Cleveland-Cliffs named a GM Supplier of the Year for fourth straight year


Cleveland-Cliffs signs have gone up at the former ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor steel mill.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., one of the Region’s largest employers, was named GM Supplier of the Year by General Motors, one of its biggest customers.
The Cleveland-based steelmaker, which has swollen in size due to its acquisitions of ArcelorMittal USA and AK Steel, brought in $2.3 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, as compared to $534 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company pulled in $286 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, up from $111 million in EBITDA at the same time the previous year.
It’s the fourth straight year the Cleveland-Cliffs or its predecessor company, AK Steel, has won the award, which highlights global suppliers that exceed GM’s requirements or provide the automaker with innovative technologies.
The Detroit-based automaker recognized its top suppliers from 16 countries as among the best in the automotive industry.
A global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics leaders select the winners based on performance last year.
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“As GM works to achieve a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, we are proud to have innovative and dedicated suppliers around the world as partners in this mission,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president of global purchasing and supply chain. “Throughout a challenging year, our suppliers have showed resilience and dedication in working toward our shared goal of long-term sustainability for our planet and the communities we serve, while meeting our present needs. We are pleased with what we’ve accomplished together in the past year, and we are excited by the opportunity that lies ahead.”
Cleveland-Cliffs has focused heavily on the domestic automotive market. More than 40% of its sales went to automakers in the fourth quarter of last year.
“We are proud to be named GM Supplier of the Year winner for the fourth straight year. Our leading position in automotive steel is undeniable, and we value GM’s recognition of our outstanding quality, reliability and delivery performance,” said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs. “This prestigious award recognizes the performance of the Cleveland-Cliffs’ team and our first-class R&D and equipment capabilities, supporting our well-known ability to deliver a more comprehensive offering of high-end steel products to the automotive industry than any other steel supplier in the United States.”
NWI Business Ins and Outs: Botz Coffee, Bargains in Bulk, Midwest Express open, Teriyaki Madness plans more locations
Coming soon

Botz Coffee, an artisan micro-roaster that’s built a national following online, is opening a tasting room in Whiting on the weekends.
Danny Falloon, a former Grindhouse Cafe barista who had the childhood nickname “Botz,” made coffee with beans sourced ethically from across the world. The specialty coffee purveyor has been focused on e-commerce, garnering media coverage from Roast magazine’s Daily Coffee News and other publications.
Falloon has an extensive coffee pedigree that includes a cafe near the College of William & Mary in Virginia; CoRo in Berkeley, California, and JBC Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin. Botz roasts sustainable and internationally sourced beans from Columbia, Ethiopia and El Salvador for a rotating selection of coffees with accessible notes like peach, dried strawberry, blackberry gummy, dried fig, lime spritzer and gala apple that could be enjoyed with sugar and cream.
The company plans to open the Botz Roasting Lab and Weekend Tasting Room at 1908 Clark St. in the lakefront community. It will serve batch brew, cold brew and pour-overs, and offer roasting classes.
Botz hopes to open in Whiting by the first week of July.
For more information, visit www.botz-coffee.com or find Botz on Instagram.
Open

Bargains in Bulk recently opened in Highland with the slogan “nobody likes to pay extra.”
The discount store at 3311 W. 45th St. in Highland sells “quality” liquidated merchandise, including living room furniture. Located in the same strip mall as Planet Fitness and Overstuffed, the retailer caters especially to bargain hunters looking for deals.
One can grab a number of low-cost products like thermometers, laundry detergent, donuts, coffee, Kool-Aid, toilet paper and Pepsi two-liter bottles for far less than normal. Its many offerings include slip-on sandals, body wash and charcoal for the grill — “a little bit of everything.”
Bargains in Bulk is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
For more information, call 219-513-8197, visit newtoyoubargains.com, email admin@newtoyoubargains.com or find the business on social media.
Coming soon

Midwest Express Clinic is coming to Griffith.
The urgent care clinic that started in Munster plans to open soon in a strip mall on 45th Street in Griffith, at 1923 W. Glen Park Avenue.
The walk-in clinic bills itself as an alternative to emergency rooms and doctor’s appointments. It offers a range of treatments for illnesses, injuries, skin rashes, preventative care, sexual health, physicals, pediatrics, chronic care, shots, immunizations, lab tests, COVID-19 testing, ultrasounds, imaging and other diagnostic testing.
The chain has locations across Chicagoland, including in Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Schererville, Dyer, Munster, Merrillville, Hammond and Portage.
Midwest Express Clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
For more information, visit midwestexpressclinic.com.
Expanding

Teriyaki Madness, a Seattle-style teriyaki shop, sold out during its first few days after opening in Valparaiso.
Owners Haresh and Nikky Prithyani, who own the Chesterton Montessori School, hope to open several other Northwest Indiana locations. They’re eyeing Chesterton, Merrillville, Michigan City and Mishawaka.
“We just need to get our feet wet first,” Haresh Prithyani said.
They opened their first Teriyaki Madness franchise at 2502 Calumet Ave. in Valparaiso, in a former Family Video that they converted into a strip mall. They have two other suites for rent in the building, which they removed the awning from so it wouldn’t be so obvious it used to be a Family Video.
The fast-casual Asian restaurant chain serves customizable made-to-order teriyaki bowls, such as chicken teriyaki, steak teriyaki, salmon teriyaki and spicy tofu teriyaki that mix proteins with rice and vegetables.
The Prithyanis had been looking to open another business when they stumbled upon Teriyaki Madness.
“We tried it in Tennessee when we were traveling back from Nashville, where my wife has family,” he said. “It sounded pretty bold. We loved the food. It’s tasty food with fresh ingredients that are made to order. So we talked to the owners and they connected us with the franchise.”
Prithyani liked the concept.
“I didn’t want to do fast food or another pizza place,” he said.
The 2,000-square-foot restaurant has about 30 seats and will eventually add an outdoor patio with about six to eight more seats. It delivers via third-party services like DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats.
It currently employs about 18 people but hopes to have about 24 to 26 when it’s easier to hire staff.
For now, the Valparaiso location is the only one in Indiana.
“So far the praise has been insane,” he said. “There was a two-hour wait time during the opening but people were on board with waiting. It’s a West Coast company that serves fresh food. It’s healthy. It’s trying something new.”
The Valparaiso location is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
For more information, visit teriakimadness.com or call 219-510-5218.
Ribbon-cutting

Dermio Dermatoloy will have a ribbon-cutting with the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce for its Valparaiso location on Thursday.
The dermatology office at 1351 Silhavy Road also has locations in Munster, Dyer and DeMotte.
Dermio Dermatoloy treats patients for a range of skin conditions, including acne, eczema and psoriasis. It offers laser tattoo removal, laser hair removal, skin biopsies, cyst excision, microneedling and skin cancer treatment.
The business is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.
For more information, visit dermiodermatology.com or call 219-322-8690.
Reopen for dining in

Grindhouse Cafe in downtown Griffith and downtown Whiting has reopened for dining-in at both locations.
The popular coffee shop — known for its bourbon barrel-aged cold brew, pour-overs, Cactor frozen pear lemonade, sandwiches and snickerdoodles — switched to a to-go model early on in the pandemic, focusing on the takeout business. Now it’s welcoming back cafe patrons, both inside and outside in the patio.
Grindhouse carries many locally produced products, including coffee beans, honey and hot sauce.
For more information, visit grindhouse.cafe or find Grindhouse Cafe on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Expanded hours

Green Door Books has expanded to being open during the week after moving to its new location at 315 Main St. in Hobart, where it has a secret courtyard in back by the alley.
The bookstore, which is known for its $1 used books and expansive zine library, is now open on Monday and Thursday, as well as from Friday through Sunday.
It hosts regular community events that are free and open to the public, such as poetry readings and art exhibits.
Green Door Books is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon until 4 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call 219-945-3656 or find Green Door Books on social media.
If you would like your business to be included in a future column, email joseph.pete@nwi.com.
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Published at Fri, 25 Jun 2021 13:00:00 +0000