Awards and Certifications From May 9
Strategic Staffing Solutions Named To Top 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Led Companies: Strategic Staffing Solutions, the Detroit-based global information technology and business services company, has been ranked by the Women's Presidents' Organization as the 38th Fastest Growing Women-Led Company in the U.S. and Canada. This marks the fourth year the organization has issued its rankings and S3 has made the list each year. S3 has posted consecutive annual revenue growth since the company opened in 1990 and achieved $205 million in revenue in 2010. The company has 23 branch locations in the U.S. and Europe with more than 1,800 team members. The Women Presidents' Organization, in partnership with American Express Open, ranked companies by a sales growth formula that combined percentage and total growth. In order to be eligible for ranking, companies were required to be woman-owned/led, privately held companies in the U.S. or Canada and to have reached revenue of at least $500,000 by the first week of 2006 and $2 million in 2010. S3 is one of Michigan's largest women-owned companies with an unmarked growth record that has recently garnered the company several other recognitions, including the #3 women-owned business in Michigan by DiversityBusniess.com in 2008, 2009 and 2010. S3 is also ranked the 7th Largest Diversity Staffing Company in the U.S. by Staffing Industry Report.
Pfizer on top 10 pharma workplaces list: Pfizer Inc. came in at No. 10 on a list of "Best Places to Work" among large employers in the life sciences industry by The Scientist, the magazine of the life sciences. Epizyme, an epigenetics research company based in Cambridge, Mass., placed 1st overall and among small companies, followed by Conversant Bio in Huntsville, Ala. and Aldevron in Fargo, N.D. DuPont in Wilmington, Del. was tops among large companies, followed by Pioneer Hi-Bred in Johnston, Iowa and Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis, Ind., a subsidiary of Midland-based Dow Chemical. Pfizer has shut down its human disease research in Michigan, but the New York-based pharma giant has spent around $150 million since 2005 to make Kalamazoo County its global center of research for its fast-growing veterinary products division. The division has 2,100 acres in Richland Township and a 500,000-square-foot lab in downtown Kalamazoo; all told, about 700 employees in the division. The full article with detailed survey results can be found in the May issue of The Scientist and is available online at www.the-scientist.com/bptw.
Verizon Stores In Detroit, GR Go Green: A Verizon Wireless Communications Store in Grand Rapids and two in Metro Detroit are three of 85 Verizon Wireless retail stores nationwide to be awarded the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star certification. The stores -- at 2605 E. Beltline Ave. in Grand Rapids, 26401 Harper Ave. in St. Clair Shores and 28117 Telegraph Road in Southfield -- use Energy Star certified equipment, including energy efficient lighting and light-emitting diode exit signs. It also has motion sensors to activate lighting in portions of the store that are not in constant use, such as the storage rooms and back offices. Additional energy- saving initiatives include insulating water heaters and piping and properly sealing the entire building structure and entry doors to prevent the loss of heated or cooled air. Verizon Wireless Energy Star-certified stores across the country are 10 percent more energy efficient on average than non-certified stores. In total, Verizon Wireless Energy Star-certified stores save more than 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually – the equivalent to the emissions from 432 passenger vehicles or from 267 homes in one year. For additional information about Verizon Wireless' Green Initiatives and to view a complete list of Energy Star certified stores, visit http://aboutus.vzw.com/Green_Initiative/overview.html. In Michigan, Verizon Wireless has more than 2,100 employees and 65 company-owned retail locations in more than 50 cities.
