Latest News & Blogs

For The Right Place, Inc.’s July session of its new Navigate 2020 webinar series, Sonja Johnson, Executive Director of the GVSU Van Andel Global Trade Center gave a brief overview of the current state of global trade.

In its 16th annual ranking, Business Facilities' 2020 Metro Rankings Report named Grand Rapids, Mich. as the No.2 Best Business Climate in the country among mid-sized metros.

Another round of funding for emergency small business relief has become available from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Over $9.5M in grant funding has been allocated to The Right Place to support eligible West Michigan businesses.

Today, The Right Place, Inc., in collaboration with the City of Walker, announced that Chicago-based General Truck Parts & Equipment will open its first operation in Michigan. The company will be located at 2686 3 Mile Road in Walker. In addition, the new operation will bring 7-10 new jobs to the area in the next three years and invest over $500,000 to launch the new operation.

The Right Place, Inc. hosted the second session of its new Navigate 2020 webinar series in mid-June. The webinar featured IHS Markit Executive Director for Automotive Advisory Services, Michael Robinet, who provided a deep dive into the new structures driving post-COVID automotive supplier strategy.

Five local entrepreneurs pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges and an audience of over 50 people at the second annual Pitch North competition. They were competing for the chance to win over $9,000 in cash prizes to bring their ideas to life. The event was held Wednesday, June 24^th via ZOOM.

Lacking a clear road map for getting back to prosperity after a global pandemic is daunting, especially in geographic areas where peer business groups like this simply do not exist. Our ‘small but mighty’ rural team at The Right Place identified this gap in the communities where we live and work, which was the spark that inspired our recent ‘Re-Engaging The Rural Economy’ virtual round-table series.

In The Right Place’s role as the regional economic development organization, we often talk about what makes this community the ‘right place’ for businesses to grow and create jobs. Without a doubt, there are many reasons to live and do business in West Michigan - which tends to make these conversations straightforward. However, as the events of these past several days have brought to light, there are also painful realities being experienced by our communities of color that we must address.

The Kent County Department of Public Works today announced it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for an anchor tenant at the future Sustainable Business Park, which is planned for 250 acres adjacent to the South Kent Landfill in Byron Center, Michigan.

Chief Executive's annual "Best and Worst States for Business" survey, now in its 16th year, is a collection of opinions gathered from CEOs on which states are the most -- and least -- business friendly in the U.S.