Energy Conversion Devices Inc., the parent company of solar laminate maker United Solar Ovonic, said Thursday it closed its fiscal 2008 with rising profits and revenues on operational improvements and stronger gross margins.

The Rochester Hills-based company [Nasdaq:ENER] said it earned $9.9 million, or 24 cents a share, for the fourth quarter ended June 30. That compares with net income of $7 million or 17 cents during the third quarter and a net loss of $13.1 million, or 33 cents, during the fourth quarter of 2007.

The company also has operations in Greenville.

Continue reading "Energy Conversion Devices closes FY2008 on rising profits, sales" »

McLaren Health Care Village in Independence Township leads commercial construction projects in Oakland County for 2008 and is, by any standard, a massive project.

With first phase costs of more than $100 million, and total costs as high as $600 million, the facility could be as large as 1 million square feet.

Nearly as impressive as its sheer size is the fact that when the project broke ground in July 2007, it had only been a year since McLaren Health Care had acquired Mt. Clemens Regional Medical Center. And less than two months after the groundbreaking at the Independence Township 79-acre site, McLaren made news when it acquired POH Regional Medical Center in Pontiac.

The rapid expansion is part of McLaren's model, which led the health care group to achieve on average 20 percent revenue growth for the past 20 years; 2007 revenues were $3.6 billion.

Continue reading "McLaren Health Care Village leads Oakland '08 projects" »

Southfield's loss is the Ann Arbor area's gain as Citigroup [NYSE:C] plans to move 470 employees by the end of the year.

The retail mortgage operation is in the Galleria Officentre in Southfield and will move to the same facilities as the Ann Arbor-area wholesale operation with its 640 employees. Both will operate under the CitiMortgage Inc. banner.

Continue reading "Citigroup to move Southfield office to Ann Arbor" »

The top construction projects in Oakland County this year are pushing at least $1.8 billion into the local economy as land, raw materials and labor combine, yielding new buildings that will help define this area's landscape.

The value of the 10 largest projects is immense.

Continue reading "Largest commercial construction projects show optimism about Oakland's economy, future" »

New state regulations targeting repetitive-stress injuries on the job would require more employers to offer ergonomic training and work to correct reported injuries.

The proposed rules, outlined for two regulatory panels Monday, would impose new costs on already hard-pressed Michigan, critics say, while supporters call them a reasonable response to growing concern about workplace injuries.

Continue reading "New state regulations on repetitive-stress injuries would cause extra work for employers" »

The growth of Beaumont Hospitals has resulted in the downgrading of $655 million in bonds, likely costing the hospital system additional interest expense.

Fitch Ratings downgraded the bonds to A+ from AA- largely due to construction of two Oakland County hospitals and acquisition of Bon Secours Health System in Grosse Pointe.

Continue reading "Beaumont growth causes downgrade of $655 million in bonds" »

Spring Arbor University will no longer accept new students at its Troy campus, citing too few students to keep the facility open.

"We're consolidating our operations in the Detroit area," said David Edwards, regional director for the Spring Arbor-based school. "We're no longer going to recruit students in that location. We have some current students who will finish out their program there, which will go through March 2010."

Continue reading "Spring Arbor University phases out Troy campus" »

J. Mark Heppard, a 20-year mortgage industry veteran, who in 1988 founded Farmington-based Mutual Mortgage Corp., has been on Mortgage Originator magazine's top 200 list for 11 years straight.

Nevertheless, the housing market's decline has challenged his business, prompting a merger and the birth of a new company.

Continue reading "Farmington-based Mutual Mortgage Corp. merges with Cleveland's Mortgage Now Inc." »

In an unusual deal, $1 is buying Troy-based Madison Community Hospital 55 psychiatric bed allocations from Warren-based St. John Health System.

The beds will be incorporated into a newly established Samaritan Behavioral Center at the former Samaritan Hospital site on Conner Road on Detroit's east side.

Continue reading "Troy's Madison Community Hospital buys 55 beds from Warren-based St. John Health System for $1" »

Availability of environmentally friendly materials and increased knowledge among design professionals and construction companies make green development easier now than it once was.

But building to LEED-certified standards is a different story. It can be time-consuming, and the minimum requirements continually change. So most building owners are foregoing certification, even if they are building energy-conscious, sustainable projects.

Continue reading "More LEED-certified buildings in works in state, Oakland County" »

An equity financing package of $160 million will kick-start the production of the nation's first original vehicle for physically challenged drivers.

The Troy-based Vehicle Production Group LLC has designed and engineered the niche vehicle as a way to meet the demand of an aging population and 15 million Americans with disabilities. A chunk of the financing comes from oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, a staunch advocate of natural gas use.

Continue reading "Troy-based Vehicle Production Group to start making vehicles for the disabled" »

A 66-year-old injection molding technology company in Madison Heights is responding to difficult industry conditions by focusing on its brand new products in emerging green plastics, and innovative approaches to doing business.

D-M-E Co. was founded in Detroit in 1942 and today boasts 600 to 700 employees around the world. As part of an overhaul of its brand strategy a few years ago, the company conducted a global market study to best determine what its customers were looking for and concerned about.

Continue reading "Sven Gustafson: New strategy creates big opportunities for Madison Heights' D-M-E Co." »

It's probably a good thing Michael Wynblatt drives a fuel-efficient hatchback.

"I'm on the road pretty much every week," he said.

Wynblatt is the head of Eaton Corp.'s Innovation Center, which has locations in Southfield, Milwaukee and Eden Prairie, Minn. The advanced R&D center supports the development of new products, solutions and services for all of the various business units of the Cleveland-based manufacturer [NYSE:ETN], whose products span the gamut from automotive and aerospace systems to golf club grips.

Continue reading "Executive Profile: Michael Wynblatt, vice president, Engineering Technology, Eaton Corp.'s Innovation Center, Southfield" »

Even in an employer's market, good help - or at least the right kind of good help - is hard to find.

Across the industries, we've been hearing and reporting at Business Review that there is a current or impending shortage of certain types of workers, be they engineers or physicists or electricians.

Continue reading "Carol Marshall: Fewer young people pursuing careers in construction industry" »

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