GRAND RAPIDS — Agreements to manage inpatient rehabilitation units at two hospitals in northern Indiana are part of Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital’s strategy to extend care beyond Michigan.
GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce has hired a retail retention and attraction specialist to help attract regional and national retailers to the city.
KALAMAZOO — Bill Manns returns to Western Michigan this spring when he becomes the new president and CEO at Bronson Healthcare in Kalamazoo.
BELDING — Guardian Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Wayne, Pa., has partnered with the executive management team at Belding-based Flat River Group LLC to acquire the company.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan joined with 17 other Blues plans across the country to invest in Civica Rx, a company formed in 2018 by a consortium of large health systems to produce generic drugs used in hospitals.
Few Michigan drivers understand the changes coming at midyear in the state’s automotive no-fault insurance law that will require them to choose the level of medical coverage.
GRAND RAPIDS — Independent Bank Corp. ended 2019 with a nearly 40-percent growth rate in quarterly earnings.
HOLLAND — Macatawa Bank Corp. grew net income 16 percent in the fourth quarter to $8.1 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, capping off a year of strong earnings growth.
Grand Rapids postpones recreational marijuana to discuss separation requirements, data
Written by Sydney SmithGRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Planning Commission postponed talks about allowing recreational marijuana businesses in the city to hold more discussion on separation requirements and other aspects of the ordinance.
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The Right Place plans new fund to invest up to $25 million in minority businesses
Written by Mark SanchezGRAND RAPIDS — Aiming to create greater ethnic and racial diversity in business ownership across the region, The Right Place Inc. teamed with Bank of America and the Consumers Energy Foundation to form a capital investment fund.
Kids’ Food Basket expands in Holland
Written by Sydney SmithHOLLAND — Kids’ Food Basket, a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit that distributes meals for children, is expanding its efforts in Ottawa and Allegan counties.
SHELBY — Family-owned fruit processor Peterson Farms Inc. is expanding its operations in Oceana County, north of Muskegon.
MUSKEGON — Houston-based oil and gas industry supplier Cameron International Corp. is closing its Muskegon facility, according to a notice filed with the state.
GRAND RAPIDS — Atwater Brewery, a Detroit-based brewery with a satellite taproom in Grand Rapids, has been acquired by Chicago-based Molson Coors Beverage Co., one of the largest international brewing conglomerates.
BATTLE CREEK — New Holland Brewing Co. LLC will begin construction next month on its third brewery and taproom in West Michigan after securing a final funding source from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
GRAND RAPIDS — Wheeler Development Group has proposed transforming a city-owned parking lot into a $55 million 24-story tower in downtown Grand Rapids.
Michigan tribes make early moves as online gaming, sports betting takes shape
Written by Andy BalaskovitzMichigan officials are still months away from finalizing rules on internet gaming and sports betting, but some Michigan-based Native American tribes are taking early steps to participate in the newly legalized industry.
Spectrum Health closes deal for Gill property, moves ahead with building plan
Written by Mark SanchezGRAND RAPIDS — After finalizing a property deal with Gill Industries Inc., Spectrum Health is moving forward with plans to build a new office building on the north end of downtown that will consolidate 1,200 employees at a single location and house a training and learning center.
In the past decade, West Michigan has evolved as a hub for automation alongside — and perhaps powered by — JR Automation Technologies LLC.
LUDINGTON — Through decades of growth by acquisitions around the world, foam products manufacturer FloraCraft Corp. remains dedicated to keeping jobs and growth in its home community.
ADAC joint venture accelerates radar technology for hands-free vehicle access
Written by Jessica YoungADAC Automotive, a Grand Rapids-based Tier 1 automotive supplier, is working toward a new strategy that will bring supplier-initiated technological advances into the sector.
STILL PROCESSING: Overloaded with big data, manufacturers struggle to extract valuable information
Written by Jessica YoungThe ongoing Industry 4.0 revolution has the potential to transform how companies organize, operate and profit. At the same time, manufacturers are struggling to pinpoint and extract value from this new ability to gather seemingly limitless amounts of data.
More than a decade ago, Grand Rapids business leaders lobbied hard to block the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, known locally as the Gun Lake Tribe, from opening a casino near Wayland.
Groups like 23 is Enough and MichGO drove the narrative that any casino development south of Grand Rapids would “siphon off” jobs and investment from the city’s then-rebuilding downtown, limiting growth in entertainment options and economic opportunity alike. They cited a study commissioned by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce in the early 2000s that estimated $880 million of “economic hemorrhaging” in the surrounding counties if Gun Lake Casino were ever allowed to move forward.
Looking around downtown Grand Rapids today, it’s hard to find evidence that their worst fears were in any way realized.
GRAND RAPIDS — After getting the first step in the approval process from the city, nonprofit developer Amplify GR still has more steps to take before beginning a large-scale development proposed in the Boston Square neighborhood.
Backed by new real estate fund, Battle Creek drives downtown development activity
Written by Sydney SmithBATTLE CREEK — A grant for real estate projects is bringing needed development and activity to downtown Battle Creek.
Care providers behind a new regional cancer treatment network hope the partnership raises the quality of the cancer care they provide.
ALLEGAN — The transformation plan President and CEO Murray Kessler put in place last spring to return Perrigo Co. plc to revenue and earnings growth appears to have gained traction late in 2019, based on preliminary results for the fourth quarter.
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: GVSU Health Check report offers data on key industry trends
Written by Mark SanchezGrand Valley State University’s annual Health Check research report provides a wealth of granular data on trends that are affecting the West Michigan market.
A lack of state funding for the popular Pure Michigan campaign that promotes the state as a travel destination complicates plans for tourism promoters now preparing for the 2020 summer season.
Craft brewing industry executives worry that a lack of Pure Michigan advertisements touting the state as a brewery tourism destination could have a chilling effect on attracting out-of-state visitors to their taprooms.
‘Electrify everything’: Rural cooperatives can help decarbonize the power grid, advocates say
Written by Andy BalaskovitzRic Evans has yet to find the electric stove he wants to install in his rural Northern Michigan home, but everything else inside is powered by electricity, including the water heater and an air source heat pump.
SPARTA — ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. wasn’t actively looking to do another deal, but the parent company of ChoiceOne Bank saw an opportunity with Community Shores Bank Corp. that was too good to pass up.
‘Too Many Negatives’: Michigan farmers continue to feel weight of financial blows
Written by Jessica YoungWest Michigan’s farmers will be wading through the confluence of negatives brought on last year ranging from extreme weather, volatile commodity prices and trade wars well into 2020.
Corey Hart returned to Grand Rapids last September to find that support for entrepreneurship and startup companies had grown well beyond what it was when he left for California a decade earlier.
As concerns over privacy and misinformation mount, federal and state officials are preparing for the 2020 Census by using nonprofits to collect an accurate count of the nation’s residents.
In his previous role as chairman of Mno-Bmadsen, the non-gaming economic development and investment arm of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Eugene Magnuson was able to help out the tribe of which he and his mother are citizens. In his new position as CEO of Little River Holdings in Manistee, Magnuson gets to leverage that experience in helping advance the economic security of his father’s tribe, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. He spoke with MiBiz about his long-term vision for Little River Holdings and the group’s growth strategy.
GRAND RAPIDS — Furniture manufacturer Knoll Inc. will close its manufacturing facility in Grand Rapids, resulting in layoffs of approximately 180 hourly and 30 salaried employees.
West Michigan companies secured a collective $7 million in later-stage venture capital during the fourth quarter, as investments in Michigan reached a new high.
HOLLAND TWP. — Allegan-based Perrigo Co. plc is investing $13.6 million to expand its existing location in Holland Township.
GRAND RAPIDS — A Mid-Michigan property management firm has acquired Hopson Flats, a mixed-use property in Grand Rapids’ Heartside neighborhood.
COMSTOCK PARK — John Grace Construction LLC has acquired Muskegon-based Port City Construction & Development Services LLC, the companies announced today.
GRAND RAPIDS — Pallet management firm Kamps Inc. has sold a majority interest to Los Angeles, Calif.-based private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co.
Tribes partner in $17.5 million purchase of iconic McKay Tower in Grand Rapids
Written by Sydney SmithGRAND RAPIDS — Tribally owned Gun Lake Investments and Waséyabek Development Co. have jointly acquired McKay Tower in downtown Grand Rapids, MiBiz has learned.
GRAND RAPIDS — Allegiant Travel Co., a low-cost Las Vegas-based airline, plans to start direct service from Gerald R. Ford International Airport to Los Angeles, Boston and Austin, Texas.
GRAND RAPIDS — Lambert & Co. closed on its second acquisition in two months with a deal for New York-based Casteel Schoenborn Investor Relations & Corporate Communications.
