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Healthy Capital Markets Are on the Way:Be Prepared

By Dan Shea & Matt Becker

Seeing the forest through the trees isdifficult in these uncertain times. It ishard for many business owners to stepback and take note of the broader trendsemerging. This is particularly challengingin the industrial end of our economy,where businesses were hit hardest dur-ing the recession. It is surprising forsome to find out how healthy the capitalmarkets have fared in recent quartersand that the near and medium term out-look is promising. Whether you are look-

ing to finance growth or buy or sell yourcompany, it strongly benefits businessowners to be prepared as the market seesan uptick.

What the Data Says Recent reports indicate that compa-

ny sale transactions rose by nearly 60%in 2010. The industrial company portionof this overall trend grew similarly, by54%. Higher levels of activity seem to becontinuing as we approach the end ofthe first quarter of 2011. Executiveteams, disciplined by the recession, aremaking strategic decisions positioning

themselves for future growth. Lendershave seen this too and are moreassuredly pursuing new accounts andexpanding existing client relationships.Libor-based spreads are at near recordlows as banks seek to grow their loansoutstanding. This is not to say thatbanks are once again taking on toomuch risk - underwriting scrutinyremains high but companies fitting theprofile are enjoying a buyer’s market.

The news may be particularly advan-tageous for industrial companies, wheremanufacturing assets are more plentifuland serve as highly tangible collateralagainst loans. Lenders sleep easier atnight when their loans are backed moreby hard assets (and associated assetappraisals) and less by cash flows, whichhave proven more volatile. The availabili-ty of debt capital is helping to fuel thegrowth of companies and is also support-ing more merger, divestiture and acquisi-tion activity. Buyers seeking to fundacquisitions in part through debt areenjoying the lower cost of capital that debtprovides (relative to equity) given the lowLibor-spreads. Valuation theory says thatthe aforementioned dynamic is allowingbuyers of businesses to pay more whichmay partly explain the rise in purchaseprice multiples in recent quarters.

Structured For Success The capital structure of a business

impacts its value and ability to attractfunding. While many companies arestructured as taxable C-Corporations,this is an inefficient designation in thatit necessitates an added layer of tax –one born by the company and the otherby the shareholders when capital is paidout. In such an arrangement, less capitalis available for reinvestment and it ulti-mately lessens a company’s valuation.

Structuring your company as eitheran S-Corporation or a limited liability

company (“LLC”) is much more efficientfrom a tax perspective. These are knownas “pass-through” structures underwhich income taxes are only paid by theowners – taxation at the company levelis avoided. Worth noting, S-Corporations generally only allow forone class of stock while LLCs providevast flexibility in terms of varied owner-ship rights and special profit allocationsthereby providing the most tax efficientstructure of all.

Thankfully, businesses can be con-verted from one structure to another andadopt the structure that best suits the cir-cumstances. The time to convert is whenthe valuation of the business is at its low-est. This is when the taxable value is at itslowest as well, thereby ensuring that thenegative tax consequences of the conver-sion are minimized.

Moving ForwardWhile true that most data suggests

that company valuations have been onthe rebound and are up substantiallyfrom recessionary lows, experts indicatethat there is room for further advance-ment. Surveys of business executivesindicate an increased willingness, if notneed, to consider capital markets trans-actions in the near and medium-term inan effort to boost shareholder value fur-ther. As such, it remains wise for ownersto consider structural changes to theirbusinesses, such as converting from a C-Corporation to an LLC, thereby minimiz-ing the tax consequences of doing busi-ness as the tide continues to rise.

Matt Becker is a Tax Partner at theGrand Rapids office of BDO, and DanShea has a dual role as a ManagingDirector with BDO Capital Advisorswhile managing business developmentactivities for BDO Valuation Advisors.

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SBA 504 Loan Program forRefinancing is Here

Nationwide – Stemming from theSmall Business Jobs Act passed byCongress in September 2010, the SBArefinancing program temporarily author-izes the use of the 504 Loan Program forthe refinancing of debt where there is noexpansion of the small business concern.The rules have been published, and theloans are now available.

By helping small businesses refi-nance current mortgages or equipment

loans, and lock in lower, long-term inter-est rates, this temporary Jobs Act pro-gram will help to provide the assistanceneeded by small businesses to avoid liq-uidation or foreclosure and improve theirprospects for survival. It will also help tostabilize the commercial real estate mar-ket, as well as encourage lenders toincrease lending by improving the healthof their portfolios.

The Right Place Supports Local Growth,Brings 152 New Jobs to Region

Grand Rapids – The Right Place, incollaboration with The MichiganEconomic Development Corporation(MEDC) and the City of Grand Rapids,announced the planned expansions oftwo West Michigan companies that areexpected to create 152 new jobs andinvest $2.2 million within Grand Rapids.

Atomic Object – 30 jobs,$983,000 in capital investmentAtomic Object LLC, one of West

Michigan’s largest software developmentfirms, is expanding its operations inGrand Rapids, investing $983,000 andcreating 30 jobs.

Founded in 2001, Atomic Object hasdesigned software solutions for compa-nies in the aerospace, automotive testing,color management, distribution, materialhandling, manufacturing and financialservices industries. Its products haveincluded programming and design for

web-based, mobile, desktop and embed-ded applications.

Company founders Carl Erickson andBill Bereza moved into the company’scurrent facility at 941 Wealthy St. SE in2003, redeveloping the former HelmusBrothers building into offices, meetingrooms and shared space for its employ-ees. Averaging 25 percent annual growthsince, Atomic has become a principalsoftware development firm in WestMichigan. Earlier this year, it launchedAtomic Object Embedded, a new servicespecializing in designing and creatingcustomized embedded technology sys-tems for client companies, often workingon-site in collaboration with the client’sin-house team. With these and otherprojects driving company growth, AtomicObject turned to The Right Place for assis-tance in expanding its team and facilities.

Working with the City of GrandRapids and the (MEDC), The Right Placedeveloped an incentive package to sup-port Atomic Object’s growth within itscurrent location. A Michigan EconomicGrowth Authority (MEGA) state taxincentive, as well as an abatement of cityproperty taxes from the City of GrandRapids, will support Atomic Object’s pur-

chase of new equipment and groundfloor remodeling. The company will hirefive new employees during the project’sfirst year, with 25 additional jobs to fol-low.

“Supporting highly sophisticatedinformation technology companies likeAtomic Object is essential to supportingour growth as a center for advanced man-ufacturing, computing and research,”noted Business Development ManagerGeorge Bosnjak. “They are a perfectexample of the kind of companies that aregrowing here and creating the technologythat supports many of our traditionalindustries. Atomic Object’s work not onlymakes other companies more technicallyadept and efficient, but supports theirability to make the kind of technology-driven products required to compete in aninnovation-driven global market.”

Knape & Vogt – 122 new jobs,$1.24 million in capital investment

In a follow-up to its acquisition ofRichmond, IL-based John Sterling Corp. inJanuary, Knape & Vogt (KV) is investing$1.24 million and creating 122 new jobs.

The John Sterling acquisition is KV’ssecond this year (the company alsoacquired GSlide Corp., a designer and

manufacturer of sliding system products,in January) and its third in the last fiveyears. A former competitor, John Sterlingis a leading manufacturer and marketer offunctional and decorative home storageand organization products. Major productsinclude residential shelving and organiza-tion hardware systems, as well as a collec-tion of sliding door hardware for residen-tial and commercial installations.

The acquisition gives KV an expand-ed presence in its retail and distributionchannels as both companies have longstanding customer relationships with keyretailers in the US and Canada.

With the acquisition, KV is absorb-ing and consolidating the John Sterlingoperations within KV’s facility at 2700Oak Industrial Drive NE. The projectincludes an investment of $1.24 millionto re-fit existing unused space and pur-chase equipment. The company will alsoadd 122 employees to its current comple-ment of 456.

Collaborating with the MEDC andthe City of Grand Rapids, The Right Placedesigned an incentive package – includ-ing a MEGA tax abatement on state taxesas well as abatements on local taxes – tosupport the project.Publisher: Gary Kralapp

Business DevelopmentSenior Vice President: Jim LroySenior Vice President: Diane LaPreze

Contributing Writers: Dan Shea, MattBecker, Eric P. Uitvlugt, Richard J.Reiffer, Eric Mills, Rohit Arora,

Managing Editor: Carol M. KralappAssociate Editor: David CalkinsPrinting/Distribution: News Web PrintingAccountant: Michael Tawney & CompanyLegal: Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone

The monthly published Business Update Inc.®

all rights reserved. No portion can be reproducedwithout the written permission of the publisher.The management of Business Update Inc.® is notresponsible for the opinions expressed by its writ-ers or editors. Nor is it responsible for any infor-mation contained on any schedule or calendar. Weinvite editorial suggestions, reader participation,or article submissions. We reserve all rights incommunications sent to our editorial staff asunconditionally assigned for publication or anyother use Business Update Inc.® in its sole discre-tion, shall deem appropriate. All submissions aresubjected to our unrestricted right to edit andcomment. For further information concerning thispublication, or past issues, please write or call:

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Engineering Firms Selected to BeginLocal Broadband Stimulus Projects

Nationwide – In early 2009 after con-gressional passage of the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act,Wisconsin-based TDS TelecommunicationsCorp. – the eighth-largest wire line compa-ny in the nation – praised the measure,which aimed to expand broadband accessin unserved and underserved areas acrossthe country.

“We applaud the U.S. Congress forrecognizing the need to expand broadbandaccess throughout America,” said DrewPetersen, director of legislative and publicrelations for TDS TelecommunicationsCorp. “By creating equal access to theopportunities a broadband connectionoffers, all Americans will benefit. Access tohigh-speed Internet service leads toincreased productivity, spurs businessdevelopment, and provides job growth –locally and nationally. It stimulates eco-nomic growth and helps attract new busi-nesses to local communities.”

In December of that year, TDSreceived official confirmation from theUnited States Department of Agriculture’sRural Utility Service (one of the two feder-al agencies administering the federal

broadband stimulus program), that itsapplication to expand broadband Internetservices to TDS customers in the ChathamTelephone Company exchange had beenapproved. $8,605,935 was provided toexpand its services in northern Michigan,and the company remained optimisticabout further opportunities and more stim-ulus funds to expand their services.

Recently, TDS announced that it hasselected and hired four engineering firmsto implement its broadband networkdesigns which were completed by TDSNetwork Services teams and recentlyapproved by the USDA Rural UtilitiesService (RUS). Four professional engi-neering firms were selected; Joseph D.Fail Engineering Co., Inc., Rocky

Mountain West Telecom, and (for projectsin Michigan, among other states)MEComm Consultants, LP and CHRSolutions, Inc.

In total, the four firms will be work-ing with TDS and other equipment ven-dors to complete approximately $136 mil-lion in projects nationwide by the end of2013. TDS has to date received two fullbroadband deployment grants and 42grant/matching fund projects from theRUS. A total of 44 projects are currentlyunderway. TDS will be investing$30,874,560 along with investmentsfrom RUS totaling $105,122,535 bring-ing the broadband investment total to$135,997,095.

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5Genzink Steel Celebrates 50 Years

Holland - 2011 marks the 50th yearthat Genzink Steel has been in business.This West Michigan-based company hasevolved over the last half century fromprimarily a structural steel fabricatorservicing local contractors and industrialfacilities to a supplier of complex fabrica-tions and weldments for industriesacross the nation and even up intoCanada. The company has seen greatsuccess and faced some tough challengesover the last 50 years, and their story isa shining example of how Michigan busi-nesses have grown, overcome adversity,and continue to this day to produce qual-ity workmanship and service.

Donald Genzink started the compa-ny in 1961 in his barn on the South sideof Holland. He began by fabricating far-rowing crates for pigs, and clotheslinepoles and picnic table frames which hesold locally before expanding to performwelding and repair jobs in the area withhis portable welding truck. His wife,Grethel did the bookwork at the kitchentable. In 1963, he was pouring the con-crete for his original welding shop on theday JFK was assassinated.

He soon began making die castingmachine bases for Buss Machine andthen for Edgar Prince’s newly formedcompany, Prince Machine. His secondson, Mark Genzink started full time in1975 and during this time the companyemerged with sales in steel supply tolocal industries and general public(Service Center), custom fabrication(Plate Fab), and structural steel fabrica-tion and erection (Structural and Design-Build-Install (DBI)).

Don’s third son, Ken Genzinkstarted full time in 1980 as the compa-ny’s 15th employee. The company thengrew its workforce from 15 people toapproximately 42 and its sales from $1million to $6 million per year by 1987.It was then very apparent that the com-pany would need to get organized andstructured to deliver the increased vol-ume that the market was demanding.At that point, David Genzink, Don’sfirst son came into the company, focus-ing on the Design-Build-Install side ofthe business, serving the structuralneeds of the local industrial facilitiesmaintenance needs. Dave left the com-pany in 2003 to head up operations forPartners Worldwide, an organizationthat facilitates connections betweenknowledgeable Christian business peo-ple that provide assistance to Christianbusiness managers and entrepreneurs

in poor countries to help them createjobs for the poor.

In the 1990’s, Genzink transitionedfrom a small company to a medium-sized company, from first generation tosecond generation and from a sole pro-prietorship mentality to a team approachto management. Sales grew to $25 mil-lion per year in 1999 during a boomingeconomy. But the decade also broughtpersonal tragedy in 1992 with the deathof Don’s wife, Grethel, and again in 1996with the death of Ken’s wife Rhonda.

“The decade of the nineties was atime of tremendous challenge andchange, for me personally, and for thecompany. It tested me to the limit, andforced me to depend on God’s grace andprovisions as never before,” Kenexplained. “It showed me just howdependent we are on God and the good

people around us for building and main-taining successful businesses, families

and communi-ties.”

In the early2000s, the com-pany began amajor re-organ-ization, focus-ing on recruit-ing top execu-tive talent andleadership at alllevels, reorgan-izing the corpo-rate structure,installing newcomputer soft-ware, increas-ing its engi-

neering and design capabilities, increas-ing focused sales efforts and improvingquality through ISO 9001 / AISCCertification. From 2004-2008, GenzinkSteel began to develop a strategy offocused factories, moving its StructuralSteel Fabrication to a plant in Sanford,MI, and offices to Zeeland, MI to makeroom in the main office and plant for itsincreased Plate Fabrication business.Overall annual sales were approaching$50 million.

However, tough times lay in storefor the company. The Sanford operationfaced problems with a severe downturnin the building industry, and was closeddown in 2008. As credit dried up in thelatter part of the year, orders from theirequipment manufacturing customers

dried up as well, and there was a sudden40% drop in business within months.Between the closing of the StructuralDivision in Sanford and orders for PlateFabrication slackening, employment atGenzink Steel went from about 240 to105 people in a five month time frame.

As equipment manufacturing busi-nesses across the country have evolvedover time, many have found that in orderto grow, they’ve had to move away fromdoing their own fabrication to stayfocused on engineering and the assemblyof their end product. So while structuralsteel formed the basis for Genzink’s earlyfoundation, the company has found itselfmoving away from structural constructionover the past couple years to serve otherbetter positioned markets. Now in 2011,Genzink Steel has become stronger andmore unified than any time in the compa-ny’s history, providing complex fabricatedstructures to some of the largest and mostdemanding equipment manufacturersacross the country.

“Through the downturn in the auto-motive market, we brought in a lot of verytalented people that understand repetitivemanufacturing,” said John Maxson, ChiefOperating Officer at Genzink Steel. “That'sprobably been a big factor in our evolutiontowards the markets that we've chosen.We try to align ourselves with customersacross the country that have a repetitiveneed for fabrication and value companieslike ours which can deliver quality prod-ucts that meet specifications, on time -every time.

Continued on page 6

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Genzink Steel Celebrates 50 YearsContinued from page 5

For these larger customers, a latedelivery would infringe upon their ownability to deliver. Hence, we’ve evolvedsystems and upfront planning to meetthese repetitive needs, and it’s reallyturned out well for us.”

As Genzink Steel looks for newcustomers, they’re also looking for inti-mate and long-term connections. Thecompany frequently develops a memo-randum of understanding with theircustomer to outline similar values andgoals, and defines their expected inter-actions in the business relationship.Accordingly, the company has beenable to maintain their longstanding

relationships with familiar clients whilebeing introduced to new opportunitiesand continuing to improve and increasetheir reputation in new markets.

“As we enter into 2011, we’ve seendemand increase,” said Maxson. “Weare now able to see longer term fore-casts which we could not see back in2010. That’s allowed us to begin therehiring process from last year andslowly add additional skilled tradesmento our forces as the year continues toimprove.”

The company also plans on addingwelding robotics to meet the constantchallenge of being competitive on alarger scale.

“We're cautious about making any

major expansions,” Maxson explained,“but we’ve been talking about addingrobotics for the past 3 years now andwe feel it's time to make the leap inthat direction. This will be a big one forus, but we feel we have enough repet-itive business especially within certainindustries we're targeting to haverobots continue to reduce our cost toour customers.”

As the manufacturing worldremains tinged with both optimism andreservations about exposure and risk inunknown areas of demand, GenzinkSteel is forging ahead as a strong WestMichigan company, positioned to be amajor national player.

“We continue to get opportunities -

from the east coast specifically - and morepeople are coming to us every day,” saidMaxson. “This is a great place we havehere in West Michigan to work and live.We want everyone to know that there’squality work going on in this area.”

“I am very enthusiastic about ourfuture here at Genzink Steel and thepeople that make this company functionso well every day,” said Ken Genzink.“Growth and development are never juststraight lines on the graph up and to theright. Life is full of twists and turns. Butproperly responded to, that’s whatmakes us all stronger!”

Local Fabricator Awarded California BiorefineryProject Funded by Department of Energy

Grand Rapids – Fabrication of acorn-to-cellulosic pilot biorefinery plantin California, funded with $20.5 millionfrom the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE), was awarded to Grand Rapids-based Andy J. Egan Co. (Egan).

Egan was awarded fabrication fromEdeniQ, Inc. The DOE selected LogosTechnologies, Inc. and EdeniQ inDecember 2009 to receive the $20.5 mil-lion grant through the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act for theCorn-to-Cellulosic Migration Project.

The entire biorefinery, which ismade up of tanks, piping and otherpieces, will be fabricated in Egan’s GrandRapids fabrication shop. It will be mount-ed to 14 skids and shipped in 16 truck-

loads to EdeniQ’s Visalia, Calif. head-quarters where it will be bolted together.Fabrication has begun and is scheduledto be complete in the fall of 2011.

The goal of the pilot plant is todemonstrate technologies that convertnon-food, cellulosic feedstocks—likecorn leaves and stalks (corn stover),switchgrass and woodchips—into eco-nomically and environmentally sustain-able ethanol. Logos and EdeniQ arefocused on the migration of billions ofdollars of capital deployed in today’scorn ethanol industry toward cost-effec-tive production of greener ethanol.

“This project is part of the ongoingeffort to reduce U.S. dependence on for-eign oil, spur the creation of the domes-

tic biorefining industry and provide newclean-tech jobs throughout the country,”said DOE project officer, Gene Petersen.

Once the plant is fully operational,it will process two tons of cellulosic bio-mass per day.

“A project of this size has a huge

impact on our company. We anticipateabout 50 employees being involved atone time or another. These employeesare our friends and family from WestMichigan, so it’s great for our communi-ty, too,” said Pat Heffron, Andy J. EganCo. project manager.

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7Annual Surface Finishing Conference

Coming to IllinoisRosemont, IL – SUR/FIN is the sur-

face finishing industry’s premier eventwhere professionals from around theworld share ideas and experiences tosolve surface finishing and manufactur-ing problems while improving productiv-ity. SUR/FIN 2011, organized by theNational Association for SurfaceFinishing, provides the best venue inwhich to explore state-of-the-art tech-nology, gain insight on practical applica-tions for surface finishing as well asevaluate means to improve surface fin-ishing operations.

In 2010, SUR/FIN came to GrandRapids’ own DeVos Place downtown andwas a great success. This year, the eventwill descend upon the Donald E.Stephens Convention Center inRosemont, IL as the Manufacturing andTechnology Conference continues toevolve to meet the challenges anddemands of the surface finishing indus-try. This year’s theme will be “MakingConnections that Change the World.”Also new this year, NASF announced thatSUR/FIN 2011 will co-locate with theMidwest Fastener Association’s

FastenerTech 2011. By bringing the twoshows together under one roof, the co-located show is hoped to bring buyersand sellers together like never before.Furthermore, the educational sessionsprovided by MWFA will compliment theSUR/FIN Conference in such a way thatenhances the strengths of both programs.

16 sessions will fill the two dayshow, covering diverse topics like USmanufacturing’s future and thereshoring initiative, a global regulatoryupdate, multiple aerospace and ASETS(Advanced Surface Engineering

Technologies for a Sustainable Defense)forums, coatings, processing, regulatoryand new tech updates, and much more.

Attendance this year is estimatedto be near 2,000, and the show is notedfor its elite group of industry profes-sionals exhibiting, presenting andattending the event. The conferenceruns Monday, June 13 throughWednesday, June 15. Registration isnow open and more information can befound at www.nasfsurfin.com.

Industrial BriefsWalker – Tubelite Inc. announcedWholesale Glass Distributors will carrythe company's architectural aluminumproducts to serve clients in Tennesseeand parts of Arkansas, Missouri andMississippi. Founded in 1984 and locat-ed in Memphis, Tenn., Wholesale Glassis the only independent glass distributorand fabricator in this region. The compa-ny has earned a strong reputation for itsvalue-added services and its full-line ofinsulated and tempered, high-perform-ance glass products.

St. Joseph – Hanson Logistics, a leadingprovider of temperature-controlled logis-tics, is expanding the company’sVelocities Multi-Vendor Consolidation(MVC) program to include ExclusiveRefrigerated Service. The new ExclusiveRefrigerated Service assures processorsthat their products will not be co-min-gled with frozen products in the sametrailer. By sharing trailers set specificallyto hold temperatures between 34 F to 38F, refrigerated food shippers are assureda "protect from freeze" environmentwhile still receiving high quality, on-timedelivery. The company’s Velocities MVChas the critical mass to build consolidat-ed truckload shipments among multiplevendors for collaborative distributionthrough the United States.

Burns Harbor, IN – For the first timesince the Port of Indiana-BurnsHarbor opened in 1970, the LakeMichigan port will have an onsite, dedi-cated rail-switching service. NorfolkSouthern has been selected to beginproviding switching services for cus-tomers of Indiana’s oldest port begin-ning in February.

Holland – LeanLogistics was selected asCustomer Service Department of the Yearfor the airlines, distribution and trans-portation industries in the fifth annualStevie Awards for Sales & CustomerService. LeanLogistics was cited for itshigh customer satisfaction ranking (anaverage of 96 percent) in areas such ascustomer renewal, willingness to providereferrals and closed incident support.This is the third year that the Holland,Mich.-based company has been recog-nized. In 2009 and 2010, LeanLogisticswas named a Finalist.

Zeeland – Gentex Corporation hasannounced that the Company's auto-dimming rearview mirrors with RearCamera Display are now available on theall-new Lexus CT 200h hybrid. The pre-mium compact CT 200h will be soldglobally.

Holland – LeanLogistics announcedthat it is making its LeanDex™Transportation Index available to themarket as a self service application with-out requiring the purchaser to subscribeto other LeanLogistics technologies.LeanDex gives shippers and carrierstimely snapshots and ongoing trends ofrates for any North American lane.Companies can identify lanes wheretheir rates may be higher, negotiate rateservices using better data and optimizetheir entire networks.

Grand Rapids – Praxis PackagingSolutions announced they have beennamed 2010 Supplier of the Year byBoehringer Ingelheim Roxane, Inc., aU.S. subsidiary of one of the world’s 20leading pharmaceutical companies,Boehringer Ingelheim.

Sparta – Hart Enterprises of U.S.A,Inc. has filed suit in U.S. District Courtagainst the Michigan Department ofEnvironmental Quality (MDEQ) forharassment of the company. The actioncomes after an MDEQ Air QualityDivision employee appeared unan-nounced at the company’s Sparta planton March 8, 2011 to conduct an inspec-tion even though the company is notrequired to have an air permit and therewas no complaint or suspected viola-tion by the company. The only reasonthe inspector gave for the inspectionwas that closure of large companies inthe area due to the state’s economygave MDEQ the opportunity to inspectsmaller companies.

Grand Rapids – ADAC Automotiveannounced new Chief Financial OfficerTimothy Carr.

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8Industrial BriefsBig Rapids – The 2011 Chevrolet Volt isset to zoom into Ferris StateUniversity’s fourth annual MichiganEnergy Conference for display April 13and 14. This year’s conference will beheld in the Holiday Inn and ConferenceCenter in Big Rapids from 8 a.m. to 8:00p.m. each night. Kristin B. Zimmermanof General Motors Research andDevelopment and the Volt InfrastructureTeam will present the Volt at noon onApril 13 in the exhibit hall of the HolidayInn, explaining the vehicle’s significanceand its energy-saving highlights.

South Bend, IN – For the sixth consecu-tive month, the South Bend Airport isreporting increased passenger numbers.January 2011 reports show that totalpassenger traffic at the South BendAirport was up 5.51 percent overJanuary 2010.

Luxembourg – SAF-HOLLAND S.A., aleading supplier for the global truck andtrailer industry, has restructured itsbusiness in China. The entire productionand administration has been consolidat-ed in Xiamen. To that end, the produc-tion of trailer axles has been relocatedfrom the Jinan location to Xiamen, andthe Jinan location has been closed. Inorder to be closer to customers, Salesand Marketing have been centralized inShanghai. Frank Chao is the newGeneral Manager of SAF-HOLLAND(Xiamen) Co. Ltd. Chao has over 22years of experience in the constructionand truck industry.

Belding – Stahlin Non-MetallicEnclosures, manufacturer of the world'smost frequently specified fiberglassenclosure products, announced that ithas appointed Thomas Gambon as divi-sion controller.

Bloomfield Hills – Hubbell, Roth &Clark, Inc. (HRC) announced that JaneGraham, AIA, has been promoted toassociate. Graham functions as HRC’sIndustrial Facilities Design DepartmentHead and provides project managementand architectural design services, prac-ticing sustainable design principles, forHRC’s Architectural and IndustrialFacilities Design Departments.

Dearborn – Steady growth and meas-ured funding of more than $5 million infive years to create a STEM grid sup-porting advanced manufacturing educa-tion is being realized by the SMEEducation Foundation and its partner,Project Lead The Way (PLTW). SMEEducation Foundation 2010 fundingincluded $815,000 for implementing theGateway Academy program (a summerday camp for 6th-8th graders introduc-ing them to drafting and graphic design)at an additional 220 schools and anupgrade to the Computer IntegratedManufacturing course equipment in 65PLTW high schools.

Detroit – The U.S. Small BusinessAdministration has announced thewinner of its 2011 Michigan SmallBusiness Person of the Year and its otherSmall Business awards. Award winnersfrom West Michigan included AmyEngelsman, CEO of ProosManufacturing, Inc. in Grand Rapids,named the Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year.

Holland – HD Safety Systems ofHolland plans to attend the MidAmerican Trucking Show in Louisville,KY March 31st through April 2nd 2011.HD Safety Systems launched the PowerDeck (cargo positioning system forsmall and medium size vans and trucks)last March at MATS. Since the launch,they have set up dealerships inMichigan, Florida, Ohio, Tennessee,Indiana, Australia, and New Zeeland.They continue to grow and look forwardto another year of business in Holland.

Grand Rapids – Over 200 registered sup-ply chain management professionalsconverged March 16 to discuss andshare emerging strategies and opportu-nities in supply chain management atthis year's Midwest Supply ChainManagement Conference presented byThe Right Place, Inc. and MMTC-West,in partnership with APICS Grand

Rapids, The Council of Supply ChainManagement Professionals, MichiganState University, Broad GraduateSchool of Management and TheInstitute for Supply Management.

Indianapolis, IN – Gov. Mitch Danielsrecently reappointed two key leaders forthe Ports of Indiana commission, asMarvin Ferguson and Greg Gibsonwere each called to serve another term.

Kalamazoo – Landscape Forms and itspopular Maggie benches are among thenew design features included in the newKalamazoo/Battle Creek InternationalAirport.

Walker – Tubelite Inc. named TerryBritt as a client development managerserving Indiana, eastern Missouri andcentral to southern Illinois. He worksclosely with glazing contractors andarchitects in this region to provide infor-mation on the company's architecturalaluminum products and their greenbuilding benefits.

Dearborn – The Automation Federationannounced that, earlier this month, theSME Education Foundation becameone of its newest members, joining aspart of their major initiative to changepublic perception of manufacturing.

Philadelphia, PA – The U.S. GeneralServices Administration (GSA) recent-ly presented the 2010 Evergreen Awardunder the Furniture Category toSteelcase Inc. The company has madereductions in waste-to-landfill by over2,000 tons, reductions in waste-to-incineration by nearly 300 tons, reduc-tions in scrap veneer by 200 tons andreused sawdust by 252 tons. Steelcasehas also composted nearly 173 tons anddiverted over 3,500 furniture items fromlandfills.

South Bend, IN – The St. Joseph CountyAirport Authority has presented theAuthority’s sixth annual “Stakeholder ofthe Year” Award to Gregory N. Sweenyof the Chicago District Office of the GreatLakes Region of the Federal AviationAdministration. The Stakeholder of theYear Award is presented to the organiza-tion which best reflects the Authority’sgoals of maximizing the safety, serviceand effectiveness of the South BendAirport for the traveling public and thecommunity at large.

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9Energy Efficient Designs + Tax Credits =

Significant PaybackKalamazoo – TowerPinkster has

been helping area business, mostlyschools, with energy-efficient designwhich is resulting in significant taxcredits. Nearly $300,000 has beengiven back to area districts and projectsare being developed that could generateanother $200,000.

The EPA’s Energy Policy Act of2005 created tax incentives to improvebuilding energy efficiency across theU.S. The “Commercial Building TaxDeduction” establishes a federal deduc-tion equal to the energy-efficient expen-ditures made by commercial propertyowners, subject to a cap. The deductioncan be claimed directly by the ownersor, in the case of non-profit organiza-tions, by the project designer.

A deduction of up to $1.80/SF isavailable to owners or designers of newor renovated buildings that save at least50% of the lighting, heating and coolingenergy of a building that meetsASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Partialdeductions of up to $.60/SF can betaken for measures affecting the build-ing envelope, lighting or heating andcooling systems. Features such as heatrecovery chillers, radiant floor heating,exhaust air energy recovery, high effi-ciency condensing boilers, LED sitelighting and dimmable lighting havebeen key in obtaining many of these taxdeductions and rebates. And the rebatesthemselves aren’t the only form of pay-back; improved energy-efficiency canmean dramatic increases in savings onutility costs.

A Program in Action:Prairie Ridge Elementary School

Completed in August of 2008, thiswas the first new school built in theKalamazoo Public School (KPS)District in over 30 years.TowerPinkster’s challenge was to cre-ate an 85,000 SF state-of-the-artlearning environment that would meetthe needs of students and staff whileaccommodating a variety of communi-ty use functions. KPS had also decidedto pursue LEED certification, reflectingtheir concern for the environment.

TowerPinkster used a holisticapproach beginning with an energy-efficient building design. First, theschool was built into the existing slopedsite to make use of the earth’s naturalinsulating properties. Second, a superi-

or building envelope greatly reducedinfiltration and thermal transmission.By focusing on overall building design,the resulting HVAC requirements wereconsiderably lower. Finally, daylightingstrategies and careful building orienta-tion combined with high performancelighting systems reduced both lightingpower and cooling requirements. As aresult of this holistic design approach,the school was able to achieve substan-tial energy savings.

TowerPinkster’s energy modeling(required for LEED certification) was

easily adapted to fulfill the documenta-tion requirements of the EnergyProtection Act, and as a result, the facil-ity achieved a $1.20/SF tax deduction.While Kalamazoo Public Schools, as anonprofit organization, did not qualifyfor the tax incentive, TowerPinkster wasable to file on behalf of the project. Thefirm will be returning approximately$20,000 to KPS in appreciation of theirefforts to create healthy, energy-effi-cient, sustainable schools for their kids.

This facility is one of many projectsthat have benefited from Consumer’s

rebate programs and the work ofTowerPinkster’s architects and engi-neers. Between their experience withthe EPA’s Energy Policy Act andConsumers Rebate Program,TowerPinkster has so far saved$296,013.93 for their clients. TheEnergy Policy Act was put through in2005, and in 2008, these commercialbuilding energy-efficiency incentiveswere extended through the EmergencyEconomic Stabilization Act until 2013.

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Environmental Services Business Named a 2011“World’s Most Ethical Company”

Wixom – Waste Management (WM)has been recognized by the EthisphereInstitute as one of the 2011 World’s MostEthical Companies for the fourth year ina row. Out of a record number of nomi-nations for the award, WM secured ahard-earned spot on the list as the onlyenvironmental services company recog-nized for going the extra mile andupholding upright business practices andinitiatives that are instrumental to thecompany’s success, benefit the commu-nity, and raise the bar for ethical stan-dards within the industry.

“Our sustainability initiatives —both here in Michigan and across NorthAmerica — are a great example of howwe think green and think ahead, allow-ing us to deliver lasting solutions to theenvironmental challenges the world willface in the 21st century,” said Waste

Management Vice President of MidwestPublic Affairs Tom Horton. “WasteManagement’s renewable energy projectsin Macomb, Oakland and WayneCounties exemplify how we employ astrong spirit of corporate responsibilitywith the most advanced technologies toimplement projects that benefit our com-munities.”

Examples of WM of Michigan proj-ects providing community benefits:

• Construction of a $15 millionrenewable energy project at Pine TreeAcres Landfill in Macomb County’sLenox Township that will utilize landfillgas to generate electricity for 19,500homes.

• Construction of a $6.5 millionproject at the Eagle Valley Recycling andDisposal Facility in Oakland County’sOrion Township that will generate

enough electricity to power approximate-ly 2,700 homes. Landfill gas from theEagle Valley Recycling and DisposalFacility is sent by pipeline to GeneralMotors Lake Orion Assembly Plant,where it’s used for boiler fuel in lieu ofconsuming natural gas or coal.

• The Ford stamping plant inWayne, Mich. has a similar arrangementfor boiler gas supply from WasteManagement’s Woodland MeadowsLandfill, located in Van Buren Township

in Western Wayne County.Statewide, the company is a leading

supplier of recycling services to Michigancommunities and businesses.

This is the fifth year Ethisphere, athink-tank dedicated to the creation,advancement and sharing of best prac-tices in business ethics, corporate socialresponsibility, anti-corruption and sus-tainability, has published the WME rank-ings, which appear in EthisphereMagazine’s Q1 issue.

10Construction BriefsLansing – MAYOTTEgroup Architectswelcomed Nathan Hebekeuser andDavid Grevious who have both joinedas intern architects.

Grand Rapids – C. D. BarnesAssociates, Inc. held a ground-breakingceremony for the Eastown VeterinaryClinic at 1350 Lake Dr. in Grand Rapids.The project was a complete renovation,turning a former bank branch into thenew 3,270 sq. ft. veterinary clinic.

Ann Arbor – Hobbs+Black Associateshas been awarded the Tucson MedicalCenter’s West Hospital project inTucson, Arizona. The West Hospitalbuilding program consists of multipleprojects including construction of a newWest Hospital, and redevelopment of thewest side of the 122 acre campus includ-ing a new parking structure.

Grand Rapids – C. D. BarnesAssociates, Inc. have broken ground onthe Metro Dental Office in Wyoming. Theproject, located at 900 52nd Street, con-sists of a single-story, slab-on-grade,4,524 SF dental office housing the prac-tices of Dr. Jason Dew, DDS and Dr.Curtis Hahn, DDS, as well as a dentallaboratory. The dental office will include4 treatment rooms, 3 hygiene rooms,state-of-the-art dental equipment and akid’s corner complete with wall-mounted

television and fresh-water fish tank. Thedental laboratory will service the dentalpractice, as well as several outside prac-tices. Project Manager John Maycroft,and Site Manager Jonathan Stoner,began construction in February of 2011and expect completion by July 2011.

Grandville – Redmon Heating &Cooling, Inc., a Grandville-based HVACbusiness, was recently honored at theBryant Heating & Cooling Systemsannual dealer meeting with a Tier 2Medal of Excellence (MOE) Award. Thisis the third year that the company haswon the award.

Holland – Nick Wabeke has joinedAqua-Tec Irrigation Inc. as installationcrew leader of the Valley Center PivotDivision of the Company.

Waltham, MA – Hobbs BrookManagement LLC, a pioneer in thedevelopment of office space in theBoston suburbs, announced 4 new leas-es totaling 35,152 SF within their ClassA portfolio. Affinova, Inc., GnarusEnvironmental Services Corporation,and Magenic Technologies, Inc. willoccupy space in Waltham,Massachusetts. Astraeus WealthAdvisors LLC has selected space in ParkRidge, Illinois.

Grand Rapids – Signature Associateshas announced the following: lease ofBurman Properties, LLC's 2,000 sq. ft.of industrial space at 6681-6683 18thAvenue in Jenison to AutomatedControls Concepts; lease of BurmanProperties, LLC's 1,000 sq. ft. of indus-trial space at 6707 18th Avenue inJenison to Al’s Tile and Granite; lease ofRex Troost Trust's 1,600 sq. ft. of retailspace at 6710-6712 Division Avenue inGrand Rapids to Queen Bee QuiltShoppe, LLC; lease of ElmwoodCommerce Group's 1,500 sq. ft. of retailspace at 5787 Balsam Drive inHudsonville to Farm Bureau Insurance.

Kalamazoo – CSM Group announced thepromotion of Julie Byrne to group vicepresident. Julie joined CSM Group in Mayof 2006 as a project manager, was pro-moted in September of 2007 to projectdirector and today has overseen $80 mil-lion in construction work. As group vicepresident she will be responsible foroverseeing all phases of the projectdevelopment process. In the pre-con-struction phase, Julie will work directlywith the project teams in developingconstruction sequencing plans, provid-ing constructability reviews and match-ing building systems with budgets andowner expectations.

Grand Rapids – Recently, the ABC mem-bership voted and Jeff Ammon (MillerJohnson); Brian Crissman (TheChristman Company); Chuck Geenen(GDK Construction); Paul Lemley(The Bouma Corporation); Mike Poggi(Pinnacle Insurance Partners); AnitaRathbun (Triangle Associates) andDick VanderZyden (WolverineBuilding Group) were elected to theAssociated Builders and Contractors,Inc., Western Michigan Chapter Board ofDirectors. Terrell Daniels (Modern Fire& Security Systems) was appointed tocomplete the unexpired term of a previ-ous director. Dick VanderZyden willserve as board chair and Stan Sterk(Sterk & Company, PC CPA) will serveas secretary/treasurer. Other directorscontinuing on the Association Board are:Ken Bailey (Rockford Construction);Jim Cripps (Cripps FontaineExcavating); Jack Holwerda (RiverCity Mechanical); Tim Schowalter(Pioneer Construction); Frank Stanek(Owen-Ames-Kimball Co.); DaveTurner (Kent Companies); Brian VanHaren (Van Haren Electric) and JackVandeGuchte (Sobie Company).

Grand Rapids – PSI has promotedMatthew Brozowski, PE to branchmanager of their Grand Rapids opera-tions office. Brozowski has been withPSI since 2008.

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Michigan’s Top Engineering & Surveying ProjectsRecognized at Annual Excellence Awards Ceremony

Lansing – The American Council ofEngineering Companies of Michigan(ACEC/M) recently honored 13 firms forengineering and surveying excellenceduring the association’s annual awardsceremony. On February 26, engineeringprofessionals and guests gathered at theMotorCity Casino SoundBoard Theatre inDetroit to recognize outstanding Michiganengineering and surveying projects fromthe past year. Since 1965, firms havecompeted to receive ACEC/M’s top honor –the prestigious Eminent Conceptor Award.

This year’s engineering EminentConceptor winner was HNTB for the I-75Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project inDetroit, MI. The project provided a com-plete transformation of the busiest inter-national border crossing in NorthAmerica allowing direct connectionsbetween the freeway system and theAmbassador Bridge. The main contract,Contract 4, was the largest single contractin MDOT history at nearly $170 million.The project was completed five monthsahead of schedule and created approxi-mately 3,500 jobs.

Six firms were honored with theHonorable Conceptor Award, the second-highest award of achievement: Fleis &VandenBrink for the Northport WasteWater Collection & Treatment Facility(Northport); Mead & Hunt for the SandCreek Relocation project (Benton Harbor);Spicer Group for the Karn/Weadock CoalDock Replacement project (Essexville);Alfred Benesch for I-196 Reconstruction /

Baldwin Street Interchange Improvements(Georgetown); Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr& Huber for the 9 Mile over I-75Emergency Bridge Replacement (HazelPark); and a surveying award to SpicerGroup for the Henry Ford Hospital SiteInformation System (West Bloomfield).

Engineering Merit Awards were pre-sented to: Johnson & Anderson for theWater System Control Optimization proj-ect (Charter Township of WestBloomfield); NTH Consultants & AEW for

the North Gratiot Interceptor-Phase 1(Chesterfield & Harrison Townships);Abonmarche for the Silver Beach Center(St. Joseph); URS Corporation for the newI-96 Interchange at Wixom Road(Wixom); and C2AE for the new FrancisMotz County Park (St. Johns).

The Judges’ Choice Award for BoardDesign was given to Mead & Hunt for theproject board designed to ‘tell the story’of the Sand Creek Relocation project inBenton Harbor.

This year’s ACEC Vernon B.Spalding Leadership Award was present-ed to William Winiarski, PE, PS, retiredCEO of ROWE Professional Services, tohonor his outstanding leadership roles inACEC and community organizations. TheFelix A. Anderson Image Award was pre-sented to James Page, PE, retired DetroitOffice Corporate Director of Harley EllisDevereaux, for his contributions thathave enhanced the image of the engi-neering profession.

11LEED Update: Heart of the City Health Center

Grand Rapids – PioneerConstruction began work on this newmodel healthcare facility a year ago, andit has only a few short months left toscheduled completion (June 2011). TheCenter is a collaborative project betweenCherry Street Health Services,Touchstone innovarè and ProactionBehavioral Health Alliance.

The new facility promises to providemuch-needed additional health carecapacity for thousands of people, espe-cially where the demand for healthcareamong low-income individuals in KentCounty far exceeds the supply. The facil-ity will ease severe overcrowding, reduceoperating expenses and dramaticallyincrease availability of services, especial-ly to children. Approximately 8,000

additional patients will receive first-classservices through this expansion.

The Health Center will be located atthe corner of Sheldon and Cherry Street,in the Heartside district. This $21 millionproject cleans up an existing brownfieldsite and will be LEED® certified. The79,300 sq. ft. building will be the new

home for patients who currently receiveservices at Grand Rapids Pediatrics andFerguson Adult Health Center as all serv-ices will be moved to the new facility.

The building is intended to simplifyand consolidate care for both the mindand the body, and these these featureshave been incorporated into construc-

tion: medical exam rooms, dental caresuites, mental health consultation andtreatment rooms, vision care services, x-ray facilities, laboratory services, physi-cal therapy and rehabilitation services, apharmacy and a single electronic med-ical records system that will be sharedby all providers.

This approach – treating diseases ofthe mind and the body in one location -is hoped to become a model for healthcare provision throughout the UnitedStates in the years to come. In theprocess, it will simplify access to care forlow income and underserved populations(especially children) and greatly improvedelivery of those services.

12

Q&A With Exxel Engineering“I hope to sell

my office/industrialbuilding to a buyerwho wants toexpand the site. Thepotential buyerwould like to knowhow much additionalbuilding space ispossible before pur-chasing from me.

How can Exxel Engineering help me

decide the best way to proceed?”- J. R., Kentwood

J.R., we hope your sale goesthrough, and we can help!

Initially, Exxel will determine the bestoptions for expanding your site by review-ing zoning regulations, available utilities,soils and environmental concerns, as wellas other issues that may impact your site.

After initial review, we will recom-mend the best way to proceed and work

with the municipal Planning Departmentfor conceptual approval.

Then we will work with you andyour buyer to identify needs to completethe process. If you need an attorney, realestate broker, architect, contractor orother professional services, we canassemble a first-rate team and outline thenecessary steps to complete the expan-sion. This includes site design, gettingnecessary approvals, preparing construc-tion bids and inspecting the site during

construction, resulting in the best out-come for you and your buyer.

- Eric P. Uitvlugt, P.S.

Eric Uitvlugt is C.E.O. at ExxelEngineering, Inc., and can be reached byphone at (616) 531-3660. ExxelEngineering, Inc. is a civil engineering /land survey firm located in Grand Rapidsand has 39 years experience in the area.Please contact Exxel or the publisher tohave your question answered next month!

Eric P. Uitvlugt

Construction BriefsLansing – Hobbs+Black announced areorganized management team inLansing. Robert Daverman has joinedHobbs+Black as a vice president andproject manager. Vice president NickScarpone, while continuing in his projectmanager capacity, will assume the role ofthe office production coordinator. MartyRuiter, senior associate, will continue inhis project manager capacity, whileresponsible for Mid Michigan businessdevelopment. Dennis Bartz, senior asso-ciate, will continue as director of engi-neering. In addition to acting as an proj-ect manager, Bartz will be responsible forcoordinating concept and development ofstructural, mechanical and electrical sys-tems for Hobbs+Black projects.

Grand Rapids – Schaafsma Heating &Cooling, a Grand Rapids-based HVACbusiness, was recently honored at theBryant Heating & Cooling Systemsannual dealer meeting with a Tier 3Medal of Excellence (MOE) Award.

Vancouver, BC - On Tuesday March 15th,media outlets were circulated a pressrelease stating that Enbridge Inc. hadannounced MyHairCares, a program toturn hair clippings solicited from over1000 hair salons across North Americainto super-absorbent oil clean-upbooms. However, Gina Jordan, spokes-woman, Enbridge Pipelines, quicklyreleased a statement saying that “‘Myhair cares’ is a hoax and makes light ofa serious issue. It is not an Enbridge orNorthern Gateway initiative, andEnbridge deplores this cynical attempt totake advantage of public concern aboutthe environment.” Enbridge has stated itwill vigorously defend its reputation andis considering an appropriate legalresponse to this media campaign attack.

Grand Rapids – C. D. BarnesAssociates, Inc. announced they havebeen awarded the construction of theCummins Bridgeway renovation andexpansion. They will partner with theCummins Bridgeway Service Center inthe addition of a new 10,000 SF servicebay, dyno and wash bay, as well as a4,000 SF warehouse as well as the reno-vation of the Center’s existing 31,264 SFbuilding including new offices, finishes,fire suppression and state-of-the-artMEP diagnostic systems. Major site workwill also occur including asphaltremoval, milling and replacement duringoperations. Construction will take placeduring peak business season.

Grand Rapids – ERA Network RealEstate has announced the launch of aninnovative online personality assess-ment tool that helps people determine ifa career in real estate sales is for thembased on their personality type. The freeonline assessment uses 43 questions toidentify key personality characteristicsof potential candidates and then detailpotential strengths, limitations and ideason how candidates can improve theirchances of success.

Benton Harbor – Mead & Hunt recentlywon an Honorable Conceptor Award andthe Judges’ Choice Award in theAmerican Council of EngineeringCompanies of Michigan 2011Engineering and Surveying ExcellenceAwards competition for the Sand CreekRelocation project at SouthwestMichigan Regional Airport (SWMRA).The Honorable Conceptor Awardacknowledges exemplary engineeringwhile the Judges’ Choice Award distin-guishes entry materials for the most cre-ative, effective display.

Zeeland – National kitchen and bathremodeling franchise, Kitchen Tune-Up,recently held their 22nd Annual NationalReunion, a three-day training confer-ence for franchise owners from acrossthe country. Gary Binder of Zeelandattended the specialized training confer-ence held January 20-22 in Orlando,Florida.

Grand Rapids – Pop-A-Lock, the largestfull-service locksmith in the UnitedStates opened a new, franchised West MIlocation at 4477 East Paris Ave. Thecompany provides 24 hour service andhas 4 employees. Lakeshore OfficeFurniture, based in Muskegon, MIopened a new showroom, office andwarehouse location at 1348 Front Street,NW. Both transactions were completedby Olga Hallstedt of RESULTS!Commercial Real Estate Services, P.C.

Lansing – C2AE, the engineering andarchitectural firm responsible for thedesign of the new Motz County Park inSt. Johns announced the project hasreceived four awards since its grandopening last summer. A former gravelpit, now Clinton County’s first park, the42-acre property was transformed into auser-friendly outdoor recreational areathat incorporates Universal Access fea-tures throughout.

Washington, D.C. – Mead & Hunt, Inc. ofLansing, MI is a finalist in the AmericanCouncil of Engineering Companies’45th annual Engineering ExcellenceAwards competition for the Sand CreekRelocation Project in Benton Harbor, MI.Mead & Hunt applied an innovative strat-egy called Natural Channel Design tomake a 600-foot-long rerouted culvertsimulate the flows of a natural stream.

Washtenaw County – The WashtenawCounty 14A District Court announcedthat it will receive LEED® NC 2.2 SilverCertification. County officials workedclosely with the project team that con-sists of architecture & engineering firmTowerPinkster, design consultantsHOK, construction management compa-ny Clark Construction, landscape archi-tecture and civil engineering firmBeckett & Raeder, Inc., and structuralengineering firm, Robert DarvasAssociates.

Melvindale – Home ServiceCorporation, a Melvindale-based HVAC,plumbing, and electrical business, wasrecently honored at the annual BryantDealer meeting with a local Medal ofExcellence (MOE) Award.

Parkersburg, WV – SimontonWindows®, one of the nation’s leadingvinyl window and patio door manufac-turers, has finalized plans to relocate thecompany’s corporate office to EastonTown Center in Columbus, Ohio. Thetransition is set to be complete in June2011. The company is part of the Homeand Security business of FortuneBrands, Inc.

Ada – Erhardt Construction announcedthat it has named Ben Wickstrom, PE asits new president. He will be responsiblefor the overall operation of the company,as well as direction and planning for thefuture. Wickstrom succeeds JosephErhardt, PE, who has been appointedchairman of the company and previouslyserved as executive vice president.

13New Report: Michigan Hospitals Demonstrate

Efficiency, Quality, Charity CareLansing – A report released by the

Michigan Health & Hospital Association(MHA) titled “Mission Critical —Michigan Hospitals: The Heart of OurCommunities, the Key to Our Recovery”uses new data to quantify health careand hospitals’ mission-critical role inensuring a healthy future for the state,both economically and physically.

“Mission critical is defined as anyservice integral to the existence of thewhole, and without which, system fail-ure occurs,” said MHA President SpencerJohnson. “As Governor Snyder and law-makers prepare the state budget, theymust recognize the mission-critical rolehealth care plays in the vibrancy andeconomic recovery of their communi-ties.”

Key findings of the report include:• Health care is growing

Michigan’s economy. Health care is thestate’s largest private sector employer,now providing direct jobs to more than

546,000 Michiganians. These employeesearn more than $30 billion in wages,salaries and benefits and pay $6.6 billionin federal, state and local taxes.

Michigan hospitals alone employmore than 219,000 people in this state,who earn more than $13 billion inwages, salaries and benefits and paymore than $2.7 billion in federal, stateand local taxes.

• Michigan hospitals are thehealth care safety net of their commu-nities. In fiscal year (FY) 2009,Michigan hospitals responded to theneeds of local residents, the uninsuredand underinsured and provided morethan $2.6 billion in community benefits.These include charity care, free clinics,meals, counseling, losses on Medicaidand Medicare and more.

Michigan hospitals are among thehighest quality and safest in the nation,led by the MHA Keystone Center forPatient Safety & Quality collaborative

initiatives that have thus far saved morethan 1,800 lives and $300 million dol-lars.

• Making care affordable isimperative to Michigan hospitals.Decades of quality and efficiencyimprovements resulted in Michigan hos-pital costs being 3.43 percent lower thannational averages, savings families andbusinesses $538 million a year.

Medicaid provider reimbursementrates have been cut by more than $1.1billion since 1996. At the same time,Medicaid caseloads have nearly doubledto more than 1.9 million people and theranks of the uninsured have reached1.35 million. This means that approxi-mately one in three Michigan residentseither rely on Medicaid or go withoutcoverage of any kind.

The report quantifies communityhospitals’ position as among the best inhospital performance nationwide andtheir crucial role in improving state andlocal economies, reducing health carecosts, voluntarily enhancing patientsafety and quality and caring for themost vulnerable residents without regardto their ability to pay. In addition, thereport concludes that continued cuts to

Medicaid reimbursement rates threatenthe ability of hospitals and physicians todeliver care to all Michiganians who seekhealth care services. Medicaid providerreimbursements already fail to cover thecost of providing services to patients,and additional cuts result in reducedaccess to critical health services, such asobstetrics.

“Michigan hospitals, the beatingheart of many communities, are creatingjobs and healing the sick, all whileimproving quality and efficiency throughvoluntary and innovative initiatives.These community stewards are provid-ing Michigan residents and businesseswith care and wellness at a tremendousvalue. They are mission critical to ouroverall well-being as a state,” concludedJohnson.

Based in Lansing, the MHA repre-sents Michigan’s health systems andcommunity hospitals and successfullyadvocates on behalf of hospitals and thepatients they serve. The MHA addresseskey issues in the legislative and regula-tory arenas to advance initiatives thatprotect quality, cost-effective and acces-sible care.

Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids – Agility Health, a leadingprovider of physical rehabilitation andsoftware services to benefit patients,healthcare providers and employers,announced the appointment of MichaelS. Valdes as chief financial officer.Valdes joins Agility Health fromUniversity of Michigan HealthSystem, where he held a series of keypositions including chief administrativeofficer for the system’s flagshipUniversity Hospital and associate hospi-tal director for operations and ancillaryservices. Valdes joined the health systemin 2001, serving as director of financeand business operations for patient careservices.

Grand Rapids – Heather Treib has beenpromoted to manager of operations forPine Rest’s hospital-based services onthe main campus. Treib has worked forPine Rest Christian Mental HealthServices for more than eight years and isa strong advocate for the right tools andresources needed for efficiency. Herdiverse background includes trainingand education, clinical informatics, bal-anced scorecard, LEAN process improve-ment and project management.

Muskegon – Nurses at Mercy HealthPartners are being honored with TheDAISY Award For Extraordinary Nurses.The award, presented in collaborationwith the American Organization ofNurse Executives is part of the DAISY(Diseases Attacking the ImmuneSystem) Foundation's program to recog-nize the super-human efforts nurses per-form everyday. The first award recipientis Katina Kuerth, BSN, RN, from MercyHealth Partners’ Mercy Campus.

Kalamazoo – Thomas M. Blok, M.D.was recently appointed director ofresearch services for the Bronson healthsystem. Blok is board certified in internalmedicine.

Grand Rapids – Melissa Brown, DO, hasjoined Spectrum Health Medical GroupFamily Medicine in Coopersville. Brownis a board-certified family medicinephysician.

Paw Paw – Bronson LakeView Surgeryhas welcomed to its practice RebeccaThoreson, M.D. She joins the team ofShadi Fahs, D.O., Konrads Lubavs,M.D. and Daniel Teske, PA-C. Thoresonis board eligible in general surgery.

14Health Care BriefsGrand Rapids – Spectrum HealthBlodgett and Butterworth hospitalsand Meijer Heart Center are recipientsof the 2011 HealthGrades® PatientSafety Excellence Award™. This placesSpectrum Health among the top 5 per-cent of hospitals in the nation for patientsafety. In a new study released byHealthGrades, Spectrum Health is theonly hospital in Grand Rapids and one ofonly 268 hospitals in the country toreceive this designation.

Grand Rapids – Effective April 1 for thefollowing six hospitals, Priority will bechanging the way they bill emergencyroom doctors: Holland Hospital(Holland) - EPI PC; Metro HealthHospital (Grand Rapids) - CertifiedEmergency Medicine Specialists; MHPMercy Campus (Muskegon) - EmergencyHealth Partners; MHP Hackley Campus(Muskegon) - West MichiganEmergency Services; North OttawaCommunity Hospital (Grand Haven) -Emergency Health Partners; St. Mary’sHealth Care (Grand Rapids) - GrandRiver Emergency Medical. The newprocess will be: claim is received byPriority Health; the check for the fullamount (less coinsurance/deductibles) ismailed to employee; if the patient was adependent of the employee, the check willbe made out to both the employee and thedependent; physician group bills theemployee; the employee pays the physi-cian group.

Big Rapids – Mecosta County MedicalCenter’s Inpatient MedicalRehabilitation Unit announced that itranked in the top 10 percent of inpatientrehabilitation facilities in the UnitedStates for facility performance. UDS, themost widely used system for document-ing the severity of patient disability andoutcomes of medical rehabilitation,ranked 797 qualifying facilities through-out the nation.

Lansing – The Michigan Hospice andPalliative Care Organizationannounced that Lisa Ashley has beenselected as the organization’s new chiefexecutive officer.

Holland – Grand RapidsOphthalmology-Holland announcedthat Lewis DeKuiper OD has joined thepractice. Dr. DeKuiper is an optometristand will work in both the Holland andGrand Rapids locations.

Holland – Holland Hospital welcomedclinical neurologist Gerald F. Robbins,DO, FACN to Lakeshore Health Partners(LHP) – Neurology. He joins StevenVanDoornik, MD, and Paul Ariagno,MD in practice at 577 Michigan Avenue,Suite 104 in Holland.

Grand Rapids – Rebecca Barcy, Ph.D.,F.L.P. was recently hired to work in thePine Rest psychological consultationcenter.

Holland – The Lakeshore HealthPartners (LHP) physician group inHolland has been recognized by theNational Committee of QualityAssurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. In order toreceive this designation, LHP needed tomeet the NCQA standards of health caredelivery using patient-centered process-es that focus on highly coordinated careand long-term patient/physician rela-tionships.

Kalamazoo – The National CancerInstitute within the National Institutesof Health has awarded a three-year$400,000 grant to Western MichiganUniversity to develop a new, cutting-edge treatment for colorectal cancerusing viruses to attack cancer cells with-out harming normal cells. The grant, toDr. Karim Essani, a WMU virologist andprofessor of biological sciences, will fundthe Experimental Oncolytic VirotherapyProject. The new virotherapy, as opposedto chemotherapy and other conventionalcancer treatments, holds great promisein that it could prove more effective intreating colon cancer and not harmhealthy cells, thus avoiding nausea andother undesirable side effects commonwith other treatments.

Muskegon – Mercy Health Partnersrecently replaced their cardiac catheriza-tion (cath) equipment at the MercyCampus – a $2.5 million investment –with Seimens’ equipment. Earnst &Volkers of Holland renovated andremodeled the space and Seimensinstalled the equipment at the end ofNovember and in early February. Theinstallation included high-density shelv-ing units produced by FairwoodIndustries in Norton Shores. The pri-mary advantage of this new equipmentis the increase in image quality.

Wyoming – Metro Health Hospitalbecame the first hospital in the countryto use a new surgical device to treatperipheral arterial disease after it wasapproved for use by the U.S. Food &Drug Administration. Metro Health'sinterventional cardiology team receivedthe honor from device makerCardiovascular Systems, Inc. becausethe hospital is in the national forefrontof limb salvage efforts. Metro Health car-diologist Dr. Jihad Mustapha and histeam performed the first procedure suc-cessfully using the new Stealth 360°™Orbital PAD System, a minimally inva-sive catheter device used in arteries toremove plaque and restore blood flow tounhealthy and at-risk tissue.Grand Rapids – An annual studyreleased this month recognized severalSpectrum Health hospitals as beingamong the 100 best hospitals in thecountry based on overall organizationalperformance. Spectrum Health HospitalGroup – Grand Rapids and SpectrumHealth United Hospital in Greenvillewere named among the ThomsonReuters 100 Top Hospitals®: NationalBenchmarks.

Pinckney – Joshua Tree Skin Care(JTree), maker of organic and naturalproducts designed to support an activeoutdoor lifestyle, announced its spon-sorship of the Barry-Roubaix Road Racein Middleville, Mich. on Saturday, March26, 2011. Up to 1,000 cyclists fromaround the United States will competefor a cash purse; the race is the thirdlargest cycling event in Michigan.Members of JTree’s cycling team includ-ing Neil Miller, Jeff Poirier and MarkWeston, will compete in the event.

Detroit – The Blue Cross Blue Shield ofMichigan Foundation has received fivenational awards for Excellence inCommunications—two gold, two silverand a bronze—in the 2011 WilmerShields Rich Awards Program forExcellence in Communications.

Grand Rapids – Pine Rest ChristianMental Health Services recentlyannounced it has selected QualifactsSystems in Nashville, Tenn. and itsCareLogic Enterprise electronic healthrecord (EHR) as the best solution tomeet its needs. Qualifacts’ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) EHR will allow PineRest improved care coordination andoperational efficiency across its diverseprogram mix and 18 site locations thatserve over 250,000 patient encountersper year. Pine Rest carried out a deliber-ate search for just the right fit with theirorganization and mission.

Grand Rapids – CARF Internationalannounced that Behavioral ResourcesAnd Institute for NeuropsychologicalServices (BRAINS) has been grantedfull re-accrediation for a period of threeyears for its programs in the areas ofassessment, referral and outpatienttreatment in integrated DD / mentalhealth for adults, children and adoles-cents. This year it has added their out-patient programs, including their recentexpansion to Grand Haven in a workingrelationship with Generation Care tocontinue providing multi-disciplinarycare in one location.

Holland – Thomson Reuters, a nationalindustry leader in healthcare data,announced its 2011 Thomson Reuters100 Top Hospitals award winners. For asixth consecutive year, HollandHospital has been named to the list, andis the only Michigan hospital listed thisyear in the medium size community hos-pital category.

Grand Rapids – HelloLife announcedthe addition of a local health food storechain to its retail family – Apple ValleyNatural Foods, located at 3013 WestShore Drive #70, in Holland, Michigan.Harvest Health also joined its family oftrusted retailers. The natural grocer willnow be selling many of the HelloLifeRelieve products.

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Muskegon – Mercy Health Partnersrecently replaced their cardiac catheriza-tion (cath) equipment at the MercyCampus - a $2.5 million investment.Mercy Health Partners selected Seimens'equipment. Elzinga & Volkers of Hollandrenovated and remodeled the space andSeimens installed the equipment at theend of November and in early February.The installation included high-densityshelving units produced by FairwoodIndustries in Norton Shores.

Each year, Mercy Cath Labs' cardiol-ogists and staff perform approximately6000 procedures for 1800 to 2000patients. Cardiac Cath labs are used forangioplasty and angina patients as wellas placement of pacemakers and auto-matic defibrillators.

With this technology, the cardiolo-gists get a more detailed anatomical viewof the heart's circulation saving precioustime if a clinical intervention is needed.The primary advantage of this new equip-ment is the increase in image quality. "It'slike going from a black and white TV tohigh definition," says Dave Aslakson,Clinical Manager of Heart & Vascular. Theprevious equipment would take an analogimage and convert it to digital. The newtechnology uses a lower dose of radiationand acquires images digitally, providing ahigher image resolution.

"Additionally, the new labs providea safer work environment with reducedradiation exposure as well as anincreased ability to diagnose and treatpatients. We had awfully good outcomesalready but this equipment allows somethings to be done better and faster. Timeis muscle. Anytime we can save time thatcould correlate to even better outcomes,"shared Aslakson.

In other news for the hospital, MHPrecently transitioned to a single electron-ic health record system. By switching toa single electronic medical record system,Mercy Health Partners became part of asmall percentage of hospitals in theUnited States utilizing a comprehensive,new technology that increases patientsafety and cuts costs by reducing thepotential for human error.

In late February, MHP officiallyswitched from multiple electronic andpaper systems to a single electronicrecord, positioning MHP as a leader inelectronic health record technology, saidGreg Loomis, MHP chief operating officerand leader of the implementation

process. "Having all of MHP's clinical,financial and administrative data togeth-er is going to be better for our patientsand our providers."

This system is now "live" in 28 ofthe 41 Trinity Health (MHP's parentorganization) hospitals nationwide. OnMarch 1, Trinity Health reported the useof electronic health records (EHR) sys-tems improves outcomes, including thefollowing at their hospitals:

• Emergent medications are admin-istered 40% faster

• 14,000 potential adverse drugevents are avoided

• Patient falls with injury werereduced 31%

• Pressure ulcers were reduced 45%Dubbed "Genesis," the electronic

health record initiative includes imple-menting an adverse drug event (ADE)alert system, computerized physicianorder entry (CPOE) and medicationadministration scanning.

"CPOE provides immediate trans-mission of physician orders to pharmacy,laboratory, and radiology; faster testresults reporting; and the accessibility ofpatient information at the point of care,"said Remington Sprague, M.D. and ChiefMedical Officer. "These processes willhelp MHP increase patient safety andenhance quality of care."

CPOE includes an electronic prescrib-ing system that intercepts errors whenthey most commonly occur: at the timemedications are ordered. With CPOE,physicians enter orders into a computerrather than on paper. Orders are integrat-ed with patient information, includinglaboratory and prescription data. Theorder is then automatically checked forpotential conflicts or problems.

With fully implemented CPOE, wait-ing for lab results, searching for patientcharts, or deciphering physician hand-writing, which can keep nurses awayfrom direct patient care, will be a thing ofthe past. The Genesis clinical informa-tion system features electronic toolsdesigned to alleviate such issues.

"CPOE helps nurses respond topatients in 'real time' because orders areentered online at the point of care andthen automatically sent to appropriatehospital departments," said KimMaguire, Chief Nursing Officer."Treatments and interventions immedi-ately appear on staff work lists, eliminat-ing waiting and reducing the possibility

of missed tasks.""Another benefit is the electronic

medical record (EMR), the online versionof a patient chart," added Sprague. "Itdisplays active orders, allergies, demo-graphics, and documented problems.Other screens in the EMR are integratedwith the patient's clinical file and providereal-time notification of new informa-tion, orders, consult requests, and testresults. The EMR is not only available in

the hospital, but physicians will be ableto access their patients' results securelyat home or office."

MHP's Mercy Campus implementedthe Genesis system in 2004. Since merg-ing with Hackley Health in 2008, thenew health system used paper chartingat the Lakeshore Campus and anotherclinical documentation system at theHackley Campus.

New Cardiac Catheterization Labs and IntegratedElectronic Health Records Come to MHP

15

Wyoming Considers Next Stepsin GM Site Redevelopment

Wyoming – The Wyoming CityCouncil is expected to take several stepsneeded to move forward on the redevel-opment of the former General Motors site– a project that will create hundreds ofnew jobs in Wyoming.

The City Council will consider theapproval of documents necessary toestablish a brownfield site and begin thedemolition process at the 36th Street SWlocation.

“This is a great time for the City ofWyoming,” said Mayor Jack Poll. “Weare committed to bringing jobs to ourcommunity, and look forward to takingthe next step to bring new life to the for-mer GM location.”

At the council meeting, projectdeveloper Lormax Stern and the City ofWyoming are expected to sign importantagreements that will allow the redevelop-ment of the GM site to move forward:

• A brownfield plan amendment,which will establish a separate brown-field designation for this 92-acre parceland allow the project to seek $11 millionin brownfield tax credits from the state

• A demolition site plan, which wasdiscussed and then approved by the CityPlanning Commission at its March 15meeting. Demolition of the site is expect-ed to start in April and take betweeneight and 14 months

• A development agreement, whichestablishes a five-year relationshipbetween Thunder Ventures, LLC, a sub-sidiary of Lormax Stern that will handlethe redevelopment, and the City ofWyoming.

Additionally, Thunder Ventures willsign a reimbursement agreement withthe City that spells out details for a per-formance bond, payment of attorney feesand related issues.

Outdoor Learning Center Earns LEED Statusand Wins Multiple Awards

Ann Arbor – The Michigan Chapterof the American Society of LandscapeArchitects (MiASLA) announced that theCentral Michigan University OutdoorLearning Center received a Merit Awardfor Landscape Architectural Design. Theproject also received a Landscape Designaward from the Michigan Recreation andParks Association.

The Outdoor Learning Center is anexterior educational and play space with-in Central Michigan University’s ChildDevelopment and Learning Laboratory,an on-site child care facility that is part ofCMU’s nationally-recognized EarlyChildhood Development education pro-gram. The scope of the project entaileddevelopment of a year-round active andpassive play space and learning environ-ment for pre-school children of diversecognitive and physical abilities that is anextension of the indoor classroom. Theguiding philosophy was one of respectingchildren for who they are and all thatthey can accomplish by providingavenues of open-ended and flexible inde-pendent play and social engagement.

Beckett & Raeder, Inc. providedmaster planning, schematic design,design development, construction docu-mentation and construction administra-tion for the project. Team membersincluded Cary Baker, LLA; ChristySummers, LLA, LEED AP; and KateRoebuck.

"When thoughtful adults considerthe environment, materials and even theconversations that they will have with

children, they can identify areas in whichchildren can participate in rich learningwithout fearing boredom. Play supportscognitive, language, social, creative, andeven physical development as it requireschildren to explore possibilities andadapt to the environment and specificsituations,” says Central MichiganUniversity’s Cheryl Priest, Ed.D,Assistant Professor, Dept. of HumanEnvironmental Studies and FacultyDirector, Child Development andLearning Laboratory.

In making the award, the jury recog-nized the project for its incorporation oftexture, color and whimsy, and for its out-standing underlying organization lendingto a space that is both functional and fun.

While the Outdoor Learning Centercovers approximately 1.25 acres, thespace is divided into several activitynodes offering differing experiencesthrough the varied intimacy of thespaces. The Center is positioned on thesouth building face, giving the spaceample access to sunshine, which is mostimportant on the cold winter days ofmid-Michigan.

The south face of the building isalmost entirely glass, providing excellentintegration of the outdoor and indoorenvironments. Immediately adjacent tothe building is a concrete plaza with awave-shaped perimeter. The plaza is ofample size for group activities, but alsoprovides a portion of the tricycle looprequested by the Center. The remainderof the loop is provided by a secondary

arc spine comprised of reclaimed brickpavers, a wood boardwalk and a woodsuspension bridge.

Bisecting the tricyle loop is a dryriver bed comprised of stacked ledgestones and Mexican river rocks. Severalledge stones are placed in the concreteplaza, affording the appearance that thedry river bed originates from within thebuilding. Opposite the building is a largeoverlooking wood boardwalk. Plantssuch as sedum and iris are nestledbetween the stacked ledge stones, alongwith irrigation misters. These add awater element for a bit of fun and sur-prise for the children and can be closelymanaged and monitored by the staff. Anarched bridge traverses the dry river bed,providing opportunities for imaginativeplay over and under the bridge, as wellas a challenge for traversing the arch byfoot or by trike.

At both ends of the arched bridge areformal play areas comprised of KOMPANplay equipment on poured-in-place safetysurfacing of complementing primary col-ors. The Outdoor Learning Center wasparticularly interested in providing playequipment that promoted imaginative andinteractive play, with an aesthetic thatavoided molded, brightly-colored plastics.The play equipment in one area targetsthree to four year old children, while theplay equipment in the other space targetsfour to five year old children. Traversingthe arched bridge, therefore, also repre-sents a passage to greater physical abili-ties among the children.

The eastern-most portion of theOutdoor Learning Center is a perform-ance area, with an architecturally uniqueReading Pavilion. The Reading Pavilionprovides a small stage area, as well as awindow for puppet shows. The perform-ance space is heavily landscaped to rein-force the space’s intimacy and separationfrom the remainder of the Center.

The landscape design of theOutdoor Learning Center promotes sub-stantial diversity through the use ofdozens of different trees, shrubs, peren-nials and ground cover. The design pro-vides color, textural and seasonal vari-ety, providing an ever-changing environ-ment for the children to experience, playin, and grow in.

The project was sought and wasawarded LEED Silver certification fromthe United States Green Building Council.Elements that contributed to the project’ssustainable design practices include: useof drip irrigation system to greatlyreduce potable water use for plant irriga-tion; use of tall fescue seed mix insteadof traditional lawn mix to greatly reducepotable water use for lawn irrigation; useof FSC-certified wood materials for allwood incorporated into the Center; reuseof brick roadway pavers for tricycle loop

This information was providedlargely by the KOMPAN Play Institute.On their site at www.Kompan.us/KOM-PAN-Institute, readers can find anarchive of KPI newsletters including afeature of the same playground from theperspective of the childcare center direc-tor and other playground cases andinterviews with experts in the field ofplay environments.

16

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Communication & IT 17

Will the Cloud Rain on Your Paradeor Water Your Garden?

With all of thehype about “cloud”computing, today’sbusiness ownerswonder what themodern office will(or should) look like.They questionwhether everythingwill be in the cloudand if new services

will be easy to add or expand.As the economy improves, many

companies have begun the road to recov-ery. To cut costs and boost efficiency,businesses are considering outsourcingvarious functions within their organiza-tion and adding new technology. Manyare curious about the cloud, but areunsure of where or how to start theprocess of modernizing the office.

Transitioning to a modern officerequires a thorough examination of

“technology points of touch” that willimpact your business. You will find the ITindustry loves the use of acronyms. Tothis end, you will see many technologysolutions defined as “as a Service” (aaS).Following are some technology touchpoints the modern office includes:

• Hardware as a Service (HaaS)allows you to combine any hardware pur-chases into a single monthly payment. Ithas the ability to automatically refreshthe technology over time and will includeall services surrounding the equipment,such as maintenance and repair of thedevices.

• Software as a Service (SaaS) hasbeen available for awhile. Large organi-zations such as Microsoft and VMWare(EMC) have been offering the “use of”their software on a per month basis.Some businesses, like Sales Force, havebeen providing the software services inthe cloud for some time.

• Professional services will still berequired to manage and maintain print-ers, router, firewalls, switches and localworkstations even if you move every-thing to the cloud.

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)refers to the local switches, cables,routers, etc. that comprise your local net-work. Some providers will cover basicfirewall work under this category.

• Storage, backup and disasterrecovery are key considerations if youmove your critical data to the cloud. It’simportant to ask your cloud vendor abouttheir backup and disaster recovery plansfor your data.

• Email management and adminis-tration are also critical. Simply backingup email on a nightly basis does not com-ply with many of the general rules andregulations for email storage and archiv-ing.

• Proper remote monitoring andmanagement enable your systems to beoperational faster with less downtime.

• A centralized help desk functionpromotes increased productivity in theoffice. Employees, who previously reliedon a “point” person within the organiza-tion, now have access to an IT expert,who can resolve issues quickly.

• More services will continue to beavailable through the Internet, includingVoiP. Voice will travel alongside yourdata.

• Mobile devices such as Droids,iPhones and iPads will increasinglybecome a business necessity.

• Security today provides more thanbasic firewall services, including

antivirus, anti-spyware, intrusion detec-tion and prevention services to protectyour data.

• Modern “cloud” technology allowsyour staff to work from any place any-time.

• Telepresence, formerly called videoconferencing, expanded its capabilitiesand allows staff to collaborate remotely atgreatly reduced costs.

• Vendor management allows you tostreamline all technology issues througha single vendor manager.

• Many businesses are opting for co-managed IT, allowing some or all of theirIT services to be managed by outsidefirms.

• Cloud services can range frombasic email to remotely running yourentire line of business applications.However, you will still need local supportto help you work with the cloud vendors.

As you can see, the modern officeincludes plenty of technology “touchpoints,” and illustrates the importance ofmaking sound business decisions on howyour organization will address each ofthese moving forward.

Richard J. Reiffer serves as ChiefTechnology Officer of Trivalent Group,Inc., one of Michigan’s largest technolo-gy firms. Reiffer was one of the originalfounders of Trivalent LAN Concepts in1991, and today leads its efforts in theareas of cloud computing services, datacenter management, network infrastruc-ture management, hosting and co-loca-tion services, Internet services and allmanaged services offerings.

Richard J. Reiffer

Trivalent Group AcquiresInnovative Software

Grandville – Trivalent Group, one ofMichigan’s largest technology firms,announced its acquisition of InnovativeSoftware Strategies (ISS), a Battle Creek-based technology service provider. Theagreement will expand Trivalent’s exist-ing business further into SouthernMichigan and marks the $22 millioncompany’s eighth acquisition since 2003.

Founded in 1993 by Amy Lenz, ISShas developed deep roots in SouthernMichigan and the Battle Creek area. Thefirm provides managed services, disasterplanning, prevention and protection, ITconsulting, software development, healthcare IT, and hosting services. Serving thehealth care, food processing, and com-mercial industries, the ISS customer basewill become part of the Trivalent network,adding more than 75 accounts toTrivalent’s client portfolio. As part of theacquisition, Trivalent will maintain abranch office at the current ISS location,49 S. Cass St., Suite 3A in Battle Creek.Trivalent will also add all six ISS employ-ees to its team.

“Trivalent was founded by bringingtogether the best in the business and hascontinued this practice by welcoming ISSstaff and customers into the Trivalentfamily. Amy has built an incredible com-pany over the past 18 years with a solid

reputation for excellent service. We lookforward to building on the successattained by ISS in the Southern Michiganmarket and offering all our clientsincreased capabilities and new technolo-gies,” said Trivalent CEO Larry Andrus.

The acquisition is part of Trivalent’slong-term growth strategy and commit-ment to remaining a Michigan-based com-pany. Between 2003 and 2008, the eight-year-old firm acquired seven technologycompanies throughout the state, includingthe original Trivalent, ACCN, CD&HSupport Services, Entre of Mt. Pleasant,Reiughes, Remex Corporation, and iQConsulting. Today, Trivalent’s team of 65professionals serves more than 1,000businesses statewide from its Grandvilleheadquarters and offices in Mt. Pleasant,Kalamazoo and now Battle Creek.

“We are excited to become part of theTrivalent team. The acquisition allows usto expand the breadth of our business byproviding clients with a broader range ofproducts and services,” said Lenz, whowill serve as a virtual chief informationofficer with Trivalent. “I have known ofand respected Trivalent Group’s expertiseand strong work ethics for many years andam confident this will be a positive movefor the Battle Creek business community.”

Communication & IT 18

Communication & IT BriefsMclLean, VA – Gannett Co., Inc. theparent company of WZZM 13, DetroitFree Press, Lansing State Journal,Battle Creek Enquirer, Port HuronTimes Herald and Livingston Daily,launched a new corporate brand strategyand national advertising campaign thatelevates the company’s corporate identi-ty and supports its unique portfolio oftrusted brands, powerful network ofbroadcast, digital, mobile and publishingproperties and unmatched local-to-national reach. The new tagline, “It’s allwithin reach,” captures the benefitsGannett provides for consumers, busi-ness customers and employees. Throughits portfolio of trusted brands, Gannettgives businesses the opportunity toengage targeted audiences on any plat-form – TV, local and national newspa-pers, online, handheld devices and evenin a specific elevator in a specific build-ing on a specific street.

Grand Rapids – WOOD TV8 has beennamed Station of the Year 2010 by theMichigan Association ofBroadcasters. This is the 9th time in 11years that the station has received thetop honor. 24 Hour News 8 was alsohonored with numerous awards forexcellence including sweeping the BestBreaking News Coverage category.

Troy – Global-LT, a language, transla-tion and relocation destination servicescompany, announced Kristin Lambertas their new Global Marketing Manager.With over 10 years of industry experi-ence in North America working along-side global companies, Kristin brings awealth of experience that will evolveGlobal-LT’s global marketing strategy.

Grand Rapids – WGVU announced thatTimothy E. Eernisse is a winner of a2011 Communitas Award for LZMichigan – Welcome Home for VietnamVeterans in the category of IndividualParticipation in Organization’s Program.Communitas Awards recognizes excep-tional businesses, organizations andindividuals that are unselfishly giving ofthemselves and their resources andthose that are changing how they dobusiness to benefit their communities.

Grand Rapids – BASIC Communicationswelcomed Mitch Greer from theFremont/Big Rapids area along with KellyDewinter to their sales team.

Grand Rapids – WOOD TV8 has beennamed Station of the Year 2010 by theMichigan Association ofBroadcasters. This is the 9th time in11 years that the station has receivedthe top honor. 24 Hour News 8 was alsohonored with numerous awards forexcellence including sweeping the BestBreaking News Coverage category.

Grand Rapids – During the "Spring MoonGaze" on April 8 and 9, (weather permit-ting) members of the Grand RapidsAmateur Astronomical Association,local amateur astronomers, and GrandRapids Public Museum’s Roger B.Chaffee Planetarium staff members willset up telescopes from 8:30-10:00 pm inconvenient parking lots throughout thegreater Grand Rapids area.

Grand Rapids – WOOD TV8 has beenawarded General Excellence by theAssociated Press. 24 Hour News 8 wasalso honored with numerous awards forexcellence including: Best Website, BestContinuing Coverage, and Best Hard News.

Paw Paw – Douglas Singleton has beenappointed vice-president of finance atSt. Julian Wine Company of Paw Paw.Singleton was with The Dow ChemicalCompany in Midland, Michigan for 12years in finance and accounting prior tojoining St. Julian in 2009

Ada – Work has begun on a new bakeryat Grand River Grocery, set to open inApril. Haley McNeil, previously ofNantucket Bakery, will be able to startbaking in her own facility with her ownteam behind her. The bakery is alsooffering new gluten-free options in theirfreezer and cafe.

Grand Rapids – WGVU announced thatWGVU-TV and Radio have received atotal of eleven Broadcast ExcellenceAwards handed out by the MichiganAssociation of Broadcasters. The sta-tion received the honors at the annualMAB awards ceremony in Lansing.

Lansing – Scott Swanson, who bringsextensive experience in health care andlegislative communications along with apassion for social media and audio/visu-al production, has joined MartinWaymire Advocacy Communicationsas a social media account executive.

Grand Rapids – WGVU–FM Radioannounced that two WGVU Productionshave received honors from the MichiganAssociated Press BroadcastersAssociation: An honorable mentionwas given to WGVU-FM in the categoryfor Best Natural Sound for ImmigrationReform. WGVU-FM received anotherhonorable mention for WGVU-NewsReporter Nikki Motson’s Asian CarpSeries for Best Continuing Coverage.

Grand Rapids – In early February,Springfield, IL-based Heartland CreditUnion gave the green light for the mort-gage servicing team of Grand Rapids-based CUSO Xtend, Inc. to handle thedaily settlement work for their portfolioof loans. The CUSO also announced theaddition of three new credit union part-ners to its list of compliance monitoringclients during the past month:Northwest Consumers FCU (TraverseCity), WV United FCU (Charleston, WV)and NorthPark Community CU(Indianapolis, IN). Xtend, Inc. alsorecently assisted with member supportfollowing the liquidation of Spokane,Washington-based The Union CreditUnion (TUCU) and subsequent assimi-lation of its members into Alaska USAFCU (Anchorage, AK) and NumericaCU (Spokane, WA).

Farmington Hills – Logicalis announcedthat it has achieved a CustomerSatisfaction Excellence Gold Star fromCisco. This designation recognizesLogicalis for delivering outstanding cus-tomer service to customers in the UnitedStates.

Madison, WI – TDSTelecommunications Corp. announcedit is the recipient of a Cisco PartnerSummit regional award for United StatesService Provider Small Business Partnerof the Year. Cisco unveiled the winnersMarch 1 at its annual channel partnerconference in New Orleans.

Grand Rapids – Service Express, Inc.recently added Jeremy Packer and MikeTexter as production engineers, JenniferHance joined as corporate recruiter andMatt Rector as an IT intern. ServiceExpress also added two positions each inCleveland and Indianapolis and haveopened new offices in Springfield,Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.

Philadelphia, PA – 1&1 Internet, Inc.announced that it will now offer its host-ing solutions to the Canadian small- andmedium-sized business market. As aninternational hosting provider, 1&1 wel-comes the opportunity to provide afford-able and reliable hosting to Canada’ssmall business market throughwww.1and1.ca.

Madison, WI – Do you know someonewho can’t afford basic phone service oris thinking about cutting the cord tosave money? Help is available throughLifeline and Link-Up. These programshave been available for many years fromparticipating local phone companies,including TDS TelecommunicationsCorp. The Lifeline program provides dis-counts on monthly phone service forqualified telephone subscribers. TheLink-Up program offers reduced chargesfor basic landline telephone installationand provides additional discounts off themonthly service. Consumers may be eli-gible for these reduced rate telephoneservices if they receive qualified benefitsfrom their state. TDS supports theseprograms using funds from theUniversal Service Fund program.

New York, NY – GigaSpacesTechnologies, a leading provider of anew generation of virtualized applicationplatforms delivering end-to-end scala-bility, announced that SuperDerivatives(SD), a world-leading derivatives solu-tions provider, is using GigaSpaceseXtreme Application Platform (XAP)with some of its SD risk managementsolutions.

616-477-0025 877-477-00251505 Plainfield NE, Grand Rapids

Local Companies Join Forces on Web-Based CollectionGrand Rapids – Local software

development firm Open SystemsTechnologies (OST) completed its merg-er recently with Pay It Square(www.payitsquare.com), a web-basedgroup collections site. Developed in2009, Pay It Square, as a new partnerwith OST and its continuing marketdiversification strategy, will have theability to leverage OST’s considerableresources around future developmentand marketing investments.

Pay It Square gives groups (event

registrations, fundraisers, fantasysports, group trips, bachelor parties,class reunions, etc) an opportunity tocontrol and monitor financial collectionsfrom members of the group. Organizerscan set up a privately labeled web pagewith content regarding event (includingphotos and background skins). A list ofgroup members they want to collectmoney from can be created, andamounts owed can be viewed by thewhole group or privately. Group mem-bers are then notified via email as to the

amount they owe and due date whichcan then be paid online with a creditcard or PayPal account.

Future investments and develop-ments are being made for Pay It Square,

such as a Facebook App and a Pay ItSquare mobile app. The site is free tojoin, and it’s free for organizers to use.For most scenarios the company onlycharges 99 cents per transaction.

Communication & IT 19

Michigan IT Company Transforms BusinessWith Virtual Workspace

Lansing – Michigan's Center forBusiness Innovation (CBI) has launchedtheir new "Partner Login" site;www.login.cbipartner.com. This site pro-vides CBI partners access to multiple tech-nology tools and resources under one plat-form, while allowing them to maximizetheir time and budgets spent on technolo-gy. CBI understands technology is the keyto successful business operations, andgiven the current economic conditions,expenses and mishaps in technology canbe detrimental to a business.

This simple and multifunctionallogin site provides an atmosphere forcompany growth, workflow and prof-itability. "Businesses rely heavily on theavailability of their applications and theintegrity of their data, especially their

email. The Partner Login site enables usto fully secure and protect each partners'applications, ensuring availability to theimportant tools which allow our partners'businesses to succeed," says DouglasHorne, technology director at CBI. ThePartner Login site provides CBI partners'access to their personalized VirtualWorkspace, allowing users to access theirapplications and email from anywhere, atany time and on any device throughmobile device synchronization.

Microsoft Corp. reports onwww.microsoft.com, "virtualization solu-tions help companies to reduce their totalcost of ownership, increase businessagility and continuity, enable anywhereaccess, and improve security and compli-ance." The businesses CBI partners with

are also experiencing the benefits of avirtual workspace. "The advanced relia-bility of our company email through thePartner Login site had provided ouragents with constant communicationwith their clients, providing excellentcustomer services for them. The sharedresources and mobile synchronizationour agents have access to, have improvedcommunication and productivity by far,it's phenomenal!" said Kris VanDeventer,operations manager of Coldwell BankerHubbell Briarwood.

Partners are able to handpick appli-cations specific to their business, includ-ing applications like Microsoft Office,Electronic Medical Records packages andaccounting software, such as MicrosoftDynamics GP. Also included in the

Partner Login site is quick and easyaccess to a company's web mail, emailarchive, remote backup files and emailsthat have been quarantined as spam. ThePartner Login site is also equipped withan online support incident tool, allowingbusinesses to track, review and submitnew incidents.

Center for Business Innovation is aTechnology Services Provider, offeringproducts and services from desktop andserver management and support toManaged Print Services and CloudComputing to data loss prevention. Theyhave been successfully running their owndata center, with 99.9% application avail-ability, for over 14 years. They werefounded in 1952 and have six statewidelocations.

Communication & IT BriefsSan Luis Obispo, CA – ELEMENTS, Inc.announced its recent partnership withHome Helpers, one of the nation’s lead-ing senior care franchises. ELEMENTSwill collaborate with Home Helpers toredesign and optimize its corporate web-site and construct locally optimized web-sites for franchise owners. Local ownerswill be able to manage their local web-sites as well as perform other onlinelocal marketing such as social media,with the new platform.

United Kingdom – Logicalis was namedwinner of the Outstanding IBM SystemsStorage Solution Beacon Award in theIBM Beacon 2011 Awards competition.This prestigious honor is awarded eachyear to a select number of IBM Business

Partners to recognize information tech-nology excellence, commitment to skillsattainment, industry knowledge andinnovative solutions based on IBM prod-ucts and services.

Grandville – Trivalent Group hasranked 47 on Nine Lives Media Inc.’sfourth annual MSPmentor 100, a distin-guished list and research report identify-ing the world’s top 100 managed serviceproviders. Trivalent Group also recentlyannounced the following appointments:Ryan Camp - title systems engineer;Deanna Freisen - medical applicationspecialist; Andrew MacDonald, CarlStrickland and Andy Talsma - title sys-tems engineers.

Key Steps Small Business Owners Can Taketo Ensure a Successful Year

By Eric Mills

According to the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration (SBA),627,200 new businesses opened,595,600 businesses closed, and 43,546declared bankruptcy in 2008. Annuallyon average, 10 percent of new business-es open and 10 percent of businessesclose. To ensure your business stays onthe path to success, new and seasonedbusiness owners (particularly smallbusiness owners) should conduct anannual strategic review of their businessto make sure it is well prepared for thefuture. Day-to-day work often makes itdifficult to set aside time to plan.Whether it’s a new calendar year, thebeginning of a new quarter or the start ofa fiscal year, business owners shouldtake time to review and update theirbusiness plan.

It’s important to consider the follow-ing: the impact of taxes, financing andcredit, hiring and firing, underestimatingexpenses, marketing/selling the busi-ness itself or specific product and financerequirements. Without proper prepara-tion, any one of these responsibilitiescan present future difficulties for small

business owners. Business owners canuse the following five simple steps toprepare for success. Meet with your accountant, lawyer or

financial planner.New laws passed by Congress—

from health care accounting to tax with-holding—may impact your business.Although it’s tough to find the time, youshould meet with your accountant,lawyer or financial advisor regularly sothey can help you understand and stayabreast of recent changes.

These professionals can also helpwith financing for your business andproperly estimate expenses. Dependingon the company size and on the needs ofyour business, it’s advisable to meetwith your accountant on a quarterlybasis. However, if your business isestablished and you have a good, trustedcontroller, meeting with your accountantonce a year may be adequate.

It’s also important to engage withyour business banker, who may be ableto provide you with a range of optionsfor improving the management of yourfinances. Create or review your business plan.

If you don’t yet have a businessplan, you can find free or low-cost help

in developing one. Nonprofit businessconsulting organizations like SCOREwww.score.org); organizations that rep-resent businesses, like the Chamber ofCommerce (uschamber.org); and evenlocal college and university business stu-dents are available to assist you withcreating a plan.

If your business plan is already inplace, you should always do an annualreview and update the plan as needed.This gives you the chance to step backand take a look at where you want totake your business long-term, and thenimplement the marketing strategy orexpansion plans that should get youthere.

Review your insurance.If you reduced insurance coverage

in the last two years due to businesscontraction or lower inventory, revisityour policy to make sure it will provideadequate coverage in 2011, particularlyif you’re planning for growth.

Put a new system in place.You might think you don’t have

time to get organized, but putting a fewsimple systems in place to keep you andyour business organized can pay off invaluable time – and money – saved later.Be sure to regularly gather and organize

all your records and receipts. If yourrecord keeping has not been as thoroughas it could be – to take advantage of allpotential tax deductions, for example –now is the time to put a new system inplace to track your expenses.

Review internal policies and proce-dures.

It’s a good idea to review internalpolicies and procedures annually, mak-ing revisions as necessary to keep up todate with current regulations and man-agement trends. If you amend policiesand procedures, make sure you informyour employees of any changes that willimpact them. And, if you haven’t yetdone so, consider developing a crisiscontingency plan to protect your busi-ness, your employees and your cus-tomers against the unexpected.

The rewards of planning for thefuture can be beneficial not just for you,but also for your business. Planningtakes time and consideration. But withhelp from the right professionals andthese five steps, planning can be yourkey to business success.

Eric Mills is West MichiganBusiness Banking Market Manager atHuntington Bank.

Asahi Glass Ltd. Chooses Wolverine Glass Products asKrystal Kolours Fabricator

Wyoming – Asahi Glass Ltd, one ofthe largest global producers of glass andglass products, has awarded WolverineGlass Products fabricator status in a newinterior glass program called KrystalInteriors. The success of this program inEurope has generated interest to nowmove the program to North America. TheKrystal Kolours aspect of the programlends itself to interior applications thatspan residential, retail and commercialsettings.

The Krystal Interiors™ concept is adecorative glass program aimed at reno-vating and reinvigorating existing interi-or spaces for both commercial and resi-dential applications as well as new con-

struction projects. It is divided into threebasic glass product categories; 1) KrystalKlear™ glass, 2) Krystal Kolours™, and3) Krystal Patterned™ Glass.

The Krystal Klear™ glass is thefoundation of this new program and is alow iron or ultra clear glass product thatallows for true color definition and highlight transmission. It comes in a varietyof thicknesses, 3.3mm, 6mm, 10mm,and 12mm. This product by itself hasdistinctive eye appeal and adds to thedécor of any room that it is used in. Itsuses could include (but are not limitedto) interior partitions, shower enclo-sures, appliances and furniture.

The Krystal Kolours™ aspect of the

program has 10 distinctive back paintedcolors on the 6mm Krystal Klear™ prod-uct line. This provides for true colortransmission through the glass and canadd distinction to any room or office. It iseasily fabricated for use in companylogos or works of art that can add to thedécor. The white and black back paintedglass can even be used for white boardsand black boards to accommodate writ-ten communication. An added safetytape can be applied to the back of any ofthe colors to provide security frombreakage in high traffic areas and wherethe application calls for safety protocols.

Lastly, the Krystal Pattern™ Glassportion of this program completes theinterior décor aspect of the program.Again, the patterns are based on the lowiron glass to give a distinctive patternappearance. These distinctive patternscome in a variety of thicknesses andappearances. These patterns have vary-ing degrees of privacy, obscurity andlight diffusion. These products can beused in all kinds of applications, furni-ture, glass railings, shelving, windows,

and shower enclosures, to name a few.In short, the Krystal Kolours™ pro-

gram is glass that can be used across awide variety of applications with the onlylimitation being the imagination of thedesigner.

Next Month Topics

“Michigan SmallBusiness Month”

EducationLogistics/Warehousing

Design/BuildHealth Education

To be involved call 616-583-1577

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Chateau Chantal Announces $1.1 Million ExpansionTraverse City – In early February,

the Peninsula Township Board gaveChateau Chantal the go ahead for a $1.1million expansion of its cellar and tast-ing room. The plans called for a 9,835square foot expansion to the cellar, a1,784 square foot tasting room addition,and 2,730 square foot patio space locat-ed on the roof of the cellar for seasonaluse.

Jim Krupka, President and CEOsaid, "The expansion is needed to allowChateau Chantal to continue our growthin processing grapes from the Peninsulaand letting more people experience thefine wine we produce."

Originally built in 1993 andexpanded in 2003, Chateau Chantal hassteadily increased wine production sinceopening. Chateau Chantal farms 70acres of grapes on Old MissionPeninsula and is working with otherfarmers to plant and manage more vine-yards. In addition, the company owns a55 acre Malbec vineyard in Mendoza,Argentine to supplement their OldMission production.

Robert Begin, founder andChairman said, "This piece of Michigangeography is indeed a gift. The moreopportunities we can create for ourguests to share its beauty, the more eachof us will profit."

With the expansion, customers dur-ing the busy summer and fall seasonswill be greeted with more wine tastingspace and variety of offering. TheChateau expects to continue its currentseasonal Tapas Tours, and thanks to the2009 passing of 'sale of wines by the

glass with food' amendment atPeninsula Township, it will offer morefood and wine pairings to add to thetasting room experience, including wineeducation seminars and dinners featur-ing Chantal wines and local produce.

Marie-Chantal Dalese, Director ofMarketing comments, "These eventspresent exciting opportunities for us toshowcase our passion and talent forcombining wine and food, elevatingeach in the process, and creating a mem-orable experience."

Chateau Chantal contracted withPeninsula Construction to build theexpansion and as of this printing, con-struction on their tasting room and cel-lar expansion has been completed. Theyare still in the process of moving arounditems in the cellar and are expected tohave their chilling equipment and bot-tling line in their final cellar locationslater this summer. The biggest improve-ment in cellar use will be realized this

harvest, around October 2011. Theexpansion wasn’t quite complete forharvest 2010, and the cellar team isexcited to be able to have the extra space

to receive the freshly harvested grapesand create wine.

The expansion to the tasting roomhasn’t yet witnessed its full guest capac-ity. The new oval bamboo-topped barhas been used on weekends and duringpast winter festivals, but the winery hasnot yet had the foot traffic they expect inthe summer and fall in order to test itscapacity. They are currently workingbehind the scenes to transform the pre-vious tasting bar into what will be calledthe “Pairings Bar.” Here, guests will beable to choose pre-determined flights ofwine paired with Michigan cheeses andother local treats. During nice weather,guests ordering pairings will also be ableto use the new patio that faces the EastGrand Traverse Bay.

Michigan-Wide Distributor of Fine Wine & BeersMarks 10th Year of Success

Kalamazoo – First quarter, 2011 is aspecial one for leaders at Kalamazoo-based Imperial Beverage. Januarymarked Imperial’s tenth anniversary as aMichigan-wide distributor of fine wineand beers.

In January, 2001, father and sonGerald and Bradford Hammerschmidt, atthe time both working for the reputableViviano Wine Importers, formed a partner-ship with Imperial Beverage’s Joe Cekola.The pair brought to the table long-stand-ing relationships with importers that werestrong in Michigan-wide distribution.Imperial Beverage was an attractive part-nership option because of its well-

designed infra-structure, capital invest-ment and flexibility in the pursuit of elitestyles and brands of fine wines.

Says the elder Hammerschmidt, “Irealized that our thinking was very alike.Joe valued his customers and suppliersabove all else. He was a man of hisword.” When asked whether he believedImperial Beverage could be, or was inter-ested in being a state-wide distributor,Cekola answered with a resounding“Yes!” At the time, Imperial Beveragewas a small distributor, offering a con-servative portfolio to a seven-countyregion surrounding Kalamazoo, wherethe firm was based.

The dream became reality for allinvolved with the formation of EliteBrands of Michigan. Elite Brands wasdeveloped to be just that; a firm offeringan elite product mix based on the braintrust of the Hammerschmidts to a larger,refined audience through Cekola’s distri-bution know-how.

“The first year offered roughly $1.3MM in sales in statewide distribution.The company continued to add wine pro-ducers and grow organically throughnew accounts, suppliers and ultimatelyacquisitions,” says BradfordHammerschmidt. In 2004, CraftDistributing was purchased, which pro-

vided a new twist—the craft and importbeer market. In December 2008, anotheroccurred as Elite Brands took on a por-tion of South End Beverage. The largestacquisition to date was that of EstateWine and Spirits and the simultaneousmerger with Leone Imports. The compa-ny then formed exclusively in October2010 under the unified name of ImperialBeverage, culminating in its largest salesyear of over $46 MM statewide.

Imperial Beverage is currently the24th largest distributor in Michigan byvolume of revenue. It employs 180 teammembers in Kalamazoo and Plymouth,Michigan.

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Growing Wine Grapes in Michigan is Big Business...And a Balancing Act

East Lansing – Growing wine grapesin Michigan can be tricky. The Europeanvinifera grape varieties that many peopleare familiar with, such as Riesling orChardonnay, are not native to Michigan,but the favorable climate alongMichigan’s western coast has allowedthese varieties to grow well with propermanagement.

Michigan’s wine grape acreage isactually considered to be in its infancywhen compared to states such asCalifornia, where European vinifera winegrapes were first planted in the mid-1800s. In comparison, the first recordedplanting of vinifera grapes in Michiganwas in 1969. Because wine grape grow-ing is a relatively young industry in thestate, Michigan grape growers aresearching for the best methods to man-age the growing of vinifera grape vari-eties so that the grapes will make winepeople will enjoy.

For Paolo Sabbatini, Michigan StateUniversity (MSU) assistant professor ofhorticulture, specializing in viticulture, itis all about managing the balancebetween good grapes and healthy vines.Good management of the vine canopy

improves fruit and wine quality, andinvolves the proper spacing of vines inthe rows and proper distance betweenrows, as well as appropriate vine train-ing, pruning, irrigation, fertilization andsummer activities such as hedging ofgrapevines shoots, thinning of shoots outof the canopy and removing leaves.

“Managing a grapevine canopyplays a big role in developing ripe grapesin a cool climate like Michigan,” he said.“This is true for two reasons – the seasonhere doesn’t produce as much heat andsunlight as a state like California and theseason is shorter, as well; late spring andearly fall frost force the growers to speedup the vine annual cycle, compressed intoonly 120 to 140 days. We need to do allwe can to make a grapevine canopy ashighly efficient as possible. To ripen thefruit properly, none of the canopy can bewasted. Timely canopy management andvineyard management practices are piv-otal factors to reconcile apparentlyincompatible challenges: produce good toexcellent grapes at economically accept-able yield per acre.”

Sabbatini is studying the timing ofand effect that removing leaves around

grape clusters (leaf pulling) has on graperipeness, and the flavors and aromas inthe resulting wine.

“Leaf pulling is all about changingthe microclimate of the grape cluster,” hesaid. “It creates more air circulation, andallows for better ripening, spray coverageand reduction of bunch rot.”

Sabbatini was interested in findingthe optimal time to do leaf pulling,because he noticed a great variation inthe way growers dealt with the practice inthe Michigan vineyards.

“Some growers do it early in the sea-son, some do it late or some are not doingit at all,” he said. “Our Project GREEENstudy is looking at the best time toexpose the clusters by leaf pulling in redgrape varieties, such as Pinot noir, whichis the most highly planted red viniferavariety in Michigan.

“If growers remove the leaves tooearly, then they are removing the ‘work-ing’ leaves for the cluster that use thesunlight for photosynthesis (sugar pro-duction),” he said. “This is not good. Butif it’s done too late, then the skin of thegrape berries is not used to the sunlightand gets burned. This can lead to theskins developing strange flavors in wine.Berry ripening depends on high tempera-tures and high UV, which aids in the pro-duction of anthocyanins and a betteraccumulation of phenolics, which winemakers like.”

Pinot noir is a difficult grape varietyto grow and vinify in Michigan. It is sen-sitive to bunch rot because the grapes arevery tightly clustered and thin skinned.And in Michigan, there is a lot of rain inthe fall near ripening, which means morechances for bunch rot. Sabbatini alsolooked at optimal timing of leaf pulling toreduce cluster compactness in Pinot noir.

“We found that when leaves areremoved at bloom, the carbohydrates,fundamentally important for fruit set, arealso removed. Consequently there is lessberry set, making the grape cluster looserand less susceptible to bunch rot,” hesaid. “We also tested this on Chardonnay,and found that leaf pulling before bloom

had no effect on cluster compactness, butat bloom the berries per cluster werereduced, and there was a better grapeskin to pulp ratio with the Chardonnay,which is good. Tests on grape skin to pulpratio in Pinot noir are still being ana-lyzed.”

He also looked at optimal times forleaf pulling for ripening Pinot noir, andfound there was no effect on ripening ifthe leaves were pulled very early, butthere was a huge negative effect if leaveswere pulled too late.

“Leaf pulling around veraison aidedin ripening the clusters,” he said.“Growers can also do cluster thinning atthat same time.”

As the demand for Michigan-sourced vinifera wine grapes increases –and as wine production increases by 14percent per year in the state – there istremendous potential, and a vast amountof work yet to be done.

Michigan’s developing wine grapegrowing industry may face different chal-lenges than other grape growing regionsin the United States and around theworld, but Sabbatini sees a lot of oppor-tunity here.

“In this Great Lakes region, the lakeeffect on the climate is huge,” he noted.“It is very well positioned to growvinifera grapes well, because that lakeeffect helps lengthen the season.Strategically, Michigan wineries are alsoin a good position when it comes to thewhole local food and wine movement.

“When I came here in 2007, therewere 45 wineries,” he added. “Now thereare 70, and that is despite the dismaleconomy. People are still investing in thisindustry. I am very happy to see graduateand undergraduate students workingwith me for few years, leaving the viticul-ture program at MSU, and becomingemployed by Michigan and U. S. winer-ies.”

“Between the jobs, sales and agri-cultural tourism it brings in to the state,it has a huge economic impact that con-tinues to grow,” Sabbatini said.

Paw Paw – Douglas Singleton has beenappointed vice-president of finance at St.Julian Wine Company of Paw Paw.Singleton was with The Dow ChemicalCompany in Midland, Michigan for 12years in finance and accounting prior tojoining St. Julian in 2009.

Traverse City – Touring & TastingMagazine and Wine Club President, PaulArganbright, are hosting a “Taste Of TheVineyards” Mediterranean wine cruise,July 25 to August 6, 2011 aboard thenew Celebrity Solstice®. Featured winer-ies include Brys Estate Vineyard &Winery and Sonoma County’s RodneyStrong Vineyards. This exclusive 12-night wine cruise visits some of the bestwine regions in the Mediterranean.Guests on this excursion will have theopportunity to mingle with Arganbright,Walter & Eileen Brys, representativesfrom Rodney Strong Vineyards and otherleading wine experts as they travel fromport to port.

Southeast Michigan – The Pioneer WineTrail presents: The Michigan WineCelebration, April 9 & 10. Tickets are $25per person for the Southeast MichiganPioneer Wine Trail's "Michigan WineCelebration" on these two days - a self-driven tour of the wineries of SoutheastMichigan. Each winery will feature anappetizer or dessert prepared by a localchef and paired with their featured wine.Featured wineries include: Burgdorf’sWinery, Chateau AeronautiqueWinery, Cherry Creek - OldSchoolhouse Winery, J. Trees Cellars,Lone Oak Vineyard Estate, PentamereWinery, Sandhill Crane Vineyards andSleeping Bear Winery.

Grand Rapids – Suburban Inns wel-comed Robert Flavin as its new commu-nications director. Flavin will be respon-sible for all corporate communications,including social media and print media.He will lead in the development of mar-keting plans and promotional programs,including merchandising.

Hotels/Restaurants Briefs

23Entrepreneurship Score CardHints at Economic Recovery

Lansing – The Small BusinessFoundation of Michigan’s seventh annu-al Entrepreneurship Score Card findsthat, compared to the previous year,Michigan is generally holding steady rel-ative to the other 49 states.

“The goal of the Score Card, as inprevious years, is to help policymakersunderstand how entrepreneurship is far-ing in a Michigan economy that, while

struggling, nevertheless displays hopefulsigns of recovery,” says Rob Fowler,president and CEO of the Small BusinessFoundation of Michigan and SmallBusiness Association of Michigan.

Some important positive insightsgleaned from this year’s Score Card data:

• Michigan’s fast-growing “stagetwo” small businesses are weatheringthe economic storm and are continuing

to lead the way in the state’s economicreinvention.

• The University of Michigan haslaunched the new Masters Degree,Entrepreneurial Education, representingan important educational commitment toentrepreneurship development.

• Michigan continues to maintainhigh marks in those areas necessary fora vibrant global economy, such as high

tech workforce and quality of highereducation.

However, Michigan’s ranking on theEntrepreneurship Sensitivity Index, acomposite score developed last year todetect very recent (annual) changes insmall business formation and growth,fell from 22 in 2009-10 to 33 in 2010-11– not an unexpected result given thestate’s recessionary predicament.

Washington’s Small Business PolicyNeeds Clear Direction

By Rohit Arora

Treasury Secretary TimothyGeithner recently announced a confer-ence on March 22 that will focus on find-ing ways to "expand access to capital" forsmall business owners. The TreasuryDepartment conference aims to “reducechallenges of raising capital at each stageof growth for a small business—fromseed capital, to growth equity, to access-ing the public markets.”

Washington has become very goodat announcing panels, lending programsand initiatives, but not a lot seems to behappening and there is no clear direction.

Why do I say this?Let’s look at what has happened

already in 2011. In the State of the UnionAddress, President Obama talked aboutbeing innovative and competitive butprovided few details on how to furtherstimulate small business growth. Oneweek later, the White House announcedthe launch of the Startup America initia-tive, with its stated goals of promotingentrepreneurship, increasing the numberof new firms creating economic growth,innovation and quality jobs, and inspir-ing and empowering greater diversity ofcommunities and individuals to buildgreat American companies.

The intentions are proper, but then afew weeks later, the President announceda dramatic reduction in the amount offunding for the Small BusinessAdministration. Cutting the SBA hindersthe expansion of access to capital anddoes not help support entrepreneurshipeducation and mentorship programs.

On February 15th, the SBAannounced two new programs gearedtoward providing credit to businesses inunderserved communities. The Small

Loan Advantage will offer loans up to$250,000 to small companies with an 85percent guarantee (for loans up to$150,000) and a 75 percent guarantee(for loans between $150,000 and$250,000). Meanwhile, the SBA’sCommunity Advantage initiative seeks toincrease the number of SBA 7(a) lendersthat reach underserved communities andwere not previously able to offer SBAloans. The program is available to com-munity development financial institu-tions, certified development companies(CDCs), and nonprofit micro lenders.

The problem is that many of thefinancial institutions that I have spokento were uninformed about these lendingprograms. It sounded good on the pressrelease, but the message is not getting tothe lenders that these initiatives are sup-posed to impact.

While I don’t blame SecretaryGeithner for trying to highlight success-es, the reality is that there are few ofthem. The State Small Business CreditInitiative, which is expected to createmore than $15 billion in small businesslending, has awarded only $3 billion infunding so far in just three states:California, Michigan and North Carolina.Additionally, the Small Business LendingFund was designed to spark lending tobusinesses through the provision of low-cost capital to small banks with assetsunder $10 billion. The first round ofloans has yet to be awarded.

Later this month, we will have aconference in Washington. It seems thatevery month there is some type ofannouncement made, but little is actual-ly happening that helps small businessowners. These announcements are caus-ing big yawns in the small businesslending community.

What should the remedies be?We can start with extending the

loan guarantees that expired on Dec. 31,2010. The loan guarantees helped stim-ulate small business lending in 2010.

Secondly, let’s remove unnecessarybarriers to business growth, includingsome capital gains taxes.

Thirdly, let’s welcome technicallyqualified people in U.S. It is very difficultto find people with engineering and ITskill sets, and the current administrationhas made it tougher for foreign studentsto come to US to study and find jobs inthese sectors. This is really hurting smallbusinesses as they are becoming lesscompetitive and also cannot take advan-tage of online technologies to marketthemselves in more cost effective manner.

Lastly, small businesses need taxincentives to boost exports, hire morepeople and gain access to best technolo-gies from across the world in order tocompete in the global economy. We needto follow the German model of technicalexcellence and government incentives totrain and retrain workers in order tomake small business participate inboosting exports. The ObamaAdministration has professed its supportof boosting U.S. exports. Now it needs toprovide to tools to do so.

None of these ideas are radical. Infact, they have been tried before… and

they have worked. I often use this anal-ogy: It is nice to drive along a brand newroad, but it is easier and cheaper to fixthe old one. Let’s not try to find shinynew programs. Instead, let’s improvesome of the tried and true methods thathave been successful in the past andshould remain fruitful in the future.

Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder ofBiz2Credit (www.biz2credit.com), is oneof the country’s leading experts in smallbusiness finance.Widely recognized asthe #1 credit resource for small business-es, Biz2Credit processes over 3,000 loanapplications each month has secured$400 million in funding for small busi-nesses throughout the United States.

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Finance/Insurance BriefsDetroit – Ernst & Young LLP is callingfor nominations for the Ernst & YoungEntrepreneur Of The Year© 2011Awards, recognized as one of the mostprestigious business award programs inthe country. The deadline for applica-tions is March 18, 2011, with theMichigan and Northwest Ohio awardsceremony scheduled for June 9, 2011 atthe MGM Grand in Detroit.

Holland – Lakeshore 504, a CertifiedDevelopment Corporation, announcedthat for the first time, the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration has modifiedits existing 504 loan guarantee programto include refinancing of existing com-mercial real estate debt at below-market,long-term, fixed interest rates.

Holland – Garth Deur, president andCEO at The Bank of Holland announcedthis year’s C.A.R.E. Award recipients areCraig Wolffis and Dan Cooper. TheC.A.R.E. Award is given each year toemployees in recognition of their out-standing commitment to benefit the livesof those in the surrounding community.

Holland – Garth Deur, president andCEO at The Bank of Holland announcedthis year’s C.A.R.E. Award recipients areCraig Wolffis and Dan Cooper. TheC.A.R.E. Award is given each year toemployees in recognition of their out-standing commitment to benefit the livesof those in the surrounding community.

Grand Rapids – The Grand Rapids officeof Plante & Moran, PLLC has beenhonored with a Huntington Pillar Awardfrom the Women’s Resource Center.The award annually honors WestMichigan Employers who empowerwomen in their workforce with progres-sive policies and practices.

Holland – The law firm WarnerNorcross and Judd LLP has namedJaron Nyhof the executive partner of thefirm’s Holland office.

Grand Rapids – Foster Swift Collins &Smith, P.C. attorney Michael Homier, ashareholder in the Grand Rapids office,was re-elected to serve on the firm'sExecutive Committee as vice president ofthe Grand Rapids and Holland offices.He concentrates his practice in the areasof municipal law, public finance, zoningand land use. The remaining members ofFoster Swift's Executive Committee for2011 are: president Michael Sanders,treasurer Scott Chernich, vice presidentPaul Millenbach, vice president MattHrebec and secretary Jennifer KildeaDewane. Scott Storey was re-elected asin-house counsel for the firm.

Kalamazoo – Kreis, Enderle, Hudgins &Borsos, P.C. announced re-elections for2011: Stephen J. Hessen (director offirm - Kalamazoo office), Mark E.Kreter (director of Battle Creek office)and Raymond C. Schultz (director ofGrand Rapids office). Hessen, Schultzand Kreter will continue to serve on theKreis Enderle Executive Committee.

Grand Rapids – Paul A. McCarthy hasbeen recognized by Michigan LawyersWeekly as a 2011 Leader in Law.Consistently nominated by his peersthroughout his legal career as a SuperLawyer, Best Lawyer of America®,Litigation Counsel of America Fellowand Michigan State Bar FoundationFellow, this recognition merits uniquedistinction since only 25 attorneysstatewide are selected for this honor.

Grand Rapids – Jeffrey A. DeVree hasjoined Varnum LLP as a partner in theGrand Rapids office. A veteran employeebenefits and tax attorney, DeVree willspearhead Varnum's employee benefitsgroup.

Grand Rapids – Timothy M. Andersonhas joined Legacy Trust as its new chiefinvestment officer. Anderson will beresponsible for the design, implementa-tion and monitoring of all investment-related functions.

Dallas, TX – Mutual of Omaha Bank haspromoted Christi Wells to central regionsales manager for its CommunityAssociation Banking division. Based inDallas, Wells will oversee a team ofregional account executives as they pro-vide banking services to property man-agement companies, homeowner associa-tions and homeowners in Arkansas,Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota,Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, NorthDakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota,Texas and Wisconsin.

Lansing – Accident Fund InsuranceCompany of America announced fourGrand Rapids area agencies as recipientsof its esteemed 2010 President’s ClubAward: Arthur J. Gallagher RiskManagement Services, Inc. in GrandRapids; Berends Hendricks StuitInsurance Agency, Inc. in Grandville;Buiten & Associates, LLC in GrandRapids; and Pinnacle Insurance Partnersin Grand Rapids. The annual award ispresented to a select number of inde-pendent insurance agencies who meetspecific criteria for written premium andsustained profitability. Less than 4 per-cent of Accident Fund’s 600 eligibleindependent agencies were recognizedas 2010 President’s Club winners.

Mason – Robin King-Fuller has beenselected to serve as the 2011 chair of theMason Area Community Fund, an advi-sory committee of the Capitol AreaUnited Way. King-Fuller is the bankingoffice manager at Independent Bank’sMason office. This is her second year onthe board.

Holland – Macatawa Bank announcedthe promotion of Matthew D.Hoeksema to senior vice president, headof commercial banking. In this position,Hoeksema will have the overall respon-sibility for the Bank’s commercial loanportfolio, management of the commerciallending team, oversight of businessdevelopment efforts and implementationof bank lending policies.

Grand Rapids – Lighthouse Groupannounced that Jeff Beyer has expand-ed his role to become a commercial linesproducer; at the their Kentwood location,Peter Holt has joined as a commerciallines producer; and Natalie Owen andMarnie Van De Venter have joined thebenefits team as account managers.

Grand Rapids – For the ninth year in arow, Warner Norcross & Judd LLP hasbeen recognized as one of the leadinglaw firms in Michigan by Chambers USA2011. Warner Norcross was ranked asone of Michigan’s leading law firms inthe areas of banking and finance, corpo-rate, mergers and acquisitions, employeebenefits and executive compensation,and commercial litigation. Additionally,11 attorneys were recognized individu-ally for their work in the above areas, aswell as bankruptcy: James H. Breay;Robert J. Chovanec; Douglas A.Dozeman; Richard A. Kay; Anthony J.Kolenic, Jr.; Mary Jo Larson; John H.McKendry, Jr.; Robert H. Skilton;George L. Whitfield; Lisa B. Zimmer;Stephen C. Waterbury.Kentwood – Regal Financial Group,LLC and Regal Investment Advisorsannounced new affiliates: Sandi Liang,Scott Hanson, Brian Menzel and PaulTews.

Grand Rapids – Stacy Miller has beenpromoted to vice president, privatebanking officer at the Macatawa BankDowntown Grand Rapids office.

Grand Rapids – Beene Garter has pur-chased a large downtown Grand Rapidsbuilding and intends to relocate its firmthere by this spring. The building, nowknown as 56 Grandville but will eventu-ally be called the Beene Garter Building,complete with exterior signage, frontsGrandville Avenue and is housedbetween Bistro Bella Vita and GrandRapids Community Foundation. The61,000 SF, 5-floor building has housed anumber of companies over the yearsincluding US Exchange. Beene Garterintends to use the lower level, first andsecond floors and over 25,000 SF ofspace for its 75-person firm. The firmwill lease the remaining space toAdvantage Sales and Marketing, aleading sales and marketing agency inthe consumer packaged goods industry

Grand Rapids – Warner Norcross &Judd LLP has elected partners Edward J.Bardelli, Douglas A. Dozeman andLinda Paullin-Hebden to each servethree-year terms on the law firm’s 10-member management committee.Jonathan P. Kok will serve a one-yearterm to replace John J. Bursch, who wasrecently appointed to serve as MichiganSolicitor Genera

24

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Southfield – The Southfield account-ing and business advisory firm Plante &Moran PLLC has launched a new blog tohelp Michigan businesses and mediastay up to date on proposed changes toMichigan business taxation. The blog,tax-blog.plantemoran.com, will provideregular updates on Gov. Rick Snyder’sproposal to repeal the Michigan BusinessTax and replace it with a flat 6 percentcorporate income tax. His proposal wasunveiled on Feb. 17 and was introducedas legislation on March 1. The blog willfeature discussion of proposed changesas the bills make their way through theMichigan House and Senate, links toproposed legislation and analysis ofimpact on businesses and business own-ers.

“The proposed changes to the statetax code will have a tremendous impacton all Michigan businesses,” said CurtisRuppal, leader of Plante & Moran’s stateand local tax practice and lead contribu-tor to the blog. “Governor Snyder has

indicated that he would like to have hisbudget approved by the end of May, butthere are sure to be a number of changesand alternatives posed to the legislationbefore it is approved. Plante & Moran iscommitted to maintaining a leadershiprole in understanding and communicat-ing these changes to businesses and themedia.”

Highlights of the proposed replace-ment tax include:

• Altering the state’s corporate taxstructure to impose a 6 percent flat taxon all C corporations

• Elimination of all tax incentives,including Brownfield, MichiganEconomic Growth Authority and alterna-tive energy credits; instead, the econom-ic development incentives would be inthe form of appropriated grants

• Elimination of business tax cred-its, except the small business credit

• An end to personal income taxexemptions for public and private pen-sion distributions

Finance/Insurance BriefsGrand Rapids – Warner Norcross &Judd LLP has been chosen by in-housecounsel at selected Fortune 500 compa-nies as one of the nation’s “Go-To LawFirms” in 2010 in two practice areas.Warner Norcross was recognized for itsexpertise in litigation and labor andemployment law by Corporate Counselmagazine, which surveyed Fortune 500companies and conducted independentresearch to compile the ranking. The lawfirm was highlighted in a directory ofleading law firms distributed to morethan 500 general counsel throughout theUnited States.

Grand Rapids – Pondera Advisors, LLCannounced the addition of a new busi-ness division: Pondera® StudentServices. This was created in response tonumerous clients requesting Ponderamake the Pondera® Virtual Advisoravailable to their children. Pondera®Student Services gives students a greaterunderstanding of themselves, and as aresult, helps them make the best deci-sions regarding their future. The compa-ny has added Elizabeth Bogo andSusan Laffrey as the principal consult-ants for this new division.

Grand Rapids – The law firm WarnerNorcross & Judd LLP has appointedBrian J. Masternak, a partner who con-centrates his practice in civil litigation, tochair of the nine-member RecruitingCommittee.

Grand Rapids – Attorneys Keith E.Eastland and Gregory P. Ripple havebeen elected to membership at MillerJohnson. Both are part of the firm’s pre-eminent employment and labor practicegroup.

Grand Rapids – John H. Gretzinger hasbecome a member of the law firm ofMika Meyers Beckett & Jones PLC.Gretzinger practices in the areas of laborlaw, employment law, municipal law andpublic schools.

Grand Rapids – Todd Hoppe, a share-holder at Foster Swift Collins & Smith,P.C., has been named the new Business &Corporate Law practice group leader.Hoppe practices in the areas of businessorganization and planning, businesstransactions, succession planning, taxexempt organizations and charitable giv-ing, estate planning and administration.

Grand Rapids – Option 1 Credit Unionhas opened a new branch at 6750Kalamazoo, at the corner of 68th Streetand Kalamazoo. Maxam Architectureprovided the design of the new branchbuild-out, which was constructed byFirst Companies. The branch locationfeatures 5 teller stations, loan office,staff spaces, and a 24-hour lobby ATM.At the grand opening of the branch,Option 1 cut a ribbon made of $20 billsand donated the $500 to charity.

Grand Rapids – Varnum attorneyTimothy Monsma has been selected toserve as a member of the Heart of WestMichigan United Way Project Blueprintboard. Project Blueprint is a leadershipdevelopment program with the goal ofincreasing the number of ethnicallydiverse professionals providing volun-teer leadership to the boards and com-mittees of West Michigan nonprofitagencies.

Grand Rapids – Plante & Moran, PLLCis encouraging its accountants and staffto bring their children to work onSaturdays during tax season, a traditionthe firm has practiced for almost 20years.

Lansing – Kate F. Fetkenhier, attorneyat The Gallagher Law Firm, PLC wasrecently appointed as a member of theLegal and Legislative Committee of theMichigan Oil and Gas Association.

Grand Rapids – Jon R. Muth was named"2011 Lawyer of the Year" by MichiganLawyers Weekly. He was selected fromamong their elite group of 25 "Leaders inthe Law." Muth has been practicing lawsince 1971 and currently serves asMiller Johnson’s General Counsel.

Review of Repositioning

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

“This turned out to be a difficult bookto write because I’ve already written somuch on the subject...Readers of my workmight recognize some things I’ve men-tioned in one of my 15 other books.” Soreads the opening lines of marketingmaven Jack Trout’s guide to repositioning.This defeatist introduction doesn’t exactly

promise much in the way of ingenuity orinnovation. However, when you perusethis book, a follow-up to the businessclassic Positioning: The Battle for YourMind, it quickly becomes clear why Troutis in great demand as a speaker. The bookreads like a marketing presentation. In adynamic and engaging way, Trout, withthe aid of marketing consultant SteveRivkin, explains how repositioning canhelp you differentiate your brand fromyour competition, manage change and dealwith crises. The book is filled with mar-keting war stories of successes and fail-ures, with an occasional (if a tad egotisti-cal) aside – such as, “If only they hadtaken my advice...” – thrown in. Althoughfull of colorful real-life case studies, it is,at times, short on tactics and applicableadvice. getAbstract recommends Trout’sprevious bestseller to those who are newto marketing and this sequel to anyonewho desires a refresher course.

Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin.Repositioning: Marketing in an Era ofCompetition, Change, and Crisis. McGraw-Hill, 2009. 224 pages. List Price: $26.95.ISBN-13: 978-0071635592.

getAbstract is the leading provider ofbusiness book summaries, with more than5,000 titles covered. www.getabstract.com

Blog to Track Governor’sTax Proposal

26Education BriefsGrand Rapids – Grand RapidsCommunity College announced thatDaniel Gendler, owner and president ofSan Chez - A Tapas Bistro, will becomethe next director of the College’s SecchiaInstitute for Culinary Educationbeginning in fall semester 2011.

Grand Rapids – Stepping StonesMontessori School has completed itsremodeling and upgrades to its facilitygrounds and interiors. This privateschool is now accepting applications forinfants through 6th grade.

Grand Rapids – Grand Valley StateUniversity’s most prestigious award —the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship— was created in recognition ofHauenstein’s extraordinary life, whichexemplifies the service and leadershipthat Grand Valley State University seeksto inspire in its graduates. The first fel-lowship will be awarded posthumouslyto President Gerald R. Ford,Hauenstein’s good friend. Ford’s son,Steven Ford, will accept the award on hisfather’s behalf during a special ceremonyat Grand Valley State University. The fel-lowship will be awarded each year toleaders who have led our nation at thehighest levels.

Big Rapids – Twenty years ago, FerrisState University launched itsHospitality Program to help educate stu-dents in a variety of areas in tourism,hospitality and culinary arts. To cele-brate the growth and success of this pro-gram, a special 20th Annual FundraisingGala – “The Road to 20” – was held onMarch 26 at the JW Marriott in down-town Grand Rapids. The goal of the2011 Fundraising Gala is to establishthe FSU Hospitality Program ScholarshipEndowment which will provide financialassistance to deserving current andfuture students in need.

Grand Rapids – Cooley Law School'sGrand Rapids campus presented twoauthors, Kent County Medical ExaminerStephen D. Cohle and teacher Tobin T.Buhk, in a discussion of the area's mostpuzzling forensic mysteries in lateMarch.

Kalamazoo – A $100 million cash gift,the largest ever made to a Michigan col-lege or university, will be used to givebirth to a private medical school atWestern Michigan University.Announced March 22 by WMU PresidentJohn M. Dunn, the anonymous gift is

among the 10 largest cash gifts evermade to an American public universityand the 15th largest in the history ofAmerican higher education. The gift willserve as the foundation funding for aschool of medicine that WMU is develop-ing in partnership with Kalamazoo's twomajor hospitals, Borgess Health andBronson Healthcare.

Grand Rapids – Two GRCC biodiversitystudents, Julia Messenger and AliciaFreeman, have been awarded $7,000each to further their study of parasitoidinsects this summer at the Pierce CedarCreek Institute (PCCI), which sponsorsthe Undergraduate Research Grants forthe Environment (URGE) program.Messenger’s and Freeman’s proposaltied for 3rd place among all proposalssubmitted by 11 teams of participatingstudents and won immediate reviewboard approval. Messenger and Freemanwere the only students from a 2-yearcollege.

Grand Rapids – The Grand RapidsCommunity College’s WorkforceTraining helps keep healthcare profes-sionals current by offering a series ofworkshops on the most relevant issues.Their spring series includes: The Impact

of Cultural Awareness on EthicalTreatment; Effective Response to ElderlyAbuse; Guardianship; and BuildingRelationships with Spanish SpeakingPatients. The workshops are 2-3 hoursin length and are offered in the eveningsto make it convenient for working pro-fessionals.

Grand Rapids – Roxanne Buhl hasjoined Davenport University as projectcoordinator for the Institute forProfessional Excellence. In her new role,Buhl helps organizations develop talent-ed human capital through individual andcorporate training, development, andcertification programs.

Big Rapids – In the future, Ferris StateUniversity strives to be at forefront ofanti-terrorist training for Michiganpolice officers. Greg Vanderkooi, deputydirector of the Law EnforcementAcademy of Ferris’ School of CriminalJustice and an associate professor, ledthe effort to negotiate and sign a contractthat will allow the university to provideanti-terrorist training for statewidepolice agencies.

WMU Colleges Begin Using Differential Tuition ModelKalamazoo – Following action Feb.

24 by the Western Michigan UniversityBoard of Trustees, students in two of theUniversity's academic colleges--one ofits smallest and one of its largest--willadopt differential tuition models this fallthat will boost the cost of tuition, reducethe amount of fees assessed and pre-serve and enhance the quality of the stu-dent experience.

WMU's College of Fine Arts and itsHaworth College of Business will imple-ment two separate differential tuitionplans beginning fall 2011. Fundingraised through the plan will stay in thecolleges, with 75 percent of the fundsused to directly ensure the totality of thestudent experience is of the highest qual-ity. The remaining 25 percent in eachcollege will be used for financial aid forstudents in the college to reduce theimpact of the new tuition structure.Course fees would be eliminated orreduced for students in both colleges.

The College of Fine Arts plan wouldapply to all students beginning with theirfreshman year. They would be assesseda $50 per-credit-hour rate in addition tothe applicable resident or nonresidenttuition rate charged universitywide. Theper-semester impact for a full-time stu-dent taking 15 credit hours would be$750. Per-semester fee reductions wouldaverage $107.

For the Haworth College ofBusiness, the plan would only apply tostudents in their junior and senior years.Those students would be assessed a $40per-credit-hour differential tuition rate,in addition to the resident or nonresidentrate already in place for the academicyear. The per-semester impact for a fulltime student taking 15 credit hourswould be $600.

The recommendations were firstpresented to the board at its Dec. 17meeting and tabled to allow time for pub-lic comment. The board brought both

recommendations back for a formal voteat its Feb. 24 meeting and both measurespassed unanimously.

Both plans have been under reviewand development for the past 15 months,according to Dr. Kay Palan, dean of thebusiness college, and Dr. MargaretMerrion, fine arts dean. In presentingtheir respective plans to trustees, theynoted that college administrators, facultyand students were involved and provid-ed feedback during the developmentprocess.

Differential tuition is common inresearch universities nationwide, includ-ing those in Michigan. Such initiativesare common in business and engineeringcolleges and less so in fine arts pro-grams, but Merrion notes that the highcost of programs in the arts make it alogical place to launch such an initiative.

The Haworth College of Businessplans to use the additional fundingraised by the proposal to reduce class

size and increase advising opportunitiesby hiring additional faculty and to sup-port key business programs such as theHaworth College of Business CareerCenter, the Business CommunityResidence program and the businesscohort initiative that allows students todevelop a group of students with whomthey take classes.

For the College of Fine Arts, officialssay the funding will be used to sustainthe distinctive qualities of its interna-tionally known and professionallyaccredited programs. Funding will assurestudents study with the highest qualityprofessors and have substantive interac-tion with visiting artists and profession-als in the industry to move their careersforward. Additional areas to benefit stu-dents include travel support to partici-pate in workshops, institutes and confer-ences; technology-embedded curricula;small class size; individual mentoring;and personalized advising.

Grand Rapids – The Hair Studioannounced their grand-opening in theNorthridge Center at 2211 East BeltlineAve. in Grand Rapids. The grand-open-ing coincided with the grand-opening ofjava gym also located in the NorthridgeCenter. C.D. Barnes Associates, in con-junction with the Grand RapidsChamber of Commerce and its repre-sentatives held a ribbon-cutting event inearly March to celebrate the completionof this 5,375sq. ft. children’s entertain-ment center.

Grand Rapids – TED (Technology,Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofitorganization dedicated to "Ideas WorthSpreading." While two annual confer-ences occur in the United States (inCalifornia) TEDx events (independentlyorganized conferences) have been pop-ping up everywhere and will soon becoming to Grand Rapids. Rapid GrowthMedia announced the date as May 12,2011 and the venue as The GrandRapids Civic Theatre. Speakers fromaround the nation and attendees fromWest Michigan and the Midwest willexperience exhilarating speeches, inspir-ing performances and transformativeconversations centered around thetheme of "Innovative X."

Grand Rapids – Wm. B. EerdmansPublishing Company announced thatFranklin Goldberg has been promotedto the position of director of sales.Goldberg will be responsible for alldomestic and international sales of boththe adult and children’s titles.

Grand Rapids – Building ScienceAcademy and sister company, BuildingScience Energy Services, is movinginto offices at 343 S. Union Street,Sparta. The move will include the hiringof additional personnel needed to keepup with the onslaught of requests forservices.

Hudsonville – info-shred LLC was named"2011 Small Business of The Year" by theGrandville/Jenison Chamber of Commerce.info-shred is a family-owned and family-run mobile document shredding companythat provides secure document destructionto business and residential customersthroughout Western Michigan.

Lansing – Motion Marketing & Media(M3) hired Lindsey Whitehill and mostrecently brought on Lisa Twenter tomeet the increasing needs of clients inmid-Michigan and throughout the state.

Wyoming – Recently, Wyoming CityManager Curtis Holt testified in front ofthe Michigan House Committee on Local,Intergovernmental and Regional Affairsregarding current legal barriers to collab-oration between municipalities. Holtstated that a 2009 report by the CitizensResearch Council identified 77 statutesthat create barriers for collaboration orcooperative ventures between munici-palities. While the current proposalunder consideration by the committee toeliminate the language in the UrbanCooperation Act, the IntergovernmentalTransfer of Functions Act and theMetropolitan Transportation AuthoritiesAct is a good start, it leaves many ofthose barriers still intact. Holt called onthe committee to go further and considerthe Municipal Partnership Act, whichwas proposed in 2010.

Grand Rapids – The Center forCommunity Leadership, a program ofthe Grand Rapids Area Chamber ofCommerce, announced that HuntingtonBank president Jim Dunlap is the recip-ient of this year’s DistinguishedCommunity Trustee Award, and theinaugural Uncommon Greatness Awardwill go to the First Steps initiative ofKent County.

Athens Township – The NottawaseppiHuron Band of the Potawatomi(NHBP), owners of FireKeepers Casinoin Battle Creek, announced its intentionsto expand its FireKeepers Casino facility,which includes increasing amenities,gaming space, entertainment and diningoptions. The expansion will showcase a242-room resort-style hotel completewith an indoor pool, exercise facility, fullservice restaurant and a multi-purposefull-service event center capable of seat-ing over 2,000 guests in a concert venueor being configured to accommodatebanquets, corporate meetings, tradeshows and other events. The project isexpected to start in spring 2011 with acompletion in the summer of 2012. Thedevelopment team includes TheSkillman Corporation, Full HouseResorts Inc. and Thalden-Boyd-EmeryArchitects.

Grand Rapids – David Sebastian accept-ed the Kathryn Timmer Literacy Awardon behalf of the Sebastian Foundation.The award was created to honor those inthe community who work to provide thehope, strength, confidence and tools tohelp children and adults with dyslexiaand other unique learning styles achievetheir full potential.

Robinson Township – The WestMichigan Environmental ActionCouncil and the Grand Haven AreaJaycees will be hosting the first GrandRiver GreenUp thanks to a grant fromthe Grand Haven Area CommunityFoundation, bringing together an esti-mated 300 volunteers to clean up a threemile section of the Grand River at andnear Riverside Park in RobinsonTownship on Saturday, April 23 from 9a.m. to noon. The project is made possi-ble by a $3,000 grant from the EmilieBaker Fund for the Environment andGene and Sally Harbeck of the GrandHaven Area Community Foundation.

Grand Rapids – The Grand RapidsArea Chamber of Commerce will havea new president & CEO as of April 4.Rick Baker, an executive with morethan 23 years of chamber experience,has been chosen to succeed JeanneEnglehart. Baker is currently presidentand COO of the Quad Cities Chamberof Commerce in Moline, IL andDavenport, IA, an organization with1,800 member businesses.

Grand Rapids – Lambert, Edwards &Associates, West Michigan’s top-rankedpublic relations agency and the state’slargest investor relations firm,announced it has added AshleighChatel as an associate within the firm’sHealth Care Practice.

Lansing – Foresight Group, Lansing’spremiere print and design shop, willrelocate to 2822 Martin Luther King Jr.Blvd., Lansing, Mich. in April, 2011.With 30,000 square feet of newly reno-vated manufacturing and office space attheir disposal, Foresight Group will beable to produce, warehouse and distrib-ute marketing materials, print and dis-play graphics, all under one roof.

Grand Rapids – In mid March, the staffand Board of Directors of the Inner CityChristian Federation (ICCF), the oldestnon-profit affordable housing providerin the state of Michigan, honoredJonathan Bradford, president and CEO,for his 30 years at the helm of ICCF.

Corporate Information 27

Review of Trade-Off

By Rolf Dobelli, Chairman,getAbstract

Technology journalist Kevin Maneycoined the term “fidelity swap” to describethe choice consumers make between “con-venience” and “fidelity,” which is the qual-ity of the experience that a product or serv-ice provides. People make such trade-offsmany times every day. To illustrate, con-

sider whether you would rather watch theYankees play live at Yankee Stadium or seethe game from the comfort of your home?Would you rather enjoy the experience ofbrowsing the aisles of your local bookstoreor have the convenience of ordering booksonline? Products or services that lie oneither extreme of the fidelity versus con-venience continuum are most successful,while those that offer neither high qualitynor extreme ease of use fall into the “fideli-ty belly,” where they are doomed to medi-ocrity unless they can swim out. In hisengaging book, Maney expertly usesnumerous colorful case studies to explainthe fidelity swap paradigm and lucidlydemonstrates how to adopt it as a corpo-rate strategy. getAbstract recommends hiswork to businesspeople contemplatingissues of price versus prestige, availabilityversus exclusivity, and what works in themarket, what doesn’t and why.

Kevin Maney. Trade-Off: Why SomeThings Catch On, and Others Don't. TheEver-Present Tension Between Quality andConvenience. Broadway Books, 2009. 240pages. List Price: $23.00. ISBN-13: 978-0385525947.

getAbstract is the leading provider ofbusiness book summaries, with more than5,000 titles covered. www.getabstract.com