20090921-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 9/18/2009 6:51 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 25, No. 37 SEPTEMBER 21 – 27, 2009 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2009 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 Blue Cross loss: Investment income can’t save the day Stem cell summit in Detroit? Repair work revs up at Cobo in preparation for auto show Prop. 2, TechTown labs among selling points BY TOM HENDERSON the fifth annual, begins today in sons to bring the summit to Michi- Inside CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Baltimore, in conjunction with gan, not the least of which is the Johns Hopkins University. passage of the stem cell proposal Stormy weather forecast It’s likely the 2010 World Stem “It’s not set in stone, yet, but De- last year,” said Siegel, referring to Cell Summit will be held next Octo- troit is strongly under considera- Proposal 2, which allowed stem over aerotropolis, ber in Detroit, with more than tion,” said Bernie Siegel, executive cell research in Michigan. 1,200 scientists, researchers, gov- director of the Florida-based Genet- Siegel said the official an- Page 26 DUSTIN WALSH/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ernment officials and representa- ics Policy Institute, the nonprofit or- nouncement will be made soon af- Danny Heumann (left) and Jim Eliason tives of private industry from ganization that puts on the sum- ter this week’s summit, following a are assistant director and director, Focus: Business Education more than 25 counties in atten- mit. The conference is tentatively vote of the institute’s board. respectively, of TechTown’s proposed dance. set for the first week in October. stem cell commercialization center — This year’s three-day summit, “There are a lot of strong rea- See Summit, Page 34 said to be a draw for the 2010 summit. “ (Volkswagen) ... really wanted to know that when that equipment landed here, they had somebody $8M OK’d that was going to support it.” Paul Meloche, Fori vice president of sales for DRIC Adjunct professors bring real world to design work classroom, Page 11. 90% from MDOT This Just In Fori’sFori’s highway funding Heidelberg hires fundraiser BY BILL SHEA for Cultural Village CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS The Heidelberg Project has Six contracts worth more than hired its first development $8 million were approved last director to head up a $5.5 mil- week for preliminary design and lion campaign to fund devel- engineering work on the proposed opment of its two-block area storystory public bridge spanning the Detroit on Detroit’s lower east side River. into a Cultural Village. The contracts, which end in JOE WILSSENS The nonprofit hired Sharon Fori Automation Inc. executives (from left) Rein Roth, CFO; Paul Meloche, vice president of sales; Bernd Koerner, 2011, were approved last week by Luckerman as development di- president; and Mike Beck, vice president of global operations; are pictured inside the company's global headquarters. the State Administrative Board, rector — its third full-time, which handles contracts for state paid position — with a agencies, on behalf of the Michigan $100,000, two-year grant from Company’s global reach helps it pin down deals Department of Transportation. the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb MDOT, along with U.S. Federal Family Foundation made in Highway Administration, Transport August. BY RYAN BEENE facture and install final-assembly pond,” Meloche said. Canada and Ontario’s Ministry of Luckerman previously CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS lines at VW’s Tennessee plant. Fori Automation in Shelby Transportation, wants to build a was a development officer at The plant, Volkswagen’s first Township and Fori’s German op- $3 billion span by 2013, which Wayne Statue University’s Michigan was dealt a blow last assembly plant in the U.S., will be eration in Merzig, are sharing would be run by a to-be-estab- School of Business Adminis- year when German automaker capable of building at least 150,000 project management responsibili- lished public-private multination- tration and a staff writer for Volkswagen AG announced it was vehicles per year starting in 2011. ties. al authority. the Detroit Jewish News. building its new $790 million vehi- Paul Meloche, Fori vice presi- Fori’s Michigan site will design The project study is called the Known for its found-art in- cle assembly plant in Chat- dent of sales, said the company and build the chassis marriage Detroit River International Crossing, stallations, the Heidelberg tanooga, Tenn. beat out its much larger competi- portion of the final assembly line, and it has drawn criticism and le- Project hopes to raise $5.5 But that didn’t deter Shelby tors — Comau S.p.A, Kuka Systems which represents about 75 percent gal challenges from the private million over the next three Township-based Fori Automation Corp. North America, Siemens AG, of the contract, Meloche said. owner of the nearby Ambassador years to develop housing for Inc. from pursuing work with the Dürr AG and other firms — because Chassis marriage, also known as Bridge, Grosse Pointe transporta- artists who will provide arts automaker. of the way Fori could manage and chassis decking, is the vehicle as- tion magnate Manuel “Matty” Mo- education for the community The assembly, testing and weld- price the job. sembly stage where a vehicle’s en- roun, who says DRIC is unfair gov- ing equipment designer and man- “(Volkswagen) wanted to know gine and suspension systems are See DRIC, Page 36 See This Just In, Page 2 ufacturer recently was picked by that they had a company in Ger- installed in the body. Volkswagen to engineer, manu- many they could work with … but The contract represents about they really wanted to know that 20 percent of more than $90 mil- when that equipment landed here, lion in revenue Fori expects for they had somebody that was going 2009. to support it and someone that But financing issues almost put was going to direct them on what Fori’s Volkswagen contract in the North American require- jeopardy. ments were going to be. And some The company would have had of the companies competing with to fully tap its existing credit line, COURTESY OF URS CANADA NEWSPAPER us, quite honestly, didn’t have An artist’s rendering shows a cable- that support on both sides of the See Fori, Page 35 stayed design for the DRIC bridge. 20090921-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 9/18/2009 6:27 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS September 21, 2009 er for his last four years there. Mullen, DDA executive director. Sandvik to merge Valenite brand Committee passes wetlands bill THIS JUST IN — Sherri Begin Welch Among the companies showing are Anton Zorn & Sowerby Inc., Unity Madison Heights-based Valenite A bill that would retain state ■ From Page 1 Real Estate and Signature Associ- L.L.C. will lose its brand name and regulation of wetlands and tap al- Metro gets biometric ID system ates. Representatives of the Ma- merge with the U.S. headquarters ternate funding for the program of Walter Tools in Waukesha, Wis., is on the move, passing out of the in addition to practicing their U.S. Customs and Border Protec- comb County Small Business and shedding more than 100 local jobs Senate Natural Resources and art, said Executive Director Je- tion said Friday its pre-screened Technology Development Center by Jan. 1. Both are owned by Swe- Environmental Affairs Commit- nenne Whitfield. expedited passenger entry sys- will be on hand to give advice to den-based Sandvik AB. tee last week. The campaign will fund reno- tem is operational at Detroit Met- business owners. Customers should be unaffect- Senate Bill 785, sponsored by vation of existing homes, new ropolitan Airport. The self-guided tour starts at 61 ed, said Valenite marketing di- Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck Town- homes and greening of the area. Global Entry allows faster re- Macomb Place. For more infor- rector Tom Benjamin. ship, would avert Gov. Jennifer — Sherri Begin Welch entry into the country using bio- mation, visit www.downtown “We will try to preserve as Granholm’s call to return wetlands metric verification at automated mountclemens.com. many people as possible, either enforcement to the federal gov- kiosks at CBP inspection areas. — Gabe Nelson VNA replaces Holycross by offering employees a chance to ernment. The system, launched last year, follow their jobs to Wisconsin, or The bill would use environ- The Visiting Nurse Association of is being used at 20 U.S. airports. Patient-safety work wins award finding any positions that might mental bond money left in the Southeast Michigan board of direc- Participants must possess a be available in other areas of the state Clean Water Fund to par- tors Thursday terminated CEO machine-readable U.S. passport The Michigan Health and Hospital organization,” he said. tially replace general-fund sup- Kathleen Holycross and named or permanent resident card, pay Association’s Keystone Center for Valenite makes metal-cutting port for the wetlands program. COO and Senior Vice President a nonrefundable $100 application Patient Safety and Quality has won tools and has operations in Madi- The bill, which also makes nu- Jeffrey House to head the nonprofit fee, submit an online application the 2009 Eisenberg Innovation in Pa- son Heights, Windsor and Mexi- merous changes to the wetlands- on an interim basis. House joined and complete an interview at a tient Safety and Quality Award. co. Sandvik acquired it from permitting process, may be tak- VNA in November. CBP enrollment center, the Since 2003, Michigan’s 144 hos- Cincinnati-based Milacron Inc.