vol. 23, no. 46 november 12 – 18

http://www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 23, No. 46 N O V E M B E R 1 2 – 1 8 , 2 0 0 7 $2 a copy; $59 a year

THIS JUST INTHIS JUST INOakwood buys center inhopes of sharing with UM

Oakwood Healthcare Inc.has purchased the formerUnited Auto Workers/FordFamily Service and LearningCenter in Dearborn fromthe two organizations for$4.2 million.

The hospital is talkingwith the University of Michi-gan-Dearborn about waysthe hospital and UM canuse a portion of the build-ing’s 38,000 square feet toexpand joint programs.

“We’re exploring waysand negotiating terms thatwould allow us to bring theUM-Dearborn Child Devel-opment Center’s programsto the facility, making ourcollaboration more thanjust an agreement on paperbut a real bricks-and-mor-tar alliance,” said PaulaRivera-Kerr, Oakwood me-dia-relations officer.

The building also willhouse Oakwood’s Programfor Exceptional Families,which provides services tochildren with disabilitiesand their families, Rivera-Kerr said.

— Sherri Begin

Brembo buys Hayes’brake components biz

Hayes Lemmerz Internation-al Inc. said Friday it has soldits automotive brake-com-ponents division for about$58 million in cash to Farm-ington Hills-based BremboNorth America Inc.

Hayes’ brake plants — inHomer, Mich., and Apoda-ca, Mexico — make brakerotors and drums for NorthAmerican passenger carsand light trucks.

The division employsabout 250, including 64technical employees. Thedivision’s 2006 sales totaledabout $120 million.

Brembo said it plans toacquire all the stock of twoHayes Lemmerz subsid-iaries as well as the em-ployees.

Curno, Italy-based Brem-bo S.p.A. makes brakes forthe automotive, aftermar-ket, commercial-vehicleand racing industries and

NE

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©Entire contents copyright 2007 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved

Largest foundations,nonprofits, Pages 23, 24

Creative minds think alike.Find more through Crain’screative directory, Page 3

®

See This Just In, Page 2

CRAIN’S LISTSCRAIN’S LISTS

Canadians could beSanta to retailersDollar’s dive could lure buyers across border

Compliancecosts accrueeven if taxlikely to die

BY AMY LANE

CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

LANSING — George Lee estimatesthat his Warren tree care and land-scaping company has spent about$10,000 investigating and gettingready for Michigan’s new tax on ser-vices.

And that expense reflects just thecompensation — the employee hoursspent for Branch Tree Service staff to goto workshops, to read and analyzedata and information, to consult withaccountants and to make other prepa-rations.

“Ten thousand dollars to me is like$100,000 to somebody else. It’s a hugenumber,” said Lee, CEO of the 35-em-ployee company. “But if I don’t do it,the burden still falls to me, the busi-ness owner, to make sure that I have acomplete understanding of this tax”and comply.

Even as the 6 percent service taxmoves toward a likely death in theCapitol, businesses are racking up ac-counting, legal, computer-program-ming and other bills to prepare for itsDec. 1 start.

Compliance costs are central to theeffect the service tax is already hav-ing on Michigan businesses. Andthey’re why some business officialsare urging lawmakers to eradicatethe tax now rather than push its effec-

tive date to Dec. 20,as would happenwith one bill in theLegislature.

“The sooner youcan dispose of this is-sue, the better,” saidSarah Hubbard, vicepresident of govern-ment relations at theDetroit Regional Cham-ber. “By delaying the

implementation of it, it only means thatmy businesses will spend more moneypreparing to comply.”

Hubbard said costs of compliancevary from business to business. Andwith the tax still standing, she said, “Inno way are we advising them not tocontinue to try to figure this thing out.”

Elimination of the service tax tooka major step forward last week with

A step in transit

See Tax, Page 53

MORE DEALS FOR CANADIANSCost of

$1 Canadian $100 itemNovember in U.S. money in U.S.

1997 68 cents $147.061998 62 cents $161.291999 65 cents $153.852000 63 cents $158.732001 61 cents $163.93

2002 62 cents $161.292003 73 cents $136.99

2004 79 cents $126.582005 81 cents $123.462006 86 cents $116.282007 $1.04 $96.15Source: Anderson Economic Group L.L.C.

Troy could become regional center for buses, light railBY DANIEL DUGGAN

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

High hopes surround a planfor a $3 million transit center inTroy that is expected to spurwalkable development and con-nect the sprawling suburb toDetroit and other communities.

Regional planners say thecenter, near the edge of Birm-ingham, could act like a region-al transit point as the area’sstruggling transportation sys-tem develops around it.

Whether it’s the first step to-ward mass transit in the MotorCity or part of the growingTroy-Birmingham rail district,

it’s moving in theright direction,

said Richard

Blouse, presi-dent andCEO of theDetroit Re-gional Cham-ber.

“If we wantto stop the tal-ent-job drainand preservethe knowl-edge-based

jobs here, we have to create adifferent quality of life,” he saidat a two-day real estate confer-ence in Troy last week. “Masstransit is a very important piecefor an economic transforma-tion.”

The center was part of a tran-sit strategy presented at the

See Transit, Page 52

CN Railway

To Detroit

Big Beaver Rd.

Maple Rd.

Coolidge H

ighway

Eton S

t.

Woodward Ave.

DowntownBirmingham

Transit Center

Somerset Collection

Pavilions of Troy

Troy

Birmingham

Blouse

Hubbard

BY SHEENA HARRISON


Metro Detroit will be a shop-ping hot spot for Canadiansseeking deals on their holidaygifts this year, according to ananalysis by East Lansing-basedAnderson Economic Group L.L.C.

The declining value of theU.S. dollar and the increasingvalue of the Canadian dollarmeans goods and services arecheaper to buy in Michiganthan in Ontario.

And with more than 520,700Canadians living within anhour’s drive of Michigan bor-der crossings, Anderson Eco-nomic Group says many are

willing to drive up to two hoursto shop in Michigan to savemoney.

That means local stores like-ly will see an uptickin Canadian cus-tomers as theholiday shop-ping seasonswings intofull gear,said ScottWatkins, aconsultant withAnderson Eco-nomic Group.

“I’d suspect that the majorityof retailers will see this, partic-

IN TRANSITA proposedtransit centerbrings hopesof regionalconnectionsbetween Troy,Birminghamand possiblyDetroit.

See Holidays, Page 52

DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 11-12-07 A 1 CDB 11/9/2007 7:25 PM

reports about $1.1 billion in annu-al sales.

“This is another importantstep for Brembo in the NAFTA re-gion, where we already have astrong presence with 2006 sales ofapproximately $140 million,”Brembo Chairman Alberto Bom-bassei said in a statement.

The purchase of Hayes’ rotorbusiness “will greatly improveBrembo’s leadership position inthe North American brake-rotormarket,” Bombassei said.

Northville Township-basedHayes Lemmerz International(Nasdaq: HAYZ) is a supplier ofautomotive and commercialhighway wheels and other auto-motive components.

— Brent Snavely

Semco sale completed to Texasenergy company for $867M

A Texas energy company hascompleted its $867 million acqui-sition of Port Huron-based SemcoEnergy Inc.

Semco and Midland, Texas-based Cap Rock Holding Corp. an-nounced completion of the dealFriday.

Cap Rock Holding, throughsubsidiary Cap Rock Energy Corp.,transmits and distributes power

to residential and commercialcustomers in 28 Texas counties.The company owns no generatingplants and purchases powerwholesale.

Semco distributes natural gasto more than 400,000 customers inMichigan and Alaska, includingmore than 100,000 customers inSoutheast Michigan. Semco alsoowns and operates businesses in-volved in propane distribution,intrastate pipelines and natural-gas storage.

As a result of the acquisition,trading of Semco stock on the NewYork Stock Exchange was suspend-ed Friday, and the stock will bedelisted from the exchange.

— Amy Lane

OCC loses one chancellorcandidate; interviews start

The search for a new chancel-lor at Oakland Community Collegelost one of its four finalists lastweek when Alex Johnson, chan-cellor of Delgado Community Col-lege in New Orleans, withdrewhimself from contention, saidOCC Communications DirectorGeorge Cartsonis.

Interviews and candidate visitsbegin today and continue intonext week for the three remain-ing contenders. They are ThomasWatkins, Michigan’s superinten-dent of schools from 2001 to 2005;Brent Knight, president of MortonCollege in Cicero, Ill.; and Timothy

Meyer, former president of SaultCollege in Sault Ste. Marie, On-tario. The college’s board alsowill visit the remaining candi-dates’ own campuses, where ap-propriate, before making its finalselection Dec. 10.

— Chad Halcom

Chrysler puts 3 more parcelsof property on the market

Chrysler L.L.C. listed three moreparcels of property for sale lastweek, bringing the total of localproperty on the market to $100million.

A vacant 175-acre parcel in theOakland Technology Park inAuburn Hills was listed for $53.4million on real estate databaseCoStar.

Also listed is an occupied engi-neering building at 2301 Feather-stone Road in Auburn Hills, for$10.3 million, and an office build-ing at 14250 Plymouth Road in De-troit, for $10.5 million. The latestdeals come on the heels of fivelistings valued at $23 million,which were posted on real estateWeb sites two weeks ago.

— Daniel Duggan

Health care agency opensfirst Michigan office in Novi

Chicago-based health care andstaffing agency Brightstar Health-

care has opened its first Michiganoffice in Novi.

The company said in a releasethat its first Michigan fran-chisees, Keith and Cathy Angelocci,and their new location are part ofa plan to open 400 new franchisesand 40 new corporate locations bythe end of 2010.

— Sherri Begin

WOMC gets new assistantprogram director, host

Jay Towers, former co-host of“Motor City Middays” on CBS Ra-dio Inc.-owned WKRK FM 97.1, tookover Friday afternoon as assis-tant program director and host ofthe midday slot on oldies sisterstation WOMC FM 104.3.

Towers’ first show was fromaboard a Disney cruise ship inthe Bahamas, where he was re-porting for Fox’s Detroit affiliate,WJBK-TV2, said WOMC program-ming director Scott Walker.

Towers replaces Rick Hunter,who was filling in for Dana Ma-succi, who was let go in August.

— Bill Shea

Mackinac Partners winsturnaround of year award

Bloomfield Hills-based Mack-inac Partners L.L.C. has won the2007 Turnaround of the Year

Award from the Detroit chapterof the Turnaround ManagementAssociation.

Mackinac Partners won for itswork with Orlando-based Sunter-ra Corp. Sunterra was a timesharecompany that had filed for bank-ruptcy and been de-listed fromthe Nasdaq Stock Exchange. JimWeissenborn, one of Mackinac’smanaging partners, served as in-terim president and CEO of Sun-terra during its turnaround andengineered its sale in May to LasVegas-based Diamond ResortsL.L.C. The sale was valued at $700million, a 35 percent premiumover the value of the Sunterrastock.

— Tom Henderson

Zoo attendance up 9.5 percent for fiscal year

The Detroit Zoological Societysaid Friday the zoo passed the 1million mark in attendance, justseven months into its fiscal 2008year.

The society reported 1.01 mil-lion visitors through the end ofOctober. That compares with905,529 for the same period of itsfiscal 2007. The zoo had 51,000member households at the end ofOctober, compared with 47,000 atthe same time last year, said com-munications manager PatriciaMills Janeway.

— Sherri Begin

THIS JUST INTHIS JUST IN■ From Page 1

November 12, 2007CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 11-12-07 A 2 CDB 11/9/2007 7:26 PM Page 1

CRAIN’SINDEX

Giving more: PollyLedyard has learnedabout the Benevontechnique of fundraisingfirsthand. Page 11.

More time: Deadlineeased for $15 billionHumvee replacementvehicle. 0.

CRAIN’SINDEX

BANKRUPTCIES . . . . . . . . 44BRIEFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32BUSINESS DIARY . . . . . . . 36CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . 40CAPITOL BRIEFINGS . . . . . 41CLASSIFIED ADS. . . . . . . . 46EARNINGS. . . . . . . . . . . . . 34KEITH CRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . 8LETTERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9MARY KRAMER. . . . . . . . . . 9OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38RUMBLINGS . . . . . . . . . . . 54WEEK IN REVIEW . . . . . . . 54

These organizations appear in thisweek’s Crain’s Detroit Business:Association of FundraisingProfessionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12All Media Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Alternatives for Girls. . . . . . . . . . . . 11Anderson Economic Group . . . . . . . . 1Angelou Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Benevon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Bodman L.L.P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Branch Tree Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Carhartt Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19CB Richard Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Celebration Centers of America . . . 52Clear!Blue Communications . . . . . . 53College for Creative Studies . . . . . . 52Colina Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Comerica Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Community Foundation . . . . . . . 11, 16Compuware Corp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Detroit International Jazz FestivalFoundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Detroit Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . 19Detroit Metropolitan Airport . . . . . . 49Detroit Regional Chamber. . . . . . . . . 1Detroit Regional Mass Transit . . . . . 52Detroit Renaissance Inc. . . . . . . . . . 3DTE Energy Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15DTE Energy Corp. Foundation . . . . . 15Dura Automotive Systems Inc.. . . . . . 6Gensler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Gleaners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Ha-Lo Creative Marketing . . . . . . . . 52Hayes Lemmerz International . . . . . . 1Henry Ford Health System. . . . . . . . 21Insurance Institute of Michigan . . . 41Internal Revenue Service . . . . . . . . 44Lear Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Mack Avenue Records . . . . . . . . . . 19Macrovision Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Masco Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Masco Corp. Foundation. . . . . . . . . 15Michigan Dept. of Env. Quality . . . . 53Michigan Dept. of Transportation . . 52Michigan Dept. of Treasury . . . . 41, 53Michigan Manufacturers Assoc. . . . 53Michigan Retailers Association. . . . 52Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Mike Riehl’s Roseville Chrysler Jeep 48National Federation of Independent Business . . . . . . . . . 53

New Economy Strategies. . . . . . . . . 53Northwest Airline Corp.. . . . . . . . . . 49Oakwood Healthcare Inc. . . . . . . . . . 1Plante & Moran . . . . . . . . . 41, 42, 48REIS Northville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Sigma Gamma Association Juniors . 21Southwest Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . 12Tanger Outlet Center . . . . . . . . . . . 52The Guidance Center . . . . . . . . . . . 12Toyota U.S.A. Foundation . . . . . . . . 20Trammell Crow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. . . . . 3United Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 18University of Michigan . . . . . . . . . . 52University Microfilms Inc. . . . . . . . . 19Urban Land Institute . . . . . . . . . . . 52Valassis Communications Inc.. . . . . . 4Visteon Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52WADL-TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Wendel Duchscherer . . . . . . . . . . . 52

November 12, 2007 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 3

TRW proves true to its plansBY BRENT SNAVELY


TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.plans to move forward next yearwith the second phase of construc-tion at its proving grounds in LockeTownship near Fowlerville.

The project represents a total in-vestment of $16 million to $20 millionand demonstrates the company’scommitment to Michigan, saidThomas Oginsky, TRW’s chief engi-neer of vehicle development and

electronic braking systems.In today’s automotive climate,

that’s a lot of money, Oginsky said,even for TRW — a company expect-ing sales of $14.5 billion this year.

“We are frugal and we are cau-tious, but when there is a businessplan to support it, we have added it,”Oginsky said.

TRW evaluated 18-20 sites acrossMichigan before settling on LockeTownship, said Martin Brinkman,principal engineer for TRW. All the

sites were within an hour’s drive ofthe company’s global headquartersin Livonia.

The Locke Township property waspicked in part because TRW had todeal with only one owner. And thesite previously was a farm, whichmeant it was flat and didn’t requiremuch in the way of tree removal,Brinkman said.

TRW, an automotive supplier ofbrakes, steering systems andairbags, opened the first phase of a

132-acre automotive testing area inJuly and hosted a media event lastweek to demonstrate versions of itssteering and braking technology.

During the event, Oginsky saidTRW plans to purchase another 132acres next year.

Plans for Phase 2 include a vehicledevelopment building for up to 50 en-gineers and drivers, a 12-acre black-top vehicle dynamics area, a gravelperimeter road and a gravel test pad.

Supplier to continue building Michigan testing grounds

Metro Detroit gets creative in diversifying from autos

Lear struts out newline of leather fabrics

BY BRENT SNAVELY


Lear Corp. stepped outsideits comfort zone lastWednesday when it hosteda leather fashion show atthe Museum of ContemporaryArt Design in Detroit.

“This is a little bit of a differ-ent event for us,” Mel Stephens,Lear’s vice president of investor rela-tions, said before the show.

Male and female models wearingleather outfits inspired by Lear’sleather fabrics and colors were used tounveil Aventino, a new line of leatherseat fabrics from Lear.

Some automotive designers and ob-

servers said the event was a smart, boldmove that represents the direction thelocal automotive industry needs tomove toward. Others questionedwhether it will make a difference in an

industry where price often trumpsdesign.

“It’s very good that theydid this, and I think itwould be good if the indus-try would embrace it,”said Larry Erickson, chiefdesigner for strategic de-

sign at Ford Motor Co.“What Southeast Michigan

needs to do is it needs to em-brace the intellectual capital of its

workforce.”Much of the automotive industry’s

design work has migrated to Californiaover the years, Erickson said, whilemore of the industry’s advertisingwork has shifted to New York.

BY BILL SHEA


An online survey targeted atcompanies within metro De-troit’s creative community— from architecture to Web

design — is being launchedtoday as the initial step to pro-mote and support the region’screative economy.

The survey is part of a largerinitiative to build that econo-my and is an element of an $80million Road to Renaissanceeconomic revitalization planfor Southeast Michigan,

launched last year.

Survey results will be used to create an on-line map that will show the location and de-tails of each creative business or creative enti-ty, such as the College for Creative Studies.

The map will be part of a Web site to belaunched early next year by Crain’s Detroit Busi-ness that will focus solely on the creative-econ-omy assets of the region. Its intent is to be aone-stop clearinghouse of information forcompanies and individuals, especially youngprofessionals.

“The inventory and Web site can be used lo-cally to help build stronger links among compa-nies and individuals in the creative sector, aswell as market the region externally,” saidCrain’s Publisher Mary Kramer. “For younger

REBECCA COOK

A model sports Lear leather at the fashion event at the Museum ofContemporary Art Design last week.

From seats to runway

See Creative, Page 53

See TRW, Page 53

See Lear, Page 52

IS YOUR COMPANY CREATIVE?Is your company one of Southeast Michigan’s creative-economy assets?If so, Crain’s invites you to be part of its CreativeEconomy Inventory. This first-ever compilation willdocument companies in the following industries:advertising, architecture, art/historic preservation, digitalmedia, design, engineering, film/video production,marketing and music production, as well as many subsetsof these. For a complete list, check the survey on our Website, www.crainsdetroit.com/creative. CEOs, CFOs or human-resource managers are invited tocomplete the surveys on behalf of their companies.Crain’s will compile a master list of companies inthose industries, including their size by employment, tocreate a snapshot of the region’s creative economy.The inventory will be used to promote the region as aplace to find creative products and services and will beavailable for free access on a new Web site thatCrain’s will create (see story at right).A separate survey for individuals who work in thecreative-economy industries will gather opinionsabout the creative-business climate. That survey —being conducted by a consultant to Detroit RenaissanceInc., Washington-based New Economy Strategies Inc. —can be found on www.detroitrenaissance.com. Look forthe link to the Creative Business Climate Survey.


TAKING STOCK

BY BILL SHEA


A strong third-quarter showinghas at least temporarily reversedthe beating that coupon-makerValassis Communications Inc. hastaken on Wall Street since acquir-ing a major competitor earlierthis year.

On Tuesday, Livonia-basedValassis (NYSE: VCI) reportedrevenue up 144 percent to $607million during the quarter thatended Sept. 30. Net income wasup 148 percent, from $6.6 millionin the quarter a year ago to $16.4million.

Valassis stock saw a 21 percentboost in share value Tuesday to$12.87 after the third-quarter re-sults were announced. At the closeof trading Friday, the stock was at$12.99.

In 2005, shares traded at morethan $40, but continued pricing de-clines in Valassis’ core business —slick Sunday newspaper couponsknown as freestanding inserts —followed by the surprise an-nouncement of the $1.2 billion pur-chase of Windsor, Conn.-based di-rect-mail giant Advo Inc. and asubsequent lawsuit over the dealshattered investor confidence.

A second quarter that saw netincome drop 50 percent in thewake of the Advo deal’s finaliza-tion further depressed share val-ue. By Aug. 6, it reached a 52-weeklow of $7.67.

The third quarter was some-thing of a redemption for ValassisCEO Alan Schultz, who champi-oned the Advo deal and was underfire as the stock shed value, saidEd Atorino, managing directorand media analyst for The Bench-mark Co. L.L.C., based in New York.

“A lot of people on Wall Streetreally gave up on Valassis,” saidAtorino, who described the quar-ter as “spectacular.”

Next year will offer a better pic-ture of the Valassis-Advo mar-riage, he said.

“They’re still going through var-ious adjustments and rolling outnew products,” he said. “It’s still awork in progress.”

One area troubling Valassis isits freestanding-inserts business.Third-quarter revenue from free-standing inserts was $102 million,compared with $106 million in thethird quarter last year, while netincome from the inserts was down70.4 percent to $3.7 million from$12.5 million last year.

“Weak pricing has been plagu-ing FSI for years,” Atorino said.

New York-based Bear, Stearns &Co. Inc. analyst Alexia Quadranitermed the 3.8 percent freestand-ing-inserts revenue decline “betterthan expected” because freestand-ing-inserts pricing was down 10percent overall.

She said the decline wasn’t asbad because of more printingdates than usual in the third quar-

TAKING STOCKNEWS ABOUT DETROIT AREA PUBLIC COMPANIES

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Valassis sees 3Q jump, nothanks to freestanding inserts

ter compared with the secondquarter — something that won’thappen in the fourth quarter.Quadrani predicts fourth-quarterrevenue from freestanding insertsto decline 9.2 percent from thethird quarter.

The third-quarter revenue dropfrom the inserts wasn’t as severeas the previous quarter, whichwas a 16 percent drop-off from the2006 quarter, with a 74 percent de-cline in net income.

Valassis blames the third-quar-ter declines on what it termed anexpected drop in insert pricing.

Much of the freestanding-insertsdecline stems from an ongoingprice war with Valassis’ primarycompetitor, News America Marketing,a New York City-based subsidiaryof Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

Valassis filed a lawsuit againstNews America in January in theU.S. District Court for the Eastern Dis-trict of Michigan in Detroit, allegingantitrust regulation violations re-lated to freestanding-inserts pric-ing. The case is tentatively set fortrial in February.

Bob Recchia, Valassis’ CFO, saidthe freestanding-inserts volumesremain strong, and the revenue de-clines are solely because of theprice pressure from News America.

“It’s a continued product of thepricing environment,” he said.

For the first nine months of theyear, Valassis reported net incomeof $37.4 million or 78 cents a shareon revenue of $1.5 billion, com-pared with net income of $44.3 mil-lion or 93 cents on revenue of $757million during the same periodlast year. The earnings per share

are lower than a year ago mainlybecause Valassis in that time accu-mulated about $40 million in inter-est on the financing to acquireAdvo, Schultz said.

Still, analysts appear optimisticfor Valassis’ overall performancethis year. Quadrani adjusted herfourth-quarter earnings-per-shareprediction to 40 cents from 38cents, and she upped her full-yearestimate from $1.09 per share to$1.21.

That’s mainly based on thestrength of the Advo businesswithin Valassis, she wrote.

The combined Valassis-Advohas 15,000 advertisers worldwide,including 96 of the top 100 advertis-ers in the United States, and 7,500employees covering operations in22 states and nine countries.

Valassis sued Advo last sum-mer to get out of what was then a$1.3 billion deal, claiming thatAdvo misrepresented its long-term financial health. Advo coun-tersued to enforce the July 2006agreement, charging that Valas-sis’ court action amounted to buy-er’s remorse.

The two companies settled Dec.19, 2006, and the acquisition wascompleted March 2.

Valassis paid $1.2 billion, or$33.02 a share, for Advo and as-sumed refinancing of $125 millionin debt from the company.

To finance the deal, Valassisused an $870 million senior se-cured credit facility from a varietyof lenders, $540 million in seniornotes due in 2015 and cash.

Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626, [email protected]

STREET TALKTHIS WEEK’S STOCK TOTALS: 17 GAINERS, 50 LOSERS, 7 UNCHANGED

Valassis Communications Inc. $12.99 $10.58 22.78PSB Group Inc. 12.00 10.10 18.81Energy Conversion Devices Inc. 31.11 26.40 17.84Flagstar Bancorp Inc. 6.96 6.07 14.66Saga Communications Inc. 7.76 7.31 6.16Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc. 80.84 76.24 6.03Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. 13.94 13.47 3.49Universal Truckload Services Inc. 17.06 16.49 3.46Community Central Bank Corp. 7.30 7.20 1.39Comerica Inc. 44.94 44.61 0.74

General Motors Corp. $31.28 $36.99 -15.44Amerigon Inc. 16.54 19.05 -13.18Michigan Heritage Bancorp Inc. 7.75 8.85 -12.43Sun Communities Inc. 25.90 29.00 -10.69FNBH Bancorp Inc. 16.10 18.00 -10.56ArvinMeritor Inc. 12.83 14.28 -10.15Visteon Corp. 5.45 6.01 -9.32Champion Enterprises Inc. 10.40 11.41 -8.85Borders Group Inc. 12.78 13.99 -8.65Ford Motor Co. 8.20 8.95 -8.38

Source: Bloomberg News. From a list of publicly owned companies with headquartersin Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw or Livingston counties. Note: Stocks tradingat less than $5 are not included.

CDB’S TOP PERFORMERS

CDB’S LOW PERFORMERS

11/09 11/02 PERCENTCLOSE CLOSE CHANGE

11/09 11/02 PERCENTCLOSE CLOSE CHANGE

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

10.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.

10.



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BY ROBERT SHEREFKIN


Dura Automotive Systems Inc. hashanded out pink slips to hundredsof employees as it struggles toleave Chapter 11 bankruptcy reor-ganization. But if CEO Larry Den-ton ends up laid off, you won’tneed to feel sorry for him.

Denton would get $1.84 million ifterminated without cause, accord-ing to court documents. That’s justone of several possible scenarios.Denton does well under all of them.

“If the company is sold and Mr.Denton leaves, he could take home

as much as $5.7 million in sever-ance,” said Alexander Cwirko-Godycki of Equilar Inc. The RedwoodShores, Calif., company providesexecutive-compensation analysis.

Alternatively, if Rochester Hills-based Dura isn’t sold but emergesfrom Chapter 11, Denton could getmillions of dollars in new equity.

All of that is on top of his $1.2million in pay and bonus, plusstock valued at $1.2 million.

Dura is just the latest bankruptauto parts company to offer out-size rewards to its top boss. Thetrend has drawn criticism from

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POT OF GOLDDura CEO Larry Denton comes out ahead underalmost any scenario for his ailing company.

What if ... What Denton gets

He’s fired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.84 million

Dura is sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.7 million

He meets performance targets . . . . . 500,000 shares

He doesn’t meet targets . . . . . . . . . 0 shares

A reorganized Dura . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shares estimatedemerges from Chapter 11 at $41.4 million

with othermanagers

Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court documentsDenton

No matter Dura’s outcome, Denton in win-win unions and Congress.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.,has called for a review of executivecompensation in Chapter 11 cases.

At a subcommittee hearing April17, Conyers, the House JudiciaryCommittee chairman, heard aboutthe case of bankrupt Toledo-basedDana Corp., among others. Dana’sKey Employee Retention Plan wascited by the committee for its ex-cess. CEO Michael Burns was inline last year for $1.6 million in basesalary, up to $2 million in an annualincentive program and up to $3 mil-lion for a completion bonus.

A bankruptcy judge later ap-proved a more modest plan.

In their defense, CEOs who havesteered companies through Chap-ter 11 describe the process as nerve-racking and sharply different fromany previous experience. Nonehave said they would look for an op-portunity to do it again.

Dura was done in by Detroit au-tomakers’ sliding sales plus risingraw-material prices. The companyfiled for Chapter 11 protection inOctober 2006.

Denton’s financial package in2006 consisted of $1,160,410 insalary, bonuses and benefits. Thesewere supplemented by 500,000shares of stock that can be earnedif certain performance goals aremet over the next two years.

He also received a grant of 500,000“performance” shares. They have agrant-date face value of $1.2 million.If he fails to meet the performancetargets, the shares are forfeited, ac-cording to court records.

A reorganized Dura could bringthe juiciest plum. Denton and hismanagement team could get up to10 percent equity ownership in thenew company.

But Christina Stenson, an asso-ciate with Dura’s public relationsfirm, Brunswick Group L.L.C. in NewYork, points out that the amount ofequity Denton will get is up to thesenior bondholders who purchaseequity in a reorganized Dura. “Soit could be zero,” Stenson said.

Dura and its creditors called onfinancial advisers to establish theequity value of the company. Themidpoint in their estimates was$414 million. Management’s stakein then could be as much as $41.4million. Denton’s actual equitystake has yet to be determined.

“I would point out that the man-agement equity program reserves‘up to 10 percent’ of the new equityin Dura for management,” Stensonsaid in an e-mail to Crain’s. “Sothere’s really no telling at thispoint how much managers wouldget, if anything.”

Stenson also said Dura remainson track to exit Chapter 11 bank-ruptcy this year.

Last Thursday, Dura said U.S.Bankruptcy Court in Delaware ap-proved an engagement and feeagreement with Goldman Sachs Cred-it Partners L.P. and Barclays Capitalfor a $425 million line of credit. Theline of credit would be used to fundDura’s exit from bankruptcy andprovide for the company’s working-capital needs afterward.

Dura’s confirmation hearing isscheduled for Dec. 6.

From Automotive NewsBrent Snavely contributed to this

report


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Editor: As the state of Michigan contin-

ues its budgetary struggles, andbecause the Troy Chamber is con-cerned about Michigan’s future,I’d like to offer some food forthought.

The chamber’s concern is mani-fested with its support of the “Axthe Tax” coalition (“Lawmakersmull delaying service tax,” Oct.29) and as a host of a related newsconference. This is not to say,however, that the chamber hasconducted an in-depth analysisthat would enable it to make rec-ommendations regarding replace-ment funding, nor do we intend to.

We often look to our like-mind-ed colleagues, such as the Michi-gan and Detroit Regional cham-bers of commerce, for guidance oncomplex matters. Each of these or-ganizations has staff experts and aknowledge base enabling them toassume an educated position. Weappreciate all they do to advocate

for good business. With that said, however, if we

as constituents are expected to un-derstand every component of suchcomplex issues, the state of Michi-gan will continue to drop in therankings. What we need are edu-cated leaders who not only hirecompetent staff but who also areof a competitive mind-set and,therefore, willing to look at thebig picture to identify solutionsthat will fully fund core services,

while at the same time positionMichigan as an enlightened lead-er in retaining and attracting in-vestment.

Few individuals reading thisletter can be expected to know thefiner points of the budgetary chal-lenges, but we’re all certainly well-aware of the negative impacts. It isthe job of elected officials and pro-fessional staff to find and imple-ment constructive solutions. Thisis not happening so far.

Michele Hodges President

Troy Chamber of Commerce

We need term limitsEditor:

When George Washington wonthe Revolutionary War, he couldhave declared himself king. In-stead he told the Continental Con-gress that he was going to retireand return to being a private citi-

KEITH CRAIN:

OPINION

Nonprofits can digdeeper for donors

hat if a secret benefactor dropped $3 billion on the re-gion to be spent over the next eight years? Whatwould be the best use of the dollars to make Southeast

Michigan a more vibrant and successful place to live and work?That sum isn’t far-fetched. It’s available if private individu-

als from the World War II generation planned their estates in away that left a few dollars for community reinvestment (seestory, Page 11).

An estimated $69 billion in estate assets could be trans-ferred by 2015, according to the report, “Wealth Transfer inMichigan.” The report suggests that if just 5 percent of thatsum over the next eight years were earmarked for nonprofits,it would approach nearly $3.5 billion.

The report is timely. The Detroit chapter of the Associationof Fundraising Professionals holds its National PhilanthropyDay dinner Thursday, honoring individual and corporatedonors (see story, Page 19).

And United Way for Southeastern Michigan is making aplea to small and midsize companies to contribute toward the2007 Torch Drive campaign (see story, Page 18), which is falling$2 million short of its $59 million goal.

Yet philanthropy has been the catalyst to fund significantimprovements in the region, from the new Riverwalk alongthe Detroit River to Campus Martius Park, which has createda new town square. Southeast Michigan has many private in-dividuals and companies that believe in philanthropy.

It could use some more. This region can’t afford to continueto rely on the usual suspects.

Troy’s bipartisan bid brings mixed resultsTroy business and political leaders made a little history

last week when they backed a single slate for the nonpartisancity elections. The coalition included the political action com-mittee of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, the Troy Democrat-ic Club and the Troy Area Republican Club.

The coalition used a leadership-trait evaluation as part ofits deliberations that led to endorsing a single slate in lastTuesday’s elections.

Two of the slate’s four candidates for City Council won. Incumbent Martin Howrylak, the sole vote against the

Pavilions of Troy plan that would redevelop the former KmartCorp. headquarters site, was not endorsed by the coalition butwas the top vote-getter for a council seat.

Troy has long been an anchor for economic activity in Oak-land County and Southeast Michigan. This bipartisan effortyielded mixed results but can pay off for the long term by sup-porting leadership that’s pro-business and politically moderate.

KEITH CRAIN:

Leaders in Lansing need to … leadLETTERS

OPINION

LETTERS

As we went to press Friday, theDetroit Institute of Arts waspreparing for a welcome-back par-ty that was certainly the party ofthe decade and, so far, the DetroitParty of the Century.

The DIA has spent the pastmany months undergoing a hugetransformation. When it reopensto the public later this month, itwill become obvious to everyonein our nation just what a jewel wehave at the DIA. It ranks with thebest art museums in the world,and it’s an asset we in SoutheastMichigan can be proud of.

The Detroit communi-ty is blessed with manytruly magnificent cul-tural institutions in ad-dition to the DIA. I’msure to have forgottensome, but they includethe Detroit OperaHouse, the Detroit Sym-phony Orchestra, TheHenry Ford and the De-troit Zoo. Those last twoseem to endlessly vie forthe title as top tourist attraction.

All those give Detroit some ofthe best attractions for economic

development in thecountry. It is criticallyimportant for attrac-tion purposes to have agreat cultural commu-nity as well as highereducation and profes-sional sports teams.

Detroit has the goodfortune to have great re-sources in all those cat-egories. And now with awonderfully renovated

Detroit Institute of Arts, we haveanother asset to be proud of, onewe can promote to anyone who

might be considering a move or ex-pansion into Southeast Michigan.

I have often wondered whetherwe do a big enough job promotingour cultural and educational insti-tutions as such valuable assets foreconomic development. We havethe opportunity to let the worldknow that we have world-class in-stitutions that are supported byour community.

Those institutions should bepromoted right at the top of the listas to why a company — or a person— would want to relocate to South-east Michigan.

But now we have a particular op-portunity to be proud once again ofour Detroit Institute of Arts.Everyone should take advantage ofthis great art museum when it re-opens.

You will be very proud of themuseum and its great staff thathas sweated over the restoration.The entire community should bejustifiably proud.

Last Saturday, the city shined atthe grand celebration of this re-newal.

It’s a jewel that is once again upthere with any in the world.


Crain’s Detroit Businesswelcomes letters to the editor.All letters will be considered forpublication, provided they aresigned and do not defameindividuals or organizations.Letters may be edited for lengthand clarity.Write: Editor, Crain’s DetroitBusiness, 1155 Gratiot Ave.,Detroit, MI 48207-2997.E-mail: [email protected]

One of our best assets shines again

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Northwest income funds construction, equipment, trainingBY BILL SHEA


Northwest Airlines Corp. will useall of its $244 million third-quarternet income to pay for new and on-going infrastructure upgrades, in-cluding several projects at DetroitMetropolitan Airport.

The Eagan, Minn.-based airline,whose largest hub is Detroit Metrowith 500 daily flights, will spend“tens of millions” in Detroit, but aspecific amount hasn’t been calcu-lated, said Dean Breest, media re-lations manager for the carrier.

After losing billions of dollarsover several years, Northwestemerged from a two-year bank-ruptcy in May. The $244 millioncomes off of $3.3 billion in revenuein the third quarter, which endedSept. 30.

“We weren’t in a position tomake repairs and improvementand reinvest in the infrastructure”in past years, Breest said.

In Detroit, the profit will financea $2 million roof for the airline’s50,000-square-foot cargo buildingand a new baggage and securitybuilding now under construction.

The profits are also funding newequipment in Detroit — such asrunway tugs, baggage carts andhandling machinery — and willhelp pay off the $4.5 million expan-sion of the Northwest WorldClublounge that was completed earlierthis year.

The money also will be spent oncompanywide staff training, espe-cially those working with cus-tomers.

None will be used for executivebonuses, Breest said. Ten percentof the money is set aside for thecompany’s profit-sharing plan.

“There’s not going to be anywindfall” for executives, he said.

Some of the money will pay formodifications now under way toNorthwest’s 10 Boeing 757s to al-low them to fly to Europe, Breest

said. That includes reducing thenumber of seats to allow morespace for passengers. Northwestadded a route from Detroit to Dus-seldorf, Germany, in June.

Twenty percent of the third-quar-ter profits are earmarked for the air-line’s $6 billion modernization of its515-plane fleet. Northwest trimmedits fleet by more than 100 aircraftduring its recent bankruptcy.

It’s phasing in 122 new jets overthe next several years, including18 223-passenger Boeing 787s that

will be rolled out in Detroit in thefourth quarter of 2008. Northwestretains an option to order 50 more787s, which are long-distance jetscapable of reaching China.

On Sept. 25, the U.S. Departmentof Transportation awarded the air-line preliminary approval for adaily nonstop route between De-troit and Shanghai starting inMarch 2009. The route is expectedto tap into the expanding business-travel market to Asia.

The airline also is taking deliv-ery, through the end of next year,of 76 smaller jets, 76-seat Embraer175s and Bombardier CRJ900s ear-

marked for regional use. The third-quarter profit, an-

nounced two weeks ago, comes af-ter a rough summer for the airline.

Northwest estimated it lost $50million stemming from more than4,000 flights canceled in June andJuly because of air-crew staffingproblems.

Northwest (NYSE: NWA) re-solved those issues with a newwork-rule agreement with its pi-lots and a reduced flight schedule,and performance improved start-ing in August.


Riehl: Salesget boost■ From Page 48

ry-car sales.“Mike, over the years, has been

very prolific in thinking of newways to service this market area,”Eagan said.

Mike Riehl’s brother, Jim RiehlJr., owns Warren-based Jim Riehl’sFriendly Automotive Group Inc.,which sells several brands, includ-ing Chrysler and Jeep.

Terry O’Mara, general salesmanager for Jim Riehl’s, said JimRiehl Sr. instilled a sense of entre-preneurship in the brothers thathas encouraged them to expandtheir businesses over the years.

Jim Riehl Jr. was unavailablefor comment. But O’Mara saidRiehl has diversified his businessby adding brands such as Honda,Buick and Hummer.

“Their dad was a good man,”O’Mara said. “He knew his cars …and he taught them well.”

Mike Riehl said finding uniqueways to expand his dealership isjust one way that he has been ableto honor his father’s legacy.

“My father bought the businesswith the idea that we would be ful-ly committed to servicing every as-pect of our customers’ needs,”Riehl said. “That core missionhasn’t changed in 40 years.

Sheena Harrison: (313) 446-0325,[email protected]

Detroit cargo, baggage buildings will benefit


November 12, 2007CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESSPage 50

All Media sees being bought as just a startBY CHRISTINE SNYDER

SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

Ann Arbor-based All Media Guide’splanned purchase by Santa Clara,Calif.-based Macrovision Corp. couldpave the way for access to AMG’sproduct lineup to be preloaded ontocomputers and devices.

AMG owns one of the largest andmost comprehensive entertainmentdatabases and is most knownthrough its Web sites: www.allmusic.com, www.allmovie.com andwww.allgame.com.

Macrovision is a publicly held

content-protection and software-li-censing company (Nasdaq: MVSN).The company announced theplanned $82 million acquisitionlast Tuesday.

Macrovision, with clients insoftware, entertainment, gamingand information publishing, re-ported revenue last year of $240million.

AMG’s rapid growth rate — 32percent annually — is in large parta result of its database licensingagreements with major companiesand services such as Yahoo,Google, iTunes and Rhapsody.

AMG also owns media-recognitionand media-recommendation tech-nologies Lasso and Tapestry. AMGhas 115 employees.

Michael Buccheim, Macrovisionexecutive vice president, saidAMG’s operations will not be af-fected by the acquisition as far asrelocation, name change or down-sizing.

“We have no plan to downsize,”Buccheim said. “We plan to investin the team.”

He says that while AMG’s Websites have an impressive 120 mil-lion page views, Macrovision in-tends to increase that with promo-tions and marketing programs.

The Web sites will remain in-tact, said Buccheim, who works in

Macrovision’s distribution andcommerce business unit.

The sale is expected to close bythe end of the year. AMG is to berolled into the distribution busi-ness unit.

Buccheim said the acquisitionanticipates the eventual bundlingof a set of content services provid-ed as part of the infrastructure ofcomputers, iPods, iPhones or oth-er digital devices.

“You could reference it as an ‘In-tel inside’ or a ‘powered by,’ ” hesaid.

While today, consumers can findwhat they want on Web sites, thecompany must focus on “taking itto the next step and obviouslyworking with some of the devicemanufacturers so consumers canhave access to it in multiple differ-ent ways,” Buccheim said.

AMG President Karl Ryser saidthe company has become so imbed-ded in the online culture that mostpeople don’t realize where it comesfrom.

“I think we are the Switzerlandof the digital age,” he said. “A lot ofpeople do their banking in Switzer-land, but they don’t necessarilyknow that they are going throughthose accounts. And such is thecase with us.”

Ryser said the industry is on thecusp of more major change.

“I really believe the way inwhich people use music is going tochange dramatically, shortly,” hesaid.

One of the biggest challenges atAMG, he said, was not only keep-ing its exhaustive databases up todate but also keeping abreast ofnew distribution channels.

“People aren’t going to be listen-ing to albums going out; they willbe listening to moods, themes,”Ryser said. “The way in which peo-ple use music to either enhancetheir own products and/or fortheir own personal enjoyment willnever go out of style. … Just theway we actually utilize the musicor incorporate it is the challenge.

“One of the things we never takefor granted is that our job is done.Never, ever, ever can we say we’redone. There’s too much materialbeing produced around the coun-try and around the world.”

Mary Laplante, senior analyst atGilbane Group, a Cambridge, Mass.-based content and information-technology consulting and analysisfirm, said: “This acquisition willnever be visible to users, but it willenable them to get the content theywant by tapping into this databasethat AMG owns.

“The acquisition enriches Mac-rovision’s ability to really providethe consumer with a great enter-tainment experience.

“I’ve got a stack of vinyl albumsin my basement. I’m in my mid-50s, and I find the way I buy musicis totally different. There’s onesong on the new Robert Plant (al-bum) ... that I just love. Will I buythe whole CD for $14? I don’t know.… But I will buy the piece of music.That’s a change, and the industryis never going back.”

We have no planto downsize. We plan

to invest in the team.Michael Buccheim, Macrovision Corp.

”

“



Staffing firms expect Chryslercontract workers to find jobs

BY CHAD HALCOM


Staffing companies in SoutheastMichigan expect most of the 1,000or so contract employees leavingChrysler L.L.C. under the company’scutbacks to find new jobs.

But flexibility could be impor-tant. Some new jobs may be in newindustries, or even new cities.

“I’d be surprised if it became amatter of months to place” theworkers, said Steve Armstrong, se-nior vice president of the technical-services group at Kelly Services Inc.

“But we’re also coming up on atime of year when some contractemployees may not want to beworking anyway,” he said. “Somewith family plans may wait, andsome companies prefer to make de-cisions after the first of the year.”

This month, Chrysler an-nounced that it would eliminateabout 37 percent of its nearly 3,000supplemental or contract workerscompanywide. Up to 1,000 of the9,500 to 12,000 people leaving thecompany are on the payroll ofstaffing services.

Chrysler has said many positionsare in engineering, informationtechnology, procurement and somemanufacturing-related positions. Avast majority of cuts will be amongunionized hourly workers.

Armstrong said his company al-ready has learned that some con-

tractors getting the ax are Kellyemployees — mostly in engineer-ing — but it was too early to gaugethe total effect. The announced jobcuts will be complete in late De-cember, Chrysler has said.

“Most of the contract workers inthis segment have a kind of free-agent approach, more than some ofthose who have a direct employ-er,” he said. “They are in demandand are good at self-marketing,and they’re very flexible. Somemay move to take a position in an-other market, knowing in sixmonths they’ll be back again inSoutheast Michigan.”

Claudette Cunitz, senior vicepresident of G-Tech ProfessionalStaffing Inc. in Dearborn and an ex-ecutive board member of the Ameri-can Staffing Association, said hercompany has lost about 10 percentof its presence at Chrysler — about200-225 workers — and anticipatesmore cuts. “But we’ve already re-placed and even started a few ofthem at new positions, so I’m opti-mistic,” she said.

Armstrong said Kelly will firsttry to place its workers locally, buta logical next step would be to turnto other industries and other ma-jor cities or focus on the workers’skill sets. Easiest to place will bethose who can “shift to parallel in-dustries” such as in IT or designwork, he said.

Chrysler declined to break down

the staffing companies affected bythe cuts, but Bloomfield Hills-basedTAC Automotive is likely to shouldera large share. The company bills it-self as the “primary technicalstaffing firm” for the automaker.

James Cowper, senior vice pres-ident of TAC Automotive, did notreturn phone calls.

Cynthia Pasky, president andCEO of Strategic Staffing SolutionsInc. in Detroit, said her companydoes not have placement contractswith Chrysler, but she sees an op-portunity for her company andothers to recruit new talent amongthose who lost jobs.

“If you’re an IT professionalthat’s more specialized to a specificinstitution, like some of ours in fi-nance have also specific skills in fi-nance, that may be more difficult tocross over,” she said. “But if you’reinvolved in building IT infrastruc-ture for a company, that’s some-thing you can do in any industryand through any (staffing) agency.”

Cathy Sparling, vice president ofadministrative services at ArcadiaResources Inc. in Southfield, said Ar-cadia does not have a Chrysler ac-count and does business only withsome “secondary suppliers.”

So far, however, she has notseen any job losses or a drop in la-bor demand because of any falloutfrom the cuts.

Chad Halcom: (313) 446-6796,[email protected]

BY SHEENA HARRISON


Both REIS Northville L.L.C. andNorthville Township say they’re pre-pared to fight a lengthy court bat-tle over REIS’ plans for theNorthville Psychiatric Hospital site.

REIS filed suit last week inWayne County Circuit Court againstthe township for the right to buildan $800 million mixed-use project,called Highwood, at the site.

The suit, which also seeks dam-ages of more than $25,000, namesas defendants the township, itsboard of trustees as a group and in-dividuals, and the township Plan-ning Commission.

REIS is a joint venture of Bloom-field Hills-based Real Estate Inter-ests Group Inc. and Livonia-basedSchostak Bros. & Co. Inc. The devel-oper wants to build 42.2 acres of re-tail space, medical-office space and1,000 residential units on the 414-acre site at the southwest corner ofHaggerty and Seven Mile roads.

Township Manager Chip Snidersaid the township thinks the casecould take two to three years, andNorthville doesn’t plan to offer asettlement.

Last week, the case was turnedover to the township’s insurance

carrier, the Livonia-based Michi-gan Municipal Risk Management Au-thority, which has 21 days to re-spond to the complaint.

“We expect to see (SchostakBros. co-President Robert)Schostak and his team in thecourtroom as soon as possible,”Snider said.

REIS filed the suit with the ex-pectation that Northville Town-ship will fight it out in court, SteveMitchell, chairman of East Lans-ing-based Mitchell Research & Com-munications Inc., said in a state-ment Wednesday. Mitchellrepresents REIS.

“We fully expected them to wantto go to court, given the tenor ofthe comments they’ve been mak-ing,” Mitchell said.

REIS won the state-owned prop-erty with a $31.5 million bid duringan auction in May 2005 and closedon the parcel late last month.

As Crain’s reported in August,the Highwood project has beenstalled since April becauseNorthville Township and REIScan’t agree on several terms, suchas the amount of retail at the siteand paying for the cleanup of envi-ronmental and medical waste.

Sheena Harrison: (313) 446-0325,[email protected]

Fight over hospitalsite could be lengthy



And what remains of the automotive cre-ative community in metro Detroit oftenseems to be segmented between the advertis-ing and design community and the generalarts community, with little crossover, Er-ickson said.

But events such as Lear’s fashion showcould help bring the automotive industry’screative community together and evencould attract talent, Erickson said.

“One of the things people look for nowa-days is not just the bottom line on the pay-check,” he said. “They look for things thatmake them creative and keep them creative.”

Erickson’s wife, Sally Erickson Wilson,thought Lear hit the bull’s-eye with some ofits colors and designs but missed the markwith others.

Still, Wilson thought the overall eventwas ambitious and carefully thought-out.

“It struck me that what Lear is really do-ing here is repositioning themselves withinthe design community,” said Wilson, an in-structor at the College for Creative Studieswho previously worked in the design depart-ments at Ford and European automakersPSA/Peugeot -Citroen SA and Fiat Auto S.p.A.

“Are they no longer the manufacturingarm of the creative teams within the (origi-nal-equipment manufacturers)? Are theynow the visionaries, positioning themselves

as a couture house? I hope they can doboth,” she said.

Lear, one of the world’s largest seat manu-facturers, has been cutting its own leathersince 1998. But the launch of Aventino marksthe first time the supplier has decided tomanage the finishing, embossing, grainingand color development of the leather with itsown people.

Mandy Sarotte, Lear’s director of sales forfoam and trim operations, said the nameAventino was inspired by one of the sevenhills east of Rome that define luxury andquality.

“It really embodies the characteristicsthat we wanted to have associated with ourproduct,” Sarotte said.

Lear is expecting total revenue of about

$15 billion this year. Sales from Lear’s seat-ing division topped $9.1 billion during thefirst nine months of this year.

Over the past year or so, Lear has added650 people at a plant in Juarez, Mexico, andhas assembled 15 designers and sales execu-tives in Southfield.

Lear’s 151,000-square-foot plant in Mexicois capable of finishing 3,700 to 6,000 hides aday. In the past several months, Lear hasopened leather showrooms in Southfieldand Juarez.

Lear’s first leather hides were producedlast December, introduced to customers forfeedback, then were adjusted, said RayScott, senior vice president of the company’sNorth American Seating Systems.

Scott said Lear took greater control of itsleather design and manufacturing becauseit thinks the amount of leather used in theautomotive industry is going to increase.

“Lear’s economies of scale can result in aworld-class competitive pricing model,” hesaid. “Last year, more than 4 million vehi-cles were tailored with Lear seating. Thismakes Lear the world’s largest supplier ofautomotive leather products.”

In the United States, about 30 percent to 35percent of all cars and light trucks haveleather seats. In Europe, that percentage ishigher, said Jeff Edwards, Lear’s vice presi-

dent of trim and foam operations.The day after Lear’s fashion show, Tanya

Sepell, a design leader for Van Buren Town-ship-based automotive supplier Visteon Corp.,still had mixed thoughts about the show andits goals.

“They went to a lot of trouble yesterday tostart off with a good impact,” Sepell said. “Iheard a few other people say it was a littleover the top, but I kind of liked it.”

The bottom line, she said, is that Lear’ssuccess will depend less on hip design andcolor trends than on what the automakers’purchasing departments think.

“Whether or not they will be cost-competi-tive I guess is yet to be seen,” Sepell said. “Ithink they actually want to place thatleather at the higher end of the scale, and Iknow that many of the car manufacturersare not going to want to pay the price.”

Lear is confident in its plan. Already, thecompany’s leather is on the new HyundaiSonata and the Hyundai Santa Fe, Scottsaid. Plus, Lear is in discussions with sever-al additional automakers.

“One of the benefits we can offer the cus-tomer, as we take on this vertical integra-tion, is an improvement in quality and animprovement in price,” Scott said.

Brent Snavely: (313) 446-0405; [email protected]

ularly those that are selling consumer goods anditems that will be purchased as holiday gifts,”Watkins said.

The savings can be substantial. For instance, aSony 60-inch LCD television was priced at $2,089.99at U.S. Best Buy stores but sells for $2,199.99 in Cana-dian Best Buy stores. When the Canadian price isconverted to U.S. dollars — $2,287.99 — shopperssave about $198 by crossing the border.

Other products sampled by Anderson EconomicGroup showed that Canadian shoppers can save $126on a Nikon digital camera, $5.55 on a “Spiderman 3”DVD and 46 cents on a McDonald’s double cheese-burger in Michigan.

Americans pay slightly less in taxes on such itemsthan Canadians, Watkins said. Canadians also aregranted some exemptions on duties and taxes basedon how long they stay in the United States.

Canadians who stay in the United States for morethan 24 hours can return with $50 Canadian worth ofgoods without paying duty. The exemption goes up to$200 Canadian if they stay more than 48 hours and to$750 Canadian if they stay more than seven days.

They also may have more money to spend inMichigan. According to Anderson Economic Group,the median family income in Canada was $69,750 in2005 or $75,200 in today’s U.S. dollars. That compareswith a median household income of $46,039 forMichigan families in 2005.

“There’s quite a bit of income on that side of the riv-er that can be spent in metro Detroit,” Watkins said.

Kimberly Dane, general manager of Tanger OutletCenter in Howell, said her mall has hosted 40 shop-ping groups of 20 or more people this year, at leastfive of which have come from Canada.

Dane said the center will know in a couple weekswhether the number of Canadian shoppers hasgrown during the holiday season. Tanger would wel-come an increase.

“It would only be positive for all of us,” Dane said.“We would have more shoppers available in thearea.”

Anderson Economic Group was not able to projectthe impact of Canadians shopping in Michigan forthe holidays. But Watkins said any additional salesfrom across the border should help some strugglingretailers.

“There should be some benefit from it,” Watkinssaid. “However the economic woes in Michigan aremonumental enough that even if Canadians wereto do the majority of their shopping in Michigan, itwouldn’t be enough to set any records for retail-ers.”

Watkins said stores that sell durable goods, suchas large appliances, may not see much of a benefitbecause the cost of transporting such items back toCanada could outweigh the retail savings.

Still, it’s good news for Michigan retailers, whoprojected holiday sales growth of 2.2 percent overthe past year, according to a survey by the MichiganRetailers Association.

That’s the most subdued holiday sales projectionthe Lansing-based association has seen since it be-gan compiling its monthly Michigan Retail Index in1994, said Tom Scott, vice president of public affairsand communications.

Sheena Harrison: (313) 446-0325, [email protected]

WHAT CANADIANS SAVECanada Canadian price U.S.

Item price in U.S. dollars price Savings

Sony 60” SXRD LCD projection HDTV $2,199.99 $2,287.99 $2,089.99 $198.00

Nikon D40 6.1MP digital SLR camera $649.99 $675.99 $549.99 $126.00

Two NBA basketball tickets $119.98 $124.78 $110.00 $14.78(Pistons or Raptors)

Friday night downtown hotel $176.49 $183.55 $159.85 $23.70

McDonald’s double cheeseburger $1.39 $1.45 $.99 $.46

“Spider-Man 3” DVD $19.63 $20.42 $14.87 $5.55

Source: Anderson Economic Group L.L.C.

Lear: Struts out new line of leather fabric at fashion show■ From Page 3

Holidays: Canadians mayspendhere■ From Page 1

Transit: Troy center eyed■ From Page 1

conference by the University ofMichigan and the Urban Land Insti-tute. Crain’s was an event sponsor.

Plans for a transit center origi-nated with the retail developmentMidtown Crossings, at Maple andCoolidge, by Grand Sakwa PropertiesL.L.C. As part of the project, thecompany agreed to give the city ofTroy 3 acres of land to use for thecenter.

Troy is overseeing the project,with funding to be provided by theMichigan Department of Transporta-tion. The New York architecturalfirm Wendel Duchscherer has beenretained, but a design concept isnot expected for another year.

The structure would be builtalong the Amtrak railroad linesouth of Maple Road and west ofCoolidge Highway, behind Mid-town Crossings.

Under terms of the Grand Sakwaagreement, the center must bebuilt by 2010 or the land reverts tothe company.

The transit center could includea commuter rail to Detroit, plan-ners say. It also could be used as ahub for existing bus routes andpossibly a streetcar or light-railsystem to move people from down-town Birmingham to the proposedPavilions of Troy development atBig Beaver and Coolidge, and thento Somerset Collection.

Transportation dovetails withthe city of Troy’s plans for a re-vived Big Beaver corridor that in-cludes more mixed-use develop-ments involving retail, office andresidential along a six-mile stretch.

Detroit is far behind other citiesin its mass transit, said Christo-pher Leinberger, a UM professorand development consultant wholed a study of the Troy TransitCenter and presented it last week.

“You might think Detroiterswon’t leave their cars; that they say,‘You have to rip my dead fingers

from the steering wheel when I’mdead,’ ” he said. “But walkable de-velopments have been built in a lotof other cities in the last 20 years.”

Leinberger pointed to economicincentives for the private sector aswell, citing a 40 percent to 200 per-cent premium on investment inreal estate near mass transit.

The plans already are spurringdevelopment in the area. LindenNelson, CEO of Celebration Centersof America, is planning a retail andoffice development on 17 acres nextto the transit center area, with theidea of building residential compo-nents in future phases.

He acquired the land 15 yearsago as part of the now-defunctbusiness he owned, Ha-Lo CreativeConcepts in Marketing.

“We have three or four letters ofintent (from retailers) right now,and that has a lot to do with thetransit center,” he said during theUrban Land Institute conference.

Challenges still loom, said JohnHertel, CEO of Detroit Regional MassTransit, who is working to find a po-litical compromise between thecity of Detroit and Oakland, Wayneand Macomb counties.

In the past 50 years, 30 planshave been proposed for masstransportation in the Detroit area,he said. Every time, the same prob-lems arise.

“There’s a real short list of whynot to do this, and it turns out to bethe cost,” he said. “Who pays for it?That’s the question that comes up.”

If the area’s private sector andgovernmental leadership can’tfind common ground, it will lose agolden opportunity, Hertel said.

“What’s going on here is a chal-lenge of what will keep our chil-dren here, what will keep us hereand what will keep our businesseshere,” he said.

Daniel Duggan: (313) 446-0414;[email protected]

What Lear is reallydoing here is repositioning

themselves within thedesign community.

Sally Erickson Wilson, College for Creative Studies

”

“

DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 11-12-07 A 52,53 CDB 11/9/2007 6:03 PM Page 1


www.crainsdetroit.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Keith E. CrainPUBLISHER Mary Kramer, (313) 446-0399 [email protected] PUBLISHER Christopher Crain, (313)446-1645 or [email protected] EDITOR Cindy Goodaker, (313) 446-0460 or [email protected] EDITOR Andy Chapelle, (313) 446-0402 or [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR/FOCUS JennetteSmith, (313) 446-1622 or [email protected] LIVES EDITOR Michelle Darwish, (313)446-1621 or [email protected] EDITOR Nancy Clark, (313) 446-1608or [email protected] EDITOR Vic Doucette, (313) 446-0410 or [email protected] EDITOR Anne Marks, (313) 446-0418 [email protected] EDITOR Kevin Hill, (313) 446-0473 [email protected] DESIGNER/PRODUCER Ai-Ting Huang,(313) 446-0403, [email protected] SUPPORT Anita Duncan, (313) 446-0329; Joanne Scharich, (313) 446-0419NEWSROOM (313) 446-0329, FAX (313) 446-1687 TIP LINE (313) 446-6766

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Creatives: Survey first step in identifying creatives■ From Page 3

Oginsky said the second phase of the develop-ment represents an investment of about $8 mil-lion.

TRW Automotive plans to build the thirdphase of its proving grounds between 2010 and2012. Those plans include a 1.1-mile vehicle-handling course, a two-mile track and, possi-bly, a building to house an occupant-safetycrash-testing sled.

Locke Township, just outside Fowlerville,has approved all phases of the site plan, and theMichigan Department of Environmental Quality hasapproved required wetland cleanup efforts,

Brinkman said. TRW already has spent about$8 million to build a two-lane test road, a 900-foot ceramic-tile straightaway that simulatesthe effect of ice and a 900-foot straightaway forwet-surface tests.

The company decided to build the new prov-ing grounds after evaluating its provinggrounds in Florida, Oginsky sad.

“There came a point where we were going toeither put in a significant investment downthere or start new,” he said.

TRW also operates proving grounds in Raco inthe Upper Peninsula; Delta Junction, Alaska; and

nine locations in other countries.By building the proving grounds in Michi-

gan, Oginsky said, the company was able to becloser to more TRW employees and make betteruse of a limited number of test cars provided bycustomers.

TRW has not asked for or received any tax in-centives. But the company said it still would beable to pursue such a request as it completesthe project.

Brent Snavely: (313) 446-0405; [email protected]

professionals especially, it’s important theyknow they don’t have to go to Chicago or NewYork. There’s a tradition of creativity righthere.”

Diversification of the area’s economy awayfrom reliance on the automotive industry isone of the plan’s objectives.

“This probably is one of the most aggressive,comprehensive efforts to mobilize a creativeeconomy as a way to diversify Detroit,” saidDoug Rothwell, president of Detroit RenaissanceInc., the nonprofit CEO council representingthe region’s major employers. The organizationis leading the Road to Renaissance.

Rothwell also said there will be a majorpush to market the region’s creative economyoverseas.

“Detroit’s brand image is much better in-ternationally than nationally,” he said. “Ittakes less effort and there’s more payoff to at-tract international investment.”

Rothwell and other local leaders are speak-ing this week at a forum in London that willaddress how regions such as Detroit are build-ing on their creative industries as way to di-versify.

Companies that want to be included in theinventory can find an online survey atwww.crainsdetroit.com/creative.

Crain’s is one of five vendors to be awardedcontracts recently by Detroit Renaissance to

launch aspects of the creative-economy effort.The four others are:

� The Detroit office of San Francisco-basedarchitects Gensler, which will plan a creativecorridor that stretches along Woodward Av-enue from downtown to the New Center atGrand Boulevard.

� Birmingham-based Clear!Blue Communica-tions, which will handle branding and market-ing of the corridor.

� Washington-based New Economy Strate-gies Inc., which will design and provide thestrategy for a creative business acceleratorwithin the corridor.

� Austin, Texas-based AngelouEconomics Inc.,which will develop a creative-economy busi-ness-attraction strategy for the region.

The Road to Renaissance is part of thewider One D collaborative effort by six region-al civic groups working together on five prior-ities for the region.

The groups are the Detroit Metro Convention& Visitors Bureau, the Detroit Regional Chamber,Detroit Renaissance, New Detroit, United Wayfor Southeastern Michigan and the Cultural Al-liance of Southeastern Michigan.

The five priorities are economic prosperity,educational preparedness, regional transit,race relations and quality of life, with region-al collaboration as an umbrella over all.


TRW: Supplier to continue building testing grounds■ From Page 3

Editor will supervise creative siteMichelle Darwish, 25, has been named edi-

tor of the new creative-economy Web site thatCrain’s Detroit Business will develop for De-troit Renaissance Inc.’s creative-economyplan.

Darwish also will be edi-tor of the monthly “Busi-ness Lives” section that ap-pears in the print edition ofCrain’s on the first Mondayof each month.

Darwish has a bachelor’sdegree in communicationsfrom the University ofMichigan-Dearborn and amaster’s degree in journal-ism from the Medill School

of Journalism at Northwestern University.She had been a reporting intern at Crain’s

Detroit Business and Automotive News in 2003-05 while an undergraduate.

Before joining Crain’s last month, she wascorporate communications manager for BlueLine Foodservice Distribution in FarmingtonHills, a subsidiary of Ilitch Holdings Inc.

Michelle can be reached at [email protected].

Darwish

Tax: Compliance costs accrue even if service tax dies■ From Page 1

House passage of a bill that repealsthe tax and replaces it with a sur-charge on Michigan’s businesstax.

House Bill 5408, sponsored byRep. Andy Coulouris, D-Saginaw,is designed to replace the $751 mil-lion in revenue the service tax isestimated to generate.

In 2008, the bill would impose a32.9 percent surcharge on the taxliability of businesses that pay theMichigan Business Tax. The sur-charge would drop to 27.3 percentfor the 2009 tax year and beyond.

According to the Michigan De-partment of Treasury, about 110,000businesses would be subject to thesurcharge.

Of that group, 70,000 to 77,000would actually pay the surcharge,while about 40,000 businesseswould see their surcharge wipedout by the MBT’s existing small-business credit.

However, some small businessesstill will pay the surcharge, saidCharlie Owens, director of the Na-tional Federation of Independent Busi-ness-Michigan.

The total amount of the sur-

charge would be capped at $2 mil-lion for each taxpaying business.That helps about 30 large compa-nies, including retail, manufactur-ing, communications and utilitybusinesses. The cap provides thosebusinesses with a collective $75million in savings, compared withthe surcharge they would pay ifthe cap were not in place.

The surcharge would not applyto insurance companies.

Financial institutions wouldpay an alternative surcharge of27.7 percent in 2008 and 23.4 per-cent for 2009 and beyond, and theywould not be subject to the $2 mil-lion cap.

The revenue solution moved tothe Senate amid a divided businesscommunity. Some business groups,such as the Detroit chamber andthe Michigan Manufacturers Associa-tion, see the MBT surcharge as theonly viable option to quickly killthe widely opposed service tax.

But others disagree. A group that includes the NFIB,

the Michigan Association of HomeBuilders, the Michigan Grocers Associ-ation, the Michigan Restaurant Asso-

ciation, the Michigan Association ofInsurance Agents and the AssociatedBuilders and Contractors of Michigansays that if tax increases are need-ed to repeal the service tax, theyshould be broad-based levies on alltaxpayers, such as an increase inMichigan’s sales or income tax.

Tax increases shouldn’t be tar-geted at the “already-strugglingbusiness community,” the associa-tions said last week. They also saidbudget cuts should be the first so-lution to provide a repeal of theservice tax.

The NFIB’s Owens said he isconcerned about altering the MBTbefore the implications of that newtax have unfolded. The MichiganBusiness Tax, passed by lawmak-ers in June, replaces Michigan’ssingle-business tax and takes ef-fect Jan. 1.

“You have unintended conse-quences that haven’t shaken out yet,and you’re going to magnify thosewith a surcharge,” Owens said.

Others, however, say that com-pared to the service tax, the MBTsolution has the advantage of pro-viding certainty, such as in the

area of compliance.“The cost of compliance is one of

the things that worries us themost” about the service tax, saidthe Detroit chamber’s Hubbard.“The Michigan Business Tax issomething that we’re going to haveto comply with under any circum-stance.”

Rep. Kim Meltzer, R-ClintonTownship, is drafting legislationto provide a tax break to business-es for some of the administrativecosts incurred to comply with theservice tax.

She said the state has a responsi-bility to compensate businessesfor the position it put them in.

Meltzer is looking at having thestate provide either a tax rebate ora credit for administrative costs,such as accounting and consultingexpenses. She doesn’t identify arevenue source for the tax relief.

“That’s really the state’s prob-lem,” she said. “These companiescan’t afford to do this. If there is noservice tax, they’ve gone throughall this headache for nothing.”

Amy Lane: (517) 371-5355, [email protected]

DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 11-12-07 A 52,53 CDB 11/9/2007 6:03 PM Page 2


WEEK IN REVIEWRUMBLINGS

Outlook goodfor UAWapproval ofFord contract

he new Ford Motor Co.agreement with theUnited Auto Workers

stands a good chance of ap-proval, thanks to job guar-antees and future-productcommitments, a unionsource told AutomotiveNews last week.

The United Auto Workers’Ford National Council votedunanimously Nov. 5 to rec-ommend ratification.

The agreement preservessix Ford plants on the bub-ble for possible closure, in-cluding the Wayne Assem-bly Plant, Michigan Truckand Wayne IntegratedStamping.

Ford expects to savemore than $2 billion annu-ally by 2010 through thecreation of a health caretrust fund, lower wages fornew hires and other facto-ry-rule changes.

The source said Fordplans another round of earlyretirements and buyouts.The number could reach8,000 to 12,000, the sourcesaid.

The embattled U.S. au-tomaker and the UAWreached an agreement earlyNov. 3 after more than 40hours of bargaining at Fordheadquarters.

The contract is likely tobe put to a vote as early asthis week.

Penske Automotive tobuy Long Island chain

Penske Automotive GroupInc. on Wednesday said ithas signed an agreement tobuy Rallye Motors, a Long Is-land, N.Y., auto dealershipchain. The purchase pricewas not disclosed.

Rallye’s Acura, BMWand Mercedes-Benz dealer-ships are listed in the top 20for new-unit sales national-ly for each brand, PenskeAutomotive Group Presi-dent Roger Penske Jr. said.

The transaction is ex-pected to close by March 31.

Dura gets OK for Chapter11 exit-financing plan

Dura Automotive SystemsInc., struggling to emergefrom bankruptcy proceed-ings, has won court ap-proval of its exit financing.

The court also approvedDura’s request to move aconfirmation hearing, orig-inally scheduled for Nov.26, to Dec. 6.

Once the plan is con-

firmed, Rochester Hills-based Dura expects toemerge from Chapter 11.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Courtfor the District of Delawarein Wilmington has ap-proved Dura’s engagementand fee agreement withGoldman Sachs Credit Part-ners L.P. and BarclaysCapital, according to a Durastatement. The investorshave arranged $425 millionin exit loans.

BRIEFLY

� After nearly a month’sdelay caused by late deliv-eries and the need foradded training, MotorCityCasino Hotel is scheduled toopen Nov. 28. The 17-story,400-room Detroit hotel,southwest of the casino atGrand River Avenue andthe Lodge Freeway, has 41suites, a 24-hour laundry, aconcierge and in-room din-ing service.

� Downtown Foodland, anindependent grocer, inMarch plans to open a14,000-square-foot store in-side The Shops at LafayettePark in Detroit.

� A permanent replace-ment has not yet beennamed to take over the af-ternoon drive-time slot atWOMC 104.3 FM vacated af-ter the oldies station re-moved longtime personali-ty Tom Ryan on Nov. 2.Also dismissed was Ryan’sproducer, MindyMarkowitz, who was on theair as “Matinee Mindy.”

� BorgWarner Inc. fore-casts average new businessof $650 million a year from2008 through 2010. The $1.95billion backlog in new busi-

ness, an-nouncedby thecompanyin a con-ferencecall Nov.5, cameas itsstocktradednear its

all-time high. CEO TimManganello credited thegains in new business to en-vironmentally friendlytechnologies, including tur-bochargers and dual-clutchtransmissions.

� A CVS pharmacy hasleased space in the 200 tow-er of the Renaissance Cen-ter and is expected to openby early next year.

� Delphi Corp. said a U.S.Bankruptcy Court in NewYork has given it moretime to continue discus-sions with creditor commit-tees that filed objections toproposed changes in itsChapter 11 plan of reorgani-zation. A hearing previous-ly scheduled for Nov. 8 hasbeen moved to Nov. 29.

� Michigama L.L.C., a Uti-ca-based land developer,

and Sterling Heights cityofficials are meeting thisweek to discuss possible re-development of land that isthe site of a former TRW Au-tomotive Holdings Corp.plant. Michigama has pro-posed a mix of industrialand big-box retail.

� ArvinMeritor Inc. said ithas won a contract to supplyHyundai Motor Co. with win-dow regulator motors,which raise and lower thewindow glass. The companyalso announced it is closingone axle plant in Arden,N.C., and plans to open an-other in Monterrey, Mexico.

� International AutomotiveComponents Group North Amer-ica on Wednesday said it hascompleted its acquisition ofthe former Collins & AikmanCorp. parts operation in Her-mosillo, Mexico, for $17 mil-lion, plus the assumption ofcertain liabilities.

� The Michigan State Uni-versity College of Nursinghas received accreditationfor a program to trainnurse anesthetists. The 28-month graduate programwill launch in Januarywith about 10 students.

� U.S. Bankruptcy JudgeJudith Fitzgerald said sheexpects to soon approveFederal-Mogul Corp.’s reorga-nization plan, enabling thecompany to exit Chapter 11.The company filed inDelaware on Oct. 1, 2001, af-ter becoming embroiled inasbestos-liability litigationfollowing an acquisition.

� Toyota Motor NorthAmerica Inc. has donated $2million to the Detroit Sci-ence Center for constructionof the Toyota EngineeringTheater, which will focuson engineering careers andis expected to open in De-cember 2008.

� The decision by theU.S. Bureau of the Census toadd almost 48,000 people toits 2006 head count for De-troit means more federalfunding for road and com-munity block-grant pro-grams. The census upgradealso will reconfigure andlikely decrease the city’scrime, unemployment andpoverty rates, said the De-troit Economic Growth Corp.Revised census figures nowestimate the Detroit popu-lation for 2006 at 918,849.

ON THE MOVE

� Michael Heneka hasbeen appointed president ofFaurecia North America, re-placing James Orchard,who has joined Noble Inter-national Ltd. as COO. Henekawill continue as vice presi-dent of Faurecia’s interiorsystems in North America.

� Roger Scholten to se-nior vice president, generalcounsel and corporate sec-retary, Champion EnterprisesInc. Scholten spent 25 yearswith Maytag Corp.

ou can expect to seeBank of America signsgoing up around

town in January — first atATMs at sports venues,then at bank branches asthe LaSalle name heads tothe local bank moniker bur-ial ground.

The signs are to go up atmost, if not all, of LaSalleBank Midwest’s 256 branch-

es in thestate, saidKieth Cock-rell, BOA’sregional ex-ecutiveoverseeingoperationsin Michi-gan, Illinoisand Indianaand presi-

dent of the Detroit market.“We haven’t completed

our assessment yet, but Idon’t anticipate many clo-sures in Michigan,” he toldCrain’s on Friday. “We’rethe largest retail bank inthe U.S., and banking cen-ters are very important tous.” Cockrell, 46, is en-sconced in LaSalle officesin the Guardian Building indowntown Detroit. But hesaid not to take that as ahint that BOA, which has atradition of locating localheadquarters in city cen-ters, has decided to aban-don its Troy headquartersfor downtown.

“Right now, I’m most fo-cused on meeting my newteammates and getting theminto their new roles,” hesaid.

According to the FederalDeposit Insurance Corp.,LaSalle retained itsstatewide ranking as theNo. 1 bank for deposit mar-

ket share as of June 30, with15.06 percent. That compareswith 14.8 percent for Comeri-ca Bank, 11.57 per-cent for JPMorganChase, 8.79 per-cent for FifthThird Bankand 7.15 per-cent for Na-tional CityBank.

BOA en-tered theMichiganmarket when its purchaseof LaSalle from Dutch-based ABN Amro Holding N.V.closed in October.

Film fest goes off-color toturn red ink into black

The Ann Arbor Film Festivalrecently took to the streets ofAnn Arbor, fulfilling apromise to supporters to per-form an “act of audacity.”

What’s more audaciousthan glam-rock karaoke?

Donning wild wigs,makeup and microphones,employees and volunteersof the nonprofit surprisedonlookers with their rendi-tions of a number of artistsincluding David Bowie,Queen and Journey. It’s allin the spirit of fund-raising.

YouTube footage can befound atwww.aafilmfest.org/endan-gered/acts/. It’s the first ofthree audacious acts thenonprofit has pledged toperform in its bid to raise$75,000 by Dec. 17.

The money raised willhelp the film festival recov-er from state funding cutsand help cover costs relatedto a freedom-of-speech law-suit filed on its behalf by

the American Civil LibertiesUnion against the state ofMichigan for cutting itsfunding over issues withthe content in films shownduring the annual festival.

Lionel gets a head ofsteam in return from Ch. 11

Lionel L.L.C. could be clos-er to having its model-trainbusiness back on track.

Chesterfield Township-based Lionel could emerge

from bankruptcyearly next yearwith a reorgani-

zation andfinancing

plan thatwouldsettle aseven-year dis-

pute withrival MTH

Electric Trains.Bankruptcy attorneys for

both companies reached atentative resolution in re-cent weeks that awaits ap-proval before a U.S. Bank-ruptcy Court judge in NewYork on Jan. 31. Terms ofthe deal were not disclosed.

Columbia, Md.-basedMTH has claimed Lionelowes as much as $88 mil-lion, including a $38.6 mil-lion U.S. District Court juryverdict against Lionel inDetroit in 2004. This suitwas for use of trade secretson train models producedin South Korea in the late1990s. MTH also sued Lionelseparately for $17.5 million,alleging misuse of MTH’spatented smoke-puffingtechnology.

BITS & PIECES

� The Library of MichiganFoundation, Macy’s and theCultural Alliance of Southeast-ern Michigan have createdthe Macy’s Museum Adven-ture Pass, a free seven-daypass to cultural attractions.It can be picked up at publiclibraries in Macomb, Oak-land, Livingston, St. Clair,Washtenaw and Waynecounties.

RUMBLINGS WEEK IN REVIEW

LaSalle’s nametransitions fromR.I.P. to BOA

F R O M W W W . C R A I N S D E T R O I T . C O M , W E E K O F N O V . 3 - 9

Y T

There are a ton of reasons to beexcited about the reopening of theDetroit Institute of Arts on Nov. 23.Not the least among them is thecontinued support of the businesscommunity in raising $4 million inticket sales and corporatesponsorships for the museum’sannual fund-raiser, which this yearwent by the theme “Arts Alive.”The gala was Saturday, and Crain’swas there. This afternoon, you’ll beable to see our coverage — thefaces, the fashion, the fun — as partof a new feature at our Web site.In last week’s issue, our new charitycolumnist, Julie Yolles, previewed the DIAevent and the upcoming Hob Nobble Gobble,

the Thanksgiving eve benefit for TheParade Co. During the month, you cansee photo galleries and reports fromblack-tie events such as these atwww.crainsdetroit.com/givers. Betteryet, you can register to receive alertsevery time we post a new slide showor column. To register, go towww.crainsdetroit.com/getemail. While you’re there, be sure to checkout our executive gift guide for thisyear atwww.crainsdetroit.com/giftguide.This year’s list represents our favorite

ideas out of the several reader suggestions wereceived. We plan to update the list later thisholiday season, too. Keep sending your ideasto [email protected].

WEB WORLDKevin Hill

Gifts of giving … and gifts of gab

Cockrell

Manganello

Lionel offers this Polar Elf handcar forthe holidays.


Philip Abbott, PhDDistinguished Professor, Political ScienceNationally acclaimed political theorist whose 11 books and dozens of articles illuminate the history of political thought, American political culture and presidential politics.

H. Bernhard Schlegel, PhDProfessor, ChemistryCreated the most widely used algorithms for geometry optimization in molecular systems, with wide application in chemistry, biology, geology and materials research.

Albert King, PhDDistinguished Professor, Biomedical EngineeringA pioneer in the field of biomechanics; his research into impact biomechanics, especially of the spinal cord and brain, won him election to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering.

Melvin Small, PhDDistinguished Professor, HistoryAn internationally acclaimed historian of American foreign policy and international relations, he is most noted for his work on Vietnam; his 14 books have reshaped our understanding of contemporary world affairs.

Rita Richey, PhDProfessor, InstructionalTechnologyA major contributor to thetheoretical and conceptualframework of instructionaldesign; her research establishesan empirical basis for creatinginstructional products, testingtheory and validating practicein a variety of environments.

Boris S. Mordukhovich, PhDProfessor, MathematicsA leader in optimization and control theory and their applications; his scholarship has broad interdisciplinary impact and contributes to such varied fields as mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and economics.

wayne.edu

Wayne State University Graduate SchoolMaking a difference through research, teaching and leadership

Norah Duncan IV, DMAAssociate Professor, MusicA multitalented artist — organist, liturgical musician, choral director — whose concerts have won him worldwide acclaim and numerous awards.

The Wayne State University Graduate School is dedicated to the advancement of learning across all academic disciplines, and encourages a creative and challenging environment for study and research. By promoting excellence in teaching and emphasizing student success, the graduate school has prepared many of the skilled professionals who enrich the social, cultural and economic life of Southeast Michigan every day. From chemistry to communication, economics to engineering, our graduate faculty’s research, scholarship and achievements continuously extend the frontiers of knowledge and expand our understanding of the world. I am pleased to introduce seven of our faculty members whose careers and accomplishments reflect lifelong commitments to the pursuit and attainment of excellence.

Steven Salley, DEngDean


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We’re pretty much chained to our desks here. So this Free Package Pickup is huge. Betty picks up our packageson her stop and gets them right in the mail. Packages go. We stay. Click usps.com/smallbiz to learn more.


vol. 23, no. 46 november 12 – 18

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