September 8, 2015

  • Grooters puts rail option on the table

    Robert Grooters Development Co. is passionate about offering industrial railroad access north of Grand Rapids. A lack of new railroad infrastructure in the Greater Grand Rapids area has led RGD to take possession of an approximately 35-acre piece of land near its 34-acre Northridge Industrial Park in Walker. RGD has approximately 85 acres of developed […]

  • New tool grooms millennials to be leaders

    A new online tool targeting millennial leaders has been developed in Grand Rapids. Barbara Rapaport, founder and president of Real-Time Perspectives Inc., is launching a new consulting and coaching program tailored for the millennial generation during an event celebrating her business’s 10th anniversary. The event will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sept. 17, at 83 […]

  • Spectrum offers surgical option for epilepsy patients

    Neurosurgeons at Spectrum Health are accessing the deepest areas of the brain through the use of an innovative robotic arm. Spectrum Health announced Aug. 20 it is among the first in the nation to provide an advanced option for neurosurgery through the acquisition of a more than $400,000 surgeon-directed robotic arm known as ROSA. The […]

  • Conference puts emphasis on agile thinking within team structure

    A conference designed to help organizations streamline their operations is on tap Sept. 16 at Davenport University. The Agile Gathering West Michigan is the first event of its kind in West Michigan, said Ted Kallman, a consultant at Unified Vision Group. Agile is an alternative methodology to traditional project management. One type of agile management […]

  • Financial manager develops millennial-friendly process

    Using an engineering and portfolio management education background, Bob Sloma developed a new investing process in the mid-1990s for his 401(k). As the Great Recession decimated many retirement plans, Sloma made a transition from the manufacturing world to financial management, using the process he developed and that had proved successful for 14 years for his […]

  • State’s design industry struggles with lack of certification

    It was a grueling, three-day examination process that Autumn Fuchs wasn’t required to put herself through. Michigan is one of 24 states that do not require interior designers to take the National Council for Interior Design Qualification exam to become professionally registered, but Fuchs, the owner of Grand Rapids-based residential interior design company Fuchsia Design, […]

  • WMU has critical role in $171M initiative

    Western Michigan University has been selected as one of the institutions across the country that will participate in a new $171 million manufacturing innovation initiative, which was announced last week by Ashton Carter, the U.S. Secretary of Defense. The Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute will be the newest member of the Obama administration's Nationwide […]

  • Michigan’s pace of resource use gives state an ‘ecological debt’

    LANSING — The nation hit Ecological Deficit Day recently, thanks in part to states like Michigan that use more resources than they can regenerate. A report by the California-based Global Footprint Network and the Tacoma, Washington, nonprofit group Earth Economics details resource availability and the environmental footprint of all 50 states. That footprint includes the […]

  • Change Ups: Holland’s terminal triples yard size

    Holland’s new 55,000-square-foot trucking terminal features 110 dock doors, a 17,000-square-foot maintenance building and 6,000 square feet of office space. The $11 million facility is located on 22 acres at 10151 Division Ave. SW, Wayland, and will accommodate approximately 180 employees with an anticipated increase of about 5 percent each year. First Companies found the […]

  • Exports from the Wolverine State surged 10.9 percent in June

    International trade predictive analytics, which summarize worldwide merchandise exports, clearly point out an undergoing global economic slowdown. Trade figures, released by the World Trade Organization, indicate that, in the first half of 2015, global exports dropped 11.2 percent from the same period a year ago. In June of this year, global exports declined by 10.6 […]

  • Letter: Power plan deserves support

    Editor: In his Aug. 7 column for grbj.com (“State leaders should reject EPA’s carbon rule”), Christopher Douglas claims that President Obama’s Clean Power Plan will hurt Michigan’s communities of color. Nothing could be further from the truth. By improving air quality, the president’s plan will prevent up to 6,600 premature deaths. This is important for […]

  • Letter: Creating healthier schools for our students

    Editor: We all want our children to live, learn and play in healthy environments. Because they spend much of their days in the classroom, it’s imperative that our schools emphasize strategies that create space to enhance learning. At Grand Rapids Public Schools, eight of our schools are green-built and five are LEED certified, making us […]

  • Public Record

    MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds GILL, David et al, Ark-la-tex Financial Services, Bluegrass Meadows No. 2, Lot 47, $235,000 D&B Asset Management LLC, Chemical Bank, Sand Lake Village, Lot 13, $500,000 HOWELL, Ronnie et al, Amerifirst Financial Corp., Oakfield Twp., 15-9-9, $231,725 Timpson Orchards Inc., Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Lowell […]

  • The science of the sale, the art of doing lunch

    Let’s do lunch! Well, let’s do lunch the right way. Too often salespeople think getting a lunch appointment is the victory and don’t concentrate on building rapport and the relationship to ultimately make the sale. Big mistake. Even more often, companies and (cheap) managers will not reimburse salespeople for lunchtime meetings. Bigger mistake. But most […]

  • What will be written about U.S. in summer of ’55?

    Please fire the speechwriter whose candidate states, “This is the most critical election of a lifetime.” I’ve heard it before and it wasn’t true then and it probably isn’t true now, but the next election will be our choice for economic sanity, or status quo. History repeats. Summer in Michigan. We read the president took […]

  • Street Talk: Actions speak louder than words

    Last week’s discussion of wage gap advancement for women (or lack thereof) in Grand Rapids spurred some discussion among readers, many of whom could not believe some River City employers are still operating in the “Dark Ages.” But while talk on the subject is necessary, actions speak louder than words. Springthrough, a 15-year-old digital consulting […]

  • Measure would compensate wrongfully convicted prisoners

    LANSING — There’s no way for a state to give back time — sometimes decades — to people who served in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. Most states offer money to compensate people who manage to prove their innocence — but Michigan isn’t one of them. Legislation introduced earlier this year by Sen. Steve […]

  • Cooley offers legal help

    Students and faculty from WMU-Cooley Law School’s Grand Rapids campus will offer free legal assistance on Friday, Sept. 11. The Community Access to Legal Justice Workshop is a project for United Way’s Annual Day of Caring. The Legal Justice Workshop is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the law school, […]

  • Letter: The cost of untreated mental health issues

    Editor: As a business leader, you’re in a unique position to make a significant impact in our community. That is why I would like to share a few candid thoughts on mental health issues. I’m aware there’s a stigma attached to them, and that’s something we need to overcome. Currently, mental health issues are relegated […]

  • Do you run your business like a game of solitaire?

    I frequently use solitaire as a way to relieve tension or to pass time when I need a break. My father was a General Motors executive who was frequently under an enormous amount of pressure, and he would play solitaire at the kitchen table to relieve his tension before retiring to bed. Different people find […]

  • Franchisee connects with boxing club

    Frankie Diaz was so excited to hit a heavy bag again, he wore himself out. After the 15-minute warm-up period during a sample Title Boxing Club workout in Ann Arbor, the personal trainer and former boxer had little energy left. Diaz was sold on the idea behind the national fitness franchise that uses total body […]

  • Manufacturing is cool (and so is beer)

    Five years ago, Grand Rapids Business Journal rarely mentioned craft beer in its pages, and then usually only as an afterthought. Now there is a reporter assigned to cover the beat, Pat Evans, who frequently appears on television for segments with partner station WZZM TV13 and has written a book on beer in Grand Rapids […]

  • Holland IT firm is recognized for sustained growth spurt

    It’s got to be a good feeling when your business doubles in one year. It’s got to be an even better feeling when that progress lands you a ranking on Inc. Magazine’s 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America for the fourth consecutive year. All in all, Holland’s Worksighted is feeling pretty good […]

  • Communities create a ‘grand strategy’ focusing on Grand River projects

    Several area communities, including Grand Rapids and Kent County, are in the running for millions of dollars from the federal government. A collaborative West Michigan project called The Grand Strategy is competing for a portion of $1 billion to be allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the National Disaster Resilience […]

  • Artistic minds pair well with cool spaces

    Snapple bottles littered the vacant party store before it was transformed into Harmony Brewing Co. in 2010. For more than 10 years, the building that had been Jack’s Liquor sat vacant at 1551 Lake Drive SE. Jackson Van Dyke, who co-owns the brewery with his brother and sister, Barry Van Dyke and Heather Van Dyke-Titus, […]

  • Popular Lansing networking event launches in GR

    A popular Lansing networking event that celebrates the work of entrepreneurs and those who support them is coming to Grand Rapids this week. Now in its seventh year, Launched is expanding with events in Grand Rapids and Detroit. Launched co-founders Jason Meyers, also the founder of Live Concepts Media, and Nicholas Chilenko, also the founder […]

  • Inside Track: ‘Car guy’ builds on entrepreneurial background

    John Hoekstra’s career is the envy of many a car fanatic. Michigan is a proud car state with a proud car culture, but even here, Hoekstra, the owner and partner of Grand Rapids-based GR Auto Gallery, still probably knows more about cars than most. Although he came later to the car game than many, Hoekstra […]

  • Industry rings true for Bell

    (As seen on WZZM TV 13) A knock on the door at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night in the early 1980s startled Larry Bell. “It was one of those that scares the heck out of you,” the Bell’s Brewery founder said. “I thought it might be the police coming to arrest me.” Bell had […]

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