Innovation news roundup, September 1, 2016

Surf's up: the "China wave" crashes on Michigan shores

In an op-ed written for the Battle Creek Enquirer, Tom Watkins, president and chief executive of the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority, celebrates the recent opening of the Michigan-China Innovation Center in downtown Detroit. Chinese investment in the United States has created tens of thousands of jobs here, and the Innovation Center will work to bring more of those jobs to Michigan. According to Watkins, "Michigan has nearly 200 Chinese-owned firms that contribute over $3 billion in foreign direct investment." [Battle Creek Enquirer]

Please, don't go

Inteva Products, a Troy-based auto supplier, is creating 77 new jobs, and perhaps 50 more, through its $23 million investment in an Adrian, Mich. plant. The Michigan Strategic Fund awarded the $1.27 million grant to woo the company away from threats of relocation to neighboring Indiana. [Plastics News]

Towing the line in Troy

Another Troy-based auto company, Horizon Global Corp., is growing to become an $800 million global player with the purchase of Germany-based Westfalia Group. The companies are big in the world of towing and trailering products and accessories, designing, manufacturing, and distributing the auto-related products. [Dbusiness]

Success at Southfield's Nexcess

The Southfield-based data center and web hosting services company Nexcess celebrated the opening of two new facilities next to its Melrose Avenue headquarters. The growing company, which has hired 42 new employees over the past five years, is doubling its presence in the city, expanding from its 13,000 sq. ft. facility to over 26,000 sq. ft. [Crain's Detroit Business]

Recent RenCen news

Franco Publication Relations Group has hired a new account manager, marketing specialist, and assistant account executive, drawing the three new hires to its Renaissance Center offices. Franco was founded in 1964 in Detroit and is Michigan's oldest independent public relations firm, the company says.

Numbers game: $245,150 – the average salary of surgeons in Michigan, topping the list of 100 highest paid jobs in the state. Journalist and editor failed to crack the top 100. [ClickOnDetroit]