Displaying items tagged: Lakeshore Advantage

GRAND RAPIDS — Even as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, quality child care remains hard to come by for many Michigan families. That’s due in part to providers who left the field and didn’t return — and a handful of Michigan organizations hope to use new state grants to reverse the trend.

Ford Motor Co.’s plans to invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant near Marshall came as good news to economic developers across West Michigan. 

HOLLAND TWP. — A company that manufactures spine, joint, extremity, cardiology and vascular models for the medical device industry is moving to a new and larger location.

HOLLAND — Transportation solutions company Art Mulder & Sons Trucking Inc. plans to invest more than $31 million in a project to greatly enhance its cold storage capabilities.

Advanced automotive battery suppliers are considering a pair of West Michigan cities for new or expanded manufacturing facilities, MiBiz has learned. 

HOLLAND — Global designer, builder and integrator of automation solutions JR Automation Technologies LLC will open a new facility in Holland this week.

Officials at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. say they are moving forward after the organization took a multi-million-dollar hit last year as revenue sharing from tribally owned casinos plummeted during pandemic-related shutdowns.

Low industrial real estate vacancy rates and ongoing construction backlogs are pushing industrial projects to more rural and outlying areas.

West Michigan economic development organizations have launched a campaign aimed at preparing local manufacturers to adopt Industry 4.0 technology and practices.

A statewide organization of economic development leaders is sounding alarms following Ford Motor Co.’s recent announcement to venture outside of its home state to make a historic investment in electric vehicles.

As the owner of two West Michigan-based manufacturing operations, Jay Garside is leaning on state resources to usher his businesses along their Industry 4.0 journeys.

As a transformational merger between two office furniture giants heads for final approval, the details of their seven-month courtship offer insight into a deal that could change the industry’s landscape.

Fragile and inefficient supply chains took center stage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and have furniture OEMs reevaluating the ways to approach this key component of their operations. 

ZEELAND — Economic development firm Lakeshore Advantage was one of 10 organizations to receive Michigan Strategic Fund grants to promote Industry 4.0 adoption and readiness among area manufacturers.

WEST OLIVE — Ottawa County has hired an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit research organization owned by Michigan public universities to analyze local broadband internet service, identify gaps and recommend potential cures.

ZEELAND — A Colorado-based manufacturer that specializes in designing, manufacturing and servicing control systems for the aerospace industry plans to expand its operations in Zeeland.

JENISON — An Ottawa County company that specializes in designing and manufacturing wooden pallet and container handling equipment plans to expand its facility.

A Coopersville-based manufacturer of structural steel and material handling equipment plans to expand its headquarters.

State officials announced today that nearly 6,000 Michigan businesses have received grant funding totaling $52.5 million under a COVID-19 relief program signed into law late last year.

HOLLAND TWP. — Harbor Steel & Supply Corp. will be investing $2.4 million into expanding one of the four locations that it operates in West Michigan.

Ottawa County expects to have a better understanding later this year of exactly where gaps exist locally for broadband internet service so it can begin to address the issue.

GRAND RAPIDS — Randy Thelen describes the COVID-19 pandemic as an “inflection point” that can shift the course of economic development in West Michigan.

ALLEGAN — In addition to dealing with the massive disruptions to her business brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanya Schafer is also juggling two construction projects.

GRAND RAPIDS — Former Lakeshore Advantage CEO Randy Thelen is returning to West Michigan to lead regional economic development firm The Right Place Inc.

GRAND RAPIDS — Perrigo Co. plc is seeking a 12-year incentive agreement estimated at $4.1 million in total property tax savings for its plans to relocate its North American headquarters to downtown.

With widespread wedding and formal school dance cancelations during the pandemic, Archie Sudue’s newly opened men’s suit shop has been struggling.

Thousands of small businesses across West and Southwest Michigan have received grant funding from a state COVID-19 relief program.

HOLLAND — Business leaders and elected officials in Holland say the city’s recently approved anti-discrimination ordinance codifying protections for the LGBTQ community will be beneficial for retaining and attracting talent.

Nearly 4,000 small businesses across a 13-county region of West Michigan have applied for state pandemic relief grants.

A pair of state grant funds totaling $115 million launches today as another source of financial assistance for small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.