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The trick to lasting a century or more in business, as 100 Michigan companies and institutions can attest, is offering a coveted product or service that spans time, generations, and conflicts — while benefiting from something as unpredictable as luck.
“It’s really quite simple,” says George G. Jerome Sr., chairman of the oldest company in Michigan — Roseville-based George Jerome & Co., a surveying and civil engineering firm founded in 1828 that’s persevered and prospered through six generations.
The companies that took early root in Detroit and Michigan had a few things going their way, including an abundance of natural resources — most notably water, which spurred a manufacturing industry that crafted ships, engines, stoves, railroads, and, of course, automobiles.
The latter industry made it possible for the first generation of autoworkers to send their children to college more so than workers in other regions. And in the two subsequent generations, the opportunity for young people to attend college has grown exponentially. The result: Michigan is home to one of the world’s great research, development, and educational hubs.
Need further proof? There’s a reason the Detroit Regional Chamber is the largest organization of its kind in the country, at more than 20,000 members. “Many people look at Detroit as the Motor City, and while that’s accurate, the auto industry has contributed to the formation of thousands of small businesses here,” says Richard E. Blouse Jr., the chamber’s president and CEO. “That makes it difficult for outsiders to navigate, but once you figure out who’s who and what’s what, Detroit is a very rewarding place to do business.”
With the recent slowdown of the Big Three automakers, some would say the Detroit region is finally becoming a true Midwestern town like Cleveland or Indianapolis. But for more than 80 years, Detroit’s economy was seemingly powered by rocket fuel as the automakers created untold wealth for thousands of small-business owners. That wealth has stood the test of time despite high taxes, often uneven or cumbersome regulations, and a diminished standing on the national and world stage.
And despite the region’s more recent struggles, Detroit and Michigan possess great potential — there are still plenty of natural resources, including 20 percent of the world’s freshwater supply, along with formidable sources of iron ore, limestone, gypsum, oil, lumber, cement, and agricultural products.
Institutional knowledge plays a part in the area’s success, as well. As the military looks to reorganize and downsize its capacity to fight major land, air, and sea battles in favor of rapid deployment to counteract small but formidable insurgencies, the Detroit region has garnered more than its fair share of contracts for specialized parts and systems.
“There’s no other place in the United States where the military can find such a collection of specialized businesses that can produce highly tolerant parts and systems for tanks, planes, military armaments, and security systems,” says Ken Rogers, deputy Oakland County executive and executive director of Troy-based Automation Alley, a highly touted technology business association.
That’s why metro Detroit has scores of companies that fulfill direct or indirect work for the military. What’s more, Warren is home to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC), which employs more than 1,200 workers concentrated in mobility, robotics, materials, and numerous intelligence systems.
Perhaps surprisingly, Detroit, founded in 1701, is older than New York, Boston, Philadelphia, or New Orleans. But it was manufacturing that put Detroit on the map. In the early 20th century, the auto industry helped create a melting pot of cultures and associations. “What you have in Detroit is some of the largest and [most] diverse cultural groups, associations, foundations, and chambers of commerce in the country,” says Michael Bernacchi, marketing professor at the University in terms of national comparisons.”
The University of Michigan, which will celebrate its bicentennial in 2017, is the oldest nonprofit organization in the state. Not too far behind are the Detroit Business Institute (1850), Michigan State University (1855), Wayne State University (1868), and the University of Detroit Mercy (1877). Altogether, U-M, Michigan State, and Wayne State enroll more than 120,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. And they hold their own when it comes to drawing federal and state research projects; more than $1 billion is awarded to U-M on an annual basis.
“Detroit had a head start on a lot different things, but 180 years ago when we got started, it was still rudimentary,” says Jerome, whose great-great-great grandfather’s wife, Betsy, was related to George Washington. “Soldiers from the various wars (1770 to 1870) were often paid in land in lieu of dollars, and it was then that surveying became a very highly regarded profession. We also branched out into civil engineering, but it’s not easy. There’s a great deal of education involved in our industry, and the certification process is rigorous, as it should be.”
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