Steel Supply & Engineering has landed a $265,000 state grant to help it launch a new stair-step product that's made from used shredded tires, replacing the traditional steel-and-concrete model typically used in commercial construction.

Deborah Johnson Wood Grand Rapids-based Atomic Object is a software development firm that just can't sit still – and doesn't want to. In the last 12 months, the company became employee-owned, added software design to its mix of services, created seven new knowledge jobs and became one of the 2010 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch. "We have a new emphasis on product development, not just software development, and that helps our clients," says Carl Erickson, president and founder. "If they need design, programming, hosting, need to understand their pricing better or how to attract and retain customers, we can do it all for them." For instance, Atomic Object recently created a mobile app for Priority Health to make healthcare easier for their customers. "Our designers needed to know who it was for, the needs it served, what it should look like, how to design it," Erickson says. "All that comes after a lot of other work, and our growth has been driven off getting the right people in position to do that other work and broadening what we bring to clients." The company used to collaborate with outside design firms, which was successful but had limitations. "One limitation was that everything became very linear, and that meant we couldn't apply agile design," Erickson says. In the last year, Atomic Object has created seven jobs, hiring two interaction designers, a communications coordinator and filling five other technical positions, bringing the number of employees to 28. The company also works with apprentices, some of whom they hire after the apprenticeship is completed. This summer, three apprentices are on board, bringing the total number of apprentices the company has worked with since 2001 to 29. Erickson says 2009 revenues were flat at $3.4 million, but predicts that 2010 will come in at about $3.9 million. Source: Carl Erickson, Atomic Object Related Articles RGTV: Atomic Object Atomic Object is People Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

Deborah Johnson WoodTim Emmerson is an attorney with a passion for helping people, so it's not surprising that his new law business aims to help immigrants navigate the confusing waters of immigration law. Emmerson, 26, passed the bar in February and officially opened Emmerson Law, PLC at 820 Monroe North on May 12 – the same day he received his bar card. "It's a full service law firm, but I do a lot of immigration law work," Emmerson says. "I've been helping out a lot with temporary visas for three clients who are Haitians and are here as refugees (following the January 12 earthquake). Without a work visa, they can't even work; they need it so they can get a green card so they can work."Emmerson says that people often lose a lot of money trying to get visas because it can be a shady business. A visa is $500 and a green card costs more than $900."It's all time sensitive," he says. "Shady attorneys know the people only have two or three months left on their current green card and that it takes five to six months to get a new one. Their visa runs out, and they either have to stay here illegally and they can't work, or they have to go home. Either way, they lose their money."The new office is about 1,000 square feet of converted warehouse space. Emmerson says that although the space used to be strictly for two nonprofit businesses he launched – Sixth Street Bridge Community Coalition and Hands On Hunger – now that he's established the law business, the firm donates space to the nonprofits. Emmerson often uses translators who help him communicate with clients who speak Spanish or Creole French. He also teaches a class to help émigrés prepare for the U.S. Naturalization Test. Source: Tim Emmerson, Emmerson Law, PLCRelated ArticlesHands on Hunger to grow fresh veggies at Blandford Nature Center for those in needDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

MiBiz.com reports that the growth and influence of Grand Rapids' Medical Mile and surrounding universities is attracting top researchers to the city, and with them come research dollars and professional contacts in a chain reaction of influence and expertise. According to excerpts from the story:The Medical Mile might not yet be a Mecca of healthcare and medical research like the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic are, but those institutions had to start somewhere. But with developments like the completion of the second phase of Van Andel Institute and massive infrastructure and personnel investments from area hospitals coupled with the critical mass of university programs taking shape in and around downtown, Grand Rapids is increasingly getting on the map. Each researcher that opts to locate at Van Andel Institute or the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine — or every high-level doctor that gets hired at one of the local hospitals — brings with him or her a wealth of contacts to similarly situated professionals across the country and beyond. One move could create a chain reaction of other events drawing an even broader critical mass to the region, and that's a movement that's already started to some extent.Read the complete story here.

Three versions of proposed Transit Master Plans were unveiled at five Public Open Houses this month. Feedback received from hundreds of attendees will help the Mobile Metro 2030 Task Force refine their final presentation to The Rapid's board next week. Opinions varied on the three proposals, creatively named A, B, and C!

Two Muskegon artists are trying to organize that city's first Lake Michigan Art Walk this summer that would lure art lovers, art buyers and artists to downtown, fueling efforts to recharge and liven up the area

Deborah Johnson WoodIt was once a struggling metal stamping plant that had laid off some 150 employees two years ago. Now it's a 40,000-square-foot, clean technology electronics facility that has hired back many of its displaced workers. Like many other companies that lost business when the automotive industry tanked, Grand Haven-based GHSP took a major hit. But company leaders saw it as an opportunity to transform the metal stamper into a manufacturer of mechatronics controls – controls that integrate mechanics, electronics and computer software. Its primary customer is still the auto industry, but the company has positioned itself for a wave of change company leaders say is not only shaping the future, but is here already – lighter, safer, fuel efficient and electric vehicles."With the automotive vehicle moving more and more to electrification, we started looking at changing our product portfolio as well as our skill sets," says Jeff Smith, COO. "The vision is that more and more of the vehicle manufacturers will be looking at products for better fuel economy, lighter weight, better safety."Eighty jobs opened up when GHSP closed its Troy electronics facility. The company filled the majority of those jobs by calling back workers laid off in 2008. Smith says GHSP has created an additional 20 new positions worldwide."Going forward, our products will have more and more mechatronic parts," he says. "Everything we're doing going forward will be part of the new products and will require skill sets in mechanical, electronics and software production."GHSP's focus has been creating shift systems, but as it eyes growth outside the automotive market, it continues to develop two new product lines: electronic controls and smart actuators. The company landed its first non-automotive contract to design and manufacture mechatronic controls for a maker of high-end kitchen appliances. Smith declined to name the client citing confidentiality. GHSP employs 850 around the world, including 262 in Grand Haven. The company has operations in Detroit, Hart, and Madison Heights, Mich; Dayton, Ohio; Mexico, Japan, Germany and other countries. Source: Jeff Smith, GHSP; Randy Boileau, Boileau Communications Management, LLCRelated ArticlesGrand Haven's GHSP to bring 70 jobs to West MichiganDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].