Innovation + Job News

A new Grand Rapids shuttle will take you bar hoppin' to some of the coolest hotspots downtown so you don't have to drive, or park and re-park. And a whole night's hoppin' is just five bucks.

G.R. Hopper's two shuttles make 30-minute circuits from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays year-round. Riders can pick up the shuttle from a nightspot, a parking area, a West Side condo or a downtown hotel: Sixx Nightclub, Union Square Condos, Monte’s Lounge, Parking Area 9/GVSU Bus Stop, Days Hotel, Mojo’s Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant, The B.O.B., HopCat, Rockwell’s Kitchen & Tap and The Intersection.

"I grew up in Germany and was pampered with good public transportation," says owner Peter Woodhouse, 31. "I come to downtown Grand Rapids and pay $8 for parking and if I want to go someplace else I need to pay again and find other parking. I just wanted to connect all these places and make Grand Rapids an inexpensive place to come to."

G.R. Hopper provides advertising opportunities outside and inside the busses and on the G.R. Hopper web site. Sponsors at the VIP level provide perks for riders – for example, showing a Hopper Pass to The B.O.B.'s door staff allows the holder to move to the front of the line.

The official kickoff is at 8 p.m. Thursday, September 3; shuttles leave from Sixx Nightclub and from the Intersection.

"Using public transportation in Europe has given me a good grasp on what Grand Rapids needs," says Woodhouse, who relocated 10 years ago to attend Grand Valley State University.

"One of my goals is to get drunk drivers off the road as much as possible," he adds. "In Germany, there were so many opportunities where you didn't have to [drive drunk] and I think Grand Rapids can move in the same direction."

Source: Peter Woodhouse, G.R. Hopper

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

Furniture designer and manufacturer Haworth Inc. is investing $15.6 million in Michigan through consolidation of its Calgary, Canada operations to Holland and Big Rapids. The consolidation is expected to create an estimated 649 jobs over the next five years.

Haworth CFO John Mooney says a 13-year Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax credit valued at $22.4 million and Haworth's existing presence, location and access to talent prompted the company to move its Calgary operations to Michigan.
 
“From a business standpoint and an efficiency standpoint, we have all the processes consolidated and all of the products together,” he says.

Haworth will generate the first 500 jobs in the coming months and throughout 2010.

“We’ve always had a great experience with the talent in Michigan,” Mooney says. “We’ve been in Holland and Big Rapids for a long time and found the workforce to be very skilled, motivated and driven.”

While Haworth hasn’t suffered the 30 percent loss that the rest of the industry has undergone, Mooney says the company isn’t ready to expand its physical presence.

“I would say at this point in time we don’t have any definite plans to add or expand,” Mooney says. “Any expansion of the actual building will be a function of how the economy recovers, but I’m confident in our growth and business strategies.”

Source: John Mooney, Haworth Inc.

Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains, Rapid Growth's sister publication in Lansing. She can be reached here.
read on…

The Grand Rapids City Commission on Tuesday followed the lead of Kent County by designating the city in its entirety as a Recovery Zone under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The move makes the city eligible to access $25 million in federal funds, which it can use to issue tax-exempt bonds in support of eligible development projects. The city became qualified for the designation because of its recent spike in unemployment – topping 17 percent – and home foreclosures.

City economic development director Kara Wood says Grand Rapids will issue the bonds in support of projects that offer substantial job creation and long-term growth potential, as well as an increase in city tax revenue.

Unlike longstanding laws governing state-authorized tax abatements, Recovery Zone projects are not limited to the manufacturing sector.

“This program invites, or allows, for the tool to be used on much more than manufacturing,” Wood says. “Projects have to be credit-worthy, and they have to have a financing commitment from a bank or underwriter, so it’s not going to help with getting financing.” Once financing is in hand, the tax-exempt bonds can lower the cost for the borrower.

read on…

Fifteen LEED-certified buildings and years of sustainability efforts landed Grand Valley State University on Princeton Review's highest green rating in Michigan.

According to excerpts from the story:

Grand Valley State University received the highest "green" rating among Michigan's colleges and universities,  according to an annual report by The Princeton Review.The Princeton Review, renowned for its reports concerning institutions of higher education, conducted its second annual Green Ratings report that covered 697 institutions in the United States.
   
The rating is based on a scale of 60-99, considering the institutions' environmental friendliness and environmentally related practices, policies and academic offerings. Grand Valley received a rating of 98; the rest of the top four for Michigan were Michigan State University (93), Western Michigan University (92), and University of Michigan (89). Nationwide, only 15 institutions earned the top rating of 99; none of them were in the Midwest.

Read the complete story here.

 

read on…

During the two intensive weeks in MSU's OsteoCHAMPS program, high school juniors and seniors might discover an inner desire to be a doctor or decide to take a different career path. Participation can give students in need a leg up in qualifying for scholarships from the local osteopathic association. 

According to excerpts from the story:

For David Hotwagner, who is in his third year of studies at Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine, the dream of being a physician started early. When he was in second grade, Hotwagner "tangled" with a lawn mower in an accident that left him seriously injured and hospitalized for 2-½ months.  "It was pretty traumatic. I had extensive injuries. The doctors said I might not ever walk again," he says. As Hotwagner slowly began to recuperate, he was intrigued with medicine and named it his career goal even in elementary school. A graduate of Whitehall High School, Hotwagner, now 23, was always a good student, but medical school was a financial impossibility for his family. "I didn't know how I was going to do it," he says. But as a junior in high school, Hotwagner was introduced to OsteoCHAMPS, a unique program offered through Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine and supported locally by the Osteopathic Foundation of West Michigan. The program sends qualifying Muskegon County high school juniors and seniors to MSU for two intensive weeks of science studies and an introduction to osteopathic medicine.

Read the complete story here.

read on…

A new Grand Rapids web site proposes to take the worry out of planning one of the biggest, most stressful events in a couple's life – their wedding.

In just a few clicks, GRBrides.com provides brides, grooms and parents with detailed checklists outlining what to do before, on and after The Big Day. And it's all free.

The site is the creation of Denise Kolesar, owner of Grand Rapids-based Kohler Expos which produces three bridal shows a year at DeVos Place. Kolesar has been in the wedding industry more than 25 years, 13 of them with Kohler.

"Couples deserve a worry-free wedding and with proper planning they can have just that," Kolesar says. "[Brides and grooms] can go to GRBrides.com and get their to-do lists, and then the brides and their mothers can come to our bridal shows and get all the planning done in one place."

The checklists include detailed to-dos for the wedding day – the wedding announcement, music for the wedding and reception, photography, flowers, a groom's To Do list – and a surprising collection of information brides and grooms need to know:  expenses to include in a wedding budget, who pays for what, what to know about buying a first house and the legal requirements for getting hitched.

"There's a fun hot button for wedding flowers that tells what each flower means," Kolesar says.

Visitors to the site can link to information on Kohler Expos' West Michigan bridal shows, which, Kolesar says, feature between 75 and 125 wedding vendors each.

"At our bridal shows brides are saying how hard it is to find basic, simple guidelines for planning their weddings," Kolesar says. "Our site is meant to provide information in a very simple format and to keep you up-to-date on the bridal shows."

Source: Denise Kolesar, GRBrides.com; Mary Ann Sabo, Sabo Public Relations

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

Rapid Growth welcomes a new sibling to the Issue Media Group fold: Bmore in Baltimore, MD.

The new e-zine launched last week promises the latest news on emerging tech sectors and industries, development, neighborhoods, plus general cool stuff and goings on in Baltimore.

Detroit-based Issue Media Group also publishes:
•    Pop City in Pittsburgh, PA
•    Capital Gains in Lansing, MI
•    Soapbox in Cincinnatti, OH
•    Model D in Metro Detroit, MI
•    metromode in Metro Detroit, MI
•    Concentrate in Washtenaw County, MI
•    Keystone Edge in Pennsylvania

read on…

Raising awareness about the sex trade of children in Southeast Asia and supporting the Zeeland-based Walk for Water project are just a couple of the causes the people at Citizenshirt support.

Citizenshirt, 837 Godfrey SW, designs and screen prints T-shirts for companies and events, and creates signature designs for sale on its own web site.

But the thing that really gets the company excited is using its equipment and expertise to support causes that help disenfranchised people, says President and founder Matt Fulk.

"We approach the 501(c)3 and say it's a down economy and donations are down, we support what you're trying to accomplish, let us help you," Fulk says. "We apply all the printing trades to the project and use our marketing streams to help the campaign produce a new cash flow for the organization."

Employees elect to work on these projects for a reduced rate, and many often go off the clock to keep costs down. Citizenshirt provides materials at cost, slightly above cost, and even sometimes below cost.

"We've made money on some, broke even on some and lost money on some," Fulk says. "We sit down with the organization and say we want to help, but the reality is we're running a business. You probably have some money available, where's the happy meeting point?"

Citizenshirt's focus is producing artistically rendered designs that reflect more beauty and skill than just a logo on a garment, Fulk says.

The company recently moved to the Godfrey location to have enough space for growth. Fulk and a former partner were the sole employees when the company launched three years ago; Fulk bought out the partner in September, left a business brokerage job to become full-time at Citizenshirt, and now employs four full-time and four part-time workers.

Source: Matt Fulk, Citizenshirt

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

A young and growing Muskegon-based marketing and communications company announced this week the creation of four new technology jobs.

Qonverge, 900 Third Street, added a server and infrastructure administrator, an interactive developer, a producer, and a web programmer.

"We've had pretty steady growth over the four years since we formed Qonverge," says Jason Piasecki, CEO and co-owner with Andy Maciejewski. "Our gross revenue last year had 30 percent growth, and we're on track to maintain that growth this year."

Piasecki declined to divulge the company's annual revenue.

Qonverge specializes in online and social media marketing and communications. The firm offers video production, branding and logo development, print design for tradeshow graphics and signage, brochures, audio production and podcasting, and web development. Piasecki says the company is working on a new viral application similar to Elf Yourself, and hopes to market it soon.

Qonverge filled the new positions with former contract employees, bringing the total number of fulltime employees to eight.

"[Using contractors] has been a great proving ground for us and a chance to see what's sustainable for us," Piasecki says. "Clients have been working with the contractors and can continue to work with them as full-time employees. We've developed a good team and we want to preserve that."

Source: Jason Piasecki, Qonverge

Related Articles
Muskegon PR firm launches social networking tool for Muskegon Community College

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

Fun, upbeat and effective.

That's what Grand Rapids-based Baudville calls its new line of daily recognition products and e-cards developed to help companies show appreciation to their workforces.

"Gallup benchmarks how to have a workforce that's engaged in what a company is doing and wants the company to be to be successful," Baudville VP Kristy Sherlund says. "Gallup says you should recognize an employee every seven days."

Acting on that advice, Baudville repositioned itself around the concept of daily recognition, and re-launched ePraise, an existing line of free e-cards that help employers, managers and coworkers show appreciation at work. Each card has a sentiment and a space to write a message; there are even sample messages on the site to help anyone who isn't sure what to say.

Baudville's also launched its newest product, A Kit and Caboodle. The Kit contains 40 recognition items -- small photo frames, pins, magnets, and others -- with coordinating note cards. Each item is part of a theme in Baudville's product line called From the Office of Positive Mojo. Themes include Totally Awesome, You Made the Difference and Right On, Baby.  

The Caboodle is a staircase desktop display that keeps three Kits at a manager's fingertips.

"When you sit down and talk to employees about what motivates them, expression of appreciation is number one," Sherlund says. "When a boss writes a note and tells someone they've done a good job, people post those notes on their bulletin boards or set them on their desks. Gallup's benchmarks say companies who recognize employees every seven days have lower turnover and better productivity."

Source: Kristy Sherlund, Baudville
 
Related Articles
With 400,000 global clients, Grand Rapids firm launches green U.S.-made product line

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

The proposed transformation of a former Muskegon County wastewater plant into a self-sustaining bioenergy complex is moving at a snail's pace – but it is moving, according to Scott Erdman, the visionary behind the idea.

Erdman, 48, proposes transforming the brownfield site at 2000 Holton-Whitehall Road, Whitehall, into the 640-acre Silver Creek New Energy Development. He's promoted the plan for nearly five years, hitting a number of hurdles along the way – but in February he says he'll close on the $1.325 million purchase of the property.

The Department of Environmental Quality approved a $1 million Clean Michigan Initiative Brownfield Redevelopment Loan for a baseline environmental assessment, demolition and other related costs.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation awarded $491,767 in tax capture to the project.

The plan proposes:

• Setting aside 40 acres for biodigester and ethanol production plants. The biodigester would produce energy using waste products from local fruit, vegetable and meat processors who would pay for disposal. The electricity produced would provide power to the complex.
• Producing biodiesel from algae grown in a 50-acre pond on-site.
• Farming (using the biodiesel), a third of the property for cash crops using fertilizer produced by the biodigester.   
• Growing cranberries for market in any/all of several one-acre basins.
• Constructing greenhouses to grow tomatoes for the commercial market.
• Using 75 acres for commercial purposes, including a fuel station to sell the ethanol and biodiesel.

""We're not waiting for the money to close on the property, that's a done deal. We're currently putting together our pilot plants at Erdman Machine," says Erdman, who owns the machine shop located across the road. "From there we'll ramp up to a standard plant."

If things move forward as Erdman anticipates, he says the development could create 150 jobs over the next several years.

"The farming operations will start right away (after the closing and approval of an environmental study). The big plan is to raise the capital for the [biodigester]," Erdman says."We're working with several venture capitalists to raise the capital for the development."

Source: Scott Erdman, Silver Creek New Energy Development, Erdman Machine Company

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.

read on…

Business owners targeting a local consumer market can now reach those potential customers using new digital technology displays located where the customers shop, dine and work out.  

Rockford-based Great Lakes Narrowcast (GLN) creates web-based digital signage using text, photographs and videos. The displays range from 32-inch LCD televisions up to 100-inch projections on storefront windows. Business owners can advertise at their own business location or in other businesses frequented by potential customers.

"If you want lobby signage with videos to advertise specials or upcoming events, we'll create that and maintain it for you through the web portals," says company owner Wes Spencer. "For a local electrical or lawn care company that doesn't have the foot traffic of someplace like the Rockford Corner Bar or Frenz Coffee House, they can reach their demographic at the bar or coffee shop by running ads at that location."

Business owners select specific locations, GLN obtains the necessary permissions from the host location and the fee for the ads subsidizes a portion of the host location's costs.

A client dashboard on the web portal features templates clients can use to update their ads themselves.

GLN has 55 displays in 18 locations across Michigan and Indiana, including Rivertown Crossings mall, Ritz Koney in Grand Rapids and Vitale's in Ada. Spencer plans to triple the number of locations over the next six months.

"You can focus your advertising geographically or demographically," he says. "You can relay local events, national news, you can pick and choose where your message is displayed; if you want to advertise at the YMCA in Belmont you can advertise there but you don't have to advertise at the mall in Portage."

Source:  Wes Spencer, Great Lakes Narrowcast


Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

The continued success of a West Michigan drug development venture has prompted the company to bring on its first chief executive officer. Company leaders also expect to establish five research and development jobs in the next six to 12 months.

Metabolic Solutions Development Company (MSDC) operates a laboratory in Kalamazoo and an office in Grand Rapids. The company's successful clinical trials include a Phase 2A study of a diabetes drug that holds promise for not creating the typical side effects of current drug treatments: weight gain, high blood pressure and a condition that leads to edema.

MSDC's new CEO, Robert A. Beardsley, Ph.D., served as president and chief executive officer of St. Louis, Missouri-based Kereos, Inc., where he managed collaborations with national healthcare organizations and top academic partners.
 
"The company has generated a lot of activity and a lot of promise," says Mark Olesnavage, former acting CEO and president of Hopen Therapeutics, MSDC's lead investor. "We've almost tripled the size of our Kalamazoo lab and we have a lot more moving parts and a lot going on that demands the attention of a fulltime leader."

Since its founding in 2006, MSDC has grown from two researchers to four and has built collaborations with several leading research entities, including the University of California-San Diego. Combined, those collaborators have dedicated a total of 10 researchers to MSDC's work.
 
"Our goal was not to hire an army of talented people, but outsourcing a lot of different aspects of the firm," Olesnavage says. "In the next six to 12 months we'll be adding employees selectively, about five jobs, which will all be primarily folks that have experience in new drug development."

In the meantime, MSDC plans to conduct Phase 2B trials over the next 18 months, beginning in early 2010. That study includes diabetic participants in the United States and India.

Source: Mark Olesnavage, Metabolic Solutions Development Company; Nick Wasmiller, Seyferth & Associates

Related Articles
Grand Rapids pharmaceutical company invests $125M to develop alternative diabetes treatment
Grand Rapids drug company announces test results of cutting-edge diabetes treatment

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.


read on…

A Grand Haven manufacturer of eco-friendly asphalt sealer shipped 4,000 gallons of the product to the United Kingdom last month – the company's first overseas order.

Advanced Seasonal Innovations LLC (ASI) spent the last eight years improving its proprietary environmentally-safe asphalt emulsion product, the latest version of which is ASI-03.

ASI says that its ASI-03 has low volatile organic compound content, unlike coal tar sealant that has been identified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a pollutant by a U.S. Geological Survey. ASI president and owner David Fortenbacher says his ASI-03 product doesn't emit obnoxious fumes, is non-flammable and non-carcinogenic and doesn't present a risk of chemical burn.

"Coal tar sealant manufacturers recommend completely covering up so there's absolutely no physical contact with their product," Fortenbacher says. "They even make and sell a burn cream. Kids could apply our product. In a school playground, I don't want kids running around with bare feet on asphalt sealed with coal tar."

New York chemist Larry Smith formulated the original compound in 1994 as MAC-94. Smith now works with ASI, developing new versions of the product.

ASI sells hundreds of thousands of gallons of ASI-03 annually, Fortenbacher says. Customers range from small contractors to county governments and large municipalities. Many local and state governments have banned the use of coal tar sealants, and that has increased the market potential for ASI-03.

At peak production, ASI employs just 20 people, but the company has doubled its gross revenue every year for the past five years. Fortenbacher predicts more growth is on the way.

"I got a call from the Department of Transportation yesterday and they're looking at spec-ing our product with the state," Fortenbacher says. "And the U.K. approached us to build a plant over there to make the product. I'm open to listening to anything, but talk is cheap, so we'll have to see what happens."

Source: David Fortenbacher, Advanced Seasonal Innovations LLC

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.

read on…

Grand Rapids' Crutchall Resource & Recycling says it's investigating the use of recycled asphalt roof shingles as a renewable heating fuel and an alternative to coal.

The company grinds used asphalt roof shingles that paving companies use for pavement, but recently company leaders completed testing for the feasibility of using the ground up shingles as a renewable heating fuel.

Crutchall sent samples to SGS Group, an independent testing laboratory in Illinois. Tests showed the shingles burn at the same BTU value as mid-grade coal, says Ellie Kane, a partner in Crutchall Resource & Recycling. Emissions testing showed shingles burn cleaner than coal but leave more ash. Kane says the company plans to have the ash tested to determine if it's recyclable.

"The Department of Environmental Quality is looking at the testing and results," Kane says. "Michigan State University, Lansing Power and Light and the City of Wyandotte are looking at shingles as an alternative fuel. We're working to see how it can be classified."

If recycled shingles are approved as an alternative fuel, Kane says Crutchall will be ready to launch its product in the renewable energy market.  

"First and foremost we should always be good stewards of what's in our own backyard," Kane says. "We ship coal in from other states; shouldn't we use sources right here in our own state? Right now we have a minimum of 30,000 tons of shingles in our recycling yards waiting to be ground."

Crutchall opened its first asphalt shingle recycling yard in June 2007 at 631 Chestnut SW, Grand Rapids. Since then the company has opened shingle recycling yards in Lansing, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Flint and Warren and has tripled its revenue.

The Michigan Recycling Coalition named Crutchall the 2009 Business Recycler of the Year.

Source: Ellie Kane, Crutchall Resource & Recycling

Related Articles
Grand Rapids asphalt recycler aims to create 67 jobs and four new locations

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.

read on…