More than five years ago, Avio-Tech Ltd. quoted a project to produce control panels and components for industrial conglomerate Textron Inc.

Facing limited capacity and modified business models, restaurants in every segment are looking for all possible ways to whittle down costs.

At Tech Defenders — a business that specializes in repairing, refurbishing and reselling laptops and mobile devices — processing a used device and finding it a new home used to take about 60 days.

Thanks to recent upgrades to its network, Comcast Corp.’s residential and commercial clients across a large swath of West Michigan now have easier access to 1 gigabit-per-second internet speeds.

KALAMAZOO — With an uncertain future ahead and the opportunity to make a clean exit from his business, owner Kevin Tibbs and his team at Kalamazoo-based Tibbs Brewing Company announced this week that it would be shutting its doors.

ZEELAND — With some lingering economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic weighing it down, Zeeland-based office furniture giant Herman Miller (NASDAQ: MLHR) still offered a better-than-expected earnings report late Wednesday.

LANSING — More than a dozen statewide beer, wine and liquor retailers spoke out against a potential liquor license at the Michigan Liquor Control Commission Wednesday as corporate retailer Total Wine & More seeks to establish its first store in Michigan.

The 81 employees who were furloughed by national restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s in Kentwood will be laid off permanently.

GRAND RAPIDS — After the ouster of its CEO last summer, SpartanNash Co. has found a new leader.

Grand Rapids-based technology and digital consultant OST announced last week an acquisition that would bolster its existing presence in Minneapolis, Minn.

Jeff Brennan is hungry for new ideas and best practices that might help his manufacturing business slog its way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steven Martinez-Thiel put together a detailed timeline that would transform his love and expertise of breakfast tacos and Tex-Mex fare into a new food business.

MUSKEGON — About five years ago, the fledgling Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. LLC in Muskegon shipped its beer out of the state for the first time when it sent a single keg to the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia.

A new partnership will bring whiskey from Three Oaks-based Journeyman Distillery LLC to all 50 states.

GRAND RAPIDS — Reduced demand brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant workforce reduction at Steelcase Inc.

In a business climate in which manufacturers are pressured to stay up on the latest technology, there is little wonder why Michigan-based companies might look to Israel for best practices.

BATTLE CREEK — Economic development organization Battle Creek Unlimited and St. Philip Roman Catholic Church in Battle Creek have come together for a project that embraces the identity of the Cereal City.

HOLLAND — Live music stages in West Michigan and across the country have been largely empty over the last six months with the COVID-19 pandemic suspending traditional concerts. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the supply of hand sanitizer dried up, nearly every member organization of the Michigan Craft Distillers Association rolled up their sleeves to pivot from producing spirits to making hand sanitizer.

It’s more than fitting that Bill Stough was the inaugural inductee into the West Michigan Sustainable Business Hall of Fame in 2014 — he has been a driving force in the sustainable business movement both in West Michigan and throughout the state. Stough’s passion for sustainability dates back to 1979, when he joined the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. More recently, Stough served as a founding member of the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum and just wrapped up his role as president of Sustainable Research Group, which he founded and sold to Grand Rapids-based energy consultancy Foresight Management. Stough is now self-employed and recently reflected on his “long and extremely satisfying career.”

GRAND RAPIDS — Office furniture titan Steelcase Inc. recently achieved a significant carbon emission-reduction target while also announcing a new one for the coming decade.

Battle Creek Unlimited has received $2.1 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to develop a food processing incubator known as the Southwest Michigan Accelerator Kitchen.

The topic of the day at this year’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars was predictable.

The recent and sudden downturn in the automotive industry is likely to lead to a flurry of bankruptcies and sell-offs by distressed suppliers, not unlike what the industry witnessed on the heels of the Great Recession.

Over the last decade and a half, the average age of light vehicles on United States roads has slowly risen. 

Many domestic manufacturers, including automakers, had started reevaluating their supply chains even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the international health crisis has only accelerated those conversations.

HOLLAND — GP Reeves Inc. put to use its nearly 50-year history and expertise in precision dispensing to make innovations to what has become a staple of the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Husband and wife duo Chris and Stephanie Keenan have spent more than two decades building a sports business outfitted with multiple revenue streams.

Automotive industry professionals don’t see much reason for optimism in the near future, but their outlooks become more bullish as time moves on.