Crain's Detroit Business, July 6, 2020 issue by Crain's Detroit Business

DREAM CRUISE: Unofficial event may go on, but businesses will take a hit. PAGE 3

PART OF THE CYCLE Raj Kothari, in The Conversation, knows crisis forces change. PAGE 19

CRAINSDETROIT.COM I JULY 6, 2020

COPING WITH COVID-19

REAL ESTATE

TRACKING THE TRACERS

Landlords: Evictionprevention plan lacking BY KIRK PINHO

whelmed by the outbreak in other states — South Carolina reported more people in the hospital and more deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday than any day since the pandemic began in March. Michigan hopes not to follow suit.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $50 million Eviction Diversion Program is aimed at shoring up residential landlords and preventing evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic — but some landlords say it’s not enough to keep them afloat. Some apartment owners say the fund isn’t large enough to cover unpaid rent accrued during the public health disaster and that a related measure by the State Court Administrative Office increases landlord legal fees by lengthening the eviction process at the local level. Evictions have been banned in most cases since March, but the new order extends that moratorium through July 15. The lump-sum funding through the federal CARES Act will be paid out through the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity provided that landlords commit to keeping tenants in their homes and forgiving late fees and some of the past-due balances. The program begins July 16. If the back-due rent isn’t fully covered by the program, payment plans will be reached. For example, under the executive order: If a landlord gets $450 from the program on a $1,000 late rent bill, the landlord would be required to forgive $50, or one-ninth of what the state covers, and the tenant would be responsible for the remaining $500 over the course of 12 months.

See TRACING on Page 16

See LANDLORDS on Page 18

Members of the Detroit Health Department’s COVID-19 team, pictured on March 24, work on virus response efforts. More on Detroit’s efforts on Page 16. | CITY OF DETROIT VIA FLICKR

How health departments are monitoring the spread of COVID-19 BY DUSTIN WALSH AND ANNALISE FRANK

Janet Olszewski is part of a growing army racing against the clock. COVID-19 outbreaks are spiking across the U.S. — a single-day record 54,357 new cases were reported Thursday, more than three months after the outbreak began. Michigan’s case count has been steadily rising since late June and with 138 cases and counting linked to Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub in East Lansing, proving the virus is far from over. Olszewski, 68, is part of the state’s

stable of 422 volunteer contact tracers who, along with thousands from county and municipal health departments, are charged with contacting within 24 hours anyone exposed to a person that tested positive for COVID-19. Often, Olszewski is the bearer of the news that an infection is possible. “This is not a call any of us want to receive,” Olszewski said. “Some are scared. Some are surprised. Some are even annoyed. But our role is to give them information and be persuasive that it’s really important for them to isolate and be responsible. We can only stop this virus together.”

FOCUS | SAULT STE. MARIE

NORTHERN NICHE  Crain’s Michigan Business looks at companies in the Upper Peninsula. PAGE 8

NEWSPAPER

From her home in Bath, Olszewski and the contact tracer team across the state are in daily contact with more than 1,700 exposed individuals in late June, hoping to convince them to self-quarantine for 14 days and monitor their symptoms in an attempt to control the spread. More than 10,000 volunteered to the Michigan Department of Human Health and Services to be contact tracers. More than 3,800 are partially trained. Oakland County has roughly 197 case investigators and contact tracers. No one is sure if that’s enough. Contact tracers are being over-

Inside: Detroit COVID-19 contact tracing not yet “where we need to be.” PAGE 16

HEALTH CARE

Nursing homes struggle to meet testing deadline Mandate gives until July 17 to test employees, residents for COVID-19 BY JAY GREENE

Nursing homes in Michigan are struggling to meet a state mandate to test all employees and residents by July 17, then weekly test everyone who is deemed high risk as COVID-19 numbers creep upward across Michigan and the nation. Two weeks ago, under an emergency order by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, nursing homes and long-term care facilities were required to perform weekly tests of all residents and staff until a

facility goes 14 days without a positive test. At that point, close screening would take place. While the Health Care Association of Michigan has Samuel long supported universal testing to reduce the potential spread of coronavirus among many elderly and immune-deficient residents, some nursing home

operators have questioned details of the order and how effective it will be because of the slow turnaround time of two to three days or more for test results. “There are challenges with using the state process at this point right now,” said Melissa Samuel, CEO of HCAM, the state association for nursing home and rehabilitation centers. “The deep swab (virus) test is challenging to administer to an elderly population.” See TESTING on Page 17

NEED TO KNOW THE WEEK IN REVIEW, WITH AN EYE ON WHAT’S NEXT ` WHITMER ORDERS BARS TO SHUT INDOOR SERVICE THE NEWS: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday said she was closing indoor seating in bars in parts of the state over concerns of rising cases of COVID-19. Whitmer also signed a bill allowing bars and restaurants to sell cocktails-to-go in an effort to help those businesses. WHY IT MATTERS: Bars have been linked to outbreaks of coronavirus, including Harper’s Restaurant in East Lansing near Michigan State University, which has been linked to more than 100 cases.

` UM BOARD APPROVES TWEAKED TUITION INCREASE THE NEWS: The University of Michigan board of regents voted 5-2 during a special meeting Monday to approve a budget that increases tuition 1.9 percent after voting down a similar tuition increase the Thursday before. The meeting was called by President Mark Schlissel following a deadlocked vote by the board. WHY IT MATTERS: The budget proposed Monday varied slightly from the one shot down last week. Schlissel said the tuition increase now would not affect students with financial need, or those whose families make less than $120,000 annually, meaning that the increase would fall on the

university’s wealthiest students. Many universities have frozen tuition while wrestling with likely budget cuts.

` DTE ADDS NET ZERO EMISSIONS GOAL FOR GAS THE NEWS: DTE Energy Co., an energy company based in metro Detroit, is extending its net zero goal, a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 2050, to include DTE Gas. This new leg of the initiative will see DTE Gas partner with customers to reduce natural gas carbon footprint through programs encouraging energy efficiency, like the company’s voluntary emissions offset programs, which allow customers to reduce up to 100 percent of their usage emissions through renewable natural gas and carbon offsets, according to a news release. WHY IT MATTERS: DTE Gas’ participation in net zero goal, new among gas delivery companies, builds on the firm’s commitment to reduce methane emissions by 80 percent.

` TRINITY PLANS MORE FURLOUGHS AMID $2B DECLINE THE NEWS: Trinity Health, a Livonia-based health system of 93 hospitals in 22 states, has announced an unspecified number of layoffs, extended furloughs and reduced shifts in the wake of soft patient volume, continued rising expenses and a projected $2 billion in revenue loss. WHY IT MATTERS: Trinity had already announced furloughs of about 2,600 employees, nearly 10 percent of its 28,000-person workforce. Some clinical staff who worked in elective health care service areas were recalled in previous weeks.

`RULES EASE FOR VISITORS IN NURSING HOMES THE NEWS: Michigan has expanded the reasons for visitation at long-term care facilities to include family members or friends who assist residents with activities of daily life such as eating, bathing or dressing. People have been able to visit residents who are in serious or critical condition or in hospice care under previous state emergency orders if they follow guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WHY IT MATTERS: Nursing homes have been hot spots for COVID-19, which is especially dangerous to older people. One-third of the 6,100 deaths in Michigan have been nursing home residents.

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24 8 . 6 4 4 .76 0 0 | KO JA I A N .C O M 2 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

Crain’s unveils upgrades to list data on local companies, executives Crain’s Detroit Business has taken the wraps off new upgrades to our online Data Center, which gives readers with a Data Membership digital access to Crain’s Lists of companies as well as other business data in a new, easier-to-use format. Check out the data center at Crainsdetroit.com/data. You can learn more and buy a data membership at Crainsdetroit.com/ membership. Data Members have always had access to Crain’s List data in Excel and PDF formats. The improvements now include: ` The ability to generate custom executive contact lists and company data sets. For the first time, Data Members can create and export their own custom lists from across the entire Crain’s database, filtering by executive title, industry,

company size and other factors. ` An enhanced display is embedded into the website itself for our traditional lists, offering the ability to sort and filter the list the way you find best for market research, lead generation, or simple curiosity. ` Crain’s also added hundreds of executive contacts — a 35 percent increase in the past year. ` Throughout our website, you’ll find more business intelligence on local companies embedded directly in our articles as well. If you see a company name that’s underlined, mouse over the name to learn more about that company. ` Readers with a Data Membership can still download all of Crain’s annual industry lists, such as Private 200 and dozens more in the traditional Excel and PDF formats.

Q&A

OAKLAND COUNTY

What to know about state’s new auto insurance reform law BY CHAD LIVENGOOD

A sea change to Michigan’s unique no-fault auto insurance system took effect Thursday. For the first time, Michigan motorists are able to choose different levels of medical coverage for injuries sustained in a vehicle through a law that was designed to lower Michigan’s highest-in-thenation auto insurance rates. The impact of the new law signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a year ago at the Mackinac Fox Policy Conference may not be truly known for months, possibly years, according to industry experts. But it’s likely to disrupt Michigan’s auto insurance system by injecting consumer choice and new insurers into the marketplace, while reining in some of the medical costs that historically have driven up rates over the past two decades. Anita Fox, director of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services, talked with Crain’s on the Detroit Rising podcast about the wide-ranging changes to the no-fault law. Here are 10 questions and answers about what to know about the new law: ` On the most basic level, what’s new? The new law eliminates the legal mandate that motorists purchase unlimited medical coverage on their auto insurance policy. Since 1974, Michigan’s law has required motorists to carry limitless Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage and pay an annual fee into the state’s catastrophic injury fund to pay for the long-term care of severely injured drivers and passengers. See INSURANCE on Page 18

Cities and businesses are losing out on sponsorship dollars and space rental fees this year because of the cancellation of the Woodward Dream Cruise. | JEFFREY SAUGER FOR CHEVROLET

LESS THAN A DREAM

Cruise cancellation will cost Woodward businesses, but how much? BY LAILA HMAIDAN AND MALIQUE MORRIS

With the annual Woodward Dream Cruise now canceled because of COVID-19 concerns — on an official basis, anyway — many local businesses are taking yet another hit. The automotive event, which the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau estimated had a $240 million economic impact on metro Detroit’s economy in 2017, could have offered a much-needed boost for the businesses along Woodward Avenue in Oakland County that are still working to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic shutdown. Officials at producer Woodward Dream Cruise Inc. told Crain’s they an-

ticipate a $53 million loss to the metro Detroit economy this year because of the cancellation. Still, no one will be surprised if cruising and gathering along the famous M-1 strip from Ferndale to Pontiac goes on, which drives hope for some. “I’ll believe Dream Cruise is canceled when I see no cars on Woodward Avenue,” said Kelly Cobb, owner of the iconic Hunter House Hamburgers in Birmingham. The official event, which for 25 years has taken place on the third Saturday in August, also spawns a host of other activities including car shows and musical performances throughout that week, drawing an estimated 1.3 million people with money to spend. And plenty of businesses and municipali-

ties get a boost from renting parking to classic car owners and enthusiasts and spaces for hosting parties. Not this year. For the past decade, Hunter House Hamburgers has hosted a party for the public in its parking lot on Woodward just north of Maple Road, replete with bands, large tents for customer seating and food trucks to serve its signature sliders, Cobb said. “We (normally) have thousands and thousands of customers pass through our lot,” he said. Cobb said he does not expect the normal amount of business during Dream Cruise week, but Hunter House is still preparing for some excitement.

“I’LL BELIEVE DREAM CRUISE IS CANCELED WHEN I SEE NO CARS ON WOODWARD AVENUE.” — Kelly Cobb, owner, Hunter House Hamburgers in Birmingham

See CRUISE on Page 15

FOOD AND DRINK

A reboot, then a crash for local nightlife BY MALIQUE MORRIS

On a Saturday in mid-March, amid growing concerns about the novel coronavirus, The Grasshopper Underground, a nightclub in Ferndale and cultural epicenter for Detroit’s electronic dance music scene, was not in its usual groove. Just a few days prior, on March 11, the World Health Organization had declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic, straining the public’s relationship with convening spaces like a dance floor. Before the night’s events on March 14, Grasshopper owner Chris Morad

stopped at a local store to get hand sanitizer and quickly surfed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website for proper hygiene guidelines for his staff and guests. But the normal crowd of 200 or more did not show up to jam to mixes from the club’s resident DJ. “RSVPs (which get people in from 9-11 p.m.) are normally maxed out, but not that night,” Morad said. Given the unusually light turnout, Morad decided to close at 1 a.m. instead of at 2 a.m. Two days later, on March 16, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered nonessential businesses to shut down operations to help stop the spread

of COVID-19. Now, nightlife in Detroit, an industry that was being recognized for its economic contributions through city governance before it was rattled by a global health crisis, is transitioning into the unknown. Bars and restaurants that reopened in June were ordered last week to close indoor seating again. The governor’s executive order allows establishments with more than 70 percent of their revenue in alcohol sales to remain open for carryout service and outdoor patios. So Morad closed Grasshopper’s doors once again. See NIGHTLIFE on Page 15

Tim M.Zazo, general manager of Menjo’s Complex in Detroit, and staff plan to remain open and conduct business outside, per the latest orders. | TIM M. ZAZO JULY 6, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 3

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NEXT For Grand Valley students, next is opportunity and innovation. Next is global, connecting and uniting us. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s local, shaping the spaces in which we work and live. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a commitment to progress. Next is where minds are free to imagine what could be. At GVSU, next is now. And whateverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next for you, we will help you get there.

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Behind on loan, owner of Troy hotel tries to give lender the keys A hotel owner is attempting to turn over the keys to the Homewood Suites Troy after falling behind on its $16 million loan. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accordKirk ing to New York PINHO City-based Trepp LLC, which analyzes commercial mortgage-backed securities data. The 150-room hotel completed in 2002 is at 1495 Equity Drive south of Maple Road and east of Coolidge Highway. The hotel industry has been one of the worst-hit in commercial real estate as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across the country. Stay-home orders and overall unease over travel have hit the hospitality industry particularly hard, and research from Trepp at the beginning of the pandemic that has caused more than 126,000 deaths in the U.S. said there is $86 billion in hotel CMBS debt that is at risk. According to Trepp, there are 52 loans on hotel properties around the region totaling nearly $618.9 million. I left a message with the Cleveland-based ownership group of the Homewood Suites Troy, MEI Hotels Inc., but received no response. The company owes $15.1 million on the JPMorgan Chase loan that was originated in 2016 and matures in October 2026, according to Trepp. Trepp says MEI Hotels requested a deed in lieu of foreclosure of its lender before debt service relief could be granted after MEI sought it. The deed in lieu would erase the loan in exchange for title to the property. Data from Trepp says revenue at the hotel has fallen yearly from $6 million to $5.87 million to $5.58 million from 2017 to 2019. From April 2019 through March 2020, it pulled in $5.23 million. Likewise, net operating income fell from $2.2 million in 2017 to $2 million in 2018 to $1.8 million in 2019, with April 2019 to March 2020 NOI at $1.56 million. A 2016 appraisal pegs the property at a $22.4 million market value.

Stroh property for sale More than 4 acres of east Detroit riverfront property is listed for sale. The site, a surface parking lot totaling 4.32 acres at 2680 Atwater St. and 127 Joseph Campau, does not have a listing price. It is being marketed by the Southfield office of CBRE Inc., which de-

4 | CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

A surface parking lot totaling 4.32 acres at 2680 Atwater St. and 127 Joseph Campau in Detroit is for sale.

THE COMPANY OWES $15.1 MILLION ON THE JPMORGAN CHASE LOAN THAT WAS ORIGINATED IN 2016 AND MATURES IN OCTOBER 2026, ACCORDING TO TREPP. clined comment. The site, owned by a trust tied to the Stroh family, is next to the $200 million, 25-acre Stroh River Place project that includes offices and apartments. The property might make for a good multifamily play on the east riverfront, which has seen a good amount of developer interest the last several years.

First known COVID era real estate bankruptcy The owners of a shopping center and outlot fast-food restaurant building are the first known landlord bankruptcy cases filed during the COVID-19 pandemic in metro Detroit, but the second in a decade for the propertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corporate owner. Mount Clemens Investment Group LLC and Mount Group LLC, both registered to Yasser Hammoud, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection June 19. Filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan say Mount Clemens Investment Group, which owns a Burger King building, claims assets of up to $50,000 and liabilities of $500,001 to $1 million owed to up to 49 creditors; Mount Group, which owns the strip center, claims $1 mil-

lion to $10 million in assets and liabilities with up to 49 creditors. The case, which is before Judge Maria Oxholm, is the first of what is expected to be a wave of not just commercial real estate-related bankruptcies, but corporate bankruptcy filings overall. Crainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reported last week that many businesses are surviving on government loans, rent deferments and other emergency funding in the wake of the COVID-19 public health and economic catastrophe, but that will soon evaporate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At least in the early days of the pandemic, banks have been granting payment relief to their customers for commercial loans secured by real estate,â&#x20AC;? said Doug Bernstein, director of the business law department in the Bloomfield Hills office of law firm Plunkett Cooney PC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once the deferrals burn off, the big issue is how are you going to service the loan payments, especially if you now have vacancies or you, as a landlord, have granted rent relief. If the lender isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t willing to work with its customer or if the property no longer generates enough revenue to service the debt, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the wave of bankruptcies likely will start.â&#x20AC;? The filing comes nearly 10 years after Mount Clemens Investment Group, then run by Mostafa and Tamer Afr, filed for Chapter 11, citing a decision by Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc., the parent company of the former Farmer Jack grocery chain, to stop paying rent at its Mount Clemens location and others. Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

CARING FOR KIDS SPONSORED CONTENT

Advocating for the health and wellness of children and families Host Larry Burns, President and CEO The Children’s Foundation

Advocating for the health & wellness of children and families

About this report: On this monthly radio program, The Children’s Foundation President and CEO Larry Burns talks to community, government and business leaders about issues related to children’s health and wellness. The hour-long show typically airs at 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month on WJR 760AM. Here’s a summary of the show that aired June 30th; listen to the entire episode, and archived episodes, at yourchildrensfoundation.org/caring-for-kids.

Jason Langwell, Executive Vice President, Intersport and Executive Director, Rocket Mortgage Classic

Larry Burns: In 2019, you helped create the first ever PGA tour event in Detroit. Looking back, what are you most proud of from that inaugural year? Jason Langwell: We firmly established the Rocket Mortgage Classic in the community and on the Detroit sports map. We had sellout crowds, large volunteer numbers and tons of corporate partner support. Most of our corporate partners are returning this year. We were the most awarded event on the PGA tour last year, honored with awards for “Best Special Event” recognizing the Area 313 Celebrity challenge and “Best Tournament Sales.” We also won the “Fair Way Award” for our diversity and inclusion initiatives. Burns: In March, COVID-19 hit. How has that impacted the tournament? Langwell: We’re the fourth of four golf events being played without fans in the PGA’s Return to Golf initiative. The tournament this year presents a new opportunity to support the Detroit community through a multi-year campaign called Changing the Course. The vision is to end the digital divide among Detroit residents by providing access to the internet, digital technologies and digital literacy training. We are going to invest funds in organizations and

infrastructure. Our mission is to host a world-class PGA tour event while benefiting the Detroit community. COVID-19 shone a light on a number of unaddressed issues in Detroit, but internet accessibility is one of the most severe. All of the proceeds from the event and all of our tournament-related activities will support Changing the Course to ensure internet access technology becomes available across Detroit as fast as possible. This initiative is going to provide the youth of today the opportunity to progress and evolve in this digital society. Burns: How will the tournament differ from last year? Langwell: It is mandated that the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic proceed with only players, caddies and essential staff on site. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to host parties on the property safely. We’ve been working closely with the tour, local and state government, police department, health officials and the city of Detroit to develop a safety plan that we’re confident and comfortable with. We’re advising everyone playing and working at the tournament to follow Michigan’s Safer at Home practices during the week and while away from Detroit Golf Club. As we look to 2021, we hope public health with be at a point where we can bring back all of our fans and partners. Our tournament team has exhausted all of its efforts to focus on doing what we have to do to pull off this year’s event on short notice. We’re really excited about what the future holds. I think we’ll learn a lot this year and be able to make next year bigger and better.

Lizabeth Ardisana, CEO, ASG Renaissance; Co-Founder, Performance Driven Workforce; and Member, Board of Trustees, The Children’s Foundation

Dr. Kiran Taylor, Chief Medical Ofﬁcer, Hope Network

everyday business life, I might not have the opportunity to meet these people. Burns: How do the foundation boards you’re involved in, including The Children’s Foundation board, differ from corporate and educational boards? Burns: As an entrepreneur, what are the key elements of your success? Ardisana: I would say that I’m actually an accidental entrepreneur because it really wasn’t my intention. I came to Michigan many years ago to work for Ford Motor Company. My experience there was fabulous and I still consider Ford like family. But I decided that I needed to go out and start my own business and be an entrepreneur. I did that and have learned to love it. The fun part about being an entrepreneur is that some days work really well and some days are challenging, but the key to success is to ask, “What am I doing for my customer today? How am I contributing today?” That applies to the community work we do too. Adapting is really critical. Larry Burns: What are your favorite parts of serving on corporate and educational boards? Ardisana: There are two things. First, you get to look longer term and can influence the future. I enjoy trying to make sure that we’re all going in the right direction. Educational and environmental issues are really important to me. Second, and the very best part about being on boards, is the people that you get to work with. It’s inspiring the people that you meet and the people you get to work with. In my

Ardisana: There are similarities and differences. It’s similar in that you are working with wonderful people who are committed to the same things you’re committed to, come from all walks of life and have different perspectives. One difference is the foundations have a longer view and try to make bigger changes. The interaction and coordination between foundations is increasing. How we can all work together and what that looks like has been really impressive as I’ve worked with foundations. Burns: What interested you about joining our Children’s Foundation board? Ardisana: I’m a trustee of the Mott Foundation in Flint and the Flint water crisis has really demonstrated to me the depth of the connections between what impacts children; for example, water related to nutrition related to education. It’s all part of one big picture. That is the most critical element The Children’s Foundation is addressing. Families need to be well for kids to be well. I am excited to use my connections to create a collaborative effort to make things happen for The Foundation and community. I am serving on the financial committee for The Foundation and happy to bring my advice and my experience.

Larry Burns: Tell us about your role as the Hope Network Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kiran Taylor: Hope Network is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help empower people with disabilities or disadvantages to achieve their highest level of independence. We serve over 20,000 people throughout the state in over 75 counties and 270 locations. My role as Chief Medical Officer is twofold: to help optimize the clinical quality and safety of the care we deliver and to help innovate clinical care models through research and data. Burns: How has COVID-19 has impacted your activities? Taylor: COVID-19 has shifted the focus towards a new context for safety with screening, sanitization and PPE resources. The other impact is that the pandemic has accelerated our innovation. We’ve been able to start up telehealth and programs where we hadn’t before. Burns: What trends are you seeing with COVID-19 in young adults as it relates to their mental wellness? Taylor: The data tells us we’re seeing increasing rates of depression, anxiety, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and suicide in our young adults. Many of our young adults communicate through social media and mistakes seem to be magnified through these platforms. That

can contribute to feelings of low self-confidence, which impact mood. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified some of those stressors because we can’t go out or see friends. The reliance on social media has increased along with its potential negatives. Our routines have been disrupted and that can impact sleep. We know sleep impacts our mood and how we view the world. All of these things feed into the potential for individuals who are already vulnerable to feeling down or worried to begin feeling like their lives are not worthwhile. On the other hand, it’s an opportunity. Every challenge is an opportunity for resiliency, to develop and strengthen those coping mechanisms. Burns: What are your thoughts about Social Determinants of Health as they relate to overall wellness? Taylor: Hope Network has resources and programs for housing, transportation and workforce development for adults. I believe in looking at the holistic perspective of an individual, particularly kids. Their parents’ ability to have a steady income, be able to provide food or a roof over their head is part of their sense of routine and reliability. That impacts how they view the world and how they can focus on themselves. Burns: What are you excited about with the future of Hope Network? Taylor: I am excited about innovation and using data to drive that innovation. We have wide access across the whole state and we offer a variety of amazing programs to help improve patients’ and consumers’ lives.

COMMENTARY

Let’s make it unnecessary for stores to be mask police

Classic cars on Woodward Avenue during the Dream Cruise. | SPENCER ABBOTT

COMMENTARY

Back to the basics for ‘canceled’ Dream Cruise Lots of locals love to hate the Woodward Dream Cruise, especially those who live within backfiring distance of the boulevard in August. I get it: It’s noisy, it ties up traffic, and way too many red Solo cups get left behind. But it’s also a sentimental event for me and many others, maybe more so than ever this year, and a major economic boost for metro Detroit. I’d hate to see the (prudent) cancellation of one day’s official events idle cruising entirely at a time when general fun is in short supply. Which is not to say cruisers should ignore the COVID-related shutdown announced last week. Many will likely descend on Woodward on Aug. 15 anyway, but the better option is to spread out — literally and calendar-wise — to continue to enjoy this uniquely Michigan pastime. “While we are deeply saddened by the tough decision to cancel the 26th annual Woodward Dream Cruise, we know it is in the greater public’s best interest to keep everyone safe and healthy,” Michael Lary, president of Woodward Dream Cruise Inc., said in a statement. “We look forward to resuming the Dream Cruise in 2021 REMEMBER THAT and making it a memorable and safe expeTHE DREAM rience for all.” It was the right deCRUISE STARTED cision. Cities along AS A SMALL AND the route had been expressing their own PASSIONATE concerns prior to ofGROUP OF ficial cancellation, and anyone who’s CLASSIC CAR tried to walk WoodBUFFS JUST OUT ward during Cruise Day knows that soFOR A RIDE. cial distancing would be impossible. It’s hot, sweaty, and shouty above the roar of all those engines. Communities along the 16-mile route had already called off all special events associated with the cruise, including “Mustang Alley” in Ferndale, as Crain’s Laila Hmaidan reported last week. The economic blow is undeniable: The cruise is estimated to pump more than $200 million annually into the local economy,

Kelley

ROOT

Executive Editor with the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau estimating a quarter of that comes from attendees from outside the region. So the formal event — which attracts more than 1 million people and 40,000 vehicles each year — is a no go. But informal cruising itself, and the boost to businesses along the strip, shouldn’t be. Working on your beloved classic car, and driving it around to show it off, may well be one of the few safe outlets left when so many summer plans and traditions have been upended. Cruising is a family tradition for me. My dad, a 1959 Berkley High School graduate, spent plenty of time, money and gas prowling Woodward in its heyday. At 79, his choice of rides has changed but not his desire to light it up at every green light. I’ve been lucky to ride shotgun with him at most every Dream Cruise — for years in his pristine 1970 Chevelle Malibu, and now a 2008 Roush 427R Mustang, a supercharged, 525 hp beast. We can’t really ban “unofficial” cruising on Aug. 15 without shutting down Woodward entirely. It’s not clear how local police will respond. Many businesses along the route make decent money selling parking spaces on their private property on cruise day, and sometimes bathroom access as well. I suspect that will be no different this year, especially in the absence of public porta-potties. The best we can hope for is that unofficial cruise-watchers do their part by masking up, distancing their lawn chairs and keeping any roadside gatherings low-key. Too optimistic? Maybe. But remember that the Dream Cruise, before it morphed into the behemoth it is today, started as a small local event for car buffs to simply get out for a nostalgic ride. For this year at least, that seems like an ideal goal.

Who would have dreamed a year ago that the cashier at your local drugstore would have a new line in their job description: the mask police? We’re all familiar with that now, but we’re not all playing nice about it. TV news reports have been filled with accounts of confrontations between store workers asking customers to mask up. A worker at a Flint Family Dollar was shot and killed in one such confrontation. It’s easy to find cellphone videos of people exploding. My local CVS store has taken sign-posting to new levels, with signs both professionally made and hand-scrawled telling customers that masks are REQUIRED to enter the store. I counted eight signs as I made my way in, one placed on the entrance floor so you have to walk around it. You could not conceivably miss them. Still, there are customers who are maskless, in a drugstore, where sick people pick up prescriptions. But someone has to enforce these rules, and it’s a lot to ask of a store clerk, especially when emotions run so highly. But that’s taught many customers that those rules aren’t real and that they can get away with it.

Signs like this one at a CVS store in New Hudson are ubiquitous, but no matter how aggressive, they’re still ignored, pushing employees to be the mask police. | MICHAEL LEE/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

The science is very clear: Masks help prevent the spread of the virus. Countries where mask wearing is more universally accepted have had a much easier time keeping the spread under control. Japan, where mask wearing was accepted even before COVID-19 struck, never had anything like the outbreak that we’ve seen in the U.S. A large group of Michigan restaurants has put out a statement called the MI Restaurant Promise that uses both moral and practical arguments to convince customers to put on masks when they’re not eating. They promise customers that they’ll take all necessary precautions to protect diners’ safety. And ask that their customers do the same in return, without a fight. I hope that argument wins the day.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes responses from readers. Letters should be as brief as possible and may be edited for length or clarity. Send letters to Crain’s Detroit Business, 1155 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48207, or email crainsdetroit@crain.com. Please include your complete name, city from which you are writing and a phone number for fact-checking purposes. 6 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

Michael

LEE

Managing Editor It’s an existential question for those restaurants. Last week, Michigan went backwards on its reopening, with bars that get more than 70 percent of their sales from alcohol again being forced to close indoor areas by order of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Restaurants know they’ll be next if current increases in coronavirus cases don’t start going in the other direction. “We recognize that Gov. Whitmer’s latest IT’S CLEAR THAT executive order was largely a stay of exe- PERSUASION cution for the restau- ISN’T WORKING rant industry, given the more expansive UNIVERSALLY. measures taken in several other states,” Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association President and CEO Justin Winslow said in a statement. “This order is just the latest reminder that if we want to retain the things we love — like a great meal with friends and family — we all must bear greater responsibility for our collective safety or grieve its absence,” he added. It’s beyond unfortunate that masks became yet another political division in this country. And officials clearly made an enormous mistake early in the pandemic when they asked people not to wear masks in order to save them for front-line responders — by saying they didn’t do much to prevent the disease. We know now that wasn’t actually true, and this is an object lesson in not lying to people for their own good. It always comes back to bite you. And calls are growing for the president to be seen wearing a mask from time to time, simply to serve as an example. But I think as Americans, who bristle at being told what to do, we’d be having this same argument with any president. After all, we did during the Spanish flu a century ago. It’s hard for me to understand the emotions this issue stirs up. I may be screaming into the wind here, but I wear a mask in public simply because I think it’s polite to the people around me. I would do the same even if I thought they weren’t really all that effective, because I don’t want to alarm people around me with my presence. But it’s clear that persuasion isn’t working universally. Maybe it’s time for the state to take the enforcement out of the hands of store clerks, and start writing a few tickets.

MORE ON WJR ` Listen to Crain’s Group Publisher Mary Kramer and Managing Editor Michael Lee talk about the week’s stories every Monday morning at 6:15 a.m. Mondays on WJR 760 AM’s Paul W. Smith Show.

Sound off: Crain’s considers longer opinion pieces from guest writers on issues of interest to business readers. Email ideas to Managing Editor Michael Lee at malee@crain.com.

OTHER VOICES

Wrong side of the tracks is just a different side Be flexible. Be willing to give a little. Show your new colleagues that you are When I was willing to listen and consider new ideas. young, there used If you do, you might find others more to be a saying that accepting when you offer new ideas of described when a your own. Volunteer and participate. Volunperson left their own neighbor- teering is a great way to meet people, hood and ven- and helping others with projects and tured into a neigh- ventures casts you in a positive light. borhood that was Volunteering also gives you a chance to culturally or eco- highlight some of your special skills and Regina Banksnomically differ- abilities. Hall is dean, Attend civic events. Attending civic ent: “You are on Graduate & the wrong side of events puts you one handshake away Professional from meeting key figures in your new the tracks.” Studies, at This simply community. It also gives you a chance Cleary meant stay in your to learn what is going on, and how you University. own neighbor- can position yourself and your talents. hood, among your Plus, people will meet you and get used own people. It implied that you would to seeing your face. Introduce yourself. You must be not easily be accepted outside of those boundaries. Today, that old saying is willing to make the first move. Introtruly being put to the test. ducing yourself to others and showing Every year thousands of aspiring Af- yourself to be friendly and outgoing will rican American men and women walk benefit you greatly, while you find your across university stages, receiving de- place in your new community. grees of higher education, turning their Be social. Within reason, accept invitassels and celebrating one of the great- tations to lunch, sit-downs and other est accomplishments of their lives. opportunities with new colleagues. If Yet the vast majority of these individ- you do not feel comfortable at a local uals will wake up the next morning and restaurant, agree to a safe space within find themselves grappling with a deci- your work environment. When others sion possibly more daunting than the try to get to know you, use that opportuenormous task they just achieved. For nity to show yourself as friendly, learn the majority of these future profession- about your co-workers, and share with als, the road to opportunities and the them your best self and experiences. payback on their educational investDo not be offended easily. Your ments will challenge them to leave presence may be new for everyone, and comfortable and familiar environ- sometimes there will be awkward moments, entering more affluent and less ments. Sometimes people do not undiverse communities. derstand the lines of offense clearly, For the African American worker, due to ignorance or cultural differencthis brings a new set of worries. Will I fit es. They may inadvertently step on your in? Will I be accepted? Will my creden- toes, and you might unknowingly dish tials be respected? out a few bruises Will I get a fair WHEN YOU ACT LIKE YOU of your own. New chance to prove relationships of myself? Or will I BELONG, YOU MORE EASILY any kind require meet pain and FIT IN LIKE A PIECE IN A patience and disappointment? grace. Be quick to Three years PUZZLE. forgive, and make ago, I was one of small corrections those aspiring graduates who took a job as you go. This is how you build strong in Howell as a professor and now dean and lasting relationships. of graduate studies at Cleary University. Look for the best in others. WhatevIn Howell, African Americans make er you look for, you will find, so position up just 0.31 percent of the population. yourself to see positives. Look for comIn decades past, it was known as a cap- monalities. View your new community ital to some of the most racist organiza- members and colleagues as allies and tions in the state. Thus my challenge professional supports. was how do I, as an African American Be incredible. Your excellent crebrought up in inner city Detroit, navi- dentials and great work ethic brought gate professionally, promote diversity you to this community. Show them and unity, and make a positive differ- your incredible self. Let your phenomeence in this homogeneous communi- nal work and your high level of profesty? sionalism speak for itself. Leave them Thankfully, I am thriving here. My wondering how they ever lived without professional pursuits and my creden- you. tials have been honored and rewarded, Act like you belong. This is your new and I have been promoted. I participate community. These are your neighbors in campus diversity events, and I’ve and colleagues. This your space. It is spoken to the Howell Chamber of important to walk around as if you beCommerce on issues of diversity and long. An attitude of ownership will go a inclusion. long way in shaping the perception of My story can be a road map for oth- others. When you act like you belong, ers to venture into unfamiliar territory you more easily fit in like a piece in a where opportunity may lie in wait. The puzzle. When you shy away, as if you following steps may help African Amer- are an outsider, people will perceive ican professionals venture onto the you to be just that. other side of the tracks and be successAbove all else, remember that you ful once they get there. have value and purpose. What you Do your homework. Learning your bring to your new community benefits new community is paramount. Under- everyone. This pursuit may come with stand the culture, people and political some bumps, bruises and even setfigures. Try to remember names and backs, but in the end you must believe titles of key dignitaries and community that it is worth it. Maybe, just maybe, leaders. Subscribing to local media out- the wrong side of the tracks may be lets can help. right for you. BY REGINA BANKS-HALL

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JULY 6, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 7

PRECISE PRODUCTS Medical device manufacturer finds, grows skilled talent in the U.P.

CRAIN’S MICHIGAN BUSINESS: SAULT STE. MARIE

PAGE 10

A LOCK ON THE SAULT

GETTY IMAGES | ISTOCKPHOTO

Business owners, entrepreneurs find far northern niche

A passion for preservation

 Sault Ste. Marie entrepreneur helps revive downtown by saving what makes it special.

Sault Ste. Marie entrepreneur helps revive downtown by saving what makes it special BY TOM HENDERSON

Danna Sanderson, the principal of Sanderson Land Management LLC, has become a force of nature in Sault Ste. Marie, buying and rehabbing old retail buildings on the city’s downtown main street of Ashmun and opening up Airbnbs, including one with a close-up picture-window view of the freighters coming and going through the Soo Locks. She’s hoping to hear any day, now, about whether the Sault will be featured on a new series airing next year on the HGTV channel called “Home Town Makeover,” a spinoff of a current show called “Home Town.” The makeover show will feature the stars of “Home Town,” Ben and Erin Napier, coming to a small town and doing what is being billed as a complete makeover of the community. Sanderson submitted an application on behalf of the city and a video of local townspeople and various community scenes. She was told the Sault was a finalist when the show’s production staff contacted her and asked her to get signed releases of everyone in the video. She has done that, sent the releases in and is awaiting further word. “I could ring Danna’s praises endlessly as a personal friend, mentor and business colleague. She is one of the smartest, most wise people I have the pleasure of having in my world,” said Lindsay Ellis, Main Street coordinator

8 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

THIS PAGE

 A forensic investigator and native Yooper brings his business home. PAGE 9 Sault Ste. Marie firm makes carbon-composite parts. PAGE 10  Sault Ste. Marie SmartZone supports tech startups, broader community. PAGE 11

Danna Sanderson at the Foundary in Sault Ste. Marie | ANDERSON MEDIA

for the city’s Downtown Development Authority. “The community views Danna and her husband, Terry, as respected business owners, community members, doers of good works and good Samaritans for their initiatives to invest in improving the downtown area. Danna has a passion for downtown and is an entrepreneur with diligence, honesty, reliability and project follow-through.” See PRESERVATION on Page 10

“I COULD RING DANNA’S PRAISES ENDLESSLY AS A PERSONAL FRIEND, MENTOR AND BUSINESS COLLEAGUE. SHE IS ONE OF THE SMARTEST, MOST WISE PEOPLE I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF HAVING IN MY WORLD.” — Lindsay Ellis, Main Street coordinator

FOCUS | SAULT STE. MARIE

One case investigated by Superior Forensic Engineering in Sault Ste. Marie involved a 1983 GMC S-15 pickup. The driver was traveling on a rural highway in Iowa when the driver of a Mercury Sable failed to stop at an intersection and collided with the S-15. As a result of that side impact, the S-15 was pushed into the path of an oncoming semi tractor/trailer where it was impacted again. The driver of the S-15 survived but suffered injuries.| SUPERIOR FORENSIC ENGINEERING

A forensic investigator and native Yooper brings his business home

Company investigates the cause of accidents, fires, explosions

Commercial & Business Litigation Administrative Law Employment Litigation 17430 Laurel Park Dr. North, Suite 120E, Livonia, MI 48152

BY TOM HENDERSON

Jon Olson’s timing couldn’t have been worse in moving his company, Superior Forensic Engineering LLC, from Howell to the SmartZone in Sault Ste. Marie. The company, which investigates the cause of accidents, fires and explosions around the country, moved into its new headquarters in March — the same day Gov. Gretchen Whitmer imposed statewide lockdown orders. His clients enacted what he described as “pencils-down edicts. We went from 100 miles an hour to zero overnight.” Courts across the nation were shuttered, as well — bad news for a company whose work involves providing testimony at trials. But Olson, the company’s president and principal investigator, turned the sudden stoppage to good advantage. He was able to properly organize the three suites he rented at the SmartZone building and to set up the auto-testing area in the warehouse in the back of the building. (The company’s main focus is on auto-related accidents.) Things are getting back to normal now for the company. “Our clients have begun reengaging in cases,” he said. Olson has been running tests in the Sault on a Kia Sportage on behalf of Kia Motors America Inc. A 2012 Sportage burst into flames at the ATM of a bank in Pittsburgh last August and burned the bank to the ground, causing a loss in the millions. Kia has been warned by insurance carriers of a potential lawsuit, but no specific claim has been made against Kia, at least not yet. Olson found a similar Sportage in Grand Rapids, Kia bought it and it was shipped to the Sault. Olson has had heat sensors welded onto components of the car that get hot, monitoring heat levels during a variety of driving conditions to see if there is any inherent design or manufactur-

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Mike Cox • Donald Hutchinson • Melissa Raycraft • Jackie Cook

Jon Olson and his wife Kristi Olson, partners in Superior Forensic Engineering LLC, next to a Kia Sportage, which they are testing on behalf of Kia in a lawsuit alleging defective parts caused a fire that destroyed a bank branch. | SUPERIOR FORENSIC ENGINEERING

ing defect. He is setting up a training exercise with the Sault fire department. Olson wants to set a fire in a Nissan he has at the warehouse and see how it progresses as part of his work on another case. Olson fits a recurring theme for companies moving to the Sault area: he’s an entrepreneur who grew up in the Upper Peninsula, left to start his career elsewhere and wanted to return to his roots. Once a Yooper, always a Yooper, he says. “This is my home. I still had family here. I have siblings here.” Olson grew up in the Sault and got a degree in mechanical engineering from Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie in 1991. His wife and partner in the business, Kristi, also graduated from Lake Superior in 1991, with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice administration and a minor in fire science. She is a forensics analyst for the company and oversees business operations.

“They wanted to come home and they are a perfect fit here,” said Jeff Holt, the executive director of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., which runs the SmartZone and owns the building. The Olsons already have a particularly U.P. and Sault life style: they live on Neebish Island, a large island southeast of the city in the St. Mary’s River, and commute to and from the mainland each day on a ferry. “Travel is more of a challenge here, because we have clients all over the country,” said Jon. But there are two flights out of the Sault every day, to hubs in Minneapolis and Detroit, where connections are easy to make to anywhere. “It’s workable.” On a mid-June business trip to Portland, Jon left the Sault in the morning for Detroit, caught his connecting flight and was in his meeting that afternoon. The next day, he was back in the Sault. See FORENSIC on Page 14 JULY 6, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 9

FOCUS | SAULT STE. MARIE

Medical device manufacturer finds, grows skilled talent in the U.P. BY TOM HENDERSON

When Greg May sold his share in Trimed Manufacturing, a medical tools company in Warsaw, Ind., in 1989, his former partners told him he was nuts to move to Sault Ste. Marie to start another company. “I wanted to live up here and bought a place on the river,” said May, a native of Saginaw who had fallen in love with the Upper Peninsula. He was speaking of the St. Mary’s River, which flows southeast for 74.5 miles from the Soo Locks in downtown Sault Ste. Marie to Lake Huron and separates the U.S. from Canada. “I love the outdoors. It’s God’s country. There’s a lot of water and nature. There’s not a lot of traffic. There’s not a lot of people.” “My partners said, ‘You’ll never make it there. There’s no workforce.’” But May offered something at his Precision Edge Surgical Products Co. LLC that was exceedingly rare for the Sault — labor that required a lot of training and rewarded it with high pay and fringe benefits. “The funny thing? The first few people I hired are still here,” said May. The company thrived, almost too much so. “It grew faster than I planned, and I needed help with management,” said May. That was 1994. Coincidentally, that year a customer of his asked if would

be interested in selling the business. The customer was part of the Marmon Group, a Chicago-based industrial conglomerate that made the Pritzker family one of the wealthiest in the U.S. Robert Pritzker and his brother Jay bought a struggling company in Ohio called the Colson Co. in 1953 and built it through a series of acquisitions. Terms were quickly agreed to. “The Pritzkers have been outstanding partners. Bob Pritzker asked me to stay on for five years, and I told him, ‘Bob, I’d like to retire here,’” said May, who continues to work full time for the company as its technical director in charge of research and development and new-product development. “I’m 63, now, and have no desire to retire. I have a passion for this work. The business keeps me engaged, and I feel that I’m part of something.” Much of the Marmon Group was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2008. By then, revenue had grown from $3 million when the Colson Co. was bought to $7 billion. The Pritzkers held on to several medical device manufacturers, including Precision Edge, under the banner of the Colson Group. Jay Pritzker died in 1999. Robert Pritzker died in 2011. His nephew, Jay Robert Pritzker, is Illinois’ governor. The Pritzkers are known for their philanthropy and have funded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, the

Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Precision Edge now employs about 195 at its plant in the Air Industrial Park adjacent to the Chippewa County International Airport on the southwest side of the city, and it employs another 80 or so at a manufacturing plant in Boyne City. Some older, highrisk employees decided to retire in March when COVID-19 hit, though the Upper Peninsula has been largely spared from the worst effects of the pandemic. “It was a very challenging couple of months,” said Todd Fewins,a 1992 engineering graduate from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, who has been the company’s president since 2016. “Absenteeism was up and production was down. Do you come to work? Not come to work? But we’ve already started to hire for both of our buildings.” The company makes a wide range of surgical tools and parts for tools, including bone saws, soft-tissue blades, drills, broaches, rasps, burs, implantable screws and bone taps. About the time May was selling the company to the Marmon Group, because of AIDS and HIV, the federal Food and Drug Administration mandated that tools used to cut tissue in surgery be used just one time, reducing the risk of infection for other pa-

tients and dramatically increasing sales for Precision Edge. Fewins was an engineer with Ford and Visteon in southeast Michigan and then with Dura Automotive in Mancelona, Mich., before becoming the manager of the aerospace unit of

From NASA rockets to Boston Whalers Sault Ste. Marie firm makes carbon-composite parts for boats, paragliders, other U.P.-ish projects BY TOM HENDERSON

When it was based in Tempe, Ariz., Osprey Technologies LLC helped design carbon composite parts and did structural analysis for such prestige projects as a large wind turbine for General Dynamics, Taurus and Antares launch rockets for NASA, a huge shipboard antenna to help Navy vessels track launched missiles and Boeing 787 planes. Now that company founder and President Dave Crockett has moved the business to Sault Ste. Marie, where he plans to eventually retire not far from where he grew up in the town of Cedarville, he has more U.P. types of projects in mind. “I had raised my two daughters and decided it was time to leave Arizona and move back,” said Crockett. After high school in Michigan, Crockett joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego. After that he earned undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees at Colorado State, went to work for Orbital Science, a space startup in the Tempe area, then started his own prototyping and design firm there in 2004. Now, he makes carbon-composite parts for area marinas and boat owners who want to repair old Boston Whalers. He’s helping the Great Lakes Boat Builders School in Cedarville launch a carbon-composite boat-builder program to go with its wooden-boat program. And he’s designing and building prototype parts for Cardinal Plumbing & Heating, a 10 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

Dave Crockett, president of Osprey Technologies LLC, in front of his CNC machine in the SmartZone building in Sault Ste Marie. In the background is a Boston Whaler. | OSPREY TECHNOLOGY

fellow tenant in the Sault’s SmartZone building. Crockett also plans to launch a second company later this year. An avid powered paraglide hobbyist, he has built a prototype carbon-composite paraglider, lighter and stronger than those made with traditional materials, and for liability purposes needs to market and sell the paragliders as a stand-alone company. Jeff Holt, the executive director of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., which runs the SmartZone, is funding, through a Michigan Economic Development Corp. grant, the patent work on Cardinal’s innova-

tive plumbing parts. “We are always excited when previous Yoopers want to return home and invest in the local economy,” said Holt of Crockett. Osprey closed its Tempe operations in 2017. Crockett opened his Sault facility in August 2018. In May 2019, the company was honored as a Best Small Business honoree at the annual Michigan Celebrates Small Business event at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Osprey has a big three-axis CNC mill in the large warehouse space in the back of the SmartZone building and an old, 17-foot Boston Whaler that serves as a marketing tool and

model. While Crockett specializes in carbon composites, Osprey will make prototypes out of a wide range of materials. “What I like is that no matter what is brought to them for prototyping, whether it is wood, resin, composite or plastic, they’ll build it. I like the can-do attitude that Dave and his staff have. I’m thrilled to have him here. He’s really a scientist,” said Holt. Crockett said the SmartZone building was perfect for his needs when he moved in. The rent was reasonable, and the concrete floor in the back of the building was strong enough to serve as a suitable support for the heavy CNC machine he had trucked up from Indiana. Osprey needed a paint booth to paint prototypes. In a partnership with Crockett, Holt said he spent $20,000 on the paint booth in exchange for Crockett making it available for other tenants in the SmartZone, including Cardinal Plumbing. The company currently employs three, including Christopher Reed, a design engineer and recent engineering graduate from the Sault’s Lake Superior State University. Two techs who were working on Boston Whaler projects were furloughed when the coronavirus hit, but Crockett expects them back soon. He said he plans to hire more LSSU grads as he ramps up paraglider production and picks up more composite customers. Contact: thenderson@crain.com (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2

Skilled Manufacturing Inc. of Traverse City in 2007. In 2011 he was recruited by a former boss of his at Dura to open a new facility for Precision Edge in Boyne City. Five years later he was named company president.

P 10-h diffe Few 150, selli ery

PRESERVATION

From Page 8

Terry Sanderson runs a sporting goods store in Sault Ste. Marie that he bought from his parents, Leitz Sports Center Inc., and is also involved in the other projects, which Danna takes the lead on. “I am really enthusiastic and he is more grounded, which is good — it keeps me from going berserk,” Danna said. She says her passion is restoring original architectural details — tearing out dropped ceilings, sanding down hard wood floors and scraping plaster off walls to reveal original brick. “The minute we buy a building, I’m in there with chisels and hammers,” said Danna. “The point of buying an old building isn’t to tear down everything, it’s to save what you can.” A native of the U.P., Danna grew up across the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where her father was a research scientist for Forestry Canada. Her mother was a big fan of old buildings and architecture and used to take her to auctions. “That’s where my interest got started,” said Danna. Danna was mental health professional by training, leaving the field to help run her husband’s sporting goods store in 2000 after 12 years in health care. In 2016, the Sandersons bought their first building in the 500 block of Ashmun. “We got a good deal on it and gutted it. We way overspent on that,” said Danna. The building is now leased to the owner of the Phat Boutique, a successful women’s clothing store featuring new, trendy and vintage clothing. In 2018, the Sandersons were

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FOCUS | SAULT STE. MARIE

Sault Ste. Marie SmartZone supports tech startups, broader community BY TOM HENDERSON

Todd Fewins (left) and Greg May of Precision Edge in Sault Ste. Marie. | PRECISION EDGE

Precision Edge, which runs two 10-hour shifts a day, has some 5,000 different SKUs in its portfolio. Fewins said the company makes 150,000 units a year of its highest selling products, and as few as 20 every two years or so of its lowest-vol-

ume products, such as drill guides for surgery that don’t cut tissue and can be used repeatedly. All sales are to device OEMs and none are direct to health care systems. See PRECISION on Page 14

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The interior of a Sanderson Airbnb overlooking the Soo Locks.

awarded an economic preservation award from the Sault Area Chamber of Commerce for rehabbing the building. “It was important because it generates a sense of place and improvement to aesthetics downtown. This in turn has inspired a few others to follow suit in ownership of the same types of preservations and improvements,” said Ellis. The next rehab was a two-story building the Sandersons bought in 2017 in the 100 block of Ashmun, at East Water Street. An Airbnb is on the second floor, with a law firm tenant on the ground floor. A picture window on the second floor offers unimpeded views of the eastern entrance and exit to the Soo Locks, with the ships going by at close range. The rental unit is billed as “The Historic John Quinn Saloon Loft Apartment,” named for the original tenant on the ground floor of the 100-year-old

| SANDERSON LAND MANAGEMENT

building. After they bought the building, Danna attacked the second floor. She pulled out the ugly red carpeting and sanded the original maple floors, ripped out cheap paneling on some of the walls, took down the drop ceilings and had her son spend the summer of 2018, between semesters at dental school, chiseling plaster off the wall opposite the picture window to reveal a beautiful 44-foot-long red brick wall. After the building was a saloon, it became a cigar factory. There are old burn marks on the wood floor in the front room of the Airbnb from its factory stage, which Sanderson left visible while sanding to show off the building’s heritage. In October 2018, the Sandersons bought their second retail building, in the 400 block of Ashmun. It had been a bookstore, shuttered after Ap-

The Sault Ste. Marie SmartZone, one of 21 in the state run in cooperation with the Michigan Economic Development Corp., was created in 2013 when the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. arranged funding for a new building on the southwest side of the city. Half of the total $3.5 million cost of construction came from a federal grant, the other half from a bond issue by the city. The EDC runs the SmartZone and shares the building with it. Michigan’s SmartZone program was created by the state legislature in 2000 to create technology-business incubators across the state. The Sault SmartZone offers temporary office and manufacturing spaces to tech startups and early-stage companies at below-market rates. The building also offers facilities to others in the community. Its conference room can be rented for workshops, meetings and seminars and is offered free of charge to area nonprofits. The EDC also offers coworking space to freelancers, telecommuters and entrepreneurs in need of temporary drop-in office space where they can work and meet with clients without the need for a lease and with flexible payment options. The SmartZone currently has seven

pleton, Wis.-based Book World Inc. announced in 2017 that it was closing all 45 of its stores. A year ago in May, about the same time they were opening the Airbnb, they opened a store in the building called the Foundary. Danna runs it and sells an eclectic combination of architectural salvage, antiques, metal work, books, candles, gourmet foods, home decor and both new and vintage collectibles. “My goal with this store is not to duplicate what other stores in the area are doing,” she said. Sanderson said she chose the name to have a masculine feel. “I wanted to have a name that didn’t frighten off men. No man is going to say, ‘I want to go to the Blue Poppy today.’” Their current project is another Airbnb in a building in the 700 block of Ashmun that they bought last October. The previous owner didn’t live in the area and was eager to sell. “We got it cheap,” said Danna, who said when you are going to rehab an old building the proper way, trying to stay true to its architectural roots, “if you can’t acquire a building below value, it doesn’t make sense. You have to get the best deal you can. Getting it well below market value meant we had equity right away, which allowed us to fund renovation.” The plan is to put a retail tenant in on the ground floor and to open a two-bedroom rental unit on the second floor in July. “Our downtown had been fairly dead. We don’t invest in other people’s projects, but we help them. A lot of people are asking us now, ‘How do I do an Airbnb? Can you help me find a building?’ We can.”

Holt

tenants, with one office space available. Tenants pay in advance for six months at a time. “The last thing we want to be is a bill collector,” said Jeff Holt, the Sault EDC’s executive director.

The tenants are:  Cardinal Plumbing & Heating is a full service plumbing and heating firm just south of Sault Ste. Marie. Its SmartZone facility is working on prototypes for new and innovative plumbing parts it hopes to get patents on. It also hopes to open its own plumbing and heating school and eventually expand into the northern Lower Peninsula.  DPenzTech Consulting, a new tenant, is a technology consulting firm that wants to provide computer networking expertise in a rural area that lacks such resources.  Ideas2Production LLC is an offshoot of an Alpena firm and hopes to work with engineering students at Lake Superior State University to help local manufacturing and tech firms grow their capabilities and markets.  Omni Metalcraft Corp. is a materials handling and custom metal fabrication manufacturer also with headquarters in Alpena. It also wants to

leverage the capability of nearby engineering students at LSSU to help clients solve manufacturing and logistical needs.  Norpro USA began as a security firm in Ontario and expanded to the U.S. and the SmartZone in 2018. Its services range from one-day security guards to investigations to K9 security and training.  Osprey Technologies LLC is a carbon-composite prototyping firm focused on replacement parts for aging Boston Whalers and lighter, stronger powered paragliders. (See related story, Page 10.)  Superior Forensic Engineering LLC is a company that moved from Howell to the Sault in March and investigates the causes of fire and explosions for all the U.S. auto manufacturers. (See related story, Page 9.) The EDC manages two industrial parks and a tech-incubator facility that is separate from the SmartZone. The Air Industrial Park is adjacent to the Sanderson Field airport and includes the tech incubator. It has 10 businesses of all kinds and about 250 employees. To the south is the Sault Ste. Marie Industrial Park, which has a focus on manufacturing. It has five businesses and about 160 employees. The total square footage in the parks currently being rented is about 40,000.

GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS. We are just as happy as you are to see the state begin to reopen! As your financial partner, we will be here to help you get back to business, and especially now, to navigate just what “business as usual” means going forward.

Let’s get there together.

Kevin Pierce SVP, Commercial Banking 248.743.4047 KPierce@ibcp.com IndependentBank.com JULY 6, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 11

CRAIN'S LIST: OEM P PAR ART TS SUPPLIER SUPPLIERS S Ranked by 2019 automotive original-equipment parts sales Company Address Phone; website

Top local executive(s)

OEM sales ($000,000) 2019

Lear Corp.

Ray Scott president, CEO and director

$19,810.0

Magna International of America Inc.

Swamy Kotagiri president

19,349.0

Adient plc

Douglas Del Grosso president, CEO and director

16,526.0

Denso International America Inc.

Kenichiro Ito CEO, North America

10,900.0

ZF North America Inc.

Franz Kleiner CEO

9,926.0

Continental Automotive Systems U.S. Inc.

Samir Salman CEO, Continental, North America region

9,180.0

Robert Bosch LLC

Mike Mansuetti president

8,380.0

Joyson Safety Systems

Guido Durrer global president and CEO

6,614.2

American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

David Dauch Chair of the Board and CEO

6,531.0

Panasonic Automotive Systems Co. of America

Tom Gebhardt CEO Scott Kirchner president

Aisin World Corp. of America

OEM sales ($000,000) 2018

Percent change Products

$21,148.5

-6.3%

20,547.0

-5.8

Manufacturing

17,439.0

-5.2

Automotive seating

11,162.5

-2.4

Powertrain and electrification systems, electronics systems, thermal systems and information and safety systems

10,264.0

-3.3

Steering, suspension, brake and engine components; fasteners; occupant-restraint systems

9,045.8

1.5

Tires, stability-management systems, electronic chassis systems and brake systems

8,419.0

-0.5

Manufacturing

6,372.1

3.8

Airbags, seat belts, steering wheels, electronics

7,270.4

-10.2

Driveline systems, chassis components and forged products, axles

5,862.0

5,938.0

-1.3

Automotive multimedia products and components

Scott Turpin president and CEO

5,712.0

5,839.0

-2.2

Body, brake and chassis systems; electronics; drivetrain and engine components

Yazaki North America Inc.

Bo Andersson president and CEO of Yazaki North and Central America, and president of Yazaki Europe

5,333.0

4,900.0

8.8

Connection systems, electrical distribution systems, electronic components, instrumentation

Faurecia North America

Kevin Lammers senior vice president, Faurecia Group North America; president, Faurecia USA Holdings Inc.

4,975.0

5,167.0

-3.7

Seating, interiors, Clarion electronics and clean mobility

Aptiv PLC

Kevin Clark president & CEO

4,868.0

4,890.0

-0.4

Electronics, transportation components and integrated systems

Hyundai Mobis (formerly Mobis North America)

Chung Kook Park CEO

4,598.0

3,121.0

47.3

Chassis, cockpit and front-end modules; ABS, ESC, MDPS, ASV parts, LED lamps, sensors, electronic control systems, airbags, hybrid powertrains, parts and power control units

Delphi Technologies PLC

Richard Dauch CEO

4,400.0

3,863.0

13.9

Powertrain and aftermarket parts

TI Fluid Systems plc

Bill Kozyra President and CEO

3,818.7

3,983.0

-4.1

Fuel systems; fluid carrying products; hydroformed products

Mahle Industries Inc.

Scott Ferriman president

3,700.0

3,590.0

3.1

Engine components, filter systems, vehicle air conditioning and engine cooling

Nexteer Automotive

Tao Liu, president and global COO; William Quigley, senior vice president and CFO; Robin Milavec, senior vice president, CTO and CSO

3,575.7

3,912.0

-8.6

Automotive systems

1272 Doris Road, Auburn Hills 48326 248-340-8200; www.nexteer.com

Autoliv North America

Kevin Fox president, Autoliv Americas

3,536.0

0.0

Airbags, inflators, seatbelts, sensors, steering wheels

Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc.

Jeffrey Edwards chairman & CEO

3,100.0

3,629.3

-14.6

Sealing, fuel and brake delivery and fluid transfer systems

Visteon Corp.

Sachin Lawande president, CEO & director

2,945.0

2,984.0

-1.3

Climate controls, electronics, interiors

Piston Group

Vinnie Johnson founder, chairman and CEO

2,851.1

2,817.0

1.2

Module assembly, HVAC units, trim covers, visors

Flex Ltd.

Mike Thoeny President, Flex Automotive

2,800.0

3,000.0

-6.7

Autonomy, connectivity, electrification, smart tech

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

21557 Telegraph Road, Southfield 48033 248-447-1500; www.lear.com 750 Tower Drive, Troy 48098 248-631-1100; www.magna.com

49200 Halyard Drive, Plymouth 48170 734-254-5000; www.adient.com 24777 Denso Drive, Southfield 48033 248-350-7500; www.denso.com/us-ca/en 12001 Tech Center Drive, Livonia 48150 734-855-2600; www.zf.com 1 Continental Drive, Auburn Hills 48326 248-393-5300; www.continental-corporation.com/en-us 38000 Hills Tech Drive, Farmington Hills 48331 248-876-1000; www.boschusa.com 3

2025 Harmon Road, Auburn Hills 48326 586-726-3800; www.joysonsafety.com One Dauch Drive, Detroit 48211 313-758-2000; www.aam.com

26455 American Drive, Southfield 48034 248-447-7000; www.panasonic.com

15300 Centennial Drive, Northville 48168 734-453-5551; www.aisinworld.com 6801 Haggerty Road, Canton Township 48187 734-983-1000; www.yazaki-na.com

2800 High Meadow Circle, Auburn Hills 48326 248-724-5100; www.faurecia.com

5725 Innovation Drive, Troy 48098 248-813-2000; www.aptiv.com 23255 Commerce Drive, Farmington Hills 48335 248-426-5577; www.mobis.co.kr 5725 Delphi Drive, Troy 48098 248-813-2000; www.delphi.com 2020 Taylor Road, Auburn Hills 48326 248-296-8000; tifluidsystems.com 23030 Mahle Drive, Farmington Hills 48335 248-305-8200; www.us.mahle.com

1320 Pacific Drive, Auburn Hills 48326 248-475-9000; www.autoliv.com 39550 Orchard Hill Place Drive , Novi 48375 248-596-5900; www.cooperstandard.com One Village Center Drive, Van Buren 48111 800-847-8366; www.visteon.com 6

3000 Town Center, Suite 3250, Southfield 48075 (313) 541-8674; www.pistongroup.com 27755 Stansbury Blvd., Suite #300, Farmington Hills 48334 248-263-8732; www.flex.com

Seating and electrical

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This list of automotive suppliers is an approximate compilation. For companies based in Detroit and divisions of U.S.-based companies in Detroit, figure is for worldwide OEM sales. For divisions of foreignowned companies, figure is for North American OEM sales. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Crain's estimates are based on industry analyses and benchmarks, news reports and a wide range of other sources. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. NA = not available. 1 Automotive News. 2 Crain's estimate. 3 A deal finalized in April 2018 resulted in a combined Takata and Key Safety company renamed Joyson Safety Systems. 4 Automotive News fiscal year estimate. 5 Automotive News estimate. 6 Holding company for Piston Automotive, Irvin Automotive, Detroit Thermal Systems and Airea.

12 | CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

CRAIN'S LIST: MICHIG MICHIGAN AN MANUF MANUFA ACTURER TURERS S Ranked by 2019 revenue Company Address Phone;website

Top executive(s)

Primary industry

46,000 NA

Mary Barra chairman & CEO

137,237.0

-6.7

48,484 163,579

FCA US LLC

Michael Manley CEO

82,690.0

1.3

36,815 90,000

Detroit (3) Sterling Heights (2), Trenton (2), Warren (2), Dundee

Dow Inc.

James Fitterling CEO & chairman

42,951.0

-13.4

5,100 36,500

Dow Michigan operations, Bay City, Auburn (Dow Central Campus), Auburn Operations, Freeland

Whirlpool Corp.

Marc Bitzer chairman, president & CEO

20,419.0

-2.9

NA NA

None

Lear Corp.

Ray Scott president, CEO and director

19,810.3

-6.3

NA NA

Rochester Hills, Detroit, Traverse City, Roscommon, Farwell, Automobiles Flint, Taylor, Southfield (HQ), Highland Park, Sparta

Magna International of America Inc.

Swamy Kotagiri president

19,349.0

-5.8

750 Tower Drive, Troy 48098 248-631-1100; www.magna.com

10,558 3 166,000

Holland, Brownstown Twp., Sterling Heights, Plymouth Automobiles Twp., Grand Haven, Battle Creek, Warren, New Hudson, Novi, Highland Park, Troy, Shelby Twp., Newaygo, Alto Twp., Kentwood, Auburn Hills, Grand Blanc Twp., Delta Twp., Delhi Twp. and Boyne City

Adient plc

Douglas Del Grosso president, CEO and director

16,526.0

-5.2

4,880 83,000

Detroit, Warren, Lansing, Battle Creek, Lakewood, Charlotte and Madison Heights

Continental Automotive Systems U.S. Inc.

Samir Salman CEO, Continental, North America region

14,999.4

19.4

NA NA

Auburn Hills, Brimley, Dearborn, Rochester Hills, Troy

Stryker Corp.

Kevin Lobo chairman & CEO

14,884.0

9.4

NA NA

Kalamazoo, Portage

Health care

Robert Bosch LLC

Mike Mansuetti president

14,400.0

-0.7

NA NA

St. Joseph, Kentwood

Automobiles

Aptiv PLC

Kevin Clark president & CEO

14,357.0

-0.5

NA NA

None

Automobiles

Kellogg Co.

Steven Cahillane chairman, CEO & president

13,578.0

0.2

NA NA

Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, Wyoming

Denso International America Inc.

Kenichiro Ito CEO, North America

10,900.0

-2.4

6,000 170,932

Battle Creek

BorgWarner Inc.

Frederic Lissalde president & CEO

10,168.0

-3.4

NA NA

Cadillac, Livonia, Marshall

Amway

Milind Pant CEO

8,400.0

-4.5

3,000 15,000

Ada

Masco Corp.

Keith Allman president and CEO

6,707.0

0.8

NA NA

Ann Arbor, Adrian, Novi, Brownstown, Lapeer

Guido Durrer global president and CEO

6,614.2

3.8

NA NA

Auburn Hills, Pontiac

American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

David Dauch Chair of the Board and CEO

6,530.9

-10.2

NA NA

Three Rivers, Auburn Hills, Fraser, Oxford, Royal Oak, Troy, Litchfield, Warren, Kingsford, Sterling Heights, Coldwater

Automobiles

Yazaki North America Inc.

Bo Andersson president and CEO of Yazaki North and Central America, and president of Yazaki Europe

5,333.0

-0.1

NA NA

Canton Township, Petoskey, Lansing

Automobiles

Faurecia North America

Kevin Lammers senior vice president, Faurecia Group North America; president, Faurecia USA Holdings Inc.

4,975.0

6 7

-3.7

NA NA

Fraser, Lansing, Saline, Sterling Heights

Automobiles

Health care

3 4

16 17 18 19

General Motors Co.

Michigan plant locations

-2.8%

James Hackett president and CEO

Percent change

Employees Jan. 2020 Michigan/ Worldwide

$155,900.0

Ford Motor Co.

Revenue ($000,000) 2019/2018

1 American Road, Dearborn 48126 313-322-3000; www.ford.com 300 Renaissance Center , Detroit 48265 313-667-1500; www.gm.com 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills 48326-2766 248-576-5741; www.fcagroup.com 2211 H.H. Dow Way, Midland 48674 989-636-1000; www.dow.com 2000 N. M-63, Benton Harbor 49022 269-923-5000; www.whirlpoolcorp.com 21557 Telegraph Road, Southfield 48033 248-447-1500; www.lear.com

49200 Halyard Drive, Plymouth 48170 734-254-5000; www.adient.com 1 Continental Drive, Auburn Hills 48326 248-393-5300; www.continental-corporation.com/en-us 2825 Airview Blvd., Kalamazoo 49002 269-385-2600; www.stryker.com 38000 Hills Tech Drive, Farmington Hills 48331 248-876-1000; www.boschusa.com 5725 Innovation Drive, Troy 48098 248-813-2000; www.aptiv.com One Kellogg Square, Battle Creek 49016 269-961-2000; www.kelloggcompany.com 24777 Denso Drive, Southfield 48033 248-350-7500; www.denso.com/us-ca/en 3850 Hamlin Road, Auburn Hills 48326 248-754-9200; www.borgwarner.com 7575 Fulton St. E., Ada 49355 616-787-1000; www.amwayglobal.com 17450 College Parkway , Livonia 48152 313-274-7400; masco.com

Joyson Safety Systems

2025 Harmon Road, Auburn Hills 48326 586-726-3800; www.joysonsafety.com One Dauch Drive, Detroit 48211 313-758-2000; www.aam.com

$160,338.0

147,049.0

81,659.0

49,604.0

21,037.0

21,148.5

20,547.0

17,439.0

12,563.6

13,601.0

14,500.0

14,435.0

13,547.0

11,162.5

10,530.0

8,800.0

6,654.0

6,372.1

7,270.4

Dearborn, Flat Rock, Wayne, Woodhaven, Romeo, Sterling Heights, Livonia, Ypsilanti

Perrigo Co. plc

Murray Kessler CEO, president & director

4,837.4

2.2

NA NA

Allegan, Holland

UFP Industries Inc. (formerly Universal Forest Products Inc.)

Matthew Missad CEO Dick Gauthier VP, Business Outreach

4,416.0

-1.6

270 13,300

White Pigeon, Lansing, Spring Lake, Walker

2801 E. Beltline NE, Grand Rapids 49525 800-598-9663; www.ufpi.com

4,489.2

Automobiles

Food and beverage

Manufacturing

Consumer products and services

Manufacturing

Automobiles

2800 High Meadow Circle, Auburn Hills 48326 248-724-5100; www.faurecia.com

4,731.7

Automobiles

Consumer products and services

5,167.0

Automobiles

Bay City, Brownstown Township, Detroit/Hamtramck, Flint Automobiles (3), Grand Rapids, Lansing (2), Milford, Lake Orion, Pontiac, Romulus, Saginaw, Swartz Creek, Warren, Ypsilanti, Wixom

6801 Haggerty Road, Canton Township 48187 734-983-1000; www.yazaki-na.com

515 Eastern Ave., Allegan 49010 269-673-8451; www.perrigo.com

5,338.0

Manufacturing

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This list of manufacturing companies is an approximate compilation of the largest such companies in Michigan. It is not a complete listing but the most comprehensive available. Crain's estimates are based on industry analyses and benchmarks, news reports and a wide range of other sources. Unless otherwise noted, information was provided by the companies. Companies with headquarters elsewhere are listed with the address and top executive of their main Michigan office. Actual revenue figures may vary. NA = not available. 1 As of Jan. 1, 2019. 2 The 2018 revenue is based on Dec. 31, 2018, euro to dollars rate of 1.1492. 3 As of July 2019. 4 The 2019 revenue figures represent NAFTA sales of Continental AG, based on a Dec. 31, 2019, euro to dollars. The 2018 revenue figures represent NAFTA sales of Continental AG, based on a Dec. 31, 2018, euro to dollars rate of 1.1492. 5 A deal finalized in April 2018 resulted in a combined Takata and Key Safety company renamed Joyson Safety Systems. 6 Automotive News. 7 Crain's estimate. LIST RESEARCHED BY SONYA D. HILL JULY 6, 2020 | CRAINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DETROIT BUSINESS | 13

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE To place your listing, visit www.crainsdetroit.com/ people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com ACCOUNTING

MANUFACTURING

RSM US LLP

Plastics Engineering Company (Plenco)

Misty Pleiness has joined RSM Detroit’s growing team as the Technology Risk Director. Misty spent 13 years in public accounting in Michigan prior to leading the North America SOX program at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for the last two years. Misty brings extensive experience in internal audit support, IT external audit, SOC reporting, ERP implementation, and data analytics for both private and public companies across manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and retail NEW HIRE? industries. PROMOTION? BOARD APPOINTMENT?

Plenco, Sheboygan, WI., announces the appointment of Len Nunnery as Director of Marketing, Sales & Tech Service. Nunnery will be responsible for leading Plenco’s commercial and tech service organizations while driving new growth initiatives. He brings a unique depth of knowledge and experience in development, production and commercialization of customized thermosets. Nunnery held leadership positions at Bulk Molding Compounds, Citadel Plastics, A. Schulman, and was most recently VP of Sales & Marketing for Minnesota Rubber. “We are excited to announce the hire of Len Nunnery. Len brings Plenco a proven history of successful sales & marketing leadership and a wealth of technical thermoset experience.” Mike Brotz, President/CEO.

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FORENSIC

From Page 9

After graduating with his engineering degree, Olson took a job with a Ford supplier, then went to work in 1994 for Ford at the Rouge complex, eventually ending up in the auto-safety department, investigating accidents, helping the company decide if it had to send out recall notices or in defending itself in product-liability cases. “I was really happy at Ford. I loved my job,” he said. In 2011, Ford wanted to move him to another department as part of a career-development path. He wanted to stay in accident and fire investigation and decided to hang out his own shingle. Ford said it would be happy to continue to use his services as a contractor. He founded the company in Ypsilanti in 2011 and moved to Howell in 2017 before heeding the siren call of the Sault. He is a certified fire and explosion investigator, a certified vehicle fire investigator and a senior member of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers and has testified many times in both state and federal courts across the United States. Superior has four engineers who do investigations for the firm as 1099 contractors. All remain in southeast Michigan. The company has worked for every automaker in North America, including BMW of North America LLC, Daimler Truck North America, the Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Isuzu Motors America LLC, Mazda Motors of America Inc., Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, Subaru of America Inc., Toyota USA and Volkswagen Group of America Inc. It has also worked on projects for automotive dealerships around the U.S. Nonautomotive customers have included the Montgomery County, Pa., district attorney’s office; the Braun Corp.; Bosch USA and Ecolab Inc. The Ecolab case involved the explosion of a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Philadelphia. EcoLab serviced the cooking equipment in the kitchen and the allegation was that EcoLab hadn’t properly maintained the equipment, which caused the explosion. This case didn’t involve as much science to

PRECISION

Another case investigated by Superior Forensic Engineering involved this 1997 Ford Explorer. The driver went off the road, struck a gate, then a fence before hitting a tree and rolling the vehicle onto its side. | SUPERIOR FORENSIC ENGINEERING

settle as most. Olson was able to get hold of surveillance videos of the interior, one of which showed an employee inadvertently jumping on a gas line while cleaning the equipment, causing the leak that led to the explosion. The case was settled before trial.

“WHEN HE WAS GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DECIDING WHETHER TO LEAVE FORD, WHICH HE LOVED, AND STRIKE OUT ON HIS OWN, I ABSOLUTELY TOLD HIM THAT WHEN I GOT THE KIND OF CASE HE SPECIALIZED IN, I’D CALL HIM. I WASN’T THE ONLY LAWYER WHO GAVE HIM ENCOURAGEMENT, MANY LAWYERS DID.” — Jim Feeney , attorney, Dykema

Jim Feeney , an attorney in the Bloomfield Hills office of Dykema, has worked with Olson for about 18 years, first during his tenure at Ford and then hiring him as a consultant for more than a dozen cases since he went out on his own. “I do a lot of work for Ford in the product liability space. Jon has a particular expertise in fire cause

and origin, in fuel-system design and general automotive manufacture. When he was going through the process of deciding whether to leave Ford, which he loved, and strike out on his own, I absolutely told him that when I got the kind of case he specialized in, I’d call him. I wasn’t the only lawyer who gave him encouragement, many lawyers did. He’s one of the few very, very qualified fuel-system and firstcause experts out there,” said Feeney. “Jon is a very ethical guy. No matter what side of the case he is on, as a scientist and an engineer, he is going to give you the unvarnished truth.” Feeney said Olson’s testimony was crucial to winning a case on behalf of Ford in Salt Lake City in 2014, a case with a very sympathetic plaintiff, a young girl who had been badly burned in a freeway accident and whose attorney claimed the fire was a result of a defective valve. Olson did a series of tests and determined that even if the valve was faulty, it could not have caused the fire. “Jon’s testimony was instrumental. The thing to understand about Jon is, I call it his U.P. upbringing. He’s straightforward, honest and very likeable. He connects with a jury,” said Feeney. Contact: thenderson@crain.com (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2

struments. I can’t say enough positive things about them, both from a product standpoint and service. They do a phenomenal job of making products to our specifications. “About two years ago we signed a vendor-managed inventory system with them, which helps us save money. They’ve been the best of all our partners at having inventory on hand when we need it.” Closer to home, Precision Edge helped revive the machine-shop program at Boyne High School and was instrumental in landing a community development block grant of $350,000, in cooperation with the Michigan Economic Development

Corp., Charlevoix County and other industry partners, to create a mobile CNC lab for North Central Michigan College in Petoskey. The lab is set up in a trailer with 12 work stations and visits area high schools on a recurring basis. The grant came after Precision Edge invested capital into its Boyne City facility and hired 30 employees, with the goal to produce skilled machinists, which have been in short supply in northern Michigan, for area employers, including Precision Edge.

 CONTRACTS

Website: doner.com

 Doner, Southfield, an advertising agency, is now the advertising agency of record for Consumers Energy, Jackson, and for TCF Bank, Detroit.

 NEW SERVICES

online service that helps with preparing immigration forms for free in Michigan. The organization’s partnerships director, Fernando Urbina, is a Michigan native and Harvard student. Website: immigrantslikeus.org

From Page 10

Casey Kindel is the global supply chain manager for Englewood, Colo.-based Paragon 28 Inc., a medical device company that specializes in surgical tools and implants for feet and ankles. “We’re the fastest growing business in our market segment,” said Kindel, who said he purchases upward of 200 different products from Precision Edge. “They are a very key partner for us, particularly in single-use products. Precision Edge is a primary supplier of our cutting in-

Contact: thenderson@crain.com (231) 499-2817; @TomHenderson2

DEALS&DETAILS

 Immigrants Like Us, a Massachussetts-based nonprofit, is offering its

NIGHTLIFE

From Page 3

Dino’s Lounge in Ferndale has remained closed since mid-March during the coronavirus pandemic and does not plan to reopen to capture summer cruising business. | DINO’S LOUNGE

CRUISE

year will be another $30,000-$40,000 loss, Jacob added. Similarly, A.J. Desmond & Sons fuFrom Page 3 neral home won’t be able to rent its “We’ll probably do some limited ample parking lot and spaces along a setup of our normal event,” Cobb popular stretch of the Dream Cruise said. “We do expect people to come route — between 13 Mile and 14 Mile roads — but it will be able to keep its out, for sure.” Other bars and restaurants such as Royal Oak location open this year. Vinsetta Garage on Woodward in Usually, it closes down for a few days Berkley don’t organize specific and redirects clients to its two other events during Dream Cruise week- locations in Troy, said Kathy Desend, but still see a sizable bump in mond Barr, vice president of A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Directors. business during that time. Cities along the cruise route could “We’ve always taken a different approach, where we ran Dream Cruise see some losses as well. In 2018, each June 15, 2020 as business as usual,” said Curt Catal- of the nine participating communilo, owner of Vinsetta Garage. “That ties got a $5,000 cash grant because the organization had a surplus of whole week is just bustling.” Even if cruising still takes place funds that year, according to a report without official endorsement, Catal- filed by Woodward Dream Cruise lo said it likely won’t provide busi- Inc. Still, the question remains about nesses with the financial steam it normally does because of state-man- the plausibility of regulating cruising and crowds amid a health crisis, even dated pandemic-related restrictions “Because we’ll still be restricted to without an official event. “Woodward Avenue is a public 50 percent capacity, I don’t think it will have a positive impact on reve- highway,” Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier said. “The city doesn’t have nue,” he said. Other restaurateurs are even more any authority to stop people from driving on the road if people do come 2, 2019 cautious. Dean Bach, owner of Dino’s December Lounge in Ferndale, has kept his and have some unofficial cruise, we restaurant and bar near the busy in- don’t have any jurisdiction or autersection of Woodward and Nine thority to stop them.” Cruising along Woodward and the Mile Road closed since the start of the pandemic and said he was not crowds of spectators looking for planning to reopen for Dream Cruise, something to do have ramped up regardless of the cancellation an- since the coronavirus stay-home and nouncement, because of concerns business shutdown orders came about overcrowding and being able down in March. “We have been dealing with cruisto enforce social distancing rules. “One of the biggest things we get at ers in Royal Oak all summer long, Woodward is people using bath- and it has been a challenging time for rooms. … We would have to hire se- people who live along the Woodward curity to police doors, and all you will corridor because of loud mufflers do is open yourself up to hostility and and squealing tires,” Royal Oak Police people will get angry,” Bach said. “I Chief Corrigan O’Donohue said. “We am not going to subject my staff and take a zero approach to noise violatheir safety to it. This could be harm- tions and reckless driving and really discourage cruising.” ful.” The police department is enforcing Bach also worries about the implications of needing to shut down that privately owned business lots again if there were a surge in new are only for patrons, he said. Dream COVID-19 cases following a busy Cruise weekend will be no exception. “We are strongly encouraging peoweekend like Dream Cruise. It could ple not to come out. All special events mean the end for his business. Dino’s and Bach’s other Ferndale have been canceled. We are really bar, M-Brew, have been on and off hoping this is a non-event,” O’Donothe market for sale the last couple of hue said. “We are going to have extra staffing for that weekend, (although) years. Tom Jones, business manager at we are hoping to not need it.” Joe Valthe National Shrine of the Little Flow- entine, Birmingham’s city manager, er Basilica in Royal Oak, said the is of the same mindset. “(Canceling the Dream Cruise) is church could see a $50,000 loss because the city is not issuing permits to discourage people from coming so for Dream Cruise-related activities. we don’t have these concentrations Shrine normally rents out three park- of people gathering during the paning lots on Woodward Avenue and 12 demic,” Valentine said. “The intent is to educate the public now so they are Mile Road to automotive vendors. Shrine also hosts an annual fund- not making reservations at restauraiser for the parish’s schools and rants or hotels or plans to come into general maintenance of the church, the area because there will be no acand the absence of that event this tivities.”

Once a stigmatized cultural touchstone, experts say the “nighttime economy,” which refers to social and economic activity that takes place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., is critical to the health of a city’s economic output. “It’s a job creator; it’s a convener for access and equity,” said Adrian Tonon, Detroit’s nighttime economy ambassador, who works in the office of the mayor’s chief of staff. “It’s more than just the music and the venues, it’s the soul of our community.” Prior to the pandemic, industry insiders say Detroit had a thriving nightlife, due in large part to its historic reputation as a music capital. “Detroit has an enormous musical patrimony that is beyond what almost any city in the country has,” said Michael Fichman, researcher and lecturer in urban spatial analysis at the University of Pennsylvania. “Detroit has begun to embrace this in a civic way over the last number of years.” That embrace came in the form of a more collaborative and less restrictive approach to regulation, to ensure the industry could continue to flourish, which is most evident in the appointment of Tonon as an ambassador to act as a conduit between local government and nightlife proprietors. “Being able to effectively govern a city at night that supports arts and culture,” Fichman said. “That really opens RAIN’Spart DETROIT USINESS econoup aCwhole of theBcultural my, that doesn’t really exist during the day.” Detroit does not have data that quantifies the impact of its nighttime economy. Nightlife in New York City has generated as much as $10 billion in revenue, according to a study by Sound Diplomacy, a Berlin-based consultancy, and Andreina Seijas, a Ph.D student at Harvard University, which illustrates how substantially the industry can add to a city’s economy. “These numbers point to a very large sector,” Seijas said. And Detroit is no exception. But the coronavirus-led closures forced such economic contributions from the nighttime economy to come to a standstill. Tim M.Zazo, general manager of Menjo’s Complex, an alternative entertainment venue in the Palmer Park district, said his establishment lost more than $300,000 in revenue during the shutdown. “We went from having a pretty ro-

Kawsan, resident DJ at The Grasshopper Underground in Ferndale, played to a reduced-capacity crowd last month. The club is now closed again under new rules issued last week. | THE GRASSHOPPER UNDERGROUND

bust income to having nothing,” M. Zazo said. With tips normally accounting for a third of revenue, his 50 employees lost out on about $100,000, he added. For the Grasshopper’s Morad, three months of no business meant an average of $8,000-$10,000 spent monthly on utilities, including an electric bill that comes to almost $1,000, with no income. Fortunately, he said he had enough in his savings to cover rent and other expenses in the interim.

Federal help The Paycheck Protection Program was a helpful tool but not a lifeline, Morad said. He applied for the PPP grant and not the loan to avoid accruing any more debt. Many of his bartenders did not qualify for unemployment, as some didn’t meet the minimum hour requirements and the state unemployment website crashed for others due to a deluge of filings. So Morad started a GoFundMe campaign that raised almost $3,000 — including $1,000 that he donated — split evenly among Grasshopper’s 10 employees. CRAIN’Sdid DETROIT BUSINESS M.Zazo the same for his staff at Menjo’s, half of whom rely solely on the service industry for their livelihoods. And the PPP funds allowed him to keep some people on the payroll to assist with a remodel. The Menjo’s renovation was unleashed on June 12, when nighttime establishments were able to reopen at reduced capacity. M.Zazo said turnout was great, and guests were receptive to and compliant with the social distancing guidelines.

“Everybody was being very respectful,” he said. “A lot of people took the masks and gloves that were available at the door.” Under the new executive order, Menjo’s will remain open and conduct business outside, M.Zazo said last week.

Reopening problems Dones and Nowak have reason to be reluctant. On June 23, the Ingham County Health Department confirmed the first COVID-19 cases linked to the reopening of Harper’s Restaurant & Page 1 Brew Pub in East Lansing, the Lansing State Journal reported. That number was up over 100 by midweek last week and has spread to the Grosse Pointes, the Detroit Free Press reported. In a now deleted post on Facebook, Harper’s, which has temporarily closed again for modifications, attributed the outbreak to patrons, mainly students from Michigan State University, waiting in long lines while not social distancing or wearing masks, as well as a lack of proper ventilation inside the venue. And last week, the Oakland County Health Department reported three people had tested positive for COVID-19 after being at the popular bar Fifth Avenue Royal Oak the evening of June 19. Those experiences are why some proprietors, like Mitch Jaworksi, general manager of Bleu nightclub on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, held off on reopening in the first place. Now, it’s anybody’s guess when — or if — that might happen.

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Readying for a surge

TRACING

From Page 1

Detroit COVID-19 contact tracing not yet ‘where we need to be’ BY ANNALISE FRANK

When one person with COVID-19 goes to a bar or sees friends, they leave a trail of potential infections behind. Capturing that web of information — a disease control strategy called contact tracing — is among critical tools in the coronavirus-combat arsenal. But the biggest city in Michigan, where nearly a quarter of all the state’s COVID-19 deaths have occurred, has a ways to go on contact tracing. Denise Fair, chief public health officer for Detroit, said she doesn’t believe the city is “where we need to be.” Between retrained city health department employees and volunteers working through the state, Detroit can manage its current coronavirus caseload of around 20 per day. But Detroit’s COVID-19 investigative team isn’t yet ready for a big spike, as cases in Michigan rise. “We need to make sure when there is a second wave, we are prepared,” Fair said. In recent weeks, the state has seen its first example of a large-scale outbreak linked to a single hospitality business reopening: Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub in East Lansing. The bar is a 90-mile drive from Detroit City Hall, but the contact tracing process has produced a link. An unidentified Detroit government employee who tested positive for the coronavirus this week had recently visited Harper’s. “It gives you a sense of how widespread one outbreak can be,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said during a news conference Wednesday. In the contact tracing process, officials identify and monitor people who test positive for an illness and those with whom they’ve had close contact. Its success depends on local governments recruiting, hiring and training an ample team for the strategy made up of two parts: case investigation and contact tracing, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first part, case investigation, is done almost always by local health departments like Detroit’s, according to the state. It requires more medical training than contact tracing. Staff interview infected people to figure out with whom they’ve had close contact recently and likely details about where they’ve been, as well as discuss symptoms and testing. Then, once investigators identify a patient’s close contacts, contact tracers call those contacts to notify of possible exposure. They generally inform them of risks and 14-day quarantining measures, then follow up daily. The state sends text messages as well as phone calls, but Detroit doesn’t have that capability. The state has partially trained more than 3,800 contact tracing volunteers, based on “overwhelming demand” from local departments, said Jonathan Warsh, chief of staff for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and part of its contact tracing efforts. It has 422 active volunteers, 40 working per day.

Build as we fly Media often track the number of contact tracers per city or per state, but that may not adequately illustrate efficacy, Warsh said. “What we actually pay attention to 16 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

“Contact tracing is the response,” said Russell Faust, medical director for Oakland County. “We can avoid the need for that response if people are just responsible. Wear a mask and maintain social distancing. Vigilance can prevent the need for any of this. But I fear the worst. The big concern is whether we have enough trace monitors. We just have no way to know what the numbers will do. We’re pretty comfortable with the tracers we have trained, but we just don’t know.”

S d e

Containing the contagion

Detroit and regional partners opened a coronavirus testing site March 29 at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds on the city’s northern border by Woodward Avenue and Eight Mile Road. | CITY OF DETROIT VIA FLICKR

on a daily basis ... is for our pool, are we calling everybody every day? What percentage of the people are we actually reaching?” he said. The state conFair tacts 99 percent of all contacts within 24 hours and successfully reaches 60 percent. It actively monitored 578 Detroit contacts June 1-25, according to an emailed statement from Bob Wheaton, public information officer for the state health department. The state says it made 5,092 attempts to reach them in that time period. But Warsh is also clear the system’s data collection isn’t perfect and it’s being revised as cases fluctuate. “We’re building this plane as we fly it,” he said. In the pandemic’s height in late March and early April, Detroit’s team focused on case investigation and tracing included 50-60 members of the 200-employee city health department, many of them retrained for the purpose, according to Fair. Now Detroit is using approximately 15 case investigators. They contact 90 percent of COVID-19-positive residents, according to Fair, and successfully interview 64 percent. Detroit has two to three contact tracers, Fair said, who focus solely on the approximately 5 percent of identified contacts who work in high-risk environments, like nursing homes or hospitals. The rest of the contacts get called by state volunteers. The overall success rate for getting in touch with Detroit residents identified through contact tracing is just less than 50 percent, Fair said. The city’s goals include bumping up the number of calls placed within 24 hours, increasing its interview success rate and formalizing a plan for ramping up contact tracing abilities in the event of another big wave, according to a late May document outlining Detroit’s contact tracing plans. At that time, the city was calling 60 percent of contacts within a day and actively monitoring just 15 percent of them. The goal was to monitor 70 percent.

What reduces call success rate? For one, 30 percent of test results don’t include a working phone number, according to the May Detroit plan. And some patients can be hesitant to pick up the phone or share their friends’ and family members’ contact information with the government. When cases rise, so does need for contact tracers. That need also rises as states reopen, because when people are more social it increases their interaction and therefore the number of contacts. The Detroit Health Department projected in its May plan that if cases jumped to around 100 per day, contact tracers could be making 400 or more phone calls with new contacts and 360 follow-ups a day. One hundred new cases per day and two contacts per case means 80 hours a day, while a jump up to five contacts per case with 100 new cases per day means 200 hours a day. That would fluctuate the city’s need from 115 contact tracers to 224. The National Association of County and City Health Officials in April recommended a surge capacity of 30 contact tracing professionals per 100,000 residents. That would mean just more than 200 for Detroit. The city has requested $13.5 million from the state for case investigation, contact tracing, technology and related efforts in 2020 and 2021. It is waiting to hear back, Fair said. The department hasn’t yet determined exactly how that would be spent or what contractors may be employed, she said.

Bar outbreak Contact tracing is more complex when COVID-19 patients have spent time mingling in a congregate setting, like a bar. Cases linked to Harper’s near the Michigan State University campus had ballooned to more than 130 as of Wednesday. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday announced indoor seating in many bars would need to close to stem spread attributed to bars in Michigan and other states. So, how would Detroit’s contact tracing team react if the threads of a Harper’s-like outbreak began to appear here?

“(It would) be an all-hands-ondeck moment,” Fair said. The city and its epidemiologists get notified about positive cases in Detroit residents, she said, and can communicate with other health departments if, for instance, an infected Oakland County resident goes to a Detroit nightclub. “Once we get that notification, we are attempting to make phone calls immediately” to seek information from those infected, she said. The health chief added that she doesn’t believe Detroit is “where we need to be” when it comes to contact tracing for a second wave, but could “easily handle” an outbreak like Harper’s. Warsh agreed the local health department is generally first to see a burgeoning outbreak at a particular place. Then, if infection rates rocketed, the state could step in with more contact tracers. He also said it’s unlikely an increase like that wouldn’t be spotted quickly. “We are sending (the city) data reports on a daily basis of what’s happening, so it’s not just like we do this work in a vacuum,” he said.

‘Still limited’ Duggan, in a June 25 media briefing, called Detroit’s contact tracing capabilities “still limited at this point.” “And it’s been mostly aggressive in the Detroit Police Department, Detroit Fire Department and the like and the health department is in the process, in conjunction with the state of Michigan, in starting that, but it is not to the point where you would want it to be ...” he said. The mayor said he expects in the next couple of weeks to see more plans to build capacity. Fair said the health department was not yet ready to discuss that in depth. “Denise Fair ... is prepared, because I think it’s probably inevitable that there will be pockets of outbreak and we want to contain them quickly,” the mayor said. “Now we need to take the expertise we gained (with police and fire) and apply it to the first time we see a sign of it happening at a bar or restaurant.”

Contact tracing is a disease control strategy that’s been around for decades, used to control Ebola and H.I.V. Officials identify and monitor those who test positive for an illness and those with whom they’ve had close contact in an effort to control the weblike spread of communicable diseases. “Close contact” for the coronavirus, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, means anyone who was within 6 feet of the COVID-19-positive person for at least 15 minutes from 48 hours before they began showing symptoms until they began isolating. For Michigan, that length is only 10 minutes. The process starts with case investigation. The investigators, often employed in medicine or public health, work with infected people to figure out who they’ve had contact with, as well as typically their travel and medical history. “It’s sleuthing,” Faust said. “They also have to get a sense of honesty ... not everybody is entirely truthful about whether they went to the bar and were shoulder-to-shoulder with friends. Especially the college-aged kids who may be living with their parents this summer. Admitting to the health department they were at Harper’s last Saturday is not something they want to do. So it takes an interesting set of skills and empathy.” Case investigators spend upward of an hour on the call with each newly COVID-19-positive person and enter that information, along with their contacts, into the state’s Michigan Disease Surveillance System, which is updated with all COVID-19 positives and who they may have potentially exposed. Oakland County usually relies on just three case investigators to track influenza outbreaks in day cares or nursing homes, but has roughly 100 trained for COVID-19, said Kayleigh Blaney, an epidemiologist for the county. All of the county’s case investigators are master’s level public health experts and nurses, Blaney said. During the height of the outbreak in March, the county’s case investigators found each COVID-19 positive person exposed around nine other people. As people began isolating under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, those potentially exposed began falling, down to just an average of three people in May, Blaney said. But that figure is on the rise again. Three people tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting Fifth Avenue Royal Oak on the evening of June 19 and the county is asking anyone who was at the bar that day to monitor for symptoms. Whitmer has since shut down indoor operations at bars where alcohol sales account for 70 percent or more of sales in much of the Lower Peninsula until further notice. “The kids in Royal Oak, how do I

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Contact tracing: How it works State, county and municipal health departments engage in sleuthing to discover, educate and contain anyone who may have been infected or exposed to the coronavirus. Here are the steps for contact tracing:

1: The local health department

receives a positive test.

2: A case investigator calls the infected individual, asking them a long series of questions, such as whether they’ve been to work or who is in their home. Anyone who has been within 6 feet of the infected person for more than 10 minutes could have been exposed.

or even aware you may be infected, chances are you could kill someone,” Blaney said. “Reaching those people is critical to helping them not infect others and to slow down community spread.” Olszewski said she’s empathetic to those who don’t answer the phone. “I had a call one day where this person had lost their spouse to COVID-19. That was their exposure,” she said. “But we still have to follow up even though this person was grieving a terrible loss. I understand why they didn’t want to answer the phone. Other people who have lost their jobs because they have to quarantine. Others have difficulty getting child care if they are exposed. These people are all dealing with difficult situations.” Part of the contact tracing training is to identify depression among the exposed and point them to the state’s warmline that connects to mental health professionals.

Web of efforts 3: A list of potential exposed individuals is generated.

4: A contact tracer then calls these

individuals to inform them of the possible exposure and asks them a new series of questions about their own health and to ensure quarantine.

5: The possibly exposed people are asked to monitor for potential symptoms.

6: If symptoms arise, a test is then requested.

7: A positive test then triggers another list of potential exposed people and the cycle restarts. BETH JACHMAN/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

persuade them?” Faust asked. “How do I convince them this is a problem? It’s all fun and games until someone close to you dies. That’s what it may take. Or we may lose an entire generation of our elders.”

Educating on the edges Olszewski is the former director of the state’s community health department and now serves as a fellow for the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. She calls herself semi-retired but felt obligated to join the state’s volunteer contact tracer platoon. “I spent 27 years in public health and saw lots of things, but nothing like this, so I wanted to help,” Olszewski said. “As someone personally in a high-risk group (over 60 years old), I needed to find a way to help from home. Being a contact tracer fit that requirement, so I signed up.” She works one three-hour shift per week as a contact tracer. Olszewski logs onto the state’s system and pro-

gresses through the queue, making about 40 phone calls per shift. Olszewski plays the role of civil servant, teacher and listener. “We’re a resource, a listening ear sometimes,” Olszewski said. “We’re not functioning as therapists, but as connectors and educators on what they need to do, when they should see a doctor. We’re the front line of their potential COVID-19 status.” Contact tracers try to notify and start monitoring exposed individuals within 24 hours of a case investigation, i.e. a positive COVID-19 test result. But it’s not that simple. Some people don’t answer their phone or return voicemails. About 40 percent of calls from the state’s contact tracers go unanswered or unreturned in the first 24 hours. A delay in reaching an exposed person poses great risk to the community as they can be contagious for two days prior to showing any symptoms, according to the CDC. “If you’re walking around unaware

The state’s volunteers are handling contact tracing in the city of Detroit and the counties of Wayne, Ingham, Ionia, Huron, Van Buren, Cass, Kalamazoo, Branch, Hillsdale, Saint Joseph, Delta-Menominee joint health department, Genesee, Saginaw and Marquette. Others are finding other avenues for tracing. Albion College is training as many as 60 students as volunteer contact tracers for the Calhoun County health department. As of last week, 16 students from the college’s premed program had already completed the sixhour online training block through the school. Bradley Rabquer, director of the Wilson Institute for Medicine at the college and an associate professor in biology, said the initial plan is to assist the county but then use the tracers to monitor the potential for outbreak on Albion’s campus when it resumes in-person instruction in the fall. “Us being a small liberal arts college, we control the vast majority of housing for our students,” Rabquer said. “The vast majority of our events are also relegated to our campus. That’s good to contain the virus, but also makes us susceptible if someone gets sick.” Ottawa County is relying on technology to aid in tracing. Southfield-based ImageSoft created software called OnBase that automates portions of the tracking. The system can send texts to survey patients’ health, provide geographic monitoring of potential hot spots and populate the Michigan Disease Surveillance System on those being monitored. The system’s automated text messages are getting a 91 percent response rate, said Vince Hanson, director of sales and marketing for ImageSoft, leaving a much smaller list of daily phone calls the county’s health department has to make. Faust said Oakland County is also looking at software solutions to help manage the case load, even as it continues to hire more contact tracers. “Our tracers are nurses,” Faust said. “They’ll be needed elsewhere if we end up right back in a situation like March when we were trying to contain this thing and pulling all-nighters at the hospitals.” In the meantime, Olszewski will continue her volunteer shifts. “It can affect you, the suffering from all of this,” she said. “But I feel like I’m helping, so I plan to see this through for as long as the department needs me and as long as I am able.”

TESTING

From Page 1

“It would help if we had a test that was not as invasive again with the geriatric population or residents that have other medical conditions.” Samuel said many nursing homes are not getting timely test results from laboratories to take action on positive COVID-19 employees and residents. “We are not getting the best results in a timely fashion,” she said. Robert Gordon, director of the MDHHS, said the state is aware of testing delays and is working with laboratories to speed up delivery of results to nursing homes. Gordon said the state ordered the testing protocol following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC data shows asymptomatic and presymptomatic seniors and staff can unknowingly spread the virus and testing can help identify and isolate carriers. “The goal is to save lives and prevent the loss of life,” Gordon said in an interview last week. “Testing is critical to prevent the spread of COVID. If residents are positive, they can be isolated. One of the reasons for the tragedies in March and April was limited testing. We want to prioritize nursing homes.” Samuel said nursing homes wanted test kits two months ago but the state and federal government had limited supplies. While COVID-19 positive cases are drastically down in Michigan and at nursing homes over the past six weeks, Gordon called universal testing “a precautionary measure” against a potential second wave of COVID-19 this fall. “We want to do everything in our power to prevent the numbers from going up,” he said. “The country is not done with COVID. It is a mistake to say since cases are down, we can relax.” Over the last two weeks, Michigan’s seven-day average of COVID-19 cases has dropped to 320 as of June 30 compared with 1,622 on April 1. However, recent seven-day averages have doubled from 150 average weekly cases on June 13 to above 300 at the end of June. Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson with MDHHS, said in an email to Crain’s Tuesday that 80 of the more than 440 facilities have reported new confirmed cases during the previous seven days. Ninety-nine percent of facilities are reporting cases to the state. As of June 29, MDHHS reported there have been 2,010 nursing home resident deaths, up 63 since June 14. Twenty-one staff have died with 3,277 testing positive. Of 7,285 positive cases in residents, 5,513 also have recovered, the state said, noting that this includes data that is undergoing additional validation. Last month, a state report showed that more than one-third of the state’s total confirmed COVID-19 deaths are nursing home residents. Despite the heightened concerns, Gordon issued an order Wednesday that expands the reasons for visitation at long-term care facilities to include family members or friends who assist residents with activities of daily life such as eating, bathing or dressing. People have been able to visit residents who are in serious or critical condition or in hospice care under previous state emergency orders if they follow guidelines established by the CDC.

Hastings

Gordon

Who does the tests? Samuel said the state is allowing nursing homes to contract with laboratories on their own or work with the state for testing. The Michigan National Guard has been providing testing to nursing homes and prisons the past several weeks. The original goal for completing baseline testing was July 3, Samuel said. But last week, MDHHS gave nursing homes until July 17 to complete testing and reporting before enforcement of the order begins. The state also agreed to pay the diagnostic costs of the tests for those residents who have no insurance. Sutfin said the Michigan National Guard so far has performed 4,857 tests on nursing home residents and staff and dropped off more than 40,000 test kits for nursing homes in 41 of the state’s 81 counties. The Air and Army Guard members, known as Task Force Tiger, have been working with the governor’s office to complete the COVID-19 testing requirements established for high-risk facilities, Guard officials said. Guard members have been trained to conduct the test and others are assisting with sanitizing equipment, administrative tracking and the distribution of personal protective equipment, officials said.

Operators speak out Raj Patel, CEO of nine-facility Optalis Healthcare in Novi, said he doesn’t believe the state’s universal testing program is worthwhile because the steps Optalis has been taking to screen, test and isolate residents was working. “I wouldn’t have made that decision. There is no basis to claim this is any risk mitigation. It is just piggybacking on CDC guidelines,” Patel said. “The test doesn’t give me a result for two to three days. The employee could have worked 24 hours or longer while positive or negative.” Marianne Vesterfelt, Optalis’ corporate director of clinical initiatives, said the administrative costs for nursing homes to implement the rule, aside from test costs, will be very high. Another problem is that 60 percent of staff said in a survey that they would refuse to take weekly tests, Vesterfelt said. “They have a right to deny nasal testing,” she said. Kelsey Hastings, CEO and partner with Southfield-based Advantage Living Centers, said the 10-facility chain has conducted baseline testing and contracted with a private lab. “When it comes to testing employees, we have lots of challenges,” Hastings said. “Some cited religious or privacy reasons, some don’t believe it is accurate, have a suspicion of government, and some just don’t feel comfortable having it done.” Of the 1,200 employees tested so far, 50 have tested positive. “They are asymptomatic. We have to test weekly at those 14 days. During that time, if we have more come positive, then we push those 14 days forward,” she said. Hastings said Advantage knows COVID-19 is present in nursing homes. “We just keep on testing until the last positive person comes up.” JULY 6, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 17

INSURANCE

From Page 3

The new law lets motorists opt out of PIP coverage entirely if they have a qualified health insurance plan that covers auto accident injuries. The new law requires average reductions of 10 percent in just the PIP portion of auto insurance premiums for motorists who continue to purchase unlimited medical; a 20 percent reduction for $500,000 in PIP coverage; a 35 percent reduction for $250,000 of PIP coverage; and a 45 percent cut in PIP rates for $50,000 in coverage for certain individuals on Medicaid. There are no mandated reductions for the comprehensive and collision or bodily injury portions of auto insurance premiums. DIFS has said the statewide average savings for most of the new plans exceeds the minimum requirements. `What qualifies as a qualified health plan to opt out of PIP? Qualified health plans are defined under the law as a health insurance plan that does not exclude or limit coverage of injuries related to auto accidents and has an annual deductible of $6,000 or less. For seniors, Medicare Parts A and B will cover medical treatments for auto accident injuries, but with the normal limitations for rehabilitation that the government insurance program has for other kinds of injuries. For motorists with private health insurance plans, it will depend from person to person and company to company. They will have to check with their human resources and benefits managers and get a letter or document affirming their plan meets the requirement to be a qualified health plan for purposes of opting out of PIP. Self-funded ERISA plans, which are regulated by the federal government, may not include coverage of medical treatment for auto accident injuries unless an employer has specifically added it. Quicken Loans, whose founder and chairman Dan Gilbert was a driving force behind the reform, has added auto injuries to its health care benefits for employees, company spokesman Aaron Emerson said. “It is anticipated that this will save our team members as much as 40 percent on their premiums,” Emerson said in a statement. The benefits afforded for auto accident injuries under most health insurance plans are not the same as PIP benefits in a no-fault plan. Most employer-sponsored health care plans don’t cover lost wages, round-theclock in-home attendant care for severely injured motorists or modifications to

LANDLORDS

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If the landlord gets $900 on a $1,000 unpaid rent bill, the landlord must forgive the remaining $100. Kelly Rose, chief housing solutions officer for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, said the $50 million figure was reached following negotiations between the state Legislature and Whitmer’s office. “I have been called by landlord organizations or attorneys, and most of the response is positive,” she said. “Obviously they would prefer to be made whole, anybody would.” “No Michigander should have to worry about losing their home during a global health pandemic and, at the same time, landlords and management companies need rent from their tenants to sustain their businesses,” Whitmer said in a statement last month. “This innovative new program will save 18 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | JULY 6, 2020

Michigan motorists pay the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. | CHAD LIVENGOOD/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

a home or personal vehicle, like auto no-fault PIP plans do. For someone severely injured in a car accident, PIP covers up to 85 percent of lost wages tax-free for three years. `What happens to the $220-per-vehicle catastrophic injury fee? If a motorist drops unlimited PIP or downgrades to $500,000, $250,000 or $50,000 of coverage, the $220 assessment from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association goes away. The MCCA pays PIP claims exceeding $580,000. The MCCA, a quasi-governmental entity whose board consists of insurance industry executives, has set this year’s fee at $100 per vehicle, resulting in an estimated $1 billion in savings for motorists. The $10-per-month savings comes from cost containments in medical procedures built into the new law. `When will I see the savings? The new law goes into effect Thursday, but the savings don’t kick in until a driver’s next six-month auto insurance policy begins. That can begin at any time, but the driver has to ask their insurance agent to write a new policy under the new law, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said last month. Otherwise, the cost-savings for the new law won’t kick in until the driver’s policy is up for a renewal. “Nobody is coming to help you. You have to take the initiative yourself if you want change,” Duggan said June 18 during a televised town hall meeting on the auto insurance reform law he advocated for.

gives DIFS Director Fox more power to reject premium rates if they’re found to not be actuarially justified based on claims history. For years, the state insurance department has had just one contract actuarial scientist to police a multi-billion-dollar property and casualty insurance industry. Now the department has contracts with six private actuary firms to review and scrutinize rate filings. `Has this law increased competition among insurers? Michigan has more than 100 carriers licensed to write policies in the state. DIFS has approved 14 new carriers to sell auto insurance in the state, though some are taking a wait-and-see approach before setting up shop, Fox said. The new carriers had to prove they have the financial resources to handle claims and meet other requirements. “We don’t just let anyone hang up a shingle and then find out that they’re not a safe and sound company,” Fox said. The most prominent national carrier that has been approved to sell auto insurance in Michigan is Liberty Mutual Personal Insurance Co.

`How will state regulators ensure motorists see savings? The new law changes Michigan from what’s known as a “file and use” state where insurers filed their rates and could immediately charge them to a “file and approve” state. The “file and approve” regulatory scheme

`What happens if I exhaust my PIP benefits? In most cases, personal health insurance acts as a secondary payer, subject to the coverage limitations of each policy. Critics of the new law warn that drivers who exhaust lifetime caps on their health insurance may face personal medical debt or reduced care for severe injuries because they’ll no longer be eligible for the catastrophic claims fund. The new law also may lead to more lawsuits being filed by injured motorists against at-fault drivers to pay for additional medical benefits when a driver exceeds their PIP benefits. “They’re certainly entitled to go after you

lives, save money, and save businesses by keeping families in their homes and providing immediate financial relief to landlords for back rent they’re due.” Matt Lester, founder and CEO of Bloomfield Township-based Princeton Enterprises, said he fumed for months over the state’s eviction moratorium, which still allows for evictions under some limited circumstances such as when the safety of other tenants or the property is at risk. “I have been concerned and unhappy since the first eviction moratorium came out and the CARES Act came out and Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac) guidelines came out because they seem to place the entire burden of the economic hardship related to COVID on landlords. Period,” said Lester, whose company owns thousands of apartments in Michigan. “At least in terms of the moratoriums. Where I sit today, looking back on it, I actually have to give Whitmer’s administration and the people who carried

out the programs ... I have to give the governor and her team high marks, and I mean that.” Some landlords, however, are angry about the program, saying it forces them to take a haircut and makes the process of collecting back-due rent more cumbersome. For example, a spokesperson for Troy-based Hayman Cos., which owns thousands of apartments around Michigan, says it will not participate. Lester said Princeton Enterprises will avail itself of the program on a limited basis. Clifford Brown, partner of Detroit-based development company Woodborn Partners LLC, thinks the $50 million is just a fraction of what multifamily landlords are actually owed in unpaid rent. “I do feel like it’s a drop in the bucket,” he said, “but in general, in my experience with the people I talk to, rent is the one thing people are making.” Data seems to bear that out. According to the National Multifam-

first to see if you have income, assets or (an insurance) policy to cover that,” Fox said. The law increases the minimum Bodily Injury coverage from $20,000 per person and $40,000 per accident to a minimum of $50,000 and $100,000 if a driver signs a form acknowledging the potential liability risks. Otherwise, agents are selling BI plans with $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident and offering umbrella plans with additional coverage. “An agent who tells you one way or the other that everybody ought to buy X or everybody ought to buy Y isn’t, in my mind, really serving the role of helping you make the best choice for your family,” Fox said. “And you should push them on that.” `How does the new law treat coverage of motorcycle injuries? Under the old law, a motorcycle rider’s personal vehicle insurance covers PIP medical costs for injuries sustained in an accident with a vehicle. The old law kept those costs contained to the motorcycle rider’s plan. In the new system, the first payer is the insurer of the vehicle that hit the motorcycle, creating a system of different levels of medical care depending on the amount of insurance the at-fault driver is carrying. If the at-fault driver opted out of unlimited PIP, the injured motorcycle rider will be “stuck” with their PIP limits, which range from zero to $500,000, said Jordan Acker, a personal injury attorney and partner at Goodman Acker P.C. in Southfield. “Depending on the severity of the accident, you could go through those benefits really quickly,” Acker said. “This is the scariest one and the one people need to be most aware of.” `What’s being done to contain medical costs? The new law creates a fee schedule for ily Housing Council, a Washington-based trade association for the apartment industry, 92.2 percent of apartment renters nationwide had paid all or a portion of their June rent as of June 20, precisely the same amount that had paid as of June 20, 2019. That’s up from 90.8 percent that had paid all or a portion of their May rent by May 20, which was down from 93 percent for rent through May 20, 2019. And according to RealPage Inc., collections in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn market increased from 89.9 percent June 1-13, 2019 to 91.2 percent June 1-13 this year. Much of that is attributed to the CARES Act and the enhanced unemployment benefits of $600 per week. Still, there has been concern about a pending eviction crisis once the state’s moratorium expires. The Michigan Supreme Court estimated last week that there could be a backlog of some 75,000 eviction cases. With a $50 million fund, that would be $667 per case, which is

medical providers similar to the fee schedules set in law for Medicare, Medicaid and worker’s compensation. The fee schedules for other medical providers start at 200 percent to 240 percent of Medicare rates and then will be reduced to 195 percent to 235 percent of Medicare in 2022, followed by another reduction to 190 percent to 230 percent of Medicare rates in 2023. The fee schedule doesn’t go into effect until July 1, 2021. For 24-hour attendant care, the fee schedule limits family members and friends to being paid for 56 hours per week of care of a loved one. After that, a severely injured motorist would have to get the rest of daily care from a home health care company. “That will be a big challenge on our most catastrophically injured people,” Acker said. “What happens a lot of the time now is the (home health care) agency will hire the family member to do the care they were going to do anyway.” The cap on attendant care was designed to curb what lawmakers perceived to be an abuse in which relatives would get paid a six-figure salary for providing round-theclock care of their injured spouse or family member. `Can insurers charge motorists different rates based on their marital status, gender, occupation, credit score or ZIP code? In a word, no. The new law specifically prohibits insurers from using so-called non-driving factors to set different rates for motorists. Credit history has long been used by insurers to assess risk that the motorist may not pay their monthly bill if they have a history of not paying other bills. Under the old law, auto insurers gave motorists discounts for having a college degree, while someone with a GED could be charged more for insuring the same vehicle at the same address. Some insurers gave motorists discounts for being married, often resulting in rate increases for single women after getting divorced. The new law prohibits such variance in rates. Insurers charged differently based on ZIP code, a practice that was dubbed a form of redlining because it made rates in some ZIP codes of Detroit unaffordable. The ZIP code rates were supposed be based on collision and medical claims in those areas. The new law specifically outlaws the use of ZIP codes for setting rates, but insurers can still adopt territorial rates that could be as small as a census tract neighborhood or consist of multiple ZIP codes drawn together. Contact: clivengood@crain.com; (313) 446-1654; @ChadLivengood less than the monthly cost of an average studio in the region. According to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, there are about 216,000 apartments in Metro Detroit with an average studio apartment asking rent being $771. It’s $864 for a one-bedroom, $1,098 for a two-bedroom and $1,503 for a three-bedroom, according to CoStar. “While the pandemic was not the disruption we wanted, it may be the disruption we needed to transform the landlord/tenant docket into a resource that serves the community,” Chief Justice Bridget McCormack said in a statement. “By funding a statewide eviction diversion program, we have the opportunity to build on the success of local court programs that have kept people in their homes and supported stronger neighborhoods.” Contact: kpinho@crain.com; (313) 446-0412; @kirkpinhoCDB

THE CONVERSATION

Raj Kothari: Businesses will die, but new ones will be born CASCADE PARTNERS LLC: Raj Kothari, founder and managing partner of the Southfield-based investment banking and private investment firm, is an optimist. Kothari’s firm is coming off its best year ever, investing in and advising several deals in 2019, including organizing a deal for private equity firm Gridiron Capital to acquire the employee-owned insole maker Remington Products Co. COVID-19 has soured a lot of companies. Many have closed and, as Crain’s recently reported, many more bankruptcy filings are on the way. That presents opportunity for savvy investors like Kothari and clients. But worries remain of just what the future holds as the country’s case count continues to spike, and an end to the pandemic and related economic troubles is nowhere in sight. Kothari remains unfazed. | BY DUSTIN WALSH ` Crain’s Detroit Business: What’s your business been like under COVID-19? Raj Kothari: A lot of the stuff we were working on pre-COVID actually kept going, but really slowly. Things that were being prospectively thought about pre-COVID definitely went on hold. But even more interesting is that a lot of the work that started during COVID came through quickly. We’ve signed two new opportunities that started during the COVID. I did my first ever Zoom pitch for a client. Definitely never done that before. I’ve never physically met the client, which is bizarre and fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, everything has definitely taken longer. The emotional connection that happens face to face and the impact you can bring to people isn’t there right now. You can sit in a conference room and talk for three hours and get to know a client, but in Zoom that ability to engage diminishes in an hour. ` Is this crisis different for investors because it’s a totally new kind of recession than we’ve experienced? Different for companies? This is like any crisis. It’s not different than what we went through 2001 and 2008. The onset is always, “holy cow,” and then everyone hunkers down. Then at different rates, there’s an opportunity, and we all figure out how to play ball. The world isn’t stopping. Sure, some companies are reacting faster than others, but people are definitely looking at transactions and some are looking at investments. I think we have much greater visibility today than we did in 2008. The duration is going to be much, much shorter. Back then, the economy was booming along, then in September

2007, “Oops, we tripped the line on mortgages.” Here we just shut the economy down. We’re learning how to bring the economy back on, and everything is bouncing back. The way things are, we’re not going to be in open mode anytime soon. We’re going to be somewhere in between. And guess what? People are figuring it out. Back in the last recession, the economy adjusted and changed. We’ll evolve. Business will change. There are winners and losers, of course. There are companies doing phenomenal through all this. Blackboard, Zoom, Canvas. Disruption creates opportunity.

Raj Kothari, founder and managing partner, Cascade Partners LLC

someone else. Crisis is great because it forces change in behavior. Crisis forces change. There’s a recognition they can’t keep doing what they were doing. What you see happening now happened in 2008, 2001 and ’97. ` But, as you said, small business is being impacted harder. But we’ve seen that before. This is no different. Small businesses are always hit harder. Back in 2008, we saw entire sectors wiped out. It was an exacerbation of the current trend, but look at retail. Amazon basically wiped out a whole sector during the last recession. Things will change and evolve. Business is not going to stop, so those in it have to change.

` But many companies are going to be impacted. Yes, there’s a lot more pressure on companies. Anyone that is still shut down, they are really susceptible. But it’s going to take time. If they got (Payroll Protection Program loans), they got money. It’s not an acute crisis when they have that money. If they are operating at 25 percent, they aren’t making money. In the second half of this year, we’ll see a lot of distressed companies and distressed transactions. People are definitely asking for help. We’re already seeing folks that have went through 2008 saying they are done. Many others are realizing to be successful, they’ve got to be much larger. The large companies are going to ferret through this much better than the small companies. They know they have to sell or buy

` What’s Michigan going to look like at the end of this pandemic? You’d have to make huge assumptions. But I think we’ll be charging back on a path toward recovery. That’s how I organize my business. I predict we’ll succeed. The other way is fatalistic. If you watch, all these recessions are progressively faster in recovery. Growth hides a lot of sins. But we’ve had such modest growth since the last recession, people were thoughtful and patient. No one was making huge bets, so they couldn’t make a big mistake. When (gross domestic product) grows at 2 percent, it’s a good thing. We steadily rise. When growth hits 4 percent or 5 percent, then a lot of mistakes are hidden and that worries me more. I think in 2021 we’ll still be in recovery, but by 2022 we’ll be growing again. Slowly. Steadily.

READ ALL THE CONVERSATIONS AT CRAINSDETROIT.COM/THECONVERSATION

ernor said last week that pro sports could return without fans. “We have built out several contingencies for limited crowds in case the governor issues a new executive order regarding fans at sporting events

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Detroit City FC to resume play in Hamtramck

After missing its entire spring season, Detroit City Football Club is scheduled to resume play July 31.

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DETROIT CITY FOOTBALL CLUB is scheduled to return to the pitch at the end of July, the team announced Wednesday in the latest sign of a comeback for live sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. The soccer team will host Cleveland SC on July 31 and FC Buffalo on Aug. 2 as part of a new tournament, according to a news release. Both games will be played at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck and televised on TV20 Detroit as well as livestreamed. The stands will be empty of the team’s rowdy, faithful fans unless Gov. Gretchen Whitmer updates her executive order on professional sports teams by game time. The gov-

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in the coming weeks,” DCFC co-owner Sean Mann said in an email. DCFC’s announcement came a day before the Rocket Mortgage Classic returned to Detroit without fans on the golf course and two days before the United Shore Professional Baseball League planned its season opener in Utica. League owner Andy Appleby told Crain’s that Jimmy John’s Field would welcome no more than 100 corporate partners Friday. Detroit City FC’s first games of summer will be part of the Independent Cup and hosted by the National Independent Soccer Association, which DCFC joined to go professional starting this season. The regional tournament is com-

prised of 15 pro and amateur clubs and will result in four regional championships. It kicks off a season long awaited by Le Rouge. The first game of the fall regular season — DCFC’s first regular game as a professional organization — is scheduled for Aug. 8, with the season running through October. DCFC’s home opener was scheduled for March 21 before the pandemic suspended sports and ultimately cost the club its entire spring season. Mann, who said the team is losing around $100,000 in revenue for each canceled home game, told Crain’s in April that he was committed to playing soccer this year.

Crain’s Detroit Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice Chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior Executive Vice President Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732; (313) 446-6000 Cable address: TWX 248-221-5122 AUTNEW DET CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS ISSN # 0882-1992 is published weekly, except the third week in December, by Crain Communications Inc. at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2732. Periodicals postage paid at Detroit, MI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 07925, Detroit, MI 48207-9732. GST # 136760444. Printed in U.S.A. Contents copyright 2020 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content in any manner without permission is prohibited.

JULY 6, 2020 | CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS | 19

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