Western Michigan

Western Michigan, also known as West Michigan is a region of the U.S. State of Michigan. Its largest city is Grand Rapids which is the second largest city in the state. Other West Michigan cities include Battle Creek, Holland, Kalamazoo and Muskegon. The twin cites of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph are sometimes classified as West Michigan, and sometimes categorized in a separate region with Michigan City, Indiana. Similarly, Big Rapids and Ludington are also sometimes categorized as being in northcentral lower Michigan.

Business

Prominent West Michigan corporations include:

• Amway/Alticor/Quixtar, an Ada, Michigan multi-level marketing company.
• Gordon Food Service, a Grand Rapids food supplier
• Spartan Stores, a Grand Rapids grocery chain
• Borroughs, a Kalamazoo office equipment manufacturer.
• Steelcase, a Grand Rapids office equipment manufacturer.
• Herman Miller, a Holland office equipment manufacturer.
• Haworth, a Holland office equipment manufacturer.
• Kelloggs, a Battle Creek breakfast cereal producer.
• Meijer, a Grand Rapids hypermarket chain.
• Stryker, a Kalamazoo surgical equipment manufacturer.
• Gentex, a Zeeland auto-dimming automobile mirror manufacturer.
• Perrigo, a Allegan pharmaceutical company
• Wolverine Worldwide/Hush Puppies, a Rockford shoe maker
• Bissell, a Grand Rapids vacuum cleaner maker

Transportation

Major roads include:

• Interstate 96, running from Muskegon to Detroit
• Interstate 94, running from Billings, Montana to Port Huron, Michigan,
• U.S. Highway 131, running from Kalamazoo to Petoskey, Michigan
• Grand River Avenue, running from Grand Rapids to Detroit
• The S-Curve, a famously crooked stretch of U.S. 131 in downtown Grand Rapids

Famous Present/Former Residents

• Former President of the United States Gerald R. Ford
• Stock car driver Johnny Benson
• Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis
• Tool and A Perfect Circle vocalist Maynard James Keenan
• X-Files actress Gillian Anderson
• Kelloggs founder W.K. Kellogg