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
DETROIT – Altimetrik has appointed Henk Vliestra to the role of Chief Operating Officer, and Bheem Adavikolanu as Chief Transformation Officer – United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Europe. Vliestra takes the role previously held by Raj Sundaresan, who became Chief Executive Officer in July 2020. As Chief Operating Officer, Vliestra is responsible for leading standardization
GRAND RAPIDS — Pent-up supply demand has been satisfied causing the West Michigan economic recovery to continue to flatten, a Grand Valley State University researcher contends. “Our index of business improvement came in at +8,” said Brian G. Long, director of Supply Management Research in the Seidman College of Business at GVSU. “The pent-up demand
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—Lawrence Technological University’s Autonomous Campus Transport team, four-time defending champion in the Self-Drive category of the annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition, received a 2021 RoboNation championship banner in a campus ceremony. LTU also received a $3,000 check for winning the IGVC Self-Drive competition. RoboNation, the robotics education and workforce partner of the Association for Unmanned
DETROIT – LIFT announced that it has begun developing a Digital Twin Smart Factory Showcase at its Corktown facility in conjunction with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Siemens Digital Industries to provide a demonstration sandbox for manufacturing companies and economic developers to explore smarter manufacturing technologies. The Digital Twin Smart Factory Showcase – a
GRAND RAPIDS —Configura announced it has completed its acquisition of ProjectMatrix to become part of the Configura Group. ProjectMatrix is a software creator for pricing and specification solutions in North America’s commercial interiors industry. “Configura and ProjectMatrix have worked together as partners for 14 years, helping designers do what they do best – design beautiful
HOWELL—An “automotive country club” is being developed on 270 acres in Howell, in an area bounded by I-96, Lucy Road, Grand River Avenue, and Michigan Avenue. Developers Motorsports Gateway LLC say the complex will offer private garage condominiums and other amenities, along with an exclusive driving circuit where motorsports enthusiasts can push their cars to
