Bridging Israel And
Michigan
Conference brings Israeli and American automotive companies together.
Bill Carroll
Contributing Writer
T
he mid-90s temperatures
scorched the pavement of
Downtown Detroit, but the
weather made the representatives of 18
high-tech Israeli companies feel right
at home.
They were in town for the third
Michigan Israel Automotive Event
hosted by the Michigan Israel Business
Bridge (MIBB), a nonprofit organiza-
tion determined to match Michigan
automotive-related companies with
Israeli firms seeking to produce and
supply auto-related technologies to a
wider market.
The results will play out over the next
several months, but a power breakfast,
panel discussion and equipment expo
in June, centered around several days
of pre-arranged one-on-one meetings,
went a long way to help ensure success
of the event.
There were as many as 100 of these
sessions between the Israelis and repre-
sentatives of Michigan automotive orig-
inal equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
and suppliers.
New Jobs For Michigan
"Israel is a recognized world leader in
technology, and Michigan is the world
leader in the automotive business:' said
Pamela Lippitt, MIBB
executive director. "So
we brought the two
together to help cre-
ate opportunities for
growth for every com-
pany involved."
Chuck Newman of
Pamela Lippitt Ann Arbor, MIBB presi-
dent and co-founder,
added: "The event is part of our strategy
to accelerate the growth of innovation
and technology in the automotive sector
and create new jobs for Michigan?'
The innovative technology being
researched by the visiting Israeli com-
panies range from methods to help
people drive at night to helping parents
keep track of vehicles being driven by
their children.
14 July 5 • 2012
JN
The third Michigan Israel Automotive Event took place last month in Detroit.
Hannan Lis of Farmington Hills and Mike Finney, president and CEO of the Michigan
Economic Development Corp., took part in a panel discussion.
A panel moderated by WDIV
Channel 4 anchor Guy Gordon
included Mike Finney, president
and CEO of the Michigan Economic
Development Corp., Hannan Lis of
Farmington Hills, president of the
MIBB Educational Foundation and CEO
of Lis Ventures, and Uri Pachter, direc-
tor of International Projects & Target
Countries & Automotive Industry—
The Israel Export & International
Cooperation Institute.
One Stop Shop
Finney said "many large Michigan
companies are making a conscientious
effort to talk 'big' with Israeli compa-
nies?'
Pachter described MIBB as a "one-
stop shop for Israel companies?'
Most of the Israeli company represen-
tatives were upbeat over their contacts
with the OEMs and suppliers. Many of
them employ representatives who live
in the U.S., and work with American
firms full time.
-
Gil Litichever, president and CEO
of Israel's Arilou, which specializes in
filters, said, "Our sessions seemed to be
productive. All of our business is in the
U.S. It's great to be in this country and
to do business here?'
Dror De-Porto, vice president of
marketing and sales for Omen High
Pressure Die Casting, pointed out he
has attended all three of the MIBB con-
ferences "and this one is far better than
the other two. We're getting a lot done!'
Some of the American OEM and
supplier company reps declined to talk
about their discussions and preferred
to be unidentified.
An exception was Linda Kovan, man-
ufacturers' representative for the Kovan
Group Inc. of Novi, which handles vari-
ous automotive component parts.
"This is my first MIBB conference,
and I talked to all of the Israeli com-
pany representatives," she said. "I'm
sure this will lead to more sessions and
more business. I'm not only involved
here as a businesswoman, but I'm
also very passionate about Israel and
Technion, and I want the whole mis-
sion to succeed!'
Getting Things Started
MIBB was established in 2007 by
Newman, Jennifer Bloom, a Michigan
State University student, and Susan
Herman, director of the Lansing-based
Michigan Jewish Conference of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit. They simply wanted to hold an
expo showcasing Israeli business and
technology.
"I just enjoy getting things started,"
said Newman, who is founder and
chairman emeritus of ReCellular Inc.
of Ann Arbor, an industry leader in
refurbishing and selling old cell phones.
Also participating in the event were
Yariv Becher, consul for economic
affairs, Israel Economic Mission to
the U.S., and Detroit attorneys Beth
Gotthelf and Robyn Lederman, both
MIBB board members.
"I just want to remind everyone that
MIBB is here all year," said Lippitt.
"We're not just a Jewish organization;
we're a pro-business organization?"