20120618-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 6/15/2012 5:27 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 28, No. 25 JUNE 18 – 24, 2012 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 What’s med student doing Bridge on; now who gets jobs? in spare time? App creation Fashion sneaker Work expected for ‘hundreds of firms’ BRIDGE JOBS chain preps MDOT estimates that Ⅲ 400 U.S. BY BILL SHEA The project is expected to em- Michigan. the new bridge will Customs and to CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ploy thousands of workers in Interest is expected to come create 775 Border Protection Michigan and Ontario over the from companies that want to de- permanent full-time Ⅲ 200 brokers expand Friday’s announcement that course of a project expected to sign, finance, build and operate jobs for operating the Ⅲ 70 at tolls Michigan and Canada have stretch four or more years. the six-lane toll bridge, from span itself, based on its urban footprint staffing at the Blue Ⅲ 20 in reached an accord to build a $2.1 “I think you’re going to start prime contractors to specialty maintenance billion highway bridge over the Water Bridge in Port seeing the influx of interest firms that each may handle one Ⅲ 75 at duty-free Detroit River will fuel a mini- Huron and the Peace RobotTown starting (now),” said Chris Fish- small aspect of the project. Bridge in Buffalo, Ⅲ 10 in employment boom for the heavy er, president of Lansing-based The latest study predicts the N.Y. Here’s the administration plans move construction trades on both construction trade group Associ- breakdown: in a new sides of the border. ated Builders and Contractors of See Bridge, Page 25 direction Creating Crain’s Lists Largest mobile app a Midtown developers, Page 19 This Just In ‘living room’ Another tech firms opens DIA collects ideas in Harmonie Pointe Building Atomic Object LLC, a Grand on its public spaces Rapids-based developer of BY SHERRI WELCH custom software, opened an CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS office last Wednesday in the Harmonie Pointe Building — A lot more people are visiting joining the influx of tech com- and living in Midtown these days, panies that have taken root in but places for them to gather are and around Harmonie Park. few. Atomic Object, founded in The Detroit Institute of Arts hopes 2001, employs three in its to change that by creating what it 2,600-square-foot office on the calls a cultural living room. top floor of the three-floor The DIA is considering how its building. Managing partner LON HORWEDAL Kresge Court inner courtyard and Bruce Watson, who will run the Industrial glazier Duo-Gard Industries Inc. evolved to make building components like the plastic-wrapped skylight panes front lawn could serve as gathering Detroit office, said he is hir- around owner and President David Miller. “We use our small size to our advantage; we stay light on our feet,” he said. spots, with enhancements such as ing software engineers and new seating, live developers and hopes to have musical perfor- 12 employees in the office by mances, free Wi- the end of the year and 25 in Fi and lecturers. the next two to three years, Manufactured comeback “We would with a focus on mobile and like … to really Web development. have it be a liv- Watson was recruited two Small companies play big role in state’s recovery ing room where months ago from Portland, people hang out, Ore., to open the Detroit of- BY MATTHEW GRYCZAN considering that nearly seven of listen to music, fice. “I was living the good life CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS every 10 of its workers in manufactur- hear a short lec- SECOND STAGE EXTRA Erickson in Portland, but the chance to ing are employed by companies with ture about art be part of the revitalization of If ever there was a poster child for fewer than 500 people. First fruits of economic (or) … read the newspaper,” COO Detroit was too good an op- the impact that small manufacturers While the argument may rage on gardening harvest hint at bounty to come, Page 11 Annemarie Erickson said. portunity to pass up,” he said. make in Michigan, it probably would about who creates the most jobs in The DIA last week secured a Atomic Object’s customers be Duo-Gard Industries Inc. in Canton manufacturing — thousands of small $268,500 grant for the project from include Priority Health, Faure- Township. companies that each hire a few peo- Chicago-based ArtPlace, a collabo- cia North America Inc., Herman Wrapped up in just one company ple over the course of a year or a ration of 11 private foundations, Miller Inc. and Chrysler Group are several of the trends that show multinational giant that hires a the National Endowment for the Arts LLC. why Michigan small manufacturers thousand in a summer — one thing Award winners point way and seven federal agencies. — Tom Henderson are making a comeback from the re- to success, Pages 13-16 cession. That’s important to the state, See Comeback, Page 24 See Living room, Page 22 What’s the connection Oakland Community College. Yes, OCC. between a qualified workforce and our Community is our middle name. community? www.oaklandcc.edu 0NEWSPAPER 20120618-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 6/15/2012 4:05 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS June 18, 2012 MICHIGAN BRIEFS Open Systems Technologies sells a space and lease it to retailers to sell a range of general merchan- majority stake to Alaska firm City survey: Emergency managers beat the alternative dise.” Open Systems Technologies Inc., an information technology ser- The majority of voters in Michigan cities with CEO, said in a statement. “In fact, residents in these MICH-CELLANEOUS vices company that employs about emergency managers said they disapprove of that communities overwhelmingly believe that their city 100 full-time employees at its head- oversight — but they also say their municipalities budget is better managed under the emergency Ⅲ So who says solar is sunk? quarters in Grand Rapids and would be worse off without them, according to a sur- manager than by their city council.” Midland-based Dow Kokam said it satellite offices in Ann Arbor and vey commissioned by Business Leaders for Michigan. The survey by Chicago-based Glengariff Group Inc. will add a 60,000-square-foot build- Minneapolis, has sold a majority Voters in Benton Harbor, Ecorse and Pontiac say was conducted in May with 800 registered voters di- ing to its Midland Battery Park, stake to Koniag Development Corp. their communities would be worse without the ap- vided evenly among the four cities. where 95 people now work as the in Anchorage, Alaska. pointment of a financial manager, while the majori- By overwhelming margins, residents in all four park prepares for an official open- OST President Daniel Behm ty of Flint voters say the city’s situation would not cities said they would rather have an emergency man- ing this summer. The new build- said his company will not be mak- have changed. ager than bankruptcy. And by a margin of 42 percent ing will house production of stor- ing any changes in management “While the residents of the four cities with emer- to 19 percent, voters said the emergency manager had age packs for lithium-ion cells and or employment because of the gency managers may not like having an emergency handled the budget better than the city council. battery management systems. transaction with Koniag, which manager, the majority of residents in every case are Additionally, more than twice the number of vot- Ⅲ The Synod of the Christian Re- he described as an investment optimistic about their city’s future and strongly pre- ers said they expect the situations in their cities to formed Church of North America last partner with an extensive track fer an emergency manager to bankruptcy courts,” improve than said they do not expect improvement. week confirmed the appointment record of hands-off management. Doug Rothwell, Business Leaders president and — Ryan Kelly of Michael Le Roy as president of More than 30 OST employees con- Calvin College in Grand Rapids. tinue to hold stock in the compa- land region of Alaska. Michigan residents, add this: Peo- father, founder Hendrik Meijer, Ⅲ Proceeds from Grand Rapids’ ny, Behm said. OST, founded in 1997, posted ple who call Meijer Inc. stores “Mei- noticed discount stores selling Festival of the Arts fell 29 percent in Tom Panamaroff, president and revenue of about $68 million last jer” and people who call them products the way self-serve gro- combined food booth sales and art CEO of Koniag Development, said year in IT services for the health “Thrifty Acres.” cery stores did. sales compared with last year. The in a news release that his company care, manufacturing and distribu- Thrifty Acres combined gro- “You had a new generation of re- first two days of the June 1-3 event invested in OST “due to its strong tion, and finance and insurance ceries with general merchandise tailers who were trying to apply were cold and rainy. Enough said. leadership and an impressive track industries. For five years in a and in the process created the the techniques of supermarket Find business news from record of delivering exceptional re- row, it has been named to the an- phrase “one-stop shopping.” shopping to other categories,” around the state at crainsdetroit sults for numerous clients.” nual Inc. 5000 list of America’s Beginning with that first Thrifty Fred Meijer said.