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.
Rediscovering Detroit through City Institute’s April Learning Journey
City Institute, which offers a deeper understanding of Detroit’s assets, history, and challenges, will host an immersive tour experience around the city, April 6, for residents, community members, and business leaders in Detroit.
The “Learning Journey” is an immersive full-day experience that will focus on “Detroit as a classroom” and will include expert guides with local insight about the city. Breakfast, lunch, and motorcoach transportation will be provided by City Institute.
“People need access and understanding of the histories and cultures shaping our ever-evolving cities,” says Jeanette Pierce, founder of City Institute. “It’s easy to miss a city’s full story, and I care deeply about my city. When we have a deeper understanding of where we’re from, we understand how where we live shapes our everyday lives.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thecityinstitute.com.
Michigan’s Chip Industry Grows with Addition of indie Semiconductor
California-based indie Semiconductor says it plans to expand its office in Auburn Hills to include a best-in-class semiconductor design and testing facility, focusing on the development of highly innovative and integrated circuits and system solutions for the automotive market.
indie Semiconductor, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., designs next-generation automotive semiconductors and software platforms. The company focuses on developing “innovative, high-performance, and energy-efficient” technology for driver safety and automation (ADAS), user experience and electrification applications. indie has design centers and regional support offices across the U.S. and worldwide, including Auburn Hills, where it employs 26.
The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $12.5 million and create up to 180 high-wage jobs with the support of a $10 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen for the project over competing sites from a number of other states. indie selected Michigan for its next U.S.-based design location because of its automotive history and proximity to the North American operations of most automotive manufacturers and their electronic module suppliers.
For information, visit indiesemi.com.
Public Voting Begins Today in Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest
Public voting begins today in the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest powered by TechTown, the small business competition.
The public will vote on the 10 semifinalists who are in the running to win $100,000 in startup funds from Comerica Bank and make their dream of owning a brick-and-mortar Detroit, Hamtramck, or Highland Park storefront a reality.
Voting, which can be done here, closes at noon on April 12.
The four finalists of the 2023 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest will then be announced on Thursday, April 13, with the final round of public voting beginning at noon on Monday, April 24 and running through the completion of the pitch competition at the Hatch Off on Wednesday, April 26.
In-person voting is taking place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today and tomorrow at the following Detroit locations:
- Black Coffee Café, 9405 John R St.
- Detroit Pepper Co., 17180 E Warren Ave.
- Detroit Rosa, 19180 Grand River Ave.
“A key reason we believe our alumni have so much success in Detroit’s small business landscape is the overwhelming amount of support from the community,” says Christianne Malone, assistant vice president for economic development at Wayne State University and chief program officer of TechTown Detroit. “The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest has become a proven launching pad for budding entrepreneurs, not just because of the startup funding from Comerica Bank and expert counsel from TechTown Detroit and its partners, but because the public has a voice in which businesses they’d like to see set up shop in their neighborhoods, and they are dedicated to supporting those businesses.”
The 10 businesses finalists are:
- Bouncing Around the Motor City
- Chi Fan Le
- CLEAN Sneaker Care
- Highland Park Community Kitchen
- Ice Cream Detroit
- JP Makes & Bakes
- Konjo Me
- Next Chapter Books
- Sepia Coffee Project
- Shell Shock’d Tacos
On April 26, the top four in the voting will have the opportunity to present their business pitch to a panel of judges and a live audience, “Shark Tank” style, for a shot to win the grand prize at the Hatch Off competition, which will place at 6 p.m. at the Wayne State University Industry Innovation Center at 461 Burroughs St. in Detroit. To purchase tickets to the Hatch Off, visit HatchDetroit.com.
Class-action Lawsuit to Continue for Owners of Defective GMC, Chevy Diesel Trucks
A federal judge has certified seven classes of consumers in a lawsuit against General Motors Co. in Detroit, accusing the automaker of knowingly selling diesel trucks equipped with defective Bosch CP4 fuel pumps, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman and Hilliard Martinez Gonzalez.
The class-action lawsuit originally was filed Dec. 2, 2019, and states that due to the defective Bosch part, the following affected trucks with Duramax LGH engines could experience catastrophic failure and lead owners to costly repair bills: 2010-2011 Chevrolet Express, 2010-2011 GMC Savana, 2010-2011 GMC Sierra, 2011-2012 2500HD 3500 Silverado and 2011-2012 2500HD 3500 Sierra.
According to experts, the affected vehicles’ CP4 pump design is fragile and fundamentally flawed in several respects, and incompatible with diesel fuel sold in America. Due to the lack of proper lubrication in U.S. diesel, the fuel causes metal shavings to build up in the fuel system and engine, leading to unexpected total engine failure, the law firm states.
Repair costs range from $8,000-$20,000 and, since the “repair” consists of installing an identical replacement CP4 pump, still leaves owners with defective vehicles. Owners are therefore subject to the inconvenience of an unreliable vehicle, repair costs, and the potential safety hazard of unexpected engine failure. In addition to the costs of repair, owners are left with defective vehicles for which they overpaid or would not have purchased had they known about the defect.
In Judge Terrence G. Berg’s 53-page order, consumers’ claims were upheld under various state laws, and seven classes were certified for the states of California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The March 31 order also appointed class counsel, acknowledging the qualifications of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, Hilliard Martinez Gonzalez, and The Miller Law Firm P.C.
The court also upheld the claims of those owners who have not experienced the defect but have still been harmed through purchasing the defective vehicle: “…even those who have not yet experienced a failure have adequately alleged they have been damaged by overpaying for their vehicles as a consequence of GM’s failure to disclose the problems with the CP4 pump.”
For more information, visit here.
NextGen: Navigating a Recession Early in Your Career
ACG Detroit will host a panel discussion to discuss navigating an economic slowdown early in one’s career at 4:30 p.m. on April 20 at the Birmingham Community House. During the event, panelists will share their experience during the Great Recession and share advice for recession-proofing your career. Chris Letts, senior vice president at Morgan Stanley, will moderate the discussion, which will include Jasmeet Singh Marwah, managing director for Stout’s Valuation Advisory group; Tarah Ablett, senior tax manager at Clayton & McKervey; Jonathan Martone, deputy member-in-charge at Clark Hill; and Clay Vanderpool, senior vice president at PNC Business Credit.
For more information and to register, visit here.
Bissell Launches ‘New Breed of Clean’ Global Campaign
Bissell, the cleaning equipment manufacturer based in Walker (near Grand Rapids) is letting the dogs (and cats) out with its newest marketing campaign — A New Breed of Clean.
Bissell says pets are at the heart of everything it does, so the company tasked its new agency of record, McCann Worldgroup in Birmingham, with developing a new global brand campaign that brings the brand purpose to life — Bissell helping people and pets share happy, healthy homes.
The result is “A New Breed of Clean,” which launched in the United States, Germany, France, and Netherlands, with a UK launch planned for later this year. The first spots introduce Bissell’s new HydroSteam technology that went through hours of testing on real pet messes, and is being integrated into the company’s latest cleaning products like the CrossWave HydroSteam multi-surface cleaner that launched in February.
U-M Debate Team Finishes 2nd at National Tournament for 3rd Straight Year
For the third year in a row and seventh time overall, the Debate Team from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor earned second place at the collegiate National Debate Tournament at Wake Forest University in Virginia.
Seventy-eight teams with 156 competitors from 45 institutions participated in the 77th annual event.
U-M’s team of Kelly Phil, a junior from Taiwan majoring in political science; and Rafael Pierry, a senior from Monta Vista, Calif. majoring in political science and philosophy; lost to Wake Forest University in the final round of the tournament on a 4-1 decision.
Prior to the finals, Michigan’s verbal duo defeated teams in the elimination rounds from the University of Iowa, Wake Forest University, and Emory University.
For two other U-M teams, Joshua Harrington and Giorgio Rabbini reached the Elite Eight and David McDermott and Kelly Skoulikaris reached the elimination rounds of 32. U-M was one of three schools — Emory University and Wake Forest University — to have all three of their debate teams reach the elimination rounds.
