ZF moving headquarters from Northville to Livonia

By David Veselenak, O&E Media

Add one more company moving its global headquarters to Livonia. This time, it’s a company that already has a strong presence in the city.

ZF North American, based in Northville, announced during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week it plans on moving east to Livonia. ZF Group bought the former Livonia-based TRW about a year ago for more than $12 billion.

The auto parts supplier, which focuses on drive line and chassis technology, as well as autonomous driving technologies, will move into the former TRW headquarters, 12001 Tech Center Dr., in Livonia.

The move will allow employees who work closely with others in similar divisions the opportunity to be closer to one another, said Bryan Johnson, head of corporate communications for ZF North America.

“We’re going to name the Livonia location the headquarters for the region for the global group,” said Johnson, a Canton resident. “It really provides us with the opportunity to bring certain areas of the business together.

“In Livonia, we already had a global operation, so we had a good infrastructure in place for that. And in Northville, it was more of a regional group.”

A transition team will evaluate needs over the next six months and it could take 18-24 months to completely transition from the Northville site to Livonia.

The Livonia office has about 1,200 employees, while the Northville office has about 400; both have employees coming from across the region. No new construction or building enhancements are expected to the current Livonia office to accommodate the move.

The Northville facility will continue to be used, mostly as a sales and engineering facility. The number of employees at each location is not expected to change immediately, though it could in the future with more hiring planned for the company.

“Once we can move out of the corporate people, we already have open positions,” Johnson said. “We’re hiring at both locations.”

The company is the latest in the past year to move its headquarters to Livonia. Taylor-based Masco Corp. announced last summer it would move its world headquarters to Livonia in a brand-new building at Schoolcraft College. That project broke ground in the fall and is expected to wrap up work sometime this year.

John Wilkerson, a senior communications manager with ZF TRW, said with the company being in Livonia since 1993, it has built a strong report with many local entities, including local government and education.

“We have a really good relationship with the school system in Livonia, with the city,” said Wilkerson, who said he formerly sat on the Livonia Chamber of Commerce board. “It’s been an excellent place to work. It has a great location in the metro area, very centrally located. It’s been a really good relationship and it’s something we certainly want to continue.”

dveselenak@hometownlife.com | 734-678-6728 Twitter: @DavidVeselenak

Free Seminar for Small Businesses at Wayne State University

Free seminar for small businesses: Government Contracting 101

Owners of small businesses are invited to join Wayne State University’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) for a free seminar about getting involved in the field of government contracting.

The federal government purchases more than $500 billion in goods and services each year, and the State of Michigan uses more than 1,000 multiyear contracts. Learn how to get in on the action by attending Government Contracting 101.

Participants will learn how to become successful contractors and what services and resources are available to help small businesses with the government market.

Opportunities within both federal and state programs will be covered in the three-hour session. 

Participants will learn how to:

·         Classify products and services

·         Apply for small business programs

·         Find opportunities in specific product areas

·         Identify different types of solicitations

·         Master the bid process

·         Register as a state vendor

·         Market products and services

·         Use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The seminar will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Jan. 27; March 23; May 18; and June 22 on the Wayne State campus in Suite 3101 of the Maccabees Building, 5057 Woodward Ave., Detroit, 48202.

PTAC is a grant-funded service providing eligible business clients with the marketing and technical assistance needed to sell goods and services to the federal government, particularly the Department of Defense. In the last year, Wayne State’s PTAC worked with more than 270 local companies who have obtained contracts worth more than $40 million.

This seminar is free but advance registration is required. Email PTAC Program Manager Abby Cheatham at a.l.cheatham@wayne.edu to reserve your seat, or call 313-577-0132 for details.

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Grand time to open expanded Livonia chamber office

We had an amazing turnout Dec. 17 to formally acknowledge the opening of our new office for the Livonia Chamber of Commerce.

Our staff and ambassadors have participated in hundreds of ribbon-cuttings and groundbreaking ceremonies to celebrate new and expanded businesses here in Livonia through the years, but it was strange to organize a grand opening for the Livonia Chamber.

We like to make each grand opening a unique celebration of the risk, work and determination of the business owner. But when it comes to a chamber of commerce, particularly in a community-minded place like Livonia, it is truly an acknowledgment of a healthy business community.

It was a good year-end occasion to acknowledge two significant accomplishments for the chamber in 2015. First, we surpassed 900 members for the first time in more than 20 years. This is a tribute to the resilience and growth of the business community in and around Livonia.

This growth enabled us to move into a nice facility at the Civic Center Office Plaza – with double the space – that allows us to better serve our members and promote the Livonia business community.

In an amazing coincidence, our new office was formerly occupied by the Brashear and Tangora law firm, co-founded by William Brashear, Livonia’s first city attorney and third mayor. He was one of the nine original members of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors when it first met in February 1950. This law firm is now known as Crieighton, McLean and Shea, the chamber’s longest-sustained member.

The Livonia Chamber’s first headquarters was in the Six Mile-Merriman area at the home of Eddie Edgar, a legendary sports writer and Livonia advocate. In the early 1960s, the chamber office moved to a location on Farmington Road, just north of Five Mile, which is currently occupied by a State Farm Insurance office.

For the past dozen years, the Livonia Chamber worked out of an office on the city’s Civic Center campus. It was a challenging time for the chamber when it moved into this space in 2003, so city leaders made affordable arrangements for the Livonia Chamber to re-organize, endure the economic downturn of the last decade, develop better ways to serve the business community and position our organization for the growth we’ve seen so far this decade.

Our move this fall into a bigger space enables us to provide a better clubhouse feel and meeting spaces for our members. Our 21-member board and staff are grateful for the continued support of our organization, which comes from so many people who are fully engaged in the unique community spirit that brings us all together here in Livonia.

Dan West is president and CEO of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at dwest@livonia.org.

DFCU Financial Launches Business Banking

At a variety of scheduled events with local chambers of commerce during the month of October, DFCU Financial formerly announced its the launch of Business Banking. Developed to service small businesses with annual revenues of $5 million or less and shaped in collaboration with Michigan entrepreneurs, DFCU Financial Business Banking offers simplified products, best-in-class technology, and financial education and guidance tailored to the specific needs of small business owners.  

“After listening carefully to Michigan small business owners over a nine-month period of focus meetings and extensive market research, DFCU Financial has developed a simplified, consultative approach to business banking to help our business members meet the unique needs of their firms,” said Mark Shobe, president and CEO, DFCU Financial. “Our Business Banking team is highly specialized, and our simplified portfolio of small business-centric products and educational resources offers support, guidance and convenience to small business owners statewide.”

DFCU Financial Business Banking minimizes transaction and loan turnaround times with best-in-class technology, offering a more personal approach than national banks. DFCU Financial’s consultative approach and local experts throughout the state of Michigan expedite loan decisions, and the organization’s online banking platform streamlines payment, payroll and transactional processes.

To better guide small business owners to the right products and services for their needs, DFCU Financial’s highly trained Business Banking experts are qualified to empower small business owners to use current and future financial assets to their advantage.

Educational guidance is available to small business owners and their employees through one-on-one consultations and ongoing educational seminars at branch locations across metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Lansing.

“The ‘DFCU DNA’ is truly ingrained in our Business Banking practice,” said Lesli Matukaitis, senior vice president, Corporate Banking, DFCU Financial. “We listened carefully to small business owners as we developed our solution and educational offerings, and remain committed to helping our clients take the guesswork out of important financial decisions, helping them attain short- and long-term financing.”

In January 2015, DFCU Financial paid a record-breaking $24 million CASH BACK loyalty reward to its members, the largest payout by any financial institution in Michigan. The largest individual payout was $18,000. Members adding Business Banking to their portfolios may be eligible to receive up to one-half percent (0.50%) CASH BACK on their average yearly business loans and deposit balances from the prior year.

About DFCU Financial

DFCU Financial issues to its clients the largest CASH BACK reward of all credit unions, with more than $181 million issued since 2006. A strong community partner, DFCU Financial continually reinvests in its membership with new branches and financial literacy education for all ages. DFCU Financial currently operates 25 full-service branches in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Lansing. For more information, call 888.336.2700 or visit dfcufinancial.com.

Livonia Chamber endorses Schoolcraft College millage

The Livonia Chamber of Commerce will support Schoolcraft College’s millage request that goes to area voters in November.

The Chamber’s Board of Directors voted to endorse the millage, concluding three months of research and analysis by Chamber leaders.  They concluded the added revenue is necessary to keep tuition affordable, while supporting current and new programs that connect students to in-demand jobs sought by local companies.

“There is a lot of value to the community to have access to lower-cost, higher education,” said Board Chairman-Elect Dan Laible, who is the CFO for Livonia manufacturer NYX Inc. “When you look at how Schoolcraft College stacks up to their peers, and the quality of service they provide to our business community, this is a worthwhile investment.”

Schoolcraft College, seeking its first millage increase since 1986, is asking voters on Nov. 3 for a 0.6-mill tax increase over a 10-year period. Schoolcraft President Dr. Conway Jeffress said the added tax capture would help the school add certificate and associate-degree programs for in-demand fields such as additive manufacturing and health care administration.  He added many capital improvements have been frozen in recent years, but Schoolcraft needs to update some of its aging buildings that date back to the college’s opening in 1962.

This millage election impacts voters in the Livonia, Plymouth-Canton, Northville, Clarenceville, and Garden City school districts. If approved, owners of a $200,000 home would pay about $60 more a year in property taxes.

Schoolcraft College serves some 30,000 students and reports 61% of its students graduate or transfer to a university, which is the best rate among community colleges in Michigan. The school has a record of efficiency, providing 263,804 credit hours on a $96.2 million budget in 2013-14, while neighboring Washtenaw Community College provided 250,506 hours for $115.9 million in the same year.

Like many Michigan municipalities, the college lost tax revenue since 2008 with plunging property values in the area, but Jeffress said the Schoolcraft Board of Trustees has limited annual tuition increases up to one percent more than the consumer’s price index (CPI).

“Since the business community stands to gain from this investment, this millage request shares added costs for new programs with the business community,” said Dan West, 

president and CEO of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce. “We believe this will enhance workforce development initiatives sought by our member businesses in recent years, which has emerged as a leading economic development issue for our region.”

The Livonia Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit trade organization that represents nearly 900 companies and community groups in and around Livonia, and advocates for the Livonia business community. In recent years, the Chamber has focused on promoting good career opportunities in high-demand skilled fields such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, electronics, and welding.