Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Automotive Hall of Fame Adds Five New Board Members
The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn is adding five new members of its board of directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome this diverse set of industry champions to our board of directors,” says Jon Husby, chair of the board. “They are leaders in their respective areas of expertise and I’m confident they will bring a fresh and valuable perspective to the Hall of Fame.”
The new board members are:
- Jim Baumbick, vice president of product development and quality at Ford Motor Co.
- Nelda Connors, founder and CEO of Pine Grove Holdings.
- Fred Minturn, president and CEO of MSX International.
- Bret Robyck, executive vice president of sales at NAPA.
- Ed Welburn, retired General Motors Co. vice president of global design and CEO of Welburn Media Productions.
“We feel incredibly fortunate to have these trusted advisors and industry experts helping to lead the Automotive Hall of Fame through its next chapter,” says Sarah Cook, president of the Automotive Hall of Fame. “I am grateful for their continued commitment to the industry and look forward to their contributions to the board.”
In addition to their appointments to the board, Connors and Welburn are featured in the Hall of Fame’s new exhibit “Achievement,” which highlights the contributions of African Americans to the automotive and mobility industries. More information on this celebration of Black innovation, invention, and leadership can be found here.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Maintains Competitive 2024 Rates for Small Businesses
Following “minimal” rate increases for Q3 and Q4 of this year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will file competitive rate adjustments for small group customer plans in the first quarter of 2024.
PPO plans will see an average statewide increase of 4.9 percent and HMO plans will see an average statewide increase of 5.5 percent. These adjustments demonstrate Blue Cross’ ongoing commitment to offering health insurance cost stability and predictability to small employers, says the insurer.
Blue Cross has a recent history of rate moderation for small employer customers – with average rate increases between 2015-2023 of just more than 2 percent for PPO and HMO plans.
The rate adjustments result in part from higher-than-average pharmacy cost trends, specifically within specialty pharmacy, and an increase in the prescribing of new, high-cost medications, including drugs for diabetes treatment. For early 2023, BCBSM has observed year-over-year total pharmacy cost increases in excess of 20 percent. These trends are expected to be a challenge for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024 as additional new treatments emerge.
“Maintaining affordable, predictable rates for small business customers is important as it allows employers to plan their annual budgets more successfully, invest to grow their businesses and hire more workers,” says Sandy Fester, vice president of Michigan Business at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. “We remain vigilant on the pressure that both medical and pharmacy costs are having on small employer premiums. While pharmacy trends have played a significant role in rate adjustments across the industry, our pharmacy team is engaged in strategic approaches to minimize the impact of drug costs on our customers and members.”
Global Automaker Selects Eaton to Supply Battery Disconnect Units for EVs
Intelligent power management company Eaton, which has facilities in Southfield, Galesburg, and Jackson, announced that its eMobility business has received a contract to supply its battery disconnect unit (BDU) in both 400- and 800-volt configurations to a global vehicle manufacturer for use in electrified passenger vehicles.
Eaton’s BDU integrates its Breaktor circuit protection technology in EVs, which reduces complexity and cost.
“We are excited to bring such a critical part of the EV system with industry-leading safety features and efficiency to this world-class vehicle manufacturer,” says Mark Schneider, president, eMobility. “Our BDU integrates our Breaktor circuit protection technology, Bussmann fuses, and advanced Royal Power Solutions busbars to provide complete electrical protection for the EV system, in a compact and efficient package.”
The BDU’s primary function is to serve as an on/off switch to the battery depending on what mode the EV is operating in, such as charging or driving. Most of today’s EVs rely on one of three traditional circuit protection configurations in the BDU: fuse and contactor; pyro fuse and contactor; or fuse, pyro fuse and contactor all used together in a single BDU. While all provide switching and protection functions, they each have disadvantages, including overall system complexity, serviceability, coordination difficulties and susceptibility to fatigue under high current levels.
Adding Breaktor circuit protection technology to Eaton’s BDU provides extra functionality and benefits, including replacing up to four high-voltage electrical components, which reduces complexity and system-level cost; active and passive actuation in a single device; and the ability to be reset after a high-energy fault. In total, Eaton’s BDU eliminates the need for up to 15 additional system components.
WM Uniform in Holland Acquired by Indiana Group
WM Uniform in Holland, southwest of Grand Rapids, has been acquired by the Wildman Business Group in Warsaw, Ind. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Together the combined entity operates from six locations throughout Indiana and Michigan with 440 employees, serving more than 12,000 customers.
For the most seamless customer experience during the integration, both companies will retain their independent names and individual branding and continue to serve customers with the same sales and service teams. In addition to the services customers already received from WM Uniform such as uniforms, mat and towel rental, and restroom programs, customers will have access to additional product lines such as first aid and safety essentials and restroom hygiene cleaning known as CleanTeam.
Intuit Awards No Fear Café in Detroit $20K
No Fear Café in Detroit has received one of three $20,000 awards from second annual Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Hero Day, a moment designed to celebrate the success of U.S. small businesses.
No Fear Café is a community learning center that provides fun and innovative educational programming to children and adults in marginalized communities. A strong believer in closing the learning gap, founder and CEO Alicia McKay says she is focused on positively impacting educational opportunity in southeast Michigan. No Fear Cafe offers a variety of STEM-based classes and other academic and work-readiness programming to help give members the confidence they need to excel.
Roush CleanTech Gets California Certification for Propane Engines
Roush CleanTech in Livonia has received California Air Resources Board certification for 2023 model year propane engines at 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hour. Previously available as an added-cost option, the ultra-low nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions package is now standard on every propane engine sold by Roush CleanTech.
The engines emit 90 percent less NOx emissions than allowed under 2023 regulations and are 60 percent cleaner than California’s 2024 low-NOx standard, without compromising performance or efficiency.
“Customers can rest easy knowing that Roush CleanTech propane engines provide ultra-low NOx emissions with no added cost today,” says Todd Mouw, executive vice president at Roush CleanTech. “And, we are well on our way to meeting California and EPA’s emissions standards for 2027 and beyond.”
Fleet operators purchasing 2023 models will have a greater chance of accessing state and federal funds that incentivize near-zero emission vehicles, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Clean School Bus Program and the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust settlement, among others.
As a leading alternative fuel technology company, ROUSH CleanTech first released low NOx engines in 2018. And in 2021, ROUSH CleanTech was the first manufacturer to receive CARB’s ultra-low 0.02 grams per brake horsepower-hour certification for Blue Bird school buses and commercial vehicles. “We didn’t wait for the regulation to go into law. We already achieved it,” Mouw says.
EY Names First Independence Bank CEO as Entrepreneur of Year Finalist
EY (Ernst & Young) has named Kenneth Kelly, chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank in Detroit as a finalist for its Entrepreneur of the Year for the Michigan and Northwest Ohio Region.
Now in its 37th year, the EY Entrepreneur of The Year award is a business award presented to leaders and entrepreneurs of high-growth companies who are judged to be a thought-leader and building a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable world.
Kelly sits on many boards within banking. Some current roles include (but not limited to) being a director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, director of and the National Bankers Association, director of the American Bankers Association, and a director of the Michigan Bankers Association. He was appointed by the chairman of the FDIC to serve a three-year term on the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion in 2022. From 2018-2020 he served on the Federal Reserve Community Depository Institutional Advisory Committee.
Under his leadership, First Independence Bank has developed several partnerships that have yielded growth for the institution and its positive industry impact. This impact is creating positive change in how banking affects minorities and all people as a whole ranging from the underbanked and unbanked, to multinational corporations – all who encompass the customer base, according to EY. Last year the 53-year-old First Independence Bank expanded from Detroit to the Twin Cities market making it the only African American owned bank in Minnesota.
Michigan Colleges Alliance, Ford Fund Empower College Students to Drive Positive Change
Ford Motor Co. Fund, Henry Ford Learning Institute, and the Michigan Colleges Alliance (MCA) recently partnered to host the MCA College Community Challenge), a scholarship competition that challenges students to envision and lead positive change in their campus communities.
The program is supported by and emulates the Ford Motor Co. Fund College Community Challenge. This year’s MCA-C3 program challenged six student-faculty teams to generate ideas for broad social and economic impact within their campus communities.
Student and faculty teams were fielded from Albion College, Alma College, Andrews University, Spring Arbor University, and the University of Detroit Mercy. Through the semester-long challenge, participating teams achieve working knowledge of Design Thinking with workshops facilitated by the Henry Ford Learning Institute, develop proposals and pitch their concepts to a steering committee of Michigan business leaders.
More than 50 students, faculty, and community leaders participated this year, and the program concluded this month with $52,000 awarded in stipends and scholarship support.
A team from Alma College received the highest marks from the steering committee and faculty reviewers. The team proposed and presented its concept of “Alma Town Trail,” an enrichment app to connect students to local businesses and resources within their community.
Research Addresses Michigan’s Stagnated Population
Altarum and the Citizens Research Council of Michigan have released the first two papers in a five-part series entitled Michigan’s Path to a Prosperous Future: Challenges and Opportunities.
The Research Council and Altarum joined forces to address threats and present opportunity options, releasing a realistic, data-informed vision of Michigan’s future based on current trends and trajectories across multiple dimensions: demographic, economic, workforce, infrastructure, environment, and public services.
The papers focused on:
- Population and demographics
- Economy, workforce, and talent
The three remaining papers will be released over the course of the summer.
The research shows that Michigan has been losing ground over the past five decades in population growth, jobs, earnings, health, educational achievement, and the quality of public services at the state and local levels. Too few interstate immigrants target Michigan as a destination, international immigration has fallen, and too many young Michigan residents are leaving.
Absent policy changes and investments, Michigan’s current path will lead to a shrinking population and continuing declines in the state’s competitiveness and quality of life.
The research also indicates shows that, despite these statistics, there is opportunity to alter this path with policies that retain young residents and attract domestic and international immigrants to Michigan.
Today’s state and local political, business, community, and foundation leaders can restore Michigan’s economic engine and destination status through sustained, coordinated and equitable investments in the state and its people.
“As today’s research shows, to grow Michigan’s economy at a faster pace, there must be job opportunities and Michigan must be an attractive market to keep young residents from moving away and to attract people to the state,” says Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council.
Highlights from the research includes:
- Michigan’s population growth has lagged the nation for 50 years. From 2000 to 2020, Michigan grew slower than all but one state and is on a path to continue to grow slower than the rest of the country.
- More people are leaving for other states than are moving to Michigan. Michigan is projected to lose an additional 270,000 people on net to other states by 2050.
- Michigan’s population is older than average and getting older. By 2050, it is projected that the population of children and young adults will shrink by 6 percent, the working-age population will stagnate, and the population aged 65 and older will grow by 30 percent.
- Michigan’s population is projected to become more racially and ethnically diverse. Black, Hispanic, Asian, and other groups are growing while the non-Hispanic white population is declining. By 2050, 40 percent of the working-age population will be people of color.
“Michigan’s population and demographic challenges are significant but not unsurmountable,” says Ani Turner, program director at Altarum, who outlined three broad and overlapping goals to address the challenges:
- Retain Michigan’s current population, especially the state’s young people.
- Attract new people from around the country and the world.
- Invest in the skills, opportunities, and well-being of Michiganders.
To review all of the research, visit here.
Consumers Energy Says Its Prepared to Meet Michigan’s Summer Energy Needs
Consumers Energy in Jackson says it is “fully prepared” to meet Michigan’s energy needs as temperatures climb and air conditioners kick on this summer, adding a power plant to its fleet and continuing to accelerate Michigan’s clean energy transition to meet the needs of nearly 2 million Michigan homes and businesses.
“We’re seeing a once-in-a-generation transformation in the way we provide electricity, but our friends and neighbors should know Consumers Energy has planned ahead and is able to serve even on Michigan’s hottest days,” says Tim Sparks, vice president of electric supply for Consumers Energy. “With power sources across the state, from the shores of Lake Michigan to our hometown of Jackson, we want our customers to know Consumers Energy is ready.”
Consumers Energy reports that it’s continuing the rollout of its Clean Energy Plan, closing all of its coal-burning power plants on one of the nation’s most aggressive timeframes. Consumers Energy is following through on its plan to add clean energy sources. More than 60 percent of the power the company will provide customers will come from renewable energy by 2040.
To help ensure Michigan continues to have a reliable energy supply, Consumers Energy is set to bring the natural gas-fired Covert Generating Station in Van Buren County into its portfolio by June 1. The energy provider is in the final steps of purchasing the plant. Consumers Energy also operates Jackson and Zeeland natural gas plants.
Black Leaders Detroit Planning Ride for Equity May 21
Black Leaders Detroit will be starting its Ride for Equity, a 377-mile bike ride (a precursor to the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference) from Detroit to Mackinaw City to drive awareness for the need for more equitable funding for Detroit Black owned businesses and nonprofits.
The ride will begin at 8:45 a.m. May 21 at the University of Detroit Mercy. At 6:45, there will be a 6:45 a.m. sunrise church service at UDM’s Calihan Hall lead by Rev. Solomon W. Kinlock Jr., senior pastor of Triumph Church.
National Authors Visit 1,600 Detroit School Students
Three nationally acclaimed children’s and young adult-focused authors visited three Detroit public schools May 10-11 to connect with more than 1,600 K-8 students, read their books, and share the value of reading, writing, and creative thinking through Literacy for Kids’ Authors:IN-Detroit program.
The program included:
Matt De La Pena, a New York Times bestselling children’s author, the first Hispanic author to win the John Newbery Medal, and the author of seven young adult novels, including “Milo Imagines the World.”
Lesa Cline-Ransome, winner of NAACP Awards, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the Coretta Scott King Award Author Honor, and author of 14 books, including “Finding Langston.”
Kenneth Kraegel, winner of the Parent’s Choice Gold Award, New York Times Notable Children’s Book Award, and The Wall Street Journal’s Best Book of the Year, author of six books, including Green Pants.
Students from The Boggs School, Golightly Education Center and University Prep Science & Math Elementary School were gifted books as well as the chance to meet and interact with the authors.
“Our goal is to encourage these students to become lifelong readers,” says Heather Mertz, executive director of Literacy for Kids. “Reading is a way of escaping into our imagination and exploring other worlds. Through the Authors:IN-Detroit program, we are not only gifting books to kids but giving them the opportunity to meet the author and illustrator so they can be inspired by the art of creative expression and stretch their own talents and passions.”
Gale in Farmington Hills to Build and Install 21 Little Free Libraries in Detroit Neighborhoods
Employees of Gale in Farmington Hills is partnering with Brilliant Detroit and Little Free Library today to build 21 Little Free Libraries that will be installed in high-need neighborhoods across Detroit.
Each little library will be stocked with a variety of books, donated by Gale and its employees, for children and adults to inspire a lifelong love of reading. We invite local media outlets to come and cover the event.
A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book-sharing exchange. They come in many shapes and sizes, but the most common version is a small wooden box of books, that are often built by supporters or volunteers with their own unique, personal touch. Little Free Library book-sharing boxes provide 24/7 access to books in areas where books are scarce to encourage a love of reading.
Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Boggs Park Project in Detroit
The James and Grace Lee Boggs School in Detroit will expand its public space with the creation of Boggs Park, a universally accessible park and playscape designed to prioritize nature, art, rest, and play through the anticipated success of a crowdfunding campaign.
The Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) and the Boggs Educational Center Project Team are working with the Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity.
If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $75,000 by July 17, the project will win a matching grant with funds made possible by MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program. For project details and to donate, visit here.
“This project will create a universally accessible and innovative neighborhood park and provide new recreational opportunities for residents of this neighborhood in Detroit,” says Michele Wildman, executive vice president of economic development incentives at MEDC. “We are pleased to support and provide resources for this project to complete the space through our Public Spaces Community Places program.”
The funding from this campaign will allow for the creation of this inclusive community park complete with a playscape, public art, as well as performance, gathering, and green spaces. The park’s universal design recognizes the need for a broad range of options for community members of different ages, learning styles, and with variations in mobility. The space will include possibilities for gathering, relaxing, and playing including quiet garden seating, accessible play equipment, and terrain. This will allow ease of movement for inclusion in play as well as wheelchair-accessible picnic tables.
