Gotta love great news like this, especially in Michigan!
Best Economic News
by Lisa Diggs
The start of 2009, brought good economic news to Michigan. Here are some stories you may have missed between the headlines.
While still basking in the glow of securing the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, Michigan State University, forged a new partnership with IBM for the creation of a Global Delivery Center for Application Services to be located on the MSU campus in East Lansing. The Global Delivery Center will be the first of its kind in the United States for IBM. About 100 jobs will be created by this June, with a total of 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs over the next five years.
Governor Granholm signed a battery industry bill into law that provides $335 million in refundable tax credits to encourage companies to develop and build batteries in Michigan for hybrid and electric vehicles. General Motors decided it will build its own battery packs for the much anticipated Chevrolet Volt and will build a new factory in Michigan to do it. Massachusetts-based A123 Systems, which has research operations in Ann Arbor, also announced that its first lithium-ion battery mass production site would be in southeast Michigan.
Southfield-based TechTeam Global, which provides IT and business process outsourcing to both the private sector and the government, announced it had secured more than $20 million worth of new contracts, and consequently the need for 65 new employees in Michigan. The new jobs are to provide customers with IT service desk support
Faurecia, the world’s eighth-largest Tier 1 supplier of automotive components plans to invest $8.8 million to expand its operations in Fraser. The extension is expected to create 281 new jobs, including 82 directly by the company.
A new microbrewery called Northern United Brewery plans to manufacture and bottle beer, distilled spirits and wine in Ann Arbor, Dexter and Peninsula Township. The brewer will invest approximately $5.8 million in the project, which is expected to create 398 new jobs, including 158 directly by the company.
White & Green Motors intends to manufacture electric and recoil starters for gas engines in Eaton Rapids. They anticipate creating up to 60 jobs initially and up to 122 over time.
Manufacturer and assembler of automotive components and systems, ZF Group, plans to lease part of a facility that Chrysler has under construction in Marysville and invest $143.4 million to expand its operations. The expansion is expected to create 1,657 new jobs, including 475 directly by the company.
Fisher Coachworks, a producer of ultra light-weight hybrid vehicles, intends to invest $7 million to establish a facility to produce an innovative, fuel-efficient, mass transit bus. The plant is slated for the site of the former Detroit Race Course in Livonia.
HoMedics, reported to be the world’s leading wellness brand specializing in high-quality home healthcare products, plans to invest $11 million to establish a Commerce Township facility to develop new wireless-charging device technology. The project is expected to create 127 new jobs, including 62 directly by the company.
Novi has much to celebrate. A start-up wind turbine generation system manufacturer, named Global Wind Systems, intends to invest $32.3 million to locate its first plant in the city. The project is expected to create 807 new jobs, including 356 directly by the company. Also, Novixus will build the first national distribution and services center using automated processing of prescriptions for central fill and home delivery. That company will invest approximately $3.4 million in the center and create 428 new jobs, including 192 directly. Additionally, Kongsberg Automotive plans to invest $4.4 million to expand its technical center in Novi, creating 113 new jobs, including 58 directly.
Hart & Cooley, a manufacturer of products for heating, plumbing and air conditioning systems, announced its plan to consolidate a portion of its U.S. and Canadian operations to its Grand Rapids facility. The project is expected to include a $3.9 million investment and create 98 new positions, including 48 direct jobs.
Redevelopment and conversion of the Detroit Creamery building and surrounding areas into a luxury residential and retail complex is planned by Golden Rectangle. The project will generate $38 million in new capital investment and is expected to create 50 new jobs.
Scripps Park Associates will partner with the City of Detroit and the Detroit Housing Commission to invest $35 million to redevelop an abandoned public housing development into 180 affordable townhouses.
The fourth-largest steelmaker in the U.S., Severstal North America, plans to invest $700 million to rehabilitate, modernize and enhance aging facilities in Dearborn to improve its steel mill. The project is expected to retain 76 jobs.
The City of Detroit will use state and local tax capture valued at more than $1 million to support a proposed redevelopment of the former Greater Detroit Hospital. The development will include a modern medical office and assisted living center. The project will generate $8.9 million in new capital investment and up to 251 new jobs.
Using state and local tax capture valued at $364,050 the City of Grand Rapids will support a proposed redevelopment project that will include a three-story, mixed-use building with a green design. The goal of the building is to be west Michigan’s first zero carbon-footprint project. The project will generate $3.1 million in new capital investment and up to 30 new jobs. The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, a new venture capital fund formed recently and supported by some of Michigan’s largest organizations, announced that it will make its first commitment, a $5 million investment in the Ann Arbor-based venture capital fund Arboretum Ventures II.
Lansing-based Niowave secured a $1 million contract with the Office of Naval Research to build a superconducting radio frequency electron gun. This latest agreement is the third $1 million contract landed by Niowave within a year.
Ford Motor Company announced that their all-new Ford Fusion Hybrid is America's most fuel-efficient mid-sized car, certified at 41 mpg in city and 36 mpg on highway. The Fusion beats the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in city and 2 mpg on highway. Its gas-sipping system enables city driving of more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas.
Michigan International Speedway is offering its facilities to test technology that would allow cars to talk to the road and to each other so they become incapable of crashing into one another, saving up to 44,000 U.S. deaths annually from auto accidents, as well as reducing traffic congestion. Research indicates that as many as 40,000 jobs could be created over the next two decades if Michigan emerges as a leader in vehicle connectivity technology, including 1,000 jobs in the first year or two.
