Displaying items tagged: JSJ Corp

While many West Michigan manufacturers are staying mum on a proposed federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate and how it might affect the industry, Nelson Jacobson believes it’s a conversation worth having.

Few local executives can provide a better view of the manufacturing industry than Nelson Jacboson, whose Grand Haven-based JSJ Corp. is entering its 101st year in business and features a portfolio of companies with an international presence. Jacobson said the pandemic gave rise to a host of complexities in the supply chain as well as worker retention. Those challenges are likely to continue into next year, along with uncertainty about how the business community approaches mandatory COVID-19 vaccines.

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

Shared transit presents unprecedented risks as communities and businesses around the state reopen and people come out of isolation following a months-long shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Three mobility programs with a reach into West Michigan received $230,000 in state grant funding intended to address public health concerns brought on by the coronavirus. 

GRAND HAVEN — Auto supplier GHSP has launched a line of products for emergency and transport vehicles that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect and kill germs, including pathogens such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

As a global pandemic began to hit West Michigan, executives around the region stepped up to lead their organizations and their employees through the time of crisis. 

A tooling engineer from Grand Rapids-based Tier-1 supplier ADAC Automotive was traveling in the Wuhan area of China when the Coronavirus public health crisis broke in late January. 

The sale comes as JSJ hones its strategy to focus on the high-growth companies within its portfolio, which includes auto supplier GHSP, label maker McLoone, engineered metal solutions provider Hudson Technologies and Sparks Belting Co. Chairman, President and CEO Nelson Jacobson spoke with MiBiz about the drivers behind the sale and how JSJ looks to invest as it begins to bring on board the fourth-generation family members of the company’s founders. 

Here is the growth report for December 7, 2019.

GRAND HAVEN — After being part of the JSJ Corp. portfolio of companies for nearly 80 years, metalworking equipment and machine tool maker Dake Corp. has new owners. 

ACME — After a decade of bullish outlooks, automotive suppliers need to buckle up for a period of upcoming disruptions. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Aug. 19, 2019:

SHELBY — When Grand Haven-based JSJ Corp. decided last year to get out of the contract furniture business, Silver Street Inc. saw an opportunity to bolster its product offerings.

Grand Haven-based GHSP Inc. is a global manufacturer “rooted into the West Michigan area,” according to Chief Technology Officer Marc Smeyers. In the past, GHSP was known for auto technology that combined electronics and mechanical engineering. Now, the company — a division of JSJ Corp. — is working across multiple industries for smart technology applications. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, GHSP introduced a future concept vehicle, products that use ultraviolet C (UVC) light to disinfect themselves, and a kitchen backsplash that’s an edge-to-edge touchscreen. Smeyers spoke to MiBiz about crossover technology in an increasingly fast-paced environment.

Against the backdrop of West Michigan’s nascent medical device industry and an expanding array of resources, high-tech health care startups are finding the tools they need to start and grow their businesses in the region.

ACME — As automakers race to incorporate more technology in their vehicles, automotive industry suppliers are starting to rethink their operations in West Michigan and beyond.

So far this year, West Michigan-based automotive suppliers have endured the fallout from supply chain disruptions, wrestled with rising costs related to steel and aluminum tariffs and struggled to fill open positions at their factories.

UV Partners Inc. developed a device that targets one of the most stubborn problems in health care: infections acquired in the hospital that sicken or kill thousands of patients annually. When Nelson Jacobson and executives at JSJ Corp. met last year with their counterparts at UV Partners, he quickly saw the device’s market potential. 

JSJ Corp. has invested $3 million in a startup company that wants to commercialize a device designed to reduce infections acquired in hospitals and other settings.

JSJ Corp. plans to wind down office furniture company izzy+ after 17 years of operation.

When Brad Davis looks ahead to 2018, he gets very excited about the future of his company, Zeeland-based Industrial Woodworking Corp.

ACME — A decade into the economic recovery, West Michigan-based automotive suppliers are having to look ahead and prepare for a period of declining new vehicle sales.

Following through with campaign promises, the Trump administration has set its sights on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). 

As the automotive industry pursues cutting-edge technological breakthroughs in autonomous driving and vehicle electrification, West Michigan suppliers must ensure they’re not left behind. 

Given that JSJ Corp.’s diversified manufacturing operations span North America, Mexico and China, Nelson Jacobson and the company’s board of directors are bracing for a period of acute political uncertainty. However, the chairman, president and CEO of the Grand Haven-based company fully expects to see “very significant growth — 20 percent plus” in 2017. That growth is coming off a record year this year in which JSJ’s sales were “well over” $500 million across its portfolio that includes GHSP Inc., Izzy+ and Dake Corp. Jacobson spoke with MiBiz about his outlook for the new year and how the political volatility influences the company’s plans. 

In speaking with hundreds of business executives over the last couple of months, we heard plenty of different phrases to describe their overall bullishness: All-time record year. Double-digit growth. Expansion. New markets. New products.

After one of the largest political upsets in recent history, West Michigan automotive suppliers have started assessing how a Donald Trump presidency could affect their industry. 

West Michigan automotive suppliers have a lot on their plates as they prepare their businesses to be competitive in the coming years. 

CHICAGO — After several years of vacillating between open office concepts and private spaces, the so-called “pendulum shift” in office furniture seems to have settled into a new normal.