Businesses

High-tech businesses are nothing new in the city of Southfield, but nowhere is technology, fueled by artificial intelligence, more advanced than at the North American headquarters of Sapphire Stream Technology Corporation, located in the Southfield Town Center.

Sapphire is a multi-faceted company providing a variety of industries with intelligent operating systems, products and services. At the forefront is the company’s focus on the automotive/mobility industry, offering the most advanced design and engineering products and services, including smart interior displays (cockpits) and intelligent operating systems.

A new paradigm

A key differentiator is Sapphire’s ability to accomplish this with localized customer support that aligns with today’s reshoring efforts.

To this end, says Michael Darrow, Sapphire Vice President of Business Development, “Our goal is to grow the company with Michigan resources comprising our core business and partnership ecosystems.”

According to Darrow, Sapphire was established to align with the strategic direction of many OEMs who no longer do business offshore. “We give OEMs the opportunity to work with us directly, without having to deal with issues such as software ban proposals or tariffs.”

The ultimate plan, he says, is to fill Sapphire’s entire core business with talent from Michigan. This includes software developers, software engineers and other resources.

AI advancements

Having watched its growth for nearly a decade, Darrow knows AI, and he’s helping lead the way in AI technology in the automotive/mobility sector.

“Today’s version of AI, known as generative AI, is modeled after a human brain,” he says. “Current AI platforms can learn and think on their own. Unlike earlier AI models that had to be taught, gen AI generates its own knowledge to create new, original content and makes its own decisions.

“In the cockpit, for example, the cameras around the vehicle that transfer images to your car’s cockpit display now have AI built into them. They don’t need separate ultrasonic sensors to notify you of any obstacles,” notes Darrow.

Although Sapphire has opportunities in other industries such as construction and mining, Darrow says the most potential for growth is in the automotive/mobility sector.

“Our goal is to integrate our technology seamlessly into automotive/mobility,” he says. For OEMs this means helping to meet their strategic direction. For drivers and passengers, it means making things smarter, more intuitive and safer.

The next frontier

If much of this technology sounds futuristic, Darrow says the company has its eye on even more advanced AI tech within the eVTOL, or electric vertical takeoff and landing transportation, market.

“A lot of the OEMs are partnering with aviation companies. There’s regulation carry-over in manufacturing because these eVTOLs are like cars with propellers.,” he says. “We’re looking to expand into this next frontier in transportation.”

Southfield City Centre Advisory Board represents the businesses and institutions located in the City Centre. Together they work to promote the economic vitality and quality of life in the city. They also contribute individually through charitable works. “It’s important to the company as a whole to give back to the community that gives so much to us,” explains Brooke McNemar of Etkin Real Estate Solutions. Etkin, owner of Evergreen Atrium and Franklin Center, among other properties, supports Michigan Animal Rescue League, American Diabetes Association, Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation, Lighthouse, Brilliant Detroit, Zekelman Holocaust Center, Robert A. Schuele Scholarship, and Alzheimer’s Association-Michigan chapter.

Town Center hosts a major, annual fundraising event for the Michigan chapter of Gift of Adoption, a national organization that helps families cover the costs of adopting a child. “Our funding supports the birth mother and legal fees predominately for domestic adoptions but also international adoptions,” says Clarence Gleeson, senior vice president at Transwestern, the management agent for the building. More than 100 Michigan families received assistance last year.

Dürr Systems, a global mechanical and plant engineering firm, has its North American headquarters in the City Centre. The company contributes donations and  volunteer time to United Way for Southeastern Michigan and Forgotten Harvest. Employee teams participate in Mayor Kenson J. Siver’s annual Big Rake, providing fall lawn maintenance for seniors and residents with disabilities. When the Engineering Society of Detroit hosts its Future City competition for middle-school students, Dürr employees volunteer as team mentors and competition judges. The company also supports LTU’s annual designing, building and racing of a small formula-style racing car and offers free robot path trainings to LTU students in their Training Center.

Friends of Southfield Public Arts, the nonprofit organization that supports the goals of Southfield Public Arts Commission, assists with art acquisitions, such as the sculpture that lines the Southfield City Centre Trail, and exhibitions of local artists’ work on display each quarter in the main lobby at City Hall.

LTU donates a range of courses and professional-development opportunities that benefit Southfield high school students and high school and middle school teachers. Most significant is the $85,000, four-year Blue Devil Southfield Scholarship for Southfield high school graduates. LTU students also volunteer for the Big Rake, snow shoveling and working the polls on Election Day. “Southfield is a shining example of the Town and Gown relationship,” says Lisa Kujawa, VP for enrollment management at LTU. “How we come together shows how we – the university and the city – value one another.”

City of Southfield Planning Department and Lawrence Technological University (LTU) teamed up this summer to offer metro Detroit high school students an introduction to landscape architecture. The three-day camp welcomed students from seven area high schools, most of whom admitted at the start they knew little about the field. Yet, come the conclusion, their perspectives had changed dramatically. “I was surprised how broad the scope of landscape architecture is,” explained Rachael Andree, a student at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. “It’s basically everything that’s not buildings.”

Students were instantly immersed in the practice of landscape architecture with a charge to create a teen park at Carpenter Lake Nature Preserve off 10 Mile Road in Southfield. This involved analyzing the site, including assessing opportunities and constraints; developing a schematic design to illustrate the concept or “big idea;” and creating a design development plan necessary for construction. The goal? To enhance community wellbeing and environmental sustainability.

Overall, the camp aimed to advance diversity, equity and inclusion within the landscape architecture field. It was sponsored by the Michigan chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Southfield City Centre. Professionals from area firms eagerly participated, including Bob Ford, Landscape Architects & Planners; Mark Hieber, HED; Joane Slusky, Juno Solutions; Kyle Verseman, Landscape Forms; Chad Brintnall, Lauren Leighty and Tom Mroz all of SmithGroup; Architect Beverly Hannah Jones, Artist Hubert Massey, and Delores Flagg, chair of Southfield Arts Commission. Leading the effort were members of Southfield’s Planning Department: Terry Croad, director of planning; Souzan Hanna, sustainability planner; and Sarah Mulally, assistant city planner.

For the students, it was learning by exposure. Instructors facilitated walking tours of LTU, Southfield City Centre and downtown Detroit. In Detroit, students were exposed to examples of large-scale landscape architecture projects, including Detroit RiverWalk and Capitol Park. These designs “gave me inspiration for our presentation boards and widened my scope, my perception of landscape architecture,” said Jacob Akinbode, a student at University High School.

Students were divided into two teams and told to come up with a name for their landscape design firm. Then, on the final day, each team pitched its design to several instructors who served as their client audience. “I was surprised how much time and effort it takes to make a park,” concluded Katelyn Fletcher, a student at South Lyon High School. “Everything is thought out and designed.”

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is offering a grant opportunity to specific businesses hardest hit by the recent closures. The application period for small businesses seeking grants will begin on Tuesday, December 15.

The Pure Michigan Small Business Relief Initiative is intended to meet the urgent need of Michigan businesses including restaurants and bars, lodging providers, live event venues and movie theaters, conference and meeting facilities, indoor recreation facilities, and gyms and fitness centers. The grants under the program will support those businesses facing drastic reductions in cash flow and the continued support of their workforce and may be used for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, or utility expenses.

The program will provide a total of $10 million for the state to one or more qualified grant administrators, who will administer and allocate grants of up to $15,000 each to eligible businesses around the state. Funds will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis.

To qualify for grant support, businesses must meet a number of criteria, including but not limited to:

• Being a business in one of the targeted industries;
• Identifying a need for payroll, rent, or mortgage payments, and/or utility expenses necessary to continue or restart business operations;
• Having at least two employees (including the owner) but fewer than 50;
• Additional eligibility requirements can be found on Michiganbusiness.org/relief

When Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei came together in 2019 under the new name Marelli, they brought together 62,000 employees around the globe to form one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. And Marelli has chosen the Southfield City Centre for its new North American headquarters.

For its new home, the company has selected 26555 Northwestern Highway, the former Federal-Mogul building. In 225,000 square feet of the three-story building that sits on the corner of Lahser Road and the Lodge Freeway, Marelli will create workspace for 450 employees with room to grow, says Lisa Van Giesen, head of marketing and communications, North America, for Marelli Holding USA LLC.

Separately, Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei each had a presence in southeast Michigan and were looking for a location to bring together several hundred employees under one roof. It’s not an easy task to find the perfect building that blends ample space and convenience of location, but it’s an important step forward for the company, says Van Giesen. The move will relocate employees from three locations in Auburn Hills and Farmington Hills.

“Having everyone under one roof will go a long way in terms of integration, will drive collaboration and cohesiveness, and it’s great for morale,” Van Giesen says.

The current plan is for employees to begin to move in mid-February 2021, and move-in will be complete by spring, 2021. Prior to this, the building will undergo extensive renovation which will change the iconic midcentury exterior of the building. “We want to bring the building up to date with a look that is more current and will take us into the future,” Van Giesen says.

Interior renovations will provide amenities that some employees don’t currently have in their workplaces, including a cafeteria, fitness room and indoor and outdoor meeting spaces. About 100,000 square feet will be used for R&D activities for several automotive business units, and there will be conference rooms and an auditorium for larger gatherings.

“We are really happy to be able to move in and preserve certain elements of the building, paying homage to its architectural history, but also making it our own, branding it with the Marelli name and having it be our home for the foreseeable future,” Van Giesen says.

The Southfield City Centre location, with easy access to major freeways, is an attractive feature of the new Marelli building.

“While it’s important for us to be in close proximity to our automotive clients, it’s just as important to ease the transition for our employees,” said Gene Spektor, Marelli’s senior vice president of sales and business development North America, in a statement about the move. “Our new location will have minimal impact on the average commute, and will provide employees with a modern, open and collaborative work environment.”

To that end, Van Giesen has developed an internal communications campaign to provide information to employees about the building, its amenities and its wider surroundings to better acquaint everyone with Southfield and the Southfield City Centre. “This is a great introduction for our employees to Southfield. Many won’t be familiar with it and one of the goals of our campaign is to make employees feel at home when we move in,” she says.

While the move may be incremental due to the continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Van Giesen plans to conduct tours to give employees a sneak peek as to how the space will look once renovation is complete.

With the goal of soon becoming official members of the Southfield business community, Marelli is excited to bring commerce to the already bustling business center corridor. “We plan to plant roots here, and are looking at ways to get involved with the city to provide support. In fact, Gene Spektor was recently sworn in as a City Centre Advisory Board Member,” Van Giesen says.

The Southfield City Centre extends a warm welcome, and excitement about sharing its summer concert and food truck series known as Eat To The Beat, the business-focused Southfield CommUNITY Cup Challenge as well as other community-building events that take place here.

“We are looking forward to welcoming Marelli employees to the Southfield City Centre and introducing Marelli employees to all the great and convenient amenities here,” says Rochelle Freeman, business and economic development director with the City of Southfield. “We hope they enjoy the newly expanded Southfield City Centre trail network and bike-share system and take full advantage of walking and biking opportunities to get out into the community to see what is here.”

The Michigan Small Business Restart Program application will be live starting Wednesday, July 15 at michiganbusiness.org/restart and run through Wednesday, August 5. Funds can be used as working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses or other similar expenses.

To qualify for grant support, businesses must meet the following criteria, based on statutory requirements for the program:

• Is a business or nonprofit that can demonstrate it is affected by the COVID-19 emergency
• Needs working capital to support eligible expenses
• Demonstrates an income loss as result of the COVID-19 emergency
• Has not received a grant through the Michigan Strategic Fund’s Michigan Small Business Relief Program. Businesses who have received support through other COVID-19 relief programs, including the Michigan Small Business Relief Program loans, are eligible to apply for Restart grants.

Additionally, at least 30 percent of the funds awarded under the program must be provided to women-owned, minority-owned or veteran-owned eligible businesses. The MEDC anticipates that more than 5,000 businesses across the state will benefit from this program.

Read more at MichiganBusiness.org

When Nezar Akeel officially became an entrepreneur, he had what many fellow entrepreneurs didn’t have. He had age and experience. A lot of experience.

At 52, Akeel has the solid foundation of a well-established corporate career in engineering management. This experience gave him the chance to test out new ideas and concepts much like an entrepreneur would. “I was responsible for new ventures and new relationships within an often global setting, which helped a lot,” says Akeel. “So I’m not the typical young kid working on an idea with nothing to lose.”

His career experience contributed to his success as he launched MAXPRO, an all-in-one smart gym system that is topping best-of lists. In October 2019, MAXPRO won the “Best of Innovation” award for health and fitness for CES 2020, and Akeel received the award in Las Vegas in January 2020.

The decision to connect with the Southfield City Centre-based Centrepolis Accelerator was highly beneficial to getting MAXPRO to market, Akeel says.

As a small manufacturer and hardware entrepreneur organization, the Centrepolis Accelerator is a perfect fit for Akeel’s MAXPRO, which is a manufactured product with smart connectivity. Akeel felt this match from the first time he connected with Centrepolis Accelerator director Dan Radomski.

“We met at a Centrepolis Accelerator hardware development seminar in Detroit, and Dan understood the concept right away. I went to an additional workshop on lean design where I connected with other entrepreneurs and saw the support infrastructure and services that are available for entrepreneurs who are past idea phase,” says Akeel. “It was really the beginning of me connecting with the Southeast Michigan entrepreneurial world.”

As he was being mentored by younger entrepreneurs, Akeel recognized how much he could learn through these connections, including techniques for leveraging funding.

“The Centrepolis Accelerator helped me write a grant to the Business Accelerator Fund at Michigan Small Business Development Center, which has a high-tech grant and my product qualified,” Akeel says. “I ended up getting $25,000 in support just at the right time in the development process.” Centrepolis Accelerator connected Akeel to other resources, including crowdfunding, legal services, design, development and supply sources.

Throughout the process, Akeel has participated in multiple pitch competitions and match meetings and has learned the art of describing the value of his product for the investor audience. These experiences have resulted in financial support and ongoing conversations.

With his engineering background, Akeel says the ease of speaking a “common language” was a welcome benefit of working with the Centrepolis Accelerator. The rich manufacturing knowledge available at and through the Centrepolis Accelerator meant Akeel didn’t need to spend a lot of time explaining what his product does and how it fit into the connected hardware marketplace.

“My product really was a perfect fit for them,” he says, adding that the Michigan manufacturing ecosystem is a highly suitable place to develop a manufactured product. “In Metro Detroit and in Michigan in general, we have an established infrastructure for hardware and electronics.”

Because MAXPRO is a manufactured hardware product that intersects with the internet-of-things space, the fit was seamless, from both a development and connection perspective.

“The Centrepolis Accelerator was accessible and made themselves known,” Akeel says. “I plugged in and made time to attend their seminars, and that’s all a part of the entrepreneurial initiative.”