Crain's Detroit Business - 25th Anniversary Issue, May 3, 2010 - (Page E11)

May 3, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page E11 25 Companies to Watch: Green/Energy Vig banks on green building for growth J.S. Vig Construction Co. Location: Taylor Local employees: 17 2009 revenue: $25.6 million Founded: 1965 CEO and founder: Joe Vig Jr. 25 Mainstays Bedrock businesses of Southeast Michigan Why it’s one to watch Adaptable. Carved out a niche in “green” construction. hen Joseph S. Vig founded J.S. Vig Construction Co. in 1965, the term “green building” likely referred to a building’s color. But while J.S. Vig has grown through traditional construction services, the company is looking to green construction as a key to its future growth. Joseph’s family is also part of that growth. After he died in 1997, the company was passed on to his children, Valerie and Joe Jr. Valerie carries the title of president, and Joe is CEO. Both are equal owners. W WILLIAM JORDAN J.S. Vig Construction CEO Joe Vig Jr. (center) is flanked by Vice President Dennis Levko and President Valerie Vig at the firm’s Project Green office in Ann Arbor. The Taylor-based company has 17 employees, according to Crain’s Largest Contractors List, with 2009 revenue of $25.6 million. In addition to a more diversi- fied client base, the company has embarked on a plan to be an expert in green construction. It also has gone after the niche of retrofitting older buildings to be more energy efficient. J.S. Vig built a green demonstration center in Ann Arbor, giving potential clients the chance to see 40 elements of green construction on display. The 1,100-squarefoot space is part of Project Green, a new division of the company driven by Joe, a Crain’s 40 Under 40 honoree in 2002. Most important, Vig has done enough homework to tell clients how much money they can save with more efficient materials. The company has extensive reports showing exact cost savings. Green construction and design are part of an overhaul the company underwent as the local economy slowed. Vig has focused on diversifying its book of business to include a geographic range outside of metro Detroit, such as work in Texas in 2008. It also has charged aggressively into sectors such as retail, education, laboratory and recreation. — Daniel Duggan Domino’s Pizza Inc., Ann Arbor Founder Tom Monaghan sold the pizzadelivery chain in 1998 to Bain Capital, which subsequently took it public. But it still retains its Ann Arbor headquarters and recently relaunched a new crust recipe it promoted with an edgy advertising campaign that highlighted previous customer complaints about product quality. Energy Conversion Devices Inc., Troy The company, founded in 1964 by inventor Stanford Ovshinsky, symbolizes all the promise and setbacks of emerging technology. Ovshinsky, who retired from the company in 2007, holds about 400 patents, but company profits have been rare. The publicly traded firm’s current work focuses on battery and solar technology. Hantz sees Detroit as an urban farming showplace Hantz Farms Location: Detroit Local employees: 2 Founded: 2009 Founder and CEO: John Hantz GE center brings jobs, innovation focus to state GE Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center Location: Van Buren Township Local employees: Working toward nearly 1,100 by 2013 Site leader: Vic Bhagat, chief information officer for GE information services ware to support GE’s business operations for several technologies, such as “smart grid” technologies to improve electricity systems. The site also will be a training hub for GE IT professionals. There also will be a research and development facility that will house scientists and engineers who will develop technologies for GE’s renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine and other high-technology products. Why it’s one to watch If successful, will create a new economic model in Detroit. rban farms and gardens are hardly a new phenomenon in Detroit, but the idea that an urban farm could productively reuse derelict property and turn a profit is new to the mix. Last spring, financier John Hantz announced a large-scale commercial farming venture, the first of its kind. A year later, the farm is closer to reality. Hantz’s vision is a 5,000acre farm, and he’s prepared to spend $30 million over the next 10 years. The first step is a Hantz 77-acre noncontiguous farm. It’s a two-pronged plan. Hantz thinks there’s money to be made in farming, but the financier has a set of altruistic goals: to occupy some of Detroit’s massive inventory of vacant land in a productive way and become a linchpin for further development. Hantz also hopes that taking large tracts of land out of the vacant-property inventory will create scarcity, making the remaining land more valuable. “Plans are proceeding, we’re U making headway,” Hantz said. “We’ve got 90 percent complete, but not the last 10 percent.” One outstanding issue is the tax rate for commercial property. At 82.97 mills, Detroit has the highest commercial millage rate in Southeast Michigan. Across the state, property zoned for agriculture is taxed at a lower rate. That kind of change would have to be made by the Legislature, but without it, a commercial farm is a no-go, Hantz said. Detroit’s City Planning Commission, an advisory body to the Detroit City Council, recently produced a draft study that examines creation of urban agricultural zoning and acknowledges the need for an agricultural tax rate. Detroit is poised to become the epicenter of the business of urban agriculture, Hantz said, and his farm will be an educational model and a commercial enterprise. “We definitely have commitments from most all of the major indoor growing systems to demonstrate in Detroit and get this one-stop shopping site for urban agriculture,” Hantz said. He envisions a showplace with the technical education components of Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla. “Instead of bouncing around the country or the world, people will be able to come to Detroit and see it,” Hantz said. “I want it to be this demonstration site, but all around food. I want people to see the advanced technology around future growing systems and make sure everybody doesn’t just see it as, ‘Oh, look, there’s six tomato plants out there.’” — Nancy Kaffer General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights GDLS was formed in 1982 when parent General Dynamics acquired Chrysler Corp.’s defense operations. In March 2003, the company acquired General Motors’ defense operations and combined into land systems. Since World War II, GDLS and its predecessors have produced more than 63,000 tanks and combat vehicles. Why it’s one to watch New large employer in important industries. General Electric Co. hightech center portends more for Michigan than the nearly 1,100 jobs it will bring. The advanced manufacturing and software technology center — which will focus on information technology and the development of next-generation manufacturing technologies for GE industries, such as energy and aviation — could help position Michigan into a center of innovation. “We’re getting into tomorrow’s solutions,” said Vic Bhagat, chief information officer for GE corporate information services and site leader for the center. “Why can’t we say that great ideas are brewed in Michigan? That’s how we are approaching this thing.” The center, announced in June 2009 and launched in the Visteon Village campus in Van Buren Township last fall, will house the largest concentration of GE information technology professionals worldwide. They’ll work in areas such as software development, data architecture, networking, business intelligence and program management. The IT workers will develop soft- A Why can’t we say that great ideas are brewed in Michigan? Vic Bhagat, General Electric Co. The company expects to hire more than 400 people this year and as of late April had hired more than 200. By 2013, GE expects to have 1,100 employees at the center, as many as 90 percent of whom will be in IT areas and 10 percent to 15 percent in research, Bhagat said. The company expects to add an additional 200 jobs elsewhere in Michigan. GE expects to hire about 90 percent of its new employees from instate, drawing on a pool of talent and experience that Bhagat said was “one of the main reasons we came to Michigan.” — Amy Lane Guardian Industries Corp., Auburn Hills Bill Davidson, who built the small family company into an international powerhouse, died last year, but the company remains majorityowned by Davidson family members. (For more on Davidson, see Page E40.) More Mainstays on E9, E13, E15, E19 and E20 

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - 25th Anniversary Issue, May 3, 2010

Crain's Detroit Business 25th Anniversary
Looking Forward
25 Companies to Watch
25 Mainstays
25 People Then and Now
25 Scandals and Dubious Deeds.
25 Philanthropic Gifts
25 Newsmakers of the Year
25 Big Stories
25 Innovations
25 Gone But Not Forgotten
Health Care
Defense
Suppliers
The Internet and Communication
Energy
Finance
Signs of the Times

Crain's Detroit Business - 25th Anniversary Issue, May 3, 2010

https://www.nxtbookmedia.com