud- based services is the level of securi- ty. The company uses Google Apps for business, which allows Ar- borlight to have access to website, email, data storage and around- the-clock customer service support. The company also set up a Drop- box account for file sharing, but has elected to use a desktop verson of Quickbooks for financials. Forbis takes time to try different software and experiment with new systems when first attempts don’t work out. The company is on its third customer relationship man- agement tool, HubSpot. Eventually, Arborlight evolved to other cloud-based software such as Asana that allows users to manage different tasks within the company. It uses Smartsheet to track progress of customers and shipments. Forbis said functionality just as often drives his IT spending deci- sions as much as price does. “Sometimes we choose things depending on the price over func- tionality,” he said. “It just depends on where we are in the trajectory.” Arborlight’s IT plan may change as the company evolves, Forbis said, but for now, the company will continue to use the cloud instead of IT vendors or consultants. “We try to maximize the poten- tial of every dollar we receive,” said Forbis. “It didn’t even occur to us to go find someone else to tell us what to do.” Ⅲ 20151109-NEWS--0017-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 11:44 AM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 17 SPECIAL REPORT: SECOND STAGE Sales displays service a winning strategy for Helm

One word that strikes fear into indicates one placed at a store but consumer space.” the heart of many a business owner that hasn’t been set up. A green one Expert opinion: Marisa Smith has is the dreaded “commoditization.” indicates a display at a store that had clients who’ve faced the same That’s what was rearing its head has been set up. commoditization pressure. in 2014 for Helm Inc. President and Adding a service like this gives The founder of Ann Arbor-based CEO Justin Gusick, who bought the customers a reason to stick with marketing and management con- Plymouth-based company from its Helm Inc. Helm. “Our whole role here is really sultancy Whole Brain Group LLC said two previous owners last year after just to ship packages,” Gusick said. business leaders too often get daz- working in it for 18 years. Location: Plymouth “It strengthens our value proposi- zled by what others are doing. The Helm used to be known for print- Description: Third-party marketing tion.” result is they end up chasing servic- ing service manuals for automak- and logistics services provider Helm developed the system from es already offered by competitors ers. That business now accounts for President and CEO: Justin Gusick the ground up. Gusick formed a rather than offering something that just 20 percent of revenue. team of 10 software developers to sets them apart. Helm’s other lines of business fall Employees: 125 make it happen. It rolled out early “Quit following and start lead- into two categories. One is third- Revenue: $56 million in 2014; on pace this year, having taken about six ing,” Smith said. party logistics and fulfillment — in- this year for a 10 percent increase to months and $150,000. Offering customers expert-level dustry-speak for storing and ship- $61.6 million Justin Gusick: Bought company last year. Gusick wished he’d done it soon- help is one way for owners to differ- ping products on customers’ behalf. er. Helm has added four large con- entiate their companies from the The other, and faster-growing, di- sumer market customers, and Gu- next one. By showcasing inside vision is promotional products. quently directing their business to their industries, that of managing sick said he’s talking to more large knowledge of their respective in- Helm manages the online branded the lowest bidder. their sales displays at retailers. brands for deals next year. dustry, through extensive blog post- merchandise sites for companies “We were losing competitive bids These “point of sale” displays are “Growth has been phenomenal,” ing and sales messages, companies such as Ford Motor Co., Castrol and to prices we couldn’t even believe those placed near cash registers at Gusick said. can let customers know more serv- footwear company Wolverine World- people were offering. We needed to stores to sway shoppers into buying Risks and considerations: “We ices are on offer than just the obvi- wide. It handles everything from de- figure out how to bring customers something. Manufacturers go to weren’t sure if we could sell it,” Gu- ous ones. sign of a product, such as a branded more value,” Gusick said. great expense to create and send sick said. These companies then can be- T-shirt, to sourcing materials and This was no hypothetical threat. these displays but then have no way Helm is known for serving auto- come known as the go-to people for manufacturers, and then shipping Helm lost a major account when a of knowing if and how they are motive customers. Pitching to con- a given niche, which justifies charg- the finished goods. customer of five years flipped to a being used, Gusick said. sumer brand makers would mark a ing more than bargain-bin prices. Problem: It was this latter part of competitor. Helm, which already handled the departure for the 72-year-old com- “They can say, ‘We bring value Helm’s business that faced com- Solution: The problem came from shipping of these displays, devel- pany. because we have all this expertise moditization pressure in early 2014. customer demands, and so did the oped software to track them. Cus- “It has given us entrée into retail that presents you from making mis- Customers were basing purchasing solution. They were asking for help tomers log in to see where the dis- brands,” Gusick said. “Now we’re takes,’” Smith said. decisions on price alone and conse- with a problem they faced within plays are. A red dot on a map making a name for ourselves in the Gary Anglebrandt

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18 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015

ACQUISITIONS & which offers retirement plans and American Cancer Society Inc., Atlanta. MERGERS services to plan sponsors and par- Users can read each Kroger store’s Greystone Financial Group Inc., Troy ticipants. The company has offices details on their fundraising efforts and Houston, Texas, merged with in Troy, San Rafael and Irvine, Calif., and more. Websites: www2. Polaris Wealth Advisers LLC, San and Houston. Websites: idashboards.com/KrogerMaking DEALS & Rafael, Calif., to form Polaris Grey- polariswealth.net, greystonefg.com. Strides2015, idashboards.com. stone Financial Group LLC. The firm operates two divisions: Polaris Grey- CONTRACTS Plumbing Professors, Canton stone Wealth Management, which iDashboards, Troy, a supplier of Township, a plumbing, sewer repair provides financial planning and in- business intelligence dashboards, and epoxy pipe lining company, vestment management for individ- created a “Making Strides Against with Serene Surroundings Inc., Ply- DETAILS ual high-net-worth families, and Breast Cancer” dashboard for mouth, a landscape design compa- Polaris Greystone Retirement Services, Kroger Co. of Michigan, Novi and the ny, were awarded a repair and diag- tions for schools, has integrated sell its non-core automotive interi- nostic contract by the Plymouth and launched a white-label version ors plant in Berlin, Germany, held District Library, Plymouth. The con- of XanEdu’s Customized Platform by Visteon Deutschland GmbH and Turn your tract includes repairs to storm called eText Builder. It allows faculty APTUS GmbH, to APCH Automotive Let’s Talk Trash drainage, high pressure water jet- to provide course materials specifi- Plastic Components Holdings GmbH, trash to cash ting and video camera diagnostics cally tailored to their class objec- effective Dec. 1. The transaction ef- to clean and check condition of ex- tives, while reducing the cost of tra- fectively results in a management If you pay to have recyclable waste hauled away, such as plastic, paper, or metal you are missing a great opportunity to increase your net income. isting piping. Websites: ditional textbooks. Websites: buyout of the manufacturing oper- plumbingprofessors.com, xanedu.com, mbsdirect.net. ation, including roughly 400 em- serenesurroundings.com. ployees . Terms were not disclosed. G2 Consulting Group, Troy, a geo- Website: visteon.com. Toggled, Troy, a developer and technical, environmental and con- producer of lighting technology struction engineering services firm, EXPANSIONS and a subsidiary of Altair Engineering has been selected by RS Engineering Robert Di Pilla DDS PC, Birming- Inc., has added International Develop- LLC, Lansing, to work on the up- ham, is opening a dental office at 1 ment LLC, Roanoke, Texas, to its li- coming Michigan Department of Woodward Ave., Suite 1625, Detroit. censing program. International De- Transportation’s I-94 reconstruction Telephone: (313) 246-8288. Website: velopment has access to Toggled’s project in Detroit. RSE and G2 will drdipilla.com. portfolio of more than 60 patents be responsible for time-critical as- primarily related to LED replace- pects of design and construction 123Net Inc., Southfield, has added ments for fluorescent tubes. Web- services for the Cadillac bridge, one a new wireless tower to serve busi- site: toggled.com. of eight to be reconstructed in nesses in the industrial park area at Schedule your FREE Waste Audit To See How Much You Can Save preparation of the 20-year, $3 bil- I-275 and Grand River, Farmington XanEdu Publishing Inc., Ann Arbor, lion I-94 project. Websites: Hills. The tower will provide greater Servicing the Entire State of Michigan provider of customized educational g2consultinggroup.com, capability and bandwidth to area Email [email protected] content for the K-12, university and rs-eng.com. businesses that rely on carrier class Call Robert, Rick or Stu (248) 668-0800 corporate markets, announced that connectivity. Website: 123.net. MBS Direct LLC, Columbia, Mo., a Visteon Corp., Van Buren Town- RECYCLING SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS SINCE 1917 provider of online bookstore solu- ship, has signed an agreement to SEE NEXT PAGE SPECIAL ADVERTISING? SECTION D HOLIDAYGIFTSHOLIDAY GIFTS ?

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FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

BorgWarner Transmission Systems Korea, a BorgWarner Inc., Auburn Hills, majority-held joint venture, opened a new facility in Jincheon, South Korea. It will produce a vari- ety of automatic transmission com- ponents, including clutch modules, clutch sets and friction plates. Web- site: www.borgwarner.com.

Re/Max of Southeastern Michigan, Troy, and Re/Max Encore, Clarkston, opened a Re/Max Encore office at 436 S. Broadway, Suite E, Lake Orion. Telephone: (248) 690-4003. $1 Billion Websites: encoreagent.com, remax-semichigan.com.

Roncelli Inc., Sterling Heights, a construction company, has opened an office in the Guardian Building, 500 Griswold St., Suite 2440, De- troit. Telephone: (313) 964-5689. Website: roncelli-inc.com.

ZBallerini LLC, Birmingham, an online retailer featuring handmade travel, business and everyday bags, is opening a holiday pop-up store at 4215 Cass Ave., Detroit. Website: zballerini.com. MOVES Airfoil Group, a public relations and marketing firm, has moved its headquarters from 1000 Town Cen- ter Drive, Suite 600, Southfield, to 336 N. Main St., Royal Oak. Tele- phone: (248) 304-1400. Website: airfoilgroup.com. NEW PRODUCTS MedNetOne Health Solutions, Oak- land Township, a health care man- agement organization, announced the company’s new website, de- COMMERCIAL LENDING | TREASURY MANAGEMENT | BUSINESS SERVICES signed by Douglas Marketing Group LLC, Detroit. Website: mednetone.net.

Burroughs Inc., Plymouth, a provider of network check scanning technology, released the Smart- Source Expert Elite intelligent net- work check scanner, which adds an Ethernet connection and built-in State-of-the-art technology. intelligence to the SmartSource Elite series platform. Website: bur- roughs.com. NEW SERVICES Local banking know-how. ProQuest LLC, Ann Arbor, an- nounced the ProQuest Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Adminis- trator, a submission and review Your hometown platform for dissertations and the- ses authors. Website: proquest.com. Meijer Inc., Walker, announced its advantage. Meijer Curbside program is now available at the Ann Arbor Meijer store at 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Ann Arbor. The program of- fers customers the option to shop online and pick up their groceries Banking local means our experts are always by your side. Whether providing local insight to market conditions or guiding you curbside. Website: meijer.com. Ⅲ with state-of-the-art products designed to optimize cash flow and finance growth, you can count on us for world-class banking. Since 1917, we’ve been anchored right here in our community helping businesses move forward with decisions that come out of our office – and not out of state. It’s banking big…even when you’re banking local. Deals & Details guidelines. Email [email protected]. Use any Deals & Details item as a Give us a call today. model for your release, and look for www.thefsb.com/business | 866-372-1275 the appropriate category. Without complete information, your item will not run. Photos are welcome, but we cannot guarantee they will be used. 20151109-NEWS--0020-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 12:12 PM Page 1

20 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 WEDNESDAY Successful Turnarounds: The U.S. PEOPLE: NOV. 11 Banking Industry and Detroit. 11:30 SPOTLIGHT Superpower: Three Choices for CALENDAR a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dec. 7. Detroit America’s Role in the World. 11:30 Economic Club. Speaker is Bruce Here are some of last week’s exec- a.m.-1:30 p.m. Detroit Economic Van Saun, chairman and CEO, utive appointments reported by Club. Program features Ian Bremmer, a perspective on Canada-U.S. busi- Success. 8-11:30 a.m. Nov. 19. Citizens Financial Group. Westin Book Crain’s: president and founder of Eurasia ness relations after the recent na- Automation Alley. Speakers include Cadillac, Detroit. $45 DEC Group. Cobo Center, Detroit. $45 tional elections. Marriott Renais- Noel Nevshehir, director of members, $55 guests of DEC Hanus adds audience DEC members, $55 guests of DEC sance Center, Detroit. $65; $50 international business services, members, $75 nonmembers. development role for Crain’s members, $75 nonmembers. CUSBA board members. Contact: Automation Alley; Eve C. Lerman, Contact: (313) 963-8547; email: Phone: (313) 963-8547; email: Colin McKillop, (519) 259-9836; senior international trade specialist, [email protected]. Nancy Hanus, director of digital [email protected]. website: cusbaonline.com. U.S. Department of Commerce; Jeff strategy for Crain’s Detroit Busi- Jorge, principal, Michigan’s State of the Region. 5-7 p.m. ness and THURSDAY UPCOMING EVENTS international services practice Dec. 9. Detroit Regional Chamber. Crain’s Cleve- NOV. 12 leader and Latin American services The chamber’s second annual land Michigan CEO Summit. 8 a.m.- Relational Coordination: desk leader, Baker Tilly; Bill Richeson, analysis of the economic indicators Business, has noon. Business Leaders for Transforming Relationships for High senior vice president, manager of related to business growth, added the Michigan. Annual gathering with Performance. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Nov. 16. global financial institutions and innovation, talent and international role of audi- speakers, networking opportunities University of Michigan. Hosted by market manager for international commerce for Southeast Michigan. ence devel- and inspiration. Keynote speaker is Jane Dutton, the Robert L. Kahn banking in Michigan, FirstMerit Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit. $30 opment di- Tim Kelly, general manager, IDEO. Distinguished University Professor Bank; David Newhouse, international chamber members, $595 to join. rector for Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit. $125. of Business Administration and trade development manager, Contact: Janelle Arbuckle, (313) Hanus both publica- Contact: Jennifer Hayes, (313) 259- Psychology at the Ross School of Michigan Economic Development 596-0340; email: tions. Hanus 5400. Business. Jody Hoffer Gittell, Corp.; Sam Hoff, president, LEID [email protected]. has coordinated online strate- professor at Brandeis University’s Products LLC; and Yannick Greiner, gies for e-newsletters and web- Seventh Annual Forecast Luncheon. Heller School for Social Policy and director, international sales, Rugged Michigan Supreme Court Justices. site and digital products. Noon-2 p.m. Chartered Financial Management, will discuss how to Liner Inc. Automation Alley, Troy. $20 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dec. 15. With Hanus, 54, led the recent re- Analysts Society of Detroit. Jim transform relationships. Ross members, $30 nonmembers, $40 Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and design of both publications’ Grant, founder of Grant’s Interest School, Ann Arbor. Free. Contact: walk-in members, $50 walk-in non- Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. websites. She will focus on grow- Rate Observer, will offer his take on Angela Ceely, (734) 764-2811; email: members. Phone: (800) 427-5100; MotorCity Casino Hotel, Detroit. ing both online and print audi- Federal Reserve policy and the bond [email protected]. email: [email protected]. $45 DEC members, $55 guests of ences, and working on a premi- markets into next year. Jason DEC members, $75 nonmembers. um subscription product. Trennert, CEO at Strategas Securities The National Conversation on Board Inside the CEO Mind. 8-10 a.m. Phone: (313) 963-8547; email: “This expanded role is recog- LLC and managing partner and Diversity. 7:30-9:30 a.m. Nov. 19. On Dec. 1. Detroit Regional Chamber. [email protected]. Ⅲ nition of the remarkable work chief investment strategist at the same day in cities around the Kouhaila Hammer, CEO, Ghafari Asso- Nancy has done since joining us Strategas Research Partners, will world, business leaders will discuss ciates LLC, shares her story and in July 2012,” said Crain Group discuss stock markets. The Westin, one strategic question: Why and unique perspective on leadership. Calendar guidelines. Visit Publisher Mary Kramer. “Visits Southfield. $55. Contact: Michelle how do winning companies recruit Hammer is the board president of crainsdetroit.com and click “Events” and the number of visitors to Doran, (734) 546-2390; email: to maximize board effectiveness? the Engineering Society of Detroit and near the top of the home page. our website have more than [email protected]. Skyline Club, Southfield. $30 Info- on the Detroit Regional Chamber Then, click “Submit Your Events” doubled.” rum and National Association of Board of Directors. Cranbrook Insti- from the drop-down menu that will FRIDAY Women Business Owners mem- tute of Science, Bloomfield Hills. appear. Fill out the submission form, Cervone to lead GM NOV. 13 bers; $45 nonmembers. Website: $30 chamber members, $55 non- then click “Submit event” at the Foundation,keep VP post The Impact of the Canadian Election inforummichigan.org. members. Preregistration is re- bottom of the page. on U.S.-Canada Relations. 11:30 a.m.- quired; no refunds. Contact: Bever- More Calendar items can be General Motors Co. named Tony 1:30 p.m. Canada U.S. Business As- Create Global-Focused Business ly Maddox, (313) 596-0343; email: found at crainsdetroit.com/events. Cervone chairman of the GM sociation. Four experts will provide Plans and Marketing Strategies for [email protected]. Foundation. He will assume over- sight of GM’s corporate giving activities while retaining his role as senior vice president of global ADVERTISING SECTION communica- tions for the Detroit au- tomaker. Crain’s has moved its complete list of appointments and Cervone, promotions to www.crainsdetroit.com/peopleonthemove. 52, succeeds Brief online listings for management-level positions are Bob Ferguson, available at no cost, at editor’s discretion. who was chairman of Cervone the founda- Guaranteed print placement in this promotional feature can tion and sen- be purchased at the website above. ior vice president of GM global public policy. Ferguson left Nov. 1 to establish a consulting agency and pursue other opportunities.

ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE Wurfel to step down as Snyder’s press secretary Sara Wurfel, Gov. Rick Snyder’s Anna Lynott George E Bundy Announce new talent! press secretary since 2011, is Team Lead, Director of Business leaving at the end of the month RRS Strategy & Integrator, to work for Lansing public rela- Lynott will be responsible for Wealth Management tions firm Truscott Rossman as team staff oversight, public Services LLC. public affairs vice president. sector business George Bundy will focus on Dave Murray, Snyder’s deputy development, and service offering strategic planning and press secretary, will be Wurfel’s enhancement. Lynott will continue to lead key development, integration of the CPA Alliance replacement. project work including the Carton Council Program as well as continuous improvements to Wurfel was communications initiative to increase access to carton recycling. optimize client experiences at our firm. WMS director for the Michigan Depart- Q NEW HIRES Prior to RRS, Lynott held recycling coordinator offers comprehensive services as an ment of Agriculture under former positions in Michigan and Virginia. Lynott holds independent Registered Investment Advisor. Q PROMOTIONS Govs. John Engler and Jennifer Their wealth managers offer securities through Granholm. Murray joined the a BS in Environmental Policy and Behavior from Q BOARD LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC and are the University of Michigan and is pursuing a APPOINTMENTS Snyder administration in 2013 Masters of Organizational Development at committed to fiduciary standards, goal oriented after writing for the Flint Bowling Green. planning, risk management and providing Journal, Grand Rapids Press and outstanding personal service. MLive.com. Ⅲ Visit CrainsDetroit.com/PeopleontheMove 20151109-NEWS--0021-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 4:59 PM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 21

Takeoffs and landings continue “It’s not a status symbol or for bers in 2010 to 39 today, Nini said. AVIATION to decline, falling to 111,672 in 2014, pleasure. It’s a business tool,” Bagne Corporate Eagle sells shares of its FROM PAGE 1 despite a rise in corporate jet use, said. 13-jet fleet, where its members pay and deliveries of new business jets VanderVeen said. The decline is Back to the skies for an eighth-share of the jet, which are climbing, reaching $10.5 billion mostly attributed to fewer privately allows them to use the jet without in 2014. owned recreational planes , he said. With the public’s short memory outright owning it. Corporate Eagle Rough landing Jet fuel sales at the airport fell and a recovering economy, busi- manages the maintenance, crew and from 12.8 million gallons in 2007 to nesses are renewing their interest in flight details for each of its members In 2008, the CEOs of General Mo- 8.6 million gallons in 2010, but in- corporate aviation. out of its four hangars at Oakland tors Co., Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. creased to 9.1 million in 2014. This year, GM re-established its County International Airport. flew on corporate-owned jets to go “Generally, aviation is the first to corporate jet fleet by acquiring “a A typical eighth-share of one of its before Congress seeking a publicly enter the recession and the last few” used corporate jets, said Pat Hawker 800 jets, which holds eight to financed bailout to save their com- out,” VanderVeen said. Morrissey, GM’s director of corpo- 10 passengers, costs $485,000. The panies from collapse. Corporate Eagle, which operates rate communications. corporate member can buy or lease The trio was met with rancor from fractional jet ownership and jet He declined to reveal the exact that share, Nini said. On top of the elected officials and public outrage management services out of the number, but said the jets make the cost of shared ownership is an $8,000 over lavish corporate spending while Oakland County airport, lost two- automaker “more competitive and monthly management fee and about asking for taxpayer dollars. thirds of its billable flying hours, efficient in the U.S. and globally.” $2,800 an hour for flight time. “There is a delicious irony in see- said Rick Nini, president and CEO. Bagne said the healthier econo- On Oct. 23, Corporate Eagle ing private luxury jets flying into Corporate Eagle’s revenue fell my and low interest rates make the closed on its second fractional share Washington, D.C., and people com- from $13 million in 2007 to $8.5 mil- decision to enter corporate aviation of a new $10 million Dassault Falcon ing off of them with tin cups in their lion in 2009, Nini said. a no-brainer as she weighs fraction- jet, which seats 10 and has a top hand, saying that they’re going to be “People understood the benefits al ownership with Corporate Eagle speed of 520 mph. trimming down and streamlining of business aviation, but the optics or acquiring a $24 million Gulf- Nini said the company plans to their businesses,” Rep. Gary Acker- of what happened in D.C. had such stream G280. reach a fleet of 15 jets by 2018. Nini man, D-New York, told the Detroit 3 an impact,” Nini said. “Executives “Right now, the cost of money is projects revenue to top $20.5 mil- CEOs at a hearing of the House Fi- just didn’t want their picture being negligible, and it may be cheaper to lion this year. nancial Services Committee. taken getting on or off a private jet buy a plane right now than do frac- Corporate Eagle, which employs The result was the executives at that time, and it really hurt.” tional ownership and find we need 54, is also considering adding more driving to the U.S. Capitol weeks A myth of frivolity to buy one later,” she said. hangar space at Oakland County air- later in the automakers’ newest Bagne said she expects to make a port and Detroit Metropolitan Airport. electric vehicles. GM and Chrysler The downturn and corporate decision by early next year. In the past 12 months, Corporate were later forced sell their corporate cutbacks fueled misconceptions For Southeast Michigan’s busi- Eagle’s fleet has flown 1,529 trips, jet fleets as part of the bailout. about the industry, said Greg ness aviation industry, Bagne repre- taking nearly 9,000 business execu- But the public shellacking hit Schmidt, president and CEO of Wa- sents a glimmer of hope as it adjusts tives to 27 countries. more than just the automakers — terford Township-based jet man- to a different type of buyer. “The time of businesses recoiling corporate aviation itself practically agement and maintenance firm “Business aviation is coming back, and hiding their planes is coming to collapsed between that one event Pentastar Aviation LLC. but it’s coming back different,” Nini an end,” Hatfield said. “Companies and the Great Recession, said “We serviced a number of the said. “Many companies own their are coming around to what we can William Garvey, of Business and (automakers’) fleet, but then came own planes, but we’re seeing more do, and that’s help them make Commercial Aviation magazine. the very public dismantling of those and more fractional ownership.” The money.” “That single event in front of fleets; that hurt,” Schmidt said. “The company’s fractional ownership Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Congress was ground zero for public saw the fleets as the ultimate program has grown from 22 mem- Twitter: @dustinpwalsh everything that happened to this in- perk, but it’s really a business tool dustry,” Garvey said. “It wasn’t a for more than CEOs.” downturn. It fell off the cliff.” Schmidt said 78 percent of cor- Annual shipments of business jets porate jet passengers are below the MARKET PLACE worldwide dropped from an all-time C-suite. high of 1,317 in 2008 to 874 in 2009 John Hatfield, chairman of the and continued to slide to 672 in 2012, Michigan Business Aviation Associa- BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES HEALTH BENEFITS according to data by the General Avia- tion and aviation director for Mid- Laurel A. Sills, Psy.D., PLLC, Licensed Clinical tion Manufacturers Association. New land-based Dow Corning Corp., said Psychologist business jet deliveries are growing how executives spend their time is Discreet Therapy for Issues of Intamacy again, but at 722 in 2014, they are Takeoffs and landings of private critical, and corporate aviation is Individuals & Couples Therapy Dr. Laurel A. Sills much lower than peak years. jets and recreational planes at the one way to maximize those hours. 31313 Northwestern Highway μ Suite 120 Locally, it devastated operations airport dropped from 202,345 in According to a 2009 study of S&P Farmington Hills, MI 48334 (248) 788-4230 μ www.DrLSills.com at Oakland County International Air- 2007 to 119,581 in 2010, according 500 corporate jet users by NEXA Cap- port in Waterford Township and the to figures provided by J. David Van- ital Advisors, companies that used " Great Business Opportunity MISCELLANEOUS support companies that call its air- derVeen, director of central services corporate jets experienced 116 per- " Well Established Sports Bar & Rec Center " field home. for Oakland County. cent higher annual revenue growth Located in growing Northwestern Michigan Community NEED WAREHOUSING? between 2003 and 2007 than com- " Full Liquor License Plymouth & Livonia Area panies that did not. Income was 434 " Complete Kitchen Set-up with all Equipment percent higher during that time, ac- " Full Dining Area with Bar Set-up • Cross-Dock Services • Trucking Services " • Diverse Supplier • Reasonable Rates cording to the study. Established Clientele with Room for Growth " $599,900 Call 810-701-0833 “Time is not a renewable re- GHDForensicsLLC Don’t miss you opportunity to be your source; we’re all bound by the same own boss, and have fun doing it! OFFICE FURNITURE 24 hours a day,” Hatfield said. For additional info contact: Experience Expertise. “What we do in that 24 hours makes Marty Moody 231-633-2500 (cell) Office Furniture Warehouse Clearance a difference on how effectively we Lynda’s Real Estate Stack Chairs, Conference Chairs & Tables run our businesses, and corporate 231-582-9555 (office) Panels & Cubicles, Herman Miller, Steelcase, Hon, jets leverage and multiply that abili- File & Storage Cabinets, Reception Desks Exec. Desks, New & Used, Mahogany & Cherry. ty to be effective.” • Accounting work as it pertains to Call Us For Personalized www.betterbusinesssystems.com litigation matters Lear Corp. owns one corporate jet, Service: (313) 446-6068 [email protected] - 248-548-6404 said Mel Stephens, senior vice presi- • Representing plantiffs and defendents in dent of communications and facili- CLOSING TIMES: Monday 3 p.m., MISCELLANEOUS civil and criminal cases ties. one week prior to publication date. Please call us for holiday closing times. “It’s a company asset; we’re a SURVEY global company that operates in 35 FAX: (313) 446-0347 A wholly owned David J. Hammel, CPA, CFE, CFF E-MAIL: cdbclassified @crain.com subsidiary of: countries,” Stephens said. “The President INTERNET: ANALYZE fastest-growing part of our business www.crainsdetroit.com/section/classifieds For information regarding the services is Asia, and it’s not the most dense provided by GHD Forensics, LLC, contact Confidential Reply Boxes Available MATCH ˆ areas, but smaller cities. We need to +,( David J. Hammel, CPA, CFE, CFF at PAYMENT: All classified ads must be '4%7 %(:-7367 [email protected]. get to these plants. (Our jet) is much prepaid. 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22 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Bloomfield Hills. them online, Nashif said. The online mattress segment is needs and increasing awareness of MATTRESS A 15,500- “While that’s growing, and we are exploding, driven mainly by strong sleep sets, Perry said. FROM PAGE 3 square-foot a leader in that niche, the vast ma- marketing on the part of Casper, Though Art Van has sold mat- cent to $6.2 billion, with the num- warehouse out- jority of mattresses are still pur- which is largely an online mattress tresses online for about five years, ber of mattresses sold rising 4 per- let center is also chased in a store. That’s the audi- retailer, said David Perry, executive well over 90 percent of Pure Sleep cent to 20.9 million, according to set to open in ence we’re trying to reach,” he said. editor of Furniture Today. mattress sales are through stores, the Alexandria, Va.-based Interna- Livonia on In- Brick-and-mortar stores also en- “There’s virtually a new online said David Van Elslander, president tional Sleep Products Association. dustrial Road be- able U.S. Mattress to offer brands mattress retailer every week pop- of Art Van Pure Sleep and senior vice According to a Furniture Today Joe Nashif: Majori- tween Wayne that are not sold online, he said. ping up,” he said. president of Art Van Furniture. “If report, the association’s latest in- ty of people buy and Levan roads In addition, stores increase brand Those include Casper, Tuft & Nee- you’re going to spend that kind of dustry forecast projects consistent mattresses in store. Nov. 16, follow- awareness and can drive more peo- dle and Leesa Sleep LLC. money, people want to see and feel growth the next two years, with the ing the closing of ple to a retailer’s website, said Ken U.S. Mattress World’s brick-and- what they’re buying.” wholesale value of mattresses sold one of two warehouses in Brighton. Nisch, chairman of Southfield- mortar expansion is a response to Art Van is now looking to estab- increasing 6.5 percent in 2016 and And within the next year, Nashif based retail consulting firm JGA Inc. others coming into the online cate- lish stand-alone Pure Sleep stores 2017 and the number of mattresses said, the plan is to open three more “When an online retailer has a gory, Perry said. But it’s also a smart near its nine furniture stores in the sold rising 4 percent each year. stores in leased locations, giving the local presence, customers feel more model to expand the business. Chicago market. The trade publication said the company nine sites. comfortable that if they have issues or “If you can be attracted to the He looks at U.S. Mattress World ISPA’s industry forecast attributes Those stores will add a projected returns, those will be more easily han- brand online but actually go try the stores expanding in metro Detroit the increases to growth in dispos- 10 more jobs, on top of 12 created dled with a physical store,” he said. mattress, that can be a significant as a good thing. able income and a solid recovery in by the recent store openings, he U.S. Mattress’ strong online pres- advantage,” he said. “We actually welcome the com- housing. said, noting the company now em- ence means it doesn’t need as many Michigan is likely an attractive petition — it just brings more eyes Last fall, U.S. Mattress added a ploys 90 people. According to in- stores in the region “because cus- market for U.S. Mattress because to the importance of sleep.” Ⅲ store in Birmingham, and this sum- dustry estimates, 3 percent to 4 per- tomers have the convenience of with Art Van Furniture Inc. it has a Sherri Welch: (313) 446-1694 mer opened stores in Southfield and cent of mattress buyers purchase shopping online 24-7,” Nisch said. strong retailer advertising bedding Twitter: @SherriWelch

attract workers from the suburbs to Wayne, Macomb and Oakland coun- expansion on Detroit’s southwest before we can get these workers JOBS the city for jobs. ties, excluding Detroit. side, as well as the construction of into skilled positions,” Masters said. FROM PAGE 3 Detroit’s problem is quite the oppo- Detroit’s labor force largely does- the Detroit Red Wings arena. “You can’t just take people who are In 2014, Detroit had 258,807 jobs site. Of those 258,807 jobs in the city, n’t meet that standard, with 63 per- “We’re getting a mix of jobs, and basically illiterate and throw them and a population of 706,663, accord- 71 percent are held by employees cent of working Detroiters possess- it’s dramatically better than it was a into a class and have them work- ing to an April report by the Corpora- commuting from the suburbs. ing no more than a high school year and a half ago,” Duggan said. ready in two months.” tion for a Skilled Workforce and funded This conundrum stems from the diploma, according to the study. But the city’s immediate need is The city, in theory, needs large by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. That’s only fact that there are more middle- to This leaves Detroiters unquali- in low-skilled positions in industries employers with tons of low-skilled 0.37 jobs for every resident — high-skilled jobs in the city than in fied for jobs where they live, forcing rife with those positions, such as re- jobs to materialize. Companies like abysmal compared to other cities. the suburbs, while the city’s labor many to travel outside the city tail, hospitality, warehousing and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Amazon Inc. or For instance, Atlanta has 818,462 force is largely undertrained and where 39 percent of the jobs in the transportation and construction, Deutsche Post DHL could move the jobs in its city and a population of undereducated. tri-county region, excluding Detroit, the study said. needle, but only slightly. 447,848, or 1.83 jobs for every resi- For instance, 38 percent of jobs in require minimal skills. Detroiters, especially those who The world’s largest retailer, Wal- dent. Cleveland has a population of Detroit are considered high-skill, re- According to the study, 108,000, are underemployed, unemployed Mart employs roughly 335 associates 394,335 and 466,305 jobs, or 1.2 jobs quiring at least an associate degree. or 61 percent of employed Detroit and undereducated, did not learn per store. So Detroit would need for every resident. These cities must That compares with just 35 percent in residents, travel outside the city for the “soft skills” — such as team- Wal-Mart to open 147 stores in the their jobs. Roughly 46 percent of work, communication skills and city to create the 49,000 jobs needed. those travel more than 10 miles conflict resolution needed to hold Dozens and dozens of Amazon from home, with the most common jobs above low-skill, the study said. and DHL warehouses would work, destinations being Warren, South- “Many of the workforce develop- too. While that isn’t realistic, it sets field, Dearborn, Sterling Heights and ment agencies in Detroit report that the point. Detroit can’t rely on at- Farmington Hills, the study said. they cannot even begin to look at tracting those employers alone. “What this says is that we need to moving workers into middle-skilled The workforce board plan must do a whole lot better with our jobs because they need help just to be of a large scale, Masters said. buses,” Duggan said in an interview be ready for lower-skilled jobs,” the “A problem like this requires a with Crain’s. “We need a whole study said. “Since minimal-prepa- large-scale undertaking that will be range of jobs, and what we’ve done ration jobs provide pathways to em- very expensive,” Masters said. “We’ve is make it easier for business to ployment for low-skilled adults, this got to think outside the box. What open in the city by simplifying the makes it hard for Detroit residents we’ve been doing hasn’t worked.” permitting process.” to access on-ramp success.” Masters said the workforce board Duggan pointed to the recent in- Masters said there is a short-term needs to attract federal dollars to vestments made by Sakthi Automo- need for low-skilled jobs as the make any plan work and to create a tive Group USA Inc., which is in the workforce board builds its plan. cohesive one-stop shop through middle of a projected $60 million “There are a lot of holes to plug which to funnel Detroit’s unem- ployed workforce. David Meador, co-chair of the workforce board and chief adminis- trative officer at Detroit-based DTE Energy Co., said the group plans to open a one-stop resource center next to the state offices in Cadillac Place on West Grand Boulevard. “Our sense is that we have to pick the problem apart and take on one piece at a time,” he said. “We need an understanding of the systems that need to be put in place and to create a more thoughtful way to work with the city’s unemployed.” Meador said it will take time for the board to put a dent in the crisis, but said it’s the city’s best option. “There’s lot of work going on, and we need to put everyone together and on the same page,” Meador said. “We need a ‘Grand Bargain’ for unemploy- ment, because no one group can solve this; and if we don’t do some- thing now, we’ll soon have entire gen- erations that never held a job.” Ⅲ Dustin Walsh: (313) 446-6042 Twitter: @dustinpwalsh 20151109-NEWS--0023-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 4:30 PM Page 1

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 23

“If you look at the top five prob- Internet of Things; VisionPRO, an IT TECH lems hospital CEOs are looking at, I staffing business; and Prime Work- FROM PAGE 1 doubt this makes the top five,” he force, a managed-services provider. said. The holding company employs StatChat, which has been li- In March, VisionIT, annually more than 1,100. The company has censed from Detroit-based Henry ranked as one of the fastest-grow- 30,000 square feet at its headquar- Ford, will be owned by Segura. ing IT companies in the U.S. and as ters at 3031 W. Grand Blvd., with The Henry Ford Innovation Institute one of the largest Hispanic-owned 7,000 square feet being carved out created the requirements for companies in Michigan, was re- for the innovation center. StatChat, to replace the hodge- branded as Vision Information, the Segura said the innovation cen- podge of communication tools now holding company for three LLCs — ter will also host community used in hospitals — including VisionIT, which is developing events, training programs for De- pagers, cellphones, land lines, text StatChat, other mobile apps, IT troit students and hackathons. Ⅲ messages, emails and face-to-face products for smart homes, wear- Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337 conversation. able technologies and the so-called Twitter: @TomHenderson2 StatChat will use Microsoft’s Skype for Business as the basic plat- form, with Vision Technologies building on features and capabili- ties deemed necessary by the Inno- vation Institute. Local sporting Microsoft’s international health GROWING: care business unit will market goods company StatChat in the U.S. and overseas. Segura said StatChat will begin with $250,000 in generating revenue next year. He said pricing is still being worked out A/R fi nancing and declined to provide revenue projections. “We already have health care sys- tems around the country telling us they want in,” he said. Helping manufacturers, service providers, “We’re very excited about this collaboration,” said Michael Robin- government contractors and more with son, vice president of Microsoft’s business cash fl ow solutions. health and life sciences business unit. “This is a new model for us to take technology to the marketplace. › A/R Financing In this day and age, it amazed me we still have pagers in the hospital › Lines of Credit environment.” He said he (248) 658-1100 www.hitachibusinessfi nance.com took a tour at the Henry Ford In- novation Insti- tute almost a year ago and was briefed on plans for StatChat Michael Robinson: then. New model for tech “They really in the marketplace. have a frame- work that I think is mature enough to bring to mar- ket,” he said. “We can help them get into the Cleveland Clinic or wherever we have customers.” Ward Detwiler, project manager at the Henry Ford Innovation Insti- It’s not too soon to think about year-end tax tute, said StatChat has been in the planning and our session on December 1 works for two years, growing out of covers everything you need to know. Join a request for two residents at the Henry Ford to scout around for us for a Plante Moran webinar with insights problems to solve. about top-of-mind business challenges. Our “You look at how doctors and CPE-approved* webinars draw thousands of nurses communicate, and it’s very attendees every year. Double-booked? Don’t disaggregated,” he said. And some of it, text messages particularly, worry. Visit the webinar archives and enjoy the don’t comply with the Health In- presentation at your convenience. Join us and surance Portability and Account- find out why Plante Moran’s webinars offer ability Act of 1996, which requires patient confidentiality. Detwiler said about 250 Henry Ford professionals, in the depart- a higher return on experience. ments of surgery and orthopedic surgery, will beta test StatChat later this year. Rajesh Kothari, managing director of Cascade Partners, a Southfield- based investment banking and ven- ture capital firm that focuses on Register at webinars.plantemoran.com health care, said that while StatChat may solve a real need for better * Plante Moran is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards workflow tracking and communica- of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints tion about patient care, VisionIT may regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its have a tough time convincing hospi- website: www.learningmarket.org tal executives to pay for it when they are under pressure to cut costs. 20151109-NEWS--0024,0025-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 5:14 PM Page 1

24 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015

BETTING About the gaming bills FROM PAGE 1 pending in the Michigan Legisla- Bills pending in the Michigan Legislature would update state gaming laws and ture could be invalid on the day give more control over sports betting to casinos, horse tracks and fantasy sports they’re adopted, provided they get players. The bills include: that far. Ⅲ House Bills 4669 and 4670: Sponsored by Rep. Robert Kosowski, D- Any efforts inevitably will en- Westland, the bills would allow Michigan casinos to operate a sports book and counter resistance to the notion of accept bets on simulcast live horse races. Kosowski said that would include expanded gambling in Michigan. both tribal casinos and MotorCity Casino Hotel, MGM Grand Detroit and Governors from John Engler to Rick Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit. Snyder have been hesitant to allow Ⅲ Senate Bill 459: Sponsored by Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-Meridian Township, horse racing tracks to install slot this would remove fantasy sports participation from potential criminal penalty machines or video lottery terminals under Michigan’s penal code. Hertel says he wants daily sports classified as — something these bills don’t at- “games of skill,” rather than “games of chance” — a key regulatory distinction. tempt, though track owners contin- ue to call for them as a way to raise Ⅲ Senate Bill 504: Sponsored by Sen. David Robertson, R-Grand Blanc revenue. And a 2004 amendment to Township, the bill would update Michigan’s 20-year-old horse racing law, the state constitution requires a including changing how purses are distributed. statewide vote before any new form of gambling or state lottery game is recently before the House commit- said. William Hill operates sports approved, with the exception of tee. The House Fiscal Agency, in an books in Las Vegas and is the man- tribal casinos and Detroit’s three analysis of Kosowski’s bill, estimat- ager of Delaware’s sports lottery commercial ones. ed Detroit’s casinos could generate permitted under PASPA. Some industry insiders, though, $25 million to $30 million in adjust- The issue is playing out in New say attitudes toward sports betting ed gross receipts annually on sports Jersey, which passed a law in 2012 to are changing nationally, as gambling wagering, based on data from legalize sports gambling. Major pro- in general becomes more widely ac- Nevada. That could drop up to $2.4 fessional sports leagues and the Na- cepted and bettors, with few legally million per year in state casino taxes tional Collegiate Athletic Association sanctioned options, spend billions into Michigan’s School Aid Fund sued, claiming New Jersey’s statute on the underground market. and another $3.3 million annually violated federal law. The state lost. Proponents of looser federal laws into the city of Detroit’s coffers from New Jersey lawmakers partially concerning sports gambling gained a local casino tax. repealed the state law in 2014, but a high-profile ally in Adam Silver, Yet sports betting totals just 2 per- the sports leagues sued again. A commissioner of the National Bas- cent of the statewide gaming pie in three-judge panel with the U.S. ketball Association, who penned a Nevada, the agency wrote, so it’s not Third Circuit Court of Appeals again November 2014 op-ed piece for The likely to be a major revenue factor. ruled against the state, but last New York Times calling for “a com- It’s not clear that all of Detroit’s month the court agreed to re-hear a prehensive federal solution.” That casinos could operate a sports book challenge to the decision en banc, or would include standard rules gov- even if they wanted to. in front of the entire appellate erning licensing, monitoring and Some professional sports league bench. And that decision vacated minimum-age requirements while contracts prohibit casinos from of- the earlier panel ruling. preserving the games’ integrity. fering sports betting if their owners This can happen when questions The country’s major sports also own teams. This could affect of precedent arise or if judges are leagues all had opposed any softer MotorCity Casino Hotel in particular, concerned the first decision was stance toward sports betting since if it were to be decided that casino wrong. at least the early 1990s. owner Marian Ilitch also shares Eileen DiRocco, publisher of Las “This industry has been moving ownership of the Detroit Tigers and Vegas-based trade journal Gaming so fast that the legislatures are really Detroit Red Wings with husband Today, said regulating sports betting a little bit behind,” said Michael Mike Ilitch. “is not something I believe the feder- Huff, an attorney with Grand Major League Baseball has more al government should do. It should Rapids-based Mika Meyers PLC and a specific bans on this than the Na- be up to the states.” member of the Reston, Va.-based tional Hockey League does, Huff said. In any case, a decision in New Sports Lawyers Association. Detroit’s casinos would not com- Jersey wouldn’t be binding on In Michigan, newly introduced ment for this story. The American Michigan because it’s in a different gaming bills would allow casinos to Gaming Association, a Washington, judicial circuit, Huff said. He doesn’t operate sports books and take bets D.C.-based trade group represent- anticipate the U.S. Supreme Court on simulcast horse races, offer legal ing the casino industry, said it has would take up an appeal without protections to fantasy sports bet- no position on the pending Michi- split decisions from multiple ap- ting, and update the state’s horse gan legislation. peals courts. Still, the ramifications racing statute. The best solution would be for not only could pave the way for Betting is big biz the state to manage all gaming, sports books at Michigan casinos, rather than leaving sports betting to but also end the legal limbo about A big reason for the recent leg- black-market bookmakers, Kosows- fantasy sites. islative push is financial. State Rep. ki said. Should Michigan casinos be Chance vs. skill Robert Kosowski, D-Westland, allowed to operate sports books, he HOST YOUR whose casino bills earned a hearing added, it’s not inconceivable that it Proponents of fantasy sports say last month in the House regulatory could be a boon to state tourism. Congress carved out an exception HOLIDAY EVENT AT reform committee, proposed using “People go to Vegas just to sports- for them in the Unlawful Internet some of the tax revenue from sports gamble,” he said. “I think the market Gambling Enforcement Act, passed A PISTONS GAME! books to fund road repairs. is there. I think we can capture it.” in 2006 to ban wagering on games Gaming is big business in Michi- Federal law prevails with chance outcomes. Book your suite in December and receive a gan. Detroit’s three commercial But the issue remains open to in- casinos top $1 billion in annual re- One problem with efforts to grow terpretation about whether players complimentary champagne toast. ceipts. They each pay a state wager- sports betting in Michigan: Federal are actually gambling when they ing tax equal to 8.1 percent of their law trumps states that want to set pay to enter the game, create virtual net win, which has generated $83.4 their own sports gambling rules. teams and earn points — and po- million in tax revenue through Sep- The Professional and Amateur tentially prizes — based on their vir- tember, according to data from the Sports Protection Act, passed in tual players’ performance. Michigan Gaming Control Board, the 1992, prohibits all state-sanctioned Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., a Democrat casinos’ regulating agency. sports gambling. It exempted four from Ingham County’s Meridian No one knows the size of the ille- states — Nevada, Delaware, Oregon Township, sponsored the Michigan Pistons.com/premium gal market, but some estimates peg and Montana — because they had bill to decriminalize fantasy play. it at $400 billion annually flowing previously operated some form of The chance-versus-skill question is (248) 377-8477 outside the watch of state and fed- sports betting. clear, he said. eral regulators, said Joseph Asher, But that law, intended to prevent Fantasy sports players with the *LIMITED INVENTORY AVAILABLE CEO of British bookmaker William sports betting, led to a proliferation most knowledge have the advan- Hill PLC’s U.S. division, who testified of under-the-table gambling, Asher tage, he said. “It’s different.” Ⅲ 20151109-NEWS--0024,0025-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 5:15 PM Page 2

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 25 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Michigan Senate bill calls for Fantasy sports skill or chance? www.crainsdetroit.com Editor-in-Chief Keith E. Crain Group Publisher Mary Kramer, Senate bill would clarify legal issue (313) 446-0399 or [email protected] changes in purse payouts Associate Publisher Marla Wise, (313) 446-6032 or [email protected] LANSING — An effort to clarify and DraftKings Inc. They launched Editor Jennette Smith, (313) 446-1622 or [email protected] By Lindsay VanHulle The $116.8 million horse bettors whether fantasy sports are games a major ad campaign during the Executive Editor Cindy Goodaker, (313) 446-0460 Crain’s Detroit Business/Bridge Magazine waged in 2014 generated state tax of skill or chance is underway in start of the National Football League or [email protected] Director, Digital Strategy, Audience Development LANSING — An update to Michi- revenue of $3.9 million, a loss of near- the state Senate. season, but have been dogged by Nancy Hanus, gan’s 20-year-old horse racing statute ly 13 percent from the year before. Senate Bill 459, introduced by allegations of insider trading. (313) 446-1621 or [email protected] Managing Editor Michael Lee, (313) 446-1630 or pending in the state Senate could re- Northville Downs reported a com- Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., would specif- A resolution to the issue will [email protected] configure the way purse money is bined $40.6 million last year in live ically exempt fantasy sports from a have financial effects. The Fantasy Managing Editor/Custom and Special Projects Sports Trade Association Daniel Duggan, (313) 446-0414 or paid out to the state’s two remaining and simulcast wagers, with all but section of the Michigan Penal , a Chicago- [email protected] tracks. $465,000 coming from simulcast Code that prohibits a person from based industry group, says the Assistant Managing Editor Kristin Bull, (313) 446-1608 or [email protected] Senate Bill 504, introduced by Sen. races. Hazel Park had a total of $60.4 taking money from someone else nearly 57 million people who will News Editor Beth Reeber Valone, (313) 446-5875 David Robertson, R-Grand Blanc million in bets placed. in exchange for a payout depend- play fantasy sports in the U.S. and or [email protected] Township, would update a 1995 state The two tracks do agree on this: ent on a chance result. That carries Canada this year will spend, on av- Senior Editor Gary Piatek, (313) 446-0357 or [email protected] law that deals with everything from The horse racing industry needs to a misdemeanor charge and up to a erage, $465 over 12 months . That Research and Data EditorSonya Hill,(313) 446-0402 revenue distribution to the number generate additional income if it is to year in jail. translates to more than $26 billion. or [email protected] Editorial Support (313) 446-0419; YahNica Craw- of days of live racing. remain viable. Hertel, D-Meridian Township, States have an interest in cap- ford, (313) 446-0329 Robertson did not return mes- Horse racing has lost ground in said he thinks the change will turing potential tax revenue that Newsroom (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687 , TIP LINE (313) 446-6766 sages seeking comment. Michigan as gamblers increasingly match a similar legal carve-out in could come from regulation, said Perhaps the biggest change in his have other options — casinos, ex- federal law affecting millions of Michael Huff, an attorney with REPORTERS bill? What supporters call a “breed- panded lottery games and fantasy players. Grand Rapids-based Mika Meyers Jay Greene, senior reporter Covers health care, in- surance, energy, utilities and the environment. specific distribution model,” requir- sports. But Michigan governors have Fantasy sports have drawn sig- PLC. Plus, Huff said, the major (313) 446-0325 or [email protected] ing that 100 percent of the money resisted efforts to allow horse tracks nificant national attention in the sports leagues stand to make Chad Halcom Covers litigation, the defense indus- try and education. (313) 446-6796 or wagered on thoroughbred and stan- to install slot machines or video lot- past several months, as states money from advertising and from [email protected] dardbred simulcast races stays with tery terminals for new revenue. consider how to regulate daily more viewers tuning in to games. Tom Henderson Covers banking, finance, tech- nology and biotechnology. (313) 446-0337 or the respective horsemen’s groups for Gov. Rick Snyder opposes the “ra- fantasy websites like FanDuel Inc. Lindsay VanHulle [email protected] the following year’s purses. cino” concept, despite understand- Kirk Pinho Covers real estate, Oakland and Ma- comb counties. (313) 446-0412 or Current practice splits the wagers ing that the horse racing industry is [email protected] placed on simulcast thoroughbred struggling, said spokesman Dave INDEX TO COMPANIES Bill Shea, enterprise editor Covers media, advertising and marketing, the business of and standardbred races. After win- Murray. These companies have significant mention in this week’s Crain’s Detroit Business: sports, and transportation. ning bettors receive their payouts A bill from Rep. Robert Kosowski, (313) 446-1626 or [email protected] AcuMax ...... 15 Kelly Services...... 9 Lindsay VanHulle, Lansing reporter. (517) 657- and a 3.5 percent state tax is paid, the D-Westland, would allow casinos to 2204 or [email protected] Arborlight ...... 16 Lear ...... 21 Dustin Walsh, senior reporter Covers the busi- remainder of the common purse offer sports betting and take bets on Art Van Furniture ...... 22 Magnolia by the Lakes...... 1 ness of law, auto suppliers, manufacturing and pool is divided with roughly 60 per- simulcast horse races — something Bodman ...... 13, 14 Northville Downs ...... 25 steel. (313) 446-6042 or [email protected] Corporate Eagle ...... 21 Open Systems Technologies...... 9 Sherri Welch, senior reporter Covers nonprofits, cent going to standardbred groups track executives oppose without re- services, retail and hospitality. (313) and about 40 percent going to thor- ceiving something from the casinos. Detroit Lions...... 8 Paragon Recruiting ...... 9 446-1694 or [email protected] oughbred groups, said George Kutle- Carlo said he was skeptical of the Detroit Workforce Development Board ...... 3 Pentastar Aviation ...... 21 General Motors ...... 9, 21 Skyspecs ...... 4 ADVERTISING nios, president of the Howell-based latest proposals. Hazel Park Raceway...... 25 Springthrough...... 10 Sales Inquiries (313) 446-6032; FAX (313) 393-0997 Michigan Horsemen’s Benevolent & Pro- “We have a future when we have Helm...... 17 U.S. Mattress World...... 3 Sales Manager Tammy Rokowski tective Association Ⅲ Senior Account Executive Matthew J. Langan , which represents more revenue coming in,” he said. Henry Ford Health System...... 1 Vision Information Technologies ...... 1 Advertising Sales Christine Galasso, Catherine thoroughbred racers. Lindsay VanHulle: (517) 657-2204 IPS Technology Services ...... 15 Wayne State University ...... 3 Grace, Joe Miller, Sarah Stachowicz That tilts the funding balance in Twitter: @LindsayVanHulle JGA ...... 22 Weber’s Inn...... 13 Classified Sales Manager Angela Schutte, (313) 446-6051 favor of standardbred groups. Classified Sales Lynn Calcaterra, (313) 446-6086 The issue now is whether that’s Events Manager Kacey Anderson Creative Services Director Pierrette Templeton fair, considering seven race tracks Senior Art Director Sylvia Kolaski have closed across the state since Marketing Coordinator Ariel Black 1998. Just two remain — Hazel Park Special Projects Coordinator Keenan Covington Raceway, which operates as a thor- Sales Support Suzanne Janik, YahNica Crawford Editorial Assistant Nancy Powers oughbred track, and Northville Downs, Production Manager Wendy Kobylarz which holds live harness races. Production Supervisor Andrew Spanos “Why can’t we just make it fair?” CUSTOMER SERVICE Kutlenios said. Main Number: Call (877) 824-9374 Top executives at Hazel Park and or [email protected] Subscriptions $59 one year, $98 two years. Out of Northville Downs disagree on the state, $79 one year, $138 for two years. Outside structure of purse changes. U.S.A., add $48 per year to out-of-state rate for sur- face mail. Call (313) 446-0450 or (877) 824-9374. Dan Adkins, vice president of Single Copies (877) 824-9374 Southfield-based real estate develop- Reprints (212) 210-0750; or Krista Bora at [email protected] er Hartman and Tyner Inc. and vice To find a date a story was published (313) 446- 0406 or e-mail [email protected] president of the Hazel Park track, said Crain’s Detroit Business is published by any challenge mounted by the stan- Crain Communications Inc. dardbred industry is an effort to keep Chairman Keith E. Crain its share of the revenue pool intact, President Rance Crain Treasurer Mary Kay Crain since harness racing benefits most Executive Vice President/Operations from the existing setup. William A. Morrow Executive Vice President/Director of Strategic Yet revenue splitting is “always Operations Chris Crain going to be a constant battle between Executive Vice President/Director of Corporate Operations KC Crain the groups that do operate in Michi- Vice President/Production & Manufacturing gan, and the reason why it’s such a Dave Kamis Chief Financial Officer Thomas Stevens battle is because that pot continues Chief Information Officer Anthony DiPonio to shrink year after year,” said Mike G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Carlo, operations manager of family- Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices owned Northville Downs. “Every- 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732; body, naturally, is trying to hold on to (313) 446-6000 Cable address: TWX 248-221-5122 AUTNEW DET the biggest piece that they can, and I CRAIN’S DETROITBUSINESS ISSN # 0882-1992 is pub- don’t begrudge anybody for trying to lished weekly,except fora special issue the third weekof November,and no issue the third weekofDecemberby do that.” Crain Communications Inc.at 1155 Gratiot Ave.,Detroit Betting at Michigan’s horse tracks MI 48207-2732.Periodicals postage paid at Detroit,MI and additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send ad- has been sliding for 15 years, with dress changes to CRAIN’S DETROITBUSINESS,Circula- wagers falling nearly 8 percent in tion Department,P.O.Box07925,Detroit,MI 48207-9732. GST# 136760444.Printed in U.S.A. 2014 compared to the previous year, Entire contents copyright 2015 byCrain Communica- according to an annual report issued tions Inc.All rights reserved.Reproduction oruse ofedi- torial content in anymannerwithout permission is in April by the Michigan Gaming Control strictly prohibited. Board, which regulates the industry. 20151109-NEWS--0026-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 11/6/2015 5:16 PM Page 1

26 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS // NOVEMBER 9, 2015 ON THE WEB RUMBLINGS WEEK NOV. 2-6 mer Alibaba.com CTO John Wu and Detroit Digits RiverFront Conservancy seeks Ford,UAW his wife. Wu is a UM alumnus. A numbers-focused look at last development plan for 400 acres agree on week’s headlines: OTHER NEWS Ⅲ The presence of the North he Detroit RiverFront Conser- 4-year pact 18,000 American International Auto Show vancy and the city of Detroit The square footage of a planned killed Detroit’s chances to get the T are looking for a company ord Motor Co. and the UAW mixed-use development in Royal 2019 college football national to develop a district plan and real reached a tentative Oak. Tasso Teftsis, co-owner of Red championship game at Ford Field, estate development framework for Fagreement Friday on a new Smoke Barbeque, Astoria Pastry said event officials, who instead the east riverfront. four-year contract, The Associated Shop and Krema in Greektown, awarded it to Levi Stadium in Santa Bounded by St. Antoine Street, Press reported. The contract, plans to demolish the former Clara, Calif. East Grand Boulevard, Larned which covers 53,000 workers at 22 Citizens Bank building in a $4 million Ⅲ Construction began on The Street and the Detroit River, the U.S. plants, was expected to investment that will include Griswold, an 80-unit apartment de- area is nearly 400 acres, most of mirror deals reached with General restaurant, retail and office space. velopment on top of an existing which is vacant or underutilized, Motors and Fiat Chrysler. Chrysler 10-story building next to the West- the request for qualifications says. workers approved their contract $420M in Book Cadillac, Detroit hotel in Responses to the RFQ are due by last month; GM workers were The amount for which the private Capitol Park. 5 p.m. on Dec. 4, and the winner voting late last week and were art collection of the late A. Alfred Ⅲ A three-block stretch of De- will be selected early next year. expected to pass their agreement. Taubman sold in the first two of troit’s North End neighborhood Work is expected to begin on the four auctions. The total collection, just east of the New Center area is study in March. ANDREW POTTER COMPANY NEWS with more than 500 works, was being looked at for a redevelop- For more information about the Banza LLC will ramp up production of its Ⅲ Owners of the Detroit Red valued at more than $500 million. ment geared to small manufactur- RFQ proposal submission process, chickpea pasta after winning the Acceler- Wings said they will spend an ad- Proceeds will go to the Bloomfield ers, artisans and other businesses, contact Ritchie Harrison, riverfront ate Michigan Innovation contest. ditional $95 million on the team’s Hills-based A. Alfred Taubman along with live-work spaces. development planner for the con- new arena — pushing the total Foundation, after estate taxes. Ⅲ “Wells Castle” — the ornate, servancy, at (313) 566-8206 or email and is gluten-free. In October 2014, project cost to $627 million — for historic William H. Wells House on him at ritchie.harrison@de- it landed its first big account, get- enhancements that include East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit — troitriverfront.org. ting shelf space in Meijer stores. It unique seating, a practice rink and $600M has a new owner, Banyan Invest- now claims to be in 1,700 stores na- The annual increase to roads outside public spaces. The arena ments, with a plan to attract office tionwide and is even available at funding expected to be gained from Chickpea pasta maker wins will offer fans access to a club that tenants. Eataly, a combination of Italian a new proposal passed by the Accelerate Michigan prize players will walk through to and Ⅲ The state of Michigan ap- marketplace and restaurants co- Michigan Legislature. The plan, from the ice during games, proved its newest nursing school, Banza LLC, a company founded in owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali which includes a 7.3-cent gas tax Olympia Entertainment President at Concordia University Ann Arbor, Detroit last year to make pasta from in New York City and Chicago. increase and a 20 percent hike in Tom Wilson told Crain’s. which will start in fall 2016. chickpeas, won the grand prize of Among eight companies win- vehicle registration fees, drew most Ⅲ Bizdom, founded in 2007 by Ⅲ Bryan Barnett, the Rochester $500,000 on Nov. 5 at the sixth an- ning $25,000 was Ann Arbor-based of its support from Republicans. Dan Gilbert to help launch startup Hills mayor who had hit the two- nual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Arborlight Inc., which makes lighting companies, will end those activi- term limit, won a write-in cam- event at Orchestra Hall. systems that mimic natural light in- ties in Detroit and Cleveland, the Heights plant. The project, expect- paign, and incumbent mayors Jim Genomenon Inc., a University of doors, including getting brighter Detroit-based organization said. ed to create 90 jobs, is supported Fouts in Warren, Bob Gatt in Novi Michigan spinoff that hopes to im- and dimmer as the day progresses. An organization official said Biz- by a $350,000 performance-based and Michael Taylor in Sterling prove cancer diagnosis and treat- (It’s featured on Page 16.) dom will help existing businesses grant, the Michigan Economic Devel- Heights easily won re-election. ment through quicker analysis of find resources at Gilbert’s Rock opment Corp. said. Meanwhile, in Flint, Mayor Dayne genome sequencing, won the run- Detroit gains more high Ventures family of companies. Ⅲ Will Leather Goods, the Eu- Walling was unseated by newcom- ner-up prize of $100,000. speed Internet options Ⅲ Flint-based HealthPlus of gene, Ore.-based luxury leather er Karen Weaver amid fallout over Banza was launched last year Michigan and Detroit-based Health products maker, settled into its the city’s drinking water prob- after a successful crowdsourcing Two companies announced last Alliance Plan reached a final agree- new location in Detroit’s Midtown, lems. campaign. Before winning the week the launch of high speed In- ment on the terms of their which officially opened last week. money last week, the company had ternet service to businesses and Ⅲ planned merger, which is expect- Rochester Hills-based Leader OBITUARIES already raised $1.3 million in fund- residents in downtown Detroit. ed to become effective Jan. 1, Dogs for the Blind completed the ing and has claimed revenue in the Southfield-based ManagedWay pending state regulatory approval. first phase of construction for its Ⅲ Dennis Sullivan, the former Vla- past 12 months of $631,000. Co. said it had begun offering high Plans include the HealthPlus cor- new Canine Development Center sic Pickles Co. president who found- The company will use its award speed Internet on a fiber network to porate name ceasing to exist. and is closing in on its goal for a ed Birmingham-based executive to ramp up production. residents of the Broderick Tower Ⅲ Peter Karmanos Jr. is suing capital campaign launched two search company Sullivan & Associ- Banza says its pasta tastes like next to Grand Circus Park. Compuware, the Detroit IT compa- years ago to fund the center. ates, died Oct. 30. He was 74. Ⅲ regular pasta but is lower in calories A second company, Royal Oak- ny he founded, over its $2.4 billion Ⅲ A Plum Market featuring based Metro Wireless International sale to Chicago-based private eq- Zingerman’s products opened at Inc., is using that system as a base to uity firm Thoma Bravo LLC. The Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Anoth- then offer high speed Internet, ei- lawsuit, filed in Wayne County Cir- er location for the Farmington ther wirelessly or through a fiber cuit Court, alleges fraud in the Hills-based market that features network, to other residents and transaction and that the sale price products from the Ann Arbor- businesses in a seven mile radius of $10.92 per share was too low. based food company is to open in from the Broderick Tower. The base Ⅲ Ann Arbor-based St. Joseph Ann Arbor this week. price for the service is $99. Mercy Health System announced Ⅲ Beaumont Health opened its plans to spend $41 million to up- second health care facility —an Somerset Collection grade one of its hospitals in How- urgent care center in West Bloom- to get two new stores ell and a medical center in field — under the newly merged Brighton to accommodate in- eight-hospital system. The Beau- Chicago-based Marbles: The Brain creases in patients. mont Health Urgent Care Center, at Store will make its Michigan debut Ⅲ Southfield-based advertising 6900 Orchard Lake Road, occupies at The Somerset Collection in Troy in agency Doner Partners LLC laid off 2,200 square feet within the exist- time for the holidays, and locally an undisclosed number of staffers ing Beaumont Medical Center. owned Beyond Juicery + Eatery will after losing its J.C. Penney account Ⅲ Money magazine named open its third restaurant at the up- last month. Doner’s corporate Akron, Ohio-based FirstMerit Bank scale mall. owner said the layoffs accounted as the Midwest’s best regional At Marbles, customers will find for less than 10 percent of the bank and Detroit-based Ally Bank games and activities meant to stim- agency’s headcount. as the country’s best online bank. Ron Wells, president of the Detroit Executives Association, presents Mary ulate the brain and challenge the Ⅲ Faurecia Automotive Seating Ⅲ The University of Michigan- Kramer, group publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business and Crain’s Cleveland Business, whole family. Its new store will LLC, a subsidiary of French suppli- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint with the 2015 Executive of the Year award.The award is given annually by the business open Nov. 21 in Somerset Collec- er Faurecia SA, plans to invest $8 Institute in Shanghai, China, will networking group to a top civic or business leader. tion North on Level 3 and offer gift million to upgrade its Sterling receive a $10 million gift from for- card giveaways to celebrate. Ⅲ DBpageAD_DBpageAD.qxd 11/4/2015 2:07 PM Page 1

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