Crain's Grand Rapids Business, July 22, 2024

JULY 22, 2024

New CFO could foreshadow Acrisure IPO Aaron Miller brings experience in corporate development, M&A to new role

By Rachel Watson

The lakeshore community of Saugatuck has set a 20% cap on short-term rentals in designated residential areas. | GETTY IMAGES

Saugatuck short-term rental owners decry upcoming cap They fear new lottery method will clear out tourists and reduce property values

By Rachel Watson

More Saugatuck vacation rental owners soon may be listing their properties for sale over concerns the resale value will dip when the city’s new shortterm rental cap takes effect later this year.

Michele Chitwood, of Green-

wood, Ind., said she and her wife met with a Realtor on July 11 to start the process of listing their vacation rental just north of downtown. Chitwood has owned and operated short-term rentals in Saugatuck since 2010.

The couple’s decision follows the Saugatuck City Council’s 4-2 vote on July 8 to set a 20% cap on

short-term rentals in R1 residential zone districts. If the city at any point dips below the number of allowable short-term rental licenses for R1 districts, applicants in the queue will be selected to receive licenses via a lottery system.

Despite pushback from shortterm rental owners, city officials say the long-studied policy change

finds the “right balance” in regulating short-term rentals. Tourism-reliant communities across Michigan are struggling with the competing interests of private property rights and the potential unintended consequences of short-term rentals’ effect on the See RENTAL on Page 45

Flavor maker taps AI for unbiased testing Kalsec uses tech to understand how people perceive food, flavors

By Abby Poirier

By using a “disruptive” artificial intelligence-fueled technology, a Southwest Michigan-based food ingredients manufacturer aims to better understand how people react to and experience flavors.

The new Italian technology has the potential to help Kalamazoo-based Kalsec Inc. reduce human error and produce more

consistent flavor products, which is important when taking into account regional differences and controlling for other variables among its panel of sensory analysts.

In particular, Kalsec aims to use the new T-Box technology from Thimus, an Italian neuroscience company that creates food and beverage solutions, to improve its approach to formulating

heat products like chili pepper extracts, one of its specialties.

Currently, Kalsec uses a human sensory panel whose members are trained to taste products and describe them qualitatively and quantitatively, assigning value to every attribute of the flavors they are experiencing.

“Often, we want to measure See FLAVOR on Page 45

A Kalsec sensory analyst wears a T-Box, an AI-fueled headset by Thimus that measures how the brain perceives food and flavor. | COURTESY PHOTO

Global insurance brokerage and fintech company Acrisure LLC has recruited a new chief financial officer as the growing firm explores going public.

Grand Rapids-based Acrisure said in a July 8 statement it hired Aaron Miller as its new CFO, effective Sept. 1.

Miller will report to Acrisure chair and CEO Greg Williams. He replaces current CFO Jason DeYonker, who will transition to the role of Aaron Miller Acrisure’s chief acquisitions officer and adviser to Williams, according to a statement. DeYonker joined Acrisure in September 2021 as chief acquisitions officer and president of real estate services, later adding CFO duties in August 2023.

Miller previously was head of financial services in the private equities department at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, where he led deal origination and portfolio management within the financial services sector.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority became one of Acrisure’s largest shareholders in May 2022 when one of its subsidiaries led a $725 million equity raise for Acrisure that increased its valuation to $23 billion.

Acrisure described Miller as “a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 CEOs and boards,” citing his 20plus years of experience in corporate development, strategy See ACRISURE on Page 45

VOL. 41, NO. 15 l COPYRIGHT 2024 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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REAL ESTATE East Grand Rapids’ downtown is on the cusp of entering its third act

BANKING & FINANCE Michigan VC deals dip through first half of 2024

FOOD & DRINK Former Reserve Wine and Food goes with Italian rebrand

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Developer plans several new projects at Health Village The Granger Group eyes up to 250,000 square feet of construction

By Mark Sanchez

Commercial real estate developer The Granger Group plans to proceed with a trio of projects on University of Michigan HealthWest’s hospital campus south of Grand Rapids in Wyoming.

Additional independent senior living units, multifamily residential, more medical offices and retail spaces, a restaurant, and a site for a year-round farmers market are among the uses that The Granger Group has been planning

for company-owned parcels surrounding the hospital.

The projects have always been part of The Granger Group’s longterm vision for the 180-acre Health Village that the company developed over the years around the former Metro Health Hospital that opened in 2007. The 208-bed hospital anchors the Health Village, along the north side of the M-6 freeway at Byron Center Avenue and south of Gezon Parkway.

Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Health acquired Metro

Health seven years ago and The Granger Group has been planning the latest projects to fit with the health system’s long-term growth plans, said Jason Granger, who leads investments for the Granger family office.

“It’s always been the plan. It’s just been making sure that U of M’s vision and our vision coincide together for the rest of the community. That’s been the most important piece,” Granger said.

See GRANGER on Page 43

The Granger Group plans multiple new projects at the Health Village in Wyoming, which is anchored by University of Michigan Health-West’s hospital that opened in 2007 as Metro Health Hospital. | COURTESY PHOTO

Ottawa Impact’s power at stake in primary vote Far-right political faction gained majority on county board with sweeping win in 2023

By Andy Balaskovitz

Developers are reviving 20-year-old plans for a massive mixed-use development that would reshape downtown East Grand Rapids. | COURTESY OF GASLIGHT INVESTORS

East Grand Rapids’ downtown is on the cusp of entering its third act Gaslight Village district would feature 180 new housing units

By Rachel Watson

Greg Gilmore remembers growing up in East Grand Rapids visiting the Rose’s hamburger stand and marina in the 1960s when his father, John Gilmore, was hard at work trying to bring a Jacobson’s department store to town.

Now, the younger Gilmore, second-generation owner and CEO of the Grand Rapids-based Gilmore Collection restaurant group, is watching plans roll back into motion that could inject new life into the site where Jacobson’s once stood.

Scott Wierda and Brian DeVries, doing business as Gaslight Investors LLC, went before the East Grand Rapids Planning Commission on July 9 seeking approval for their plans at 515 Lakeside Drive SE and 2255 Wealthy St. SE, in the city’s Gaslight Village business district. The planners opted not to

lives adjacent to the proposed site at Lakewood Hills Apartments, where there’s “always a waiting list” to get in, he said.

“More (housing) in East Grand Rapids would keep a lot of people from moving out of the community — empty-nesters and such — and I think it’d be great for the community to have more residential right in — Greg Gilmore, owner and CEO of the Grand Rapidsthat area,” he based Gilmore Collection restaurant group said.

The developers, who have long worked togeth8.6-acre lot.

Gilmore, who owns Rose’s er as Jade Pig Ventures, want to Restaurant across the street over- construct seven new buildings looking Reeds Lake, said he’s ea- that would include 180 units of ger to see how the housing plan could unfold. His elderly mother See THIRD on Page 44 vote on the project immediately and instead will gather more information on the developers’ new proposal for housing and commercial space on a mostly vacant

“More (housing) in East Grand Rapids would keep a lot of people from moving out of the community and I think it’d be great for the community to have more residential right in that area.”

The Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce hopes to serve as the nonpartisan, “sane center” in the upcoming Ottawa County primaries following nearly two years of “turmoil” and less-than-predictable local government.

That’s according to Jodi Owczarski, who has served for more than seven years, including the past two as president and CEO, with the organization that represents businesses in the greater Holland and Zeeland area.

While political and social fragmentation has been growing on a national scale, Ottawa County has represented a hotbed since January 2023. That’s when the far-right political faction known as Ottawa Impact took office with a large majority on the 11-member Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.

A key storyline emerging ahead of the Aug. 6 primary is whether Ottawa Impact can maintain its county board majority, which already has narrowed over the past 18 months as members broke away or were recalled. Ottawa

Impact also is affiliated with candidates in contested Republican primary races for county prosecutor, sheriff and treasurer.

Indeed, nine of the 11 county commission seats in which Ottawa Impact is engaged this election feature GOP primaries, pitting an Ottawa Impact-backed candidate against a more moderate Republican challenger.

Whether or not that represents a referendum against Ottawa Impact, Owczarski said it’s a “very intentional” move by citizens to re-engage in politics following the group’s controversial approach to governing.

“The last year and a half, things have been in turmoil. It’s a concept that I think has been pretty unfamiliar along the lakeshore,” Owczarski said. “Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, it seems like the government structure here has been pretty stable over time, predictable. … We certainly don’t feel that same sense (now).

“This isn’t something that’s limited to just our area. From a chamber and industry See IMPACT on Page 44

Pro- and anti-Ottawa Impact signs in Ottawa County. | MARK SANCHEZ, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS

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Mayoral frontrunners focus on housing, public safety

By Kate Carlson

The race to replace outgoing Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss is shaping into a matchup between a pair of former city commissioners who each say public safety and housing are key policy priorities.

A field of four candidates is set for the Aug. 6 primary to narrow the field down to two contenders who will replace the term-limited Bliss.

The nonpartisan field features Hailey Lynch-Bastion, Steve Owens, Senita Lenear and David LaGrand, who bring varied levels of government experience. Lenear and LaGrand each previously served on the city commission.

Lynch-Bastion describes themselves as a philosopher and artist on their campaign website, with goals that include helping the homeless population and creating more gardens across the city.

Owens served two tours in Afghanistan in the U.S. Marine Corps., according to his campaign website, and his platform includes opposition to using tax revenue for Grand Action 2.0’s amphitheater and soccer stadium projects.

Owens also supports incentivizing businesses to provide onsite child care for employees, and incorporating more mixed-use zoning to help drive down the cost of housing.

LaGrand has garnered the most endorsements from local leaders, organized labor and business

groups ahead of the primary. If elected, he said he plans to hold weekly standing town hall events that will focus on policy issues such as policing, housing and neighborhood development, he told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

“People are really tired of hyper-partisan fighting, so I really hope to be a consensus builder and uniter as mayor,” LaGrand said.

LaGrand is a Grand Rapids native and an attorney. He previously served as assistant prosecutor in Kent County, a Second Ward Grand Rapids city commissioner, and three-term state representative. He unsuccessfully ran for the state Senate in 2022, losing the 30th District seat to Sen. Mark Huizenga.

LaGrand has ownership in several properties and businesses across West Michigan, including Long Road Distillers LLC. The lack of housing has been a “forefront issue in my mind,” LaGrand said, adding that he has talked to many advocacy groups and policy experts to study the issue.

“There are a lot of strategies we have to employ here,” LaGrand said. “Complex problems always take complex solutions — there will not be one thing, there will be 20 things we have to do. The other thing that’s worth pointing out is I really think we have to have a regional response. It’s not a Grand Rapids-specific problem, this has to be addressed regionally.”

LaGrand also said he would work with law enforcement to improve policing practices and out-

David LaGrand and Senita Lenear | COURTESY PHOTOS

comes if elected.

“I’m a big fan of our current police chief, so the fact that something is not implemented today doesn’t mean it’s not on his radar or the city manager’s radar,” LaGrand said. “We can always do better with policing. There are situations where we want to encourage our police to maximize the safety of everyone involved, which means examining policies to make sure we get to those goals rather than maximizing the number of arrests.”

Bliss has endorsed LaGrand to take her place. LaGrand has also gained endorsements from state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, former Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, state Rep. Rachel Hood, several current city and county commissioners, the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of

Commerce’s political action committee, the Grand Rapids Firefighters Local 366, Teamsters Local 406, UAW-CAP Region 1D, and the Michigan Laborers District Council.

Lenear said she hopes to continue some of the work she started as a Grand Rapids city commissioner representing the Third Ward on the city’s southeast side, including driving funding to the Third Ward Equity Fund, which she helped establish.

“I would like to first of all fund the Third Ward Equity Fund to the degree it really can make meaningful change, and look at other areas of our city where there is also disinvestment,” Lenear said. “Our city deserves every neighborhood and business district to have the same investment and care as other parts of the city.”

Lenear grew up in Grand Rapids starting when she was 9 years old, and previously served on the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education and the city commission. She co-owns Genesis Consulting Group with her husband, Dallas Lenear, and previously worked in community relations and human resources at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Lenear also hopes to grow the efforts of the Safe Alliances For Everyone (SAFE) Task Force, which is an anti-violence initiative she serves on to help reduce violent crime in the city and provide services to young adults.

“We have been able to pour in more than $600,000 into small grassroots organizations who are making impacts and reducing violence in our city and I’d like to see how we can expand SAFE and implement all the components of SAFE,” Lenear said.

Lenear also was part of a group of city commissioners in 2014 that formed the Great Housing Strategies review of housing issues across the city. She is supportive of policy changes that attract developers to create more housing and believes the issue needs to be tackled regionally.

“We are a landlocked city so we don’t have a whole lot of space in our city where you can build neighborhoods of housing,” Lenear said. “With infill (development) it’s important for it to reflect the character of the neighborhood.”

Voters to decide early childhood development funding

By Mark Sanchez

A property tax levy that supports early childhood services in Kent County is on the Aug. 6 ballot for renewal with the backing of a leading business group that views the issue as supporting a future workforce in Kent County.

The 0.25-mill, six-year renewal Ready by Five levy that appears on the countywide primary election ballot would generate nearly $8.8 million in the first year, if renewed

by Kent County voters.

Since Kent County voters first approved the tax in 2018 for six years, the revenue the Ready by Five millage generated has provided funding to about 20 community organizations annually that run more than 30 different early childhood services. Kent County commissioners last fall awarded more than $11 million to 18 community organizations that operate 34 programs. The funding runs through September.

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce first supported the millage six years ago. The chamber’s board of directors unanimously endorsed this year’s renewal and urges members to support the Ready by Five millage as a long-term investment in workforce development starting at a young age.

“The business community recognizes the importance of early childhood education and well-being as critical to building a strong community and a strong talent pipeline,” said Andy Johnston, senior vice president of advocacy and strategic engagement.

“Early childhood education is important because it’s what creates a great start. The research is irrefutable that having healthy babies and getting kids prepared for kindergarten leads to better outcomes,” Johnston said. “It builds a stronger talent pipeline and a healthy and prepared workforce, and that will be our competitive advantage in the future.”

The proposal on the primary election ballot asks voters whether to renew the millage levy “for the purpose planning, evaluating, and providing services to persons through age 5 and their parents for early childhood development, and services to improve (the) quality of childcare and to increase public information regarding available childcare.”

Kent County voters first enacted the Ready by Five millage in the November 2018 general election.

The ballot question won with 56.7% of the vote, a margin of 13.4 percentage points.

First Steps Kent administers the Ready by Five grants on behalf of

The Comprehensive Therapy Center playgroup. | FIRST STEPS KENT/ISABEL MEDIA STUDIOS

Kent County. Funding requests from organizations are reviewed by a resident review board that recommends grant awards to county commissioners for final approval.

The revenue from the levy goes for services in four categories: Parent education and support, healthy child development that includes screenings for developmental disabilities and delays, early learning outreach, and assistance to navigate the early childhood system, such as finding daycare openings in Kent County.

The funding does not go to directly support or subsidize child care or preschool.

In 2023, early-childhood services supported by the Ready by Five millage served more than 13,600 individuals and families, an increase of 1,200 from 2022.

Nearly 60% of the families benefiting from services the Ready by Five millage supports were from historically marginalized groups, and 35% were in households with incomes below $40,000 a year, according to an annual report from First Steps Kent.

Investments in early childhood development services are intended to assure that “our children are healthy and able to learn by the time they reach school,” First Steps Kent President Jennifer Headley-Nordman said.

“It’s really about what kind of programs and services are going to create healthy environments and also set a child on the right path for being ready to learn by the time they hit kindergarten,” she said. “It’s very difficult if a child falls behind to be able to catch up.”

Earlier this year, First Steps Kent led a push to nearly double the Ready by Five millage, which could have led to up to $20 million annually over the next six years.

However, the Republican-majority Kent County Board of Commissioners resisted the request, based in part on what leaders said was a lack of data on the program’s effectiveness because of pandemic-related disruptions.

Polling that First Steps Kent conducted last fall indicated that the Ready by Five millage has even broader support today than when it passed in 2018, Headley-Nordman said. Despite that showing, a campaign committee is “running a full campaign” to promote voter passage of the renewal, Headley-Nordman said.

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Lodging tax proposal would generate an additional $8M

By Rachel Watson

Kent County voters will be asked on Aug. 6 whether to approve a visitor-funded lodging tax that could raise an additional $8 million in the first year for several planned “destination assets.”

Under legislation signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on April 2, Kent County is one of eight counties that can raise its lodging tax up to 8% to fund entertainment facilities such as the planned Acrisure Amphitheater, soccer stadium and aquarium.

If voters approve an increase of up to 8% in the primary election, the Kent County Board of Commissioners would then consider amending the lodging ordinance and raising the tax up to 8%. It would go into effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Kara Wood, executive director of Grand Action 2.0, the group leading the development of the amphitheater and soccer stadium, said if the proposal passes, Grand Action would likely ask for most of the funding to go toward the soccer stadium project.

“It’s looking like it’s roughly about $100 million that (is left to be raised) for the soccer stadium and approximately $20 million for the amphitheater,” she said, noting the funds would back bonds over time to pay off debt on the facilities.

“It would help to fund those destination assets that Kent County wants to provide not only to its residents, but also to visitors,” Wood said.

“We did talk about that at length,” she said. “We wanted to make sure that we weren’t putting ourselves at a disadvantage when it comes to the competitiveness of visitor travel and business travel, and we feel as though it’s not going to have a negative impact on the convention business or tourism and travel.”

The ballot initiative is supported by leaders and business groups including Mayor Rosalynn Bliss,

The Right Place Inc., the West Michigan Sports Commission, AHC Hospitality, ASM Global and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.

No formal groups have emerged to oppose the measure, despite some opposition from individual commissioners — including some who expressed an interest in investing in projects outside of downtown — when the county deliberated over the issue.

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Excise tax The county’s lodging excise tax, which has been set at 5% since 1989, is levied on hotels and motels that lodge guests for less than 30 consecutive days. The 5% levy is forecasted to generate $13 million in 2025.

If the measure passes and the board raises the tax by 3%, it could generate an estimated $8 million in additional revenue in 2025, said Kent County Assistant Administrator Lori Latham.

Latham said the total tax on a hotel room in Kent County would rise from 15% to 18%, which includes a 6% sales tax, a 4% marketing assessment provided to the Kent County convention and visitors’ bureau Experience Grand Rapids, the current 5% county tax, and the 3-percentage point hike.

According to Experience Grand Rapids, which backs the measure, the average daily room rate across Kent County was $123.82 last year. The proposal would increase that cost by less than $4 per night, the group said.

Wood said backers do not expect the increase — which could push Grand Rapids’ lodging tax rate above several Midwestern cities’, including Chicago’s at about 17% — to hamper Grand Rapids’ visitor attraction efforts.

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Adventure course manufacturer expands globally

By Rachel Watson

A 35-year-old West Michigan manufacturer specializing in outdoor recreation equipment and attractions is eyeing more in-state growth while tapping into global markets just catching on to its products.

Allegan-based RCI Adventure Products makes and installs indoor and outdoor ropes courses, ziplines, climbing walls and mazes, filling a manufacturing niche in an otherwise diverse and growing outdoor recreation economy. In Michigan alone, outdoor recreation supports nearly 120,000 jobs and contributes $12.4 billion to the state’s gross domestic product.

Most recently, the manufacturer is behind a three-story indoor ropes course at an $80 million expansion that launched in late 2022 at Frankenmuth-based Bavarian Inn Lodge’s Bavarian Blast Waterpark.

CEO Jim Liggett, who founded RCI in 1989, said the Frankenmuth ropes course installation is slated to be installed in September after a few construction delays.

“The Bavarian Inn is going to have a great ropes course with Sky Rails on it that’s going to be indoors, so that’s really fun,” he said.

The Sky Rail is one of RCI’s patented products. It’s a rigid zip track that seamlessly integrates into RCI’s patented Sky Trail steelframed high ropes course structures, allowing users to transfer onto it without having to unhook and rehook harnesses. The zip

lines have no “sag” in the metal track like traditional zip lines do, allowing them to stretch safely between buildings or over water.

RCI’s other product lines include smaller Sky Tykes play equipment, Clip ‘N Climb indoor self-belay climbing structures, Adventure Trail “net play” courses, and Amaze’N Mazes indoor and outdoor mazes.

Liggett said the ropes course planned at Bavarian Blast Waterpark exemplifies the “niche” indoor and outdoor recreation markets RCI has tapped in Michigan and around the world during the past few decades.

Early on, when RCI was making wooden ropes course structures, the company did a lot of summer camp installations in northwestern Michigan, he said. Since making the shift several years ago to steel structures for greater durability, RCI is doing more installations for entities with larger budgets. The company generates $20 million in annual revenue and employs 70 people at locations in Allegan and Destin, Fla., as well as overseas in London and Malaysia.

The company’s products are increasingly in demand at zoos, malls, entertainment centers, resort chains, cruise ships, museums, aquariums, and cave and cavern attractions, Liggett said.

“Ropes courses go anywhere families go,” Liggett said. “Anywhere there’s people that just want to have fun … it’s a great place for a ropes course, and specifically ours, because they’re very easy to

An RCI Adventure Products course at Sasquatch Mountain Resort in British Columbia. | COURTESY OF RCI ADVENTURE PRODUCTS

operate, and they’re very safe.”

Liggett said the company has built and installed more than 800 courses in the past 20 years that have garnered about 25 million to 30 million visitors annually. Technology like computerized safety gates and decelerator systems allow the equipment to accommodate high volumes of guests with minimal staff operators, he said.

John Ball Zoo was among the earliest of the approximately 15 zoos that hired RCI to build their attractions, putting in a zip line in 2007 and an elevated ropes course in 2008.

In 2022, RCI installed about $2 million worth of ropes courses and zip lines at Binder Park Zoo in Newton Township near Battle Creek. The project, called the Charles and Lynn Zhang SkyLark Ridge, named after its lead donors

who contributed $1 million, has a separate entrance from the zoo and operates outside normal zoo hours.

Last year, RCI installed a ropes course and zip line for the Bamboo Forest Adventure Play attraction at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in Indiana. The company also has completed courses at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky and Hattiesburg Zoo in Mississippi, among others.

RCI also recently installed ropes courses at two Great Wolf Lodge locations, one in Naples, Fla., and the other in Webster, Texas.

Other popular installations include what was billed as the longest indoor zipline in the U.S. at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., in 2015, and a four-story ropes course at Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio, Texas, in 2019.

“When we do one, then they talk, and if it’s successful, then we end up doing several,” Liggett said of the word-of-mouth spread among zoos, malls, cruise ships and cavern destinations. He said RCI’s early work in those spaces has spun out into several dozen such installations around the world.

Liggett said more than half of the demand for RCI’s installations right now is coming from outside the U.S. Some of the strongest growth is occurring in the Middle East, in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as in other parts of Asia.

Saudi Arabia, for example, is trying to diversify its economy to become less reliant on oil exports amid geopolitical uncertainty. The Saudi government is investing “several billion dollars into developing the country’s entertainment offerings,” Liggett said.

“We just landed a contract to build a ropes course in every major city in the whole country,” he said of the deal with the Saudi government.

With the growth in the Middle East and Asia, Liggett said RCI is scouting locations in Asia where it can add manufacturing plants, which would be in addition to its Allegan production facility.

He said business in the state has leveled off as overseas “copycat” manufacturers have entered the market, bringing cheaper alternatives to what his company produces.

Michigan VC deals dip through first half of 2024

By Mark Sanchez

The $500,000 that Insight Voice Inc. raised this spring from venture capital investors will support the artificial intelligence-based company’s further growth and development.

The Grand Rapids-based Insight Voice closed in May on the seed capital round that included Ann Arbor SPARK and Comeback Capital, a Cleveland, Ohio-based venture capital firm that invests in Midwest startups.

The seed capital investment enabled Insight Voice to “accelerate our development and test marketing growth tactics,” founder and CEO Matthew Curtis wrote in an email to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. “It has allowed us to refine our product and continue to deliver results for our customers.”

Founded in 2023, Insight Voice developed a software service that streamlines content marketing for small to medium-sized businesses. The company’s platform allows businesses to readily customize content across digital channels.

Insight Voice currently has more than 1,000 users across various economic sectors. The company’s strongest growth has come from areas such as professional services, health care, fitness and re-

tail, Curtis said.

Curtis has worked on and in startups for most of the past decade. Based on his experience, he describes the present fundraising environment as “very friendly for early-stage companies that are already experiencing growth and seeking reasonable capital raises.”

Insight Voice’s deal was among the $152.7 million raised via 32 venture capital investments involving Michigan-based companies that closed in the second quarter, according to a quarterly report from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

The second quarter deal value was 66% higher than what was invested in the state in the first quarter of 2024 and slightly above the $146.7 million invested a year earlier through 46 deals, according to the latest Venture Monitor report that indicates venture capital investing nationally showed signs of picking up.

Through the first half of 2024, venture capital investments in Michigan-based companies totaled 80 deals for $244.5 million, which compares to 105 deals for $625.1 million in the first six months of 2023.

Second quarter investments for companies in West Michigan in-

Lowell-based Orb Aerospace Inc. closed May 3 on $1.9 million in later-stage capital. The company was among five firms in West Michigan to raise venture capital in the first quarter. | ORB AEROSPACE

clude: ◗ $6.6 million in later-stage capital that closed May 9 for HealthBridge Financial Inc., a Grand Rapids-area health care fintech that works with companies to provide employees an option to pay off the out-of-pocket portion of their medical bills. ◗ $1.9 million in later-stage capital that closed May 3 for Lowell-based Orb Aerospace Inc., which is developing fully electric aerial vehicles referred to as orbs that will have the ability to travel overseas and provide aid to places experiencing crises. ◗ $1.5 million in later-stage capital that closed June 11 for Revolin

Sports LLC, a Holland-based maker of pickleball rackets. ◗ $1.6 million in seed capital in April for TheraB Medical Inc., an East Lansing-based medical technology company developing products for infant care.

At Insight Voice, the spring venture capital deal involved Ann Arbor SPARK, which invested $150,000 in the company supported by the Michigan Innovation Capital Fund.

Mike Flanagan, vice president of capital programs at Ann Arbor SPARK, said in a May announcement that through the investment, the economic development organization “extends beyond the Ann

Arbor region as we aim to strengthen the entire Michigan ecosystem.”

“Investing in companies like Insight Voice supports this vision, making Michigan a competitive landscape for tech innovations and economic growth,” Flanagan said.

Insight Voice’s platform works by prompting users with questions that their customers “are most likely to be interested in, enabling them to effortlessly transform their insights into audience-building content,” Curtis said. “With Insight Voice, you can create, schedule, and send all your content in one place, saving you hours of drudgery.”

Insight Voice began as a tool to help podcasters obtain questions from listeners and answer them during the show, Curtis said.

“What I realized is that the vast majority of podcasts are run by businesses working to establish authentic authority. With AI, we were able to mimic the questions that customers have for individual small businesses, allowing them to answer them quickly and share what they know with their customers in minutes a day,” he said.

Venture capital investments in the U.S. increased for the third straight quarter to 3,108 deals valued at $55.6 billion.

6 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | July 22, 2024

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Former Reserve Wine and Food goes with Italian rebrand

By Abby Poirier

Former downtown Grand Rapids restaurant Reserve Wine and Food, which closed on May 2 to undergo a redesign and concept change, will re-emerge this fall as Allora, an upscale coastal Italian concept focused on authentic cuisine.

Owned by Windquest Group, the family office for Dick and Betsy DeVos, Reserve Wine and Food operated for 14 years at 201 Monroe Ave. NW, boasting 102 wines and a full menu.

Luke VerHulst, Reserve’s executive chef and general manager who will hold the same roles at Allora, previously told Crain’s that Reserve had run its course and was set for an update.

While Allora will continue to rely on fresh, seasonal ingredients, the new menu will have a tightened focus and channel coastal Italian flavors through light pasta and seafood dishes.

“We did everything (at Reserve).

There wasn’t really a style of cuisine that we stuck to,” VerHulst said. “The world was my oyster at that point. With this new concept, we’re really trying to focus on specific regions within Italy, and having more of a defined cuisine.

There’s a niche that’s kind of miss-

ing in our town, as far as high-quality seafood and lighter fare, so we’re really going to try and hone in on that.”

Allora takes its name from the Italian language, in which “allora” serves as a filler word in storytelling and conversation. While it has no direct English translation, it serves the same purpose as “well” or “so” to create space and keep words flowing smoothly, according to an announcement on the plan.

VerHulst said he hopes Allora can do the same for guests.

“We’re really looking for (Allora) to be a place where stories are told,” he said. “There’s a lot of work that happens behind the scenes before a plate rolls out to a guest, and we really want to do the due diligence of telling that story to everybody who walks through the door.”

Reserve founder Betsy DeVos said in a statement that the owners aim to “offer an unforgettable experience for every guest in an intimate, comfortable setting. At Allora, every delicious bite with family and friends will be a story.”

In addition to Allora, Windquest Group also owns the CraftCo portfolio of spirits, which includes Coppercraft Distillery in Holland and a tasting room in Saugatuck.

Windquest also owns several whis-

key brands, including Jos. A. Magnus Co., Fox & Oden and Flying Ace Spirits, as well as Thatcher’s Organic Artisan Spirits, a producer of vodka and liqueurs.

To help develop the new menu for Allora, VerHulst is heading to Italy this summer to learn in-person from Italian chefs.

Starting in Naples, VerHulst plans to work his way down the coast of southern Italy to Sicily, working in Italian restaurants to see how they operate and the techniques they employ. He aims to use that experience to help influence Allora.

“I’m really trying to catch the vibe,” he said. “There’s definitely a mindset in Italian cuisine that we want to bring back. (I’ll be) getting to know the people that are buying, hopefully talking to some farmers, visiting local markets, seeing what a day looks like living as an Italian, seeing what locals are eating. (I want to get) a better understanding of the cuisine as a whole.”

As the menu comes together, so will the physical space at the corner of Monroe and Lyon Street.

The space currently is completely gutted, with nothing left but cement floors and four walls. From there, the Windquest Group plans to make “major changes” to the

The former Reserve Wine and Food restaurant is undergoing a renovation and rebranding as upscale Italian-style Allora. | MICKEY CIOKAJLO

space, VerHulst said.

The new look will reflect Allora’s coastal theme, and will have a smaller footprint, seating 84 guests compared to Reserve’s 100-person capacity.

“I think it will be unrecognizable to the majority of our regular guests from Reserve,” VerHulst said.

Renovations for the new space will be done by Rockford Construction, while Grand Rapids-based Ghafari Associates LLC

will design the new interior.

“There’s a lot of mindset in West Michigan that I think mimics Italy, as far as the community engagement and farm-to-table mindset,” VerHulst said. “Michigan being the second most agriculturally diverse state in the United States, there’s a lot of produce that’s available to us. And I think that’s a very Italian ideal. Also, Michigan is a peninsula, so is Italy. We’re trying to mimic those things as much as possible.”

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July 22, 2024 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 7

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‘Peaceful’ Frank Lloyd Wrightdesigned Usonian home has lake view

By Rachel Watson

Another of the eight Usonian homes Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Kalamazoo County is on the market, and this one includes a lake view.

Mother-daughter sellers Catherine Berno and Sarah Hull listed the Winn House in Kalamazoo on June 29 for $1.85 million. Fred Taber of Portage-based Jaqua Realtors has the listing for the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home, which was built in 1950.

The 2,469-square-foot house sits on a 2.38-acre double lot in the Parkwyn Village area of the Winchell neighborhood, overlooking Little Asylum Lake. The dwelling is named for the original owners, Robert and Winifred Winn.

Taber describes the home as peaceful above all else.

“When you walk up to the door, your first view … the way the entry door is situated, is (of the lake),” he said. “It’s just such a peaceful feeling, it’s very relaxing in the house.

It’s situated so you can’t see there’s a neighborhood next door.”

The lake it overlooks is part of the 217-acre public Asylum Lake Preserve owned by Western Mich-

Americans could afford. The homes shared common traits including low-peaked or flat roofs, cantilevered carports, built-in shelves and cabinetry, tall windows to let in sunlight and central hearths.

The McCartney House, another Usonian home in Parkwyn Village, hit the market in March and sold for $670,000 last month. Taber relisted a third residence, the Eppstein House located in The Acres, for $2.1 million after the sellers originally offered it as a pair with its neighbor, the Pratt House, as Crain’s Chicago Business previously reported. Pratt House sold in June for $1.8 million.

Taber said the Winn House has a higher list price than its Parkwyn neighbor, the McCartney, because it is larger, has more acreage and is in better condition.

Although many Usonian homes were a single level, the Winn House is referred to as a two-story home because of its fully finished walkout basement that overlooks the lawn and lake, Taber said.

Reclaiming Wright’s vision The sellers, who declined to be interviewed for this article, invested more than $800,000 to restore the property during their decade-plus of ownership, Taber said.

They hired artist, carpenter and Wright restorationist Lee Doezema of Kalamazoo-based LLDesign Build as the general contractor.

John Eifler of Chicago-based Eifler & Associates served as the architect.

The duo used a set of blueprints that came with the house to restore it as faithfully as possible to Wright’s original intent.

“I’ve never seen this many (pages of blueprints). It’s like the complete set,” Taber said. “It’s really fascinating to see. Some of them (showed) the original site drawing with colored pencil for the lawn and such.”

Taber said the full set will be passed to the next owners in the hopes they will use them to preserve the house, in keeping with Wright’s vision. Also included will be all of the built-in furniture, as well as the dining room table and chairs that are believed to be original to the home.

During the restoration process, the team redid the concrete floors and replaced mildewed plywood throughout the home. They also updated the kitchen with new appliances and replaced a floor-toceiling wall on the left side with the half-wall design included in Wright’s plans.

This home in Kalamazoo’s Parkwyn Village listed for $1.85 million on June 29. | MATTHEW TRUMAN

The four-season porch overlooks the lake and features a canoe-shaped skylight added by the present owners from Wright’s blueprints. | MATTHEW TRUMAN

The sellers updated the kitchen, knocking down a floor-to-ceiling wall on the left side and rebuilding it as a half-wall, per Wright’s original vision. | MATTHEW TRUMAN

The 2,469-square-foot house sits on a 2.38-acre double lot in the Parkwyn Village area of the Winchell neighborhood, overlooking Little Asylum Lake. igan University. Visitors can walk a trail on the far side of the lake to catch a glimpse of Winn House across the water.

“You don’t get a great view of it, but you can still see it,” Taber said.

Usonian homes The Winn House is one of eight Wright-designed, Usonian-style houses in Kalamazoo County — four in Galesburg in The Acres and four in Parkwyn Village. Wright was in his 80s when he designed the subdivisions for a group of Upjohn scientists in the 1940s and early 1950s, as Crain’s Grand Rapids Business previously reported.

“Usonia” is a moniker derived from the phrase “United States of North America,” Wright’s preferred term for America, according to a book of reflections he published late in life.

Usonian homes were Wright’s attempt to produce attractive, lowcost homes that most middle-class

The house has a walkout basement with a yard sloping down to the lake. | MATTHEW TRUMAN

“If you’ve ever been to any of the (Usonian) homes, the kitchens are not very big, so a full wall kitchen with just one access door — that’d be a tiny space, a little claustrophobic,” Taber said.

The sellers also found the Winns had deviated from Wright’s original canoe-shaped design for the porch skylight, so they put one in to match the plans.

The owners also redid the electrical and some of the plumbing.

Although many Usonian homes feature radiant heat, they kept the

forced-air heating system because it allows the home to have central air.

While Wright had designed the porch as more of an open-air balcony, the sellers decided to keep it enclosed as an all-season room, installing new windows that open and have full screens to let in a breeze.

The seller’s late husband designed lamps throughout the home to match Wright’s original lighting styles, as well as some “origami”-inspired patio furniture

that is not included in the listing.

In early July, Taber said he hasn’t yet scheduled showings or received offers on the home.

He said the sellers hope to attract a buyer who is serious about maintenance and upkeep of the architecturally significant property, “so that 100 years from now, someone else can still enjoy the home.”

“It’s a unique piece of artwork; it’s amazing,” he said. “This house just has its own feel, its own vibe.

It’s comforting. It’s calming. It’s relaxing.”

8 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | July 22, 2024

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Restaurant, housing planned for Roosevelt Park

By Kate Carlson

A first-time developer is working to open an authentic Cuban restaurant, along with 17 apartment units, in Grand Rapids’ Roosevelt Park neighborhood.

Juan Lopez said his Latino background and connection with the majority-Hispanic community of Roosevelt Park drove his interest in developing a project in that area.

Lopez, who is a contractor and owner of Exclusive Finish Solutions LLC, purchased 1516 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW for $210,000 in September 2021.

Lopez was nearly finished building out a restaurant in the

project was delayed by financing hurdles that were exacerbated by COVID-19, he said.

“I’ve been in the trades for some time now and I’ve had the spectrum of working as a subcontractor being out in the field, to dealing with a lot of the organization and managing projects,” Lopez said. “I believe I have the capability to take it a step further.”

Lopez and his family came to the U.S. in the late-1990s, and his mother, Martiza Lopez, always had a passion for cooking. This led the mother-and-son duo to pursue opening a restaurant.

The small sit-down Cuban restaurant will be named “Palmas,” and will also rely on takeout, Lopez said. They hope to add outdoor seating in the future, he added.

Lopez said his mother specializes in making guava pastries, which he described as similar to scones but contain fillings such as guava, coconut and cheese.

Lopez is working with Cella Building Co. to renovate the basement and first floor of the building and construct two new upper stories. Grand Rapids-based Maxam Architecture is designing the project.

The project will be all-electric

“I just want to proactively build our communities up and just make a better place for the community to enjoy.”

— Juan Lopez, contractor and owner of Exclusive Finish Solutions LLC space that his mother would own and operate when he realized adding apartment units to the building would be the “best option” for the project, he said. Lopez initially aimed to buy the building in 2019, but the whole

First-time developer Juan Lopez plans a new Cuban restaurant named Palmas, along with 17 apartments, at 1516 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. SW in Grand Rapids. | MAXAM ARCHITECTURE

and comply with GR2030 District energy efficient standards, said Peter Skornia, Cella Building Co. president.

Site plans call for turning the basement of the building into two apartment units, as well as restaurant storage space. The first floor of the building is set to contain the 1,652-square-foot restaurant and two one-bedroom ADA-compliant apartment units. A common

area, bike storage room, mailroom and the restaurant are also planned on the first floor. Two stories of new construction are set to include six apartment units each.

Site plans call for four studio apartments, 12 one-bedroom units, and one two-bedroom unit.

No new parking would be added on site, with spaces provided through an agreement with neigh-

boring properties.

“I have been in the construction industry for some time so I’ve learned to appreciate remodeling and am just very happy I can apply that to not just something I own, but something in the area that I want to improve,” Lopez said. “I just want to proactively build our communities up and just make a better place for the community to enjoy.”

July 22, 2024 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 9

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First half of 2024 sees big uptick in Michigan home-building permits “We’re in a national housing crisis,” MSHDA CEO and ExecuHome-building in Michigan tive Director Amy Hovey said saw a large increase in the first during a panel at the Mackinac half of the year compared with Policy Conference in May. “So early 2023, according to new this is across the country, and data released earlier this month. we’ve never been in a housing Around the state, the first half crisis like this in our lifetimes.”

The impact of that housing of the year saw 5,987 single-family housing permits pulled, up shortage has been steadily rising about 21.6% from the same peri- prices and at least some reod last year, according to the searchers saying that some reHome Builders Association of gions of the state have the most Michigan trade group, which overpriced housing stock in the used U.S. Census data for its nation when compared to historanalysis.

The uptick in ical norms.

Filka touted government and home-building activity can be attributed to a “clearly evident” political leaders in the state for demand and need for housing prioritizing the housing shortage around the state, according to as a key policy point, and particBob Filka, CEO of the Lan- ularly pointing to recent legislative changes that allow for sing-based HBAM. “Many may find this surpris- brownfield tax increment financing, but even in the current high- ing to now be used for home er interest rate environment, de- building.

“We’ve seen a transformation mand for housing has remained steady on a statewide basis,” Fil- at our state housing agency,” Filka said in a news release. “We ka said in the release. “They are moving beyond the traditional affordable housing programs of the past and are utilizing new tools the legislature and Governor have made available. These tools have been used for years for job attraction, but communities can now utilize them to attract the housing investment they need.”

Still, Filka pushed back on proposed building code changes at the state level that he and others at the association have said — Bob Filka, CEO of the Lansing-based HBAM would hamper much of the state’s goals around inhave been seeing some softening creasing housing stock.

Specifically, Filka says the in parts of the state, but demand and need for more housing is state should look to the 2024 International Residential Code, as clearly evident.”

A breakdown of the opposed 2021 rules currently behome-building data by county or ing looked at.

“This newer ‘model code’ is far region around the state was not less costly and would provide immediately available.

At present, Michigan is short more flexibility for builders to inmore than 140,000 housing units novate in meeting safety and enwhen compared with demand ergy efficiency targets,” Filka and need, according to recent fig- said.

Nick Manes is a reporter for ures from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Crain’s Detroit Business.

By Nick Manes

“They [our state housing agency] are moving beyond the traditional affordable housing programs of the past and are utilizing new tools the legislature and Governor have made available.”

10 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | July 22, 2024

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Trinity Health may accelerate pain practice plans

By Mark Sanchez

Trinity Health’s medical group was already planning to expand a pain-management practice before Michigan Pain Consultants P.C. started closing its West Michigan clinics.

Now, as thousands of patients seek options for pain management, Trinity is looking at moving quicker to expand the practice. The health system has hired doctors for Grand Rapids and Muskegon who specialize in pain management and was planning to build their practices in both markets.

“We might have to accelerate our hiring process to grow those programs,” said Dr. Lisa Kinsey Callaway, chief medical officer for the Trinity Health Medical Group.

“We already had a one-to-twoyear plan for comprehensive pain management in the medical group. This may accelerate some elements of that … . Instead of being a two-year plan it could be a one-year plan,” Kinsey Callaway said.

Kinsey Callaway estimates that Trinity Health had about 2,500 active referrals to Michigan Pain Consultants.

Trinity already offers pain injections in Muskegon and hired a new pain injectionist in Muskegon

and a pain management specialist physician in Grand Rapids, both starting in September, she said.

Both are presently going through the credentialing process.

“This was already in play, but this may result in us having additional hires sooner if we see a need in the community,” Kinsey Callaway said. “We are not certain that that’s enough at this time. We are looking at our longer-range goals and considering whether we need to shorten that time period.”

Trinity Health potentially accelerating growth and hiring plans for the pain practice reflects how care providers in the region are beginning to respond to the Michigan Pain Consultants clinic closings and an influx of patients.

The pain management practice on June 14 closed office locations in Wyoming, Muskegon and Big Rapids. Other offices in Grand Rapids, Greenville and Holland will close in August. Michigan Pain Consultants also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to allow it to wind down operations.

Health care providers initially were surprised by the planned closings and at first responded by saying they were collaborating to try to minimize the closings’ effects on patients and the resulting gap in care. They wanted to ensure

pain patients get access to what they need, especially if they use narcotics to manage their pain.

“University of Michigan HealthWest is committed to providing comprehensive care for patients seeking relief of chronic pain,” the health system said in a recent statement to Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. “Our goal remains supporting patients in need.”

Likewise, Corewell Health told Crain’s that its “focus right now is helping patients and community members.”

Providers say they’ve been receiving calls from Michigan Pain patients seeking an alternative for their care.

“Several former MPC patients have already been evaluated. I’m seeing them on a daily basis in our spine clinic,” said Teri Holwerda, a nurse practitioner at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital Spine and Pain Rehabilitation Programs in Grand Rapids, which has been taking on new pain-management patients.

Mary Free Bed has a comprehensive pain management and rehab program and so far has the capacity to take on new pain patients and handle the higher volume, Holwerda said. Prior to the Michigan Pain closings, the rehab hospital recently added physical

Trinity Health Grand Rapids. | COURTESY PHOTO

and occupational therapists and a pain psychologist to the pain program team and “we are prepared to extend services,” she said.

“We’re uniquely positioned with our multiple clinical programs and we’re ready to meet the needs of those patients from MPC that need care,” Holwerda said.

“Our providers right now have the capacity to see these patients in a timely fashion” and within a couple of days.

Mary Free Bed could extend clinic times to accommodate incoming patients, if needed, Holwerda said.

Michigan Pain Consultants has been working with Trinity Health and “helping us to understand where they’re sending some patients, especially those with pain pumps, and then we’re looking

into how we can assist our patients who have pumps with either a new referral or other ways to manage that going forward,” Kinsey Callaway said.

As well, Trinity has been reaching out to its primary care patients that Michigan Pain Consultants has treated to schedule appointments over the next couple of months, and “to work through what needs to happen with either maintaining their care within primary care, getting them a referral to another pain specialist or making a new plan for their pain,” she said.

“Internally, we’re generating a kind of comprehensive packet to our primary care providers about what’s available for pain management referrals,” Kinsey Callaway said.

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July 22, 2024 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 11

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Franchisees scout for indoor pickleball club locations

By Rachel Watson

A pair of Southwest Michigan business owners hope to tap the growing popularity of pickleball by opening two indoor courts in West Michigan under a new franchise agreement.

Robyn Goodrich and Keith Goodrich Jr. have signed a franchise agreement with Miami Beach, Fla.-based pickleball chain PickleRage and are scouting locations for indoor courts in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

Founded last year, PickleRage is currently building corporate-owned courts in Moorestown, N.J., Jacksonville, Fla., Glen Burnie, Md., and West Bloomfield, most of which will be located in outdoor shopping malls.

The company opened franchising in February and announced July 11 it inked franchise deals with the Goodriches for the Michigan locations and with another pair of franchisees to add a location in Mobile, Ala. The company promises the clubs will offer “unparalleled playing conditions for pickleball players of all ages and skill levels” through lessons, tournaments and leagues.

Robyn Goodrich said the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo locations will offer memberships for about

$60 per month as well as pay-percourt rentals. She told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business she anticipates the locations will have pro shops where players can buy pickleball gear, or they could bring their own.

The couple was drawn to this venture because of “the growth of the sport.”

“We keep hearing more and more about people loving the game and being able to play at any age or any athletic level, and we just thought it was a super fun, exciting industry to get into as it continues to grow,” she said.

The Goodriches have three decades of experience in business ownership. Robyn Goodrich and her parents, Mike and Sue Horn, are franchise owners of the Pet Supplies Plus Kalamazoo location in Comstock Township. Keith Goodrich owns Essential Handyman Services LLC in Augusta.

The Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo facilities will become the second and third PickleRage courts in Michigan after the recreation chain announced a location last fall in the Gateway Center at 7300 Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield. After initial delays, that location was set to open July 19, according to PickleRage’s website.

The chain’s Maryland, New Jer-

sey and Florida locations are set to open this fall, according to the company’s website.

PickleRage said in the statement that the cost to open a franchise ranges from nearly $830,000 to $1.8 million. Robyn Goodrich said she and her husband do not yet know how much their investment will total because it will depend on the cost of leases and build-outs for the y e t- t o - b e - d e t e r- An example of a PickleRage pickleball court. The franchise inked a deal with a local couple to open locations mined locations. in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. CREDIT: COURTESY PHOTO PickleRage said in a statement that all franchise lo- operations, significantly reducing open by the end of 2025 and 500 cations will include CushionX staffing needs, labor costs and im- locations by the end of the next five years. It is currently seeking courts, the same used by profes- proving efficiency.”

“This automated operational franchisees in Arizona, Florida, sionals in the U.S. Open, and will have “advanced reservation sys- model allows for the effective Utah, Nevada, Texas and North tems and community-focused management of large facilities Carolina.

The trade group Sports & Fitness with minimal staff, providing a culture.”

The company did not immedi- seamless experience for both fran- Industry Association reported in February that pickleball continues ately respond to requests for com- chisees and players,” he said.

For the first year, the Goodrich- to be the fastest-growing sport in ment.

Eric O’Connor, VP of franchise es expect to solely operate their America, growing 51.8% between development at PickleRage, said locations, potentially hiring two to 2022 and 2023 and 223.5% since 2020, with an estimated 13.6 milin a statement that PickleRage’s three staff members per location.

PickleRage indicated that it lion players in the U.S. as of last model offers “advanced technological solutions that streamline hopes to have at least 30 locations year.

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Our diverse mix of speakers from all four halls offers attendees a wide range of topics to help their companies advance. Here is a preview of some of the expert sessions:

with manufacturing leaders • Grants, loans, and statewide resources for small to mediummanufacturers • How to prepare for the new demands of industrial decarbonization • Transforming operations with technology

• Advancing Industry 4.0 to 5.0 through AI and automation • The no-BS digital sales roadmap • Realizing zero downtime, zerowaste with Industry 4.0 and AI • 10 lessons from 100 interviews

We extend our deepest gratitude to all our hall sponsors, volunteers and show sponsors. This event would not have been possible without the support of West Michigan and surrounding communities.

expert speakers with innovative technology companies.

“Free to attend, Free expert speakers and free parking!*”

MARK ERMATINGER GM of Industrial Control – MCE Automation Founder - Advanced Manufacturing Expo (AME) President – Association of High Technology Distribution

The show is designed to be the easiest, most affordable, and most valuable event for attracting top manufacturing suppliers from around the world. We listened to attendees and developed our own registration software for a quick and easy entry process. *We even cover two hours of parking for the first 2,000 attendees!

Every year, we invest time and money to bring in cutting-edge technology and influential people and companies.

We are thrilled to feature

Powered By

Michigan’s Trusted Partner for Advanced Manufacturing Tech Scouting Contact Us ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EXPO: AUGUST 7-8, 2024 | S3

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Mark Ermatinger, Founder of AME, provides insights into the show and what to expect.

4. TABLE OF CONTENTS/SHOW INFORMATION 5. EXPO HIGHLIGHTS

Don’t miss these expo headliners! Jake Hall, The Manufacturing Millenial!

Live Tool Demos! Women in Manufacturing Interview Series!

6. EXPO AGENDA EVENTS & SPEAKERS

SHOW INFORMATION HOURS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7: 8:30 AM - 4 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST: 8: 8:30 AM - 3 PM LOCATION DEVOS PLACE • GRAND RAPIDS, MI FREE* PARKING Free 2 hour parking voucher valid at City of Grand Rapids parking ramps,limited to the first 2,000 attendees between both days

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7. ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

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Learn about the top advanced technology trends in manufacturing!

8. WHY AI LEARNING IS HERE TO STAY

The rise of artificial intelligence machine learning in manufacturing the factory floor.

Thank You AME 2024 Corporate Sponsors: Gold Sponsor: Edgewater Automation Silver Sponsors: Fluid-Aire Dynamics, InfluxData

10. INDEPENDENT DISTRUBUTORS

Independent distributors are proving their worth on the plant floor with agility, flexibility and a commitment to customer service.

12. BUILDING THE DIGITAL SUPPLY CHAIN

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Helping create a future where manufacturing data is standardized and and readily available.

14-23. EXHIBITOR LISTINGS & MAPS • 15-17 - AUTOMATION HALL • 17-19 - 14.0 TECH HALL • 19-21 - MRO/SAFETY HALL • 21-23 - METALWORKING HALL

Media Partners:

Crain’s Grand Rapids Business Michigan Manufacturers Association

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Sponsored Content

Don’t miss these highlights at AME 2024 Explore cutting-edge technology, network with industry leaders, and witness live demonstrations

Keynote Address

10 a.m. Thursday, August 8

Caleb Sylvester • Keynote Speaker Director of Sales & Key Accounts Boston Dynamics

Caleb Sylverster leads a team that is helping customers adopt, deploy and scale the Spot robot platform in order to deliver a positive ROI in a short amount of time. He has 20 years of experience creating and selling digital transformation solutions and has led large-scale AI projects for several fortune 500 companies. For many years he focused on digital transformation through machine perception, specifically computer vision. Caleb works closely with executives at large industrial companies as they work to understand and introduce autonomous mobile robotics into their enterprises.

Find Boston Dynamics on exhibit in Booth #216.

LIVE TOOLING DEMOS Dynamic Machine offers over 200 years of combined machine tool and manufacturing experience. They are uniquely qualified to sell and service CNC machine tools from single, stand-alone units to complex, multimachine turnkey systems.

Meet Emily Wilkins Founder & CEO, Marketing Metal Metalworking Hall

Check them out at Booth #900!

Meet Jake Hall, The Manufacturing Millennial Automation Hall

Vander Ziel Machinery Sales Inc. buys and sells a variety of new and used machinery, from ironworkers to welding equipment. As a member of the MDNA, they ensure the reliability and integrity of their products.

Check them out at booth #614!

Jake Hall is the Manufacturing Millennial. He talks about the latest technology in the automation and manufacturing while making it engaging for all audiences. He is an experienced sales professional with extensive knowledge building lasting business relationships across multiple accounts, designing sales strategies, and creating and accomplishing project goals. Proficiency in creating new business opportunities with existing and new accounts by leveraging key strengths and maintain customer relationships.

Emily Wilkins is a serial entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience helping small manufacturers reach their business goals through strategic branding, positioning, and marketing.

Through her own Radical agency, Marketing Metal, Emily helps job shops make big profits and even bigger impact by building them a Radical brand and marketing machine in just a few days–and empowering them to use it. She believes that in order for manufacturers to be effective with their marketing, it needs to be stupid simple and laser focused.

Women in Manufacturing Interview Series Explore MEGATEL CNC, a toptier metalworking MEGATEL CNC SOLUTIONS INC solutions provider in North America. With 45 years of refined expertise, we proudly announce our expansion into the United States, with our inaugural Michigan office opening in early 2025. Check them out at booth #914!

Stop by the Marketing Metal Booth #1120 to hear from these innovative Women in Manufacturing.

Sami Birch Dana Brown Joni Cunningham Michelle Garrett Kim Hildebrand Aisha Mills-Hendrix Brenda Ratcliffe Danielle Schneider Chelsea Sutton Alexandria Trusov Ashley Weber

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AGENDAS Wednesday, August 7, 2024

“T th pr AUTOMATION BREAKOUT ROOM 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM A LOOK AT THE STATE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE AUTOMATION INDUSTRY Speaker: Don Clutterbuck Presented by: Horner Automation 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

ADVANCING INDUSTRY 4.0 TO 5.0 THROUGH AI AND AUTOMATION Speaker: Zakary Smith Presented by: SensFlo 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

ACCELERATING ENGINEERING AND PROCUREMENT; THE CAD FALLACY Speaker: Chris Brown Presented by: CADDi 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

THE NO-BS DIGITAL SALES ROADMAP Speaker: Joseph Maxwell Presented by: SwiftOtter

GENERAL MANUFACTURING BREAKOUT ROOM 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.

HOW NUTS, BOLTS, AND THINGAMAJIGS IS IMPACTING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY Speaker: Ed Dernulc Presented by: Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

DATA WASTE AND THE OPPORTUNITIES YOU LEAVE BEHIND Speaker: William Stone Presented by: Classy Llama 12 p.m. - 1p.m.

WHY WIM? Speaker: Danielle Scheider Presented by: Creston Industrial Sales

METALWORKING HALL

9 a.m. - 10 a.m.

WHY COLLABORATIVE ROBOTS HAVEN’T TAKEN OVER WELDING OPERATIONS Speakers: Malachi Greb / Jenna Vessel Presented by: Creston Industrial Sales

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ADVENTUROUS DEMAND GENERATION FOR INDUSTRIAL MARKETERS Speaker: Eddie Saunders Jr. Presented by: Creston Industrial Sales

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12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

THE HILLS AND VALLEYS OF SOCIAL MEDIA Speaker: Hallie Haupt / Shae Eichele Presented by: Creston Industrial Sales 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

10 LESSONS FROM 100 INTERVIEWS WITH MANUFACTURING LEADERS Speaker: Chris Luecke Presented by: Creston Industrial Sales

MRO/SAFETY BREAKOUT ROOM 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.

MRO SUPPORT FROM YOUR ERP ASAP! Speaker: Dennis Easter Presented by: Algorithm Inc. 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

REALIZING ZERO-DOWNTOWN, ZERO-WASTE WITH INDUSTRY 4.0 AND AI Speaker: Mo Abuali Presented by: Wipfli 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

EFFECTIVE RELIABILITY: ADOPTION, SIMPLICITY, AND TECH INTEGRATION FOR ALL SIZES Speaker: Chad Brannan Presented by: Facility Works 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

THE REALITY OF CUT-RESISTANT GLOVES IN THE MARKETPLACE Speaker: Griff Hughes Presented by: Banom

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Sponsored Content

Presented By:

Top advanced technology trends in manufacturing “These technologies are dominating the field,” said Industry 4.0 Accelerator program director Scott Phillips.

By Ashley Zlatopolsky

A

s we live in industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, advanced technology trends continue to reshape manufacturing as we know it today, and what its future may hold.

Scott Phillips, Industry 4.0 Accelerator program director, said the field is rapidly changing. New advanced technology trends dominate today’s market, and as old trends make their way out, manufacturers must find creative ways to keep up with the evolution.

Phillips explained these are the top advanced technology trends manufacturers see today, and the benefits and challenges businesses may face in implementing them.

What advanced technology trends are you seeing in manufacturing this year?

One of the biggest trends in manufacturing this year is in machine vision technology.

Machine vision is used a lot in automated inspection, or the use of digital technology to inspect, measure and analyze parts. Manufacturers don’t have a lot of people.

There’s a shortage of labor in manufacturing, so one of the last things you want to use people for is inspecting parts and things you’re making.

Since there just aren’t enough people to go around, more and more companies are trying to use new solutions [like machine vision] and cameras to inspect parts. That’s probably the number one category right now that we help manufacturers with.

Number two is automated material handling, and it’s almost for the same reason.

If you don’t have enough people to handle materials, [using people to do so] is a

poor use of human beings.

In the old days, we used trucks and AGVs [automated guided vehicles], but now it’s automated mobile robots, autonomous forklifts, anything to move materials from the dock door to the work assembly line, throughout the factory floor, and back to the warehouse and back onto the truck. These things have technology on them that can unload and load a truck from a dock door without any human being involved. This is another big growing category of manufacturing technology you’ll see at trade shows.

When did these advanced technology trends start dominating the market?

They’ve been growing over the last five-to-10 years, but they have really accelerated in the last one or two years.

Three factors are playing out over recent times and contributing to the growth. One

is labor costs. With union contracts, union wages went up significantly about six months ago. Now they’re 40% more expensive, even if you have people doing these jobs.

That’s why more and more manufacturers are turning to these advanced technologies.

Besides alleviating the labor shortage, what other gaps do these trends help fill?

There’s an acronym that’s been taught for many years. You use

for small- to medium-sized manufacturers. Sometimes the acronym is SMMs or SMEs in Michigan. 85% of these manufacturers have 50 people or less, and that’s typical of most states.

We’re not unusual here in Michigan. In the U.S., there are more than 600,000 manufacturers, and probably 80% of them are designated by the federal government as small to medium. So, why do these small to medium manufacturers have obstacles

On any given day, there’s more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs open in the U.S. This is expected to double within 10 years. is just demographic trends.

In mature countries like the U.S., there’s a labor shortage since there are fewer people of working age wanting to work in manufacturing environments.

On any given day, there’s more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs open in the U.S. This is expected to double within 10 years. If you’re short this many jobs, the last thing you want is to have people doing the tasks we just mentioned above. You need technology.

technology to solve or take over jobs that are dull, dirty, dangerous, distant and difficult, or the five “Ds” of robotization.

Think of dirty work environments where it’s unhealthy for people to be. Maybe you can use a robot or a machine to do that challenging job. Other jobs are computationally difficult for humans. Humans require a constant attention span all day, and humans get tired.

Computers and robots don’t get mentally tired.

When COVID-19 hit, doing these types of things with humans involved became even harder due to social distancing and health requirements. The third factor

What organizational challenges do manufacturers face in implementing these trends?

The hardest challenges are

when adopting technology?

The first obstacle is that they don’t have management bandwidth. In any small manufacturing business, the management team is working in the business. That’s true of any small business, not just manufacturing but it’s hard to invest strategically in a business when you’re out working on the line every day because you’re family-owned.

The second obstacle is a skills shortage. Small to medium manufacturers don’t always have the technical skills to operate advanced machinery.

The third obstacle is that they don’t have the capital. They

don’t have the financial means to buy new equipment.

Sometimes what we say is these businesses don’t have a people closet and they don’t have a money chest.

The people closet means they don’t have money to buy advanced technology, and the people closet means they don’t have people with the skills to operate advanced equipment.

How do manufacturers keep up with technologies that evolve so rapidly?

Technology moves fast. That wasn’t always the case, but we’re living in the era of what’s currently called industry 4.0. According to the Germans, industry 4.0 started around 2011 and includes cyber physical systems. Industry 1.0 was the mechanization of industry back in the 1800s, so the steam engine and hydropower industry. Industry 2.0 was the invention of electricity in the early 1900s. Industry 3.0 was the computerization of manufacturing in the 1970s and now we’re in industry 4.0.

Technology is advancing at a rate like it’s never advanced before, and most manufacturers don’t have the technical skills to adopt it or operate it. The curve is growing steeper. The evolution of technology tends to double in its timeline.

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Presented By:

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning in Manufacturing the Factory Floor…

Industrial Control’s Mark Ermatinger shares how this new technology is poised to transform the industry

By Ashley Zlatopolsky

I

n the world of manufacturing, a new application and subset of artificial intelligence, or AI, is allowing machines to learn from data without needing to program them to do so.

It’s a growing technology known as AI machine learning, or the ability to simulate human thinking capability and behavior, and it’s poised to shake up the manufacturing industry for good. Mark Ermatinger, CEO of Industrial Control and founder of the Advanced Manufacturing Expo, shares why AI machine learning is here to stay.

How has AI already transformed the manufacturing industry as a whole?

The rise of AI is changing how we check for quality issues, assist assembly and help with safety on the factory floor. In

manufacturing, AI is mainly used for quality control on machine vision cameras which traditional rules-based vision systems wouldn’t work well on.

Yet more and more, it’s now being used to watch operators’ assembly parts and alert them if they skip steps or insert components the wrong way.

For example, AI will throw a light down on a machine operator’s surface if something is done incorrectly.

Our company is currently deploying five different AI machine vision projects from four different providers. One project uses AI to inspect taser parts to ensure they’re made correctly before they’re shipped to their customer. Another type of AI machine learning we use checks for defects in the paint on automotive parts, so things like dirt spots and tiny scratches [that humans may not see as easily].

AI is also excellent for reading text, especially a technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR), along with identifying what part it sees, such as colors and wood grains. As AI is quickly emerging, it’s our job at Industrial Control to vet and test different technologies to figure out if they will hold up within our factory.

Now, we have seven AI vendors compared to three last year. We’re also talking with another vendor that works with audio AI, where we can “listen” to machines to predict machine failures before they happen. That one is still in development. So, let’s say you have something on the machine that squeals when it’s too hot, you can teach AI that a temperature setting is too high, and that sound happens when there is a problem.

What types of AI machine learning has Industrial Control deployed so far?

We’ve also helped local manufacturers deploy autonomous floor robots that can reroute themselves as needed when the aisle is blocked to reach their destination, but with true machine learning, these same robots will learn which aisle is typically not blocked as much and will choose that route as the default - another AI capability.

Does AI machine learning pose any challenges to manufacturers?

The number of new companies offering AI for manufacturing is astonishing, especially in the last few years. Yet when you bring these new technologies on the factory floor, you may have a whole set of issues.

The biggest limiting factor is the computing power and the heat AI technology produces.

AI requires very powerful multicore central processing units and graphical processing

Is A pus rein

units. AI servers can’t tolerate heat well. If it gets too hot, they start to degrade their performance, so you’ll need proper air conditioning or heat dissipation to maintain their quality.

What role do you see AI machine learning playing in the future of manufacturing?

AI is on the move in every aspect of our lives, including the migration into industrial robots that many manufacturers use to produce products and goods every day. Currently, there is a lot of work being done with Natural Language Processing (NLP), which is a branch of artificial intelligence for programming industrial robots to understand text and speech much as a human would. One example of a text string is “pick up the part off the conveyor, place it in the fixture and then apply the glue bead.”

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Sponsored Content I think we are a few years away from this level of understanding for robots, but brace yourself and lean into it, as these new tools will accelerate Industry 4.0 in a whole new way and likely in every aspect of your company. There’s also a lot of focus right now on setting up machines to run even faster and for robots to do what they need to do without programming a lot of code in a special language. Once we get to that point, we can just type in the words that we want the robot to do, and then they’ll be deployed much faster.

The market for AI robotics is also growing exponentially.

Marketsandmarkets.com tracks these changes and reports that the AI robotics market stood at U.S. $6.9 billion in 2021. Now, it’s forecasted to reach a staggering U.S. $35.5 billion by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate of 38.6%, meaning AI machine learning is definitely here to stay.

Is AI machine learning pushing manufacturers to reinvent their digital strategy?

I think so. It’s not just manufacturers, but anyone in any type of work. People are moving forward right now by experimenting with AI in all aspects of business. For us personally at Industrial Control, we’re going to need to look at every aspect of every scale.

We’re going to use AI so that we can be the disruptors going forward.

To keep up with these changes, it’s important to understand exactly what AI machine learning is and how it’s one level above

your traditional, everyday AI. AI machine learning is a subset of AI that allows machines to learn from experience and improve over time. AI can perform tasks like seeing, understanding, responding to language, analyzing data and making recommendations. AI machine learning, meanwhile, can perform even greater tasks like automatically learning and improving, identifying patterns and performing specific tasks - making it the technology of the future.

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Presented By:

Independent distributors:

The agile backbone of modern manufacturing Proving their worth on the plant floor with agility, flexibility and a commitment to customer service

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daptability and flexibility in today’s fast-paced manufacturing environment is essential.

Manufacturers that can respond to market fluctuations, supply chain disruptions and customer demands do not simply stay in business, they thrive in business. But what happens when the cutters are dull, that critical tool breaks or the supply cabinet runs empty?

That’s where independent distributors come in.

Distribution is an essential element of the manufacturing supply chain, especially when having a spare tool on hand or a well-stocked supply cabinet can mean the difference between on-time delivery and costly delays.

Distribution is a commodity business and manufacturers have no shortage of options when it comes to buying equipment. But what sets independent distributors apart from their larger, national counterparts ultimately comes down to agility, flexibility and customer service. Independent

distributors work hand-in-hand with their manufacturing clients to ensure their customers are positioned for success.

Agility Comparing independent distributors to their national counterparts is similar to comparing a mouse to an elephant. National distributors may have the size and brand recognition, but independent distributors are far nimbler.

This positions independent distributors to more effectively adapt to pricing, vendor volatility, supply chain disruptions and countless other factors that affect everyday business.

This agility was on full display during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a time when manufacturing companies were scrambling to stock enough masks and personal protective equipment to keep their workers safe and stay operational, independent distributors pivoted their inventories on a dime to compensate. If a vendor ran out of masks, they could rapidly find new vendors to fill the void.

This flexibility during times of intense supply chain volatility is an earmark of independent distributors. Being smaller, they are often not as beholden to contracts with specific vendors and have more flexibility to pursue new avenues for supplies.

Independent distributors can also better customize their inventories to suit their customers’ needs. Unlike larger national distributors that take a

a reputable source for the products their customers need.

Flexibility Delivery speed is another key benefit of working with an agile independent distributor. No one enjoys holding inventory.

It is bulky, expensive and risky.

Independent distributors know this and follow the same just-intime principles that keep their customers’ operations running at optimal efficiency.

Adaptability and flexibility in today’s fast-paced manufacturing environment is essential. more one-size-fits-all approach with products, independent distributors can stock items that pertain specifically to their customers’ businesses.

If a product is unavailable, manufacturers using national distributors may be forced to look elsewhere. Independent distributors, on the other hand, will make sure they find

When an essential tool breaks or a critical last-minute order needs to be placed, independent distributors can respond rapidly.

Instead of waiting for a part to be shipped from a national warehouse through standard delivery practices, many independent distributors work closely with their customers to

arrange alternative options. Air shipments, next-day delivery, and other shipping options are just some ways they keep their customers up and running.

Many independent distributors also maintain a fleet of delivery vehicles, allowing them to deliver that essential part quickly – at times within half an hour.

Customer service The distribution business is simple. Distributors buy tools and material from producers and sell them to manufacturers.

Manufacturers can choose between hundreds, if not thousands, of vendors when looking for a new tool or to restock safety gear. But one of the essential elements that keeps manufacturers returning to independent distributors is the level of care and service they provide their customers.

By closely managing their relationships, independent distributors gain a deep understanding of their customers’ business, staff, and even personalities. This lets the best independent distributors manage many aspects of their

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Smaller, independent distributors are more likely to have dedicated, longterm employees, giving customers a deep bench of expertise and product knowledge to draw from. With higher turnover in their ranks, national distributors can often lack the product knowledge of their smaller, independent counterparts. Independent distributors have sales teams deployed in the field, working directly with customers to find the right products for their application.

Even when independent distributors cannot compete on price per unit compared to national distributors, they often save their customers more money in the long run.

They have a detailed grasp of their products, meaning they can stock the most quality parts for the most appropriate prices. These products often last longer and perform better over the long term, ultimately saving their customers money.

An independent distributor’s value is proven every day on the plant floor.

When pricing negotiations are possible, manufacturers doing business with independent distributors often meet with senior sales employees who are empowered with the flexibility and the agency to make decisions immediately.

Independent distributors often have more freedom when it comes to negotiating pricing options with their vendors.

And these negotiations often occur immediately, during the meeting, rather than days or weeks later.

Operating as an effective distributor means far more than simply backing a truck up to the loading dock, unloading a skid and driving away. Independent distributors are trusted partners with manufacturers, committed to driving cost savings on the plant floor quarter after quarter. At times that involves recommending an alternative product. Other times it involves working with their own vendors to negotiate a better pricing structure on behalf of their customers. Regardless of the situation, independent distributors are far more than just delivery professionals, they’re problem solvers committed to their customers’ success.

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Presented By:

Building the Digital Supply Chain Creston Industrial Sales helps create a future where manufacturing data is standardized and readily available

M

anufacturers are integrating new technologies and embracing digitalization like never before. In this hypercompetitive manufacturing environment, companies are relying on data to remain one step ahead of their competition and prepare for changes in the global market.

But taken on its own, data can often be far less efficient than it seems – siloed, underused, or not used at all. More than the data itself, it is the connectivity between data sources that empowers manufacturers to make informed decisions and grow their businesses.

Connectivity is what meshes tooling data with simulation software and digital twins. It is what empowers ERP systems through quality control, procurement and supply chain data.

Building connectivity between disparate data was once under the purview of select companies, each creating their own systems from the ground up with an army of engineers and programmers. Now, manufacturers have access to a variety of off-the-shelf systems. The democratization of advanced connectivity tools spells an exciting time for manufacturing. However, without access to reliable, accurate and standardized data, manufacturers can often be left spinning their wheels.

Many times, it takes a guide to help companies understand how to clean, enhance, and standardize their data so it can be used the most effective way possible. It’s that access and insight of manufacturing data are two of the problems that Paul Hendricks, CEO of Grand Rapids-based Creston

Industrial Sales, hopes to solve.

“Creston has always been masters of the physical supply chain, helping customers source the products, the machines and the tooling they’re using,” Hendricks said.

“We want to do the same thing with the digital supply chain as well. We want to handle the products, logistics, supply chain and data formats for the digital supply chain as well.”

To make that dream a reality, Creston partnered with CIMSOURCE GmbH, a provider of digital data for tools and tooling management systems based in Germany, in 2021.

Since then, the companies have worked together to create, standardize, and make available tooling data for the scores of cutters and other tooling equipment on the market. But there is

still much more work to be done as manufacturers continue to adopt data-driven technologies, Hendricks said.

Standardization for Digital Twins Digital twins and CAM software are powerful tools in the modern manufacturer’s arsenal. The technologies help manufacturers simulate manufacturing processes, avoid tool collisions, and optimize tool pathing in real time while avoiding real world costs. However, despite the power these technologies bring to bear, they are beholden to the quality of their backend data.

In the physical world, manufacturers are accustomed to tooling operations coming together seamlessly. Take, for example, a tooling operation involving a holder, collet and an end mill.

Each component functions together easily because the process for mating the parts is standardized. However, in the digital world, that is often not the case.

If a customer had three separate files containing the digital twins of each component, there is no guarantee they will cooperate in a CAM or simulated environment. The files may each have different data fields, or those data fields may all be recorded with different parameters or with different coordinate systems, Hendricks said. Sometimes the CAM or simulation environment will ask for additional information to complete the operation.

Other times it results in broken models. Either way, the situation costs time and takes away from production efficiency to sort out.

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Sponsored Content easily searchable. Unlike physical products, digital tools, and the data sets behind them, can be revamped and shipped numerous times, allowing companies to find the specific tool they need for the job at hand.

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Not only would this speed up the product selection process, but it could eventually pave the way for advanced predictive ordering systems that automatically and preemptively fill orders and keep customers’ supply chains running.

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Hendricks and Creston hope their partnership with CIMSOURCE can start to bridge that gap by standardizing tooling data.

“We’re working with CIMSOURCE to provide information people can pull from their libraries, assemble the tools, put them in a digital representation of the machining center, and simulate and design the manufacturing process,” Hendricks said.

Virtual Product Selection Finding the correct tool can

be a labor-intensive process.

Highly complex situations often require the expertise of professionals with years of product knowledge and technical experience.

Technology is unlikely to change that paradigm anytime soon. “However, digitization can drastically speed up routine re-ordering and identify new, standard tools for your application. The technology’s limitations are only obvious when trying to specify nonstandard tools for niche applications. Here a skilled, technical tool sales rep would still be needed”, Hendricks said.

Currently, if a customer approaches Creston looking for a cutter of a particular length and depth of cut, their staff often must consult a paper catalog to find a vendor, then search that vendor’s website, research each product and decide which one best fits their customer’s needs.

By contrast, Hendricks sees a future where product selection, for all but the most complex requests, is done virtually. In a virtual product system, all tooling data would be stored with standardized specifications, indexed, and

Collaboration Required Standardizing tooling data requires cooperation across the manufacturing sector.

To ensure digital product availability, the information supply chain must be organized across multiple tracks and sales channels. It is unlikely tool manufacturers will hold a competitive advantage solely through product data.

From a customer’s perspective, access to uniform tooling data is far more important.

Cross-vendor collaboration is not unheard of. However, this collaboration does not typically stretch across software providers of CAM and tooling management systems. To

help solve this, CIMSOURCE has developed its ToolsUnited platform to address this challenge.

Between CIMSOURCE, Creston, and the many other providers working on providing more accurate manufacturing data, Hendricks sees a bright future for manufacturers. In the near-term, he believes customers will use internet of things technology to search for and find machining data and application guidelines from the internet. This mass collection of uses cases will eventually pave the way for machine learning processes to make realistic and predictive suggestions for machining tasks through pattern recognition.

“My vision is that this collaboration is not a West Michigan company competing against another West Michigan company scenario,” Hedricks said. “I look at this as trying to make our West Michigan manufacturing and Midwest manufacturing globally competitive. If we can embrace this and really push for these efficiency gains with information, we can be more globally competitive. And we are in a global manufacturing economy.”

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AUTOMATION HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

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AgileOne

#229

GWI Engineering

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Ahaus

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Harvest Solar

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Air Components, Inc.

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HexArmor

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Altech Corporation

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HighPoint

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AML

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Hokuyo Automation

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Apex Controls

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Horner Automation

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Axis Automation

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HTM Sensors

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BBC Bircher Smart Access

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Human Element

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Beijer Electronics

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IAI

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Bellco

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IfThen

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Breakthrough Manufacturing Technologies

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Industrial Control

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Bron Converting

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InfluxData

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C2 MACHINING

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J Mechatronic

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CADDi

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Journey Construction Group

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Classy Llama

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Keyence Corporation of America

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Consumers Energy Business Energy Efficiency Programs

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KMC Global Controls & Automation

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Counterpart ERP

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Kundinger, Inc.

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COVAL Vacuum Technology Inc.

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Linear Automation USA

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Deepview

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MaintainX

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DELRAY Systems

#202

Manpower

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DESIGNFUSION

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MasterGraphics, Inc

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Discover Manufacturing/West Michigan Works

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MBI Automation

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Diverse Dimensions

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MCE

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EAC Product Development Solutions

#410

Mechatronic Systems

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EDGE-SWEETS COMPANY

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MFP Automation Engineering

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Edgewater Automation

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Michigan Manufacturers Association

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ESafety

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Mid-States Bolt & Screw, LLC

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Fibro Rotary Tables US Inc.

#333

Midwest Automation Supply

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Fumex

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Midwest Metrology

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Galco & Kuebler Inc.

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Mobile Industrial Robots (MIR)

#500

Gordon Water Systems/Hans Premium Water

#221

Motion Control Corporation

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GR Metrology

#824

Motion Index Drives

#300

Great Lakes Metrology

#424

Nanotec Electronic US Inc.

#413

Group Marketing Services, Inc.

#222

NEFF Automation

#516

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AUTOMATION HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

North Coast Components

#401

SwiftOtter

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Ottawa Area ISD/ Thompson M-TEC

#211

Swoosh Technologies

#836

Precision Tools Service, Inc.

#338

Tamarisk Labs

#218

Progressive Handling

#224

Tatsoft LLC.

#502

PULS

#408

Techna-Tool Inc.

#840

QAD Redzone

#422

TFS

#203

Raven Engineering Inc.

#236

Total ETO

#304

Rehmann

#503

VEGA Americas

#228

Reliability Concepts

#328

Visual Components North America

#210

Robert’s Ballscrew

#302

WAGO

#510

Rock Interface Systems

#528

Warson Brands

#837

SensoPart

#507

Weidmuller USA

#405

Skillwork

#518

Welker Engineered Products

#414

SMC Corporation of America

#532

Yakawa America, Inc., Motoman Robot Division

#312

Smith Automation

#344

Zed Engineering LLC.

#425

Spectrum Automation Solutions

#329

Zoo

#303

SunSource/Electro-Matic

#214

I4.0 TECH HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

Advex AI

#710

Arduino + Axiom

#702

Agathon Solar

#820

Automation Alley

#819

Alamo Valley Solar

#802

Burton Precision Inc.

#800

Algorithm Inc

#814

Catalysis Additive Tooling

#813

Centrepolis Accelerator @ LTU

#701

CIMSOURCE GmbH / Tools United

#808

CIMx

#711

Detect-It LLC

#714

Ecojiva LLC

#810

Eigen Innovations

#712

Forerunner 3D Printing

#604

GoEngineer

#804

HighGear

#803

Algorithm Inc. is a Gold Certified service provider of Acumatica Cloud ERP and a business process consulting firm specializing in manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, and construction & building components companies based in the United States. Legacy system data migration and industry expertise is why Algorithm has a 98% success rate on first golives for the implementation of advanced ERP systems.

With a history spanning over 30 years in the ERP business, Algorithm has solidified its reputation as a reliable ally for businesses aiming to streamline operations and enhance productivity. We are committed to the success of our clients, offering intelligent, industry-focused business functionality that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of growing companies by integrating an ultramodern cloud ERP such as Acumatica with custom solutions, upgrades, and add-ons.

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i4.0 Accelerator, Accelerator Pitch Event Interactive Training Systems

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I4

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Mic

MM

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PLE

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RA

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Sus

SW

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Sponsored Content

I4.0 TECH HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

Macoho America, Inc.

#809

The TM Group, Inc.

#807

MaestroHub

#705

ThinkDigits

#603

Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC)

#713

VaporTech 6400 Dry Creek Parkway Longmont, CO 80503 United States of America vaportech.com 303-652-8500

#708

MMTC Demo Micropsi Industries, Inc.

#815

Mode40

#812

Novastar Solutions

#602

Peer Robotics

#811

PLEX

#709

Production Data Cloud, LLC

#600

Promess Inc.

#806

RAMPF Group, Inc.

#816

Retrocausal, Inc.

#818

Seimens

#707

SensFlo

#601

Sustainment

#606

SWYFT Solutions

#801

Vision Computer Solutions

#822

Teamforce AI

#817

Wheel Me

#700

Bring PVD coating in-house with VaporTech® equipment trusted by manufacturers worldwide. Cat industrial and commercial parts, often for less than $1 each, using our easy-to-install and operate machines, which are right-sized for your operation.

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MRO/SAFETY HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

3M

#834

Econo Lift Limited

#624

AccuformNMC

#638

EG Quality Services, Inc.

#732

Action Industrial Supply

#726

Facility Works

#838

Airtech Equipment

#724

GR Metrology

#824

Auk Industries

#832

HexArmor

#833

Banom, Inc.

#831

IMS Supply

#629

Bear Industrial Group

#842

InsITe Business Solutions

#731

Bearing Service Inc.

#826

Keyence Corporation of America

#825

Belden Hutter Inc.

#828

Lenox

#630

Biosolutions LLC

#639

Liberty Footwear

#735

Cogbase

#634

M+A Matting

#626

DeWalt

#632

Mechanix Wear CPA, LLC

#733

DVS Technology America, Inc.

#830

Michigan Pneumatic Tool, Inc.

#640

(Continued on next page)

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EXHIBITORS

M

CO

Mid

Mil

Mo

MS

MV

Pe

Pre

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Sta Edu

M

CO

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All

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Dy

Dy

Ea S20 | ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EXPO: AUGUST 7-8, 2024

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Sponsored Content

MRO/SAFETY HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

Midwest Metrology

#841

Superior Integrated Systems Inc.

#621

Milwaukee Tool

#622

Swoosh Technologies

#836

Moldex

#625

Tech Spec Inc.

#620

MSC Floors

#636

Techna-Tool Inc.

#840

MVB Improvements

#720

UE Systems, Inc.

#623

Peter Greven U.S. Corporation

#827

Warson Brands

#837

Premier Industries

#734

Wipfli

#721

Preston Eastin, Inc.

#722

Yunsheng USA

#728

Protective Industrial Products

#628

ZOLL Medical Corporation

#637

State of Michigan MIOSHA Consultation, Education and Training Division

#736

METALWORKING HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

Achteck America, Inc.

#908

Edrich Products & Armor Protective Packaging

#1021

Allied Machine & Engineering

#1018

ETP Transmission Inc.

#930

ARCH Cutting Tools

#1118

Everede Tool Company

#1024

Bahco Bandsaws

#1115

Family Business Alliance

#905

Big Creek Cutting Tools LLC

#1113

Bilz Tool Company Inc.

#929

BP Castrol Lubricants USA

#1004

#1114

Broadview Product Development

#1023

Flex Machine Tools 705 Commerce Dr. Wapakoneta, OH 45895 https://flexmachinetools.com/

Built Systems

#919

Carmex Precision Tools, LLC

#916

Chem Arrow

#921

Cibo Abrasives

#924A

CNC Tooling Solutions, LLC

#1003

Creston Industrial

#1006

D & S Machine Repair, Inc.

#925

D.P. Brandel Company -> Crystallume / RobbJack

#922B

Dynabrade, Inc.

#926

Dynamic Machine

#900

Eastern Oil Company

#1117

Flex Machine Tools is a leading manufacturer of advanced manufacturing solutions. Offerings include long-bed vertical machining centers, tapping arms, waterjets, beam drill lines and ergonomic solutions. These modern machines are specifically designed to improve efficiency, enhance productivity and prioritize operator comfort. Flex Machine Tools provides manufacturers with precise and adaptable solutions to handle complex machining operations effectively.

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MA

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METALWORKING HALL COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

COMPANY

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Fluid-Aire Dynamics

#1000

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs

#1130

Fullerton Tool

#918

Oemeta - The Coolant Company

#906B

Garr Tool

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OSG USA, Inc.

#1016

Gorilla Mill

#906A

Pioneer Premium Tool & Work Holding

#910

Great Lakes Tooling Solutions / Primary Tool

#1001

PMC Gage Companies

#1015

Grob Systems, Inc.

#1105

Precicsion Metal Forming Assoc

#1012

GRS Stohler Company

#1022

Preferred Quality Services

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Guhring Inc.

#1008

Primus Coating

#1125

GWS Tool Group

#922A

QualiChem Metalworking Fluids

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H&R Mfg. and Supply, Inc. / Mate Precision Tecnologies

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RealVNC

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Haimer USA

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Reid Supply

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Hangsterfer’s

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Royal Products

#904A

Hastings Air Energy Control, Inc.

#927A

Sales & Marketing Dynamics, Inc.

#1017

Horn USA Inc.

#903

Sandvik Coromant

#1116B

Industrial Magnetics, Inc. (IMI)

#1103

Scales Plus

#914

Iscar USA

#1101A

Smart Machined Solutions

#1010

ITW Pro Brands

#1013

Soph Magnetics

#1127

Lang Technovation

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Specialty Tools Inc.

#1121

LMT Tools

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Tap Magic

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LocaliQ | USA TODAY Network

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Tri Tool Technologies

#923

M.A. Ford

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Tsugami America

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MAPAL

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Vander Ziel Machinery

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Marketing Metal Creator Space

#1120

Vargus USA

#912

Master Fluid Solutions

#1009

Walter USA

#1119

Megatel CNC Solutions Inc.

#1122

WIDIA

#920

Nachi America

#1101B

Women In Manufacturing Western Michigan

#1126

Norton Abrasives

#1116A

YG1 USA

#1100

NPR of America

#1128

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EXPO: AUGUST 7-8, 2024 | S23

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CRAIN’S LIST MICHIGAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS Ranked by 2023 net patient revenue

Company Location Phone; website HEALTH 1 COREWELL Grand Rapids 49503

1

Licensed-bed capacity/ occupancy 2023

Number of employed physicians Jan. 2024

Number of hospital/ ambulatory facilities 2023

Top Executive(s)

Net patient revenue 2023/2022

Total Revenue 2023/2022

Uncompensated care 2023

Tina Freese Decker president and CEO

$8.3B $7.5B

$15.2B $13.8B

$462.2M

5,185 63.9%

2,144

21 321

Robert Riney president and CEO

$5B $4.5B

DND $7.1B

DND

2,178 DND

1,947

5 263

$4.6B $4.2B

$5.5B $5B

$147.8M

1,107 85.3%

DND

1 40

Carol Schmidt SVP, Ascension, and ministry market executive

$4B $4.1B

$4.4B $4.5B

$300.3M

3,673 56%

1,191

16 36

Cindy Elliott president, Trinity Health Michigan Medical Groups

$3.9B $3.8B

$4.3B $4.3B

DND

2,379 62.9%

1,327

9 35

Philip Incarnati president and CEO

$3.1B $3.1B

$6.6B $6.5B

$576.1M

3,122 62%

347

15 350

Brittany Lavis CEO

$1.7B e $1.7B e

DND $19.2B 3

DND

DND DND

DND

DND DND

Bill Manns president and CEO

$1.7B DND

$1.8B $1.6B

$82.2M

657 DND

431

4 26

Lydia Watson president and CEO

$1.3B $1.2B

$1.3B $1.2B

$99.9M

789 43.3%

0

7 3

Margaret Dimond regional president, University of Michigan Health

$1.2B $1.1B

$1.3B $1.5B

$74.7M

845 57%

292

6 58

Saju George regional CEO

$864.2M e $832.6M e

DND DND

DND

DND DND

DND

DND DND

Beth Charlton president and CEO

$731.4M e $700.7M

DND DND

DND

DND DND

DND

DND DND

Ronald Grifka 8 president

$512M $504.8M

$541.2M $504.8M

$25M

208 55.4%

174

1 26

Melany Gavulic president and CEO

$390.9M $393.8M

$441M $440.4M

$15.1M

457 64.9%

2

1 10

Dawn Buskey president Acute Care Darrin Arquette president Regional Acute Care, Michigan

$356.1M $366.7M e

DND DND

DND

DND DND

DND

DND DND

Patti VanDort CEO Mark Pawlak president

$286.7M $253.5M

$300.3M $288.1M

$13.5M

189 89%

450

1 12

Brian Long president and CEO

$268.4M $226.4M

$290.7M $249.8M

$10.3M

150 46%

76

1 15

Mark Eastburg president and CEO

$188.1M $170.1M

$209.1M $169.1M

$7M

198 82%

109

1 13

616-391-1774; corewellhealth.org FORD HEALTH 2 HENRY Detroit 48202 800-436-7936; henryford.com Marschall Runge OF MICHIGAN HEALTH MICHIGAN MEDICINE 3 UNIVERSITY CEO Michigan Medicine, dean of the UM Ann Arbor 48109 Medical School, executive VP for Medical Affairs at the University of Michigan 2

734-936-4000; uofmhealth.org MICHIGAN 4 ASCENSION Warren 48092 866-501-3627; ascension.org/michigan HEALTH MICHIGAN 5 TRINITY Livonia 48152 734-655-4800; trinityhealthmichigan.org HEALTH CARE 6 MCLAREN Grand Blanc 48439 810-342-1100; mclaren.org MEDICAL CENTER 7 DETROIT Detroit 48201 313-745-5146; dmc.org HEALTHCARE 8 BRONSON Kalamazoo 49007 269-341-6000; bronsonhealth.com HEALTH 9 MYMICHIGAN Midland 48640

4

989-839-3000; mymichigan.org OF MICHIGAN HEALTH-SPARROW 10 UNIVERSITY Lansing 48912

5

517-364-1000; UofMHealthSparrow.org HEALTHCARE SERVICES MICHIGAN 11 PRIME Garden City 48135

6

734-458-3300 HEALTHCARE 12 COVENANT Saginaw 48602 989-583-0000; covenanthealthcare.com OF MICHIGAN HEALTH-WEST 13 UNIVERSITY Wyoming 49519

7

616-252-7200; uofmhealthwest.org MEDICAL CENTER 14 HURLEY Flint 48503 810-262-9000; hurleymc.com MICHIGAN 15 PROMEDICA Monroe 48162 734-240-8400; promedica.org HOSPITAL 16 HOLLAND Holland 49423 616-392-5141; hollandhospital.org HEALTHCARE 17 MEMORIAL Owosso 48867 989-720-2273; memorialhealthcare.org REST CHRISTIAN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES 18 PINE Grand Rapids 49548 616-455-5000; pinerest.org

This listing is an approximate compilation of the leading hospital companies based in Michigan. Net patient revenue listed is operating revenue, excluding bad debt. Total revenue is net patient revenue, investment income, non-operating or other revenue. Uncompensated care is charity care plus bad debt at costs. These are medical services for which no payment is received or expected. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies directly or from state and federal filings. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Michigan office. DND = Did Not Disclose. e. Crain's estimate. 1. Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health merged as an integrated health system with the temporary name, BHSH Health on Feb. 1, 2022. Rebranded as Corewell Health in October 2022. 2. Runge will step down June 30, 2025. He will remain with the university as a professor in the medical school. 3. From Modern Healthcare 4. Formerly MidMichigan Health. Effective Dec. 1, 2021, the name change was part of a system-wide brand change updating the health system and facility names, and logo. 5. Sparrow Health System became University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, effective April 1, as part of Sparrow joining the Michigan Medicine clinical network. 6.

Manages Garden City Hospital and Lake Huron Medical Center. 7. Metro Health-University of Michigan Health announced it is rebranding to University of Michigan Health-West in June 2021. 8. Named the new president in September after Peter Hahn resigned.

38 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | JULY 22, 2024

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We’re never done making health care better.

Together we can®...

Build stronger, healthier communities.

Make an impact in the lives of people we serve.

Improve health. Instill humanity. Inspire hope.

corewellhealth.org

Music publisher levels lawsuit against Unruly Brewing

By Abby Poirier

A Muskegon brewery is finding out that one “Bad Romance” can drive music copyright holders “Crazy” if the proper licenses are alleged to be “Missing” from the local venue.

Muskegon’s Unruly Brewing Co. faces a federal lawsuit from three music publishers who are alleging that the brewpub committed copyright infringement by playing music by recording artists Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson and Everything but the Girl without proper licensing.

Lawsuit alleges an “unauthorized public performance of musical compositions” by playing three songs without proper licensing Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) along with House of Gaga Publishing LLC, Sony/ATV Songs LLC and Redone Productions LLC filed the federal copyright lawsuit against Unruly earlier this month in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

BMI is a performing rights orga-

nization that represents 1.4 million songwriters and music producers and collects license fees from businesses that use their music.

According to the suit, BMI said that it reached out to representatives from Unruly more than 24 times since August 2023 to inform them of their copyright infringements.

The lawsuit alleges that on May 2, Unruly Brewing hosted an “unauthorized public performance of musical compositions” by playing three songs without proper licensing: “Bad Romance,” written by Lady Gaga and Nadir “RedOne” Khayat; “Crazy,” written by Willie Nelson; and “Missing,” written by Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn, who recorded as the Everything but the Girl.

“The specific acts of copyright infringement alleged in the complaint, as well as defendants’ entire course of conduct, have caused and are causing plaintiffs great and incalculable damage,” according to the lawsuit. “By continuing to provide unauthorized public performances of works in the BMI Repertoire at the establishment, defendants threaten to continue committing copyright infringement.”

Representatives from Unruly Brewing did not immediately respond to requests for comment for

this report.

Chris Gartman, a principal in the Grand Rapids office of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone PLC who specializes in advising craft beverage manufacturers, said that music copyright infringement is a common problem for businesses in the hospitality industry.

“We probably see it come up twice a month on average,” he said, noting that issues with music licensing can include music that’s played in the background at taprooms and bars, live cover bands or even a single performer with a guitar.

“In terms of being a responsible venue, you should have that license in place,” he said.

Gartman said that typically, copyright infringement issues don’t build into a lawsuit and are resolved after a business receives a cease-and-desist letter.

“Our advice is always to either cease or pay it, because then you get them off your back,” Gartman said. “They do not stop. They take those rights very seriously.”

Unruly Brewing opened at 360 W. Western Ave. in Muskegon in 2013. The brewpub, hailed as Muskegon’s first craft brewery, offers its own beer and spirits alongside a full menu of pub fare.

Royal Oak-based Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC is representing BMI in the case.

Unruly Brewing Co. in Muskegon regularly features a stage for live music events. | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS FILE PHOTO

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40 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | July 22, 2024

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7/16/24 6:21 PM

Cherry growers destroy crops as market plummets

By Abby Poirier

Executives at family-owned Sparta apple and cherry grower Joe Rasch Orchards Inc. made the tough decision this spring to destroy the company’s cherry orchard, removing and burning trees that had stood on family land for 10 years.

The decision came after 30 years of cherry production for the orchard, and many attempts to continue to keep the crop economically feasible.

While cherries are only a small portion of Rasch Orchards’ annual fruit production, company Business Manager Katie Vargas said the decision to do away with the orchard was a difficult one.

“Everything that we tried and improved on didn’t make a difference,” she said. “It’s just the continual increase in costs. It just didn’t make sense for us (to keep growing cherries) and it’s been like that for a few years. This year was the first year where we (decided) we just really cannot justify it anymore. We’re facing losses in other areas of the farm, too, so it was time to start cutting.”

Vargas said that while costs of equipment, infrastructure and labor for fruit growing have risen significantly in recent years, making it harder to stay in business, cherries specifically have experienced a significant price dip.

Joe Rasch Orchards is one of many Michigan farms that are reevaluating their orchards. Some farm owners are questioning their future in the business.

Last year, several other significant cherry growers in Michigan called it quits on the crop. That includes Doug White, third-generation grower at Maple Grove Farm, who sold his 80-acre cherry farm in November, according to a January report from publication FarmProgress.

Last year, the 156-year-old Pulcipher Orchards in Williamsburg in Grand Traverse County also tore down 110 acres of cherry trees lining U.S. 131, according to local reports.

Like Joe Rasch Orchards, both farms cited lack of income from the crop as a significant reason for their decisions.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2022 farm census, Michigan has 27,000 fruit-bearing acres of tart cherries on nearly 500 farms. The state has 15 cherry processors.

Experts are worried this is just the tip of the iceberg for Michigan’s fruit farms, and that the economic challenges in the cherry market will spread to other crops. For some, the potential windfall from selling their land instead of dealing with economic uncertainty that comes with agricultural production could prove too tempting.

“I do think we’re going to start seeing decreases in (apple) farms,” said Michigan Apple Committee Executive Director Diane Smith.

“Some of the land that is used to grow apples in the state of Michigan can be very premier land, especially when you get up to Northwest Michigan. I think growers are definitely going to gauge the future because they (can) sell out and be better off if they do that now, versus waiting another five years.”

Smith noted that smaller farms would likely close first as they will be hit harder by increasing costs.

“The fact that Michigan has (many) family-run farms is going to be really detrimental to the (state) when they go out of business,” she said. “We’re working as hard as we can to try to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

Cost concerns Michigan is a major player nationally for both cherries and apples.

The state is the largest producer of tart cherries in the U.S., growing nearly 75% of the country’s tart cherry supply. Michigan produced 180.5 million pounds of tart cherries in 2022 and 133 million pounds last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Michigan’s 2022 harvest was valued at $36.5 million.

With a record apple harvest in 2022 and a near-record in 2023, Michigan moved up a notch to become the second-largest producer of apples in the U.S., behind Washington. According to USDA data, Michigan harvested 1.36 billion pounds of apples in 2022 and 1.15 billion pounds in 2023. The Michi-

A growing number of Michigan cherry growers have been destroying their crops as costs exceed revenues. | COURTESY OF JOE RASCH ORCHARDS

gan Apple Committee estimated that Michigan’s 2023 apple crop generated $436.2 million for the state.

However, growers continue to face headwinds, particularly with rising labor costs. For the 10th year in a row, Michigan’s adverse-effect wage rate (AEWR) increased, pushing growers’ labor costs even higher.

The AEWR, set yearly by the U.S. Department of Labor for farmers employing migrant workers on H-2A visas, climbed to $18.50 this year. That’s an increase of 6.7%, or $1.16, over last year’s rate of $17.34. Michigan’s AEWR is now more than $8 higher than the state’s minimum wage of $10.33, and is the fifth highest in the U.S. For fruit growers producing crops like apples that need to be picked by hand, the wage hike comes as a significant economic blow.

“Labor is the No. 1 issue right now,” Smith said. “We also are very cognizant of the fact that (apples are) a specialty crop that really has to be harvested by hand.

This is an issue for everybody, and it’s something that is very concerning … seeing family farms potentially being put out of business due to the rising costs and labor.”

While cherries, which are generally harvested by a machine shaking the trees, are safe from some of the labor costs associated with apples, growers still have had to grapple with declining prices.

Growers’ costs for growing tart cherries exceed their returns, as evidenced by a 2022 Michigan tart cherry cost of production report by the Cherry Marketing Institute and Michigan State University Extension.

According to the report, Michigan growers must spend $0.44 to produce one pound of tart cherries. Unlike sweet cherries, tart cherries are not generally sold fresh and must be processed through freezing, drying, juicing or canning. In 2023, growers were only paid $0.15 to $0.20 per pound by processing plants, according to a cherry market trends update by GreenStone Farm Credit Services.

The USDA reported in 2022 that the average price for tart cherry growers ranged from $0.18 to $0.32 a pound between 2017 and 2021, with a low of $0.14 in 2019.

According to Vargas, of Rasch Orchards, competition from other states is a growing threat to Michigan’s fruit growers.

“There was a lot of movement from Washington state this year.

They had a very good crop, both cherries and apples,” Vargas said.

“When we have years where we have good crops and there’s also high crops (in) other areas, we get a lot of movement from that and that can depress the price down.”

Over the last decade, the industry also has faced increased competition from imported processed tart cherry products such as juice concentrate and dried cherries,

particularly from Turkey. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, imports of cheaper Turkish tart cherry juice concentrate rose 89% from 2013 to 2017, the years immediately following a near total loss of Michigan’s crop because of a late freeze.

Like cherries, apples also have been generating poor returns for Michigan growers because of production cost increases and oversupply.

A 2023 analysis of Michigan apple growers’ costs versus return by the Michigan Apple Committee estimated a Michigan apple grower operating a 45-acre farm would realize an $82,125 loss for their 2023 crop.

The Apple Committee projected losses of $103,725 for the 2024 crop.

While the Apple Committee estimated a total cost of $209 per bin of apples in 2023, the average projected return per bin was $168.

Too late to recover?

Nikki Rothwell is an extension specialist and coordinator for the Northwest Michigan Horticulture Research Center and also co-owns Suttons Bay cidery Tandem Ciders with her husband. She noted that while economic concerns around fruit production can be cyclical in nature, some farms might find out that it is too late for them to recover.

“Some people have said, ‘We’ve been through this before, and we can get through it again,’ but there’s going to be some people, unfortunately, who will go out of business or just throw in the towel,” she said.

Looking ahead, Vargas said she’s “not confident at all” about the family orchard’s future. Vargas told Crain’s last year that she was anticipating an additional $130,000 in labor costs based on the rise in AEWR. “From the time that you and I spoke last year, the situation has gotten much worse,” she said.

Now, she’s unsure whether certain sections of the orchard are even profitable to cultivate as prices drop and costs continue to soar.

“We’re going to have to be very selective about what we pick, because at $18.50 (for labor) we can’t make it make sense anymore.”

Hispanic Center seeks new leadership

By Mark Sanchez

The Hispanic Center of Western Michigan is seeking a new leader following the departure of President Evelyn Esparza-Gonzalez.

Esparza-Gonzalez left July 17 as head of the nonprofit social services organization. An announcement on her departure said the Hispanic Center is “now actively engaged in the search for the next leader who will build upon Esparza-Gonzalez’s legacy and lead the Center into its next chapter of growth and service to the community.”

“Evelyn’s dedication has been an example for all of us at the Center to follow,” said Irving Vega, a trustee of the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, said in a statement. “Her vision and leadership have left a great mark on the Hispanic Center and the community it serves. We are grateful for Evelyn’s leadership and are committed to continuing the Hispanic Center’s mission of empowerment and support for our community.”

Esparza-Gonzalez joined the Hispanic Center in August 2017 as the director of finance. She later became interim executive director

and was named president earlier this year.

Under her leadership, the Hispanic Center saw “a substantial increase in funding, an expansion of staff, and overall organizational development,” according to the announcement.

She led the Hispanic Center’s move to acquire a church in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood in Grand Rapids to create a hub for the local Latino community. The “second home” for the Hispanic Center will soon become a site for a preschool and after-school programming, and literacy and other

adult education classes.

“Our success in serving our most vulnerable community members is a direct result of our staff’s willingness to go above and beyond every day. The Center has become a welcoming and supportive environment because of their unwavering dedication,” Esparza-Gonzalez said. “I’ve been fortunate to work with a tremendous team of talented and passionate leaders. I’m fully confident they will be able to successfully drive all of the Center’s initiatives and its mission forward into the future.”

Evelyn Esparza-Gonzalez. | COURTESY PHOTO July 22, 2024 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 41

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COMMENTARY

New bank rule could hurt local economic growth

HUMBLES ART/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

B

enton Harbor has seen its share of challenges over the years but each challenge that its residents face only builds their resiliency and eagerness to keep moving forward. As mayor, I’ve seen this passion up close and a part of my job as mayor is to maintain our community’s economic revitalization efforts.

That’s why I speak out against policies that would be harmful to the community and economy here in Benton Harbor. And that is precisely why I am shining a spotlight on the Federal Reserve’s proposed new capital requirements rule, which recalibrates how banks calculate how much cash they must set aside to cover risks, and the Marcus Muhammad is dire consequences it could place on our city’s mayor of the future. city of Benton If passed, this rule Harbor and would force banks to chair of Black practice stricter lending Mayors of standards, meaning obMichigan. taining loans would become more difficult. Additionally, requiring banks to hold more capital as a buffer against potential losses means that they would pass on the increased costs to bor-

rowers. By making home and business ownership unattainable, especially for communities of color, this rule could perpetuate existing racial wealth gaps and further entrench systemic inequality across our country.

Consider for a moment the countless individuals within marginalized communities like mine who are striving to achieve financial stability and independence. These are individuals who have faced systemic inequities and barriers for far too long. Yet, despite these challenges, they persevere,

fueled by a shared vision of a brighter future for themselves and their families.

Now, imagine the impact that increased capital requirements could have on their ability to access essential financial services.

For many, these services are not just a luxury but a lifeline — an opportunity to secure a mortgage, start a small business, or invest in their future. In Benton Harbor, where these aspirations are the heartbeat of our community, these policies are not abstract debates — they are a matter of survival.

Proponents of this proposal may argue

that it is necessary for financial stability, but after the 2008 crisis, federal regulators passed policies that have mitigated risks in the banking sector. Stringent regulations such as stress tests, liquidity requirements, and enhanced supervision are already in place and have proven highly effective in averting another financial crisis. In fact, the Federal Reserve Board itself has asserted that our banks are “well positioned to weather a severe recession and continue to lend to households and businesses.” By pursuing this plan, the board would not only contradict its own assurances but also forsake the very communities it is entrusted to serve.

Every family that dreams of owning a home, every entrepreneur with a business plan scribbled on the back of a napkin, every student eager to expand their educational opportunities — all of them depend on a banking system that is accessible and responsive to their needs. Yet, the proposal to hike capital requirements threatens to erect barriers where there should be bridges, to sow doubt where there should be hope. To our leaders in Congress, especially our Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, I implore you: listen to the voices of communities like ours. Understand the real impact of voicing your opposition to a proposal like this one. I ask that you stand with families and small businesses in Benton Harbor and across Michigan.

COMMENTARY

All Michigan students deserve effective teachers

I

t’s become common knowledge in Michigan that we have a serious teacher recruitment and retention problem. The problem is most acute in higher-poverty districts, however. Michigan’s unfair school funding system that inadequately funds higher-poverty districts contributes to this crisis, leading higher-poverty districts to struggle to provide competitive compensation and experience high rates of teacher turnover.

In some districts, students wait as late as Halloween and even Thanksgiving to be placed with a teacher in their classrooms.

High teacher turnover destabilizes school improvement efforts, as well as efforts to foster a positive school culture and strong relationships between students and teachers.

Particular groups of students bear the brunt of this crisis. Students from low-income backgrounds and students of color are far more likely to attend school in districts with higher rates of inexperienced teachers, teachers in “out-of-field” assignments, and teachers with emergency credentials, according to an analysis by The Education Trust-Midwest. That’s unacceptable and likely contributes to the devastating opportunity gaps facing these students.

Educators of color also are disproportionately affected by this talent crisis. Nationally, just 25% of schools educate the

access to a strong, effective teacher.

But there’s hope. Michigan can implement some key strategies now that are being championed by The Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity — a statewide coalition which we have the honor to lead — to address this growing talent crisis.

First, we should tackle teacher Alice Thompson is CEO of BFDI Educational Services Inc. Amber Arellano is executive director salary disparities that make it much of The Education Trust-Midwest. Mike Jandernoa more difficult for lower-income disis founder and chair of 42 North Partners. They are tricts to recruit and retain top teaching talent. State leaders can start by co-chairs of the Michigan Partnership for Equity building upon a teacher salary inand Opportunity. centive program created last year.

Through this new pilot program, the most students of color. Given what we know about how teacher recruitment and reten- state is dispersing $64 million equally tion issues disproportionately impact dis- across traditional public school districts tricts with higher concentration of poverty, with the intent that districts use those this tells us that students from low-income funds to increase educator compensation. backgrounds, and students and educators However, the equal, per-pupil, distribuof color, are being systematically let down tion approach does not account for school districts’ vastly different abilities to fairly

by Michigan’s public education system.

Finding innovative new ways to build a compensate educators or recruit and restrong educator pipeline is necessary in ev- tain top talent.

Instead, state leaders should take a new ery district, but it’s especially important in these districts. Indeed, while many commit- approach and prioritize dollars to schools ted stakeholders are advancing solutions to in districts with the highest percentages of address the state’s academic crisis, progress students from low-income backgrounds. will be nearly impossible if we don’t also ad- Policymakers can use the state’s new Opdress this critical factor for student success: portunity Index as a guide. This new school ensuring that every Michigan student has funding mechanism — approved in June

2023 after a historic legislative vote — ensures that Michigan invests more school funding dollars in school districts with greater concentrations of poverty.

The new index has six bands of funding levels based on a school district’s concentration of poverty to close opportunity gaps for students from low-income backgrounds.

State leaders should target the teacher salary incentive funding to districts that have the greatest concentrations of poverty — or Opportunity Index Bands 5 and 6 — with the goal of lifting starting teacher salaries to at least $50,000 in those districts.

This will help ensure these districts can better compete for talent and better compensate early career teachers who are more likely to stay in the classroom if compensated better. By doing so, state leaders will help districts do better to ensure students of color and students from low-income backgrounds have access to strong educators.

Second, state leaders should take action to improve upon public reporting of educator data, including teacher salary data by years of experience and vacancy data.

By better supporting and compensating teachers in high-poverty communities — and creating the conditions for them and their students to succeed — Michigan can take an important step toward ensuring all students are taught by strong teachers.

Sound off: Send a column for the Opinion page to tim.gortsema@crain.com. Please include a phone number for verification purposes, and limit submissions to 500 words or fewer. Please include a headshot, title and organization name with the submission.

42 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | July 22, 2024

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GRANGER From Page 3

“They’ve gone through a significant amount of consolidation across the state, and we know that for them to make decisions, they’re a little bit further off and our goal is at least to finish the rest of the heart of the village.”

First envisioned more than two decades ago as the then-Metro Health was planning to develop a new hospital and relocate from Grand Rapids’ southeast side, the Health Village today includes complementary medical offices.

The acreage also includes retail outlets, a Family Fare grocery store, a Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel, the SpartanNash YMCA, and Commonwealth Senior Living that offers independent and assisted living and memory care.

The Granger Group recently agreed to sell two parcels and two office buildings adjacent to the

hospital for $45 million to the University of Michigan, which plans to use the acreage for future expansion of the health system.

Selling the properties was “completely separate” from the projects that The Granger Group is now pursuing, Granger said.

The three projects in the planning stages would encompass an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 square feet of newly constructed space, he said. The company is still developing cost estimates.

On one of the parcels slated for development, The Granger Group is considering up to 60 or more independent senior living units. At another site, the company could develop a three- to five-story building for retail and medical uses on the main level, and “some form” of market-rate residential units on the upper levels, as well as more independent senior living.

The upcoming projects also could include a restaurant and “some form of a brewery,” he said.

New projects on the vacant parcels include various types of housing, retail and a restaurant. | MARK SANCHEZ, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS

The company is also looking at another medical office building and to expand the farmers market “to be all year round (with) some kind of a shelter,” he said.

Construction could begin in 2025 and would occur in stages, Granger said.

“All of this land is considered the heart of the village, and it’s

COMPANIES / PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

been really important to us to make sure that we can continue to support our other partnerships and relationships that we’ve got,” Granger said.

Advertising Section To place your listing, visit https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/ people-on-the-move/ or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

BANKING & FINANCE

CONSTRUCTION

NONPROFITS

NONPROFITS

TECHNOLOGY

Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU)

Wolverine Building Group

Kalamazoo Community Foundation

Literacy Center of West Michigan

Dematic

With more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, Elizabeth Lucas Dombrowski joins the Literacy Center of West Michigan as Senior Director of Development and Communications. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of All Belong Center for Inclusive Education, a national organization advocating for students with disabilities.

Elizabeth has an undergraduate degree in music from Valparaiso University and a master of business administration from Grand Valley State University.

Dematic has named Michael Oren as senior vice president of sales for the Americas region.

Oren joins the supply chain automation and solutions provider at the company’s Americas headquarters in Grand Rapids, where he is responsible for the development of the sales strategy, including nurturing and retaining accounts, driving company growth initiatives, and building relationships with strategic partners. Oren joined Dematic from Xerox, where he recently served as the executive vice president of global services.

He has completed executive master’s courses at the University of Navarra, Harvard Business School, and Stanford University, and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and social psychology from Miami University in Ohio.

Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU) has hired Mario León as community relations mortgage loan officer for West Michigan.

Mario brings local expertise in housing equity, financial coaching, and program development to his new role.

Bilingual in English and Spanish, he will play a key part in expanding LMCU’s community lending efforts. “I see myself as a community connector,” León said. “At LMCU, I have more opportunities to educate and support people in achieving their goals.”

Wolverine Building Group is pleased to welcome Jeff VanderMeulen as Director of Sales. With a strong background in commercial banking and an established reputation in development and growth, Jeff’s expertise is invaluable. He brings 13 years of experience in the financial services industry, where he has successfully built strategic partnerships. As Director of Sales, he will focus on Wolverine Building Group’s strategy and execution in sales efforts and business development.

BANKING & FINANCE

MANUFACTURING

Legacy Trust

GHSP

Legacy Trust, the largest private trust bank headquartered in Grand Rapids, is pleased to announce the appointment of Skot Welch to its Board of Directors. Mr. Welch is founder and principal of Global Bridgebuilders, a firm focused on organizational development, cultural transformation and inclusion at organizations around the world. Mr. Welch is also a venture capital fund executive, published author and motivational speaker. His appointment to the Legacy Trust Board was approved in June.

GHSP, a leading global automotive supplier, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ludwing Vergara as Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain Management (SCM). Ludwing brings nearly 30 years of experience in procurement and purchasing within the automotive industry.

His background includes an impressive track record in global sourcing, cross-division product launch management, supplychain management, supplier development, and procurement initiatives.

Co-founder and former executive of The Diatribe, longtime community leader, and historymaking Grand Rapids Poet Laureate (the first POC and first without a college degree), Marcel Fable Price has enthusiastically taken the position of Community Impact Officer with the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. After nearly a decade of nonprofit leadership and taking the organization from filing its articles of incorporation to raising $6.5 million in its first capital campaign, Marcel now transitions to the other side of the sector. He looks forward to sharing his expertise with organizations in his portfolio and innovating grant-making. Marcel is also releasing a new book, New American Monarch, which can be pre-ordered at www.

MarcelFablePrice.com.

NONPROFITS

Saugatuck Center for the Arts The Saugatuck Center for the Arts welcomes Michael Gantt as Sr. Director of Finance & Operations. Gantt’s past non-profit leadership roles include Chief Operating Officer/Integrator at The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors in Grand Rapids, CFO at John Ball Zoo, The Family Institute at Northwestern University, and Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

NONPROFITS

Saint Mary’s Foundation Saint Mary’s Foundation is pleased to announce that Kim McLaughlin, Vice President Strategic Growth at Wolverine Building Group, has been appointed Board Chair effective July 1, 2024. Saint Mary’s Foundation, a member of Trinity Health, is the designated philanthropic arm for Trinity Health Grand Rapids.

Saint Mary’s Foundation’s mission is to build relationships that inspire financial support from the community to advance the mission of the hospital and has granted back more than $100 million.

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IMPACT From Page 3

standpoint, we’ve recognized political and social fragmentation as one of the leading threats to our business communities, and we’re certainly experiencing that here.

The West Coast Chamber strives to be the sane center in all of this.”

Recent survey data may support Owczarski’s concerns about the influence of politics on the business community. The West Coast Chamber commissioned a 2024 Ottawa County economic forecast that included a survey of 49 chamber members in late 2023. While the business confidence index remained similar to the prior year, 81% of the respondents said the “political environment will negatively affect their business.” That compares to 71% across the broader West Michigan region, according to the forecast produced by Paul Isely, associate dean and professor of economics at Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business.

While the data did not specify which level of government businesses were concerned about, “I can say that the view was far more negative (on the) effect of govern-

THIRD From Page 3

apartments and townhomes, 56,970 square feet of commercial space, and a new parking garage to replace one already on site.

This proposal marks the third time the pair has devised housing plans for the site since acquiring it from the bankrupt Jacobson’s in 2002. Wierda and DeVries constructed a number of commercial buildings there between 2002 and 2005 as part of a larger plan. But the original housing element — more than 100 condos across several tall buildings — was derailed in 2007 by the financial crisis and resulting Great Recession. A later proposal for senior housing and a hotel was put on ice when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

To Gilmore, the project is a no-brainer.

“Long term, it basically enhances the community by increasing the walkability, the business neighborhood and the residential neighborhood,” Gilmore said. “In my mind, it’s all positive.”

Rob Lutz, who also grew up in East Grand Rapids before leaving for college in 2001, came back to town in 2011 and purchased Big Bob’s Pizza, which he continues to own and operate in Gaslight Village.

He said he believes “the timing is right” for a mixed-use multifamily development on the developers’ property. While East Grand Rapids may be known as a community of single-family homes, multi-unit buildings like one he owns on Lovett Avenue tend to fill up quickly, he said.

“I would love to see more development go into the area and allow for more people to experience this community,” he said. “I think it could continue to make Gaslight a

ment than others in West Michigan or from the Ottawa County survey the year before,” Isely said in an email to Crain’s.

Referendum?

Founded by county board Chairman Joe Moss and co-chair Sylvia Rhoadea, Ottawa Impact has fielded criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Early on in its term, the board eliminated the county’s diversity, equity and inclusion office, which had been partially funded or supported by several large local employers, including Gentex Corp., Haworth Inc. and Shape Corp.

Since then, the Ottawa Impact-led board has been embroiled in, or linked to, multiple lawsuits challenging its employment practices and attempts to oust county personnel from their jobs if they didn’t align with the group’s philosophy. Perhaps the most high-profile case involved the board’s 13-month attempt to fire the county’s health officer, Adeline Hembley, who agreed to drop a lawsuit against the Ottawa Impact county board members in exchange for keeping her job.

“This isn’t aligned to any particular political party, but when

destination for people.”

Wierda and DeVries declined to comment for this story ahead of the planning commission meeting. But Wierda previously said he believes their proposal has “the critical mass” of retail and rental units that the city needs.

“I believe what we’ve proposed and what we’ve started working through can and will be transformational to Gaslight Village,” he said.

Ramona Park and Jacobson’s While the mostly vacant project site has sat neglected for years, it also has a storied history of providing entertainment and retail.

The site was once part of Ramona Park, a more than 20-acre amusement park established in the 1880s by the Grand Rapids Street Railway Company.

At various points in its 70-year history, the park offered a carousel, the Jack Rabbit Derby wooden roller coaster and other rides, concessions, a dance pavilion, a fun house and steamboat rides. The Ramona Theatre Pavilion on its grounds also drew touring vaudeville acts with performers including Buster Keaton, Will Rogers and Jack Benny, according to historian Gail Snow in her 2013 book, “Remarkable Ramona Park.”

Ramona Park evolved out of East Grand Rapids’ status as a resort town, according to East Grand Rapids History Room curator and longtime resident Mary Dersch.

Beginning in the 1870s, out-oftown guests and Grand Rapids residents alike would hop on the Grand Rapids and Reeds Lake Railway that ended on the west shore of the lake and spend the day picnicking, boating and swimming.

The park operated from 1881 until 1954, and Dersch said the

famous for for years,” he said.

Voter turnout could play a significant role in the primary’s outcome, Reichardt said. For example, Democratic Commissioner Chris Kleinjans took office earlier this year after defeating Ottawa Impact-backed former Commissioner Lucy Ebel in a May 7 recall election for the District 2 seat.

“More people voted in that election than voted in the primary in 2022,” he said.

The August 2022 primary drew 2,788 voters while the recall election this May brought out 4,167, according to election results.

Kleinjans is currently suing his former employer, MSU Extension, claiming that his firing in June violated his First Amendment rights and stemmed from political pressure from Ottawa Impact.

Meanwhile, Reichardt cited three county commission seats that could potentially flip from Ottawa Impact-backed commissioners to GOP opponents: District 1, which spans Olive Township and Park and Port Sheldon townships along the lakeshore; District 5, Chairman Moss’s territory in the southeastern portion of the county; and District 11, a large swath of the county northeast of the Grand River.

there’s a lack of transparency, a lack of process, that’s concerning,” Owczarski said.

The nonpartisan West Coast Chamber doesn’t have a political action committee, nor does it endorse candidates.

Meanwhile, Ottawa Impact has the full support of the Ottawa County Republican Party, which has dug in to support Ottawa Impact’s social and political views.

For example, in May the Ottawa County GOP in a newsletter called for effectively boycotting dozens of businesses that provided financial or in-kind support for Grand Haven Pride, which hosts an annual festival supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

“Take a look at the businesses supporting these events and ask yourself if this is the type of business you want to spend your hard earned tax dollars supporting,” according to the newsletter, which lists 30 small and large businesses in the area that had pledged support for Grand Haven Pride. The county GOP specifically brought attention to public drag shows during the 2023 festival.

The Rev. Jared Cramer, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven and sponsorship lead for Grand Haven Pride who

organizes businesses’ financial support, said he reached out to “well over” 200 businesses seeking support for the event.

“There are some who don’t feel like they can support Pride for fear of boycotts, but that’s far from the majority,” Cramer said in an interview. “The (Ottawa County) GOP kind of called out all of our sponsors in their newsletter with a kind of call to arms. The result of that was I got a lot more sponsors, because people want to be on that list.”

Cramer is currently suing Ottawa County, claiming religious discrimination after he says county board leaders rebuffed his requests to give an opening prayer at a county board meeting. U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering earlier this month rejected the county’s request to dismiss the case.

Field Reichardt, a longtime GOP organizer who most recently has worked informally with anti-Ottawa Impact candidates, says this year’s primaries are “beyond a referendum” against Ottawa Impact.

“I see this as an effort by an amazing coalition that includes conservative Republicans, moderate Republicans, Independents and Democrats to bring Ottawa County back to the stolid, carefully managed government that we were

proposed development site was at the center of the action.

In 1966, John Gilmore was successful in convincing Jackson-based Jacobson’s executives to open a store in East Grand Rapids at 2255 Wealthy. The store thrived in Gaslight Village for more than three decades. The chain added a parking garage in 1991 that’s now the last vestige of the sprawling store complex.

Jacobson’s declared bankruptcy in January 2002, and Jade Pig bid $3.75 million to acquire the property at auction that September, according to media reports at the time. The developers earlier that year had also acquired the former Ramona Medical Center that was built next door at 515 Wealthy in 1960, the reports said.

Wierda and DeVries soon went to work devising plans for the former Jacobson’s. First, they hoped to save the building by securing a retailer for some of the space and moving the East Grand Rapids public library off the lakefront and into the store’s core.

That pitch met stiff resistance from a local task force, and the city determined it would cost too much to reconstruct the floors to support the weight of thousands of books.

The developers also were unable to secure retail tenants for the space, so they demolished the 150,000-square-foot building in late 2003, according to past media reports.

plus four commercial office and retail buildings fronting Wealthy Street that were built and are now managed

by CWD Real Estate Investment Services, where Wierda serves as a partner.

But the condo development, dubbed “The Derby,” proved controversial when residents learned the tallest building was to be 150 feet The site sits north of Wealthy Street SE in Gaslight high. Residents complained Village. | RACHEL WATSON, CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS it would block the lake views and too drastically change the just days before COVID-19 hit character of the quaint Gaslight Michigan and the state locked down. The planning board didn’t Village.

“It’s always been a small town meet again until November as the with big politics,” Dersch said, re- city dealt with the health crisis. By calling the uproar, which local then, Wierda and DeVries had put newspapers chronicled in great de- their proposal on ice. tail over the course of several years.

Jade Pig ultimately cut the tall- Housing shortage est building height in half and the density to 107 units, winning its Meanwhile, the newest project planned unit development rezon- design is emerging against the ing approval from the city. But a backdrop of a massive housing group of outraged citizens under shortage in West Michigan, with the moniker “Save East Grand the region projected to need an Rapids” organized a referendum additional 35,000 units by 2027 to to overturn the rezoning. keep up with demand, according The opposition was ultimately to a 2023 study by Housing Next. unsuccessful. The late philanthroWierda and DeVries said in docpists and business leaders Peter uments filed with the city last Secchia and John Canepa backed month that they believe the mix of a “Reignite Gaslight” advocacy 180 units of residential alongside push and voters ultimately upheld commercial better meets the curthe rezoning on a vote of 2,605- rent market demand.

2,055. Dersch recalls it as a time They hope to reserve about 10% when “tempers flared,” and it “cre- of the housing units as attainable ated a rift” in the community. to those making 100% to 120% of As late as 2006, Jade Pig still the area median income. Median planned to build the condos. But household income in East Grand their plans fizzled when the hous- Rapids in 2022 was $160,417, acing market crashed in 2007. cording to the U.S. Census BuBy 2020, they brought a new reau’s latest estimates. proposal to the city for 91 units of Wierda said last month that he senior living, shops, restaurants, plans to move to East Grand Rapmedical offices and a 106-room ids in the fall and wants to see the hotel. younger generation be able to afThe developers introduced that ford to live in the community. concept at the March 11, 2020, “I don’t want to completely genplanning commission meeting, trify the area,” he said.

A third act?

By early 2004, the developers had devised the first of three successive mixed-use playbooks for the vacant Jacobson’s and Ramona Medical Center sites.

Their first iteration included 117 condos across six buildings — one of which was to be 12 stories —

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ACRISURE From Page 1

and M&A. Prior to his work at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Miller was global head of strategy and corporate development for MassMutual.

Miller’s appointment comes as Acrisure continues exploring an initial public offering that Williams said in May will come “sooner as opposed to later.”

“I’m pleased to welcome Aaron to this important role at a pivotal time for the company,” Williams said in a statement. “Aaron understands our mission, purpose and strategy and importantly, knows key leaders around the organization.”

RENTAL From Page 1

local housing stock.

“We welcome visitors,” said Saugatuck City Manager Ryan Cummins. “Saugatuck — like most other communities across the state, the country, the world — with short-term rentals, we are just trying to find the right balance. Our planning commissioners and city council all recognize the importance of short-term rentals and that they’re important to our economy, and want to see short-term rentals continue to be a part of Saugatuck, but just in the right amounts in those R1 residential districts.”

Chitwood, who spoke during the meeting in opposition to the new policy, said she thinks the decision will hurt the city’s tourism economy in the long term.

“I think the town is going to

FLAVOR From Page 1

how long it takes for a hot product to get to that peak, and how long it stays at the peak, and then how long it takes for it to go away,” said Roger Nahas, executive vice president of global research and development and innovation for Kalsec. “That’s what we do and we’re really good at it, but humans have limitations.”

While a human tasting panel can offer an educated response and description of different flavors and heat levels, those responses also are constrained by the individual’s cultural, environmental and emotional context, which can make it hard for companies like Kalsec to get unbiased feedback. Humans also can experience fatigue or be oversaturated by certain flavors and lose their sensitivity.

By measuring the brain’s response to heat and other flavors in real time, the T-Box can develop an impartial measure of how the tasters perceive flavors. The technology computes the mental state of a person consuming a food or flavors that might be hard to describe, giving developers a readout that measures and displays the brain’s response in replicable data points.

T-Box, a new electromagnetic headset that will measure human sensory reactions to foods and flavors, relies on artificial intelligence

Acrisure declined to grant an interview for this report.

Alexander Calderone, president of the Birmingham-based Calderone Hudson Group, which provides business valuation and turnaround consulting services, said the move could signal a number of possibilities, including a lack of investor confidence in the current CFO or a shift in Acrisure’s growth strategy.

“Oftentimes, if an equity sponsor is pushing for a CFO replacement, and they provide the candidate, it typically means that they feel more comfortable with the new candidate,” Calderone said.

“It could be that the former candidate just wasn’t getting the job done to their standards, or it could mean that the company is going to

undertake a strategy that the new candidate is better suited to lead,” such as a shift from growth by M&A to growth by IPO, he added.

Elliott Bundy, chief communications officer at Acrisure, said any speculation that the personnel changes reflect a lack of confidence from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority “is totally ridiculous and off base.”

“There was no push from anyone for this addition to Acrisure’s leadership and our strategy remains firmly fixed,” Bundy said in an email.

Calderone also noted that it’s not uncommon for companies to hire new CFOs when contemplating a public offering. That’s because “the skill set for a chief financial officer that builds a business

from the ground up is a bit different than the skill set necessary to take a company public,” he said.

“When a company goes public, it has to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and financial reporting becomes much more onerous,” he said.

“Disclosures change very significantly, and there is a unique skill set that organizations need in order to go public.”

Calderone said if the latter is the case, it makes sense for Acrisure to build investor and public confidence in a new hire “well in advance of the IPO.” Erik Gordon, an assistant professor at University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business specializing in corporate governance, said in an email to Crain’s

Grand Rapids Business that he also believes Acrisure’s choice of new CFO likely points to the company’s plans for an IPO. “Miller’s background is in dealmaking, so he most likely has been dropped into Acrisure to take it public or find a buyer,” Gordon said. “He’s not a garden variety CFO.” Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and public policy studies from Duke University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Acrisure said Miller will play a critical role in helping the company “deploy and allocate capital effectively to accelerate growth” and prepare Acrisure to meet clients’ needs in the future.

shrivel up and die, because if people don’t have a place to stay, why come here?” she said.

The Allegan County town of fewer than 900 permanent residents is about 10 miles south of Holland and 20 miles north of South Haven, between Lake Michigan and the Kalamazoo River.

Currently, about 158 of the town’s 501 housing units in R1 districts, or 32%, are short-term rentals, according to a report prepared for the city by David Jirousek, of Grand Rapids-based Horizon Community Planning. Of the housing stock in the “hill” district east of Butler Street, known as the community residential R1 district, nearly 37% (123 of 334) are vacation rentals, per the report.

Cummins said the 20% cap likely won’t take effect until later this year, as the zoning change still faces a few more layers of public comment and city approvals.

Advocates for the cap, including some members of a task force assembled in March 2023 to study the issue, have said that they want to limit the number of vacation rentals to address the shrinking pool of housing for year-round residents.

“There are mixed feelings on (the cap) from our policymakers here, but … some council members raised concerns with our population loss over time,” Cummins said.

“Census data from the last few decades shows that we’re just continuing to lose full-time residents, and they have concerns about what that means for the community in the long term.”

U.S. Census estimates show the town’s population has fluctuated between 868 and 875 residents between 2020 and 2023, down from 1,065 at the 2000 Census.

Cummins noted that people who already own and operate shortterm rentals would be allowed to

keep their licenses until selling or transferring their property, per a grandfather clause embedded in the new policy.

Chitwood said she fears her property’s resale value will drop once the cap takes effect because the next owner wouldn’t be able to use the house as a vacation rental.

“It’s all of us out-of-towners that pay for this beautiful city in our taxes,” she said. “They’re a lot higher than for (principal residents). So the business owners are going to suffer. The property owners are going to suffer, and the property values are going to plummet. Why would you want to buy here? It is a tourist town. Good luck to those … (year-round residents) absorbing our taxes.”

Cummins said he doesn’t expect to see a drastic shift in the balance of rental versus non-rental properties over the next few years, based on the policy’s grandfathering pro-

vision. He said he also doesn’t expect a negative effect on the city’s revenues. Saugatuck non-homestead property owners pay an additional 18 mills in taxes, but those dollars primarily go to the schools, he said.

Cummins noted that the tussle over short-term rentals stems primarily from noise, nuisance and trash complaints from neighbors over the years.

The cap on short-term rentals would be paired with other zoning code changes, including a new police powers ordinance that would require annual licenses and yearly inspections, more trash cans for higher occupancy properties, a cap of no more than 12 residents per rental, fewer visitors to each rental, and stricter quiet hours. The policies would be enforced by a parttime code compliance officerwho would respond to complaints made through a hotline.

to then compute the data and model how the brain responds.

“We want to get a good objective evaluation of how our flavors are perceived,” Nahas said. “Specifically, in the world of heat, it’s hard to describe what kind of heat you like. If it’s too hot, it’s going to overwhelm me, (or) if it lingers … a little bit too long it (starts) building up. We want to experiment with different kinds of heat (and) we want to understand what would be the consumer’s reaction to it, whether they like it or not. It’s hard to put that likeability into words.”

By directly measuring how the brain responds to different flavors, Kalsec will use T-Box to provide an objective set of data to compare with sensory analysts.

“I am personally super excited about it, just because of how disruptive it is, and how daring it is, in terms of doing something that has not been done before,” Nahas said.

“More importantly, it has (potential) to allow us to learn about the sensory impact of the extracts that we sell in ways that your tongue cannot describe.”

Kalsec develops ingredients, flavorings, hop products and naturally-derived colorings for food and beverage companies globally, “from the biggest CPG (consumer packaged goods) you can imagine down to mom-and-pop organics,” said Mark Staples, executive director of marketing for Kalsec.

While the company is unable to disclose the names of its customers, Staples said that “if you eat salsa, there’s a very high chance you’re consuming our capsicum products or heat products.” He noted that Kalsec works with both global leaders and off-brand companies to be included in a wide variety of supermarket products.

Kalsec has locations across the U.S., South America, the United Kingdom, Asia and Europe, including a research and development lab at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, which opened in November.

That lab, located in what Nahas described as Europe’s “Food Valley,” a hub for research and development around food, is where Kalsec first started cultivating its relationship with Thimus.

“Even though we’re a Michigan company, we are a global leader,” he said. “We do rely on science and innovation as a key competitive advantage for us. Because of that, our reach is global, and this (partnership) is the fruit of that international reach.”

Staples said technology like the T-Box can overcome challenges related to regional and language differences when it comes time for the company to create globally-distributed flavors.

“Hot in the United States is much different than hot in the U.K. versus Singapore. They’re

very different levels,” he said. “This gets into the nuances much, much more directly.”

Mario Ubiali, founder and CEO of Thimus, told Crain’s via email that the T-Box offers an “unprecedented” view into the flavor-perception process.

“Instead of asking untrained humans to express complex opinions on why and what they liked in food, we can tap straight into the preconscious processes and provide repeatable datasets to (corporations) who need data-driven product development,” he said.

Project Manager II, responsible for all aspects of the project lifecycle: planning, scope definition, design, execution, and delivery; organize and oversee the staffing of the project; ensure the engineering integrity of systems such that the contractual specifications are met with respect to system functionality, productivity, reliability, quality, and safety; among other duties. BS+60 mos experience; 3550% domestic and international travel. Send resume to L. Baker, TGW Systems, 3001 Orchard Vista Dr., Ste. 300, Grand Rapids, MI 49546; Ref. PMII-GRMI. No phone calls please. EOE.

July 22, 2024 | CRAIN’S GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS | 45

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THE CONVERSATION

Far from a newcomer, Grand Rapids’ new economic director touts 16 years at the state Sarah Latta Rainero on July 8 stepped into her new role as the city of Grand Rapids’ economic development director.

The position had been vacant since October 2023 and was filled on an interim basis by Jono Klooster, who stepped down from his role this summer. Latta Rainero grew up in Kentwood and now resides in Grand Rapids. She has spent the last few years serving on the board of Uptown Grand Rapids Inc., which advocates for business and neighborhood development on the city’s east side. In joining Grand Rapids city leadership, Latta Rainero plans to draw from her 16 years of experience in her previous role working for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., where she was involved with real estate transactions and brownfield projects throughout West Michigan.

She spoke with Crain’s about the city’s role in advancing not only large projects but also supporting emerging developers, and one downtown project she finds particularly exciting. | By Kate Carlson Why did you want to step into this more local role in economic development at the city of Grand Rapids?

This position was intriguing because of the ability to have more impact on the ground in the city, have a closer beat to what’s going on, and an opportunity to serve the city and just give back. We call the community home and the ability to just be closer to the project portfolio here is a really nice piece that was most intriguing to me. Some of the work on the Uptown Inc. board was just really invigorating enough to make me want to get closer to some of that and be on the same side of the table as the city advocates for projects.

You’re bringing strong economic development experience with you from the state level. How will that help you in this role?

A lot of it is really transferable. I most recently was covering a portfolio of region four and eight (which includes Grand Rapids), which covers about a fourth of the state’s population. I feel like a lot of my life at the MEDC was really built around the placemaking piece of what the agency was prioritizing.

What’s transferable here is a lot of those relationships I built naturally in that role over the last 16 years. That’s helpful because there is already a ground level of trust as well as the toolbox at the state and trying to navigate the city’s processes and help shepherd some of those deals through the state process. I want to press the point on my desire to really leverage my state background to really advocate for the city and getting projects done, whether that’s through the state tools, creative financing or otherwise.

Grand Rapids has a slate of transformational projects underway in and around downtown, including the soccer stadium and Acrisure Amphitheater. What is the city’s role in these types of projects?

That’s my main focus: To help execute some of the larger projects making their way through the approval process and across the finish line. The first responsi-

CrainsGrandRapids.com President and CEO KC Crain Group publisher Jim Kirk, (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Executive editor Mickey Ciokajlo, mickey.ciokajlo@crain.com Editor Joe Boomgaard, joe.boomgaard@crain.com Managing editor Andy Balaskovitz, andy.balaskovitz@crain.com Special projects editor Tim Gortsema, tim.gortsema@crain.com Director of audience and engagement Elizabeth Couch, elizabeth.couch@crain.com Audience engagement editor Matthew Pollock, matthew.pollock@crain.com Director of Visual Media Stephanie Swearngin Creative director Thomas J. Linden, tlinden@crain.com Associate creative director Karen Freese Zane Digital design editor Jason McGregor Art directors Kayla Byler, Carolyn McClain, Joanna Metzger Notables coordinator Ashley Maahs REPORTERS Kate Carlson, real estate, kate.carlson@crain.com Jack Grieve, audience engagement, jack.grieve@crain.com Abby Poirier, restaurants, retail and agribusiness, abigail.poirier@crain.com Mark Sanchez, health care and finance, mark.sanchez@crain.com Rachel Watson, residential real estate, insurance and tourism, rachel.watson@crain.com Danielle Nelson, research and data, danielle.nelson@crain.com

Sarah Latta Rainero filled the position of Grand Rapids’ economic development director, a position that had been vacant since 2023.

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That’s my main focus: To help execute some of the larger projects making their way through the approval process and across the finish line. bility is to listen to the community, and lift up other (projects) along the way that are reacting to the momentum there. Alongside that, we want to figure out a way to capitalize some of the work of the emerging developer group.

Essentially, we want to get more

faces in the development pipeline and find a way to do that alongside the community and neighborhoods based on what they are prioritizing.

Are there any new incentive tools that you think Grand

Rapids could leverage for new projects?

I’m excited about the Fifth Third Bank building transitioning over from office. I don’t think the state has seen many projects, if any, that have used (the amended brownfield law in 2023 that includes housing development for tax capture) in that capacity, which was part of the intended purpose of activating vacant office space. Especially with what the region has prioritized around housing, there is a lot to unpack there and I’m excited to be a part of it.

Crain’s Grand Rapids Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President and CEO KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732; (313) 446-6000 Volume 41, Number 15 Crain’s Grand Rapids Business (ISSN 2836-7723) is published biweekly, with an extra issue in April and September, by Crain Communications Inc. at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2732. Periodical postage paid at Grand Rapids, Michigan. © Entire contents copyright 2024 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content in any manner without permission is prohibited.

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