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DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 02-26-07 A 1 CDB
2/23/2007
7:05 PM
Page 1
®
www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 23, No. 9
FEBRUARY 26 – MARCH 4, 2007
$2 a copy; $59 a year
©Entire contents copyright 2007 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved
THIS JUST IN
JCI to turn 4 plants
over to Plastech
After months of negotiations, Johnson Controls Inc.
last week agreed to turn
four of its North American
plastics parts plants over
to Dearborn-based Plastech
Engineered Products Inc.,
which will use them for
contract manufacturing of
Johnson Controls parts.
The agreement covers
plants in Holland; Whitby,
Ontario; and Ramos Arizpe
and Puebla, Mexico. Manufacturing responsibility
will be turned over to Plastech on April 1, with Plastech leasing the equipment
and sites, Johnson Controls officials said.
It also extends a strategic
supplier
business
arrangement that the two
companies worked out in
2001.
This year, Plastech is expected to receive an increasing amount of injection-molding
business
under the agreement with
Johnson Controls, according to a report by creditrating agency Standard &
Poor’s. Plastech’s actual
sales to Johnson Controls
were lower than expected
during 2005 and 2006.
But Johnson Controls
met its financial obligations under the terms, and
it proposed a plan to meet
its Plastech commitment
within the next several
years, according to S&P.
“It’s a way for our companies to grow together
while
leveraging
the
strengths and capabilities
of each organization,” Jeff
Williams, group vice president for Johnson Controls,
said in a press release.
The 2,600 employees at
the four sites will be offered employment with
Plastech.
Johnson Controls’ automotive division in Plymouth has been seeking a
way to shift production to
an outside supplier of some
parts, including door panels, floor consoles, overhead parts and visors.
— Crain News Service
NEWSPAPER
See This Just In, Page 2
Mergers challenge brokers
Expanding firms chase talent; affiliations are growing
BY JENNETTE SMITH
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
If only local office space was
moving as fast as local brokers.
Mergers and expansions by national commercial real estate brokerages have translated into
stepped-up efforts by local firms to
recruit and retain top talent.
The December acquisition of
Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. by
Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis
is translating
into a much bigger CB office
here.
Mike Gerard,
managing director for CB in
Southfield, said
the acquisition
of
Trammell
Gerard
Crow
brings
with it new clients like Lear Corp.,
Comerica Inc. and Ford Land. And
CB has boosted the number of local
brokers from 17 in 2005 to 54. Total
local employee count is close to 400
because of other lines of business
such as property management,
move management, appraisal and
tax consulting.
“We are really expanding in
terms of people and clientele,” he
said, adding that he’s had a major
emphasis on retaining and recruiting top talent. (See Page 25.) The office, along with other local broker-
Developing duo
Buckhaves transform
Michigan Gift Mart into retail,
office hub in Northville
See Brokers, Page 25
Addition puts
river refuge near
5,000 acres
BY SHEENA HARRISON
The two married in 1995 and in 1998 decided to
take on their first real estate project together:
renovating a 118-year-old Victorian church into
a retail site with residential space upstairs.
Public-private partnerships are paving
the way for wetland conservation along
the Detroit River — something environmental and economic experts say will be
crucial in helping the region attract and
retain professionals.
About 780 acres of wetlands and habitats inside Lake Erie Metropark were added
to the Detroit River International Wildlife
Refuge last week.
By adding the property to the refuge,
the Metropark retains ownership, but
gains the assistance of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in managing its ecology.
That can include restoring eroded shorelines or controlling invasive aquatic species,
which can harm or kill
native
Michigan
wildlife.
Lake Erie Metropark
and the Huron-Clinton
Metropolitan Authority
also can receive higher
priority for state and
federal grant funding,
refuge manager John Hartig
Hartig said.
The newest parcel brings the refuge to
4,985 acres, up from 304 acres in December
2001. Hartig said the Fish and Wildlife service approached the park authority about
a year ago because of Lake Erie
Metropark’s reputation as a top spot for
See Northville, Page 24
See Refuge, Page 25
BY JENNETTE SMITH
argene and Bob Buckhave are turning
the former Michigan Gift Mart building
in downtown Northville into a breeding ground for new entrepreneurial businesses.
The 90,000-square-foot building takes up a full
city block but was not open to the public during
the more than 25 years it housed sales representatives for retail vendors. Prior to that, it had a
short tenure as an enclosed shopping center.
Today it is back in business as a retail and office hub, but the Buckhaves’ vision is far from
the maze of hallways and sparse windows of the
original 1970s structure they bought. Renamed
Northville Square, the two-story, $8 million site at
133 W. Main St. now boasts huge windows, skylights and ceramic floors designed to house a
growing list of boutiques, restaurants and the
right mix of office tenants.
“We basically took everything out ... back to
the brick columns,” said Margene Buckhave, coowner and developer.
In many ways, the building’s reinvention mirrors the Buckhaves own career evolutions.
Margene forged her hobby of stenciling into a
stamping and scrapbooking business and, after a
divorce in 1990, became the sole owner of the
predecessor business to her Stampeddler store in
downtown Northville. She had originally started
the business with three friends.
Bob Buckhave, meanwhile, started out as a
plumbing contractor and is a master plumber.
ages, also has a hand in more international transactions. For example, CB is working on deals for
Questor Management in Paris.
In a January deal that brought
another international name to
town, New York City-based Newmark Knight Frank announced it was
opening a local office housed in the
offices of Farmington Hills-based
Friedman Real Estate Group.
The company hired Steve Mor-
M
JOHN F. MARTIN
Marge and Bob Buckhave have given the former
Michigan Gift Mart in Northville a new sheen, and the
city hopes it leads to more redevelopment.
CFO turnover increases as
regulations, job duties grow,
Page 11
CRAIN’S LIST
Largest general contractors,
Page 16
2/23/2007
6:58 PM
Page 1
Page 2
THIS JUST IN
■ From Page 1
Granholm hires new director
for Southeast Michigan office
Kimberly Trent has been named
director of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s
office for Southeast Michigan. She
starts work March 5.
Trent, 35, was previously manager of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s
Detroit regional office, handling
community relations and constituent services. Before that, she
served as communications director for U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick and as Sen. Stabenow’s
press secretary during her successful bid for U.S. Senate in 2000.
Trent succeeds Robert Davis,
who moved to the Michigan Department of Transportation Jan. 29 as liaison for the Lodge Freeway reconstruction project.
The
governor’s
Southeast
Michigan office is located in
Cadillac Place in Detroit
— Robert Ankeny
Team Detroit names executive
Dearborn-based Team Detroit
has named veteran automotive industry analyst Jim Sanfilippo chief
marketing officer for its Ford Motor Co., Lincoln and Mercury accounts.
Team Detroit, formed last
February 26, 2007
month, is a joint venture of the Detroit offices of JWT, Young & Rubicam, Wunderman, Ogilvy & Mather,
and GroupM media companies Mediaedge:cia and MindShare. The group
is owned by the London-based
holding company WPP Group.
Sanfilippo, 58, was executive
vice president of AMCI Inc., an auto
marketing consulting company in
suburban Detroit. In his new post,
he reports to Team Detroit CEO
George Rogers. Sanfilippo will
work on strategic marketing for
the three Ford Motor brands.
— Crain News Service
State representative forms
public transit committee
State House Transportation
Committee Chairman Hoon-Yung
Hopgood, D-Taylor, has formed a
public transit subcommittee to
look at issues and barriers to public transit in Southeast Michigan,
including funding.
Hopgood said the subcommittee
will start holding meetings in a
couple weeks, including meetings
outside Lansing, and plans to engage communities, transportation
and business interests.
One potential source of masstransit funding could be an increase in Michigan’s gas tax. The
proposal has surfaced in the Capitol largely to provide more money
for roads, but up to 10 percent of
the gas tax collected could also go
to public transit under Michigan’s
current distribution formula.
— Amy Lane
Huron Capital sells a company
Detroit-based Huron Capital Partners L.L.C. has sold one of its portfolio companies, Georgia-based
Printegra Corp., to Stamford, Conn.based Cenveo Corp. (NYSE:CVO).
Printegra, a manufacturer of
checks, forms, envelopes, labels,
print-shop materials and pressure-seal mailers, has 13 facilities
and 780 employees in the U.S.
Huron bought Printegra in December 2004 for $39 million and
grew its revenue from $65 million
to $90 million. Huron partner Peter Mogk said Cenveo required
that terms of the deal not be released, but said that the return on
investment “exceeded our expectations.”
The sale continues a busy pace
for Huron, which had 12 acquisitions or divestitures in 2006. The
last, which was announced in January, was the purchase of Delaware-based Apex Laboratories International Inc. more than $25 million.
— Tom Henderson
5 Topz restaurants to open
Brian Halbeisen, president and
majority partner of Troy-based
Lite Bite Restaurant Group L.L.C.,
said Friday that he is planning to
open five additional Topz Healthier
Burger Grill restaurants this year.
Locations are scheduled to open
at Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn
Hills and at Twelve Oaks Mall in
Novi this spring. Two more are
scheduled to open in Ann Arbor
and Troy this summer. Halbeisen
said leases have been signed for
those four restaurants and that he
is in negotiations for a fifth
restaurant in Macomb County.
Halbeisen opened the area’s
first Topz restaurants in Troy and
Birmingham in 2005.
Burbank Calif.-based Topz Franchising Inc. has about 13 locations
nationally.
— Brent Snavely
Advo shareholders OK merger
Shareholders
of
Windsor,
Conn.-based direct mail company
Advo Inc. on Thursday approved a
$1.2 billion buyout agreement
with Valassis Communications Inc.,
the Livonia-based maker of Sunday newspaper coupon booklets.
The approved deal is an amended version that pays Advo shareholders $33 a share instead of the
$37 a share in the original deal.
Valassis will assume $125 million
of Advo debt.
Valassis sued Advo last year to
back out of the original deal. The
sides worked out the new deal in
December. The merger is expected
to be complete by the end of
March. The combined company
will be headquartered in Livonia.
— Bill Shea
CHECK OUT BIZDOM U.
IN CRAIN’S NEW VIDEO
The second installment of the
Crain’s Detroit Business
Bright Side video series,
featuring Ross Sanders,
executive director of Bizdom
U., premieres on
crainsdetroit.com at 2 p.m.
today.
Bizdom U. is a two-year
program created by Quicken
Loans/Rock Financial founder
Dan Gilbert that is designed to
teach future entrepreneurs
how to start and run a
business. Thirteen local
would-be entrepreneurs began
their journey through the
program in January.
The Bright Side Video Series
showcases businesses
making advances in new
technology, entrepreneurship
and positive stories that are
affecting the Southeastern
Michigan region. To view
these videos, visit
crainsdetroit.com/
brightside.
powered by
2/23/2007
6:59 PM
Page 1
February 26, 2007
Page 3
Supplier labor cuts a mixed bag
Some workers reject concessions, others accept
BY DAVID BARKHOLZ
The prospective owners of distressed auto-supplier plants in Pennsylvania and Michigan are having
mixed results in their efforts to obtain labor concessions.
About 450 unionized workers at a
Lear Corp. interiors plant in Carlisle,
Pa., this month rejected a cut in
wages and benefits of about $8 per
hour for this year and next.
The plant is part of the Lear interior trim business being sold to New
York investor Wilbur Ross. Lear is
contributing the business, worth
about $3 billion in annual sales, to
Ross’ International Automotive Components Group North America for a 25 percent stake in the venture. The
hourly workers represented by
UNITE-HERE Local 1639 overwhelming rejected the Ross package.
Ross could not be reached for comment late last week.
Flex-N-Gate Corp., of Urbana, Ill.,
had a different outcome in its labor
negotiations at a Collins & Aikman
Corp. plant in northern Michigan
that it has agreed to buy.
The 475 UAW members at the
plant agreed to a contract that left
the average wage at about $14 an
hour but added health care co-pays
and deductibles and stripped workers of their defined pension in exchange for a 401k plan, said Brenda
Hamilton, co-chair of the bargaining
committee of UAW Local 2270 in
Evart.
Southfield-based Collins & Aikman is selling off its businesses in
pieces while in Chapter 11 reorganization.
As the North American supplier
Little Caesar’s expansion helps add sales,
increase market share
BY BRENT SNAVELY
Little Caesar Enterprises Inc.’s
franchise expansion plan is helping the Detroit-based pizza chain
gain small but steady increases in
market share of the $27 billion U.S.
pizza market.
Last week, Little Caesar said it
added more than 200 stores in the
U.S. and eight countries in 2006,
helping the nation’s fourth-largest
pizza
chain
achieve
its
sixth consecutive year of
A closer look at
sales increases.
Little Caesar’s
Plus, Little
numbers.
Caesar PresiPage 23.
dent
Dave
Scrivano said
the company is on track to add
about the same number of restaurants this year.
Last year, Little Caesar added
franchisees in metropolitan markets such as St. Louis, Minneapolis, Denver, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Now, the company is
targeting Alaska, Hawaii, Texas,
New Jersey, New York and the
Carolinas.
This year, Scrivano said, “We
want to keep pace … we want to
continue with the success and
strategies that we have had. We
want to continue with sales
growth and store growth.”
For Little Caesar, which went
through a period of declining sales
per store and franchisees in the
1990s, adding locations provides a
big payoff.
According to Chicago-based
INSIDE
Brian Conneran, a Little Caesar
franchisee with six stores in Fargo, N.D., said he plans to open a
seventh in March. Conneran said
having a critical mass of stores in
a market is essential for proper advertising and marketing.
Conneran, who recently sold his
Subway franchise, said he is now
betting his future on Little Caesar
and eventually hopes to have 20
restaurants in the Fargo area.
“I am the only franchisee (here)
and I’ve got a lot of market share
catching up to do, I would say,”
said Conneran, who is also one of
12 franchisees who serve on an advisory council to the company
called the President’s Council.
See Pizza, Page 23
See DSO, Page 24
MUSICAL
Little Caesar lost market share and sales with the closing of hundreds of
outlets in Kmart stores in 2002-03, but the numbers have begun to rebound.
U.S. market share
5.0%
3.4%
2000
2001
2002
2.5%
2.6%
2.8%
2003
2004
2005
$650.0
$700.0
$780.0
2003
2004
2005
U.S. systemwide sales, in millions
$1,300.0
$1,250.0
$865.0
2000
2001
BY SHERRI BEGIN
Three national music conferences
are making plans to come to Detroit
over the next three years, thanks to the
instrumental
role the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra played in attracting them.
The
2007
American String
Teachers Association national conference
and three national string
musician competitions held
in conjunction
with it will
come to Detroit American String
for the first time Teachers
Association
March 8-10.
national conference
Next February, the American March 8-10
Symphony Orches- American
tra League’s mid- Symphony
winter meeting Orchestra League
for education, midwinter meeting
community en- for education,
gagement and community
youth
orches- engagement and
tras will come to youth orchestras
Detroit. And in Febuary 2008
spring 2009, De- Association of
troit will host Major Symphony
the biennial con- Orchestra
ference of the As- Volunteers biennial
sociation of Major conference
Symphony Orches- Spring 2009
tra Volunteers.
About
1,000
people have registered to attend the
March conference, and up to 750 more
are expected to perform in or attend
the three national music competitions
being held in conjunction with it, according to the association.
CAESAR BOUNCES BACK
5.3%
See Labor, Page 24
DSO plays
right notes
in luring
conferences
A bigger
slice
industry restructures, hourly employees at affected plants can expect
concession demands from new owners, said Steven Szakaly, economist
for the Center for Automotive Research
in Ann Arbor.
The workers risk having their
plants shut if they’re not amenable
to pay cuts, Szakaly said. But
prospective owners, including hedge
funds, could face worker turnover
and quality expenses if they try to
cut benefits too much, he said.
Flex-N-Gate also is continuing to
negotiate to buy a Ford Motor Co.
parts plant in Milan that used to belong to Visteon Corp. The supplier has
2002
Source: Technomic Inc. Figures are estimates.
Technomic Inc., Little Caesar’s market share as a percentage of total
U.S. sales increased from 2.5 percent in 2003 to 2.8 percent in 2005.
“I think growing the brand is
very important for the chain’s
overall value and our franchisees’
value,” Scrivano said. “As we
grow the brand … that will drive
more customers back into the
restaurant.”
Plus, Scrivano said, having
more locations in a city or region
boosts advertising and marketing
efficiency, helps with employee recruitment and often results in better store management.
In Dallas, for example, Little
Caesar now has 25 restaurants, up
from just a handful several years
ago.
GATHERINGS
CRAIN’S
INDEX
EPrize’s
growth:
“We want to
be the
Google of
promotions,”
says founder
Josh LInkner.
Page 6.
From icon to
Linkner
Icahn?
Heavy ties to GM, Ford
interiors business exact
heavy price on Lear.
Page 19.
These organizations appear in this
week’s Crain’s Detroit Business:
American Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Arcadia Resources Inc. . . . . . . . . . 11
Arcadia Services Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Automation Alley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Automotive Components Holdings . 25
BASF Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
BBK Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Beaumont Hospitals . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Belli Couture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Bon Secours Cottage . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Boyden Global Executive Search . . 11
Caraco Pharma Labs . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Catuity Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CB Richard Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Center for Auto Research . . . . . . . . . 3
CMS Energy Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Collins & Aikman . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 11
Comerica Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 11
Community Central Bancorp . . . . . 11
Cushman & Wakefield . . . . . . . . . . 25
CV Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
DaimlerChrysler AG . . . . . . . . . 20, 25
Deloitte & Touche USA L.L.P. . . . . . 11
Delphi Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 24
Detroit Medical Center . . . . . . . . . 20
Detroit Orientation Institute . . . . . . 22
Detroit River Wildlife Refuge . . . . . . 1
Detroit Symphony Orchestra . . . . . . . 3
Domino’s Pizza Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
DTE Energy Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 25
Environment Michigan . . . . . . . . . . 10
EPrize L.L.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Farbman Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Flex-N-Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Ford Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Ford Motor Co. . . . . . . . . . . 3, 19, 20
Friedman Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . 1
General Motors Corp. . . . . . . . 19, 20
GG Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Grant Thornton L.L.P. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
GVA Strategis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
HCMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Henry Ford Health System . . . . . . . 20
Int’l Auto Components Group . . . . . . 3
Intertec Systems L.L.C. . . . . . . . . . 11
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. . . . . . . . . 21
Jones Lang LaSalle . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
JP Industries Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lear Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 3, 11, 19
Little Caesar Enterprises . . . . . . . . . 3
Macomb Community College . . . . . 20
Madilu & Ethan Too! . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Main Street Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Mall at Partridge Creek . . . . . . . . . 20
McGregor Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
McLaren Health Care Corp. . . . . . . 20
NAI Farbman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Newcor Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Newmark Knight Frank . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Nomi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Nonprofit Finance Fund . . . . . . . . . 13
Northville Square . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Oakwood Healthcare Inc. . . . . . . . . 20
Plante & Moran P.L.L.C. . . . . . . . . 12
PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. . . . 12
Pure Barre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Questor Management . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Quicken Loans/Rock Financial . . . . 6
Semco Energy Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Signature Associates . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Solid Grounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
St. John Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Stampeddler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Tipping Point Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Trammell Crow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
United Way for SE Mich. . . . . . 13, 19
University of Michigan . . . . . . . . . 21
Vista Maria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Visteon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 11
Walsh College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
BANKRUPTCIES . . . . . . . . 10
BUSINESS DIARY . . . . . . . 16
CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
CAPITOL BRIEFINGS . . . . . . 7
CLASSIFIED ADS . . . . . . . . 18
DIVIDENDS. . . . . . . . . . . . 22
EARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
KEITH CRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . 8
LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
MARY KRAMER. . . . . . . . . . 9
OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
RUMBLINGS . . . . . . . . . . . 26
WEEK IN REVIEW . . . . . . . 26
2/23/2007
5:20 PM
Page 1
Page 4
February 26, 2007
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Semco Energy to be sold to
Texas company in $867M deal
BY AMY LANE
A Texas energy company is buying Port Huron-based Semco Energy
Inc., in an $867 million deal that includes the assumption of $515 million in debt.
Semco (NYSE: SEN) announced
the planned sale Friday, saying
Midland, Texas-based Cap Rock
Holding Corp. made an attractive offer for an acquisition that will leave
Semco stronger. The company’s
headquarters will stay in Port
Huron and current Semco management is expected to remain in place.
Semco currently does not anticipate any changes in its employment levels. Semco employs 600
people in Michigan and Alaska.
Semco’s board, upon recommendation of its finance committee,
approved the agreement and recommends that holders of Semco’s
common stock approve the transaction.
“After careful analysis, the finance committee and the board of
directors have determined that
this transaction is the right strategic direction for Semco and is in
the best interests of our shareholders,” said Donald Thomason, Semco’s board chairman, in a news release. “The price to be paid by Cap
Rock in the proposed transaction
provides shareholders with a significant premium for their shares
over the current market price.
“This transaction will also give
Semco a financially strong owner
with experience in the regulated
utility industry. This combination
of access to additional capital and
Renco is leading bidder for
Delphi interiors, closure units
New York industrialist Ira Rennert was named the leading bidder
for Delphi Corp.’s interiors and closures business on Tuesday, Automotive News reported.
Troy-based Delphi, which is in
the midst of selling noncore businesses as part of its Chapter 11
bankruptcy reorganization, announced it agreed to a nonbinding
sales agreement for the $1.3 billiona-year business with Rennert’s
company, The Renco Group Inc.
This means in-depth negotiations
with Rennert on the sale of the business will move ahead, but final
terms will remain subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
and various creditors and constituencies. Other bidders could
emerge for the business as well.
Sources said Renco and Delphi
managers also are jointly considering other acquisitions, including
some assets of bankrupt automotive interiors maker Collins & Aikman Corp.
— Automotive News
This transaction
“
will also give Semco
a financially strong
owner with
experience in the
regulated utility
industry.
”
Donald Thomason,
Semco chairman
familiarity with what utility regulators and customers expect
should help ensure that customers
will continue to enjoy dependable
natural gas distribution service in
our Michigan and Alaska service
territories.”
Semco distributes natural gas to
more than 400,000 customers in
Michigan and Alaska, including
more than 100,000 customers in
Southeast Michigan. Semco also
owns and operates businesses involved in propane distribution, intrastate pipelines and natural-gas
storage.
Cap Rock Holding, through subsidiary Cap Rock Energy Corp.,
transmits and distributes power in
28 Texas counties. The company
owns no generating plants and
purchases
power
wholesale
through long-term power-supply
contracts.
According to a filing with the U.S.
Securities & Exchange Commission,
Cap Rock approached Semco last
August with a letter expressing interest. In addition to shareholder
approval, the acquisition requires
regulatory clearances that include
the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
The Michigan Public Service Commission does not have authority over
the proposed transaction.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cap Rock will acquire all the
outstanding common stock and 5
percent Series B Preferred stock of
Semco. Semco shareholders will
receive $8.15 in cash for each share
of common stock they own, a premium of approximately 37 percent
over Semco’s average closing
share price during the five trading
days immediately preceding Friday’s announcement. The preferred-stock shareholders will receive $213.07 a share plus an
additional payment, calculated at
closing, to compensate for the value of dividends that were to be
paid in the future.
The agreement allows Semco to
solicit alternative proposals from
other parties through March 29.
Semco said it intends to consider
any such proposals with the assistance of its advisers during the
“go-shop” period.
If Semco and Cap Rock close
their transaction, Cap Rock will
maintain current employee benefits and compensation levels for at
least two years after closing. All
collective bargaining agreements
will be honored.
Semco’s May 24 annual meeting
is now postponed and will be
rescheduled.
Amy Lane: (517) 371-5355,
[email protected]
STREET TALK
THIS WEEK’S STOCK TOTALS: 37 GAINERS, 38 LOSERS, 7 UNCHANGED
CDB’S TOP PERFORMERS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Semco Energy Inc.
Rockwell Medical Technologies
North Pointe Holdings Corp.
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.
Visteon Corp.
TechTeam Global Inc.
Amerigon Inc.
Energy Conversion Devices Inc.
First Mercury Financial Corp.
Syntel Inc.
CDB’S LOW PERFORMERS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Detrex Corp.
General Motors Corp.
Veri-Tek International Corp.
Credit Acceptance Corp.
Pulte Homes Inc.
Ford Motor Co.
Saga Communications Inc.
ProQuest Co.
Taubman Centers Inc.
Michigan Heritage Bancorp Inc.
2/23
CLOSE
2/15
CLOSE
PERCENT
CHANGE
$7.79
7.80
12.14
31.61
9.17
12.09
11.33
31.67
22.72
38.67
$5.95
7.01
11.18
29.12
8.45
11.15
10.55
29.76
21.38
36.39
30.92
11.27
8.59
8.55
8.52
8.43
7.39
6.42
6.27
6.27
2/23
CLOSE
2/15
CLOSE
PERCENT
CHANGE
$9.26
34.26
6.25
25.84
31.18
8.30
9.33
11.44
61.54
12.05
$10.05
36.44
6.57
27.04
32.59
8.60
9.65
11.78
63.22
12.35
-7.86
-5.98
-4.87
-4.44
-4.33
-3.49
-3.32
-2.89
-2.66
-2.43
Source: Bloomberg News. From a list of publicly owned companies with headquarters
in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw or Livingston counties. Note: Stocks trading
at less than $5 are not included.
DBpageAD.qxd
1/17/2007
10:06 AM
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2/23/2007
4:35 PM
Page 1
Page 6
February 26, 2007
EPrize: ‘We want to be the Google of promotions’
BY BILL SHEA
EPRIZE BY THE NUMBERS
Pleasant Ridge-based online interactive promotions giant ePrize
L.L.C. continued growing in 2006 and
is projecting more for this year.
The privately held company,
which handles online sweepstakes
and loyalty reward programs for 73
of Advertising Age’s top-100 brands,
recorded $35.9 million in revenue
last year — up 26 percent from 2005.
“We want to be the Google of promotions,” said ePrize founder and
CEO Josh Linkner.
The company projects 55 percent
䡲 2006 gross sales: $36 million
䡲 Promotions launched last year:
802
䡲 Number of countries with ePrize
promotions: 16
䡲 Total value of prizes offered:
$32.8 million
䡲 Number of prizes: 1.2 million
䡲 Unique visitors to promotions:
110 million
Source: ePrize fact sheet
revenue growth for 2007 and plans
to add 150 employees to the roughly
350 it has now, Linkner said. That’s
in line with the company’s goal of
reaching $100 million in revenue
and 750 employees by 2009. Right
now, about 285 ePrize staffers are in
Pleasant Ridge, with the rest in
smaller offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and London.
In the past year, ePrize added Microsoft, Disney and Adidas as clients.
They join major clients that include Coca-Cola, Dell, Gap and General Motors Corp.
However, it was return business
that fueled 60
percent
of
ePrize’s growth,
Linkner
said.
Dell, for example, is sponsoring Justin Timberlake’s
current tour and
hired ePrize to
run a campaign Linkner
that’s giving away online a laptop
autographed by the singer.
Those relationships with major
brands have propelled ePrize to become the world’s largest and fastestgrowing online promotions compa-
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ny, according to Promo Magazine,
which covers the promotion marketing industry. It ranked No. 3
overall on the magazine’s annual
list of top promotion companies.
EPrize’s success isn’t surprising,
said Brian Tacy, vice president, director of digital media for Southfield-based Mars Advertising Co. Inc.
“When ePrize first started, I
don’t think people really knew the
power of online promotions,” said
Tacy, who’s known Linkner since
the mid-1990s. “He foresaw before
others did that promotional marketing online was going to become
as strong as it is.”
To further bolster growth, Linkner in January rolled out a new venture called Caffeine, a do-it-yourself
online promotion tool for businesses that can’t afford the average
ePrize campaign price tag of
$50,000. The system lets businesses
quickly design online promotions
themselves, all supported and fulfilled by ePrize. Businesses pay $1
for each qualified participant, and
can limit the campaign geographically and by number of players.
Linkner expects 15 percent to 20
percent of ePrize’s business to
come from Caffeine.
About 40 staffers are assigned to
Caffeine, Linkner said. The service
is run from ePrize’s headquarters, a
78-year-old former brewery that’s a
maze of brick rooms, spiral staircases and office space. The company recently spent $1 million to expand
into 14,000 more square feet and expects to be out of space by mid-2008.
Linkner declined to specify how
much ePrize is investing in Caffeine but said it’s in “the millions.”
Some of the money is coming
from a $32 million investment made
last year in ePrize by a group led by
Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman
of Livonia-based Quicken Loans and
Rock Financial. The money was earmarked for research and development, including the Caffeine program that’s been one of Linkner’s
goals since founding ePrize in 1999.
“His is exactly the type of company we need way more of in Detroit,” Gilbert said. “We need 100
or 200 or 500 of these in the area.
The importance of his company
goes beyond the company itself.”
Gilbert, who sits on the ePrize
board, has a close relationship with
Linkner. Linkner calls Gilbert his
“personal mentor” and Quicken is
his company’s “big cousin.”
“We found a guy in Josh we like
not only as a CEO, but he’s so close
in philosophy to where we are as a
company,” Gilbert said. “I’m trying to work with Josh to guide him
through the rapid growth and
hopefully help him avoid land
mines we went through.”
Linkner said that if Gilbert moves
his operations to downtown Detroit,
as has been discussed, then it’s possible ePrize would follow — possibly
as part of a Quicken-ePrize campus.
But that’s in the future and
Linkner called all talks preliminary. Also preliminary is speculation that ePrize could go public,
something that Linkner acknowledged is a possibility, but he said it
is too early to discuss deeply.
“We’re doing all the things to do
so,” he said. “If and when we get to
that step, we want to do it right.”
Bill Shea: (313) 446-1626,
[email protected]
February 26, 2007
2/23/2007
5:22 PM
Page 1
Page 7
State Senate likely to halt drug-liability bill
LANSING — The furor
residents harmed by prohibit punitive damages in rela- be held liable if they intentionally
“We are the only state that gives
last week over Michigan
drugs since that date tion to FDA approval, and three withheld or misrepresented infor- absolute immunity to the drug inproduct-liability changes
would now have a three- states — New Jersey, North Caroli- mation that would have prevented dustry,” said Jesse Green, director
is likely to be short-lived.
year period to file suit.
na and Texas — have passed laws the FDA’s approval of a drug, or of communications with the MichiThe
Republican-conA third bill, House Bill tying liability limits to FDA or that would have caused drug ap- gan Trial Lawyers Association. “And
trolled Senate has no im4046, sponsored by Rep. government standard. In Texas, proval to be withdrawn. Immunity absolute immunity is ridiculous.”
mediate plans to take up
Mary Valentine, D-Norton for example, a manufacturer is also does not extend to defendants
House-passed bills that
Shores, would allow civil presumed not liable if the drug’s who bribed an official or FDA emSenate Majority Leader
suits to be filed under warnings or product information ployee for the purpose of securing
■ Donna Stine, deputy director of
Mike Bishop, R-Rochester,
Michigan’s
Consumer was approved by the FDA, a “re- or maintaining drug approval.
said on Friday are “misProtection Act if a drug buttable presumption” that shifts
Supporters of changing Michigan the Michigan United Conservation
guided in policy” and CAPITOL BRIEFINGS manufacturer misrepre- the burden to the plaintiff to prove law say those exceptions are mean- Clubs, has been named interim exAmy Lane
harmful to business.
sented the risks of a pre- that a drug is not safe.
ingless for many reasons, including ecutive director. She fills a post vaThe House last week
scription or non-prescripBut Michigan’s law is unique in a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cated by Sam Washington, who left
passed a measure that would end tion drug, herbal product, dietary that it can provide a complete bar only the FDA, not individuals, can earlier this month.
Amy Lane: (517) 371-5355, alane@
1995 provisions that give drug supplement or botanical extract.
to product-liability claims. There claim manufacturers committed
crain.com
manufacturers and sellers immuSeveral states limit liability or are exceptions: Manufacturers can fraud against the agency.
nity in product-liability lawsuits if
the drug was approved by the U.S.
©2007 Authorized Mercedes-Benz Dealers
Food and Drug Administration.
The bill, which won support
from 13 Republicans and all but
one House Democrat, was hailed
as a measure that would help
Michigan residents harmed by
drugs and give them a recourse to
hold drug companies accountable.
“Study after study has shown
that we simply can’t rely on the
FDA to keep us safe,” said bill
sponsor Rep. Mike Simpson, DLiberty Township, in debate on the
House floor.
But Stephen Rapundalo, executive director of Ann Arbor-based
MichBio, said the heightened exposure to lawsuits could deter research and development and lead
to higher liability insurance rates
for life-sciences businesses.
“I find it incomprehensible how,
on the one hand, the state’s leadership is wanting to promote and
grow the life sciences industry,
and then on the other hand, put
road blocks in the very way of that
growth,” he said. “You can’t have
it both ways.”
How dramatic an effect the legislation would have remains to be
seen. Sides in the debate differed
on the extent to which current law
sets Michigan apart. Companies
make investment and location decisions for a variety of business
reasons, and they also don’t need
to be in Michigan to be sued.
“The fact that Michigan alone
has such a statute will do nothing to
encourage drug companies to come
here,” said J. Douglas Peters, shareholder with Charfoos & Christensen
P.C. in Detroit, which handles cases
that include drug product liability.
4MATIC 4-WHEEL DRIVE
“The argument that it’s good for
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Electronic Traction System sensors continually monitor grip
At Pfizer Inc., recent Michigan reand balance power to all four wheels as needed, providing
structuring decisions were based
on “global business factors” like
enhanced traction in any type of weather.
the need to streamline its research
and development operations, inUnlike any other.
creased cost and complexity of
R&D, and rising competition, “not
political or local issues,” said Rick
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2:59 PM
Page 1
Page 8
February 26, 2007
OPINION
Vote yes on project
ost communities in Southeast Michigan would gladly
embrace a development project that promises new
housing at attractive prices, 2,500 construction jobs,
650 permanent jobs, 420 acres of public green space and an increase in the township tax base.
But in Oakland Township, north of Rochester Hills, wellheeled opponents of the Harvest Corners development have
forced Tuesday’s public vote, arguing that the “intensity and
density” of the 800-unit housing project will destroy the township’s character.
In earlier public comments, some opponents slammed the
price of the housing — $200,000 to $500,000 — for potentially
harming the value of neighboring subs where homes are
priced at well over $1 million. (Of course, there are a lot of forsale signs on those manicured lawns these days as executive
bonuses and top-tier corporate jobs disappear.)
Harvest Corners deserves a “yes” vote — if not for the economic benefits outlined above then to avoid what surely will be
a costly lawsuit. Moceri Cos., the developer, filed a breach-ofcontract lawsuit in December, seeking $100 million in damages
for the various delays caused by the referendum and to have
the court declare the property properly zoned for the project.
Township voters might review the recent six-year battle in
Novi that nearly cost that city $73 million in a lawsuit filed by
a developer who accused the city of meddling with a project
that had secured the proper zoning. Novi escaped that penalty
in a land swap with the developer.
Harvest Corners earned its rezoning after at least 12 public
meetings. Given the lean budgets for many communities, is it
worth the gamble on Tuesday?
M
CFOs face tough times
Pass the Tums, please.
Actually, it takes more than antacid for top financial executives to get through a work week these days. Layoffs, plant
closings, corporate bankruptcy filings and tougher reporting
regulations under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act seem to be taking a toll.
As Tom Henderson reports on Page 11, data compiled by
Deloitte & Touche USA L.L.P. shows high turnover levels in
CFO chairs at publicly traded companies.
In Michigan, about 42 percent of CFOs in public companies
with $100 million or more in revenues left their jobs between
2002 and 2006; in companies with over $1 billion in revenue,
the rate jumped to 50 percent. And Deloitte says the departures
were rarely due to promotions.
So what’s a number-cruncher to do?
Deloitte’s report suggests strategies all company managers
would do well to consider. Our favorite: Identify three of your
company’s best investment opportunities to increase the revenue line and build cases for those, instead of only looking for
ways to shave more pennies.
LETTERS
Hotels mean opportunities
Editor:
Jennette Smith’s Feb. 12 articles
on “Fixing Cobo” and the “Room
rush” well express the challenges
that metro Detroit faces when it
comes to convention business.
While we’ve often heard the statement expressed by Donald
Fitzsimmons (president of Royal
Transportation Co.) that “build it
bigger and they will come,”
Fitzsimmons is on target to advise
that Cobo needs to “bring in the
best and brightest and fill the
space.” Regardless, the expansion
of Cobo and the added inventory of
hotel rooms will offer Detroit opportunities it has not had previously.
Hopefully Detroit has learned
that it cannot rest on its laurels.
While older hotels may not be able
to compete aesthetically with the
newer properties, their focus on
service, cleanliness and pricing
will assure their future. Not all
visitors to a city seek high-end hotels. However, convention atten-
Crain’s Detroit Business
welcomes letters to the editor.
All letters will be considered for
publication, provided they are
signed and do not defame
individuals or organizations.
Letters may be edited for length
and clarity.
Write: Editor, Crain’s Detroit
Business, 1155 Gratiot Ave.,
Detroit, MI 48207-2997.
E-mail: [email protected]
dees always seek to be close to the
convention site. This is where
Cobo and the casino hotels will be
mutually supportive.
Also, it is folly to think that the
casinos will not do what is necessary to attract visitors to their hotels. And, in doing so, they will
help market Detroit in a manner
that focuses on downtown. Therefore, while the new hotels will cut
into the suburban business initially, the long-term results should be
that everyone benefits with a
stronger regional core.
On another front, and piggybacking on the issue of air rights
which has come into view with the
construction of The Griswold condos, it is hoped that Detroit will examine the possibility of selling the
rights above a portion of an expanded Cobo. The view is unparalleled and should make for an easy
sell.
Robert Thibodeau
Detroit
Schools should have
closed sooner
Editor:
Concerning the proposed closing of 52 Detroit public schools
(Mary Kramer, “Tough choices
should favor good schools,” Feb.
12), the district is in a financial
quagmire. It can’t justify heating
buildings that are, in some cases,
more than half-empty.
See Letters, Page 9
KEITH CRAIN: Don’t forget — the glass is also half full
It would be easy for all of us to
simply throw up our hands and decide that our city and our state and
the automobile industry are all irreparably damaged and that there
is no possible outcome other than
disaster. It would be easy to blame
it all on the politicians and the
management of the Big Three.
It would also be wrong.
The car business has never seen
anything like the perfect storm that
happened in the early ’70s. Gasoline
prices
doubled.
Competition
showed up with all the right products at the right time. All of a sud-
den Americans wanted
different products, and it
wasn’t much different
than what happened to
the television business.
What once belonged to
the three networks all of
a sudden belonged to a
hundred cable outlets.
Meanwhile, regardless of what anyone says,
economic growth slowed
down and now is stalled.
Without growth, government has to slow down or stop as
well, and our local and state govern-
ment didn’t slow at all.
And now all of us are
paying the price.
Our state and local
governments must understand that they can’t
have bigger budgets
without
economic
growth. They have to cut.
But it is possible to
have car companies that
can be prosperous, although much smaller.
They have to downsize
plants and people and, most important, they have to do a better job of
creating cars that people want to
buy. The real answer is product.
Meanwhile, we are still the motor capital of the world, and with
the right environment, we can
have every single technical center
for every car company in the world
located in Southeast Michigan. But
the state has to make sure the rules
encourage the growth of those
sorts of facilities by global companies. They won’t make cars; they
will be the development centers.
And anyone who has their eyes
open realizes that health care is a
huge growth industry as our popu-
lation grows older. Not just for the
hospitals, but all sorts of ancillary
businesses as well.
And the last time I checked, the
car business is the largest user of
computers in the world. So we
should keep trying to develop our
Detroit/Ann Arbor corridor as an
alternative to the West Coast.
The governor shouldn’t bother
heading for Germany, looking for
industry. She should head for San
Francisco and Silicon Valley.
We have to keep working and always remember that the glass is,
indeed, half full.
2/23/2007
4:38 PM
Page 1
February 26, 2007
Vista Maria makes case for
donors in language of business
BY SHERRI BEGIN
When Vista Maria CEO Cameron
Hosner heard from a potential
donor’s financial representative
that his organization lacked a
strong business case for support,
he realized the representative had
a point.
“They were
moved and impressed,” Hosner said. But
they also said,
‘How credible is
this?’ ”
Vista Maria’s
case for support
didn’t include Hosner
documented details on the impact
the organization’s services actually had on clients, how many people
would be helped by an expansion
of services or how the nonprofit
planned to sustain the expanded
programs and its organization.
“I thought to myself, ‘I just went
to the market without a prospectus,’ ” said Hosner, who’d worked
with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to create a case for capital support to
take to the debt and equity mar-
kets as senior vice president of operations at Arcadia Services Inc. in
Southfield.
“We couldn’t just go to people
asking for money without being
able to identify what they could expect in terms of a return on their
investment.”
To approach donors and funders
in a more businesslike fashion,
Vista Maria worked with Grant
Thornton L.L.P. on what Hosner is
calling a charitable prospectus or
circular. The document lays out an
extensive business plan that
demonstrates the financial credibility of Vista Maria’s case statement, Hosner said.
He plans to take the prospectus
to potential donors and funders later this year. Vista Maria will then
launch a capital campaign to fund
a new charter school on its Dearborn campus and an expansion of
its support services to youths who
age out of traditional foster care
and juvenile justice programs
when they turn 18 and to other atrisk youths in the community.
“Now we can show investors
that we have a proven strategy,”
Hosner said.
In its business case for support,
IN COOPERATION WITH
Ideas
Before Dawn
Presents
Breakfast Meeting at NextEnergy
Whats Next for Midtown/New Center?
Join us for a panel discussion with the players who are making things
happen at NextEnergy, Wayne State Universitys Tech Town and the
ambitious $1.3 billion redevelopment strategy linking New Center to
WSU, championed by Henry Ford Health System. Could the People Mover
be expanded to link downtown to New Center? Find out at the Feb. 28
Ideas Before Dawn to take place at NextEnergy.
PANELISTS
Randal Charlton Jim Croce
Managing Interim Director
Wayne State University
Tech Town
Bill Schramm
Chief Executive Officer
Senior Vice President
NextEnergy
Henry Ford Health System
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
7:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m. Breakfast and Networking
8:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Panel Discussion
NextEnergy 461 Burroughs, Detroit
( 2 blocks West of Woodward, North of I-94 )
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Vista Maria lays out its current financials before going into the
amount of money it is seeking and
how it will use the money.
The agency also worked with
the University of Michigan School of
Social Work on studies that measured the impact of its programs in
the past five years.
The document lays out the incremental impact of the new programs Vista Maria is proposing
and the return investors will see
on their charitable investment.
For example, with the opening
of a charter school on its campus
this fall as the first phase of its Village of Hope project, Vista Maria
expects to expand its education
programs from the 180 resident
girls it now serves to about 500
young men and women each year
after about five years.
Additional funding would give
Vista Maria the capacity to provide day care, recreational and
food support services for youths
who’ve aged out of the foster care
or juvenile justice systems but still
need assistance to earn their high
school degree and obtain and advanced skill or education so they
can get a job, Hosner said.
Currently, Vista Maria assists
about 1,000 young people and families each year. Hosner said it is
still firming up how many additional people it could provide with
support services with additional
funding as it searches for partners
to help it provide new day care and
health center services.
“The point is to show that Vista
Maria is helping these kids advance,” Hosner said.
Grant Thornton has assisted
other nonprofits in developing
business plans that lay out revenues and expenditures, said Paul
Morris, senior manager, business
advisory services.
“What (Vista Maria) has done is
take it a step further” by providing
a more detailed and strategic view,
Morris said.
The nonprofit has documented
results, a plan for expanding the
scope of its programs and a financial plan to say how it plans to sustain its programs.
“A lot of charities say they do
good things; Vista Maria is tracking the things they do … (and keeping) statistics on their success,”
Morris said.
All funders, whether a foundation, corporate-giving program or
an individual, really want to know
how their support is going to make
a difference, said Dave Campbell,
president of the McGregor Fund, a
funder of Vista Maria.
“I think the more concretely an
organization can show the difference funding will make, the stronger
case they have” for not only their
own funding but funding for the issues they emphasize, he said.
“In the nonprofit sector, you’re
investing money and hoping you
are changing lives for the better.
That’s a lot harder to track than
whether you’re making a profit.”
Sherri Begin: (313) 446-1694,
[email protected]
Page 21
2/23/2007
5:01 PM
Page 1
Page 22
February 26, 2007
EARNINGS
Loyola High School
gratefully acknowledges the 2006-2007 Sponsors
of the Loyola Work Experience Program. Our thanks
for helping us make our third year a great success.
Number of Students
Archdiocese of Detroit
Bodman LLP
Compuware Corporation
Crain Communications Inc.
DTE Energy
DuMouchelles Galleries
Dykema Gossett, PLLC
Ford Motor Company
Goodwill Industries
G-Tech Professional Staffing
1
3
3
4
4
1
4
8
2
4
Organization
Number of Students
Henry Ford Hospital
Hollingsworth Logistics
Lewis & Munday, P.C.
Lear Corporation
Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc.
NTH Consultants, Ltd.
Plunkett & Cooney, P.C.
R. L. Polk & Company
Youth Sports & Recreation Commission
1-800-FLOWERS
Domino’s Pizza Inc.
2nd Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ..........................$158,000
$117,000
Net income ................($4,225,000) ($4,142,000)
Earnings per share ................($.04)
($.04)
6 months
Revenue ..........................$262,000
$297,000
Net income ................($8,282,000) ($7,630,000)
($.07)
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ..................$435,225,000 $457,399,000
†Net income ..............$31,045,000 $40,197,000
Earnings per share ..................$.49
$.59
12 months
Revenue ....................$1,437,319,000 $1,511,597,000
†Net income ................$106,227,000 $108,282,000
Earnings per share ................$1.65
$1.58
†- Fourth-quarter 2005 earnings were boosted by
15 cents per share due to the sale of an equity investment in a Domino’s master franchisee in Mexico.
Advanced Photonix Inc.
SPONSORS
Organization
Aastrom Biosciences Inc. Nasdaq: ASTM
2
1
1
4
1
1
1
4
3
3
3rd Quarter Dec. 29
2006
2005
Revenue........................$5,881,000 $6,511,000
Net income....................($964,000) ($886,000)
($.05)
9 months
Revenue ....................$17,427,000 $16,782,000
Net income ................($3,321,000) ($2,745,000)
($.16)
Amerigon Inc.
If you would like more information on the
Loyola Work Experience Program,
please contact Rev. David Mastrangelo, S.J. 313-861-2407
Nasdaq: ARGN
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$15,030,000 $9,962,000
Net income ..................$1,030,000 $14,755,000
$.67
12 months
Revenue ....................$50,609,000 $35,737,000
Net income ..................$3,514,000 $16,549,000
$.76
Arcadia Resources Inc.
As an intregal component of our academic program, Loyola juniors and seniors
job share with fellow classmates in placements at sponsoring organizations.
By outsourcing these positions, Sponsors help our young men pay
for their education while gaining valuable work experience.
AMEX: API
Amex: KAD.BC
3rd Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$41,026,212 $33,298,557
Net income ................($3,717,781) ($813,283)
($.01)
9 months
Revenue ..................$120,000,022 $96,702,889
Net income ................($4,611,333) ($3,543,073)
($.04)
Clarkston Financial Corp. OTCBB: CKSB
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue........................$3,833,000 $3,074,000
Net income....................($265,000)
$159,000
$.09
12 months
Revenue ....................$14,303,000 $11,860,000
Net income....................($712,000)
($24,000)
($.02)
CMS Energy Corp.
NYSE: CMS
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$1,920,000,000 $1,906,000,000
Net income ..................($32,000,000) ($6,000,000)
Earnings per share: ................($.15)
($.03)
12 months
Revenue ....................$6,810,000,000 $6,288,000,000
Net income ..................($90,000,000) ($94,000,000)
Earnings per share……… ........($.41)
($.44)
1.
2.
3.
would like to thank
Dickinson Wright PLLC, and Inforum,
for their support in helping to make
the February 14 Newsmaker luncheon
such a huge success.
Note: CMS had a fourth-quarter after-tax charge of
$80 million or 36 cents a share, stemming from a
preliminary agreement to settle shareholder classaction lawsuits related to energy trades between
2000 and 2002.
Credit Acceptance Corp.
Nasdaq: CACC
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$55,823,000 $51,573,000
Net income ..................$8,495,000 $25,240,000
$.65
12 months
Revenue ..................$219,332,000 $201,268,000
Net income ................$58,640,000 $72,601,000
$1.85
First Mercury Financial
NYSE: DPZ
NYSE: FMR
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$34,507,000 $38,769,000
Net income ..................$3,598,000 $4,949,000
$.41
12 months
Revenue ..................$137,492,000 $130,767,000
Net income ................$21,869,000 $22,835,000
NA
Note: First Mercury was not a public company in
2005 but furnished figures for comparison purposes.
Kaydon Corp.
NYSE: KDN
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ..................$100,147,000 $89,653,000
Net income ................$17,657,000 $14,408,000
$.46
12 months
Revenue ..................$403,992,000 $354,558,000
Net income ................$69,508,000 $73,889,000
$1.52
TechTeam Global Inc.
Nasdaq: TEAM
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$43,871,000 $40,860,000
Net income ..................$1,202,000
$911,000
$.09
12 months
Revenue ..................$167,364,000 $166,497,000
Net income ..................$1,834,000 $5,468,000
$.54
Universal Truckload Services Nasdaq: UACL
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ..................$163,829,000 $147,241,000
Net income ..................$5,286,000 $4,654,000
$.29
12 months
Revenue ..................$641,627,000 $531,339,000
Net income ................$21,009,000 $17,167,000
$1.12
Visteon Corp.
NYSE: VC
4th Quarter Dec. 31
2006
2005
Revenue ....................$2,841,000,000 $2,865,000,000
†Net income................($39,000,000) $1,338,000,000
$10.25
12 months
Revenue ....................$11,418,000,000 $16,976,000,000
†Net income ..............($163,000,000) ($270,000,000)
Earnings per share ..............($1.28)
($2.14)
†- Visteon’s fourth quarter earnings in 2005 were
boosted by more than $1.8 billion gained from the
transfer of 23 plants back to its former parent, Ford
Motor Co.
DIVIDENDS
Company
Amount
Kaydon Corp. ....................$.12
Community Central Bancorp..$.06
Payable
date
2007
4-2
4-2
Record
date
2007
3-12
3-1
PRESENTED BY
Detroit Orientation Institute taking applications
1. Crains 2006 Newsmaker Dan Gilbert,
Founder, Chairman of Rock Financial/
Quicken Loans.
2. Crains 2006 Scholarship Winner
Joseph Madonna of Walsh College
with Tarik Daoud of Al Long Ford.
3. Rick Sperling, Founder and CEO
of Mosaic Youth Theatre, named
Crains Best-Managed Nonprofit
of 2006.
IN COOPERATION WITH
Are you new in town? Want to
learn your way around Detroit?
The Detroit Orientation Institute at
Wayne State University is now accepting applications for its April
17-May 1 spring session.
The sessions are for area newcomers or for professionals who
want to learn about the history
and culture of the city and metropolitan area.
Weekly class segments include
talks with community leaders, and
tours. Each participant also receives a CD-ROM of background
information written especially for
the institute.
Tuition is $900 and class size is
limited. Applications are available
at the institute’s Web site,
www.doi.wayne.edu.
For more information, call Ann
Cuddohy Slawnik, the institute’s
director, at (313) 577-0171.
— Joanne Scharich
2/23/2007
6:54 PM
Page 1
February 26, 2007
Pizza: Additional franchises help
Little Caesar market share inch up
Page 23
FRIEDMAN
EXCEEDING THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
■ From Page 3
In Fargo, Conneran said, Pizza Inc., Domino’s, Papa John’s InternaHut and Domino’s are the local tional Inc. and Little Caesar — conmarket leaders.
tinue to face stiff competition from
“I am excited, because with our regional and local pizza restaunew store opening this year I will rants.
be able to have a decent budget to
“The big four are really not doactually go on TV. That is a goal of ing a great job of gaining market
mine,” he said.
share. They have not convinced
While Little Caesar won’t say the consuming public that their
exactly how many stores it opened products are better in terms of valin 2006, or disclose annual sales, ue or quality from the local operaScrivano did say the company’s tors,” Paul said. “They also face
average sales per store increased additional competition from suby more than 2.5 percent in 2006. permarkets.”
(See box.)
But Scrivano said Little Caesar
That’s better than the results re- isn’t concerned about market
ported Friday by crosstown rival
share.
Domino’s Pizza Inc. On Friday,
“Market
Domino’s (NYSE: DPZ) said sameshare is an outstore sales for 2006 declined 4.4
side game …
percent at franchisee-owned stores
this is more
in the U.S. and declined 4.1 percent
about building
at company-owned stores. Domigreat stores and
no’s also said revenue declined to
building great
$1.44 billion in 2006 from $1.51 bilfranchises and a
lion in 2005.
great franchisIn a conference call with analysts
ing
system,”
Scrivano
on Friday, Chairman and CEO
Scrivano said.
David Brandon said weaker than
Little Caesar is in the middle of
expected results from national pro- its second five-year improvement
motions during the first half of 2006 plan. The first five-year plan was
contributed to difficulties through- mostly aimed at improving prodout the rest of the year.
ucts and overall company opera“Our promotions required too tions, while the second five-year
high of an overall ticket price and plan is aimed at company growth.
it did not excite consumers,” BranFounded in 1959, Little Caesar
don said.
grew rapidly to
Brandon
said
about 3,000 locamany franchisees
tions until the late
reacted by cutting
1990s. Then, sales
costs and staff,
began to decline
which caused proband the company
lems later.
was hit by a class“I would rate our
action lawsuit from
operations perforfranchisees
who
mance in 2006 as
complained about
below average. I do
the low quality and
not believe that we
high cost of food
did a substantially Darren Tristano, Technomic Inc. products from Litbetter job than our
tle Caesar’s incompetitors and we have to,” house distributor and other issues.
Brandon said.
The closing of hundreds of outlets
Brandon also said Domino’s re- in Kmart stores also contributed to
lied too heavily on national adver- the decline in locations.
tising campaigns and on television
In recent years, Little Caesar has
commercials.
had success by deepening its value“We need to do a better job of step- driven image through its $5 Hot-Nping up to the fact that pizza is local Ready pizza promotion, that guarand national marketing cannot be antees that a large pizza will be
relied (on) to be the primary driver ready when a customer arrives at a
of sales,” Brandon said. “Upon re- store without a need to order ahead.
flection, too much reliance was
“They’ve had several years of
placed on our national media roll-up decline, and now they are coming
strategy in 2006 and not enough em- back,” said Darren Tristano, execphasis was put on our local opera- utive vice president of information
tions and our local marketing.”
services for Technomic.
Little Caesar, in contrast, says it
Todd Messer, executive director
places a heavy emphasis on local of Troy-based Little Caesar Franmarketing efforts. For instance, chise Association, agrees that Little
Little Caesar franchisees in De- Caesar has improved franchisee
troit are currently promoting a relations.
deep-dish pizza as their lead pro“It really has never been better,”
motional item, while franchisees
Messer said.
in California are promoting a
Messer, who also co-owns 15
Hawaiian pizza.
restaurants with his brother,
“At this point, I believe that this
approach is working better than the traces Little Caesar’s improvement
model in the industry,” Scrivano back to about 2001. That’s when the
said. “It allows the franchisees to class-action lawsuit was settled and
the company’s first five-year imget closer to their market.”
But despite Little Caesar’s suc- provement plan was put in place.
“I think management has been
cessive years of restaurant expandoing
a wonderful job with relasion, the company’s market share
tionships with franchisees and exgains have been small.
In fact, Technomic President panding the chain,” Messer said.
Brent Snavely: (313) 446-0405,
Ron Paul said all of the nation’s
largest pizza chains — Pizza Hut [email protected]
They’ve had
“
several years of
decline, and now
they are coming
back.
”
CAESAR BY THE NUMBERS
Detroit-based Little Caesar
Enterprises Inc., the nation’s
fourth-largest pizza chain, has
historically been loath to discuss
numbers, no matter how simple,
even when the numbers are
improving.
The company would only say last
week that it opened more than 200
restaurants in 2006 and plans to
remain on the same expansion pace
this year.
So how many total Little Caesar
restaurants are there?
“We will never disclose store
counts,” said Little Caesar
President Dave Scrivano.
Little Caesar is a division of
Detroit-based Ilitch Holdings Inc.,
whose founders, Mike and Marian
Ilitch, also own the Detroit Tigers,
Detroit Red Wings and Olympia
Entertainment L.L.C.
And while Little Caesar is a private
company, federal regulations
require companies that sell
franchises to file Uniform Franchise
Offering Circulars, which are similar
to an annual report, with state
governments. Little Caesar’s most
recent circular, dated March 31,
2006, reveals the following:
䡲 In 2006, Little Caesar was
planning to open 201 franchises
and 49 company-owned
restaurants in the U.S. by the end
of the year.
䡲 Little Caesar had 1,802
restaurants in the U.S. as of Dec.
31, 2005, up from 1,731
restaurants at the end of 2004.
䡲 At the end of 2005, 1,176 of
the U.S. restaurants were owned
by franchisees, up from 1,095 at
the end of 2004.
䡲 The 1,802 locations included
375 company-owned restaurants,
236 cafes in Kmart stores selling
Little Caesar products, 15 Little
Caesars Parlors, Family Inns,
Family Fun Centers, Pizza Stations
and Caesarlands in the U.S. One is
a franchise; the other 14 are
company-owned.
Scrivano points out that the
circular does not include Little
Caesar’s international locations
and said the company has been
growing rapidly in Canada, Mexico
and the Middle East.
In a profile of Mike Ilitch in
October, Forbes estimated Little
Caesar’s expected systemwide
revenue, which includes its
franchisees, to be $1.4 billion and
said the company itself would bring
in about $80 million in revenue
from royalty fees.
While that may sound low, Little
Caesar also generates hundreds of
millions of dollars additional
revenue by requiring its
franchisees to purchase food
products from Blue Line Food
Service Distribution, which is also
affiliated with Ilitch Holdings.
In addition to pizza products, Blue
Line also distributes food ranging
from bakery goods to ice cream as
well as restaurant equipment.
According to Little Caesar’s
circular, Blue Line’s 2005 revenue
was $507.3 million.
— Brent Snavely
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2/23/2007
5:21 PM
Page 1
Page 24
February 26, 2007
DSO: Orchestra’s outreach helps lure music conferences
■ From Page 3
The Metro Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates the conference will generate
about $4.2 million in direct spending.
The national music conferences “fit well
(with) our new focus of attracting more single
property bookings in addition to seeking citywide conventions,” said Carla Conner-Penzabene, the convention bureau’s director of
sales, in an e-mail.
They also fit well with the convention bureau’s new brand identity for metro Detroit,
which focuses on cars, culture, gaming, music and sports, she said.
“There is a lot of buzz in the orchestra industry about what the DSO is doing in terms
of education, urban revitalization and balancing the budget,” said Jill Woodward, DSO
public-relations director.
“These conferences want to use our innovation as a backdrop for developing other
progressive ideas that will positively impact
our industry.”
While many orchestras around the country are struggling to operate in the black,
successful fundraising has helped the DSO
post a modest surplus the past three years,
she said.
The DSO reported an operating deficit of
$1.07 million on its fiscal 2004 990 tax form,
the most recent year available. But Woodward said the tax form combines results for
the DSO and the Orchestra Place Renewal Partnership, which operates the Orchestra Place
office building.
According to its audited financial reports,
the DSO itself posted a surplus of about
$88,000 in fiscal 2004, followed by surpluses
of about $100,000 and $45,747 in the following
years. The DSO’s fiscal year ends Aug. 31.
This year, the DSO is operating on a budget
of $31.8 million, Woodward said.
The arts organization is working to help attract national conferences so that it can show
off its “world-class orchestra and facility and
continue (to) positively impact our city’s
economy, in every way we can,” she said.
The DSO’s willingness to work with the
American String Teachers played a big role
in its decision to hold the conference in Detroit, said association Executive Director
Donna Hale.
“Our conference is pretty complex when
you consider all the performances that are
happening,” the workshops and the Saturday night gala benefit for the association,
she said.
“This is the first time that we’ve worked so
closely with a local symphony in terms of a
hands-on partnership; it’s been wonderful.”
The DSO is making the Max M. Fisher
Music Center available for performances
during the conference, providing judges for
the string solo competition.
Woodward said the DSO also expects to
gain about $45,000 through rental fees, concessions and the sale of about 1,700 tickets to
conference attendees to concerts by the cellist Lynn Harrell and a conference-sponsored performance by the violinist Midori
and the DSO’s Civic Youth Orchestra.
Assistance from the Metro Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Detroit
Marriott as well as the aesthetics of the area
impressed the association when representatives visited, Hale said. “The view of the riv-
er is wonderful; it’s just a very pretty area.”
Additionally, Detroit is within driving
distance of a large percentage of the association’s 11,500 national members, she said.
The Renaissance Center will host the National Solo Competition for string musicians and the Alternative Styles Award
competition covering folk, jazz, fusion and
rock music performed by string musicians
during the conference. The National Orchestra Festival will take place at the Max.
Arts and cultural organizations are increasingly going beyond their traditional
missions of providing programming, said
Maud Lyon, founding director of the Cultural
Alliance of Southeastern Michigan.
“This is a great example where you’ve got
a major arts organization taking the leadership role in bringing new conventions to Detroit, which not only is good for the convention business but also … helps to spread the
reputation of what we really have here,”
Lyon said.
Sherri Begin: (313) 446-1694, sbegin@
crain.com
Northville: Old building gets new life, new look
■ From Page 1
Known as Old Church Square, the
three-building project totals
25,000 square feet.
“We renovated it, put the
(Stampeddler) store in and built
two buildings in the front,” Margene said. “Bob acted as the construction manager. We came in on
time and under budget.”
Margene moved her store to
Old Church Square from the nearby store space she had leased for
15 years. It took seven months to
renovate the store, 2.5 years to rebuild the residential space that is
their home upstairs and a year to
build the other two buildings.
With one successful team project behind them, breathing new
life into the Michigan Gift Mart
building didn’t seem as daunting.
After buying the building in 2005,
they changed the roof design, put
in 60 windows and doors, changed
the entrances and facades and all
floors and lighting. As the stores
and restaurants lease space, each
is built out with high-end finishes. They also returned the building to its original name of
Northville Square.
The couple said they bring complementary skills she pushes for
the more expensive materials; he
handles project management.
The contemporary Nomi restaurant, open for six weeks, has been
an instant hit, partly because of a
look and feel different from what
has traditionally been found in
Northville, the Buckhaves said. Local entrepreneurs have opened up
a Madilu & Ethan Too! kids clothing
store, a Pure Barre workout center
and a Belli Couture maternity boutique. Other stores in the works include a Solid Grounds coffee house
and a store Margene Buckhave
plans to own and run, GG Resort,
which will sell resort wear.
The name for the GG store
comes from its main line of clothing, Girls Golf, which is designed
by Bloomfield Hills-based Girls
Golf founder Annie Margulis.
Margulis’ line is sold in country
clubs and resort stores locally and
in Florida, Texas, California,
Nevada, Barbados and Europe.
The
Buckhaves
bought the
Michigan
Gift Mart
building in
2005 and
have
changed the
roof design
and added
60 windows
and doors.
COULD PLAYS BE THE THING?
JOHN F. MARTIN
The Northville store is the first
using Girls Golf as a launching
point; Buckhave plans to add other resort clothing, such as tennis
wear, as well.
Northville Square is a great site
for the store because it will draw
shoppers from as far as Ann Arbor, and the timing could not be
better given the rising popularity
of women’s golf, Margulis said.
“I think there’s a big desire to
be fashionable,” she said. “You
can be feminine and have game.”
Girls Golf has had extensive
coverage in golf trade publications, and the Ladies Professional
Golf Association’s Vicki GoetzeAckerman is wearing the line.
Downstairs from that store
build-out, CV Media, a firm that
produces Web sites, videos and
other media, has moved in, and
the 3-year-old Main Street Bank
moved its headquarters in late
January. It kept its first location,
also on Main Street, as a branch.
Rick Shaffner, CEO of Main
Street Bank, said the plan for the
building was excellent and provided the space the bank needed,
about 11,000 square feet. The addition of destination stores is a nice
draw as well, he said.
“We’re not going to be a big-box
type of downtown,” he said. “It’s a
beautiful building.”
The Buckhaves say they hope
to provide space for more success
stories like Shaffner. Perhaps
buyout offers at Ford Motor Co. will
prompt people to consider a local
franchise, Margene said. Shaffner, for example, found success get-
ting a new bank up and running
despite the Fed’s steady interest
rate hikes.
“I just refuse to be a pessimist,”
Shaffner said. “Bob and Margene
have the same mindset.”
Northville Square has about
30,000 square feet of common areas, some of which could be used
by kiosk businesses such as food
vendors, but much of which
would be available for public
events. The project adds about 40
percent more retail space to the
downtown, Bob Buckhave said.
The couple is working hard to
find the right mix of new tenants
and not steal tenants from other
downtown landlords, he said.
City Manager Patrick Sullivan
said Northville Square is “unique
because it’s an indoor environment that continues the energy of
the street into the building.”
He said it complements other
efforts under way downtown,
such as a Downtown Development
Authority marketing and branding strategy, and a renovated
town square project. The city
plans to spend $1.5 million to improve its Main Street town
square, and plans a $4 million
streetscaping program. Construction on the town square project
will start this summer, he said.
Margene Buckhave said the
combined effect of real estate investment, the additional business, and plans for a theater
championed by Northville residents Chuck and Susan Gaidica
(See box) should all move the city
forward.
With a real estate deal and one
step in the city approval process
under way, opening night for a new
professional theater in downtown
Northville may be getting closer.
Northville resident and WDIVChannel 4 meteorologist Chuck
Gaidica and his wife, Susan, are
among those leading the effort to
create the Tipping Point Theatre.
Christina Johnson, executive
director of the nonprofit theater,
said last week that Gaidica and
local developer Chuck Lapham
bought the building at 361 Cady
St. that will house the theater. The
4,000-square-foot building has
been a variety of businesses,
including a testing site for car
wash equipment, she said.
The theater board plans a March
10 fundraiser. It has raised about
$25,000 of the $100,000 needed
to get the basic expenses such as
lighting and staging handled.
Johnson said the goal is to get a
summer camp program started in
July and a professional theater
season started in the last
weekend in August. Corporate
sponsors also will be sought.
Patrick Sullivan, Northville city
manager, said the planning
commission recommended
approval of rezoning needed for
the site to be part of the central
business district.
“It’s a natural extension of our
downtown,” he said. “It’s
generating excitement.”
Combined with other investments
by developers and the city, the
theater project will help Northville
move forward while keeping its
small-town charm, Sullivan said.
“These things give us the
potential to draw from a bigger
market, for people to come at
night and do things,” he said.
See www.tippingpointtheatre.org
for more information.
— Jennette Smith
The architects of Northville
Square are CubellisMarco, Northville, and Kevin D. Hart & Associates, Birmingham.
Jennette Smith: (313) 446-0414,
[email protected]
Labor:
Supplier
talks a
mixed bag
■ From Page 3
yet to offer a new labor contract to
the UAW hourly workers at the
plant operated as part of Ford’s Automotive Components Holdings, said
Della DiPietro, a spokeswoman for
Automotive Components Holdings.
Efforts to hold down costs are
not restricted to new owners.
Detroit-based American Axle &
Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said last
week that it has a labor agreement
that would cut wages and benefits
for new hires to $27 an hour, a drop
from about $66 an hour for current
UAW employees, Bloomberg News
reported.
The disclosure came in a filing
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that also said
the company plans to trim 300
salaried jobs. The company last
month said it eliminated 1,474 U.S.
union positions through an October buyout offer.
The company’s reduced hourly
rate for new hires is less that those
being paid this year to new hires at
some other suppliers linked to General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.,
according to data compiled by the
Center for Automotive Research.
American Axle was formed in 1994
from plants acquired from GM.
New workers at Delphi Corp.,
spun off by GM in 1999, and at
Ford’s Automotive Components
Holdings will earn about $34.60 at
the end of this year, including
$16.66 an hour in wages, the center
said. Unions at those suppliers
agreed to the lower pay for new
workers in 2004.
Automotive Components is a
collection of plants Ford took back
from its former parts unit, Visteon, in 2005 and is trying to sell or
close by 2008.
From Automotive News.
2/23/2007
6:43 PM
Page 1
February 26, 2007
Page 25
Brokers: Mergers lead to race to attract talent
■ From Page 1
ris, former principal and co-owner
of GVA Strategis in Southfield, to
run the new office as executive
managing director and partner. So
far, Morris has assembled a team
of eight, including Friedman brokers who have moved over to the
new sister company and one broker from GVA. He said he’s likely
to add a couple of bigger-name brokers in the coming months.
Morris said he made the move
because he believes there is a
growing need for brokerages to
help not only with real estate, but
to provide services that help reduce overall business operating
costs. That includes tasks like
evaluating outsourced services
such as labor, and reviewing
transportation and utilities costs
to look for savings.
“Every day I open up the business section of the papers and major companies are talking about reducing costs, mostly by getting
smaller,” he said. “Eventually real
estate comes into play — but it’s
not just real estate anymore.”
Meanwhile, other locally based
firms like Signature Associates and
Farbman Group, both in Southfield,
are pushing to make the most of
their international affiliations.
Signature last May became a Cushman & Wakefield alliance member,
meaning it is part of a network of
independently owned offices that
are part of the Cushman system,
and NAI Farbman, Farbman’s brokerage division, is part of the NAI
Global network, a Princeton, N.J.based group.
Andy Farbman, Farbman copresident and CEO, said Asia is a
huge source for future business. A
Hiroshima disposition for a tier-
WHERE DID THEY GO?
Examples of broker moves at the
vice president, senior vice
president, or managing director
level:
To Newmark Knight Frank
■ Steve Morris to partner and
executive managing director from
GVA Strategis.
■ Randy Tarnow to senior
managing director from Friedman
Real Estate Group.
To Jones Lang LaSalle
■ Ron Gantner and A.J. Weiner
from Trammell Crow.
To CB Richard Ellis
■ Dan Dolsen to principal, Ann
Arbor, from Trammell Crow.
■ Rachele Downs from Trammell
Crow.
one supplier he declined to name
was a major win, and the company
has other work
in Asia under
way.
“The
NAI
platform has allowed us to cover the world,” he
said.
While
Farbman
expects
middlesize, unaffiliatFarbman
ed
firms
in
Detroit and other cities to go out of
business as the industry consolidates, “firms that have broader
reaches and more capabilities
across asset classes” will thrive,
he said.
Mark Woods, vice president and
■ Scott Elliott from Trammell
Crow.
■ Charles Ginster from Grubb &
Ellis.
■ Joseph Rosenberg from Equis.
■ Anne Galbraith-Kohn from
Cushman & Wakefield.
■ Jeff Bell from Colliers
International.
■ Randall Allman, Russell Barnett
and Paul Burke from Grubb & Ellis.
To Grubb & Ellis
■ Frederick Liesveld, to managing
director, Southfield, from Ronnisch
Construction Group.
■ Randy Book, Matt Abell and Jeff
Lemanski from Cushman &
Wakefield.
■ Nate Vincent from Colliers
International.
managing director of operations
for Signature, said the Cushman &
Wakefield alliance has been a huge
boon, leading to
deals in Germany, England,
India and China
and throughout
North America.
Woods
personally ends up
finding ways to
connect Southfield Signature
Woods
brokers with the
right person at a Cushman &
Wakefield corporate client like
Kraft Foods or a national expert in a
specialized real estate category
like retirement properties.
Nonetheless, Signature isn’t ac-
tively recruiting for brokers in
transition from other firms,
Woods said, but the firm often is
approached by brokers evaluating
options. In a down economy and at
the beginning of a new calendar
year there is often a round of broker moves, he said.
“There’s going to be fewer firms,
which is going to cause movement,” he said, adding that Signature has a 95 percent retention
rate.
Ron Gantner, a former Trammell Crow broker who was recently hired as a senior vice president
for the Detroit office of Jones Lang
LaSalle, said increasingly, it’s important to have access to a national and international network to
even bid on corporate services
work.
“In the past, all the decisions
were made at the local level,” he
said. “Now they are centralized.
Groups that have a national and
worldwide reach have a much better opportunity.”
Gantner said he expects eventually in Detroit there will be a small
number of local offices of the big
global firms, such as Jones Lang,
and a few boutique firms with specific specialties and expertise. The
midsize, general service firms will
probably be acquired or shut
down.
Last year’s Signature/Cushman
& Wakefield deal, for example,
came with the shutdown of the
company-run office in Southfield.
Many of the brokers ended up
working for CB or Trammell Crow
rather than being hired by Signature.
Jennette Smith: (313) 446-0414,
[email protected]
Refuge: Partnerships help protect wetlands
■ From Page 1
bird-watching in the Great Lakes
region.
David Sanders, executive vice
president of the Metropolitan Affairs
Coalition, said the refuge, besides
providing an outlet for outdoor
recreation, provides Southeast
Michigan with an asset to attract
skilled workers.
“The best and brightest often
have choices to live and move just
about anywhere,” Sanders said.
“And if we’re going to be competitive at attracting talent, we have to
market the assets we have.
“What better asset than the
refuge, the habitats and the opportunities to see wildlife?”
Much of the refuge’s growth has
been through other management
agreements between the Fish and
Wildlife Service and companies
such as DaimlerChrysler AG, DTE Energy Co., BASF Corp. and Automotive
Components Holdings L.L.C.
“Corporations want to take care
of their property,” he said. “If they
can form a strategic partnership
with Fish and Wildlife to enhance
habitats on their property, it’s
good for them, it’s good for their
public relations, it’s good for their
employees.”
DTE helped to form the refuge in
2001 and has four properties there,
including a 656-acre parcel and a
The Humbug Marsh near Gibraltar is part of the Detroit River International
Wildlife Refuge.
100-acre River Rouge site. DTE Environmental Planner Roberta Urbani said the company’s participation has been beneficial in
preserving the environment.
“Just by the nature of our business, we’re very tied to water and
protecting the Great Lakes and our
environment,” Urbani said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is
in talks with five more companies
to include parcels in the refuge.
Hartig said companies appear to
see the value in helping to protect
natural resources.
“For us to be competitive in the
future as a region, we need to provide wonderful opportunities for
employees of businesses,” Hartig
said. “The kind of work we’re doing is important to attract and retain the next generation of employ-
ees.”
The refuge also has the ability to
bolster local tourism, which is the
state’s second largest industry behind automotive, Hartig said.
For instance, the region plans to
host a major bass fishing tournament in July with FLW Outdoors, an
organization that administers
sponsored fishing tournaments.
As Crain’s reported in September,
that event is expected to have local
economic impact of $4 million to $5
million.
“There’s a whole economy
around birding and fishing and
hunting, and we want to take advantage of that,” Hartig said.
About 9,000 gathered at Lake
Erie Metropark in September for
Hawkfest, an annual event where
birdwatchers observe hawks mi-
grating south for the winter.
Paul Muelle, chief of natural resources at the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority, said he’s
hopeful Lake Erie’s inclusion in
the wildlife refuge will draw even
more people to the park. Lake Erie
Metropark had an average of
640,000 visitors
in 2005 and 2006.
“We’re hoping this will be
one of those premier spots that
people will want
to come and see
the migratory
birds,” Muelle
said.
Muelle
Hartig
said
the refuge has begun to pick up
steam as more private entities are
agreeing to have the Fish and
Wildlife Service manage the wetlands and habitats on their properties. He’s hopeful more companies
will come on board with the refuge
in order protect local wildlife and
create more recreational opportunities for Michigan’s economy.
“I think the more of these we do,
the more trust we build,” Hartig
said. “And that makes it easier for
the ones we do next.”
Sheena Harrison: (313) 446-0325,
[email protected]
www.crainsdetroit.com
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2/23/2007
6:18 PM
Page 1
Page 26
February 26, 2007
WEEK IN REVIEW
RUMBLINGS
But what about
earaches caused
by cell phones?
Farmington Hills
spa has developed a
service for those
who suffer from “Blackberry Thumb.”
Tamara Spa + Wellness has
come up with a 30-minute
hand massage that begins
with placement of a warm
stone in each hand followed
by an intense hand, finger
and arm rub that uses a
host of acupressure and
massage techniques to alleviate some of the discomfort and tension associated
with the rigors of texting
and typing on small communication devices, such
as Blackberrys.
The spa says in a press
release that the ailment is
very real and that a massage can “prevent a very
painful malady like carpal
tunnel syndrome.”
Though not mentioned by
Tamara Spa, one other reported alternative to avoid
the pain is to use another
communication device
called a “telephone.”
A
Expect some changes with
The Whitney’s new owner
Expect The Whitney to retain its fine-dining reputation, but to offer a broader
menu in the hopes of attracting additional customers.
The Whitney, in a 113year-old mansion on Woodward Avenue in Detroit’s
Midtown, closed for minor
renovations Feb. 18 and will
reopen under new ownership in about three weeks.
“We’re going to keep
some of the Whitney’s signature dishes, and we are going to add some things too,”
said Arthur “Bud” Liebler, who
purchased the restaurant
from former owner Dick
Kughn on Thursday.
Liebler is a former
Chrysler executive and coowner of Liebler MacDonald
Public Relations in Rochester
Hills.
The menu will be redone
by Executive Chef J. Gundy.
Gundy is former sous chef
at Tribute in Southfield and
Fiddleheads in Royal Oak.
The changes won’t all occur at once, Liebler said,
and the first floor will remain fine dining. Eventually the restaurant’s third
floor will offer quick, light
fare to attract more patrons
before or after a sporting or
theatrical event.
Lottery commissioner may
run against Knollenberg
Michigan Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters is
mulling a return to elected
office and taking on U.S.
Rep. Joe Knollenberg, RBloomfield Hills, in the 2008
election.
“It is something I am considering,” Peters said. He
said he has been approached by Democratic
Party members who asked
him to seriously consider a
run.
Peters
said entering
what
would be
a highprofile
and expensive
race “is a Peters
big decision,” and said he
continues to be “very happy” at the lottery.
But he also said he thinks
the “right Democratic candidate” could win in Knollenberg’s Oakland County
district, which includes territory Peters represented as
a state senator.
Asked whether he has
FROM CRAINSDETROIT.COM, WEEK OF FEB. 17 - 23
discussed the idea with
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who
appointed him to his lottery
post, Peters said he is “still
in the exploratory stage. I
haven’t had that conversation because it’s still too
early in the process.”
Museum seeks memories
of Great Lakes steamships
The Detroit Historical Society is soliciting memories of
the bygone days of luxurious steamships sailing between Detroit, Cleveland,
Buffalo and other Great
Lakes cities for its “Era of
Elegance” exhibit, set to
open as part of the grand reopening of the Dossin Great
Lakes Museum on March 24.
The museum, one of several operated by the society,
closed at the end of last year
for $100,000 worth of renovations.
“Unfortunately, the number of people who remember traveling on these boats
is disappearing almost as
quickly as the fleet did,”
said Joel Stone, curator of
the exhibit.
“We hope to capture their
stories and memories to
show younger visitors that
the glory seen in the movie
‘Titanic’ is closer to home
than they may have imagined.”
Steamship travel on the
Great Lakes began in the
1880s and ran until about
1960 when interstate highways became prevalent, according to the society.
For more information on
how to submit memories,
call (313) 821-2661.
BITS & PIECES
Saturn of Troy has been
named the No. 1 Saturn
dealership in the country
for 2006 for selling more
cars than about 450 other
Saturn dealers nationwide.
Kirco founder and
Chairman Alan Kiriluk was
roasted Feb. 8 by Oakland
County Executive L. Brooks
Patterson during an event
sponsored by the Michigan
chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office
Properties at The Reserve in
Birmingham.
Take a peek at the Bright Side
Tuesday marks the premiere of the
second installment to our Crain’s Detroit Business Bright Side Video Series.
For our second offering, we’re profiling
Bizdom U., the brainchild of Dan
Gilbert, founder and chairman of
Quicken Loans/Rock Financial Inc. I
had the opportunity to interview three
of Bizdom’s 13 would-be entrepreneurs as well as Executive Director
Ross Sanders.
We not only saw an incredible curriculum aimed at stamping out new entre-
WEB WORLD
Daniel Eizans
preneurs, but met some amazingly
bright young people who are dedicated
to making a change in the city of Detroit. If these driven young people are
the future of our city, I dare say that a
renaissance is truly just around the
corner.
See what the fuss is all about at
crainsdetroit.com/brightside. We’ll
have the video ready for your viewing
pleasure by 2 p.m. today.
Have good news you believe to be
Bright Side material? Send it to
[email protected].
Chrysler sale
prospectus to
be ready soon,
source says
“very detailed” sales
prospectus for the
Chrysler Group will be
ready for potential buyers
soon, a source close to the
process said Friday, Reuters
reported.
Apollo Management L.P.,
the Blackstone Group, the
Carlyle Group, and Cerberus
Capital Management LP, as
well as several European
firms, were contacted about
their potential interest, the
Financial Times Web site
said, citing people familiar
with the matter.
Volkswagen AG has no interest in acquiring the
Chrysler Group or expanding cooperation accords, a
VW spokeswoman said Friday. Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.,
Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Fiat
and the alliance between Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co.
Ltd. have all rejected a tie-up.
Also, the Chrysler Group
said Friday that it will offer
early retirement and buyout incentives that include
a $20,000 voucher on a new
vehicle and credits to retirement health care accounts,
Automotive News reported.
A
Ficano: Tax incentives
would help economy, Cobo
In Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano’s State of
the County address Thursday evening he proposed a
tax-free zone at Cobo Center in which the state’s 6
percent sales tax would be
waived on merchandise
bought and sold.
He said the zone would
be another way to improve
the competitiveness of
Cobo, for which he’s proposed a major expansion.
Ficano also wants a state
sales tax holiday for Michigan, similar to those declared in 14 other states and
Washington, during a week
for back-to-school shopping, eliminating sales taxes on all clothing, books
and supplies costing $100 or
less per item, as well as on
computers up to $2,000, and
furniture, small electronics
and computer software less
than $500 per item.
Ficano also announced
the creation of a second
biodiesel plant in Wayne
County.
ON THE MOVE
Clarence Brantley to interim chancellor, Oakland
Community College, Bloomfield Hills, from vice chan-
cellor of administrative services. He will replace Mary
Spangler, who was named
chancellor of Houston Community College in Texas.
Jack Shubitowski to
president and CEO, Huron
Valley State Bank, Milford,
from senior vice president,
Citizens Republic Bancorp
Inc., Flint. He replaces
founding president David
Blossey, who returned to
previous employer, Midland-based Chemical Bank.
John Collins to managing director and general
counsel, AlixPartners, Southfield, from senior vice president, general counsel and
secretary, Champion Enterprises Inc., Auburn Hills.
Neeta Delaney to president and CEO, ArtServe
Michigan, Detroit, from consultant to the Enterprise
Group, Jackson. She replaces Barbara Kratchman,
who is retiring March 12.
M. Peter McPherson, former president of Michigan
State University, will be
named chairman of the
board of Dow Jones & Co., effective April 18, replacing
the retiring Peter Kann.
Ouida Cash, CEO of
Inkster-based Starfish Family
Services, plans to retire next
year after 30 years, after
helping in the transition to
a new CEO.
Thomas Tuskey to director of Cobo Center, Detroit,
from deputy director. He replaced mayoral appointee
Glen Blanton.
BRIEFLY
Riverfront Associates,
owners of Riverfront Towers near Joe Louis Arena,
has hired Phoenix-based
Hendricks & Partners to assist with the possible sale
or recapitalization of the
100 and 200 towers.
Kelly Services Inc. has
agreed to sell its Home Care
Services business unit for
$12.5 million to Louisvillebased ResCare Inc.
The U.S. Supreme Court
declined on Tuesday to review the state’s Rules of
Professional Conduct that
prohibit undignified or discourteous conduct toward
judges, a blow to attorney
Geoffrey Fieger who contended that the rules violated
his First Amendment
rights of free speech.
St. John Health said it is
launching a $1.2 million
branding campaign developed by Brogan & Partners
and introducing the St.
John Health theme of “Passion for Healing.” Also, St.
John said it wants to give
its Detroit Riverview Hospital
to the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic
Medicine, making St. John
eligible for $14 million in
Medicaid support, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Arcadia Resources Inc.
said Tuesday that it has
completed its acquisition of
Minneapolis-based PrairieStone Pharmacy L.L.C.
Ave Maria School of Law
said it plans to move its operations from Ann Arbor to
near Naples, Fla., by fall
2009, following the planned
May move of Ave Maria College there in May.
McLaren Health Care
Corp. received approval
from the Independence
Township board Tuesday
for a planned $500 million
campus, tentatively called
the McLaren Health Care Village at Clarkston, at
Sashabaw Road and I-75.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm
and state economic-development chief Jim Epolito
plan to go to Germany
March 10-14 to woo corporate investment and jobs.
The Detroit City Council
turned down a water ratehike proposal that would
raise average charges to
suburban customers by 3.5
percent and Detroit customers by 9.2 percent.
Plymouth-based Metaldyne, now a wholly owned
subsidiary of Shizuoka,
Japan-based Asahi Tec Corp.,
said it has been awarded a
$70 million contract from a
global automaker to supply
chassis products for multiple 2007-2008 model-year car
and truck platforms.
Royal Oak has decided
to not sell its Normandy
Oaks golf course to raise
money to buy hire police officers, the Detroit Free Press
reported.
Verizon Wireless is
adding 175 positions in its
Southeast Michigan customer service and financial
service departments, the
company announced
Thursday.
OBITUARIES
Robert Gustafson,
Chairman and CEO of Pontiac-based beer distributor
Hubert Distributors Inc. and
widower of former Chairman and CEO Alice
Shotwell Gustafson, died
Feb. 20. He was 70.
Helen Kalkanis, who
owned a restaurant in Detroit and ran her own millinary studio, died Feb. 14.
She was 99.
Angelo Melone, who had
owned tool and plating
businesses, died of congestive heart failure Feb. 14.
He was 94.
Larry Pilkinton, who had
owned Numerical Controls
Maintenance Service in Livonia, died Feb 13. He was 68.
Janice Simmons, director of nursing services at
Botsford General Hospital and
a trustee of Oakland Community College, died of cancer
Feb. 22. She was 62.
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Classes available in Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Southfield
Learn about our executive programs.
I Executive MBA
I Executive Education
www.bus.umich.edu
Information Session
March 1
Southfield
6:00–8:00 p.m.
Register at www.mbaross.net
Recruiters rank Ross #1 in the nation.
– The Wall Street Journal/Harris-Interactive Survey, 2006
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In business, it’s not
who you know.
It’s who, who, and who.
No one is an island. And in business, no company stands alone. For more than 100 years, we have been serving companies throughout
Michigan. And in today’s economy, you need to be connected for your business to thrive. When you bank with LaSalle, you gain
access to a dedicated local, national, and international network. So whether it’s connecting you with a potential business partner down
the street, or with any of our commercial specialists, from real estate to international banking to treasury management, who we know
becomes who you know. To find out more about our Commercial Banking capabilities, please call Mike Jamieson at 248-822-5653.
LaSalle Bank Midwest N.A. Member FDIC. ©2007 LaSalle Bank Corporation.

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