14 HE SAID/SHE SAID: The news and views of area executives on pertinent business issues of the day.
16 CORPORATISM: Jim Blasingame says the small business owner can easily turn customers into friends.
APRIL 2025
W I N D S O R ’ S F O R E M O S T B U S I N E S S N E W S P U B L I C AT I O N
PHOTO BY JOE SYMCHYSHYN PHOTOGRAPHIC
INSIDE TRACK
Carl Bernat, president of CCS Engineering, at the company’s new headquarters on St. Etienne Blvd. By Ron Stang
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AT A GLANCE A look at how international retailers can use AI-enabled data for planning.
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PRIME PROPERTY A look at recent commercial property transfers in Essex and Chatham-Kent area.
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CROSSWORD Take a coffee break from work and challenge yourself with our crossword.
10 PRIME HOME A look at residential property sales in Windsor, Essex County and Chatham-Kent.
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ESSEX ECONOMICS A series of guest columns by business executives on various trends in the region.
12 BUILDING PERMITS A compilation of construction activity in the Windsor and area market.
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PRIME PROPERTY A look at recent commercial property transfers in the city of Windsor.
13 START UPS Newly incorporated firms launched in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent.
CS Engineering & Construction, a Canadian leader in medical office interiors, has expanded by acquiring Windsor’s Ground Effects’ International Seating and Decor (IS&D), a leader in restaurant interiors. The move enables the fast-growing, three-year old CCS to expand by physically moving into the former Ground Effects’ giant building on St. Etienne Blvd. CCS purchased the three-acre, 30,000-square-foot building in February for $2.7 million. The new firm is called CCS International Seating & Decor. CCS International has several locations locally, and will consolidate most of them on St. Etienne. “Our millwork (design and build) shop was growing, and we wanted to get everybody in our company in the same building,” said CCS president, Carl Bernat. Continued on page 4