With the area’s largest enclosed mall and an extensive commercial strip Portage draws those born to shop. It also draws those born to bike. More than 60 linear trail miles for bikes, 800 acres of protected land open to the public and seven lakes offering water sports and fishing make Portage someplace people want to live. The network of parks and trails, used for walking, cycling and canoeing, demonstrate the priority the city places on balancing green spaces and work places. The city is home to the manufacturing headquarters of Pfizer, a world leader in biopharmaceuticals; Stryker, a medical technology leaders; and the U.S. Headquarters of Mann-Hummel, a major corporation in automotive components. Portage benefits from being close to Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and Kalamazoo Community College — all of which contribute to the city’s highly educated workforce. Restaurants and bars include the nationally recognized and local favorites. During the summer months cultural events are offered in venues in each of the city’s parks.
Portage-based Phadia, which specializes in developing tests for allergies, has received FDA permission to market four new autoimmune antibody assays, procedures used to diagnose antiphospholipid syndrome. Antiphospholipid syndrome causes blood […]
Newsweek says Portage Central and Portage Northern high schools are in the top 6 percent of all high schools in the nation.The Challenge Index is designed to honor schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests, Newsweek reports. There were 33 schools in Michigan to make the list.The ranking is based on the total number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate or Cambrdige tests give at a school each year divided by the number of seniors graduating in June. Schools also are ranked on what the listmakers call Equity and Excellence -- a percentage of all graduating seniors, including those who have never taken an AP course, who passed at least one AP test. The average Equity and Excellence rate in 2009 was 15.9 percent. At Central 45 percent passed at least one AP test and Northern 39 percent did so.Excerpt:Each year, Newsweek picks the best high schools in the country based on how hard school staffs work to challenge students with advanced-placement college-level courses and tests. Just over 1,600 schools — only 6 percent of all the public schools in the U.S. — made the list. Check out the profiles by clicking on the name of any school in the list.Source: Newsweek
Stryker Corps.' patient handling and emergency medical equipment building in Portage -- home of manufacturing and divisional headquarters office space -- has been recognized for the way it has reduced its impact on the environment. Since the building's construction in 2005, Stryker has reduced the facility's energy usage by 27 percent through implementing a building operations plan, an energy audit and a retro-commissioning plan. Improvements have included the re-use of pallets, diverting plastic from landfills and overall trash cost reduction.The company's efforts have resulted in LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council. Stryker has earned a silver designation in the LEED rating system for existing building operations and maintenance, the first manufacturer in Michigan to do so.The rating system under which Stryker's efforts were evaluated assesses whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, water efficiency, energy efficiency, sustainable purchasing, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs and ongoing indoor air quality. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, which provides a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.The LEED rating system for New Construction has similar goals that apply to newly built facilities. Stryker's manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China, has achieved a gold designation in the LEED rating system for new construction, one of only five facilities in China to achieve this rating. These certifications recognize Stryker's ongoing, company-wide efforts, many of which began in its European plants, to design and operate its facilities in a more sustainable and responsible manner.Stryker, one of the world's leading medical technology companies, provides innovative orthopedic implants as well as state-of-the-art medical and surgical equipment to help people lead more active and more satisfying lives. Writer: Kathy Jennings Source: Stryker Corp.
Stryker's Communications business unit and Acuitec have signed an agreement that will integrate both companies' technologies within the operating room.The move will provide customers with a comprehensive offering that combines in-room integration with desirable workflow solutions.Stryker's Infinity Control System allows staff within the operating room to route video, control multiple devices and PCs, and teleconference. The Acuitec software platform can be integrated with the SwitchPoint Infinity System to work seamlessly with hospitals' postacute care and electronic medical record systems to provide a comprehensive before-, during-, and post-surgery solution featuring patient tracking, electronic charting, remote presence monitoring, video boards, case status, and dashboards.The intuitive Acuitec software can also be accessed, managed, and routed to any display within the operating room through the Stryker SwitchPoint Infinity touch panel interface."The agreement with Acuitec will allow us to offer our customers the most innovative information systems available for hospitals today, creating greater efficiencies and enhanced care within the operating room," says Spencer Stiles, Stryker Communications General Manager. Stryker, with corporate headquarters in Portage, Mich., is one of the world's leading medical technology companies and is dedicated to helping healthcare professionals perform their jobs more efficiently while enhancing patient care. The company provides innovative orthopedic implants as well as state-of-the-art medical and surgical equipment to help people lead more active and more satisfying lives.Acuitec offers the only fully integrated, comprehensive workflow solution designed by critical care clinicians that features remote presence monitoring and situational awareness. The Acuitec product line is designed to enhance clinical outcomes, patient care, and safety while improving caregiver efficiency, regulatory compliance adherence, reimbursement, and overall business value.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Spencer Stiles, Stryker Communications
Funerals have entered the digital age. Writer Kim North Shine talks to the innovators behind the growing network of Life Story Funeral Homes that have modernized the memorial.
The construction business is going green. ChemLink, Advanced Architectural Products is leading the way. It was green before green was in demand.Founded 20 years ago, the privately held company has grown from a three-person operation to one with 45 employees, distributors and sales reps across the country.At a time when the U.S. construction industry has been down by 20 to 40 percent in some places, ChemLink has experienced sales growth of 20 percent in Michigan and 15 percent for its North American sales. Longtime employee Gail Nelson attributes much of that growth to the company's unique commitment to creating products that are safe for people and the environment.Equally important is that the sealants, adhesives and similar products the company develops and sells are strong and durable.ChemLink products are made with polyethers. That means they do not give off the toxins that harm the nervous system, kidneys and lungs of people who use them on a regular basis. Third party testing companies have certified the safety of ChemLink products."Contractors have told us for years they like the products because they work and they (the contractors) don't have to worry about being sick when they get old," Nelson says.And the company that prides itself on being contractor driven listens carefully when people in the business tell them what they need or how a product can be improved.At the heart of the operation is owner Phillip Georgeau, a chemist who turns out products one after the other in response to customers' requests. "We've become known as problem-solvers. That's why we've been able to do what we have done," Nelson says. She says in the early years the company did not tout the environmental soundness of its products because then the prevailing attitude was that if it was green it probably was inferior quality. Now manufacturers are coming to ChemLink to find out more about their product line. Some of the early days were lean. Georgeau worked in the lab to create the products he believed in as his wife, Betty, supported the family on her nurse's salary.The company was built with no grants, loans or outside help. "In many ways, the company has grown solely from the sacrifice of its owners," Nelson says.As the company grew it expanded into three locations, but after an exhaustive search, three years ago it moved under one roof in Schoolcraft. The 50,000-square-foot building houses state-of-the-art labs, offices, manufacturing operations and warehousing. Nelson says the company also is unique in its loyalty to employees. She cites ChemLink's continued coverage of employees' health insurance at a time when the cost has driven many employers to drop coverage. "They care about their employees," Nelson says.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Gail Nelson, ChemLink
Battery powered cars are steering growth at Mann+Hummel's Portage location, says Ronald J. Randall, chief operating officer."After going through a tough year, we're in a growth position at our Portage location," Randall says. Work the company does for General Motor's and Toyota has made the difference.Mann+Hummel USA Inc. makes injection-molded plastic parts for the automotive industry. Now it produces a frame to hold lithium-ion batteries that contains coolant. The frame keeps coolant transfer heat away from the batteries.The contract to manufacture modular battery frame assemblies for GM's Electric Vehicle, the Chevy Volt, is expected to generate 200 jobs over five years for Mann+Hummel.At the end of 2009, the company also finished consolidating its operations in South Bend and Portage, bringing about 50 employees from Indiana to its Michigan site. It was very important to the company, Randall says, to retain as many of the South Bend employees and their expertise as possible. There now are about 250 employees, including support staff, at the Portage operation and more will be added this year. The consolidation pushed the company to expand its product distribution and warehousing operation at Midlink Business Park in Comstock Township. Three to four employees could be added this year to the staff of 10 already in place at Midlink.Randall says Mann+Hummel's experience at Midlink has been a positive one. "It's been a great facility for us. It's in the perfect location -- right off the highway and two miles from our facility," Randall says. "They've been very flexible with us with our utilization of space." The business park added four loading docks to the four Mann+Hummel had been using, to better accommodate the company's need to get trucks in and out quickly. The Mann+Hummel Group currently employs 11,500 people at 41 locations worldwide. The company develops, produces and sells technically complex automotive components such as air filter systems, intake manifold systems, liquid filter systems and cabin filters for the automotive industry, and filter elements for vehicle servicing and repair. For general engineering, process engineering and industrial manufacturing sectors the company's product range includes industrial filters, filter systems, and materials handling systems and equipment.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Ronald J. Randall, Mann+Hummel
The large-tract housing developers encroaching on agricultural property outside Vicksburg won't be allowed to build on 906 acres owned by Robert and Regina Richardson. Property that has been in the family for seven generations will be preserved as farmland through a donation to the State of Michigan. To date, it is the largest donation of prime farmland development rights to the state.The donation, made through the state's permanent conservation easement program, keeps property from being used for residential development.The program allows the development rights for the property to go to the State of Michigan. In return, farmers get local and federal tax breaks. The land can be written off as a charitable donation to lower federal taxes. And local taxes go down because they are based on the property being used as farmland. Taxes are higher on land that can be developed as subdivisions or for other residential uses.To develop the property for residential use would require going to court to overturn the easement, says Elizabeth Juris, of the Michigan Department of Agriculture.The Richardson's farm is about 2.5 miles outside the Village of Vicksburg, where people are buying up 40 acre pieces of property and putting a house in the middle of it, Juris says. The state program is designed to head off such practices.The Richardson's 906 acres is 80 percent farmland used for wheat, soybeans and corn planted in rotation. The remaining 20 percent is wooded property along the Portage River and Portage Creek. The State of Michigan will publicly thank the Richardsons for their donation in a special ceremony April 30 at the farm, 16611 S. 24th St. Vicksburg.Writer: Kathy JenningsSource: Elizabeth Juris, Michigan Department of Agriculture
A former Paw Paw resident has found his niche as an entrepreneur in a sustainable agriculture business, reports the Courier-Leader.Alex Velez graduated from University of California at Berkeley in May of 2009. Right away, he and his business partner, Nikhil Arora, founded a 100 percent sustainable urban mushroom farm called BTTR (Back to the Roots, pronounced better). Excerpt:"It's not work when you're loving what you're doing," said Velez, who puts in more than 100 hours working seven days per week.BTTR grows gourmet oyster mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds, an idea that percolated for Velez and Arora in an ethics class at UC Berkeley.During the lecture, they learned mushrooms grow well in hard woods and that the main component of hard woods is cellulose. Similarly, coffee has a lot of cellulose."We started brainstorming," said Velez.According to Velez, getting the business under way took about six months of research. After successfully growing their first mushroom, they didn't waste any time."We went to Whole Foods with our mushroom in a little Ace Hardware bucket," he said.The story goes on to say the natural and organic food giant quickly recognized BTTR's potential. Three weeks later Velez and Arora received an e-mail from the Whole Foods President for Northern California Floral and Produce Department. January marked BTTR's first major delivery of oyster mushrooms to Whole Foods Northern California stores — totaling 30 stores in all. The story also reports BTTR has sold 7,500 pounds of mushrooms to date. Now Whole Foods is purchasing 500 pounds per week.To find out about the celebrity chefs who are using the oyster mushrooms in their cooking read the rest of the story.Source: Courier-Leader
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