Hamtramck : Innovation & Job News

Ferndale is getting its first weekly newspaper this spring, and it can thank its open-minded culture that has made it welcoming to everyone from small business owners to a large section of the region's gay and lesbian population.

The Ferndale Review will begin printing editions (it's already online) in April, employing a staff of five people including established, professional journalists. The newspaper is opening in the inner-ring suburb because of its eclectic culture that values the arts and being truly business friendly.

"It's a model city of creativity and diversity," says John Ulaj, publisher of the Ferndale Review. "It reminds me of Brooklyn. It appeals to me. I like cities that cater to the youth and creatives. It's an environment that breeds talent."

Ulaj is a real-estate broker for his day job, but entered the newspaper publishing business three years ago when he took over what was then the Hamtramck Citizen. He revamped and rebranded the weekly newspaper as the Hamtramck Review, which now employs a staff of five people. He has doubled the paper's circulation since taking it over.

"The notion that papers are dead is not true," Ulaj says. "It's a figment of people's imaginations."

Ulaj says Hamtramck and Ferndale are similar communities. Both are urban suburbs with diverse populations of about 20,000 people apiece that value the arts and support small businesses. He says these sorts of communities are perfect for newspapers like his that focus on both hard news and entertainment. He would like to spread his style of newspapers to other southeast Oakland County communities, such as Pleasant Ridge and Royal Oak in the near future.

Source: John Ulaj, publisher of the Hamtramck Review and Ferndale Review
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Everyone knows how cool Hamtramck is these days, even Hollywood. But then again Tinsletown has known that for a while.

Excerpt:

Drew Barrymore is coming to Hamtramck to film a movie.

So what else is new?

Actually, Hollywood stars don’t make it to these parts very often, but they do come here. Major stars like Gene Hackman, Al Pacino and even Eminem have graced the streets of Hamtramck.

This city has a long history of Hollywood connections going back to the 1930s.

Read the rest of The Citizen story about Hamtramck’s long relationship with Hollywood here and how “Whip It!” is filming in Hamtown this week here.

Beep! Clank! Whirr! 

Let's get ready to rumble!

The Detroit Regional branch of the annual FIRST Robotics Competition will heat up from March 13 to 15 at Wayne State University. Thirty-two teams are registered from high schools all over southeast Michigan -- from Berkley to Hamtramck to Detroit to Pontiac to Dearborn.

California-based Autodesk began sponsoring the competition 17 years ago, not just for fun and games, but to attract teens to careers in engineering. The school teams are linked in with area corporations -- like Ford, Chrysler, GM and DTE Energy -- which puts the students in direct interaction with professional engineers.

Why go through the trouble? A steady decline in math and science score among US students coupled with a growing number of engineers retiring each year could spell a disaster for this country's math and science industries.

And FIRST appears to be working. A Brandeis University study proved that FIRST students were three times more likely than their peers to major in engineering.

This link takes you to the Detroit Regional site, where you can check out the team websites (Recommended: L'anse Creuse and Rochester Adams.). Later this month, 63 teams will compete in Ypsilanti in the Great Lakes Regional.

Regional winners will advance to the FIRST Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, being held April 17 to 19. Last year, four local schools -- Detroit Country Day, Lake Orion, Saginaw and Berkley -- made the trip down south.

Source: Autodesk
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

It's tempting to be cynical about efforts to promote transit in the region, after years and years of a strong regional transit system just. not. happening.

But there is real momentum these days, helped in part by exorbitant gas prices and the public's rising concern about global warming. Transportation Riders United (TRU) is the most vocal and visible advocate for mass transit in Southeastern Michigan, and is a credible source for information and analysis about government efforts to secure funding to develop it.

They recently updated their members and supporters with an overview of 2007 in regards to area transit efforts; here is a recap.

Transit czar John Hertel spent 2007 gathering information and talking with government officials and groups like TRU to create "a broad regional plan." 2008 will be spent refining that plan and garnering support for it.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study is making progress on the Detroit/Hamtramck/Highland Park front. Based on extensive information gathered, they have narrowed the number of routes being considered to three (Woodward, Woodward-Michigan Ave. and Woodward-Gratiot) and will announce their "preferred alternative" early this year. Funding comes next; TRU hopes this line will be a reality within five years.

SEMCOG continues efforts to develop two commuter rail lines: Detroit-Airport-Ann Arbor and Livingston-Washtenaw. These lines could be in motion within two years.

TRU is asking the public to fill out a brief survey to determine where the organization should focus its energies in the coming year -- let them know what you think.

Finally, their annual meeting is January 28. Hertel and other key people in the transit arena will be there. Visit TRU's website for more information.

Hopefully, 2008 will be a momentous one in the world of transit.

Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

X-OLOGY Magazine launched this past winter and just released its fourth issue. The quarterly publication of Automation Alley seeks "to promote new technologies that exist in Southeast Michigan, to promote the idea that there is more going on here than just automotive," says editor Jane Gleeson. "This area has been stuck in a rustbelt image, but we are well beyond that."

The current issue is themed "Green is Gold," and focuses on the greening of the automotive industry. Features include a profile of ArvinMeritor's chairman, president and CEO Chip McClure, profiles of several suppliers that are "greening"up their act like Cobasys, Electrojet and Borgwarner and an overview of alternative fuel technology under development by the Big Three.

The summer issue covered nanotechnology, the spring, alternative energy and the winter, life sciences. "Each issue features one spcific technology. Our coverage expands to Michigan -- you can't just focus on Southeast Michigan when you are focusing on an overall technology," says Gleeson. "But we focus on companies in Southeast Michigan."

The Winter 2008 issue will focus on engineering technology, a broad topic indeed, but Gleeson is focusing X-OLOGY's lens. "We're interviewing several engineering firms that are state-of-the-art in terms of product development," she says. "There are lots of companies adapting to what they see as a growing technology field."

Like engineering firms that are adapting to a new economy, Gleeson sees a few other common denominators between companies that have ridden out the economic downturn: willingness to partner, becoming saavy to the global nature of business and adaptability.

The publication has a circulation of 20,000 with an estimated 337,000 readers. It is mailed to businesses, universities and homes and is available for sale at Barnes and Noble.

X-OLOGY is published by Renaissance Media, which also publishes the Jewish News

Source: Jane Gleeson, X-OLOGY
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Adapt or die could be the motto of the Detroit International Auto Salon (DIAS), slated to open on October 25.

Rather that stand still and watch overseas competitors get a leg-up, local automotive suppliers are banding together under the auspices of the DIAS. DIAS is a one-stop auto parts market for OEM and Tier 1 and 2 suppliers, which will help them lower their total procurement costs by efficiently sourcing from Asia's most elite suppliers.

The Allen Park facility will also be available to host meetings between suppliers and manufacturers, be open to the public for wholesale or retail purchases and host forums. The first such forum will be held after the ribbon cutting ceremony on October 25, and will be an opportunity for the exchange of information between academics, industry, engineers and businesses.

The moderator will be Larry Fobes, director of the Institute for Organizational and Industrial Competitiveness at Wayne State University. The expert panel includes Ron Hesse of GlobalAutoIndustry.com, Michael Wiemann of the Salzburg Aluminum Group; Lung-Chou Huang of the Automotive Research and Testing Center; Zhang Jin, the Secretary-General of the Confederation of Chinese Metal Forming Industry and David C. Chang, the former chief scientist of General Motors Corporation.

The panel will be addressing worldwide automotive trends. By becoming a platform for these types of discussion, the DIAS seems poised to act as a salon in the true sense of the word.

The DAIS was created under the leadership of GlobalAutoIndustry.com and Asia Forging Supply Company. The forum is supported by Wayne County Economic Development and Airport Authority, the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership and the Michigan Chinese Academic Professional Association.

Registration and a full agenda are available here.

Source: Automation Alley
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Robert Half Technology commissioned an independent study of 1,400 IT executives across the nation to learn about hiring trends in the industry. Results reveal good news for Southeast Michigan, with 17% planning to hire and only 3% planning to reduce staff. This net gain of 14% is equal to the overall nationwide gain.

The West coast posted strongest numbers overall, with the Pacific Northwest poised to see a 23% net gain. While that may be unsurprising, this area leaves Rust Belt rivals like Cleveland (8% net increase) and Pittsburgh (7% net increase) in the dust. And Chicago? Sorry, Windy City, your number was just 12%.

Robert Half's local office, located in Southfield, currently has seven employees with plans to grow that number. "We are looking to expand," says Christine Lucy, the company's Michigan vice president. "We're not immune to that positive news either."

The news of growth did not surprise Lucy. "We feel we have a great knowledge base here in Southeast Michigan," she says. "This is one of the stronger regions for demand as well as talent." She cites research and development, finance and health care as strong-growth industries.

Founded in 1948, Robert Half is the world's largest specialized staffing firm, with over 100 offices across the world. The Technology Group was started in 1994.

Source: Christine Lucy, Robert Half Technology
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Ten foundations, including Ford and Kresge, have banded together to create a $100 million pot of funds intended to help transform Michigan's economy.

Excerpt:

"One hundred million is a lot of money on one hand," said Steve Hamp, former president of The Henry Ford and chairman of the initiative's new governing council. "But for the scale of what we're talking about, it's not a lot of money, considering the need."

That more than 60 percent of the funding is coming from outside Michigan underscores a stark consensus that the state's economic troubles are so bad they're worthy of major league philanthropy -- or, put another way, we're so bad that it's good.

"We are not done building the ship we are about to launch," said Hamp, adding that much of the fund will be aimed at efforts to create "high-wage, high-knowledge" jobs in the service sector. "We know Michigan needs to catch up in this area and that we are lagging."

Read the entire article here.

The Michigan Energy Fair attracted 3,000 visitors to Manistee to learn about alternative energy initiatives in the state. This comes at a time when a bill has been introduced to the State House to create Renewable Portfolio Standards for Michigan, a critical step in the development of the alternative energy industry in the state.

Excerpt:

Renewable resources, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power are all sources of clean energy — fuel that causes much less harm to the environment. Along with being environmentally-friendly, another benefit is that they are home-grown.

Currently, Michigan must import nearly all of its energy — 100 percent of the coal and uranium, 96 percent of the oil, and 75 percent of all natural gas, according to state agencies. By investing in renewable energy produced within the state, the government would be investing in Michigan, say proponents.

The home grown source is important in another regard, as well. According to Environment Michigan and the Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Michigan ranks second in the Great Lakes region for wind energy potential and 14^th in the United States. If fully harnessed, wind energy could create over 50,000 manufacturing jobs in the state of Michigan.

Read the entire report here.