LAKE ORION—American Battery Solutions Inc., the Lake Orion-based maker of lithium ion batteries, announced an increase in size of its Michigan Innovation Center from 40,000 square feet to 115,000 square feet, a move that will create 75 jobs. Financial details of the expansion were not disclosed. Company officials said the expansion and employment growth supports
ANN ARBOR—Officials at the Ann Arbor-based Association for Advancing Automation, robot orders in the second quarter of 2021 were up 67 percent over the same period in 2020, showing a return to pre-COVID 19 pandemic demand for automation as manufacturers and other North American companies return to business. A3 said North American companies ordered 9,853
LANSING—Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and officials of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced that the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded the MEDC’s Michigan Defense Center a $2.4 million grant to assist Michigan defense suppliers with cybersecurity efforts. The defense center will use the grant to enhance its Michigan Defense CyberSmart program, a one-stop shop to assist small-
TROY—Car buyers say that new vehicle technologies are a major factor in car buying decisions. But on the other hand, they also confoundingly say that many new car owners don’t bother to use much of that great new technology. That’s according to the recently released J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study. Power analysts
TROY—Satisfaction among large enterprise and medium business wireless customers has reached all-time highs, according to the recently released J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Business Wireless Satisfaction Study. Conversely, though, small business customers are having a different experience when it comes to the service and performance they’re receiving from wireless carriers, as the comparative gap between small
SOUTHFIELD—A capstone thesis project team from Lawrence Technological University was one of only eight national winners of the Engineering Education Award from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. LTU was the only Michigan university to win one of the awards. The project, developed by students in LTU’s five-year combined bachelor’s and master’s
DETROIT—Henry Ford Health System and Michigan State University have created a unified brand of their partnership, Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences. Launched in January 2021 with the purpose of advancing a new standard of health care, HFH+MSU Health Sciences has already created new pathways for research, cancer care, education and equitable
TROY—On the strength of some very successful new-vehicle launches for 2021, the auto industry continues its trend of producing ever-more appealing vehicles. The BMW 4 Series, Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford Bronco Sport, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Genesis G80, Kia K5 and Toyota Sienna are all-new or completely redesigned models that achieved segment-topping performances in appeal to owners.
DEARBORN—Ford Motor Co., Walmart, and a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based autonomous vehicle company called Argo AI are working together to launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C. — Walmart’s first multi-city autonomous delivery collaboration in the United States. The last mile delivery service will use Ford self-driving test vehicles equipped with
CLARE—Advanced Battery Concepts has introduced its Home Emergency Energy Storage system to address the growing need by homeowners and small commercial businesses for safe, reliable, and cost-effective emergency power. The system, called “HEES” by company officials, relies on the innovative and patented GreenSeal batteries invented by Advanced Battery Concepts. “We accomplished this in a relatively
