September 16, 2013

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Manufacturing: foreign competition drove the changes

    Two highly respected veterans of the West Michigan manufacturing scene for the past 30 years, Jim Zawacki and Fred Keller, both immediately touch on the same factor when asked about the biggest change since 1983. Keller calls it “internationalization.” Zawacki is even more specific: Japanese automakers. “Everything was different” in American manufacturing in 1983, said […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: There is no quick recovery from recessions anymore

    As awful as the recent Great Recession was, West Michigan doesn’t look too shabby when comparing the per capita income of now to 30 years ago. At that time, according to Gregg Dimkoff of Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business, per capita income was $11,700 for the Grand Rapids/Wyoming MSA. “Today, it’s about […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Convention business checks in as major economic player

    The local convention business has dramatically changed for the better since the Convention and Arena Authority came into existence in April 2000 and DeVos Place was opened in January 2004. At that time, as it is now, the seven-member board was chartered by the state and chaired by Steven Heacock. In 2000, the convention facility […]

  • Indiana bank crosses the line

    Old National Bank, a $9.7 billion, 178-year-old business that is the largest bank headquartered in Indiana, recently completed its acquisition of 24 retail bank branches it bought from Bank of America earlier this year. Some are in northern Indiana but many are in Michigan communities that include Kalamazoo, Portage, Battle Creek, St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: West Michigan has a walk-on role

    In the U.S. film industry, Michigan has had mainly a walk-on part — but state subsidies for the film industry became a Technicolor addition to the usual drama in the state Legislature after then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm got the Michigan Film and Digital Media Incentive passed in 2008. Many Michiganders who once made a living involving […]

  • Motor City financial madness and institutions of higher debt

    Most of the world’s major economies have developed a cavalier attitude toward debt that is not only unique to them but also held by millions of households that are financing college education. The “new-normal” acceptance of large amounts of borrowing rarely takes into account the negative consequences of potential increases in interest rates.  Partial blame […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Grand Rapids proves to be a championship town

    The modern era for local professional sports really isn’t that old — only going back about 20 years — because the industry is facility driven. Without a stadium, field or arena capable of holding sizeable crowds, the revenue won’t be there and neither will the franchises. That was the case here until April 12, 1994, […]

  • SBA offers advice tailored to young entrepreneurs

    In 2012, young entrepreneurs ages 20-34 comprised more than a quarter of the total new entrepreneurship activity in the United States, according to the Kauffman Foundation. U.S. Small Business Administration officials acknowledge that entrepreneurship can be an exciting adventure, but also point out it can be easier for younger people due to their positions in […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Technological changes leave region trying to keep pace

    Five-thousand dollars on a credit card was all Jeanne Englehart needed to start her computer training company. That was the West Michigan of 1985. Credit and technology — among other things — have changed since then. Englehart, now vice president of The Charter Group and former president of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, […]

  • Self-evident truths about life to share and consider

    A fellow board member on a local nonprofit organization recently sent me a list of axioms he uses to help guide his life.  The dictionary tells us that an axiom is “a self-evident or universally recognized truth; an established rule, principle, or law; a self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Newsmaker Award winners prove their staying power

    It’s a club whose membership grows by one each year. The Grand Rapids Business Journal’s Newsmaker of the Year Award goes to individuals or entities whose economic impact will be felt in the community for years to come. The award is given each January to one of 10 finalists announced the previous December. So far, […]

  • Leadership actions that are not an option for leaders

    A line from the song “Oldest Established” — from the immortal Broadway show (and my personal favorite) “Guys and Dolls” — is: “Where’s the action? Where’s the game?”  For the uninformed, the show is about a craps game and a leader named Nathan Detroit. The movie version stars Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando and won […]

  • SBA recognizes bank for diversity lending

    The U.S. Small Business Administration has honored The Bank of Holland with the agency’s Michigan SBA Diversity Lender of the Year Award. The award is given to the bank that best demonstrates a commitment to providing guidance and capital to Michigan businesses owned by veterans, women and minorities, according to a statement from the SBA. […]

  • Change Ups: GRCC professors honored as ‘go-to’ staff members

    Grand Rapids Community College professor Judy A. Jankowski was nominated by their peers as recipients of the Excellence in Education Award. Jankowski is known for making students feel valued, a go-to staff member in the School of Workforce Development, and a professor who has received national attention for her outstanding course design. This year’s Excellence […]

  • Public Record

    MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds NORDQUIST, David et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Farms No. 3, Lot 77, $226,679 44TH STREET LLC, Grand River Bank, Kentwood, 25-7-11, $236,400 VELTKAMP, Randall et al, First National Bank Of Michigan, Condo-Egypt Creek Estates, $390,000 DRURY, Don L. et al, First United Federal […]

  • Road funding to take a year’s detour

    Don’t expect any movement on state funding for roads for the rest of this year and a big chunk of next year: That was the memo recently delivered to members of the Grand Valley Metro Council. State Sen. Dave Hildebrand, R-Lowell, told board members that lawmakers know transportation is a big issue, but he said […]

  • Regional Air Alliance saved West Michigan $100 million

    The Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan is ready to fold its wings. When the announcement was made in February that Southwest Airlines would begin offering services at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in August, it was a moment of accomplishment for RAAWM, a private sector initiative committed to the improvement and promotion of […]

  • Icon reimbursements transferred to new owner

    The city’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has reassigned a development and reimbursement agreement it has had with a troubled downtown residential tower for the past eight years to the structure’s new owner. Time Equities Inc., a New York-based real estate and investment firm, recently bought the Icon on Bond apartment complex out of receivership and is […]

  • Vroom! Vroom! State launches RPM

    Lt. Gov. Brian Calley met with local business leaders at Dematic Corp. in Grand Rapids last week to tout the positive impact recent regulatory reforms have had on the company’s operations, and other improvements needed to make Michigan a top 10 business-friendly state. “After more than two years transforming state government, we have established ourselves […]

  • GR Label and Van’s Pattern receive tax abatements

    The Grand Rapids Label Co. and the Van’s Pattern Corp. received industrial tax exemptions from the city last week, as city commissioners gave both manufacturers a green light to go ahead with their projects. GR Label, which makes pressure sensitive labels at 2351 Oak Industrial Drive NE, will invest more than $920,000 into the latest […]

  • Street Talk: Don’t have a heart attack over transplant sticker shock

    A team of Spectrum Health surgeons performed a combined heart and lung transplant in late August, and Spectrum put the word out about it last week. It was the first such combined operation in West Michigan and the first in Michigan since 1999. Only 15 have been done in Michigan. Jeffrey Sargent, 56, of Rockford, […]

  • First National Bank of Michigan invests in Grow Michigan fund

    First National Bank of Michigan, with headquarters in Kalamazoo and offices in Grand Rapids and Portage, has announced it has made a capital investment in the newly formed Grow Michigan LLC fund. Grow Michigan specializes in lending to established small businesses that need to grow. It was formed in 2012 by a collaboration of Michigan […]

  • Inside Track: Making certain all young girls can see the possibilities

    Growing up, Gloria Lara never had the chance to be a Girl Scout.  “I would see my classmates in little Brownie uniforms, and then later, in green uniforms,” said Lara, CEO of Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore since September 2010. “They got to sell cookies and go camping.” Lara’s working-class parents couldn’t afford […]

  • Eastown Flats residential plan is first of its kind

    Grand Rapids city commissioners will enter new zoning territory next week when they begin considering whether to allow a new residential development in the Eastown Business District. “This is not a problem that you’ve encountered before,” said City Planning Director Suzanne Schulz to commissioners last week. “You’re going to run into this in the future.” […]

  • Michigan exports on the upswing again after June dip

    Growth in global trade continued to crawl in July according to statistics compiled by the World Trade Organization. In the first seven months of 2013, the value of world merchandise exports rose 1.8 percent to $9.6 trillion dollars from the same period in 2012. WTO's trade statistics from January to July show that the United […]

  • DDA funds Monroe Center snowmelt system, park

    The Downtown Development Authority allocated most of its time — and money — last week to projects on Monroe Center, downtown’s Main Street. First, the board tried to flush out the ongoing problems with the 15-year-old leaky snowmelt system that runs the length of Monroe Center from Monroe to Division avenues. “The good news is […]

  • DeVos identifies culture as area’s ‘secret sauce’

    Dick DeVos has been busy for the last 30 years. He accomplished more in that timeframe than most business leaders dream of doing, serving as president of The Windquest Group, president of Amway Corp., president and CEO of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, founder of the Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan, founder of West Michigan […]

  • Shortage of quality truck drivers threatens to put brakes on economic growth

    A freight survey of dozens of manufacturing, logistics and trucking companies conducted by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce showed that one of the key threats to our continued economic growth is a shortage of quality truck drivers. Some estimates forecast a nationwide shortage of truck drivers as high as 100,000 or more next […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Reflections on 30 years in the business of business

    I’m often asked where the Business Journal idea came from. My business background ranges from selling lemonade and popcorn in front of my grandparents’ home in the Netherlands and setting up a bicycle-parking rental out of their garage, to odd jobs around the neighborhood, being a writer throughout school years and graduating with an MBA […]

  • Brookstone Capital’s $37 million project takes another step forward

    The cost of the project has been reduced slightly, dropping from $40 million to $37 million, but city commissioners see the downtown development Brookstone Capital intends to build at 20 E. Fulton St. as a significant revenue generator. Brookstone Capital plans to put up a 14-story mixed-use building at Fulton Street and Sheldon Avenue that […]

  • 30 years of growth now depend on educational improvements

    Thirty years ago Grand Rapids Business Journal was created, predicated on the belief that the area business community was of such substance, a staff of business journalists were necessary to pore through public offerings, bank regulation and deregulation, identify industry leaders and serve as watchdogs over regional economic concerns. In 1983, the business hub was […]

  • GR to defend island from trespassers

    It’s not exactly Oahu. In fact, it’s not even Drummond. Still, the city of Grand Rapids soon will own an island. City commissioners agreed last week to accept two quit-claim deeds to an island on the Grand River about 900 feet north of the Wealthy Street bridge. “It was basically a sandbar in 1940,” said […]

  • GRBJ 30th Year: Rick DeVos: The future contains no absolutes

    Rick DeVos has been a voice for art, entrepreneurs and cultural change in the city, but one voice he refuses to be is that of a false prophet. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Grand Rapids Business Journal, DeVos — born one year before the Journal’s inception — sat down to discuss how the […]

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