From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
2:26 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Governor Announces More Than
9,000 New and Retained Jobs for Michigan
The governor announced this afternoon that the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation is helping 10 companies grow in
Michigan and also is backing eight brownfield redevelopment projects.
Combined, the 18 projects are expected to create 6,804 new jobs (2,236 direct
and 4,418 indirect), retain 2,263 jobs and generate over $672 million in new
investment in the state.
The Michigan Economic Growth
Authority (MEGA) approved incentives for the 18 projects at its meeting today.
The companies include GlobalWatt, a new-to-Michigan business that will assemble
crystalline silicon solar panels in Saginaw, and Skilled Manufacturing, a
Traverse City automotive parts manufacturer that plans to expand into the
aerospace sector. The eight brownfield redevelopments – two each in Benton
Harbor and Detroit, and single projects in Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Livonia and
Traverse City – will transform abandoned and contaminated sites into new centers
of economic growth and activity.
Key messages:
• Companies are taking advantage of our
excellent work force, competitive business climate and innovative economic
development tools to locate or expand in Michigan. Our aggressive strategy
to diversify and grow Michigan’s economy is working.
• Today’s announcement reflects three levels
of diversification occurring in Michigan: new industries that previously didn’t
exist, existing companies such as auto suppliers diversifying into other sectors
such as aerospace, and diversification within the auto industry itself with
vehicle electrification.
• These projects demonstrate that the state
and local communities can partner and make strong business cases to win
investment and jobs from the world’s most innovative companies over competing
locations not only in the United States, but all over the world.
• Since January 2009, nearly 100,000 new and
retained jobs have been announced as a result of the MEGA program.
# # #