Published Articles
Livernois Vehicle Development owner set to open new center in same area
By Lisa Yensen
Press & Guide Newspaper
February 11, 2009
Norma Wallis, Dearborn native and owner of Inkster-based Livernois Vehicle Development, has been interested in cars her entire life. “I’ve always enjoyed the specialty vehicles, the paint and the rough sounds of the headers and exhaust,” Wallis said. Wallis’s father and previous owner of the company, the late Bernard J. Wallis, was involved in the automotive industry for nearly 60 years. Livernois Engineering Company was founded in 1950 under his ownership. In the 1990s, Norma Wallis purchased her father’s parts of the company and made it an expansion of what her father had created, renaming it “Livernois Vehicle Development.” “Dad focused on tooling, and I wanted to be more in the automotives,” Norma Wallis said. Livernois Vehicle Development capabilities include, but are not limited to, vehicle crash test preparation, vehicle data acquisition-system installations, active safety development, engineering services, manufacturing, on-road durability testing, and problem resolution support for pre-production or production vehicle issues. To continue reading see full article.
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The American Arab Chamber applauds New Member Norma Wallis President/CEO of Livernois Vehcicle Development
American Arab Newsletter
February 11, 2009
In an ongoing era of economic downturns and adverse market conditions, one local business owner has made a bold decision to increase her stake in the automotive industry with an expansion in an economically challenged area of western Wayne County that signals positive reinforcement from within a beleaguered supply base, as well as a long-term commitment to create new jobs in the community. Norma Wallis, President and CEO of Livernois Vehicle Development, a Tier One Supplier to Ford Motor Company and Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) is set to announce the official opening of the Wallis Technical Center, located at 2850 John Daly in Inkster, Michigan, in conjunction with the opening of the Ford Paint & Body Technology Center, which is housed in the Wallis Technical Center, in a private reception on Thursday, February 12th, 2009. Many City officials, Ford Executives and Community leaders are expected to attend.
The Wallis Technical Center bears the name of the late Bernard J. Wallis, a manufacturing icon in the Detroit area for nearly 60 years, and the father of Norma Wallis. His legacy included the development and launch of products through partnerships with numerous major automotive companies. The Wallis Technical Center is a multi-dimensional facility with capabilities to address the ever expanding needs of the automotive industry, ranging from Vehicle Crash and Safety Services, Flexible Fuel, Hybrid & Bio-Fuel Vehicles, and Engineering and Garage Services to Instrumentation, Noise & Vibration Testing, Powertrain Development, and Prototype Vehicle Builds, Fabrication and Custom Paint & Body Services. The Wallis Technical Center also hosts the annual FIRST Robotics high school competition involving students from nearby Robichaud High School who design and build a robot to compete in statewide and national contests. The 2009 robot will be completed and available for viewing during the Open House.
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Robichaud's robotics program partners with Livernois Vehicle Development for contest
By Ben Baird
Press & Guide Newspapers
January 30, 2008
DEARBORN HEIGHTS - In the last two years, building a robot has become an extracurricular activity for 12 Robichaud High School students. It's now the Robichaud team's second year in the robotics competition program of FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The FIRST Robotics Competition is designed for high school students. FIRST challenges teams to build a robot to solve specific problems, the teams then have six weeks to build the robot. The program was introduced in the Westwood Community School District by Robert Cvetanovski, often called "Mr. C," who teaches computer applications at Robichaud. He said he took the idea of starting a robotics program to the district's school board.
Tim Emery, who is on the school board, was interested in the program and is now helping the students construct their robot. "It's a game, but you make a robot in order to do it," Emery said, "We put a lot of thought into it." Last year the team ranked sixth place in the regional competition in Pittsburgh and about 21st place in Detroit, Emery said. "For a first time group I thought it was pretty good myself," he said. The team didn't get a chance to test the robot between completing it and taking it to Pittsburgh, Emery said. It worked fine though, he said. Emery said the program is being sponsored by Livernois Vehicle Development at 26115 Townbridge St. in Inkster. Livernois is supplying space for the students to construct their robot and technical support, he said.
Richard Knoles, manager of crash development at Livernois, said sponsoring the program was a good opportunity both for the students and Livernois. "They've been working here instead of doing it at school," Knoles said, "I told them I won't settle for anything less than first place." Not only does the program teach engineering and teamwork, Emery said, but there are scholarships available through the program too. "I really want to see the kids excel," Emery said, "The teamwork is really the important part." Emery said he became involved because of his background working for GM, where he fabricated parts. He said fabricating parts is a useful skill for building robots. Westwood's team is currently preparing for two upcoming regional competitions, Cvetanovski said, one in Milwaukee, Wis., the other in Ypsilanti. The game this year, he said, is called Overdrive. Robots must be able to go around a track pushing a ball, and for bonus points can launch the ball over a six-foot finish line. "They really enjoy it," Cvetanovski, "They get to learn a lot of engineering information."
A track has been created at Livernois to test the robot, Knoles said. He said talented employees are paired with the students to show the proper and safe way to do things, but he wants to get the students to do 99 percent of the work on their robot. Cvetanovski said the program has received three grants, two from NASA and one from the state of Michigan. Each award was for around $6,000. He said it costs between $15,000 and $20,000 to go to two regional competitions. The students do fundraising too, Cvetanovski said, and donations are welcome. Cvetanovski said students currently don't need any technical experience to join the program. "As long as they want to join we let them join," Cvetanovski said. Last week was midterms at the high school, Knoles said, so students concentrated on that instead of coming in to work on their robot. Now that midterms are over, he said the team would be coming to Livernois almost every afternoon. Knoles said Livernois has just begun working with Robichaud High School but it probably won't be the last time they help out students. "It spreads like wildfire that we're helping a school," he said. FIRST was founded in 1989 with the goal to inspire interest and participation in science and technology. Go to www.usfirst.org for more information about FIRST.
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Livernois eyes move to more city investments
Molly Tippen
Journal Group
May 31, 2007
A request for a 12-year tax abatement will not likely affect construction a prototype maker is conducting at a long-vacant building, but it could affect other investments the company would like to make in the city. Livernois Vehicle Development – which is renovating the former Carron and Co. facility in the city – is also looking at developing the Rosenau Honda building on Michigan Avenue near John Daly Road. Norma Wallis, of Livernois, said the building is on a prime piece of property, and that her company has been in negotiations with the owner for several weeks. “We do a lot of things that may be suitable for the facility,” she said. We are involved in motorsports. A lot is going to depend on the city’s willingness to work with us.” She added that the company and the city have worked amicably in the past.
Livernois Vehicle Development submitted paperwork to the city on April 6, and the city council scheduled a public hearing for June 18 to hear questions from the public concerning the requested 12-year tax break. The company is currently planning $3 million in improvements to the former Carron & Co. facility, which is located at 27600 Princeton Road, near the city public works yard. The company estimates at $2.4 million in improvements are being made to the building and surrounding land. Another $694,000 in machinery, equipment, furniture and fixture installation is under way, according to the abatement application. Renovations would be needed at the Rosenau site as well, given that the facility has been vacant for so many years and is outdated, said Wallis. “We would likely have to make some improvements,” she said.
Tax abatements were created several years ago to assist industrial businesses with efforts to expand and grow amid intense foreign competition. Under law, the company can ask for a 50 percent reduction on taxes that would be paid on the cost of the improvements. The city has no written policy regarding who gets a tax break and what constitutes the length of the abatement. A determination will likely be made after the public hearing, said City Manger Joyce Parker. Rosenau Honda has been closed for several years, and though potential developers with interest in the site have in the past emerged, the city has never been able to capitalize on the location of the property. The public hearing will take place shortly after 7:30 p.m. at the regular city council meetin g on Monday, June 18. The meeting will take place at city hall on Trowbridge.
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Livernois Buys Carron & Co. Inkster Facility (Prototype maker expands in city)
By Molly Tippen
Journal Group
August 24, 2006
The former Carron & Co. facility is located on Princeton Street, near another facility owned by Livernois Vehicle Development. The City of Inkster beleaguered industrial district appears to be seeing some improvement now that an automotive prototype company has agreed to purchase a long-vacant facility. Livernois Vehicle Development has agreed to purchase the old Carron & Co. building on Princeton Street. The company, which made an impromptu presentation at an Inkster City Council study session Monday, is preparing to go t hrough a planning process with the city that will likely include tax incentives, said Community Development Director Dr. LaTina Dawkins. “We’re very happy to have them here and look forward to working with them,” she said. “This will bring more opportunities to attract other businesses for the area in the future.”
Carron & Co., once the largest employer and taxpayer in the city, went out of business about six years ago after losing some contracts with Ford Motor Co. The company had once been the cornerstone of a thriving light industrial area within the city in the 1960s and 70s. Since Carron folded, at least two commercial brokers have tried to sell or lease the space to an industrial entity. Livernois, a company that also has extensive contracts with Ford, will transfer about 100 jobs from a Dearborn Heights facility and will add new ones, according to written documents company representatives filed with the city. The building, which measures 195,000 square feet, will also be converted into a high-tech showplace for the company. A 4,500 square foot showroom will be added to the building. City officials said talks with the company about building modifications will include a discussion about tax abatements. Tax abatements – or financial incentives negotiated by a municipality and industrial companies – were created by the state to hold onto manufactures. Under state l aw, an abatement can be granted for up to 12 years. During that time, the company receives a 50 percent reduction in the amount of taxes it pays on building improvements.
The facility is located outside of the Downtown Development and Tax Increment Financing Authority districts, which means that the taxes collected on the facility will go fund conventional city services. Abatements have become a way of life in other Michigan municipalities – neighboring Romulus has granted two in the last year to General Motors Corp. and Aztec Manufacturing, a maker of precision cast iron forgings for the automotive industry. Municipalities generally use a formula based on the number of years a company has had operations in a given city, the viability of the business plan and the amount of the tax savings to approve or deny abatement requests to ensure all applications are assessed equally. Cities are not obligated to grant abatements for the full 12-year limit. It is unclear if the city has an abatement assessment plan finalized. The city has been trying to improve its faltering tax base for many years. Mayor Hilliard Hampton said the expansion of Livernois is a big win for the city. “We’re obviously pleased about this development,” he said. “The Carron building has been vacant and in disrepair for a while now. It’s good to have somebody in there.” Livernois has anot her two facilities in Inkster, but has not always had easy relations with the city. Approval of building a breezeway between two of the company buildings took several months, which company o fficials complained about at city hall and in the media. Dan O’Neil, a spokesman for Livernois, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
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Tuned up for success - Norma Wallis brings biz expertise to motorsports venture
By Terry Kosdrosky
Crain’s Detroit Business
June 21, 2004
After expanding a formerly small division of the family business, Norma Wallis is revving up her fledging motorsports company. Over the past few years, Livernois Motorsports L.L.C. has caught onto the growing “tuners” market, named after those who like to modify, or “tune,” cars. Not unlike Wallis, who drives a black Mustang Cobra modified to deliver 660 horsepower. Livernois Motorsports specializes in high-performance cars, engines and racers. The Dearborn Heights company builds and installs engines, cylinder heads, turbochargers and other products. It also has a retail outlet that sells accessories. “It’s tough to make it in this business, but that’s the fun part,” Wallis said. “And it’s growing. We think we can make some things that are different, that aftermarket folks are looking for.” To continue reading see full article.
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