CALEDONIA — Aspen Surgical Products Inc. has received additional capital from Boston-based Audax Private Equity to support further growth.

KENTWOOD — Certified B Corp and food producer The GFB: The Gluten Free Bar is now participating in a Consumers Energy program to offset its Kentwood production facility’s electricity usage entirely with renewable energy.

Executives at North Ottawa Community Health System and Trinity Health, the Livonia-based parent company of Mercy Health, have signed a non-binding letter of intent to explore the potential of a merger between the two systems.

Inno-Versity LLC and Th3rd Coast Digital Solutions, two portfolio companies of Ada-based family office Century Technology Group Inc., will merge and rebrand as MindSpring LLC, company officials announced.

With the financial backing of several Michigan-based health care companies, generic drug manufacturer CivicaRx is preparing to produce low-cost insulin within the next two years.

Recruitment platform Job.com has acquired QCI Healthcare Staffing, a Grand Rapids-based health care staffing agency. The deal was the fourth staffing agency acquisition by Job.com, which seeks to acquire small to medium-sized staffing agencies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Here is the MiBiz People in the news report for March 28, 2022

The Federal Reserve last week began the first of what’s expected to be several quarter-point interest rate increases to help curb inflation that’s running at a 40-year high.

Seven Michigan farmland preservation programs have received $2 million in state funding to assist farmers with costs related to development rights on agricultural land and conservation easements.

WYOMING — West Michigan’s “rich tradition of furniture making” has helped lure high-end lighting and furniture maker Roll & Hill to build a second manufacturing facility in Wyoming.

MiBiz Senior Writer Mark Sanchez appears on WGVU to discuss efforts to boost broadband internet access in West Michigan, federal funding being deployed to attract health care workers, and how major health insurers will start to factor COVID-19 costs into future rates.

Business and economic development leaders recently released a list of 12 “transformational” projects for Kent County that hope to attract people, as well as public funding, to the region.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for March 14, 2022.

Here is the MiBiz People in the news report for March 14, 2022

Grand Rapids marketing agency Deksia LLC has merged with Anvil Media, a digital marketing agency in Portland, Ore.

Kent County officials will use federal COVID-19 relief funding to waive food licensing fees this year for all existing food establishments in the county, saving the average restaurant about $500.

KALAMAZOO — Family-owned materials recycler Schupan & Sons Inc. has acquired a Midwest-based recycler, company officials announced.

GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids-based law firm Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey PLC has hired former Perrigo Co. plc executive Rich Sorota as CEO.

MillerKnoll Inc., Bell’s Brewery Inc. and Huntington Bank were among the top award-winning deals in this year’s MiBiz M&A Deals and Dealmaker Awards.

With the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, dealmaking activity in West Michigan and elsewhere came roaring back in 2021. Flush with capital, private equity flooded the market, while sellers — for a variety of reasons — have newfound reasons for exiting. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for February 28, 2022.

Consumers Energy announced plans today that it will issue 200 rebates over the next two years to help offset the cost for site hosts to install electric vehicle charging stations.

A new $409 million state grant program will be available starting March 1 for Michigan businesses that experienced financial hardship as a result of state-ordered shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Teri Behrens, who has served as executive director of Grand Valley State University’s Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy since 2018, has announced that she will retire this year.

City officials in Grand Haven are considering a Zeeland-based developer’s proposal to reconfigure Chinook Pier in downtown.

WYOMING — Gordon Food Service Inc. is poised to add new food categories to its offerings and expand its network of retailers through an upcoming acquisition.

Here is a snapshot of company activity from our February 14, 2022 print edition.

Richard Maloley, senior security consultant with Grand Rapids-based software and I.T. firm OST, discusses best practices for small and mid-sized businesses to confront cybersecurity breaches and threats. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican legislators have offered competing tax cut proposals in recent weeks as a result of budget surplus and an influx of federal stimulus funding.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for January 31, 2022.