6 MiMfg Magazine March 2021
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What ’ s Happening
Work in Michigan Manufacturing
Michigan Office Furniture Manufacturers Capitalize on Remote Working
More and more manufacturing employees are getting their COVID-19 vaccination and things are starting to get back to normal . However , the now expanded concept of “ working from home ” seems to be here to stay for a while as many companies are re-examining traditional office policies .
Even before the pandemic , Michigan-based office furniture manufacturers Haworth Inc ., Herman Miller and Steelcase Inc . were already focusing more energy into the remote working space according to a recent article posted on mibiz . com . For instance , Ryan Anderson , Vice President of Global Research and Insights for Herman Miller , said the furniture maker has been creating home office solutions since the 1950s .
“ I think 2020 acted as a major catalyst toward where we already thought it was going ,” Anderson stated in the mibiz . com article . “ And from our standpoint , we had already developed a work from home offering — a dedicated e-com ( merce ) channel .”
Steelcase was in a similar situation in which they offered niche products for remote working as the COVID-19 pandemic truly energized plans for that particular product line .
“ We didn ’ t have a choice — consumers pulled us ,” said Rob Poel , Steelcase ’ s general manager of work from home and new business innovation . “ Orders just started spiking . We had a team in place at that time that was
focused on our online store and retail business . But it was sized appropriately for the market at that time .”
Haworth is also experiencing good e-commerce and remote work success . In addition to online activity , the company has harnessed its digital presence for more than just selling furniture . Haworth ’ s virtual speaker series , part of a content marketing approach , has topics ranging from resilience to engagement and inspiration .
Herman Miller was also inundated with consulting requests from businesses looking to refurbish or help develop remote working plans , so they started a digital tool to help assess the health of a person ’ s remote working setup . Since its launch , over 17,000 people have used the tool .
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Michigan-based office furniture manufacturers Haworth , Herman Miller and Steelcase focus on providing solutions to remote working space in the face of the pandemic .
Navitas Systems Bringing Jobs to Ann Arbor Region
The Ann Arbor area is receiving a major boost thanks to energy solutions company Navitas Systems , which is constructing a new facility for commercial battery manufacturing in Scio Township , near Ann Arbor . According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation , Navitas , headquartered in Ann Arbor , has both a 48,000- square-foot R & D , engineering and manufacturing center as well as a 100,000-square-foot lithium battery systems manufacturing center .
The new facility will house commercial battery manufacturing , additional engineering resources and battery cell production and office space . A total private investment of $ 3.36 million is expected for the area as well as the creation of 111 high-paying new jobs . Michigan was chosen over competing sites in Illinois and Pennsylvania . Navitas received a $ 750,000 performance-based grant from the Michigan Business