Displaying items tagged: manufacturing

WALKER — Automation solutions provider Axis Automation has announced a $5.7 million expansion in Walker that it expects could create up to 50 jobs.

ADA — Burke Porter Group is expanding its footprint to Ireland and bolstering its life sciences capabilities with the acquisition of a leading manufacturer of assembly products and storage solutions for the biomedical industry.

GRAND RAPIDS TWP.  — Diversified construction, packaging and industrial product manufacturer UFP Industries Inc. has expanded its packaging division with the acquisition of a Texas firm. 

PORTAGE — Pfizer Inc. plans to invest $750 million to expand production capacity in Portage, creating 300 jobs.

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing Inc. has acquired property near its Grand Rapids headquarters to support the contract manufacturer’s ongoing growth.

HOLLAND — An equity investment from United Airlines Ventures could allow a startup advanced battery company to ramp up production in Holland via a partnership with automotive battery supplier Clarios International Inc. 

CASCADE TWP. — Cascade Engineering Inc. has sold its powersports division to a private equity-backed firm, marking a second notable sale this year for the plastic injection molding manufacturer.

Milind Pant recently completed the next “logical step” in his experience as a global business executive when he, his wife and two sons were approved for U.S. citizenship. For the Amway Corp. CEO who grew up in the Himalayan foothills of India, that journey started about seven years while he was a Yum! Brands executive in Dallas.

A Grand Rapids medical device startup aims to launch into the market in early 2023 with a new material for spinal and orthopedic implants.

Ahistoric influx of federal stimulus and infrastructure funding, combined with the state’s full-court press for large battery manufacturing plants, is on a collision course with a widespread construction labor shortage.

University of Michigan economists expect the U.S. economy to move into a mild recession in the second half of 2023, as rising interest rates drag on growth.

KENTWOOD — West Michigan-based hot tub manufacturer Nordic Products Inc. has sold to Monomoy Capital Partners LP, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Conn.

MUSKEGON — Die casting manufacturer Pace Industries LLC plans to lay off 244 workers as it closes two Muskegon plants next month.

WALKER — What started out as a conversation between executives at Feyen Zylstra LLC and ATS Global about deepening their partnership for Industry 4.0 technologies ultimately led to the two companies striking a deal. 

WALKER — Pallet solutions firm Kamps Inc. is making a strategic deal to acquire Newton, Iowa-based Realm Companies LLC to bolster its presence in the Midwest and expand its service capabilities. 

Employment in Michigan’s life sciences sector grew by 5.6 percent from 2018 to 2021 to 44,340 jobs, ranking the state among the top 15 in the nation for industry size.

HOLLAND — The Michigan Strategic Fund Board will give JR Automation Technologies LLC more flexibility in meeting hiring requirements tied to a $2.25 million state grant the company received in May.

Key metrics in a monthly report on West Michigan’s industrial economy trended downward last month into negative territory, reflecting a slowing economy.

GRAND RAPIDS — Perrigo Co. plc would add capacity to produce infant formula through a $170 million deal to acquire a plant in Eau Claire, Wis. along with investments in existing facilities.

NORTON SHORES — Automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer AGS Company Automotive Solutions LLC continues to build out its portfolio of products with a deal for BrakeQuip LLC. 

CALEDONIA — Private equity-backed Aspen Surgical Products Inc. continues to grow by acquisition with its latest deal to bolster its portfolio with complementary surgical products. 

SHOREHAM — Southwest Michigan automation manufacturer Eagle Technologies Group will add 100 jobs by 2024 and is leasing additional engineering and manufacturing space near St. Joseph to accommodate recent growth.

KENTWOOD — Contract medical device manufacturer Autocam Medical Devices LLC is embracing a suite of clean energy products at its new 120,000-square-foot Kentwood headquarters, including a large solar installation and energy efficiency technologies.

Three economic development organizations serving a 13-county region in West Michigan have narrowed nearly 150 properties down to 10 sites that would be suitable for potentially large industrial or advanced manufacturing projects.

The global transition to electric vehicles and low-carbon transportation is well underway and creating a high-stakes competition among countries, and even states, to capture the associated manufacturing jobs.

ADA — Burke Porter Group, a producer of automated diagnostic, testing and production equipment for specialty industrial markets, has bolstered its medical and life sciences capabilities with the acquisition of a San Diego-based contract manufacturer and product design firm. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Western Michigan University and Grand Rapids Public Schools have formed a two-year dual-enrollment partnership to assist high school students interested in pursuing careers in integrated design and manufacturing. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Private equity firm Auxo Investment Partners has sold a New Orleans-based barge transportation company that it acquired five years ago.

HOLLAND — Liz Hilton’s journey to launch a customized 3D knitting manufacturing business has taken her from a startup studio space in Grand Rapids to her garage and to KNITit LLC’s new headquarters at a 6,000-square-foot building in Holland.

A state board has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in tax exemptions and performance-based grants to help lure two large battery manufacturing projects that promise more than 4,000 jobs and nearly $4 billion in investment.