What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Thursday, July 15,
2010
Governor Joins
President Obama in Celebrating New Advanced Battery Manufacturing Plant in
West
Michigan
The governor today joined President Barack Obama in
Holland to
celebrate the construction of Compact Power’s new lithium-ion battery cell
manufacturing plant. The facility, expected to create approximately 440
direct jobs and more than 800 spin-off jobs in West Michigan by 2015, is part of
the state’s long-term strategy to make Michigan a center for advanced battery
research and production.
Compact Power, a subsidiary of LG Chem Ltd., won a
$151.4 million U.S. Department of Energy grant last August to begin production
of lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles — one of 13 Michigan-based
projects awarded more than $1.35 billion in Recovery Act funding to support
advanced battery and electric vehicle manufacturing and
development.
The new Compact Power facility in Holland will be able to
manufacture up to 20 million battery cells a year, enough for about 150,000
vehicle battery packs. Ford Motor Company announced this week that Compact
Power will supply lithium-ion batteries and battery packs for the company’s Ford
Focus electric vehicle which goes into production next year. Compact Power
also will provide cells for the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors’ electric
vehicle.
Key
messages:
- Our goal is to
transform Michigan from the Rust Belt to the Green
Belt. Michigan workers will be helping
make America energy
independent.
- Michigan is well
on its way to becoming the advanced battery capital of the world. In
just the last 11 months, 16 advanced automotive battery and battery technology
companies have committed to projects in Michigan and will create an estimated 62,000
new jobs by 2020.
- The Compact Power
plant is the result of our aggressive state strategy combined with Recovery
Act investments through our partnership with the Obama administration.
Michigan saw
the opportunity for an advanced battery industry well before any other state
and developed a strategy to foster and grow the
industry.
- That strategy
included creation of the first state battery tax credits in the nation.
The credits signaled Michigan’s commitment to
becoming a leader in the advanced battery industry and were a key factor in
Michigan
projects winning more than half of all the Department of Energy advanced
battery and electric vehicle grant dollars announced in August
2009.
- In addition to
Compact Power’s Holland facility, five other
lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plants are either under construction in
Michigan or
soon will be. They are A123 Systems in Livonia, Dow Kokam in Midland, fortu PowerCell in Muskegon, Johnson Controls-Saft in Holland and Sakti3 in Ann Arbor.
Governor Visits
Charter House Innovations, Inc. in Holland Promoting Entrepreneurship and Small
Business Success
The governor today visited Charter House Innovations,
Inc., a manufacturing company located in Holland, where she reiterated her commitment to
helping small and medium-sized businesses that are the sources of innovation and
job creation.
Charter House designs and
manufactures seating and décor for quick-service restaurants. The company
showcased its metal, design and woodworking operations as well as some of its
finished products, including furnishings for the newly-remodeled Brody Complex
at Michigan
State University. Charter House owner
Charles Reid, Michigan’s 2010 Small Business Man of the Year
award winner, was honored by President Obama at a White House ceremony in
May.
Key messages:
- Small and medium-sized businesses
are vital sources of innovation and job creation in Michigan. Our
state has always been a great place for innovation and entrepreneurship.
It’s our relentless entrepreneurial spirit that’ll help diversify the economy
and create jobs.
- In her 2010 State of the State
address, the governor outlined her agenda for fostering entrepreneurship which
includes an income tax credit and initiatives to help small and
medium-sized businesses access credit.
- The Small Business
Investment Initiative will help free up capital by providing investors
with an income tax credit for 25 percent of a qualified investment, starting
in the year of the investment. The program will be among the strongest
such incentives offered by any state in the nation and will spur investment
and growth in small business during the state’s economic transformation.
This legislation, House Bill 5921, has been approved by the state House and
is pending in the state Senate.
- To promote lending to small and
medium-sized businesses, the governor continues to support the Michigan
Supplier Diversification Fund (MSDF). She also supports federal
efforts to further help small businesses access credit, particularly the
State Small Business Credit Initiative, which will provide grants to states
to increase lending to small businesses through innovative programs like the
MSDF. This legislation, HR 5297, has passed the U.S. House and will be
considered by U.S. Senate soon.
- Other initiatives outlined in the
governor’s State of the State address were the Michigan Credit
Union Small Business Financing Alliance and the FastTrac New
Venture.
- The Michigan Credit
Union Small Business Financing Alliance in partnership with the
Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers will ensure that Michigan’s entrepreneurs of today can pursue ideas
that will lead to job-creating business in Michigan’s 21st century economy. More than
30 credit unions have pledged at least $43 million for eligible small
business loans.
- The Michigan Economic
Development Corporation (MEDC) is providing funding to expand the
Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac series, a program for entrepreneurs
to learn how to successfully launch and grow small businesses. The
MEDC has pledged $200,000 to expand the program in 2010, making it available
statewide.
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