MiBiz November 23, 2020 print edition by MiBiz

Line 5 pipeline dynamic shifts with shutdown notice

Grand Rapids amphitheater plans in motion

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Survey: WM executives broadly support mask mandate, more federal stimulus funding By ANDY BALASKOVITZ | MiBiz abalaskovitz@mibiz.com

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Facing widespread can shortages, West Michigan breweries weigh packaging options By JAYSON BUSSA | MiBiz jbussa@mibiz.com

eading into 2021, Brewery Vivant has worked with its distributor to get three different six-pack placements into Meijer Inc. stores on a statewide basis. It’s a move that should be exciting for the Grand Rapids-based brewery, but currently it has CEO Jason Spaulding a little stressed out. “Meijer has been a great partner and they’re trying to help out local breweries and that’s huge. We’re just hoping we can fulfill,” Spaulding said. “We’re going forward as if we can. I’m sweating a little bit, though.” Giving Spaulding cause for concern is a nationwide aluminum can shortage sparked by, among other factors, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has drastically cut down on beverage consumption at bars and restaurants as consumers shift their consumption to packaged beers at home. Local breweries of all sizes are starting to feel the pinch of the diminished can supply, and it has made it tough for establishments like Brewery Vivant to anticipate whether they will have adequate supplies. “Up until this moment, we’ve been able to locate the cans we need so we haven’t had to cut any orders or anything,” said Spaulding, whose brewery was one of the first in the Midwest to

See CAN SHORTAGE on page 13

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Nov. 15 announced new three-week restrictions on businesses to help slow the surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. COURTESY PHOTO

‘Lives and livelihoods’ West Michigan executives pursue balance between fighting the COVID-19 surge while protecting businesses. What that means is unclear as hospitals are stretched thin and state and federal lawmakers blame one another as financial relief runs low. SEE PAGE 3. STORY BY ANDY BALASKOVITZ | MIBIZ

oughly three-quarters of West Michigan business executives and other professionals support a statewide mask mandate for indoor gatherings as well as another round of federal stimulus funding, according to a survey last week of nearly 400 MiBiz readers. Three out of four respondents to the reader poll also agreed that “the economy won’t fully recover until the virus is under control.” MiBiz conducted the reader survey over three days from Nov. 17-19. It was emailed directly to 9,275 subscribers and also included in our daily morning newsletter. The survey, which was conducted using SurveyMonkey, received 384 responses and has a 5 percent margin of error. Readers were asked nine questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, its effect on their company, and government policies to address the crisis. Among the findings with wide support: • 73 percent “support a statewide mask mandate for all indoor gatherings in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.” • 75 percent said federal lawmakers should approve another round of stimulus funding. • 73 percent agreed with economists who say the economy won’t fully recover “until the virus is under control.” See SURVEY on page 10

Land banks increase focus on affordable housing developments By KATE CARLSON | MiBiz kcarlson@mibiz.com

and banks are emerging as an important resource to help fill the affordable housing shortage communities are facing in West Michigan and across the state. Michigan’s first land bank was started in 2004 in Genesee County with the goal of reverting tax-foreclosed properties to productive use. Of Michigan’s 83 counties, 46 now have land banks with similar missions. The

state also operates a land bank for the 37 counties, including Kent County, without a land bank authority. Over the last few years, community leaders and housing advocates have realized the opportunities for affordable housing projects on land bank-owned properties, said Housing Next Executive Director Ryan Kilpatrick. Land banks are beneficial for facilitating affordable housing projects because they are a public entity with a primary goal of serving the

Kilpatrick

Trout-Edwards

community and not maximizing profit, Kilpatrick said. “One of the things that’s great about land banks is we can be pretty

flexible,” said Calhoun County Land Bank Authority Executive Director Krista Trout-Edwards. “We do consider things outside of the highest bid.” A housing project is less likely to be affordable if the development is left to the private sector, Kilpatrick said. The high demand for affordable housing also can’t be met solely by the private sector alone, especially with high construction costs, he added. See AFFORDABLE HOUSING on page 9

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Business leaders seek COVID-19 response that preserves ‘lives and livelihoods’ By ANDY BALASKOVITZ | MiBiz abalaskovitz@mibiz.com

wo hundred and forty six days passed between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first stay-at-home order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and new state restrictions scaling back and closing some businesses. In some ways, the restrictions were expected given public health experts’ predictions of a second wave this fall and winter. But while Michigan and neighboring states are revisiting certain shutdown orders, the dynamics of the pandemic are wildly different. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are spiking, but officials know far more about the virus than they did in March. Mental health indicators are growing at an alarming rate to public health professionals, but promising vaccine trials suggest an end to the pandemic is in sight. Businesses like restaurants and entertainment venues have adapted, pivoted and invested in long-term changes, but face renewed uncertainty after another round of shutdowns. Federal lawmakers roundly supported the biggest stimulus package in U.S. history in March, but are now mired in a stalemate. Public health experts and economists say the next several months will be a significant test of whether we can stop the massive spread of the virus before a vaccine is readily available — which could take a year — and find political common ground on financial relief for struggling businesses. It’s the latest leg of a trying and painful marathon.

Relief running low On Nov. 15., Whitmer announced the latest Department of Health and Human Services emergency order shutting down dine-in service at restaurants and bars and closing entertainment venues like bowling alleys and movie theaters. Within days, a statewide restaurant trade group and two hospitality businesses filed a lawsuit in an attempt to halt the order, saying it would irreparably harm thousands of businesses. This time around, financial relief isn’t as widely available as before. The federal Paycheck Protection Program closed on Aug. 8 with about $137 billion that went unused. The U.S. House passed an updated, $2.2 trillion HEROES Act in early October, which included $120 billion in relief specifically for restaurants and bars, but it has failed to move in the Republican-led U.S. Senate. Businesses can apply for smaller, localized grants, but it’s unclear whether those would make up for significant losses in revenue. Those local funds also are dwindling. The Kent County Small Business Recovery Program included about $30 million total for

“What the governor (Whitmer) did is very reasonable in many ways to stem the spread of this virus. Do we have concerns about some of the details in it? Yes. Dealing with industries in a broad brush and not others is concerning. It’s about their livelihoods, but the most important thing is lives.” — ANDY JOHNSTON VP of Government and Corporate Affairs at the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce

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various sizes of small businesses, companies specifically closed by state order, and childcare providers. As of last week, the program’s remaining $4 million was “rapidly decreasing,” said Andy Johnston, vice president of government and corporate affairs with the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, which is helping administer the program. The Kent County Board of Commissioners infused another $5 million on Nov. 19 for busineses affected by the latest restrictions “This is not going to be easy, of course,” Johnston said. “We’re starting to run out of grants and are getting really close to wrapping that up.” The Chamber plans to make a lame duck push for legislation deferring property tax payments for businesses that have been shut down. Similar bills passed this summer with broad bipartisan support in the Republican-led state Legislature, but Whitmer vetoed them in July, citing potential negative effects on local budgets and an unconstitutional provision. Loeks Theatres Inc. spokesperson Emily Loeks said the company — which was forced to close its Celebration! Cinema locations under the three-week order — took precautionary measures that make it “optimistic about what we can provide when community spread of the virus is under better control.” “This shutdown is particularly painful. Our 10 Celebration Cinema movie theatres were closed for seven months, and a return to closure puts our ability to retain an incredibly fine team of people at risk,” Loeks said. “For our industry, there’s a pretty strong light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is hazardous. We’ve experienced tremendous loss. Without help from Congress and our Michigan government, local ownership of theatres and entertainment venues risks being lost.” Dennis Johnson, owner of Grand Rapidsbased bowling center Clique Lanes, feels as if the latest order singles out specific businesses. Bowling alleys like his are also subject to the three-week shutdown. “There is nothing in place for small businesses to recoup any of this money,” he said. “There is no PPP, there is no plan. I have nothing for my employees so now we’re just laying them off. … It’s pretty hard. They stuck with us over the first shutdown and hopefully they’ll stick with us through this.”

An economist’s view Tim Bartik, senior economist at the Kalamazoobased W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, said it’s important to consider the recent business closings against a scenario in which the spread of the virus is left unabated. “We shouldn’t be comparing it to an imaginary world with no virus,” he said. Allowing the virus to spread as it is, particularly in the Midwest, would cause not only public health damage and wreak havoc on hospitals, but it would also have economic consequences. “If the pandemic is spreading rapidly, that’s going to shut down a lot of businesses. People would be more afraid to go into those businesses, employees would be getting sick, childcare centers would close,” Bartik said. “Without doing anything, we would have had — perhaps at some point — increasingly severe economic consequences with the virus spreading.” While Bartik agrees restaurants, bars and entertainment venues will likely see short-term pain, controlling the spread is proving to be better for the overall economy. “The ideal thing would be some kind of federal stimulus that would include payments to restaurants and bars,” Bartik said, adding that the PPP program “on the whole” worked but could have been more targeted to businesses that need help the most. “We need a federal stimulus bill that ideally extends unemployment benefits and payments to households to keep the economy rolling,” he said. “I think (the CARES Act) was a good thing and should be continued in some form.”

While the state constitution requires Michigan to have a balanced budget, tying its hands to be able to offer direct stimulus like the federal government, Bartik questioned whether the state could create its own low-interest loan program for restaurants and bars. “I think that should be on the table for discussion,” he said.

‘Lives and livelihoods’ As of last week, Michigan had the fourth highest number of hospitalizations and the ninth highest number of deaths in the U.S. Spectrum Health CEO Tina Freese Decker and Kent County Health Director Dr. Adam London painted a bleak picture during a Nov. 16 virtual meeting held by the Economic Club of Grand Rapids. Spectrum’s COVID-19 test positivity rate stood at 19.6 percent, and the rate is a “precursor to (hospital) admissions,” Freese Decker said. London added that the increasing caseload is “making it very difficult to do case intervention and contact tracing.” The county’s test positivity rate was over 15 percent after hovering around 2-3 percent for most of the summer. “This is a very concerning trend. We don’t know how high it’s going to go,” London said. “Now we have environmental and social factors working against us going into the colder months. The air is drier and much more favorable to virus transmission.” Announcing the DHHS restrictions on Nov. 15, Whitmer said the “situation has never been more dire” in Michigan: “We are at the precipice and we need to take some action.” Within days, governors in neighboring states followed suit. On Nov. 18, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered a four-week shutdown of bars, restaurants, fitness clubs and various entertainment venues, and halted amateur sports and limited visitors to individual households. On Nov. 17, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued a three-week overnight stayat-home order — essentially a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew — and hadn’t ruled out additional restrictions. Health experts praised Whitmer’s move as a model for the type of targeted restrictions on places where transmission is prone to spread. “What the governor (Whitmer) did is very reasonable in many ways to stem the spread of this virus,” said Johnston of the Grand Rapids Chamber. “Do we have concerns about some of the details in it? Yes. Dealing with industries in a broad brush and not others is concerning. It’s about their livelihoods, but the most important thing is lives.” Johnston said the “general reaction” from the business community was that something had to be done about the surge in cases and strain on hospitals. Loeks acknowledged that the latest COVID19 surge “has clearly reached a dangerous level,” and understood the DHHS measures to “ensure our hospital systems don’t collapse.” At the recent Econ Club virtual meeting, West Michigan Policy Forum officials stressed the need for businesses to set examples with strong workplace safety measures, including regular health screenings and mask wearing. Past WMPF chairman and Amway Corp. President Doug DeVos said multiple times the goal is protecting “lives and livelihoods.” “We have to continue to be focused on flattening the curve, we can’t lose sight of that,” DeVos said. “As a business leader, make sure you are doing these things and you’re telling your employees about it. Talk about it. Make it visible.” He also called on the business audience to “challenge leaders at all levels to be better,” a sentiment echoed by Johnston. “The biggest thing is maintaining our health capacity right now,” Johnston said. “In terms of what we do about it and where’s help going to come from: It’s all about leadership.”

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MiBiz ISSN 1085-4916 • USPS 017-099 Established 1988 MiBiz is published every other week by MiBiz, Inc., P.O. Box 1629, Grand Rapids, MI 49501. Telephone (616) 608-6170. Fax (616) 608-6182. E-mail: info@mibiz.com. Subscription changes: subscribe@mibiz. com. Periodicals Postage is paid at Grand Rapids, MI. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MiBiz, P.O. Box 1629, Grand Rapids, MI 49501. Subscriptions are available without cost to qualified readers. Paid subscriptions are available to those not meeting qualified circulation requirements. Paid subscriptions are $99/year. Single copy and back issues (when available) are $3 each, plus first class postage. Call 1-877-443-1977 to order.

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MANUFACTURING

‘Game-changer’ incubator made in Battle Creek is saving puppies across the U.S. By JAYSON BUSSA | MiBiz jbussa@mibiz.com BATTLE CREEK — When Ken Sunden gets the itch to solve a problem, it’s nearly impossible for him to avoid scratching it. Sunden found this to be true when he and his wife Debbie purchased a puppy, Chaos, from Ohio-based dog breeder Susan Endsley five years ago. Sunden learned two of the five puppies were small for gestational age (SGA) and did not survive. SGA puppies are essentially the runts of the runts and have difficulty regulating their body temperature. After buying Chaos, “I was pulling off into rest stops while I was driving around during the day and sketching out how I would make an incubator for her — I know, that sounds totally normal,” Sunden said sarcastically. “I built one and gave it to (Endsley), in part because I had empathy for her and also in part because I wanted to build it and stop thinking about how I would make an incubator,” he added. Sunden eventually built a business around the product, called Puppywarmer. He has developed a series of proprietary incubators primarily used to support puppies that have gone through a stressful or traumatic event. This includes SGA puppies or those born via cesarean section. Instead of blowing warm air like traditional incubators, the Puppywarmer uses an infrared heater that emits wavelengths to heat a puppy about an inch into its body. A sensor monitors and controls the air temperature while the closed cell foam floor mat warms up similar to how the sun heats asphalt. This ensures puppies are warmed from all sides. The company also offers a coinciding oxygen concentrator, which can be used in tandem with the incubator. Those units are manufactured by a third party based on Puppywarmer’s specifications. Puppywarmer now operates a 5,000-squarefoot facility at 4950 W. Dickman Road in Battle Creek, the same facility that houses the city’s economic development arm Battle Creek Unlimited. The Sundens are at the helm of Puppywarmer in addition to two full-time employees. The company has the capacity to manufacture roughly 100 incubators a week.

Left: Dr. Randall Carpenter, an associate veterinarian at Family Friends Veterinary Hospital in Grand Rapids. Interest in Puppywarmer incubators has skyrocketed among vets, researchers and breeders. COURTESY PHOTOS

Breeders, veterinarians, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions have all used the Puppywamer, some calling it an emerging industry innovation.

A reluctant entrepreneur Sunden’s professional background is rooted in technical sales. His most recent stop was a 17-year tenure at Nexthermal Corp. in Battle Creek, a company that specializes in smart heat management and thermal engineering. Even after hatching the idea for Puppywarmer and discovering that Endsley found overwhelming success with it — saving 17 of the next 18 SGA puppies — he continued on with his full-time job. Ultimately, Endsley convinced him to produce the incubators on a wider scale. “She pushed me to start this company — I was a very reluctant entrepreneur,” Sunden said. “It took her about nine months of sending me photos of puppies that she saved with the incubator (until) I broke down and said I could really do this as a hobby business.” Sunden assumed he could sell around 10 to 25 incubators a year, but the demand for the product has pushed him to sell 1,000 units within the

first five years of the company. Most of those sales were in 2020. Sunden connected with Battle Creek Unlimited, which assisted him in finding production space. Yet another reason for pause in his new entrepreneurial journey came when the COVID19 pandemic hit. Just before the pandemic prompted statewide shutdowns, Sunden had issued his 60-day notice at Nexthermal and did not have any orders for incubators yet. “I wouldn’t have had the courage to do it had I known how bad the pandemic would be,” he admitted. Sunden forged ahead expecting dismal sales but instead is poised to finish 2020 with three times more sales than in 2019. In October 2020 alone, Puppywarmer completed eight times as many sales compared to the same month last year. While Sunden had to juggle mild supply chain cramps, his foresight to stockpile the core elements of his incubators ensured that orders were fulfilled quickly. He credits people familiar with his product for acting as ambassadors for it. “They seemed to become really vocal with people they knew and really vocal on how they saved puppies with this system,” Sunden said. “We had not advertised to any great degree at all up until this point.”

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Game-changer One of the first incubators Sunden donated was to Leader Dogs for the Blind, a Rochester Hillsbased nonprofit that trains guide dogs for the blind. Leader Dogs has an onsite vet clinic and about 150 dogs at any given time. The organization has 90 breeders in its breeding program and produces about 500 puppies a year. The puppies are born and raised in host homes until they are seven weeks old and enter the program. Leader Dogs Director of Veterinary Services Dr. David Smith, who has been with the organization for 35 years, primarily uses Puppywarmer for C-sections. The puppies are placed in the incubator while their mother wakes up from anesthesia and can nurse. “It was needed, especially when you’re combining oxygen and the constant, reliable rate of heat,” Smith said of Puppywarmer. “The ease of cleaning and disinfection of this product is just amazing. It’s really been a game-changer and the price point is such that it is available to most veterinarians even if they don’t (have a very big) puppy practice.” Smith said he attends a yearly meeting for reproductive specialists and readily recommends Puppywarmer to universities and organizations that teach future veterinarians. In fact, Puppywarmer is already used at Ohio State University, Oregon State University and Louisiana State University for teaching C-sections. While veterinarians primarily use advanced technology akin to hospital equipment within their practices, the industry still lacked an effective solution for warming puppies. “We didn’t have anything very sophisticated — I’m not sure why it took so long for someone to figure it out,” said Dr. Randall Carpenter, an associate veterinarian at Family Friends Veterinary Hospital near Grand Rapids. “Heating pads were used, but those were very dangerous,” he said. Just in the week Carpenter spoke with MiBiz, he had used the incubator three times already — ranging from C-section puppies to a bulldog puppy that underwent throat surgery. Carpenter said he could see Puppywarmer in every vet clinic across the country. “And, not just vet clinics, but for anyone that is raising small animals,” he added. “It would work for reptiles and could be great for birds. We use it mostly for puppies, but anyone that has anything to do with animals where they need to keep a constant temperature, it would work very well for that.” Sunden acknowledged the Puppywarmer has potential to address a variety of alternative applications, and said some clients have implored him to create a similar incubator for larger animals. For now, he is focused on perfecting his line of puppy incubators, which will feature new versions to be released soon. Visit www.mibiz.com

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MICHIGAN’S ROAD TO TOP TEN

hen things seem uncertain, there’s no substitute for a great plan.

for jobs, income, and economic growth—and it’s grounded in facts, data, and research.

After a decade of recovery following the Great Recession, Michigan’s economy is imperiled by COVID-19-related business closures and layoffs. How our state responds will define us for a generation.

The tenets of that plan are simple. To make a meaningful impact on the state’s ability to grow and attract good jobs and improve the quality of life for Michigan’s residents, we must focus on strategies and actions that help us compete for high-quality jobs, maintain our long-term fiscal stability, invest in our people, strengthen our communities, and leverage Michigan’s many strengths.

Fortunately, Michiganders are resilient. Tough. Innovative. And we’ve already got a great plan. Michigan’s Road to Top Ten plan, developed by Business Leaders for Michigan, has been designed to build on our state’s reputation as a great place to live, work and raise a family. It’s a plan aimed at making Michigan a Top Ten state

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The fact is Michigan has made great strides in the past decade - even though we are not yet fully capitalizing on the many things that make our state stand out. With an amazing higher education system,

well-developed high-tech manufacturing capability, and robust tourism and agriculture industries, Michigan has the kind of natural advantages that would be the envy of most. Properly marshalled, we undoubtedly have the talent, the resources and the will to emerge as a world-class destination for building a career and raising a family.

That’s an exciting future and one that Michigan can certainly have if we all work together. Read the plan at businessleadersformichigan.com, get involved, and join us on the road to making Michigan a Top Ten state.

MiBiz / NOVEMBER 23, 2020

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ENERGY

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has notified Canadian pipeline company Enbridge Inc. that the state intends to revoke an easement that has allowed Line 5 to operate in the Straits of Mackinac for more than 65 years. PHOTO COURTESY OF NICK DAMICO

Whitmer shifts Line 5 dynamic ahead of legal dispute, tunnel uncertainty By ANDY BALASKOVITZ | MiBiz abalaskovitz@mibiz.com

Playing offense

Environmental groups welcomed the relan a move sought for years by environmental tively aggressive move against Enbridge by advocates, tribes, and hospitality and tourthe state. ism businesses, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “I think (the state) is very much on the offenthis month notified Enbridge Inc. that it sive,” said Liz Kirkwood, an attorney and execwould no longer have the state’s permisutive director of For Love of Water (FLOW ), sion to operate the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits which has long advocated the pipeline’s cloof Mackinac. sure. “They’re affirmatively saying under public The administration issued a Nov. 13 notice to trust law that the 1953 easement never incurred the Canadian pipeline company that it plans to the proper public trust evaluations. As the revoke a 1953 easement that has allowed the twin public trustee, the state’s duty is ongoing and light crude oil and natural gas liquids pipeline to continuous.” operate in the Great Lakes. In addition to claims Kirkwood called it an “exceptional case” and that the company has repeatedly violated terms unique, since public trust issues typically involve of the easement, the state claims that the origiareas where land and water meet. “They’re typinal agreement is a violation of public trust law, cally beach-walking cases,” she said. namely that a private company is using a public The administration and other legal experts resource primarily for a private benefit. have often pointed to an 1892 case involving the Enbridge has disputed these claims in variIllinois Central Railroad. Illinois lawmakers had ous legal and regulatory venues, and the Whitmer allowed the railroad to run tracks along the Lake administration is seeking a declarMichigan waterfront. atory judgment in Ingham County “Today, the public is able to Circuit Court. enjoy Chicago’s downtown waterEnbridge Spokesperson Ryan front because the U.S. Supreme Sponsored by: Duffy said the company plans to file Court revoked that easement and SBAM ENERGY a response in court, but didn’t have said the state of Illinois could never SOLUTIONS a timeline for the filing. abdicate its public trust responsi“Enbridge remains confident bility,” Kirkwood said. “That’s such that Line 5 continues to operate safely and that a powerful example of why the public trust is so there is no credible basis for terminating the 1953 important, and we’re all beneficiaries of this 125Easement allowing the Dual Line 5 Pipelines to plus years later.” cross the Straits of Mackinac,” Duffy said in an However, Enbridge and pipeline supportemail to MiBiz. “Enbridge will vigorously defend ers have argued that the pipeline provides a the validity of the easement and its right to operpublic benefit as critical energy infrastructure. ate the pipeline.” Whitmer’s critics, including the premier of Whitmer’s notice gives Enbridge 180 days to Alberta Province in Canada and Ontario’s oil minprepare for the shutdown, which would extend ister, have said shutting down Line 5 in the Straits beyond the winter months when demand for would bottleneck supplies and cause shortages propane is higher in the Upper Peninsula. at regional refineries.

ENERGY

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Phil Flynn, an energy analyst with Chicagobased PRICE Futures Group, compared it to shutting down a portion of highway. “If it gets stopped in one area, it’s going to clog up other areas,” he said. “Generally when that happens, you’re going to be looking at less efficiency, higher prices and maybe also increased transportation risks” if it’s moved by truck or rail. In a report this summer after Attorney General Dana Nessel sued to decommission Line 5, Houston-based Stratas Advisors said shutting down Line 5 would disrupt light crude oil supplies to parts of eastern Canada. The 645-mile Line 5 starts in Superior, Wis. and ends in Sarnia, Ontario. “Until the whole supply chain comes to an equilibrium, the refineries will run at low utilization,” Strata analysts wrote. Environmental groups also have commissioned economic analyses showing minimal cost disruptions and trucking alternatives that eliminate the risk of a Great Lakes oil spill.

Looking ahead Whitmer’s announcement brought swift and predictable opposition from groups that have backed a plan — passed by lawmakers in the final days of former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration — to keep Line 5 operating while the company builds a utility tunnel that traverses beneath the lakebed in the Straits. Revoking the easement still allows Enbridge to apply for state and federal permits for the tunnel project. However, Enbridge has fought to keep Line 5 operating during potential tunnel construction, which could take several years. Flynn said the trust between the state and Enbridge is a “two-way street,” but it’s clear that

“If Line 5 is shut down by May of next year, I think it raises all sorts of questions about the public need for this pipeline and the other feasible and prudent alternatives.” — LIZ KIRKWOOD Executive Director of For Love of Water

trust has been eroded. State officials have criticized Enbridge for withholding information about the pipeline and often note the company was responsible for the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history a decade ago near Kalamazoo. Kirkwood said the “wheels are in motion” now to activate state and federal regulators on the tunnel permitting. But potentially revoking the easement with a permanent injunction calls into question that permitting through the Michigan Public Service Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she added. “If Line 5 is shut down by May of next year, I think it raises all sorts of questions about the public need for this pipeline and the other feasible and prudent alternatives,” Kirkwood said. “The prospect of the current pipelines being shut down has significant relevance to the decision on whether they should be able to build a potentially billion-dollar tunnel under the Great Lakes at a time when climate change impacts and risks are unprecedented. The idea of this infrastructure becoming a stranded asset is very real.” MiBiz / NOVEMBER 23, 2020

REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Plans in motion for Grand Rapids waterfront amphitheater By KATE CARLSON | MiBiz kcarlson@mibiz.com GRAND RAPIDS — Earlier this month, the Grand Rapids City Commission and the Grand RapidsKent County Convention/Arena Authority approved a memorandum of understanding that could result in a new 14,000-seat waterfront amphitheater downtown. The target property is 201 Market Ave. SW, just southwest of US-131 at the S-curve along the Grand River. Because of massive sewer infrastructure that’s prevented previous developments on the site, the new public-private partnership is complex and involves several moving parts. The first is an $18.6 million project to relocate a trunk sewer and “create a large canvas for development,” engineers say. Here’s the process that’s been set in motion:

The CAA’s $5 million share is covered by a 2018 Michigan Economic Development Corp. grant the authority received for an amphitheater project. The grant was originally for two years, but officials negotiated a one-year extension to use the funds. Additionally, the agreement outlines the sale of about two-thirds of the city’s property to the CAA for redevelopment. Progressive AE Inc. and Fishbeck Inc. are the engineers on the sewer relocation project. The Kent County Road Commission owns property on the north side of the city where Grand Rapids officials are considering moving operations from Market Avenue.

When would redevelopment take place?

A timeline is set for the sewer relocation, but not the amphitheater. The city and CAA are in active negotiations over the property sale and a written What entities are involved? option agreement is expected by Dec. 31. The city of Grand Rapids owns about 15.8 acres The CAA has agreed to contribute $5 million along Market Avenue and uses it for public works to relocate the sewer, but the money would be operations. The Convention/Arena Authority is returned and covered by the city if the CAA decides considering buying most of the city’s propto not buy the land to build the venue. erty to develop an amphitheater. Amway Eliminating risk for the CAA was an Hotel Corp. and 63 Market Avenue important part of the deal, said Rich Holdings LLC — which is regisMacKeigan, regional general mantered to RDV Corp., the DeVos ager of DeVos Place and Van Andel family office — own property on Arena. The CAA is still in conversathe west side of Market Avenue, tions with the city about whether it REAL ESTATE + DEVELOPMENT just north of US-131. The properwill move forward with purchasing Sponsored by ties include the former Charley’s the land, MacKeigan said. ROCKFORD Crab restaurant and a surface “This is really the first stage CONSTRUCTION CO. parking lot. of many the CAA will have to go AHC President Rick Winn said through before putting a shovel in the company does “not have development plans the ground,” MacKeigan said. at this time” for the property. MacKeigan said it’s also too early to estimate Under the agreement approved this month, an amphitheater’s cost because the design phase the four entities would split the costs of the $18.6 has not started, which will be determined by the million sewer project. The city’s share would be specific location. $6.25 million (33.55 percent), the CAA would Meanwhile, the city anticipates soliciting bids contribute $5 million (26.83 percent), and the for the first phase of the sewer relocation project two private entities would pay $7.38 million in December and the second phase in April 2021. (39.62 percent). Construction on the two phases would start in

An overhead view of the multiple publicly and privately owned parcels in Grand Rapids where a sewer is being removed to help pave the way for development, including for a 14,000-seat amphitheater. COURTESY GRAPHIC March and May 2021, respectively, and be completed by March 2022.

Why has infrastructure hindered development, and what’s happening with it? The 11.5-foot by 13-foot sewer needs to be relocated to allow for redevelopment. The city “welcomes” the possibility of an amphitheater on the property, but the agreement is positive regardless of whether the venue materializes, said Grand Rapids Deputy City Manager Eric DeLong. “By moving the sewer from the site, we’ll have a marketable site and will have moved a significant hurdle out of the way,” DeLong said. The public-private partnership will “pay dividends” in the future, he added. “The partnership that has assembled here is based on a model that has worked very well in

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our community over the past 40 years now and has led to significant investments in our community that have been very meaningful like the Van Andel Arena, Downtown Market and DeVos Convention Center,” DeLong said. “This partnership has that same or more potential.” The existing sewer runs between Market Avenue and the Grand River under both public and private properties would be replaced by a 9-foot wide circular pipe. “By removing the pipe off the property and putting it in the Market Avenue right of way, it will really create a large canvas for development,” said Progressive AE President and CEO Brad Thomas. “Relocating the sewer will remove the major impediment for development.” This will be the second time part of the sewer line has been relocated for development, Thomas said. When the DeVos Center was developed, a similar process of relocating the trunk sewer underneath the property had to be carried out before construction. “We already moved a significant piece of this same sewer line, this is almost a continuation of that,” Thomas said. The sewer line extends south down Market Avenue to the wastewater treatment plant, running under smaller riverfront properties south of Wealthy Street, DeLong said. There are no plans for any more of the sewer line to be relocated. The remaining vacant parcels the sewer line runs beneath are smaller than the 201 Market site and would likely be harder to develop, he said.

What does this mean for city operations at 201 Market?

ROCKFORDCONSTRUCTION.COM

The city is considering moving its services at the Market Avenue properties to the Kent County Road Commission’s Central Complex at 1500 Scribner Ave. NW, which the city has under option. “Everything that is on the 201 Market site that the city operates will move to make way for the redevelopment of that corridor,” DeLong said. The timing of this will also be determined by the Kent County Road Commission’s ability to relocate to its new location. “Once we give them the final OK, they will proceed with their development of their new site which will eventually make the site we’re going to available,” DeLong said. “There are lots of contingent things here, we just want to make sure we get everything lined up.” Visit www.mibiz.com

AFFORDABLE HOUSING “In a lot of ways I think Continued from page 1

“In a lot of ways I think we’re still figuring out this tool which has now been around for 10 years, but it has really transitioned from a model of blight elimination to a model of equitable development in the last three to four years as we’ve really begun to acknowledge the rate of development in our core urban areas,” Kilpatrick said.

Acting as developer A recent Housing Next study shows Grand Rapids needs at least 5,340 more rental units and 3,548 more owner-occupied units in the next five years to meet housing demand. Housing North, a nonprofit that spans 10 counties in the northwestern Lower Peninsula, showed last year the region would need about 15,000 housing units in the next five years, mostly in rental units. “The idea of land banks a decade ago was to address the immediate health and safety concerns of removing dangerous buildings and having an entity that could have and hold these properties,” said Kalamazoo County Land Bank Executive Director Kelly Clarke. “A decade in, there is an affordable housing crisis in Kalamazoo and across the state and country.” Clarke Kalamazoo County’s land bank has served as the developer for several affordable housing projects, Clarke said. Most recently, the land bank was the developer of 24 units of senior housing in the county, and is engaged in redeveloping a number of existing structures throughCase out the city. “That role has allowed us to engage in efforts that align with our values, which is to ensure residents near properties both influence and benefit from redevelopment,” Clarke said. “We typically include a process at the beginning of our projects that allows the community to come up with a vision for what they want to see in the redevelopment.” Residents have regularly articulated a strong desire to see more mixed income and affordable housing projects, Clarke said. “When we have reached out to the community during the strategic planning process we’ve heard people say they want us to stay engaged in transformational projects, and in a limited capacity we’re able to do that,” Clarke said. “It doesn’t always make sense for us to be the developer — we typically limit ourselves to one project at a time.”

Overcoming challenges The biggest challenge to building affordable housing continues to be resources and funding, Clarke said. Land banks can help offset some of these costs in some cases because the 2004 state law allowing for the authorities provides counties with a toolbox to address vacant and defunct land. Sometimes simply making available land known to the wider community so nonprofits and developers know about it is enough to kick off an affordable housing project, Clarke said. Funding tools such as brownfield financing can be used when parcels are under the ownership of a land bank authority, which can fund remediation and site cleanup costs to prepare a site for development. In Calhoun County, the land bank authority played a role in working with the city and helped advocate for changes in local ordinances to allow for more density downtown, said Trout-Edwards. “We were able to show what could happen on our existing properties there,” Trout-Edwards said. Visit www.mibiz.com

we’re still figuring out this tool which has now been around for 10 years, but it has really transitioned from a model of blight elimination to a model of equitable development in the last three to four years.” — RYAN KILPATRICK Executive Director, Housing Next

For the Ingham County Land Bank, the goal is always to sell a property for an affordable home or development if possible, said Director Roxanne Case. “When we use grant funds, we do request that those properties are sold as affordable housing,” Case said. “When we complete developments, we request, encourage and push the developer to sell or lease some of their units as affordable housing.” The numbers do not always work for developers to do that, but it is always the goal and what the land bank advocates for, Case added. “We’re constantly trying to figure out a different avenue to help any developer achieve that,” Case said. Covering the state capital also makes the Ingham County Land Bank unique, Case said. “Because of that, I feel like we strive for better housing because it is the capital city, so we try and use that to our advantage because politics do come into play,” Case said. “We try to use that to our advantage as much as we can. We have a really good partnership with the city of Lansing, which I believe makes us more effective.” Leveraging funding tools to create more affordable housing is also a goal for the Michigan State Land Bank Authority. Creating more affordable and workforce housing is “a priority and need for communities all over the state,” said state land bank Executive Director Emily Doerr. “Construction costs have gone way up, but we still need to build affordable and workforce housing in Michigan, so we need all the tools we have on the table so that way a developer can partner with us and other statewide agencies for funding tools,” Doerr said.

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HEALTH BIZ

HMO group lays groundwork for medical claims data legislation By MARK SANCHEZ | MiBiz msanchez@mibiz.com

s reports continue to rank Michigan as one of the least competitive markets in the nation, the statewide trade group representing HMOs wants to ensure that insurance carriers are able to pursue business when employers bid out employee health coverage. The Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP) backs legislation in Lansing that would require insurance carriers to provide medical claims data to agents and brokers representing employers to use when bidding out employee coverage for clients. While employers’ claims data are already available when Romback agents shop around for client coverage, a proposed bill in the Senate would standardize how data get disseminated, said Jeff Romback, MAHP’s deputy director of policy and planning. That can lead to employers getting more and better bids when they bid out Enders their employee health coverage, resulting in lower costs, Romback said. “Now you’ve got everybody singing from the same hymn book,” Romback said. “We can all compete and we can all be working from the same data set and deliver better care to employers in Michigan.” VanDyk The bill would cover more than 6,500 Michigan companies that employ 100 or more people and have fully insured health benefits. The bill would also block carriers from turning off that flow of data when an employer seeks competitive bids, he said. Similar bills in other states, including Wisconsin and Texas, have led to increased competition, said Romback, who concedes the bill probably won’t move through the state

Legislature in the present lame-duck legislative session. Instead, the MAHP is laying the groundwork now for a major push in the new session that starts in January, he said. The bill ranks as the top legislative priority for the MAHP in 2021. “This is a bill we’re dedicated to,” he said. “We’re going to be gung-ho in trying to get it done.”

More, better access The Senate Insurance and Banking Committee held its first hearing earlier this month on Senate Bill 1126, sponsored by Sen. Dan Lauwers, R-Almont. Lauwers believes the bill would lead to more competition in Michigan and better pricing for health policies. “My bill would allow Michigan health care insurers to have more access and better access to claims data, therefore ensuring the employers would receive more accurate and competitive bids when it comes time to be purchasing health care coverage for their employees,” Lauwers said at the Nov. 4 Senate committee hearing. Lauwers said he’s been working with the MAHP and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan — which holds a two-thirds market share in the state for health coverage — on suggested changes to the bill he introduced in September. Lauwers said he wants “to make sure that we’re accurate in achieving our goal of creating better transparency of information, but at the same time now creating a system that encourages cherry-picking of good (employer) groups.” The bill has the support for the Michigan Association of Health Underwriters. David Sokol, president of Wilshire Benefits Group in Troy, told lawmakers at this month’s committee hearing that “transparency in all of its forms is really important to us to seek good solutions for our clients.”

Is it needed? However, some West Michigan insurance brokers question the need for the legislation. They say they can already get employers’ claims data from incumbent insurance carriers when bidding out a client’s employee health coverage. Most of that data comes with renewal notices, said Shannon Enders, a partner at Lakeshore Employee Benefits in Norton Shores.

“Nobody has trouble getting any of this information,” Enders said. Romback said the bill would standardize how 24 months of claims data get reported and the depth of the data so carriers “look at it and do a better job underwriting.” The bill “is about reducing the information curve,” he said. “It’s just kind of putting all these things in order that is going to help plans,” Romback said. “We just want to make it easier.” Among the concerns cited by Drew VanDyk, a partner at Olivier-VanDyk Insurance Agency Inc. in Wyoming, is bill language that prohibits agents or brokers from requesting claims data from an insurance carrier more than once in a calendar year. “What if I want to pull claims data halfway through the year to see how they are running so we can make adjustments?” VanDyk wrote in an email, calling that provision “very restrictive and (it) doesn’t allow me to do my best and monitor claims for my clients.” Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan views the legislation as “an attempt by competitors to change state law in order to access proprietary claims data because customers are choosing Blue Cross in the market-driven bid process,” said Kristen Kraft, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s director of state relations. “Under our current group contracts, Blue Cross already provides a significant amount of cost transparency directly to our customers, including data on medical, pharmacy, dental, vision and hearing cost claims,” Kraft said. “Our electronic data system provides up-to-date

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Meanwhile, a majority of respondents (59 percent) said the federal government should not extend $600-per-week unemployment insurance benefits, but 58 percent saw “the need for a more coordinated federal response to the pandemic.” “The unemployment benefit should be provided, just not $600 which seemed to disincentive [sic] workers as it provided more income that what they earned prior to the layoff. Everyone should get 75%, 80% (pick a number) of their pre-layoff income,” one reader wrote, a sentiment

information directly to our members. We make this information available because our customers are interested in it. From an employer standpoint, groups are generally highly sophisticated health care benefit shoppers, and many use firms with access to data to help them to secure high quality health care at the lowest possible price.”

Competition lacking The MAHP pushes the legislation as an annual report from the American Medical Association on health plan market shares across the U.S. ranks Michigan the third least competitive state in the nation for health insurance. Statewide, Blue Cross Blue Shield as of 2019 led every market in the state and held a 67 percent market share across all health plans, according to the recent AMA report that lists the top two health plans in each state. Grand Rapids-based Priority Health was second with a 10 percent market share statewide. Among HMOs in Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiary Blue Care Network had 55 percent of the market statewide, versus Priority Health’s 23 percent. Blue Care Network led 12 of the 14 Michigan HMO markets listed in the AMA report. The exceptions were in the Grand Rapids area, where Priority Health had a 65 percent market share to Blue Care Network’s 35 percent as of January 2019, and in the Lansing area. Physicians Health Plan, owned by Sparrow Health, held a 52 percent HMO market share to Blue Care Network’s 42 percent.

shared by others who saw hiring challenges. Also, opinions on the Whitmer administration’s most recent restrictions on indoor dining, moving high school and colleges to virtual classes, and closing entertainment venues were nearly evenly split: 52 percent opposed, 48 percent in support, within the survey’s margin of error. “Require masks, spacing and symptom testing but do not dictate which businesses can be open. All need a fair shot at being able to keep their business afloat during these hard times,” another reader wrote. Readers were also asked to pick their top three measures that should be taken to help

curb the spread of COVID-19. The top three results were: mask mandate, a “county by county approach to restrictions,” and “limit indoor gatherings.” Fifty-seven percent of the respondents identified their position as CEO/CFO/COO/ president or owner/partner. Another 35 percent identified as VP/general manager, department manager/director and sales/marketing/business development. More than half of the respondents (55 percent) were from Kent County. About a quarter of respondents were in the manufacturing industry, and one in five were in professional services. The survey results are available at mibiz.com. Visit www.mibiz.com

FINANCE

Pandemic-fueled uncertainty cools outlook for bank M&A By MARK SANCHEZ | MiBiz msanchez@mibiz.com

“There’s current uncertainty over how long this thing will last, what the effect of the shutdowns are going to be on the ompared to a year ago, fewer bankhealth of these banks and that uncerers expect their institutions to make tainty is going to continue for a while,” an acquisition in the next 12 months, Kuras told MiBiz. “Uncertainty is not as they focus on navigating through good for bankers looking to do major the financial fallout of the COVID-19 transactions.” pandemic. The “social aspect” of bank deals Kuras Ott Bell About one-third of executives polled by the also will hold back deal flow. The pantrade publication Bank Director say they expect demic gets in the way of face-to-face their bank will make an acquisition in 2021. negotiations and due diligence, making it difOtt, who doesn’t anticipate any major changes That’s down from 44 percent of respondents a ficult for executives and directors to get a deal in the bank M&A market until at least mid 2021, year ago who said they expected to buy another done. given the uncertainty about how long the panbank in 2020. “The ability to evaluate that over Zoom is demic persists and its effect on the banking Acquiring branches or loan portfolios also something for this industry in particular that is industry. “looks slightly less attractive compared to a year going to be harder for them to get really comfortAmong the key questions: “When are they ago,” according to the Bank Director survey. able with,” Kuras said. going to start seeing — if they do see — increases “The barriers to deal-making may prove difin non-performing loans? When’s that going to ficult to surmount in today’s uncertain economic hit?” Ott said. “I think the potential acquirers are Feeling a chill and political environment. With pressures on cautious.” Among their top reasons in pursuing a sale, small businesses and the commercial real estate banks cited an inability to provide a competimarket exacerbated by remote work and social disOperational confidence tive ROI to shareholders on their own, CEO suctancing measures, the recovery of the U.S. econDespite concerns about acquisition targets, cession and an inability to operate efficiently, omy – and bank M&A – may hinge on conquerbankers answering the Bank Director suraccording to the Bank Director survey. ing the coronavirus,” the publication reported vey showed confidence in their own credit Top barriers to deals in in relation to the 2021 Bank quality. 2021 included concerns M&A Survey results. About two-thirds said they believe that less about the asset quality of Nearly six in 10 bankers than 5 percent of the commercial loans they potential targets, pricing said they were still open to modified in the pandemic will end up in default. expectations, a lack of suitan acquisition, although Nearly three in 10 expect the default rate among able targets, the culture they plan to focus primarcommercial borrowers who modified loans will and integration of staff, and ily on organic growth, and be 5-10 percent. demands on banks’ capital. just 28 percent overall “want In Michigan, banks remain well-capitalized, When the pandemic hit to be active acquirers,” — JEFF KURAS although they and their regulators are watching in the spring, federal reguaccording to Bank Director. Partner at Honigman LLP capital levels “very closely,” Honigman’s Kuras lators eased rules on how The remaining 14 percent said. banks account for loans said M&A was an “unlikely Stock value also comes into play in future deal that are restructured or growth path” for their bank. flow and ranked seventh on a list of 16 deal barpayment deferrals for borrowers. That makes Deal flow has been curbed by the economic riers cited by survey respondents. it harder for a prospective buyer to completely uncertainty stemming from COVID-19 and the Deals of all sizes typically involve stock as part identify the quality of a seller’s loan portfolio, restrictions some states have in place. As well, of the financing. Banks generally have seen their said Jeff Ott, an M&A attorney at Grand Rapidsbanks’ financial performance could be negatively shares fall during the pandemic. Although bank based Warner Norcross + Judd LLP. affected as loan losses rise, leading to reduced share shares have partially rebounded, they have limA concern about credit quality “has really put prices that make it harder to structure a deal, said its on their ability to use stock in a transaction, a chill” on bank deals and makes it hard to preattorney Jeff Kuras, a partner and co-chair of the Kuras said. dict for 2021, Ott said. financial institutions practice at Honigman LLP. “You don’t want to do a deal using your cur“There are questions out there on the part of In his outlook for bank M&A, Kuras echoes rency that you believe is currently undervalued,” would-be acquirers as to what really is the credit the sentiments identified in this year’s Bank he said. “Waiting for that to correct itself a bit quality of the potential target institution,” said Director survey.

“Uncertainty is not good for bankers looking to do major transactions.”

might shelve some deals that may otherwise be attractive or make some sense.”

‘Really bullish’ Through October, 92 bank deals had closed across the U.S., well off the pace of deal flow in 2019, according to S&P Global. Activity did pick up with the fall, with 11 deals alone in October involving banks and thrifts. In West Michigan, Sparta-based ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. closed July 1 on the $20.9 million acquisition of Muskegon-based Community Shores Bank Corp. Last month, the two banks completed their integration, with the three Community Shores offices in Muskegon and Ottawa counties taking on the ChoiceOne name. The Community Shores acquisition followed ChoiceOne’s $108 million deal for Lapeer-based County Bank Corp. in 2019. Combined, the two deals more than doubled the size of ChoiceOne, which has 33 offices in West and Southeast Michigan and $1.82 billion in assets as of Sept. 30. Most recently, St. Joseph-based Edgewater Bancorp Inc. agreed to sell to United Federal Credit Union, also in St. Joseph. The deal, valued in the range of $28.9 million to $31.6 million, could close in the first half of 2021 pending regulatory and Edgewater shareholder approvals. The acquisition of community banks by credit unions has been on the rise the last several years. S&P Global counted 16 credit union-bank mergers in 2019, nearly double from 2018. Transactions between banks and credit unions slowed in 2020 because of COVID-19, although Honigman attorney Michael Bell expects pent-up demand on the sell side to unleash once the pandemic that “took sellers off the table” eventually wanes. “The moment that happens, I expect there to be a lot of sellers,” said Bell, who specializes in credit union-bank transactions. “I have a lot of buyers. I would expect there to be a lot of activity in 2021, assuming this pandemic gets handled in some way. That’s the unknown.” Overall, Bell describes his outlook as “really bullish.” “I expect there to be a nice increase next year,” he said.

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MiBiz / NOVEMBER 23, 2020

SMALL BIZ: COPING WITH COVID-19

Startup athletic facility adopts online and individualized training model By JAYSON BUSSA | MiBiz jbussa@mibiz.com

hen the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening of Daimond Dixon’s athlete training and recovery facility, he and his wife Regina decided they would still find a way to train athletes and fitness enthusiasts. In doing so they unlocked a new component of their business — Alpha Human Performance, at 3233 Eastern Ave. in Wyoming — that Dixon believes will carry the new company through the industry’s uncertain times ahead. While the April opening of the company’s 6,500-square-foot facility was delayed from a statewide shutdown of gyms and athletic complexes in March, Dixon and his wife launched what they call “Alpha Up,” making

online training sessions available to the general public for free. “If you’re a member here, all of the workouts we do here every single day are available on the app that we have,” said Dixon, who graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School before playing football for the University of Miami as a walk-on. “We said, ‘Let’s take that concept and initiate it now. We’ll just do at-home workout programs.’” Response to the online component of the business surpassed Dixon’s expectations after more than 500 people signed up for the workouts. While the lessons themselves didn’t generate any revenue, it did build awareness for Alpha Human, which distinguishes itself by catering to athletes and people who want to train like athletes. Alpha Human has also partnered with NovaCare Rehabilitation Corp.

to provide recovery services for athletes. Members of Alpha Human can use its recovery lounge and NovaCare team members are available to come and assess injuries for free. “We were able to build a good following for us in the summer leading into the fall when we could finally open,” Dixon said. “We had brand awareness in the sense that people in the community knew us online so now they know we have a brick-andmortar place.” Alpha Human eventually swung open its doors in the fall and now has around 90 registered members who take advantage of the facilities and programming. The state’s latest orders that took effect Nov.18 and prohibit group activities in gyms will not have much of an effect on Alpha Human because of the individualized nature of the workouts.

Detach Primitive to offer off-grid camping experience in Rockford By KATE CARLSON | MiBiz kcarlson@mibiz.com A LG O M A TOW N S H I P — Jarred Sper is turning 45 acres of his backyard property near Rockford into a rustic offthe-grid camping experience meant to let visitors unplug and connect with nature. The Detach Primitive concept was founded by Sper and his brother, Stephen Sper, and their close friend and business partner Kyle Sischo. Detach Primitive will be located near U.S. 131 and 14 Mile Road NE. The plan is to eventually build 10 structures — two hobbit homes, three yurts, three steel A-frame structures, a tipi and a treehouse — that can be rented out by campers. At least four structures should be constructed on the property by May 2021, said Jarred Sper, who is the former co-founder of Perrin Brewing Co. “If we can take a break for a few days from technology and being glued to screens and see what type of difference that makes with our experience, mental health and quality of life, we want people to come out here and unplug, unwind and have quality space to spend by yourself or with a loved one,” Sper said.

Grand Rapids-based Alpha Human Performance has embraced virtual workouts during the pandemic to help attract new customers. COURTESY PHOTO “We initially developed the concept around having a class and you can sign up for a particular time and everyone works in the class. … It (has become) more of building a frame — a workout that you can separate and get after it (on your own).” Still, Dixon said Alpha Up will remain as a valuable tool for the business — whether it faces additional shutdowns or to better serve members

that don’t necessarily want to leave their homes during the pandemic. Based on 500 people signing up for the free program, Dixon said the company would likely create a paid online program. “With a paid program online, we would get a small percentage of (existing Alpha Up members) that would pay for it, almost like a monthly membership deal,” he said.

Black Calder Brewing Co. brings new flavors, representation to craft beer scene By KATE CARLSON | MiBiz kcarlson@mibiz.com Detach Primitive plans to offer a secluded, electronics-free escape near Rockford. COURTESY PHOTO Sper and his business partners originally planned to create the Detach Primitive camping experience in a few years, but accelerated the business plan because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Living in isolation and under lockdown orders has made more people realize the importance of access to nature and green space, Sper said. “There is a collective realization from people that don’t currently have access to a lot of green spaces who are going to be wanting to experience that,” Sper said. “This hopefully will be one of those places where they can experience that. And because of the accessibility you don’t have to go to the middle of nowhere. This is something people will gravitate toward.” The plan is to keep Detach Primitive open year-round and include spaces with lockers where guests hopefully stash their cell phones during their stay, Sper said. The camping site will be accessible from a 15-car parking lot off a dirt road, and campers will have to hike their gear down a half- or quartermile trail to their campsite. Firewood will be provided and

NOVEMBER 23, 2020 / MiBiz

wells are available for guests to access water. The rustic nature of the project doesn’t require utility hook-ups, and showers won’t be provided. However, the site does include $5,000 toilets that don’t require a septic or water connection, Sper said. The Algoma Township Planning Commission has approved a special land use permit for the project, which is slated to be considered by the township board on Dec. 15. “These things we are bringing to the project don’t use power and are completely offgrid so there are not as many regulations as you usually have to go through,” Sper said. Sper is planning to dedicate about 18 acres to different recreational activities for campers. Natural features on Detach Primitive include two freshwater streams, a stream that feeds into a five-acre pond, mature evergreens throughout the site, and the White Pine trail that borders part of the campsite. “When you walk into a space you can tell if it was done in a deliberate way and if the people who take care of the place take pride in it,” Sper said. “That’s how we want people to feel.”

GRAND RAPIDS — Black Calder Brewing Co. is launching its first beer on Nov. 27, or “The Blackest Friday,” as the new brewery’s owners are calling it. Owned by Grand Rapids native Terry Rostic and long-time Grand Rapids resident Jamaal Ewing, Black Calder is partnering with Broad Leaf Local Beer and using its space in Kentwood to brew. Rostic and Ewing hope to eventually secure their own taproom for Black Calder Brewing, but until then they plan to collaborate with various local breweries. Broad Leaf is owned by Grand Rapids-based Brewery Vivant. “Beer represents community, especially in West Michigan, and there’s nothing better than having a beer with great people,” Rostic said. “We’re all about getting people together with a new flavor of beer.” Ewing and Rostic started out home brewing and toying with their own recipes in small batches. They originally planned to open a brewery in 2016 under the name “Boston Square Brewing Co.,” but received a trademark notice from a national liquor brand with a similar name. The name came from Ewing and Rostic’s original plan to open a brewery in Grand Rapids’ Boston Square Neighborhood — which could still happen, Ewing said. “Black Calder Brewing ended up being the better name anyways,” Ewing said. “It was a blessing in disguise that we got the notice from that company.” They plan to create a variety of beer styles and combinations, but are debuting with the Black Calder Black IPA that was available for preorder starting Nov. 20. It’s available for pickup starting Nov. 27 at Broad Leaf’s Kentwood location.

Black Calder Brewing Co. seeks to bring diverse representation to the white-dominated craft beer industry. COURTESY PHOTO “I’m just excited about bringing some new f lavor to the industry and providing some opportunities and maybe opening the door to people who haven’t seen the representation in this industry and maybe want to get out and give it a try,” Rostic said. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s open to everyone, but it is.” The craft beer industry is mostly run by white owners and brewers in West Michigan and across the U.S. According to a 2019 Brewery Operations Benchmarking Survey conducted by the Brewers Association, 76 percent of brewery production staff were white and 89 percent of brewers that responded to the survey were white. “Maybe we can be the gateway. It excites me that Jamaal and I have this opportunity to provide that inclusion that might have been missing in this area,” Rostic said. Rostic and Ewing look forward to collaborating with the tight-knit and supportive craft brew community in West Michigan. “It’s really been cool to see the great reception we’ve gotten in the community and it keeps pouring in,” Ewing said. “I definitely feel like we’re welcomed and have a lot of support.” Visit www.mibiz.com

FOOD BIZ CAN SHORTAGE Continued from page 1

start canning. Brewery Vivant now exclusively uses cans for its beers. “The big issue we’re having right now is the lead time to get cans is too long,” he said. “Craft beer moves at lightning speed. Brands come in and out of fashion so quickly. We’re looking to launch some new products for 2021 and no one can actually quote you on what the lead time is or if you’ll even get cans.” Since it opened in 2010, Brewery Vivant has packaged its canned beers exclusively in 16-ounce cans, but the company is planning a major change to coincide with the Meijer shelf placement. The brewery plans to can year-round brews in the traditional 12-ounce size, as it continues to package its speciality beers in 16-ounce cans. “Moving to 12-ounce cans has been in the works for a year because it takes that much planning, but I don’t 100 percent know if we’ll be able to get those cans by March,” Spaulding said. “We’re banking our entire year on this switchover — I’m spending money on our equipment to accommodate 12-ounce cans. That’s where it really leaves us in a lurch.”

Not going away Rumblings about an aluminum can shortage have loomed over the industry for years, and intensified as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and shut down many brewpubs around the country. Along with increased at-home consumption of all different beverages, demand for cans has also gone up because of the increasing popularity of energy drinks and especially in the exploding $3 billion hard seltzer category. In fact, in mid-summer, MiBiz reached out to a handful of local breweries to gauge whether the shortage was profoundly felt in West Michigan, and all of them reported little to no disruptions in their operations. This time around, the story is far different as breweries of all sizes begin to scurry to procure cans. “In the last couple of weeks, I’ve started to see breweries who didn’t think they had any issues and were told they’re not getting any cans until January,” said Scott Newman-Bale, CEO of Bellaire-based Short’s Brewing Co. LLC and past president of the Michigan Brewers Guild. “In fact, today, I’m out delivering a couple partial pallets of cans to a couple local breweries just to keep them operating,” he told MiBiz when contacted in mid November. “They called up and needed a favor and I said yes.” Given all the industry intelligence that Newman-Bale has read, he expects the industry is poised to be short 10 to 15 billion cans next year. A report by financial services company Credit Suisse noted that North America’s can supply is essentially sold out until 2025-26, when it might finally stabilize. Short’s Brewing Co. had the foresight to stock up on cans, but even while the company remains in a good position now, Newman-Bale said he doesn’t know what lies ahead. “I’m OK for a period of time — I don’t know how long that period of time is,” he said. “I am depleting my can inventory, but I do have a gut feeling that I should be OK until the middle of next year — quarter two or quarter three — and then I’m in trouble. I’m better than most but not immune.” Short’s has a history of bottling beers, and with the squeeze on cans, Newman-Bale always has the option to fire up those lines. “There are a lot of affordable bottling lines — it’s what we used to do,” he said. “We still have our bottling line. The goal of this year was to push heavier into cans. That changed with COVID. We’re still doing it, but we’re not being aggressive about it.”

breweries, Founders COO Brad Stevenson said that the brewery started to finally feel the supply chain squeeze late in the summer. “We contract multiple years in advance and have rolling forecasts,” he said. “We don’t get immediately affected. The tightening early in the summer, we made it through most of the summer, and started to be impacted in August. If you’re smaller and buying cans one pallet at a time from a reseller, you probably felt the impact much earlier, but we all feel it now.” “What it meant for us, in the short-term, we’re not able to get everything we need,” he added. “In the long term planning, we’re being told this will carry forward for a while and simultaneously prices are going up. So it has all the impacts.” Founders sources its cans from Broomfield, Colo.-based Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), one of the world’s largest beverage packaging companies. Ball has advised the company that the aluminum can shortage will be an issue through 2021 and

2022, Stevenson said. He noted Founders also has been in contact with glass suppliers, who indicated that breweries are moving quickly back to bottles. While the shortage has left some breweries pondering alternatives to both cans and bottles, there is no break-through innovation poised to emerge. “Unfortunately, the first alternative you go to is plastic and no one is excited about that — cranking out more plastic containers,” Stevenson said. “There are people looking at — Nestle I think is one that is looking at trying to make a plastic bottle out of biodegradable non-plastic. But they’re not at the point where they can put alcohol in it yet.” If a brewery’s goal is to compete for prime real estate in retail environments, cans are the way to go, according to Steve Smith, a craft beer specialist at Grand Rapids-based beverage distributor Henry A. Fox Sales Co. This makes procurement of cans even more crucial.

“While I personally still love a good (bottled beer), I know in general that the can is king. We’ve been saying that for many years now,” said Smith, who has spent enough time in the industry to witness the mass departure from bottles in favor of cans. The only remedy for the shortage is to increase the supply, an effort that Ball is aggressively working toward. According to a report in industry publication Inside Beer, Ball is looking to add eight billion more units of capacity in 2021. The company is also rounding up cans from areas like Southeast Asia, South Korea, Africa and Central America to add to the North American supply, according to a report in Supply Chain Dive. For the brewers considering taking the leap back into bottles, Smith offered a word of caution. “The guys that will potentially be switching back to glass, I don’t think that is going to be a great option for them,” he said. “It’s possibly forcing their hand.”

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Weighing options Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewing Co. packages around 60 percent of its products in cans with the remaining 40 percent split between bottles and kegs. In line with fellow local Visit www.mibiz.com

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FOCUS: EDUCATION & TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Pandemic amplifies talent shortage, lack of diversity in construction industry By KATE CARLSON | MiBiz kcarlson@mibiz.com

est Michigan’s construction industry has long faced a talent shortage fueled by a worker exodus during the 2008 recession, stigma around going into skilled trades, and firms failing to recruit a diverse workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these ongoing issues for West Michigan construction firms through state-ordered shutdowns last spring and a further shrinking talent pool as workers contract the virus. About 5 percent of the construction workforce has been sidelined because workers have contracted COVID-19, have been exposed to someone with the virus and have to quarantine, are immunocompromised and are taking a break, or are serving as a caretaker for a family member with COVID-19, said Norm Brady, CEO of Associated Builders & Contractors’ Western Michigan chapter. These health and safety challenges — coupled with a federal stimulus package that included an extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits — shrunk the number of available workers. “Post the stipend, and knowing more data now about COVID-19, we’re now seeing an uptick in people going back to our job sites, but we’re not making major gains in filling the delta of the industry,” said Shane Napper, president of construction at Rockford Construction Co.

Workforce development While the pandemic has affected the talent shortage, West Michigan construction leaders admit they have generally not been aggressive on the talent issue — but that appears to be changing with a greater focus on recruiting. “With the skilled trades, there’s been a (talent shortage) issue for quite some time now,” said Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. COO Jeremy Amshey. “In the last couple years it’s really started affecting the general contractors and construction management firms quite a bit more.” Because OAK had generally low staff turnover, the term “recruitment” was not in the company’s vocabulary, Amshey said. “We’ve had to take a step back and shift marketing efforts to focus on recruitment,” Amshey said. “It’s something we don’t want to take for granted.” Construction firms are now working on recruiting and retaining talent in a variety of ways, including using interns and having students job shadow during projects. Owen-AmesKimball used to have three or four interns each season, but has increased its cohort to 10-12, with the goal of eventually hiring them, Amshey said. “Internships are a big deal with us. We’ve grown that more to get people involved and to give them a better idea about working with us,” Amshey said. “We just got done hiring 12 interns — a couple are right out of high school and seeing if they like the industry.” Rockford partners with many of the regional efforts to develop talent in the industry, but also does some in-house training and job shadowing. “We get some people that are unskilled but are really good workers and we work with them on internal training,” Napper said. “We love supporting the workforce development efforts but we’ve also got a lot of skilled people here that love to share their trade.” A group of organizations have joined forces in recent years to work in local schools Visit www.mibiz.com

Brady

Napper

Amshey

to expose students to the possibility of a career in the skilled trades and construction. Entities involved include Associated Builders & Cont ractors, Construction Workforce Development Alliance of West Michigan, American Subcontractors Association of Michigan, West Michigan Works, and Grand Rapids Community College. “We do a fair amount with Grand Rapids Public Schools, particularly the Innovation Central High School,” Brady said. “We coordinate with staff and bring in different trades workers and they speak about what they do, why they love it and why a student might consider it.” ABC’s local chapter is in the process of relocating its headquarters and creating the West Michigan Institute, which will teach students about the industry and be a source of talent for contractors, Brady said. The project on Grand Rapids’ Southwest side is expected to be completed at the beginning of 2022.

‘White male-dominated’ industry Demographics in West Michigan and across the country are changing, and so far the construction industry hasn’t kept up, said Aaron Jonker, president and co-owner of Wolverine Building Group. “Most of our job sites are white male-dominated in this industry, particularly in West Michigan, but that’s got to change if we want to maintain viability,” Jonker said. “Part of it is encouraging people of color and women to see construction as a viable career choice.” Jonker is part of the Talent 2025 Inc. diversity and inclusion team, a community-based

Jonker

Waugh

approach to attract and support people of color in the workforce. Jonker said the work is critical since being the only woman or the only non-white person on a job site can be intimidating. “We need to understand our differences,” Jonker said. “The misconception of ‘color blindness’ is a huge problem. We need to acknowledge that race exists and it creates challenges, but we can work through them.” Rockford Construction’s Dimensions program focuses on working with minority-owned and women-owned commercial contractors on local projects, Napper said. This relationship is meant to help build their businesses and provide work opportunities on local projects. Part of the diversity issue also stems from the West Michigan construction industry’s reliance on hiring friends and family of current employees. “If you keep fishing from the same pond, you’ll keep getting the same fish,” Jonker said. “What we’ve got is a long term culture that has traditionally been dominated by rural, white males.” Construction courses at Grand Rapids Community College are increasingly diverse, but there are only three women out of three classes in the program, said Julie Parks, GRCC’s executive director of workforce training. “Women are still an area where we’re really lacking,” Parks said. “For recruiting in general, we’re starting to make some headway.” The construction industry has a stereotype of being physically demanding, which is enforced by job descriptions that often include lifting

requirements, said Jenny Waugh, marketing operations director at Fishbeck Inc. “The male-leaning words we use to describe the jobs themselves need to change, and I think we need to expose children, little girls and people of color to the possibility of a job in construction,” Waugh said. “We should have school counselors spreading that message.” Waugh recently started an affinity group through Inforum for Michigan women in the construction industry. The network includes 50-70 women with jobs across the construction sector, and gives women space to share their experiences and ask questions. “Employers who are deliberate about including people of color on their staff today are going to be in the best position to fill their talent needs of tomorrow because demographics in the country are changing,” said Brady, of Associated Builders & Contractors. “Those who make the effort now are going to be able to connect with people of color more in the future.”

MiBiz / NOVEMBER 23, 2020

FOCUS: EDUCATION & TALENT DEVELOPMENT

MSU survey: Pandemic creates softer job market for college graduates By MARK SANCHEZ | MiBiz msanchez@mibiz.com

ollege students graduating this fall or next spring should expect to face a softer job market than in the past several years as a result of the pandemic-related economic downturn. Just 37 percent of the more than 2,400 employers nationwide responding to an annual Michigan State University survey said they planned to increase hiring quotas across all degree levels. That’s a 15-percent decline from a year ago in the annual recruiting survey, which for several years found more than Gardner half of respondents planned to increase recruitment of college graduates. This year’s hiring expectations come after “the college labor market has experienced ten years of solid, if not spectacular, growth,” according to a report on the 2020-21 MSU Recruiting Trends survey.

“COVID-19, a non-economic event with destructive economic consequences, continues to raise uncertainty nearly 10 months” after hitting the U.S., according to the report. “The hope for a speedy recovery has not materialized, and conflicting economic news sends troubling signs that some employers are recovering and doing well while others face continued economic hardship.” The report also found employers’ plans “more subdued with the labor market in a swoon.” The number of employers planning to increase their recruiting of graduates with a two-year associate degree declined 10 percentage points from a year ago to 42 percent. Increased recruitment of graduates with a bachelor’s degree slid 11 percent points to 35 percent. The hiring out look for MBAs and other master’s students was “more d isappoi nt i ng,” according to the report. Only 26 percent of employers responding to this year’s sur vey planned to recruit more MBAs, down 10 points from 2019-20. One-quarter intended to increase recruitment for graduates with a master’s degree, a decline of 12 percentage points.

‘Sitting on the sidelines’ The annual survey reflects the state of the economy in the pandemic and uncertainty about the future, said Phil Gardner, director of MSU’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute. “It’s hovering right around employers just holding the line where they were. They’re not aggressively hiring,” Gardner said. “It’s just holding there and people are waiting to see what happens with the virus in relation to the economy.” As the fall recruiting season approached and many college campuses operated virtually, nearly one in five survey respondents said they curtailed all college recruiting without making job offers. Some curtailed recruiting and rescinded job offers. One-quarter of recruiters who were active on campuses were “completely gone,” Gardner said. Although employers are generally cautious with recruiting this year, the college job market has not collapsed, similar to what occurred in the Great Recession a decade ago and the prior economic downturn, he said. “They’re sitting on t he sidelines waiting to see what happens See JOB SURVEY on page 19

ENTERING A SOFT JOB MARKET The COVID-19 pandemic caused many employers to alter how they recruit on college campuses. According to results in Michigan State University’s 2020-21 Recruiting Trends survey of employers:

9% 16% 13% 18% 44%

did not plan to engage in college recruiting this academic year and spring 2021. did not plan not engage in college recruiting during the fall and would re-evaluate the situation in January for spring recruiting. planned to rely on in-house and other virtual technologies to recruit with minimal interaction with college career centers. planned to work closely with campus partners and participate in on-campus events, if they occur, using virtual recruiting methods to supplement efforts. planned to rely completely on virtual technologies for college recruiting while maintaining strong connections with career centers.

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Manufacturers deploy recruiting, certification strategies to bolster workforce By JAYSON BUSSA | MiBiz jbussa@mibiz.com

alent gaps and workforce shortages are two issues that have dogged the manufacturing industry for years, pushing Michigan companies and their supporting organizations to develop a more robust talent pipeline in Michigan. One of the first orders of business is to correct the outdated perception of the industry. With the evolution and advancement of automation and Industry 4.0 technologies, dark, dirty and dangerous factories are a thing of the past. “The manufacturing industry years ago had a bad rep for what it looked like,” said Cindy Brown, vice president of talent initiatives for regional economic development firm The Right Place Inc., which is also home to the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center - West. “Through different initiatives through the Manufacturers Council and West Michigan Works! with (its) Discover Manufacturing (program), the whole idea was to set a realistic light on what is happening in our facilities.” The COVID-19 pandemic has not made these efforts any easier by layering on additional workforce shortages. The state’s manufacturing workforce has shrunk by 68,000 people since January, from 628,000 to 560,000, according to the Michigan Manufacturers Association. Some manufacturers are lucky enough to have an adequate production staff. “There are a lot of manufacturers that are in a good place and some that are not,” Brown said. “It’s not a blanket statement. There are different pieces of companies that are doing very well — they’re hiring and helping grow their people, which is fantastic. There are others that are struggling right now.”

Marketing manufacturing Changing the perception of the manufacturing industry is a vital first step in sparking an interest in junior high and high school students, according to John Walsh, who took over as president and CEO of the MMA in January this year. Walsh said statistics show it is ideal to capture the attention and creativity of middle schoolaged children to get them thinking about a potential career in manufacturing. One way the MMA does this is by teaming up with manufacturers around the state, setting aside days when children and families can visit facilities to see firsthand what a modern shop floor looks like. “When people come, kids and parents alike are like, ‘Wow, we didn’t expect this,’” Walsh said. “‘We didn’t know you could do this. We didn’t know how much autonomy a worker had. We didn’t know it wasn’t the traditional assembly line.’ “Look, it’s still manufacturing,” he added. “There are still loud noises and still an element of danger from the use of chemicals or products that require some risk mitigation. But on the other hand, if you like working with your hands or working with other people, it’s a great place to be.” Gentex Corp. is an appropriate example of modern manufacturing. The Zeeland-based provider of rearview mirrors and camera-based driver assistance systems operates a clean, highly-automated, climate-controlled facility, and readily puts it on display when trying to attract new talent. For this month’s virtual edition of Discover Manufacturing Week, Gentex created a video showing off its cutting-edge facility, and the work conducted inside, to a pool of 10,000 students statewide. To further build a bridge between its company and local schools, Gentex also meets students where they are. “We do work with elementary, middle schools and high schools, whether it’s supporting robotic programs or lending the talent of our engineering team,” said Seth Bushouse, senior director of human resources for Gentex. “It’s not just cutting Visit www.mibiz.com

a check — we get involved with our local school systems and our K-12 students.” And once new talent is in the door, Gentex focuses on developing its workers. Bushouse said Gentex has developed a robust training and onboarding program to up-skill its existing workforce and meet some of the more high-skill demands of the business. “We love to promote from within,” Bushouse said. “We have great partners through (Grand Rapids Community College) and other third parties that we can use to train people up on technical skills, troubleshooting, robotics, continuous improvement, quality control, machine operations, tool room — I’m really proud of the way we can grow and promote people through the system.” While Walsh says talent development efforts at the state and federal level are effective, one of the crucial ways that manufacturing can develop a more robust pipeline is through collaboration. For example: If a West Michigan manufacturer had talent needs, it might consider hiring Grand Rapids Community College to offer a certificate program to train potential new workers. However, after earning the certificate, if that same worker moved across the state to work in a different segment of the manufacturing industry, the certificate would not transfer and they would require additional training. “As a result, they have to re-enroll — even though it’s provided by the employer — and get certified again,” Walsh said. “One of the things I’m going to be focusing on in the new year is working with our community colleges and other educational institutions to find some base certification levels that can travel with you. I think that will be a big help.”

Frontliners welcome Futures for Frontliners — a program that recently emerged in Michigan in response to the COVID19 pandemic — is poised to bolster the manufacturing talent pool. The program provides a tuition-free pathway to college or a technical certificate to essential workers who don’t have a college degree. The new educational opportunities made available through the program can be used to usher new talent into manufacturing, or up-skill people who already hold lower level production jobs. “You talk about making a wise investment with tax dollars and getting a work force ready — this is huge,” Walsh said of the program. “The state that does it right is the state that will attract new jobs.” Earlier in the month, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced that 85,000 essential workers applied for the program. The department has not collected industryspecific data, but it will be available as frontline workers choose their respective educational paths. The program is also a push to reach what the state calls its Sixty by 30 goal, in which 60 percent of working-age residents would have either a technical certificate or college degree by 2030. Sixty by 30 Director Kerry Ebersole said the droves of essential workers who applied for the program is encouraging, but she’s ultimately gauging success on how many enroll and complete their subsequent training. “We know that in the manufacturing sector here in the state there are about 600,000 jobs,” Ebersole said. “We know that there are often many that go unfilled on an annual basis. This is exactly some of the manufacturing positions we have our training for and are going to help prepare (frontline workers) for.” Ebersole also said the program is designed to serve as a starting point for a new career, not the ultimate destination. “Just because you come in the front door as an assembler, you may become a machinist and go on to be a CNC programmer or a machining supervisor — this is a pathway to growth and opportunity,” she said. MIBIZ Est LAB ads for print.indd 1

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MiBiz / NOVEMBER 23, 2020

FOCUS: EDUCATION & TALENT DEVELOPMENT

GVSU, Davenport launch tuition programs to bring military veterans to campus By MARK SANCHEZ | MiBiz msanchez@mibiz.com

nitiatives at Grand Valley State University and Davenport University seek to help veterans earn a college degree after their military service. GVSU guarantees admission for high school students graduating in 2021 who enlist and then want to go to college after completing their military service. The GVSU Veteran Promise applies to students at public and private high schools who sign enlistment papers and serve in the military for at least two years. They are guaranteed admission to attend GVSU Mantella after their service, or begin online instruction while on active duty. GVSU has set a course “to be the best place in the Midwest for veterans

NOVEMBER 23, 2020 / MiBiz

to come to school” after their military service, GVSU President Philomena Mantella said during the university’s annual breakfast commemorating Veteran’s Day, which was held virtually this year. The Veterans Promise will help veterans transition back to civilian life without the worry of whether they’ll get accepted to college, Mantella said. “It is our obligation not only to these individuals who have served so courageously, but to our cities, our states and our nation to put this talent pipeline to use in what our country now needs, which is leadership,” she said. “We want to show that this kind of commitment makes imminent sense. Why should these young students feel that they are at some risk of losing a college education as they move off to serve our country?” By bringing them back to study in Michigan, Mantella added, “We bring them back to our talent pipeline.” More than 400 veterans are now enrolled at GVSU, which last year created the position of military and

Grand Valley State University’s Veteran Promise program guarantees admission for high school students graduating in 2021 who enlist and then want to go to college after completing their military service. COURTESY PHOTO veteran resource manager. Jill Wolfe, a U.S. Army veteran and GVSU alumna, joined the university in July in that role. GVSU this year plans to “step out in an even more bold way to claim our leadership role and to lead our country in supporting this wonderful community who will support us in turn,” Mantella said.

The university dedicated space at the Allendale campus’ Kirkhof Center for a new veterans center, she said. Construction should begin soon and the veterans center should open for the winter semester.

State partnership At Davenport, a partnership with the

Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency offers scholarships to employees at nearly 400 companies that are designated by the state as veteran-friendly. Those companies employ more than 30,000 veterans across Michigan. Under the program, employees who served in the military can earn scholarships of up to $2,500 or up to $4,500, depending on their employer’s

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level of certification. Veterans at employers certified at the highest Gold level by the state’s Veterans Affairs Agency can access additional benefits. The scholarships are renewable and veterans Pappas can apply them toward 22 credit hours per year for four years to attend Davenport, which has about 7,500 students enrolled online and at 10 campuses in Michigan, including Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Holland. “This new partnership helps remove barriLyon ers so veterans can continue their education,” said Davenport President Richard Pappas. “By offering these scholarships in partnership with the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, we’re able to help people currently in the workforce complete their bachelor’s or master’s degree, or pursue professional training to enhance their skills or gain industry-recognized certifications.”

‘Desired talent’ In a pre-recorded address at GVSU’s Veterans Day event, the head of a national organization representing student veterans described how veterans were not always so welcome on college campuses. The G.I. Bill in 1944 — known formally as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act that

was intended for World War II veterans that wanted to go to college — “almost never made it out of Congress,” said Jared Lyon, national president and CEO of Student Veterans of America and veteran of the U.S. Navy. Some college presidents openly questioned whether veterans could handle college, he said. Some of those “unfounded falsehoods” persist still today, Lyon said. “After World War II, college and university administrators thought that veterans did not belong on college campuses. They said that if we let veterans into our institutions of higher learning, we would degrade the quality of that education for those who deserved to be there,” Lyon said. By 1948, a consensus grew that student veterans “were the hardest working, most serious and best students that college campuses at the time had ever seen,” he said. “Student veterans quickly proved their value after World War II and they’re doing so again today at campuses with robust programs and support networks just like GVSU,” Lyon said. “Student veterans are in fact the most desired talent hiding in plain sight, excelling alongside their civilian peers.” Student veterans collectively earn an undergraduate grade point average of 3.34, which Lyon said is among the highest in the nation. They also graduate at high percentage rates with business, STEM and health care as their top three fields, he said. Lyon described military service before attending college as “the ultimate gap year or service year.” About 115,000 of the 200,000 people who leave military service each year go on to attend college within seven months, he added, mostly in their home state.

JOB SURVEY

Continued from page 16 in January and February, and now we know the outlook for January and February is not good, so they may not hire at all this year,” Gardner said. “I’ll call it a swoon because it’s down, but it’s not like we saw in 2008 and 2000 when it really hit bottom fast.” Still, the softer job market this year does mean college graduates will need to temper their expectations and “work harder” to find an opportunity as they enter the job market, Gardner said. “Employers are saying, ‘You really have to be open and receptive to the kind of opportunities that are out there.’ They may not be exactly what you thought you were going to do, but these will open future doors for you to get where you want to go,” Gardner said. “It’s just what they have available right now and that’s what they’re presenting to students.”

Virtual recruiting, tips for students Those recruitment methods — as with so much that is now different about how people work in the COVID-19 economy

— have gone more virtual in the pandemic. Nearly 30 percent of employers surveyed told MSU that they plan to use technologies to connect with students through events such as social media or online job fairs. Virtual technologies that employers have chosen to utilize in recruiting this year are already familiar to students, career professionals and talent professionals. Above all, college graduates “need to be persistent,” Gardner said. The COVID-19 pandemic will eventually wane, and the economy will improve and generate more jobs. “There are a lot of jobs out there. Is there one for every student that’s going to graduate? Probably not right at the moment,” he said. “But every student that takes their job search seriously has a much better chance of finding a job.” Gardner advises students to not only change expectations but also to not focus just on large corporations. They should research and consider small and mid-sized companies “that you may not be familiar with and you see them out there having positions you never heard of,” he said. Results from the MSU survey indicate that more smaller employers with 100 or fewer

employees planned to hire graduates with associate or bachelor degrees than large companies with 100 to 499 employees. As well, employers with 500 to 1,499 employees “will increase hiring at all degree levels except MBA,” while at organizations with 1,500 to 25,000 employees, “hiring weakens across all degree levels,” except at the associate degree, according to MSU. Hiring at those largest companies for graduates with bachelor’s degrees will decline 19 percent this year. More than eight out of 10 companies said they plan to hold starting salaries at 2019-20 levels, and 13 percent planned to increase pay in their offers to graduates. The remaining 3 percent intend to lower starting salaries. Economic sectors where survey respondents intend to increase hiring include computer services and development, and scientific research. Gardner expects education “to be really strong in the spring and certainly we won’t have enough teachers coming out.” Down sectors include engineering, manufacturing such as automotive and aerospace, hospitality and food service, and advertising, marketing and public relations, and accounting, payroll and tax services.

You have a dream Whether your dream is to earn a better salary, advance your career or finish what you started, Davenport University can help you get there. We offer career-focused degree programs in business, technology, health and urban education. Take classes full time, part time, online or on campus. With six start dates, you can begin at your convenience and complete your degree at a pace that works with your busy life.

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Karen Kania and Peg McClure support nonprofits addressing basic needs. In particular, they’re focused on safe housing and alleviating hunger. They believe that if a person can’t nourish their body, they can’t nourish their spirit. As Karen and Peg considered what would happen to their assets after their lifetime, their professional advisor connected them to Grand Rapids Community Foundation. After their passing, the McKania Fund for the Economically Disadvantaged will be established at the Community Foundation to continue their legacy of providing for people facing housing and food insecurity. L E T U S H E L P YO U G E T S TA R T E D We’re here to help you understand your options and explore creative ways to leave your mark on the community and causes you love. Give us a call at 616.454.1751. grfoundation.org

NOVEMBER 23, 2020 / MiBiz

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Member-based nonprofits bolster efforts to deliver aid to minority-owned businesses By MARLA MILLER | MiBiz mmiller@mibiz.com

hen the coronavirus pandemic hit eight months ago, many Latinx and Black business owners missed out on federal loans and other relief because they didn’t have relationships with local bankers or didn’t have financial statements in order. Member-based nonprofit business organizations responded by reducing or waiving member fees, offering referrals and advocacy, and providing direct support for local businesses. Initially, many Latinx business owners were leery of grants and other available assistance — or they didn’t have the financial documents needed

Local First also launched a Pay What You Can scholarship as a way to help struggling business owners. The renewal drive runs until the end of the year. While most businesses are opting to pay a portion of the annual fee, full scholarships are also available. “We all recognized right away in 2020 that support needed to be available to any business that needed it,” Schulze said. “We really are that sort of interconnected network that helps folks access the capital and connect to other resources.”

Sharing resources, employee concerns

Local First of West Michigan has focused on creating a support network for businesses to reach out and build relationships with one another. When businesses first faced closures, Schulze said the organization connected Latinx business owners with attorneys, financial advisers Jose Schulze Griselda and CPAs willing to offer pro bono advice. Local First to apply for the Paycheck Protection also referred them to the Hispanic Program through their bank, said Chamber for translation services and Ana Jose, program manager at the other assistance. West Michigan Hispanic Chamber The region’s nonprofit business of Commerce. organizations — including the Grand “For some reason the Latinx comRapids Area Chamber of Commerce, munity — when you say free, they The Right Place Inc., the Hispanic don’t really believe you,” Jose said. Chamber and Grand Rapids Area Black “They have to know you are coming Businesses (GRABB) — have worked from a good place to take that help. If together to share resources and inforyou’re not used to getting that assismation. They also have offered support tance, you’re not going to believe it and referrals to businesses that are not unless you hear it from someone you members. Local First did not receive actually trust.” CARES Act funding to directly support Restrictions issued on Nov. 15 by businesses, but team members did sit the Whitmer administration have on review committees that awarded meant new challenges for some busigrants, Schulze said. nesses, especially bars and restauFor a planner like Gricelda Mata, rants. The goal now is to make sure owner of Lindo Mexico, living through these companies’ finances are in order the pandemic as a restaurant owner if and when the federal government has been an emotional roller coaster. approves additional stimulus funding. She received grants from The Right “We are working diligently and Place and the Grand putting together an Rapids Chamber to accounting program help with operational to allow businesses to expenses, and belongs revamp their (profit Sponsored by: to both Local First and and loss) statement GRAND RAPIDS the Hispanic Chamber. and balance sheet, so COMMUNITY The latest state when they sit down FOUNDATION emergency order barwith a banker, they ring restaurants and have their information bars from offering dine-in service ready to go,” Jose said. “We want to until Dec. 8 has Mata most concerned make sure we eliminate those barriabout her employees. ers for them.” “It’s just very tough emotionally Both Jose and Local First of West because I have to lay off people,” she Michigan President Hanna Schulze said. “The hardest part right now is said business organizations have ralthere is no help for businesses or lied to help local companies regardless families. Or the unemployment benof whether they are members. efits (aren’t) much. I am just very conThe Hispanic Chamber has 750 cerned and worried about the families member businesses and is offering a I’ll be laying off. We’re going to do the one-year free membership for those best we can to help.” who join by Dec. 31.

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Jose often hears similar concerns about employees having to miss work because of illness, shutdown or selfquarantine. After conversations with Schulze, Jose established the Unity Fund through the Hispanic Chamber to help business owners offer paid leave to their employees who have to stay home. Schulze helped secure $7,500 for the fund, and Jose has applied for grants in hopes of raising $50,000 to open the program for applications. The fund would match a week of paid leave that an employer provides. “I am hoping other people will be able to join us and make it where people can actually stay home and not have their utilities shut off or be able to feed their families,” Jose said. Jose personally helped nearly 60 business owners with U.S. Small Business Administration and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications, and the Hispanic Chamber’s partnership with The Right Place awarded $5,000 grants to the Latinx business community. “The Right Place received CARES Act money, and we were one of the partners to ensure the community was receiving these funds,” Jose said. Roughly 90 businesses received grants from The Right Place to help with cash flow or pay rent and utilities during a second round of funding. The increased participation was based in large part on the Hispanic Chamber’s awareness and outreach efforts. “We had to really call. We were texting 400 businesses in the community, sending them information about the grants, the SBA loans, sending them information about the training,” Jose said. “We were very intentional about being out there. We told them, ‘If you don’t do something now, you may end up closing or losing your business.’” The Hispanic Chamber also launched a training program for businesses to ensure they were following COVID-19 state mandates and guidelines for reopening, including providing signage and information on record-keeping. “We still have training for businesses to participate in to learn exactly what MIOSHA is looking for,” Jose said.

Elevating businesses The pandemic has brought to light other disparities for minority-owned businesses. Early on, as some restaurants and retail shifted to online sales, Schulze noticed an obvious “tech gap.” Many minority-owned businesses lacked the technological know-how, infrastructure or resources to support online operations, as minority business advocates have previously told MiBiz. Local First optimized its own website, improving search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities and its online business directory. In some cases, a

BUSINESS RELIEF OPTIONS T

hough federal lawmakers passed the historic CARES Act stimulus package in March that provided direct relief to businesses in the form of grants and loans, much of that funding has dried up as COVID-19 cases surge in Michigan and across the U.S. Area nonprofits and businesses are still distributing funding or have stepped in with additional relief: Kent County Small Business Recovery Program Kent County allotted $30 million in CARES Act funding to provide grants for small businesses. That funding had dwindled to $4 million by mid November and is going fast, officials say. However, Kent County commissioners on Nov. 19 approved an additional $5 million for small businesses — including restaurants, bars and various entertainment facilities — that were forced to close or scale back under a new three-week order from the Department of Health and Human Services. The new grants will range from $5,000 to $20,000. City of Grand Rapids Small Business Grant Program Grand Rapids’ Economic Development Office will now offer grants of up to $5,000 to eligible small businesses that have seen a pandemic-related revenue loss. The program — targeted at businesses with up to 25 employees with a physical location — is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Priority is given to businesses that haven’t received any other grant assistance. Flagstar Bank grants Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses (GRABB) and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce received $75,000 each from Flagstar Bank to offer grants to minority-owned small businesses affected by the COVID19 pandemic. GRABB and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will provide $5,000 grants to small businesses for working capital to pay daily operating expenses such as rent, payroll and utilities. Weatherization grants The Small Business Association of Michigan is administering a $3 million grant program through the state to help small businesses expand outdoor capacity in the winter months. Businesses can receive $1,000 to $10,000 to cover the costs of expanding outdoor capacity. Commercial firms and nonprofits with up to 50 full-time employees are eligible, including restaurants and bars, banquet centers, retail stores, gyms and retail stores. The funding was made available through the CARES Act.

company’s Local First listing comes up first in a Google search or serves as its primary online presence. Business owners can update their own listing in real time, letting customers know if they have changed hours or temporarily closed. The listing also allows users to view photos, hours and click through to the business website. Local First offers training and networking opportunities to members and disseminates information on COVID-19 mandates, policy changes and relief efforts. Schulze said the organization will continue to connect businesses with local, state and federal resources and facilitate relationshipbased connections. “Local small business owners are so buried in the logistics of running a business,” Schulze said. “It’s one thing to send an email or letter, but having that trusted relationship or to be able to sit and speak with a person who can help them navigate some of the particular hoops a business owner has to jump through is so important.” With COVID-19 cases spiking and the latest temporary shutdowns, Schulze stressed the importance of a new stimulus package and having people in support roles helping business owners navigate available resources to survive the winter. Jose said the Hispanic Chamber remains committed to serving its

member and non-member businesses and encourages the community to do the same. Small businesses are critical to the local economy and vibrant neighborhoods. “We need to make sure we support each other and that we are willing and able to do whatever it takes to help businesses stay afloat,” Jose said. “It’s going to take a lot of work, but that is what we need to do.”

“We all recognized right away in 2020 that support needed to be available to any business that needed it. We really are that sort of interconnected network that helps folks access the capital and connect to other resources.” — HANNA SCHULZE President, Local First of West Michigan

MiBiz / NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Q&A Megan Sall Rydecki Community Affairs Manager for Kent County, Consumers Energy

Megan Sall Rydecki comes to Consumers Energy amid major short- and long-term changes at the state’s largest energy provider. Not only is the company in the early stages of a sweeping 20-year transition to clean energy, but its charismatic leader, President and CEO Patti Poppe, last week announced a new job leading California’s largest utility, PG&E Corp., effective Dec. 1. As community affairs manager for Kent County, Rydecki will act as a liaison between Consumers and local governments and businesses. The West Michigan native joins the utility after serving nearly four years as deputy city manager of Wyoming and previously as business development manager at The Right Place Inc. Rydecki also chairs the Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees. Three days into her new role, she spoke with MiBiz about her priorities, informing the community about Consumers’ long-term plans and Poppe’s legacy at the company. It’s only your third day on the job, but what are your priorities and job duties as you get started? My role is really to connect the community back to Consumers as an organization and make sure Consumers’ policies, programs and opportunities are fully represented back to the community. For me it’s figuring out how Consumers can best support Kent County. First and foremost, (the utility) powers everything. It’s fun to be part of an organization that literally touches everyone’s life. It’s not unlike municipal government where a lot of the things you do people take for granted, but in an OK way. People aren’t thinking about the roads they’re driving on or the water coming out of their tap. Everything is functioning well and allows you to go on with life. It’s the same with electricity. How did you interact with Consumers in your previous roles in local government and economic development? I was fortunate to be partners in a lot of different ways. When I worked at The Right Place, very often when working with businesses, Consumers would come to the table. If there was a new prospect coming to town, what kind of (electricity) load would that company need, infrastructure and what could we use to enable that company to come to town? For a lot of the businesses we worked with, industrial space is hard to find out there. How could they retrofit existing spaces or improve operations and grow where they’re at? We’d bring in Consumers, whether it was LED lighting change-outs or with peak demand programs — just figuring out the best way to run operations with rate structures. There was a lot of crossover working with businesses in the area. From a local standpoint, there’s street lighting, tree trimming and what happens after a major storm. Consumers is a key partner when it comes to those kinds of things. What are emerging issues you see in Kent County that would involve the utility? Whether it’s an emerging issue or a present priority, Consumers has a clean energy plan they’re moving toward to reduce 90 percent of carbon emissions and reach net zero by 2040. Consumers is a strong partner with the city of Grand Rapids, which has a goal to be operating primarily off renewables by 2025. One priority is the continued shift to renewable sources and what that looks like for communities so we can bring a clean energy future for everyone. Consumers also has resources they’re able to commit, both from employees volunteering in the community and foundation support. I look at things like housing, people experiencing homelessness and food security — those are conversations Consumers wants to be a part of as well. As an energy provider, when the community is successful, the company is successful. Many perceive utilities as these big companies that simply exist to provide energy, and don’t give much thought to their business plans. But how do you see the company’s clean energy plan affecting communities? A big part of that will be education and helping people understand where our energy comes from, how it’s generated and what it means to everyday life. And how can we use the best resources of energy to make sure we can commit to sustainable futures for everyone who lives in West Michigan. I think the primary role is really going to be education, helping people understand where we’re going and why it’s important. The average resident doesn’t have time to wake up in the morning, think about their energy usage, where the energy comes from and how they’ll reduce consumption. Consumers has been really dedicated over the last several years to get closer to the customer and client side of things to provide more programming and education. How did you perceive Patti Poppe as an executive and what type of legacy do you think she leaves with the company? Patti was one of the reasons I came to the company. Her leadership and reputation precedes her. For everyone I know, she’s spoken of as a rock star and a game changer — all those terms are correct from what I’ve seen. The legacy I think she will leave is really founded around the culture she has instilled in the organization. She has worked so hard to instill (a caring culture and focus on people) in the organization to make people feel like they’re seen and heard when they show up to work everyday. It’s tough to see her go to PG&E Corp., but we also know PG&E is a company that needs her now and the people that it serves need her.

Interview conducted and condensed by Andy Balaskovitz. COURTESY PHOTO

NOVEMBER 23, 2020 / MiBiz

IN THE NEWS M&A

n Chicago-based private equity firm Westbourne Capital Partners recently completed a strategic investment in Grand Rapids-based Proos Manufacturing, which specializes in designing and manufacturing material handling solutions. The investment, made to support Proos Manufacturing’s rapid growth in domestic and international e-commerce fulfillment, was made in partnership with Samson Investment Partners, which is based in New York and Dallas, in addition to a group of additional family offices. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. n Belding-based Flat River Group, a toy and game distributor, acquired Optimum Fulfillment, an Illinois-based company that services the e-commerce industry as a wholesaler of toys, games and other consumer products. Optimum Fulfillment sells to the likes of Amazon, Walmart and Target, according to a statement. Flat River Group will continue to operate Optimum Fulfillment’s facility in Peru, Ill. n Grand Rapids-based TTS Logistics, a transporter of specialty produce, has been acquired by LaFayette, La.-based Dupré Logistics, an energy and chemical trucking firm, according to a statement. The deal marks the entry into a new market for the privately held Dupré, which aims to grow its “asset light business unit” to $200 million in sales by 2024. TTS Logistics’ 15 employees have joined the team at Dupré, which will maintain the company’s offices in Grand Rapids and Mount Pleasant. Dupré operates 750 trucks and employs more than 1,100 drivers, according to a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. n Ada-based Century Technology Group Inc., a family office that provides tech companies with growth capital, administrative resources and managerial consulting, has acquired custom software and app developer Grand Rapids-based Mutually Human. Century Technology Group plans to invest in strategic sales and marketing to grow Mutually Human, in addition to recruiting outside talent and adding complementary development capabilities. n Major Brands Oil Co. of Holland acquired Central Oil Co., a Roseville-based distributor that specializes in industrial and commercial lubricants throughout Southeast Michigan and parts of Ohio. Central Oil offers next-day delivery for coolants, lubricants, oils and speciality chemicals and gives Major Brands Oil a foothold in the metro Detroit region. n An active stretch of acquisitions for Grand Rapids-based wood products manufacturer UFP Industries Inc. continued as the company announced it acquired three new businesses. UFP Construction LLC, an affiliate of UFP Industries that serves the construction market, acquired the assets of New Hampshire-based companies Atlantic Prefab Inc., Exterior Designs LLC and Patriot Building Systems LLC. The trio of companies combine to serve both the commercial and multifamily construction markets in the northeastern states. The three companies combined for $28 million in sales over the last 12-month period that ended in September. UFP also made an equity investment in Milan, Italy-based Enwrap Logistic & Packaging S.r.l., giving the company a foothold in the European market.

VENTURE CAPITAL

n Raising nearly $21.6 million gives Holland-based Shoulder Innovations Inc. the capital needed to scale up operations and bring new products to market. The company, which developed a new generation orthopedic shoulder implant, raised the Series C capital round from 24 investors. They include mostly existing shareholders as well as California-based venture capital firms U.S. Venture Partners and Lightstone Ventures, which co-led the round and invested in Shoulder Innovations for the first time. Other equity round investors included Alumni Venture Partners in Manchester, N.H., Grand Rapids-based Wakestream Ventures, the Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center of Western Michigan University, Invest Michigan in Detroit, and the Michigan Angel Fund in Ann Arbor.

FINANCE

n Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses and the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce received $75,000 each from Flagstar Bank to offer grants to small businesses affected by the COVID19 pandemic. GRABB and the Hispanic Chamber will provide $5,000 grants to small businesses for working capital to pay daily operating expenses such as rent, payroll and utilities. Grant recipients may also use the money for transitioning to e-commerce, curbside pickup, delivery integration, and “other creative solutions to increase revenue,” according to a statement. The $75,000 that each organization received is part of a $1 million grant program Troybased Flagstar Bank created for small businesses owned by people of color. GRABB and the Hispanic Chamber are administering the grant program in West Michigan.

HEALTH CARE

n Bronson Healthcare directors named a new outpatient cancer center after former president and CEO Frank Sardone, who retired last December after 32 years with the Kalamazoo-based health system. Construction continues on the five-story, 85,000-square-foot Frank J. Sardone Pavilion on the campus of Bronson Methodist Hospital that’s scheduled to open in January, providing chemotherapy and infusion services for adults.

MANUFACTURING

n A recent cyberattack caused global operations for Grand Rapids-based office furniture manufacturer Steelcase Inc. (NYSE: SCS) to shut down for two weeks, according to a mid-November filing with securities regulators. Steeclase revealed that it shut down most of its global order management, manufacturing and distribution systems for two weeks following the attack. As of now, operations have returned to normal.

BANKRUPTCY

n Plummeting freight rates paired with the economic slowdown that accompanied the COVID19 pandemic took its toll on trucking company DIS Transportation LLC, leading the Kentwoodbased business to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. DIS Transportation, and its affiliate company DIS Express Inc., submitted its filing to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan in mid November. The filing was the latest in a growing number of cases filed under Subchapter V of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which was created by the Small Business Reorganization Act that passed by Congress last year and took effect in February.

MIBIZ ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR M&A AWARDS The nomination period has opened for the 8th annual M&A Deals & Dealmaker Awards from MiBiz. The awards highlight best practices and excellence related to mergers, acquisitions, capital formation and other types of dealmaking throughout West Michigan. Nominations are open for deals completed between July 1, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2020 in the following categories: manufacturing, professional services, finance/ banking, retail, real estate/development, economic development, health care, life sciences, technology, and nonprofit. Additionally, MiBiz is accepting nominations for three Dealmaker of the Year Award categories designed to honor individual corporate executives, company advisers and investors. The individual awards aim to highlight a person’s body of transactional work during the awards timeframe. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 8, 2021 at 11:45 p.m. Visit mibiz.com/deals for more information or to submit a nomination.

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From the beach

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