second quarter 2011

8/6/2019 Second Quarter 2011

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Second Quarter 2011

Auto Owners named to Fortune 500 listAuto Owners is ranked number 425 on the Fortune 500 list

of America’s largest corporaons. This is the ninth straight

year Auto Owners has made the Fortune 500 list. Auto

Owners was also ranked among the 20 largest Michigan-

based companies. The company remains the second largest

property and casualty mutual insurance company in the

United States based on their 2010 revenue. Twenty- two

Michigan companies made this year’s Fortune

500 list, four more than the 2010list.

Niowave grows with

Department of Energy contractsNiowave has expanded to triple their size through the Small

Business Research Innovaon program. The company has

received $5.3 million in funding through federal research

and development program contracts. Niowave COO, Jerry

Hollister, believes the contracts with the Department

of Energy have given his company credibility and more

opportunies.

MSU Federal Credit Union new Bath

locaonConstrucon on Michigan State University Federal Credit

Union’s North Marsh Branch in Bath

Township began in late June. The

new locaon will be a full service

branch with drive-up teller and

ATMs. The branch is expected to be completed in summer

2012 and cost $3.8 million. Granger Construcon is managing

the project for MSUFCU. The newest branch will be 7,800

square feet and employ 12 to 15.

Michigan Leads the Country in Economic

GrowthMichigan has an economic growth rate higher than the

naonal average at 2.9 percent. The recession in Michigan

is ocially over, with the growth rate being the highest

since 2002. The auto industry is responsible for 1.47

percent of the economic growth in 2010 along with the

diversicaon of the economy in Michigan. The increased

growth is esmated to connue for the next 3 years.

Christman Company awarded BWL Energy

Plant projectLansing based Christman Company was named genera

contractor for the new Board of Water and Light power plant

The new BWL power plant will replace the exisng Moores

Park Plant in REO Town. The new plant will cost $182 million

to build and will use natural gas instead of burning 139,000

tons of coal each year, reducing gas emissions by 50 percent

Construcon will employ approximately 200 workers when it

begins in late summer.

MSU and LinkedIn create rst me

partnershipMichigan State University and LinkedIn

have an ocial and rst me

partnership. LinkedIn, the world’s

largest online professional network,

will team up with MSU to help improve

LinkedIn’s worth for students and alumni.

The partnership will help LinkedIn

gain feedback about new features

and MSU’s alumni group, one of

the largest on LinkedIn, will benet

from receiving training on the new

features.

MBI new partnership with Department of

Energy GrantMichigan Biotechnology Instute has been granted $4.3

million as part of Obama’s Administraon to cut foreign oi

imports. The Department of Energy aims to improve the

economic and eciency of biological and chemical processes

that convert non-food biomass feedstocks into replacementfor petroleum-based feedstocks, products, and fuel. MB

will focus on improvements to a pretreatment process. This

process provides a stable, conversion-ready intermediate o

consistent quality at a cost and in a format compable with

long-term storage and ease of transfer between mulple

modes of transportaon.



Study: Lansing area in top 20 for job growthThe Lansing area was ranked 19th for job growth in the naon

among midsize cies by New Geography. The area including

Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counes jumped 49 spots. Ingham,

Eaton and Clinton counes have consistently been among

the lowest jobless rate across the state. Job gains at General

Motors Co. along with hiring in the insurance and informaon

technology industries helped Lansing move up their ranking.

New Geography also complied lists for job growth in small and

large cies based on unemployment data from the U.S. Bureau

of Labor and Stascs.

Fih Third Bank named one of the World’s

Strongest Banks by BloombergFih Third Bank has been included on the list of the top

20 World’s Strongest Banks. Ranked at number 7, they are

ranked highest out of the three United States banks to make

the cut. Banks must have at least $100 billion in assets to be

considered one of the World’s Strongest Banks and is graded

on its Tier 1 capital rao (the company’s bank equity capital to

its risk weighted assets); nonperforming assets to total assetsrao; a measure of the banks’ ability to absorb losses (a rao

of reserves for loan losses to nonperforming assets); a rao of

deposits to funding; and

an eciency rao (cost

to revenue).

MSU-industry partnership boosts Michigan

sugar beet industryMichigan State University joined forces with Michigan’s sugar

beet industry taking the once $100 million industry to $444

million. The partnership has an esmated total economic

impact of $1 billion in Michigan. Breakthroughs in the quality

of the sugar beets and soluons to diseases and pests have

also been gained from the partnership. The partnership has

beneted the quality of the sugar beet by increasing the sugar

content from 16 percent to 18 percent.

MEGA acon projected to generate nearly

$182 million in new investmentThe Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved tax

incenves for three redevelopment projects and three

companies choosing to expand or locate in Michigan. The

redevelopments, expansions, and relocaons will generatenearly $182 million in new investment and 661 jobs across the

state. The companies include Kenersys Americas, LLC, Summit

Health, Inc., Tianhai Electric North America, Inc., East Lansing

Browneld Redevelopment Authority, Grand Rapids Browneld

Redevelopment Authority and General Motors, LLC.

Sun Country launched nonstop ights from

Lansing to D.C. on April 1, 2011Sun Country launched new nonstop service from Lansing’s

Capital Region Internaonal Airport to Washington, D.C. Regan

Naonal. The ights are oered Sunday through Friday. Sun

Country also has direct ights to Minneapolis and seasona

nonstop service from Lansing desnaons in Mexico and Florida

For the fourth year in a row, Sun Country has been names a “Top

Ten Domesc Airline”by Travel+Leisure and

Condé Nast Traveler

for the third year in a

row.

Maguire Family donates land to expand

Lansing’s river trailLansing’s River Trail connues to expand thanks to a recent

donaon by long me Lansing region Maguire family and

Wolverine Development. The Maguire family donated 12

acres of land to build Maguire Park with providing addional

access to Lansing’s River Trail. The park has a new play

set, parking lot, landscaping and signage. A previous 2008

expansion of the Lansing River Trail connected Hawk Island

Park to Maguire Park. The City of Lansing has been working

to connect area parks by the River Trail. Dean Transportaon

also donated land for the park development.

Impression 5 expands First Impressions room

and programming with $170,000 community

collaboraonA new 3,000 square foot First

Impression room is now open atImpression 5. The room was rst created

in 2007 for infants and toddlers, but due to its high demand

First Impression Room is now triple the size and includes a life

size, crawl-through tree, climbing lo, water table, playhouse

and more for very young children. Impression 5, the Harley

Beay Foundaon, Jackson Naonal Life Insurance, Dart

Foundaon, the PNC Foundaon and the Instute of Museum

and Library Services funded the $170,000 project.

Holt-based company plans to add jobsOrchid Orthopedic Soluons is looking to expand globally and

will need 150 new employees to do so. The new employees

are needed in manufacturing, clerical and execuve posions

The company specializes in medical device manufacturing

for replacement hips, knees and other joints as well as the

instruments surgeons use to implant the devices. Orchid is

looking to expand into Asia, India and South America.



Gravity Works is a Sitecore PartnerGravity Works Design & Development is now an ocial

Sitecore Partner. The Gravity Works team is skilled in the .NET

framework and recognizes the value of Sitecore.

The right content management system (CMS) can provide

brand control with secure and simple content control;

Gravity Works will connue building websites according to

individual client needs at a local, naonal, and internaonal

level. Sitecore is a market leader for enterprise-scale CMS

plaorms, with a simple interface, exible structure, and

robust development capabilies. As a Sitecore Partner, Gravity

Works has access to advanced tools, a secure CMS, and a

strong Sitecore development community.

Gravity Works Design & Development creates custom

soluons—graphic design, websites, and mobile

applicaons—with detail-

focused designs and leading-

edge development pracces.

Netvantage Markeng grows sta by a third

with unique e-commerce servicesNetvantage Markeng opened its doors in 2008 and has grown

its sta by a third as it approaches its three year anniversary.

The company grew 115 percent last year with their unique

service of search engine opmizaon. Netvantage Markeng

helps companies to rank higher on internet searches and paid

search management.

Inspired Green grows into 2,000 sq- Grand

Ledge locaonInspired Green, a home performance contracng and consulng

rm, opened their doors in 2008 with four employees has now

expanded to 100 employees. In September, Inspired Green

will expand its 2,000 square foot locaon to 3,400 sq/ by

adding a second oor to their current locaon. The rm has

helped make homes more comfortable, healthy, safe and

energy ecient while playing a role in assisng ulity providers

in meeng their energy opmizaon goals.

Lansing Comfort Keepers celebrates 10

years of growthLansing Comfort Keepers has grown a lile each year. The

company provides quality in-home care for seniors and others

who need help with daily acvies. Their goal is to allowclients to live independently as long as possible. With its 10th

anniversary in the spring, the company has gone from 50

locaons to 550 over the years. Comfort Keepers sta has also

grown with the industry over the years to keep up with the

demand of paents and connue to make a huge dierence in

peoples’ lives.

If you have economic growth stories,

please let us know. We compile

stories from many dierent sources

and would love to share your news!

Contact Aubrey Zimmerman at

[email protected]!

second quarter 2011

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