One of the toughest challenges for any manufacturer is to accurately predict where its current path will lead in five or 10 years -- and what the business will look like at the end of that journey.

COVERT — Officials in Van Buren County felt a sense of relief last month when one of its largest employers and sources of tax revenue pledged to stay in the community for four more years.

HOLLAND — Partners in a firm that invests in medical device innovations are considering forming a new $10 million venture capital fund to back early-stage health care startups, MiBiz has learned.

Most business leaders have heard of the law known as “Title IX,” but few understand the broader context of the statute or how it may be relevant outside of collegiate sports. Clark Hill attorneys Erin C. Galbally, Marshall W. Grate and Nicole M. Paterson specialize in handling matters relating to Title IX (officially known as Title IX of Educational Amendment of 1972) and offer their insight on how it continues to evolve in new ways.

GRAND RAPIDS — A West Michigan investment company has completed the first in what it hopes to be a string of acquisitions of independent, regional seed producers. 

With availability of talent at a premium, many manufacturers are attempting to lure away key workers from their competitors. 

The number of venture capital deals in Michigan held relatively steady through the third quarter of 2017 compared to the same period a year earlier, although the amount invested declined.

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP — As automakers continue to seek out lightweight components for their vehicles, one West Michigan manufacturer is betting that its relatively new stamping technology will help fill that demand. 

The higher education student housing facilities of today have come a long way from the crowded dormitories familiar to many prior generations. 

LANSING — Funding for arts and culture in Michigan received a $1 million bump for 2018. 

An Ann Arbor company that wants to take traditional workplace wellness to an entirely new level using artificial intelligence has drawn a large share of capital from Grand Rapids-based investors.

The active mergers and acquisitions market shows no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable future. 

Nearing $10 billion in assets after a series of smaller community bank acquisitions, Chemical Financial Corp. last year needed to pursue a deal larger than any it had contemplated before.

After experiencing explosive growth over the better part of a decade, executives at Muskegon-based KL Outdoor LLC knew they needed a partner to continue that pace of expansion into the years ahead. 

A phone call Ranir LLC CEO Rich Sorota got in early 2016 offered an opportunity: Multinational medical device and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. wanted to sell its Rembrandt teeth-whitening product line. 

While advising on more than two-dozen transactions over a 12-month period, Dustin Daniels saw firsthand the growth of private equity’s role in mergers and acquisitions in West Michigan. 

With three acquisitions and two exits under his belt in the last year and a half, Martin Stein continues to drive a steady pace of deal activity at Blackford Capital.