In a three-week period in April 2020, 24 million people lost their jobs in the United States. And in Canada, no single province or territory remained unaffected by massive cuts. Many of these positions were in the service sector. With lockdown restrictions, supply chain slowdowns, mask and distancing requirements, and people afraid to leave their homes, businesses dependent on in-person customers, like bars, restaurants, and hotels, remained shuttered or operating far below capacity.

Even though the pandemic ushered in new ways of working, including remote and hybrid jobs and so-called “side hustles,” many service positions still required staff to be on site, not working from a home computer. Needing money to survive, even the most dedicated employees found work elsewhere, many of them never returning to service-oriented roles. And while this affected many industries, family-run businesses were especially hard-hit.

Empty seats, rising costs
Fast-forward to 2026 and the current state of North America’s service industry. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, in a January 2026 article for Retail Insider, claims 4,000 restaurants across Canada will probably close this year. While that figure is down from an estimated 7,000 closures in 2025, it is not encouraging. Factors range from the high cost of dining out to tipping fatigue and shrinkflation. (If you think the burger at your favourite diner seems smaller, it’s not your imagination.)

The biggest hurdle of all remains inflation. Everything from groceries to gasoline is more expensive. Late last year, Restaurants Canada released its Foodservice Facts report, revealing that three in four Canadians “are eating out less often due to the rising cost of living.” The numbers are even higher for those aged 18 to 34, at 81 percent.

“While conditions have improved somewhat over the past year, this is still a very challenging market, as Canadians continue to face an affordability crisis and rising operational costs are squeezing operators’ margins,” said Restaurants Canada President and CEO Kelly Higginson in a media release. “To stay competitive and optimize limited revenues, restaurant operators need to understand current Canadian dining trends.”

Tightening our financial belts means fewer of us are eating out as often. And when we do dine out, many are opting for fewer drinks, or having a glass or two of wine at home first to save on costs. In fact, owing to recent research on the negative health effects of alcohol, some are giving up drinking altogether. The result: 41 percent of Canadian restaurants are operating at a loss or barely breaking even.

A reduction in customers is especially devastating for family-run establishments, which not only face high prices for meat and produce but also ever-increasing minimum wages, rent or mortgage payments, insurance, maintenance, and utilities. The Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is greater than ever. Depending on the type of restaurant, many operate with a net profit margin of just three to nine percent.

Like restaurants, many other service industry businesses have seen a drop in activity, including hotels. Even with a decline in bookings from U.S.-based business travellers, Canadian total booking volume is up, increasing 6.14 percent year-on-year. In the United States, however, bookings continue to take a significant hit, dropping 9.73 percent in 2025. Contributing factors include heightened border security, economic uncertainty, businesses cutting non-essential travel due to budgetary constraints, heightened visa requirements, the weak Canadian dollar, and anti-American sentiment over trade restrictions and tariffs.

Even Airbnb properties, many of them family-owned and managed, are feeling the economic pinch. Some former Airbnb patrons say they get greater value and more consistent service from large chain hotels. Once considered budget-friendly alternatives, some Airbnb rentals now rival the cost of high-end hotels when fees for cleaning, cancellation, and extra guests are added in. And unlike most hotels, Airbnb properties lack security and amenities, including front desk staff, pools, gyms, vending machines, and designated work areas.

Youth taking charge
Although the current economic climate is challenging for businesses, especially smaller family-owned enterprises, there are bright spots. Tough times have forced many service sector companies to challenge the norms within their own operations. This includes thinking differently about business strategy, being more receptive to bold and sometimes unconventional ideas, pursuing technological improvements, crafting unique promotions, and finding ways to connect with customers that have never been tried before.

Many family-led businesses, such as restaurants, remain stuck in the past—leaving décor and menu items unchanged for years, even decades. Recognizing that this approach fails to attract new customers, younger family members are often more innovative, suggesting plant-based options and menu items that blend different culinary traditions. While some older relatives may be reluctant to change, saying things like “that’s the way it’s always been done,” the next generation rarely carries those hangups because they aren’t as attached to the past.

One of the biggest advantages younger people bring to family-owned businesses is their fluency in the digital world. For them, traditional forms of advertising, such as newspapers and TV commercials, are obsolete, ineffective, and expensive. With a deep understanding of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, they regularly post photos and videos that reach thousands of potential customers, not handfuls.

Family members who grew up with computers, the internet, texting, and instant messaging understand the speed, effectiveness, and cost savings that come from embracing digital tools. This includes websites featuring everything from product listings to location and driving directions; the ability for customers to place orders and bookings online; e-commerce capabilities; and data analytics to uncover trends, improve decisions, and accelerate business growth. Raised in a world of branded products, younger family members are quick to spot emerging trends, more willing to test new markets, and adept at creating readily recognizable imagery.

Past meets present
Blending years of business experience with youthful enthusiasm and technological awareness has its advantages. When more than one generation is involved, both the company and its customers benefit from the wisdom gained through decades of failures and successes combined with the adaptability and energy of younger people.

When the time comes for the older generation to step aside, succession planning becomes essential. A gradual transfer of responsibilities—and often ownership—requires identifying leaders well in advance. One of the biggest mistakes made by family-run enterprises is waiting until the founders are too old, physically or mentally diminished, or mere weeks from retirement before addressing the question of who comes next. For companies to continue without interruption, succession planning needs to begin years before the original owners depart.

Open and honest discussions are critical. One mistake founders often make is assuming that the younger generation—usually their children—wants to take over the business. Working alongside mom and dad is one thing; being responsible for the day-to-day operations of a company is quite another. That requires not only maturity but proven capability.

Although owning and operating a family-run business is a challenge in today’s tough economic climate, the right planning can create a legacy that lasts for many lifetimes.

The post Family Businesses, Tested and Resilient<p class="company">Navigating Today’s Economic Storm</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Featuring more than 725,000 square feet of indoor fabrication space and the newest fabrication tools and technologies at each Team location, the company ensures every project crafted by its skilled workforce meets the highest quality standards.

A history of growth
Team Industries, Inc.’s story began in 1987 when a group of employees, facing the bankruptcy of their employer, made the bold decision to purchase the company’s assets themselves.

“To save their jobs, that handful of individuals got together and they put their necks on the line,” shares Jon Viestenz, Director of Sales. “They pulled together a financial plan to buy the assets, and hence the name Team Industries, Inc.”

Through the late 1980s and onward, Team Industries expanded its Wisconsin footprint, adding fabrication bays, paint and blast facilities, loading areas, climate-controlled material warehousing, and additional office buildings. Strategic acquisitions followed, including opening a facility in Port Arthur, Texas. Each move was made to serve the company’s industries more effectively.

Most recently, in 2025, Team Industries expanded into the advanced technology and manufacturing industry by converting a 7,000-square-foot building into a dedicated ultra-high-purity fabrication facility, with the installation of an ISO 4 and ISO 7 certified cleanroom.

From the ground up
These feats of growth are truly impressive when considering the company’s roots.

As the years passed and the investors phased out, the last member of the original team is John Panetti, Team’s current President and CEO. Today, 38 years later, John’s sons, Tom and Dan Panetti, hold Executive positions within the company.

“From a family and a cultural standpoint, we have become the largest union shop fabricator in North America,” says Viestenz. “And we’ve been able to do that with a culture today that started with the same principles, the same disciplines, the same approach to safety and cleanliness 38 years ago—we just elaborated on it,” he shares.

“Today, we’re a debt-free company, 100 percent,” says Viestenz. “We’re just under 400 employees right now, and we went from pulp and paper and brewery to today, where we serve almost 20 different industries.”

A huge point of pride for Team is its company culture, something all employees—and the Panetti legacy—are pleased to embrace. “We have never lost track of the fact that we’re a family-owned business,” says Vice President of Sales, Estimating, and Supply Chain Management, Tom Panetti.

Team also values its long-standing partnership with UA Local 400 in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. In 2000, the two organizations collaborated to create a five-year UA pipe fabrication classification with an apprenticeship program, developing highly specialized tradespeople for the pipe fabrication industry.

Another feather in the company’s cap is its history of producing industry-leading welding positioners, which the company has developed and produced to serve in every one of its weld booths. They are also available for purchase by other operators and fabrication shops across North America.

Indeed, when it comes to all the elements this company holds dear—safety, succession planning, defined values, consistency, mission, willingness to invest in infrastructure, workforce development, and R&D—being a financially sound company (and fully intending to stay that way) means that Team Industries stays plugged in, never cutting corners or giving up. “We’re not in a position where we can afford to give up our defined values or willingness to invest in infrastructure or the future,” says Viestenz. “We can’t sit on our laurels and say we’re going to coast for a while.”

Living its values and investing in the long term
While these principles might seem like obvious keys to success, the difference is in the extraordinary way Team Industries holds true to them and honors them every day.

To this end, Team prioritizes investing in new equipment, a choice that is always at the forefront when discussing ways to support employees’ success and Team’s competitiveness across different industries. “It can be a daily discussion of where to upgrade and become more competitive with the best technology,” adds Panetti. That collaboration among equals has become vital for the company’s ongoing success.

“It’s one thing my father made sure of: that more than just one person is making the decision. Many department heads are brought in to examine the pluses and minuses and why [a given move] is going to be good for the team overall,” says Panetti.

John Panetti is always looking forward, particularly when purchasing Team Fabricators in 2008, taking a big leap of faith. Today, that shop is up and running at full capacity in Port Arthur, Texas.

“In 2008, there was a lot of rolling of the dice, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of wondering if we can exist down there,” says Viestenz of the Texas location. “There were times along the way when industries we serve were slow, and we couldn’t make it work, but John Panetti didn’t throw in the cards. He doesn’t like giving in. The Panetti family made that investment, and here we are today, reaping the benefits of it.”

Taking risks and making investments are in the blood of this family dynasty, including the recently opened high-purity cleanroom, which calls for different machines, different processes, different materials, and investing in training. Again, this success has come not only from investing wisely but from maintaining financial stability.

This is a vertical integration step that Team Industries has invested in to move the company forward, striving once again to differentiate itself from competitors and providing a needed product for the industries it serves. “We’re basically now a turnkey solution to any fabrication need, no matter what industry you’re in, right here at Team Industries,” says Viestenz.

Nearly four decades of a good thing
Approaching its 40^th anniversary, Team Industries stands as a testament to what can be built through trust, patience, and shared values. The company’s growth is not measured solely in square footage or revenue, but in reputation, resilience, and people.

Building trusted, long-term relationships with its workforce, supply chain, and customers is also key, and an approach that Team has upheld for decades. So how does Team maintain that workforce structure? “Anybody can grow, but managing your growth, preparing for the future, and proving your company in hard times is very challenging, because a lot of companies just disappear when things go bad,” says Viestenz. In Team’s case, it has future-proofed its approach by knowing the industries it serves, he adds. “We’ve been able to be the leader, but we do it humbly. We’re grateful and blessed.”

A culture of community
The company is also grateful for its tenure and for the ability to weather the ups and downs of the industry over time. “Even though we have a large footprint, we’re still technically a small business at 500 employees or less,” Panetti says. “For some companies, when they grow too much, it’s difficult to maintain the personal touch they want to build their company on; you lose track of your roots. We want that culture to be ingrained in everybody. If you go too fast, you can’t capture that culture.”

That culture includes giving back through community involvement and outreach, whether through regular blood drives, contributions to the Make a Wish Foundation, or hosting high school and technical school students for tours and internships. “If you’re going to act and play a prominent role in a community like Kaukauna, Wisconsin, you have to give back,” Viestenz emphasizes.

Fortunately, the entire team agrees and works together to maintain the culture and atmosphere created at the outset. “Why are we better than our competition? Because when times get tough, even if we have to shrink in manpower, the infrastructure we invested in will be standing tall for the next shift, which we know will come,” Viestenz says.

“We’ll survive those valleys, and we’ll survive them in a way where we’ll still succeed, even in a downturn. If you look at our reputation and the tenure of our employees, it just speaks for itself.”

The post Teaming Up for Success Since 1987<p class="company">Team Industries</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Arguably, the biggest new development has been the company’s initiative of pre-engineered, configured-to-order (CTO) products to complement its customized solutions.

For Grotnes, CTOs offer multiple benefits including “faster delivery times, common platforms of parts, and spare parts that can be used across different models,” explains Vice President, Jim Zielinski. That said, customer specs sometimes demand a tailored approach, which is why Grotnes will never abandon custom work. “The custom side will always be part of our business. It’s our DNA… but the organization is trying to align itself around repeatable platforms,” he says.

Grotnes continues to build machines for four main technologies: expanding, shrinking, roll forming, and spinning. Expanding processes involve shaping metal parts for pipe couplings, jet engine components, metal containers, and the like. Shrinking entails the exact opposite procedure and aims to reduce and shape parts for motor frames, conveyor rolls, and exhaust components. Roll forming involves bending hoops of metal, while spinning is a metalworking technique based on mechanical rotation. Closing tools, used to seal or close items such as pail lids or the tabs on large-size paint cans, are also becoming a growing category.

Monumental as the introduction of CTO solutions might be, there have been other big changes at Grotnes as well. For a start, the company is going through “a digital transformation” that entails “the leveraging of AI where it makes sense in the business,” says President Mike Walker.

To this end, the company will soon launch Grotnes’ AI assistant, a tool that could be compared to Amazon’s AI-enabled, voice-led personal assistant Alexa, but for internal use only. “There’s no gateway to the outside world. It’s utilizing AI’s ability to search our databases, our files, our drawings, our pdfs, to be able to respond quickly,” explains Walker. “We’re very careful right now to adopt it where it really adds value to the company… We’ve spent a significant amount of time really focusing on, ‘How does it add value and help our customers at the end?’”

It is quite the leap for a firm that traces its roots to 1898 and a decision by one Charles Grotnes to open a machine works operation in Chicago. That business initially focused on manufacturing metal rings to hold barrel staves together. The company founder and namesake invented a time-saving machine to shape and stretch these metal rings to an appropriate size, and things took off from there.

At present, Grotnes serves the oil and gas, general industry, automotive, aerospace, rigid packaging, forging, and tanks and appliances sectors. The company uses the term ‘tanks and appliances’ to characterize its work for the power distribution and appliance markets with the tanks in question being metal storage containers.

“We do metal forming machines for large tanks that are typically used for isolation transformers, so there’s the power distribution angle, and then, from the appliance standpoint, tanks for things such as water heaters, drums for washers and dryers, dishwashers, and things like that,” Zielinski explains. Over the past year, aerospace and automotive generated the most business, a pattern that is likely to hold steady in 2026, he adds.

He has noticed something of a resurgence in the market for catalytic converters, the devices that reduce harmful exhaust emissions from combustion engines. Since large, commercial trucks would require huge electric batteries, thus limiting payloads, concerns about battery size have stalled the drive toward vehicle electrification in certain sectors. With gas and diesel-powered trucks still dominating, the demand for catalytic converters remains high. This trend is good news for Grotnes, which has been a pioneer in making machines that are used in catalytic converter production.

The company has maintained its ISO 9001:2015 certification and is gearing up to get certified when the new ISO standard (9001:2026) is released later this year. As befitting an ISO-certified company, quality assurance procedures here are rigorous. The company utilizes a coordinate measuring machine and other inspection equipment to ensure that all parts are shaped and sized correctly. Completed machines are subjected to rigorous factory acceptance testing procedures at the plant. If the machine achieves these benchmarks, it gets shipped to a customer, and the system is then put through site acceptance testing at the client’s worksite to determine that everything is in perfect working order.

“ISO is a very big part of our business and really drives the quality in our organization. We embrace that in a big way, especially the continuous improvement side of it. Every employee in our organization is able to submit improvement suggestions regardless of their position in the company,” says Walker.

The advent of a configured-to-order line is further proof of the company’s commitment to continuous improvement, he continues. Offering pre-engineered solutions will enable Grotnes to “focus on a standard design and continue to refine it for our customers’ needs and bring additional value by bringing costs down and benefits up,” he explains.

Company officials are well aware that excellent equipment requires servicing and upkeep. As such, the team kicked off a preventative maintenance initiative called the Grotnes Service & Spares Club last year. Customers who join the club receive discounts on spare parts, labor, training, phone and remote support, and other maintenance measures. The overall aim is to keep client equipment in excellent condition.

At the time we last spoke, the company maintained sales and service branches in Monterrey, Mexico and Atlanta, Georgia. While the Mexican branch is still flourishing, the Atlanta operations have been relocated to Niles. This transition has drastically reduced turnaround times for some products; solutions that might have taken a month to produce and ship in Atlanta now take maybe 48 hours, according to Walker. The company continues to ship products around the world and works with European sales partners as well.

Grotnes also runs a facility called Formitt Metal Labs as well as an in-house machine shop. Formitt Labs does prototyping and feasibility testing for customers as well as research and development. Recent equipment purchases for the machine shop, meanwhile, include a lathe and a wire electric discharge machine. The company’s five-year growth strategy includes the possibility of offering machine shop services as a separate business component for customers, a strategy that would build on already existing competencies. “We have customers who are not interested in a capital purchase and just ask us to do the production for them,” notes Zielinski.

In terms of promotion, Grotnes regularly attends trade shows. Last year, the company took part in FABTECH USA in Chicago—the top conference for fabricating, finishing, welding, and metal forming in North America, as well as Fabtech Mexico in Monterrey, Mexico. It also showcased its metal forming skills at the 40^th Space Symposium, a major aerospace event which took place in Colorado Springs, Colorado in April 2025. The company has revamped its website as well, with a view to adding updates regarding its configured-to-order (CTO) offerings.

All told, roughly 43 people work at Grotnes. Beyond the requisite education levels and skills, the company seeks applicants who can think on their feet and offer creative solutions. Personnel must be prepared to pivot in the face of challenges, think outside the box, and adapt to changing circumstances since “ours is a pretty fast-paced technology business,” says Zielinski.

Current challenges include dealing with the rising cost of materials, due in part to tariffs imposed by the United States and other nations. That said, “The biggest challenge for us continues to be the ability to hire the right people, and secondary to that, finding them. Every position in our company is really a skilled position,” states Walker.

To address this issue, the company instituted a four-year apprenticeship program which blends hands-on training with classroom learning. Apprentices attend evening classes at Lake Michigan College, which is based in Benton Harbour, Michigan and has a campus in Niles. The program just graduated its first apprentice, who specialized as an electrical technician, and apprenticeships are also available for machine builders and machinists. There are ongoing discussions about expanding the program to include engineering.

For a near-term forecast, Walker circles back to CTOs and AI. “Completing our journey on the CTOs is really critical to us,” he shares. “It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight; it’s not something that’s quick, because it’s got to be right.”

As for artificial intelligence, “We’ve come up with some pretty interesting initiatives,” he says. “Three years from now, I think we’ll [have a lot] to talk about… We believe it’s going to help us tremendously.”

The post Making the Machines that Run Industry<p class="company">Grotnes</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

2025 was a great year, says Lean Program Manager Josh Johnston, because MMTC was able to make an impact on myriad companies across the industry. Recently, MMTC, along with its leadership team, has been spending more time embedded in the manufacturing sector so that it can focus on building lasting capabilities for its clients rather than simply providing one-time training.

In fact, he notes that as part of MMTC’s overall strategy, the organization is enhancing its consultative and advisory services alongside its training programs to deliver deeper, more meaningful support to the manufacturers it serves. “Education still remains an important part of what we do,” he says, as its foundation of continuous improvement is built on understanding both the tools and goals of any initiative.

Another focus of MMTC’s has always been to evolve to match its clients’ needs. Specifically, MMTC helps companies diagnose the challenges they face such that they can prioritize projects and initiatives that lead to changes and sustainable results.

While this priority shift has been in the works for years, 2025 was the big push forward into its implementation. To support this approach, MMTC is expanding opportunities for deeper client consultation. Dedicated MMTC Business Solutions Managers work directly with manufacturers to better understand their challenges and connect them with the right expertise and resources to achieve their goals. This approach allows MMTC to serve as a more strategic partner in helping clients strengthen and grow their businesses.

MMTC will not be abandoning its training aspects wholesale, and in line with its commitment to evolving to meet client needs, it is always assessing its offering catalogue to identify both the most in-demand courses as well as those that are no longer serving the industry. Since the team works specifically with small- to mid-sized manufacturers, many of the problems faced by these outfits are those that manufacturing organizations of all sizes are also seeing today.

Johnston says that what differentiates MMTC’s clientele is that many shop leaders tend to take on a number of roles: from general management and operations to hiring, logistics, and more. Often, these leaders don’t have the capacity to step back and think about the long-term future of the business, which is where MMTC often comes in to offer assistance.

MMTC’s business success planning—one of its primary offerings—will help these overworked and busy clients, Johnston believes. This is a process wherein an MMTC industry expert interviews the leadership team of a manufacturing organization to create a comprehensive analysis of where the company is now and compares it to where they want to be. This assessment then evolves into a practical three- to five-year road map that aligns with improvement projects, technology adoption, workforce development, and training. This way, leadership received clarity and relief for future planning while also figuring out how to keep the lights on tomorrow.

Johnston says that manufacturers today are facing greater complexity and uncertainty than ever before, and ongoing challenges, while nothing new, are varied. These include continuing volatility in raw material pricing due to fluctuating tariff policies; the industry facing an aging workforce as well as a limited talent pipeline entering the skilled trades to fill the spots; and all the hype around emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). As one of the biggest global industry buzzwords today, AI is seeing a lot of excitement, yet companies often struggle with implementation and developing strategies to capture return on investment data.

Many manufacturers are hesitant to adopt the technology because they have been burned in the past by technology startups that have sold them unrealistic solutions or poorly-scoped pilot projects, or even pressured staff to adopt misunderstood tools to gain an intended early market advantage. Johnston notes that while there can be gains in efficiency and productivity, it must be implemented thoughtfully and strategically—otherwise, throwing technology onto a bad process only makes the bad process faster, not better.

With this in mind, another major focus for MMTC is to become the trusted advisor for Michigan’s manufacturers in adopting and implementing various AI technologies. As such, MMTC will be expanding its offerings to help manufacturers move out of skepticism and into practical, value-driven applications.

The team spent much of last year creating ways for manufacturers to leverage this new technology, especially since companies that are late to the table risk getting left behind. One such method has been launching a series of courses on AI in manufacturing. In the first few months of 2026, MMTC has launched six new AI-centered courses including AI for Quality Control and Inspection (using AI-enabled visions and camera systems); AI for Manufacturing Leaders (how to introduce these technologies into your organization in a strategic, responsible manner and roll out solutions from the top down); AI for Supply Chain Optimization (leveraging deep research capabilities for in-depth supplier analysis and more); AI101 & AI102 Workshops (focused on generative AI basics and advanced ChatGPT use cases); and Lean Problem Solving With Generative AI (how large language models can be used to expedite effective problem solving).

The new push into artificial intelligence systems for manufacturing is also allowing MMTC to expand physically. A new AI lab in its home of Plymouth will serve as a space for manufacturers to experience new AI technology and simulate an on-premises solution without putting a business at risk. MMTC has also been hosting workshops across Michigan to give industry people a chance to gain hands-on experience with new technology and tools.

This has been a very exciting venture, according to Johnston. “The ‘a-ha!’ moment is one of my favorite parts of the job,” he says. By demystifying these technologies and making artificial intelligence feel less intimidating for new users, MMTC provides a launching point for clients to take back their companies. Its long-term focus will be on helping manufacturers cut through the AI hype, make informed decisions, and realize a measurable return on their outcomes instead of just chasing technology for the sake of it.

Amid today’s market challenges, the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center is energized by its renewed direction. Last year, MMTC launched the inaugural Manufacturing Insights Survey to capture manufacturer feedback on trends, strengths, challenges, and opportunities. From these responses, MMTC produced the Manufacturing Insights Report, which highlights the concerns and priorities of small and midsize manufacturers across the state while offering actionable solutions and outlining how MMTC can help them. The full report is available at www.the-center.org.

Ultimately, Johnston says, MMTC’s “goal is to not be the best-kept secret in Michigan,” but rather to be a trusted and established aid for Michigan’s manufacturers to call on for anything they need.

The post A Best-Kept Secret No Longer<p class="company">Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Formerly known as Pinnacle Technology Group, this Michigan-based electronics contract manufacturer has spent more than four decades building a reputation rooted in craftsmanship and customer partnership. Today, under the leadership of second-generation President Nick Wasserman, PTG is boldly reimagining its identity, operations, and future trajectory.

From humble beginnings in hand-assembled circuit boards to a sophisticated, technology-driven manufacturing enterprise serving high-reliability industries, PTG’s story reflects both the resilience and reinvention defining American manufacturing today. The company traces its roots back to 1984, when it was founded as a small electronics assembly operation in Toledo, Ohio. At the time, production relied heavily on manual labor, with technicians carefully assembling through-hole electronic components by hand.

That changed in 1996, when Nick Wasserman’s father acquired majority ownership of the company and renamed it Pinnacle Technology Group. Under family leadership, the company began charting a path toward modernization and long-term growth.

In 2001, the company acquired an Ann Arbor-based operation that specialized in surface-mount technology (SMT), significantly expanding its technical capabilities. The acquisition allowed PTG to integrate automated equipment into its processes, dramatically increasing production speed and complexity. By 2005, it became clear that continued growth required a purpose-built facility. The company secured land in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, just across the Ohio border, and constructed a modern production plant designed to support long-term scalability. In early 2006, operations consolidated into the new headquarters, setting the stage for nearly two decades of sustained expansion.

Since then, PTG has grown substantially in size, sophistication, and market reach, now operating two facilities and employing 65 team members across Michigan and Ohio.

In January 2026, Pinnacle Technology Group officially became PTG Electronics, a change driven by both strategic necessity and long-term vision. What began as a conversation about digital marketing and online visibility soon evolved into a broader reflection on brand identity. As customer engagement increasingly moved online, the leadership team recognized the importance of differentiation and searchability in an overcrowded digital marketplace.

“We were talking about how our marketing efforts were a little behind the curve,” says Wasserman. “The way business development happens today is fundamentally different; you’re not just walking into buildings anymore or relying on phone calls, you must show up digitally, and you must be visible.”

During those discussions, the leadership team confronted a recurring challenge: brand confusion. The name Pinnacle, while familiar, had become overly saturated across industries, leading to misdirected calls and marketplace ambiguity.

The result was PTG Electronics, a name that preserves the company’s heritage while instantly communicating its purpose. “At the core of it, we are an electronic contract manufacturer,” says Wasserman. “By putting ‘Electronics’ in the name, anyone coming across our business can immediately understand what industry we serve and the services we provide.”

The rebrand also symbolizes the company’s generational transition, as Wasserman leads PTG into its next chapter with renewed energy and ambition.

Today, PTG Electronics delivers fully integrated electronic manufacturing services, supporting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across a wide range of industries. Its capabilities span the entire production lifecycle, from printed circuit board assembly to full electromechanical box builds.

The company operates four SMT production lines along with a suite of semi-automated assembly and testing systems. These allow PTG to rapidly place, solder, inspect, and validate electronic components with exceptional consistency and accuracy.

Beyond board-level assembly, the company offers a full suite of services including programming, functional testing, environmental coating, and turnkey box builds, delivering fully assembled and shipment-ready products. This end-to-end manufacturing approach reduces complexity for customers while ensuring quality and accountability throughout every stage of production.

Equally important is PTG’s experience as an OEM of medical training products, which gives the team unique insight into customer expectations. “As a successful OEM of medical training products, we understand firsthand what clients need from their electronic manufacturing service provider,” says Wasserman. “That perspective drives our focus on quality, efficiency, attention to detail, and excellent service.”

Indeed, PTG’s evolution over the past two decades has been driven by continuous investment in technology. What began as a hand-assembly operation is now a digitally connected manufacturing ecosystem. “We didn’t even really have automated equipment when we first got going,” says Wasserman. “Now we have four SMT lines and a whole complement of semi-automated equipment for assembly, testing, and box builds.”

The company has also begun integrating artificial intelligence into its operations, starting with AI-based quoting systems that streamline pricing and accelerate response times. Future plans include deeper system integration, allowing real-time data sharing across departments and automating data entry processes. “Soon we’ll be able to pull data faster and increase accuracy significantly. It’s going to save a tremendous amount of time,” shares Wasserman. Rather than viewing automation as a threat to employment, PTG sees technology as a way to enhance human capability and improve quality.

Another cornerstone of PTG’s operational philosophy is continuous improvement, not only in processes and technology, but also in people. For the past several years, the company has partnered closely with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) to strengthen workforce training and leadership development.

MMTC supports PTG by providing access to grant opportunities and leadership development initiatives. Recent collaborations have included supervisory training and advanced problem-solving courses designed to empower frontline employees.

“We’ve sent four people in the last year to supervisory training to understand leadership qualities, how to manage people and navigate different personalities,” says Wasserman. “We also use problem-solving courses that improve quality and operational efficiency. These programs give our people tools to make better decisions and reduce risk on the plant floor.” By investing directly in employee development, PTG builds a more capable and engaged workforce, one that can adapt quickly to new technologies and evolving customer demands.

Perhaps the most defining characteristic of PTG Electronics is its unwavering commitment to partnership. Rather than transactional manufacturing relationships, the company emphasizes long-term collaboration and mutual success. “One of our core competencies is truly taking a partnership approach,” emphasizes Wasserman. “We invest in our customers as if they are an extension of our business.”

This philosophy, rooted in the company’s family ownership, guides everything from engineering support to quality assurance. PTG prioritizes long-term outcomes over short-term margins, believing that sustained success comes from consistently delivering value.

The results speak for themselves. PTG’s longest-standing customer relationship spans 28 years, while its top clients have remained loyal for more than 15 years.

“We don’t take shortcuts,” says Wasserman. “We support our customers even when it’s not the easiest thing to do, because we know that if they succeed, we succeed.”

As reshoring efforts gain momentum across the United States, PTG finds itself well-positioned to benefit from a renewed emphasis on domestic manufacturing. All its production takes place within its U.S. facilities, allowing customers to maintain tighter supply chain control while reducing risk and improving responsiveness.

“There’s been a shift back toward manufacturing things in the United States,” Wasserman explains. “We only build here in America, and we’re very proud of that.”

Looking ahead, PTG has set an ambitious goal: doubling the size of the business within the next three to five years. Central to this strategy is expansion into high-reliability sectors, particularly aerospace. The company is currently pursuing AS9100 certification, which will qualify it to manufacture electronic systems for aerospace applications. This strategic move complements PTG’s existing strengths in the medical, industrial, and advanced technology markets, further diversifying its customer base while reinforcing its reputation for quality and precision.

As PTG enters its second generation of family leadership, Wasserman is keenly aware of the balance required between honoring legacy and embracing innovation. “We never want to lose that customer-first relationship mantra,” he says. “At the same time, we need to be quicker and more open to evolution and change.”

This stance informs PTG’s approach to AI integration and operational modernization. While the company may have entered some digital initiatives later than others, its leadership is now firmly committed to staying ahead of the curve. And, alongside its technological sophistication, PTG remains deeply grounded in its family values. The company culture emphasizes respect, accountability, collaboration, and pride in craftsmanship.

With 65 employees across two facilities, headquarters in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, and a secondary site in Maumee, Ohio, PTG fosters a workplace environment where individuals are empowered to grow and innovate. That human-centric approach not only strengthens internal culture but also translates directly into customer outcomes, creating a cycle of trust, loyalty, and excellence.

As PTG Electronics charts its course forward, the company stands at the intersection of tradition and transformation. With advanced manufacturing capabilities, a growing digital presence, expanding workforce development initiatives, and a renewed brand identity, PTG is positioned to play a leading role in the future of American electronics manufacturing.

Its journey, from a modest hand-assembly shop to a technology-driven, high-reliability manufacturing partner, serves as a compelling example of how thoughtful leadership and unwavering values can shape lasting success. For Wasserman and the entire PTG team, the mission remains clear: deliver exceptional quality, build enduring partnerships, and engineer solutions that empower customers to thrive in an increasingly complex world.

The post From Hand Assembly to High-Tech Manufacturing<p class="company">PTG Electronics</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Over the past six decades, Atlas Technologies has proven itself in innovative global die change equipment with automated cart technology that is reliable, durable, and prioritizes safety. Today, from its base in Fenton, Michigan, the company is stronger than ever.

After spending many years as a coveted industry specialist known mainly to a discerning few, the company today is increasingly respected for its fast die changers and robust die-movers that manage dies of 80 to 200 tons, plus its extensive line of equipment for sheet metal stamping and fabrication processes. It also recently reinvented its capabilities and its people, appointing a new sales accounts manager in the process. Its customer base and its teams have welcomed the improvements.

President David Hense is especially positive about the recent changes. “Since Stonebridge Technical Enterprises took Atlas over five years ago, we’ve been focusing on our internal processes and product development to make our entire product line cutting-edge for the manufacturing stamping industry,” he says.

This move not only stimulated product evolution but also contributed to the deeper development of its people. In recent years, in-depth staff education has translated into in-house training in collaboration with key manufacturers and the State of Michigan, in a decision that has proven to be tremendously valuable for the company’s continued success.

“We’re really proud of our employees; we have a nice team. They’re very flexible and knowledgeable,” Hense says, highlighting that watching employees new to the industry grow and flourish through focused education is a genuine pleasure.

Now, with its most recent overhaul complete, the company is welcoming new and returning customers alike to enjoy the results. “I’m an engineer,” Hense says, adding with a smile that the company’s new sales accounts manager is far better at marketing the company than he is. As its social media presence and press visibility continue growing, the firm is excited to welcome new trade partners and end users alike.

Not one to pepper conversations with commercial buzzwords, Hense instead leads by providing customers with top quality engineering and letting the premium work speak for itself. It is thanks to this approach that Atlas Technologies continues trading on a reputation for reliable, durable products and outstanding financial management. The company also invests in the latest technologies which ensure cutting-edge control systems that can be customized to suit customers’ needs.

Hense illustrates this customization with the example of de-stacking machines—heavy equipment used for feeding sheet metal on press lines. While it would be lovely to replicate these machines exactly for all customers, unique process needs simply do not allow this. “The product mixes and the mechanical strain that products place on equipment don’t make it practical,” he explains. Therefore, while key components are used across systems, every system is unique. “We pride ourselves on the ability to [adapt] to customer needs.”

Keeping itself at the forefront of innovation, Atlas Technologies perpetually pushes the boundaries of its field. As a result, there are a few fresh and innovative lines in its product reveal. Firstly, its FLEX Transfer collection comprises three series of front-to-back mounted, in-press servo transfers that move parts between stamping dies in a transfer press. This collection also offers two series of through-the-window-type transfer models—all five showcasing the state-of-the-art driving mechanics and control systems. This decision was based on the high performance and durability track records of these products. The company’s driving mechanics “are built on 40 years of proven methods and technologies. We didn’t reinvent the wheel when we came to the mechanical drive system,” Hense points out. “We used what works and made it better.”

The second collection—the Navigator Carts Series—features an expanded line of trackless transfer carts for transporting oversized loads such as molds, coils, and dies across fabrication facilities as well as components used in wind turbine and rail car fabrication, for instance, between assembly cells.

With the positive recent developments in reshoring fabrication, Hense is excited to see the process slowly beginning to take shape in the industry and on the company’s balance sheet as many of its clients return their press lines and other tooling operations to home soil. Alongside this shift, other operators are setting themselves up from scratch with greenfield sites, new facilities, and new staff. In many such instances, Atlas Technologies is invited to provide planning and fabrication support for the next decade or so. One recent contract with an international industry leader is especially exciting. “We’re excited to be part of the future that this global powerhouse of a company is presenting,” he says.

Recent geopolitical decisions have somewhat curbed international trade volumes while also reducing export volumes to the rest of North America, so the company’s current reach stretches primarily across the United States for now. Since the resulting economic situation has caused uncertainty for manufacturers in how they allocate their largest investments, business has, understandably, been slower in some areas than when trade and exportation were more predictable. As markets adjust, however, Hense indicates a rise in orders in recent months. He also points out that the company has been holding off on price increases despite a rise of 30 percent in the cost of automation control systems.

In the meantime, it continues to be an exciting time in the company’s history. “We’re proud to be part of people who are outfitting old manufacturing lines and updating them into new state-of-the-art systems,” Hense says of the innovation that is contributing to the health of the American fabrication industry and saving operators millions. To this end, Atlas Technologies offers tremendous value to companies with large heritage arrays like tandem lines. In such cases, its tracked cart series is especially favored. These are installed with robots mounted atop as robot transport carts that transfer components between presses along an entire line.

“When it comes time for die change, the robot carts move out of the way, and from the other side, a die cart enters in between the presses, and then you change the dies in the press line,” he explains. As there are many of these older systems throughout the United States, Atlas’s robot systems save on wasting precious long-term capital investments from years gone by.

Closer to home, the company considers its investments in its people as some of the most important it will ever make. While a previous period of training saw all its staff officially complete their Occupational Safety and Health Administration certifications due to a Going PRO Talent Fund training grant from the State of Michigan in 2024, new intakes are now completing hydraulics, electrical, programming, and other courses. Apart from appreciating his existing team, Hense is equally impressed with the company’s most recent appointments—capable, hardworking, and willing to learn, these young people give him hope for the future.

Putting its efforts into boosting sales and expanding market reach, the company continues leading with expert staff and legendary quality rooted in decades of evolution. “I’m really proud of this company. We have hard workers, and our people understand the needs of our customers,” Hense says confidently. It is indeed the company’s ability to evolve based on past experience and its drive to innovate a better future that underscores reaching the fiscal and cultural goals ahead. By continuing to navigate change better than ever before, this industry leader remains a constant of American pressroom automation.

The post Learning from History, Leading with Innovation<p class="company">Atlas Technologies</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Symbiote’s thoughtfully designed modular and heavy-duty workstations, height-adjustable tables, storage solutions, and more are a part of achieving symbiosis in the workplace to promote maximum performance and efficiency at a time when every moment and every dollar counts.

Generations of success
For more than four decades, Symbiote has delivered complete solutions for its customers across diverse industries and specialties. Backed by a reputation for quality since 1982, when it was founded by Travis Randolph, the company continues to seek out new opportunities to serve its markets and grow sustainably.

Since 2019, the company has been on a new trajectory of growth under the leadership of Travis’s son, Barrett Randolph, who has taken the reins as President and infused a fresh sense of energy and vision in the company, helping it to navigate some challenging times. Stepping up to the plate just before the onset of the pandemic—and then into the present tariff environment, which has essentially eliminated its international business—Barrett Randolph has taken charge, developing and executing a new five-year plan.

Along with a significant investment in the company’s infrastructure, the goal has been to add the manufacturing capacity to enable launches into different markets, as well as to diversify and grow sales and product development capabilities. “Part of the strategic plan that I had created about five years ago is to be more efficient, with an ability to increase sales and output without having to increase the headcount,” he explains.

“A big part of it is starting with the right people in the right seats and finding the right team to lead, and I’ve got to say that one of the smartest things I think I’ve ever done is actually hire a CEO,” he says.

Enter CEO Kerri Milarch, who was thrilled to join the team in 2023. She refers to that time as “a pivotal moment in the company’s evolution,” the fulfillment of Barrett Randolph’s vision to grow Symbiote through elevated brand awareness, expanded market share, and investment in the company’s capacities to ensure it is a place people are proud to work at and partner with.

Noting that Symbiote’s product offering has always been “exceptionally strong,” Milarch says that the investment in capacity and infrastructure has been momentous, particularly from a process improvement and documentation standpoint, which will enable the company to scale sustainably in the future.

From inventory control systems—which improve the ability to measure and utilize data and track inventory and performance across business segments—to a brand new website equipped with the digital tools a growing team of sales representatives needs, the investments are strategic and impactful. As Randolph tells us, “they can actually create the entire space for the customer digitally and provide floor plans and renderings for them upfront before they place an order. That’s not something a lot of companies like ours do, or at least they charge a lot for that service, whereas we bundle it in as the cost of business.”

Strengthening capacity and relationships
There has also been a push to streamline the manual aspects of the workflow at Symbiote, training and cross-training employees (which Milarch refers to as “nesting”) to support the company’s growth, enable faster quotes, reduce lead times, and optimize performance overall.

“The particular focus in that area was how to serve the customer better,” she says, and also how to free up Barrett Randolph “to do what Barrett does best, and that is product development. He is excellent and a visionary when it comes to research about what’s next for us.”

Through that activity, there was a realization that, to sustain demand, greater redundancy was needed, which is why Symbiote has continued to grow partnerships, cultivating a balance between in-house manufacturing and third-party support.

E Com Seating is a perfect example of that partnership in action. Like Symbiote, a multigenerational family-owned business, there is a shared commitment between the parties to elevate the performance of the spaces within which their clients work.

“They provide lab seats and chairs for laboratories, and instead of trying to develop our own lab chair, which would take years, we’ve partnered with them. They offer a great selection of products that we can immediately offer to our customers to fill out their lab spaces even better,” says Randolph.

By scaling back in this way, Symbiote can undertake some production in-house but continue to focus on the customers and their needs, as well as ongoing product development and customization. Fewer parts are being made overall, but sales are on an upward trajectory.

For Randolph, “We’re going to focus on what it is that we do well, what our customers want that we don’t offer or that doesn’t exist right now, and put real effort into making new products for them.” He also envisages getting both the company’s customized and standard lines of products to the market more effectively through an expanded sales network nationwide.

Meeting people where they are
Symbiote is respected for equipment and service that meets users where they are, creating that perfect symbiosis in the workspace. It’s not simply what the company does, but rather, how it does it, that sets it apart from the rest. Further to its investment in capacity and infrastructure, Symbiote takes a conscious approach to building a culture that encourages and empowers its people to be part of the company’s success, creating symbiosis internally just as it does with its customers.

“From my perspective, to bring the teams along, you have to win their hearts and minds and let them be a part of this,” says Milarch, and with policies and provisions such as flexible work hours, training, wholly paid health insurance premiums, competitive 401(k), and a carbon neutral facility from which to work, Symbiote is a place where people are proud to work.

Employees get more than just the satisfaction of improving their clients’ workflows; they get to be the best living example of those principles in action, thanks to a results-oriented culture that is open to change and evolution, which, to be honest, is often quite hard for family-owned operations of this scale.

From Milarch’s perspective, Symbiote is family business done right. “I couldn’t ask for more support than that from the family that owns this business because that’s what’s really going to drive our success,” she says. “Like I said, we have to win the hearts and minds of our people, and throughout these last three years, there have been some difficult times; I’d be kidding if I said there weren’t. But I have really learned to respect and enjoy this team. They are remarkably resilient, and they have an excitement about the future and where we’re headed.”

By maintaining continuous improvement, Symbiote has built an enthusiastic staff who want to be there each day and who drive value for the customer through that upbeat approach and energy.

Purpose-driven change
In any business, the ability to be successful lies in the ability to adjust, adapt, and focus on what can be controlled, and this is ultimately what Symbiote is doing to navigate the headwinds it has encountered.

“It’s a constant re-evaluation of what levers you must adjust to make things run smoothly—from what was to what will be—and again, it’s making sure you have the right team in place. You can have a great product that everyone wants, but if you don’t have stable processes and good people pulling in the same direction, it doesn’t really matter. You need a unified team to work well,” says Randolph.

For Milarch, the company has become “more aligned, disciplined, and prepared for scalable growth,” with 2026 looking good already and building on the clarity, capacity, and redundant systems in place to sustain growth internally and externally.

“We have a shared sense of purpose now,” Milarch says, and it’s time to share that with the world, creating a more defined and outward sense of brand awareness and furthering the capacity to achieve customers’ goals with unceasing care and commitment to quality and relationships.

The post Workplace Solutions that Work<p class="company">Symbiote</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Home to Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo’s population is diverse and grows with each school year. Beyond its First Division hockey team and the countless others who proudly wear the Broncos’ colors, the city has cause to celebrate many other wins as well. Thanks to a strong economy built on thriving education, healthcare, life sciences, and manufacturing sectors, the city is also becoming a hub for sports tourism, entertainment, and recreation, supported by its natural endowments and amenities that showcase the four seasons of fun it offers.

With hiking trails for adventure, hills for skiing, lakes and wilderness for camping, fishing, and hunting, and athletics and entertainment, there is truly something for everyone in Kalamazoo. To maximize the economic impact and draw of these amenities, city officials and their development partners are working around the clock to ensure that the city’s growth adds to its hospitable culture and environment.

“We try to be a very welcoming community, and I think that the college atmosphere and the young energy we have help with that,” says Director of Community Planning and Economic Development, Antonio Mitchell. “We’re conscious of our neighbors, we recognize the differences and celebrate the differences.”

Growing with intention
The City of Kalamazoo is at a particularly important time in its history, as its leaders are working to grow this vibrant community for the benefit of all. To see this plan through, they have adopted a new economic development strategy.

Approved in 2024 after a 10-month discovery process and community consultation, Kalamazoo’s economic development strategy takes a place-based approach and seeks to leverage the full participation of its partners to maximize the benefits of ongoing and planned projects in the community.

“I call it the documentation and road map for our residents and our economic development team to really implement the economic vision for the community,” says Mitchell. “We want to help more businesses expand and grow—especially micro and small businesses—so we’re working with our Can-Do Kalamazoo campus and incubator as well to assist them and make sure individuals in our neighborhoods also have opportunities.”

Energy surrounded by possibility
“There’s an energy in Kalamazoo,” Mitchell adds, speaking to the spirit of possibility that enables the continuous improvement that characterizes the city. From infrastructure investments to housing and recreation, there is a strong commitment by both the public and private sectors to invest in the community.

Beyond the Kalamazoo Promise—a scholarship fund through which private anonymous donors commit to paying for the tuition of qualifying candidates in the city to attend post-secondary education in the state—philanthropy is rich in this community and is making all the difference. One has to look no further than the Kalamazoo Event Center to see this in action.

The Kalamazoo Event Center is a project that’s been in the works for two decades. Paid for by private dollars, the project will provide immense civic benefits and will further transform the city’s downtown core. The $515 million, 453,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex is expected to be completed by 2027, at which time it will become home to Western Michigan University Broncos hockey (2025 Division One champions) and basketball teams, as well as the Kalamazoo Wings hockey team.

There’s also a new home for youth and recreational sports in Kalamazoo. The Sports Complex is another highly anticipated project for the city that will help take youth and recreational sports and sports tourism to the next level. Located on a 20-acre parcel in the Westwood neighborhood, this $40 million project will feature an indoor turf field and eight basketball courts that can be converted into 16 volleyball courts. The project is being paid for by a four percent hotel assessment tax which will cover the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of the complex.

This push to invigorate an already strong sports tourism draw is just part of the effort to establish the community as what Mitchell calls “a future entertainment hub in Western Michigan.” Where these opportunities can be created, they tend to make ripples in the form of greater retail, restaurant, and hospitality spend, which strengthens the tax base and grows the reputation of the community.

With additional draws like the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, Miller Auditorium, and amenities like Michigan Adventure (a theme park a short drive away), the city and region are replete with things to do and see.

With a robust transportation system, it’s also easy to get around. Kalamazoo enjoys proximity and connectivity to nearby Detroit, Chicago, and Indiana, thanks to its highway systems, Amtrak, and local airport, which make the city even more accessible for people from across the region, state, and country to visit and stay. Work is also underway downtown, where the city is improving streetscapes and traffic flow. Confusing one-way streets are yielding to two-way traffic flow, and the city is set to become more navigable, walkable, and bikeable soon, cheering residents and visitors alike.

What’s old is new again
Doubling down on investments, the City of Kalamazoo is considering the establishment of a business district near the airport to better leverage that asset and grow the surrounding amenities. This new gateway district will increase awareness of the city and established operations like the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum. The move will be in partnership with the City of Portage, and together, they hope to grow the business presence in that area through existing incentives and support.

Downtown, there is a lot more than just sports and entertainment under development. The city’s core is home to a historic courthouse that was built in 1937 but has been off the tax roll for many decades. Now, however, this building is coming back in a big way thanks to PlazaCorp Realty Advisors, who plan to transform three brownfield sites across the city into housing, commercial space, and a 127-room boutique hotel located in the courthouse building.

The courthouse itself is “ideally located only a block and a half from the new event center. People can come down for a concert, stay at the hotel, and walk to the concert and the restaurants in the area,” says Mitchell of the project.

Other projects will see a dilapidated vacant industrial building on Porter Street revitalized into 58 residential units and 5,000 square feet of commercial space, and the previous Spearflex building on Kalamazoo Avenue become office space and an additional 57 housing units.

Residential development is also coming to the core of the city, particularly workforce housing, which will help address the need for housing stock at all levels while alleviating parking concerns, especially at Bronson Methodist Hospital, a major employer in the city.

The B on Burdick, which is being undertaken through a partnership of Bronson and Bogan Developments, will break ground across from the hospital in June and, once complete in 2028, will provide an additional 85 units, 20 of which will be available for qualifying hospital employees. The project features a gym and grocery store, and with childcare nearby, promises enviable work-life balance.

There is also a redevelopment on the Kalamazoo River, at another previously blighted site. The project, Rivers Edge, will feature two four-story apartment buildings with 228 units, of which 14 will be designated as affordable housing for individuals earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), while the remaining 44 will be earmarked for those earning at or below 130 percent of the AMI. There will also be four live-work units.

“Those things make a difference in our community,” said Mitchell. “We’ve been trying to focus on a diverse selection of housing—affordable housing, workforce housing, market-rate housing. We need it all, and we want to make sure we open up those opportunities.”

Renewed visions, bright futures
While Kalamazoo undergoes physical transformation from the many developments both ongoing and planned, there is also a renewal in perspective taking hold, particularly around cannabis legalization and its economic impact. The Kalamazoo Social Equity Cannabis Chamber, established in partnership with the City of Kalamazoo’s Office of Economic Development, seeks to invest in entrepreneurship and workforce development to improve diversity, equity, and opportunity in the cannabis sector, ensuring that the economic benefits of this new (but old) sector accrue to all, and particularly those who have been historically affected by prohibition.

From Mitchell’s perspective, “We’re trying to be a beacon of opportunity for individuals in the region to see the possibilities and opportunities and be a voice, not only of change, but stability. I think the investments and developments happening in our city and region are really aiming to put a footprint on West Michigan.”

For Mitchell, who is soon to seek retirement, “the long-term vision is making Kalamazoo a regional destination for Southwest Michigan.” His goal is to ensure that the next generation of community and economic developers is equipped, empowered, and ready to continue the good work already taking place.

And, inevitably, where development and growth are intentional, where the community is welcoming and has the resources and amenities to support an enviable quality of life, Kalamazoo will become a destination of choice, regarded by many as a wonderful place to visit, savor, and, perhaps, stay.

So, be sure to visit the City of Kalamazoo. Whether you come for a game or a tournament, a show, higher education, world-class healthcare, or the many recreational amenities on offer, you’ll be embraced and warmed by the charm of the city and the life-enhancing developments happening everywhere.

The post Thoughtful, Intentional, Welcoming<p class="company">City of Kalamazoo, Michigan</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Some 29,052 residents live in the county, which encompasses roughly 500 square miles on the west side of the state alongside Lake Michigan. The City of Ludington is the county seat and, with a little over 7,600 people, it is also the largest community in the area. Median household income here was $64,748 in 2024 dollars, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Mason County features strong manufacturing, tourism, and educational sectors alongside a buoyant entrepreneurial spirit spurred by local competitions. The foremost industries in Mason County are manufacturing, which accounts for 19.6 percent of jobs, according to a regional economic profile; government, accounting for 15.3 percent of jobs; retail trade with 14.3 percent of jobs; health care and social assistance with 10.8 percent of jobs; and accommodation and food services with 10.0 percent of jobs.

The county is highly receptive to new business. “We are open to conversations with companies that would like to invest here, especially companies that can bring high-paying jobs for residents and can help increase our tax base,” says Lucas-Zimmerman.

County officials also work hard at developing local business talent. The alliance hosts an annual event in Ludington called the Momentum 5×5 Business Pitch Competition. During this competition, five aspiring entrepreneurs have five minutes each to pitch a business idea to a panel of four judges. The panel picks the entrepreneur they deem the worthiest, with a live audience acting as a fifth judge in the case of a tie vote. Winners receive $5,000 in this competition, which can be described as Mason County’s version of the popular television program Shark Tank.

Rizzo’s Bread, a sandwich, bread, pizza, and pasta outlet, won the most recent Momentum 5×5 Business Pitch Competition. In addition to the prize money, winners also earn an automatic top-10 spot in the Momentum Business Plan Competition, an even bigger contest. In the latter event, local entrepreneurs compete for the chance to win up to $50,000 in seed money and business supports for their company. Last year’s winner was a floral business called the Roots Peony Farm, and previous winners include the Starving Artist Brewery Company, a barn-based brewery, and the KandyLand Dairy & Creamery, an owner-operated dairy operation.

The alliance administers the Momentum Business Plan Competition with funding coming from various organizations including Pennies from Heaven, a private family foundation that provides funding for community and philanthropic ventures in Mason County.

Fun as they are, such events serve a serious purpose, which is to enhance the economic viability of Mason County-based companies. This, in turn, is a major part of the chamber alliance’s mission. “We are here to support entrepreneurs, from that early business planning phase to finding them seed money,” says Brandy Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber Alliance of Mason County.

The alliance has also proven extremely adept at forming partnerships that benefit all parties involved. “One of the things that surprises people is the cross-sector partnerships and alignments that we have,” notes Miller.

Among other partners, the alliance works closely with the Right Place, a regional economic development organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1985, and representing multiple counties, the Right Place aims to boost West Michigan businesses and communities by offering resources, research, and connections to its members and spotlighting state and local business incentives.

Partnering with the Right Place has enabled alliance staff to boost Mason County’s presence and forge ties with companies associated with the group. “We wouldn’t have nearly as many connections if we weren’t plugged in to this really important network in Michigan and the Midwest,” notes Lucas-Zimmerman.

Mason County’s knack for forming strategic partnerships “is definitely something that sets us apart, and I think it’s why we tend to be a leader in our region, because we have greater alignment and true collaboration. It’s not just on paper; we’re all sitting in the same rooms at the same tables. We’re aware of the big pictures—the strategic plans that each of our organizations has and where there are opportunities,” adds Miller.

The county puts a great deal of resources into its educational sector. It has a strong K-12 public school system and is the home of West Shore Community College. Open since 1967, the college offers a wide array of degrees and certificates in everything from computer support to corrections, business administration, emergency medical services, robotics, and neuro-diagnostic technology.

In addition to these courses, West Shore College houses the Summit Tech Center, a career and technical education (CTE) hub. The center is run under the auspices of the West Shore Educational Service District in conjunction with the college. Students at the center can avail themselves of a variety of CTE programs such as culinary arts, automotive technology, welding, agricultural science, and digital media.

Kids in the county also benefit from a savings account program called KickStart to Career (K2C). Under K2C, savings accounts are opened for kindergarten students in county schools to pay for college or career training down the road. KickStart to Career is sponsored by county community groups, financial institutions, and school systems. About 2,000 students from kindergarten to grade six currently have savings accounts thanks to the program.

The Mason County Promise, another educational initiative, covers the cost of tuition and fees at West Shore Community College for qualifying high school and homeschool graduates and recipients of a high school equivalency diploma. And over a quarter of all residents aged 25 years and up have at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Blessed with an outstanding location on the coast of Lake Michigan, Mason County is a popular attraction for tourists and seasonal visitors. In addition to offering miles of shoreline, much of it publicly accessible, the county features historic lighthouses, a maritime museum, and a cross-lake boat link to Wisconsin. “We have a very strong tourism industry here. A lot of people, for generations, have vacationed here,” notes Miller.

Ironically, Mason County’s very success in luring visitors is driving a severe housing shortage, arguably the biggest challenge currently facing the community. “There’s a housing crisis, not just in Mason County, not just in Michigan, but across the United States,” says Lucas-Zimmerman. “Our housing crisis is exacerbated by the fact that we’re a tourist destination. Case in point, in Michigan, about six percent of the existing housing stock is vacation or seasonal homes; in Mason County, about 24 percent of our housing stock is seasonal or vacation homes.”

While delighted to host tourists and visitors, the county wants to “make sure we have housing for the people who live here year-round,” she adds.

In 2023, the county authorized a comprehensive study to garner data about the housing crunch. An ensuing housing needs assessment report determined that Mason County faced a shortage of both for-sale and rental housing. More specifically, the county needed 1,566 for-sale units and 864 rental units in total.

To address this shortfall, a new group called the Mason County Housing Alliance was formed. Made up of representatives from municipal agencies, non-profit groups and philanthropic organizations, the alliance mulled over potential solutions to the housing crisis. Out of these deliberations, a five-year strategy for housing was born.

The plan features five goals including creating 1,000 new units of housing by 2030 and repairing 250 existing but aging housing units, since half of all affordable homes valued at $200,000 or less in the county are over 50 years old, according to the housing assessment. The third goal concerns affordable housing. “We really need housing at all price points to meet our needs,” Lucas-Zimmerman explains. The current median value of owner-occupied housing units in Mason County was $219,600, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Goal number four entails creating three new neighborhoods that encompass mixed income and mixed housing, with a focus on livability. “We wanted to create a sense of community for our housing efforts and make sure that people at all income levels have an opportunity to live in a walkable neighborhood, close to amenities,” states Lucas-Zimmernan.

The final goal centers on housing policies and zoning. The housing alliance wants to ensure the creation of a wide range of housing types, from single-family homes to duplexes, triplexes, and row housing.

All these goals, especially the first one, will be tough to meet, but Mason County is up to the challenge. “We wanted to set something pretty ambitious so we could focus our efforts and focus the community around it,” says Lucas-Zimmernan. Thankfully, ambitious benchmarks are nothing new for a county determined to continue punching above its weight.

The post A Midwest County Proud to “Punch Above Its Weight”<p class="company">Mason County, Michigan </p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The auto industry has long been important to Warren, gaining traction in 1936 when Dodge built its truck plant at Eight Mile Road and Mound Road.

“From about the end of World War II through the Korean War, GIs would come home and find jobs in the auto industry in the Detroit area,” says Tom Bommarito, Director of the Department of Community, Economic & Downtown Development. “Since there were some new plants and opportunities in the south end of Warren, it grew really quickly at that time.”

“The GI Bill really gave a big push into that area as well,” adds Hunter Manikas, Economic Development Technician. “People could get loans that were guaranteed by the federal government, so a lot of people coming back were building houses there, old-style kinds of developments that were close to their neighbors, and it’s still reflected today in the makeup of South Warren.”

He adds that it’s interesting to see the different development choices through the years. In the 1950s, there were many tight-knit little communities with single-family, smaller homes, and then as development changed over the years—from the 1970s onwards—there were much bigger lots with bigger houses, set further apart.

“You can see it almost like rings on a tree here in Warren,” says Manikas. “There are those early developments, the inside rings, and the outer rings are the later peaks of development. It reflects an interesting artifact of the times for each portion of the city.”

The demands of World War II, followed by the residents returning from war, very much contributed to the area’s growth, while constructing the tanks locally and having ground command for all the vehicles in the army drove much of the manufacturing. Says Manikas, “It’s very much a part of the identity and culture here in the city.”

In keeping with this rich history, the Arsenal Alliance, a Defense Corridor initiative in partnership with Sterling Heights, is a cooperative project to strengthen the defense industry by creating a shared economic development team to deliver contractual services. To safeguard and expand the area’s developing defense assets and enable the two communities to spearhead the next phase of national defense innovation, this team is committed to developing the defense and aerospace sectors in this corridor, collaborating with state, county, and local stakeholders for long-term sustainability and growth.

“[The area’s] defense corridor is considered the second or third most robust defense corridor in the world,” says Bommarito. “That huge activity is a big contributor to both of our economies. Now, with the Selfridge Air Force Base getting some new F-15 fighter jets, even more defense contractors will come looking for a footprint here. This initiative is a good way to partner together and help grow and attract more.”

This historic economic development partnership confirms the region’s position as a national leader in defense manufacturing and innovation, and by contributing just $500,000 a year, the communities will bring in millions of dollars to support strategic economic development objectives that will sustain investment in this critical sector.

“Attracting some aerospace or drone companies to operate here would be big, and we’re making sure that together we can produce the best environment for these companies,” says Manikas. “It’s all about aligning goals with Sterling Heights to ensure everyone can provide the best space for companies like that.”

Warren also recently received a vital $1.8 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to help revitalize southern parts of the city. “We have a new corridor plan that will see more infrastructure upgrades, a lot of façade improvements, and some art installations,” Bommarito shares. “The goal is to convince private investors to start taking either empty buildings or empty land and build new buildings.”

The MEDC’s RAP Program, a revitalization and placemaking grant, provides access to gap financing for place-based infrastructure development, real estate rehabilitation and development, and public space improvements. Eligible applicants are individuals or entities working to rehabilitate vacant, underutilized, blighted, or historic structures and to develop permanent place-based infrastructure associated with traditional downtowns, social zones, outdoor dining, and public spaces.

“We’ve been engaged in some of their programs, updating our economic development objectives in line with theirs,” adds Manikas. “They see a lot of potential in the southern portion of our city, so we’re being awarded this $1.8 million for revitalization and placemaking. Something really exciting is happening down there.”

Additionally, city officials are collaborating on a new concept that includes planters and vegetation along the Van Dyke bike lanes with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments, and area engineers and planners. By clearly delineating the auto and pedestrian lanes, these elements improve accessibility and increase bikers’ comfort and safety.

The streetscape design is aimed at slowing down traffic, protecting bike lanes, building new developments up to the curb to make them more pedestrian-friendly, and incorporating parking lots so developers don’t have to put parking in front of their building. “It’s mostly aimed at pedestrian-friendly initiatives,” says Manikas. “It’s about going back to the roots of our history, tapping into what it used to be and using that as a strength rather than fighting against it.”

To this end, the former Warren Transmission, a General Motors automotive factory, is another location in the city’s south end that is promoting economic growth. NorthPoint Development cleaned up and redeveloped the 1.5 million-square-foot site, now known as the Mound Road Industrial Park. Home Depot constructed a brand-new, state-of-the-art, 550,000-square-foot distribution center on the expansive site, and another 300,000-square-foot building is occupied by three distribution companies. Space remains for about 700,000 more square feet of occupancy.

The Class A park will span 123 acres and have four buildings; more than 800 construction and operational jobs are expected to be created in the city as a result of the investment. With on-site rail and its proximity to I-696, I-75, M-53, and M-102, the park enjoys excellent connectivity. According to Bommarito, the industrial park is being considered for designation as an MI Site, a program run by the MEDC that promotes industrial sites that are ready for development to investors and companies looking to move or grow in the state.

Warren is also in the process of working with urban planners to put together a use site plan involving 18 acres of vacant land around City Hall, with plans for a hotel, retail, housing, and a new courthouse as well as a potential seniors’ center.

“All of that is focused right around our town center, and our goal is to create a small, walkable town center area,” says Bommarito. “We’re in the planning stages.”

It is clear that no matter what project is executed, these teams do so with exceptional care and attention. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach for the work that we do,” stresses Manikas. “We really have to tailor our objectives, initiatives, and goals to the area, because each section of the city has very different needs than the last one we were working on.”

This means modifying plans to suit the specific needs of each neighborhood and accentuating local strengths. “It can be difficult to bounce back and forth, to make specific policies for specific areas and not be spot zoning, but we really have to do things that are specific for neighborhoods to actually make an impact and build to the needs of that area,” he adds. “I think that’s one of the biggest challenges, but also one of the more exciting aspects of this job.”

The other challenge is simply working within the processes of government, adds Bommarito. “It takes a long time. Sometimes you get pricing, you get prepared for a project, and by the time all the paperwork is signed, the meetings done, and the boxes checked, the price has gone up 30 percent and you have to start over with funding,” he shares. “Some of those things are a bit of a challenge, but that’s what we do.”

And he does it well, says Manikas, adding that Bommarito was the Michigan Economic Developers Association’s Medalist of the Year in 2025 for his outstanding contributions to economic development in the state. “That’s something that we’re all really proud of.”

Understandably, both gentlemen are also extremely proud of every project they undertake for the benefit of Warren and its residents. “Most of the projects we’re talking about, all the initiatives that we have, those really are our accomplishments,” says Manikas. “Those are the things we pride ourselves on—doing the work, getting it done, and making sure it really helps the people that it’s supposed to.”

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