LOCK IN TODAY AND RECEIVE A GUARANTEED RETURN OF A-mioto 5 1 )APY. Comerica is offering something that's certain to put a smile on your f ace—a guaranteed return on your money. In fact, now through April 30, 1996, you can: Lock in our special 5.75% APY • Receive an interest-bearing checking account, free of monthly maintenance fees until the year 2000. There are only two requirements. Invest $10,000 or more in a new Comerica Bank Time Deposit Account or IRA for nine months. And, if you don't already have one, open a Comerica Bank checking account with a minimum of $500. So stop by any Comerica enough food," he laughs. Key to battling the market challenge is increasing sales and assuring reliable service. Ultra- corn seems to faring well. In 1980, the company began with three employees. Today the staff num- bers 45. Since 1981, the partners have acquired more than 4,000 accounts, all businesses. Keeping apace with ever- changing trends in the field is vi- tal for companies like Ultracom. "It changes daily," Mr. Topper says. `By the time a product hits Robert Shubow During this time of economic uncertainty, it's nice to know that • PHONES page 53 Bank Mr. Shubow and Mr. Topper have a bird's-eye view of changes in the telephone industry. In only a few decades, phones have gone from mechanical to electrical to digital. More now than ever, com- puters and phones are one and the same. For instance, Ultracom dis- tributes Tetrad, manufactured in Israel. On the back side of each phone in this line is an interface plug for computer hook-up. A company — say, a carry-out restaurant — using Tetrad might connect its phones to a computer with a caller-identification pro- gram. When the phone rings, the The telephone industry "changes daily." — Harry Topper branch. Your time will be well spent. Guaranteed. For more information, call 1-800-292-1300. ComencA_ WE LISTEN.WE UNDERSTAND. WE MAKE ITWORIC Comerica Bank. Member FDIC. Annual Percentage Yield is based on a nine-monih Time Deposit Account (TDA). Penally for early withdrawal From Time Deposit Accounts. Special rate oiler available to new money deposits only. Minimum opening balances are S10.000 for Time Deposits and IRAs and S500 For checking accounts. Maximum deposit S500.000 in a single account. To qualify For this promotional oFfer. only regular and interest-bearing checking accounts are eligible. APY not applicable to renewing Time Deposits and IRAs. Other bonuses. coupons or special rates cannot be combined with the above oFfer. Consumer deposits only. Providing the Best Prices and Service in Oakland County! DAVID BIBER — 541-4133 • (810) 656-9500 Crestview Cadillac — please call Municipal Bonds Listing Receive Weekly Report system not only shows the cus- tomer's name on screen, but also his or her address and previous orders. Such features serve to make businesses more efficient, the partners say. As does video-con- ferencing. Mr. Shubow and Mr. Topper have witnessed the benefits and increasing popularity of video- conferencing over their years in business together. Enabling peo- ple far away to "meet" over a tele- vision screen cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the mid- 1980s. Hopping on a plane for a business meeting was still more cost-effective. But today, a video- conferencing unit starts at $10,000. "It saves a tremendous amount of time," Mr. Topper says. "Grant- ed, the airlines won't be happy about it." For Ultracom and similar con- cerns, the main challenge today is keeping profits up when prices are sliding downward. Mr. Shubow's $5,000 cell phone is a thing of the past. "Now, the supermarkets give them away for free if you buy Harry Topper the street, they're working on something new." And, quick repairs to existing technology are essential — espe- cially during an era when most establishments depend on phones, faxes, voice mail and computers to finish up jobs on deadline. "Without their phones," Mr. Topper says, "they'd be lost." ❑ Tauber Acquires Colorado Company JULIE EDGAR STAFF WRITER auber Enterprises of South- field has bought into the growing electronics market with its recent acquisition of a Colorado plastics injection- molding company. Early this month, the compa- ny, led by Joel Tauber, acquired Complex Tooling and Molding Inc., of Boulder, Colo. Tauber En- terprises is already the holding company of Key Ventures Inc., which manufactures injection- moldedplastic parts for the au- tomotive industry through Key Plastics in Plymouth. Complex Tooling and Molding also manufactures molded plas- tic components, but it supplies the electronics industry with ex- terior plastic casings for person- al computers; for example. Key Plastics supplies automotive manufacturers with interior and exterior door handles, radio faces, trim components and washer-flu- id bottles.