Iain Kerr
From new hires and promotions to industry awards, here’s a roundup of achievements by businesses and individuals in the greater Ann Arbor area:
• LLamasoft Inc., a provider of supply chain design software solutions, Nov. 28 announced that Iain Kerr has joined the company’s leadership team as vice president of sales and will be responsible for worldwide sales. Llamasoft is headquartered in Ann Arbor.
• Valicor, an industrial fluids recycling company headquartered in Dexter, plans to invest $5 million in an expansion add 16 new jobs, mostly in research and chemical engineering. The expansion will be supported by tax incentives from Superior Township. The company currently employs 40 in Dexter and another 210 at other locations.
• Edwards Brothers Malloy has purchased a 40-inch Heidelberg Speedmaster offset sheetfed press dedicated to four-color text work, allowing the company to offer four-color book and journal printing in runs from one to 3,000 copies. The Heidelberg offset press is expected to be fully operational in the company’s State Street plant in Ann Arbor by the middle of January 2013.
• The American Association for the Advancement of Science recently announced that 19 University of Michigan researchers are among 702 newly elected fellows being honored for their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. University of Michigan’s 2012 AAAS Fellows are James Bardwell, Jason Gestwicki, Theodore Goodson III, Deborah L. Gumucio, Paul Hollenberg, Aaron King, David Kohn, Benjamin Kuipers, Jianming Li, Ormond MacDougald, Richard Miller, Harry Mobley, John Moran, Jacques E. Nör, Eran Pichersky, David Smith, Yi Sun, Naisyin Wang and John Wolfe. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.
• Dr. Kathleen Gilmore, a physician and owner of Procerus Skin Care in Ann Arbor, was one of several physicians who went on a humanitarian medical mission trip to the Philippines. The group of 11 medical professionals has recently returned from the island nation after a two-week mission to care for children, the elderly and families in serious need of medical attention. The mission trip was coordinated with Global Surge and the Northridge Church in Plymouth.
• Jim Montgomery and Steve Kozak of Southfield-based Signature Associates recently negotiated the lease of 4,000 square feet of industrial space at 7041 Grand River Ave. in Brighton. Montgomery and Kozak represented the landlord, CES Properties, and Kozak also represented the tenant, J. Ruppel Instruments. The pair from Signature Associates also negotiated the lease of 4,000 square feet of industrial space at 397 Washington St. in Brighton, representing the landlord, Brewer Properties. Kozak also represented the tenant, Torongo Engineering.
• Gov. Rick Snyder in late November appointed Michelle Crumm of Ann Arbor to the Western Michigan University board of trustees. The eight-person board is the governing body of the university. Crumm is owner and CEO of Present Value LLC, where she provides business strategy, forecasting and planning services. She is co-founder and former chief business officer of Adaptive Materials Inc., where she worked for 12 years.
• David Merritt, graduate and former co-captain of the University of Michigan men’s basketball team, launched his new, cause-related fashion brand, Merit, Nov. 26, kicking off a 26-day funding campaign on www.Indiegogo.com. Designed by Detroit native and NBC’s “Fashion Star” runner up, Nzimiro Oputa, 20 percent of the entire revenue line is dedicated to funding college scholarships for underserved youth. Indiegogo is a crowd funding global platform to raise money for an idea, product or cause. It will allow users to contribute to the campaign by purchasing Merit’s debut launch collection on pre-order. Once the funding goal is met, the line will be fully manufactured, and items purchased are delivered directly to the contributors. The campaign wraps up Dec. 21. For more information, visit www.Indiegogo.com/Merit.
• Leapfrog Group, an independent organization evaluating hospital care based on a wide range of criteria, named the University of Michigan Health System among the safest and highest-quality hospitals in the United States. Only 66 other hospitals earned the Top Hospitals designation. To see the details of UMHS performance on the Leapfrog assessment, and to compare UMHS with other hospitals, see http://www.leapfroggroup.org/cp.
• Ann Arbor-based Affinia Group Inc., a provider of industrial grade products and services, has spun off its brake businesses, effective Nov. 30. The new organization will be led by the management team from Affinia Group's former Global Brake group, with oversight provided by a separate board of directors. The new Brake Group will be led by David Overbeeke.
• Shulman Clark Associates has announced a new name, new location, and new website. The company recently assumed the name Nimble Systems and moved to offices at 3915 Research Park Drive, Suite A-13 in Ann Arbor. The Ann-Arbor-based company was founded in 2002 by Carol Shulman and Mike Clark to provide IT services tailored to the needs of small business. The new website is www.nimble-systems.com.
• Toyota Technical Center, a Michigan-based division of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America Inc., recently announced a $300,000 donation to the Michigan Science Center. The donation is intended to provide support for the reopening of various attractions and the Michigan Science Center's five theaters including the Toyota Engineering Theater. Established in 1977 and headquartered in Michigan, TTC has research and development facilities in Ann Arbor, Saline, Plymouth and Livonia.
• Mindo Chocolate, based in Saline, was a finalist in the chocolate category of the Good Food Awards. The 100 winners will be announced in a ceremony in San Francisco Jan. 18, followed Jan. 19 by a "Good Food Marketplace" event in which participants can sample goods from all the finalists.
• Dan Milstein, CEO of Gold Star Mortgage in Ann Arbor, was inducted into the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors for his book "The ABC of Sales." According to the Author's Guild, a successful non-fiction book sells 7,000 and Milstein's sales have exceeded 10,000.
• Ann Arbor-based frame company Urban Ashes was involved in the recent expansion of Zingerman's Deli. The frame company's work included reframing of the hand painted line-signs that have greeted guests for years in the deli's retail area and reframing artwork in the patron restrooms. Urban Ashes was founded in 2008 by Paul Hickman, who creates wooden frames from salvaged wood.
• The University of Michigan Credit Union recently won a "Money War" charity challenge against the Credit Union of Ohio. For UMCU, the $2,823.71 in proceeds raised go to the Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital to support research to advance the treatment of illnesses that affect children. The Credit Union of Ohio’s $1,603.29 in proceeds are donated to Nationwide Children’s, the primary pediatric hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The winner’s trophy will make its way back to Ann Arbor, along with a photo of CUO’s management team dressed in maize and blue.
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