GRAND RAPIDS — Steve Weber’s purchase of Performance Die Cutting and Finishing LLC proves it’s hard to stifle the will of an entrepreneur to be his own boss. 

By focusing on the smaller end of the M&A market, Max Friar has sought to expand the deal flow for his Grand Rapids-based advisory firm.

Faced with an industry sea change and the loss of a major customer, Benton Harbor-based Midwest Timer Services Inc. needed to take action to remain a growing business.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Sept. 17, 2018.

GRAND RAPIDS — An M&A firm catering to small businesses took on a new name as it began to pick up clients and reach out nationally.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for June 11, 2018:

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 16, 2018.

• M&A: Holland-based JR Automation Technologies LLC, a private equity-backed manufacturer of custom automation equipment, has acquired Setpoint Systems and Setpoint Inc. of Ogden, Utah. The deal further expands JR Automation’s industrial automation offerings for global clients, according to a statement. The acquired companies specialize in automation solutions and motion control systems for the e-commerce and amusement industries. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In the middle of an extended construction industry expansion across West Michigan, most contractors are focused on running their businesses, rather than transitioning them to new ownership. 

A continued robust economy provides the right timing for business owners to consider selling their companies throughout the remainder of the year.

When Alan Hartline purchased Kingma’s Market four years ago, he pivoted away from a corporate world in which he was at the “mercy of quarterly earnings and Wall Street.”