Displaying items tagged: The Right Place Inc

Choosing whether to issue temporary layoffs is one of many decisions Pat Greene has had to contend with as the head of Cascade Die Casting Group Inc.

A partnership among West Michigan organizations supporting advanced manufacturing has announced an opportunity for area companies to learn more about Industry 4.0.

  Employers in West Michigan have recovered relatively well from the depths of the economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions, according to economic development organization The Right Place Inc.

GRAND RAPIDS — Logistics and data security company MCPc Inc. broke ground today on its $2.8 million facility that’s expected to bring at least 75 new and existing jobs to the city’s Madison Square neighborhood. 

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.

WALKER — Storage system manufacturer Speedrack Products Group Ltd. is expanding its Michigan operations with a nearly $65 million investment Walker.

BYRON CENTER — As a veteran of the machine and cutting tools industry, Jeff Swift launched Swift Placement and Consulting this month to meet the talent needs of a niche manufacturing segment.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Right Place Inc. has published a new digital database of businesses owned by people of color, women, veterans and people in the LGBTQ community operating in a 13-county region of West Michigan. 

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. 

The lifting of Michigan’s in-person work restrictions is a light at the end of the tunnel for remote workers eager to get back to the office, while others are hoping flexible work settings will stick long term.

It’s been a year since social media timelines were filled with Black Lives Matter hashtags, messages of solidarity with people of color, and promises to address racism as organizations responded to the national racial justice movement.

Michigan’s venture capital industry made modest strides in the last few years to create greater diversity within its ranks and in the number of startups run by women or minorities that receive investments.

Ryan Bennett used to be bothered by apprentices staring at their phones while on the job. Now, he lets it slide.

GRAND RAPIDS — Producing Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine propels Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing Inc.’s growth while giving business advocates a showpiece when promoting the region.

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.

Local economic development leaders have long sought to bring a global headquarters to downtown Grand Rapids, and it will soon become a reality as  Perrigo Co. plc moves its North American corporate offices to the Medical Mile.

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.

West Michigan economic development organizations are in a transition period — much like the industry itself during the COVID-19 pandemic — as multiple agencies take on new leadership.

GRAND RAPIDS — The West Michigan venture capital fund that intends to invest in growing, minority-owned businesses has garnered attention from interested parties who want to replicate the model elsewhere in the U.S.

GRAND RAPIDS — The venture capital fund formed a year ago in Grand Rapids to invest in minority-owned businesses has netted $8.5 million in commitments from investors and aims to hit $10 million this year.

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

Michigan’s economy could stand to benefit in the years ahead as manufacturers move to reshore work to the U.S. after dealing with severe disruptions in their foreign supply chains when the coronavirus first surfaced in China.

The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will use a $100,000 grant from Bank of America to help businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRAND RAPIDS — West Michigan’s economy sits well positioned heading into 2021 to continue recovering jobs lost from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts said this week.

Talent gaps and workforce shortages are two issues that have dogged the manufacturing industry for years, pushing Michigan companies and their supporting organizations to develop a more robust talent pipeline in Michigan.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit eight months ago, many Latinx and Black business owners missed out on federal loans and other relief because they didn’t have relationships with local bankers or didn’t have financial statements in order.

GRAND RAPIDS — Executives at Perrigo Co. plc believe the company’s new North American headquarters will fit in neatly with the city of Grand Rapids’ burgeoning health care sector along Medical Mile. 

Michigan and the nation need the same kind of concerted effort to deploy broadband internet access as 90 years ago when America set out to electrify rural areas following the Great Depression, economic developers say.

Business and community leaders on Wednesday remembered Peter Secchia as a business leader and generous philanthropist who helped to shape West Michigan over the past several decades.

GRAND RAPIDS — The business group that pushed several major developments over the past 25 years is now focused on a downtown convention center expansion, an amphitheater and a professional soccer stadium.