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Governor Granholm cut short her holiday weekend, flying out to California Sunday night to be available bright and early Monday morning for a series of meetings with alternative energy investors, internet companies and movie makers, spreading the word that Michigan is open for business in ALL these areas!
Her first meeting was with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a venture capitol firm that was a major investor in such names as Amazon.com, Google, Genetech and Netscape. Just recently, they announced that Nobel prize winner Al Gore signed on with the company to be a partner on research and investment in clean energy technology. Need I say more? These are definitely people you want to talk to!
In an interview with Tom Walsh, Governor Granholm explains why these meetings are important- these investors need to be made aware of Michigan’s potential in this field.
Partners at Kleiner Perkins and other VC firms, she said, were “very surprised that Michigan has such great strategic assets in alternative energy” — for wind power, cellulosic ethanol and solar energy panels — in addition to the technology and talent of the automotive industry.
But the need for a renewable portfolio standard still comes into play. Investors and companies flock to those states that have public policy encouraging the growth of alternative energy.
Granholm said that while VC fund managers in her first few meetings were surprised and impressed by what they heard about Michigan’s efforts, they also made it clear that they will look favorably on states with aggressive public policy initiatives favoring the growth of renewable energy sources.
Granholm said she will push hard on the Michigan Legislature when she returns to Lansing to act quickly — before the end of the year — on a bill to adopt a renewable portfolio standard that would require Michigan to generate a certain percentage of power using renewable resources such as wind, sunlight or biofuels.
We have what it takes in Michigan to be a leader in this field; it’s time to get policy on board to help us attract these jobs.
One major success story in Michigan’s aim to diversify its economy into alternative energy is United Solar Ovonic. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, the company makes solar panels for commercial and residential use, and right now they cannot keep up with the demand on orders that are coming in from all over the world.
Back in 2006, right on the heels of the announcement that Electrolux was closing its plant in the city of Greenville, Governor Granholm and the MEDC worked to bring the company’s planned manufacturing expansion to that city, beating out South Carolina in the process and creating hundreds (and eventually thousands) of jobs right here in Michigan.
United Solar considered expanding a year ago with 26 states offering incentives. In the end it came down to Michigan and South Carolina. Guha told 24 Hour News 8, “South Carolina was emerging as the winner. That’s when the governor got involved.”
Governor Granholm and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation stepped to the plate and offered a Renaissance Zone, providing property tax savings of $18.9 million and a Single Business Tax break of $1.5 million. Also offered is a Community Development Block Grant and workforce training package valued at $1.5 million.
The initial plan was for up to six plants in the city of Greenville, and it looks like they can’t build them fast enough. The first plant opened a month early, and the second is supposed to open mid-2008.
In two months, Morelli has taken charge of the solar-film sector, locking in on the high-growth, high-profit potential side of the inventive company. The first quarter ended Sept. 30, and orders this quarter already outpace available capacity, he said.
Nearly 90 percent of the company’s first-quarter sales were for solar-power flexible film, commonly termed PV, or photovoltaic, laminates.
Sales were $47 million, with the solar sector selling $41.9 million of that total. That’s a 31 percent increase from the previous quarter and 76 percent over this time last year.
And just yesterday we learn that United Solar Ovonic has its eye on even more land in the area, for the “possibility that Greenville could see bigger plants than earlier expected, or more of them”.
“We’re in the process of taking out an option for an additional 100 acres … and fully intend to populate that entire park property to optimize production capacity,” said John Morgan, vice president of supply chain management and facilities for United Solar Ovonic.
The success and growth of United Solar Ovonic is just one example of how Michigan can attract the high demand alternative energy companies that will create the jobs of the future. With training and investment in this sector, we will be well on our way to prosperity. Imagine the jobs this will create- at the plants themselves, and also in the community that surrounds and supports them.
Now imagine doing that all across the state… Michigan can, and will, be the place to be!
Tip of the hat to oakland, who left the link to Montcalm Community College’s training program for jobs at USO in the comments. Thanks!
Impressive numbers! Governor Granholm and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced yesterday that six different projects across the state will bring us $22.5 million in new capital investment and create and/or retain 8,339 jobs. Here’s a rundown of the companies and projects involved-
Dearborn Group Inc.: The leading supplier of in-vehicle network products, engineering, consulting, and education for the automotive, truck and bus, commercial, military, construction, agriculture and fleet vehicle industries plans to invest more than $1.1 million to expand its operations in Farmington Hills. The project is expected to create 145 new jobs, including 61 directly by the company. A state tax credit valued at $494,000 over five years helped convince the company to choose Michigan over a competing site in another state. The city of Farmington Hills Economic Development Corporation has approved a $15,000 training grant to support the project.
Inergy Automotive Systems LLC: The France-based company is investing $8.2 million to relocate its Ontario, Canada operations to its Adrian facility. The project is expected to create 427 new jobs, including 189 directly by the company. A state tax credit valued at $1.3 million over seven years helped convince the company to choose Michigan over a competing site in South Carolina. The city of Adrian is prepared to support a 12-year local tax abatement valued at approximately $1.8 million. In addition, the South Central Michigan Works! office and the Lenawee Chamber for Economic Development will support the project by providing recruiting, screening and job training assistance.
International Automotive Components Group N.A. Inc.: A state tax credit valued at more than $23 million over 10 years has been approved for Dearborn-based International Automotive Components (IAC) Group North America Inc. to encourage the auto supplier to create and retain jobs in Michigan. The company is considering initial investments of $3.3 million at Port Huron, $2.6 million at St. Clair and $804,000 at Warren. Additional investment and transfers of business from IAC facilities outside result in the creation of up to 200 new jobs and retention of up to 7,722 jobs, including 2,609 directly by IAC. In support of the projects, the city of Port Huron is considering a six-year abatement worth $258,000, while the city of St. Clair has proposed a six-year abatement of $202,000. The city of Warren is considering a 10-year abatement worth $57,000.
Purple House Productions LLC will utilize state and local tax capture valued at $63,823 to help renovate a vacant building located at 479 Columbia Avenue in the Columbia Arts District in Holland. When completed, the 6,500 square-foot structure will house TicTock Studios, a commercial film production company. The project will generate $701,185 in private investment and five new jobs.
Scrap Yard Lofts LLC will embark on a two-phased project to renovate two buildings located at 146 River Avenue in Holland utilizing state and local tax capture valued at $811,000. One building will be transformed into a mixed-use facility with 27 apartment and condominium units on the upper two floors and 13,600 square-feet of office space on the first floor. A portion of the building will be used for a parking garage. The other building will be renovated to house 21,000 square-feet of office space. Both phases of the project are expected to generate $5.8 million in capital investment and create up to 40 new jobs.
The Holland Brownfield Redevelopment Authority will use state and local tax capture valued at more than $4 million to help finance a new 262-space parking structure to help support new and future redevelopment projects including a mixed-use redevelopment known as Eighth Street Properties currently underway at 99 East 8th Street in Holland.
“We are successfully competing for new job-creating investments from companies all over the world,” Granholm said. “As these businesses choose Michigan for their job growth, they send a message that Michigan is a great place for other companies to do business and create jobs, too. We’ll continue to go anywhere and do anything to recruit and retain jobs like these.”
Since 2005, Governor Granholm and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation have announced the creation or retention of 209,000 jobs. You can visit them on the web here.
On the final day of this jobs and investment mission, we covered more territory in Germany. I met with executives at Brose, an advanced auto manufacturer specializing in doors and windows, that has a large plant in Michigan. They are a major supplier for many of the world’s top automakers, and we had a great meeting about the possibility of expanding their operation in Michigan.
The head of their Michigan operation is Swedish, and it turns out he is from Gothenburg, the Swedish city we visited earlier this week. He told me that he read press reports about that leg of our trip, and he learned a lot about what his home town is doing to convert waste into energy and reduce CO2 emissions.
Following the Brose meeting, we drove to Frankfurt, which was another two and a half hours in the car. We arrived and met with leaders from ZF Lemforder, another company that is considering expanding their Michigan presence.
With the week coming to a close, we’re bringing back new investments and new jobs, adding to our previous jobs and investments missions, which resulted in $302 million of investments and more than 2,300 jobs. I hope you’ll keep watching, because the connections and progress we have made are going to help bring more good jobs to Michigan in the future.
This morning came early after a long night of travel. After a day of meetings, we flew to Dusseldorf, piled into a car and a van, and made the 90-mile drive (they call it 150 kilometers here) to Lippstadt. I’ve lost count, but I think we’ll reach the 3,000 mile mark on this trip sometime today. We traveled on the Autobahn today but spent much of the time in construction and traffic and on two-lane roads.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the hotel, they had no reservations for us … and not enough rooms. So we split up and checked into the rooms we could find in a couple of hotels. Despite the late hour and our exhaustion, we did find a great local pizzeria that delivered late.
Germany and Michigan already have a great working relationship. In fact, there are more than 300 German-owned companies in Michigan, employing over 170,000 people.
Today I spoke with four companies who are considering locating or expanding in Michigan: Behr-Hella Thermocontrol, ersol Solar Energy AG, Maschinengabrik Spaichingen (luckily I was able to refer to it as “MS Welders”), and EDAG. EDAG, which is an engineering and development company, announced that it will invest $7 million to expand its Auburn Hills and Troy operations, creating 140 new jobs over the next two years.
Tonight we checked into our hotel (successfully – they had our reservations) and had dinner with company executives from another firm that may choose Michigan. They were anxious to show off their city, so we walked downtown where we encountered “Sandkerwa” – a local festival celebrating the church. We felt a little out of place in our business suites, but it was a great scene: booths and food and rides and happy people celebrating their community.
What a great day in Sweden. After two very positive meetings with area companies this morning (including landing 30 new jobs in Oakland County from a company called Atlas Copco), I was off to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson. I sat down with her in January when she came to visit Michigan, so it was great to see her again and continue to build our relationship. She shares my passion for alternative energy, and part of her duties include overseeing alternative energy development for the country. We also learned recently that it turns out we are related! Third cousins… no wonder we have so much in common.
We were joined by Ambassador Wood. The more time I spend with him, the more impressed I am. Ambassador Wood is completely focused on his agenda – which is all about bringing Swedish technology in alternative energy to the U.S. – and he is working it constantly. As part of his “One Big Thing” initiative (that’s what he calls it everywhere he goes), he has identified 37 companies ripe for connecting with and investing in the U.S. He hosted all of these companies at a reception so that my team and I could meet them. In just two hours, I was able to talk with more than 45 major CEOs who are considering coming to or expanding in Michigan.
The three of us – the ambassador, the deputy prime minister and I – then had the chance to witness the signing of an historic agreement between NewPage paper mill in Escanaba and Chemrec AB, a company based in Sweden. They are exploring using the byproduct from the paper mill to create biofuel. I see great, green potential!
I also got a brief chance to meet some of my relatives (those who aren’t the deputy prime minister!). It was just a brief visit, but I learned a lot about my father’s family and our history here in Sweden.
I spent my second full day in Sweden meeting with leaders of alternative energy companies here in the Gothenburg region. Gothenburg, which is located on the West coast, is the second largest city in Sweden, and it is home to the largest university in the country.
Last night when we arrived from Vaxjo, we were treated to some delicious grilled hamburgers compliments of Volvo – I’m pretty sure that burgers aren’t Swedish fare, but they did not hear any complaints from me.
This morning we kicked off the day with a Swedish-American fusion breakfast – that means that I ate corn flakes, toast, and juice, while Lennart Johansson, Michigan’s consul general from Sweden, ate more traditional Swedish food: raw herring, salmon, yogurt and cheese. Lennart is the highest ranking Swedish official in Michigan, and he has played an enormous role in organizing this investment mission. He is also a great asset in helping us to build on the 45+ Swedish companies that employ 6,000 people in Michigan today.
Following breakfast, I participated in a roundtable with leading alternative energy researchers and companies from the area. The folks here are very interested in partnering with Michigan companies and researchers to develop commercialized products quicker. This is exactly the kind of work that will be taking place at Michigan State University’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center with the $50 million U.S. Department of Energy grant we announced earlier in the summer. There are definitely a lot of great opportunities for people in Michigan to partner with people in Sweden on these efforts…and I think that the new contacts I made today with Business Region Gothenburg, who hosted us, will be helpful moving forward.
Following the roundtable, I met with the Lord Mayor of Gothenburg. He has come to Michigan several times and actually visited me on my first day in office as governor back in 2003! The Gothenburg region shows us what is possible if we set our minds to it in Michigan: Gothenburg uses no fossil fuels to produce electricity. And, they use all of their municipal waste for power generation, which they accomplish by converting it into synthetic gas, distributed via natural gas pipelines – in fact, Sweden is phasing out landfills altogether. Truly amazing. The businesses and technologies that help them achieve this should be great matches for our state as we work to maintain affordable energy from sustainable sources.
Then this evening, I met with 60 or so business executives and government leaders at a reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Michael Wood. Ambassador Wood is a Flint native – he loves Michigan, and he has already proven to be a great help in getting Swedish companies interested in coming to our state.
Tomorrow I’ll be meeting with officials from SECO Tools and Atlas Copco, both of which have operations in Michigan already, as well as a few companies that I’m hoping to bring to Michigan for the first time. I’ll check in with more soon.
Hello from Sweden. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after flying from Detroit to Gothenburg Airport (with a layover in Amsterdam) and then driving two hours to Vaxjo (pronounced “Vex-sha”).
This morning I spoke to a group of several hundred business leaders who are gathering here at a meeting of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce. I told them all about Michigan’s alternative energy economy and how they can become a part of it – Michigan can be their gateway to the North American market. Many of these Swedish companies have technology that can be successful in the U.S., and that can create jobs in Michigan. In fact, Vaxjo was recently designated the “greenest” city in Europe — almost 100% of the homes are heated by renewable energy sources. What a great place to find cutting edge technology that can benefit Michigan citizens!
During our drive from the airport yesterday, I got a good taste of the Swedish countryside… frankly, it looked a lot like up north – thick forests and lots of green. Although, there is a lot of “moose fencing” on the roads – apparently that’s the only way to keep moose from wandering on to the highways. Regardless, I think that Swedish alternative energy companies will feel right at home in Northern Michigan or the UP.
This week, I’ll be joined by leaders from Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Automation Alley, the Oakland County economic development team and others who will help out with our efforts to bring jobs to Michigan and build relationships with Swedish companies. All of this is organized by our great team at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation – their experts know how to maximize our impact on this kind of jobs and investment mission, so that we can make a great impression on CEOs who might invest in Michigan.
I’ll check in again tomorrow and tell you about some of my one on one meetings with business leaders – we’re going to build some great relationships that can pay big dividends down the road as our bio-economy continues to grow.
As we speak, Governor Granholm is in Sweden on the first leg of her jobs mission overseas. She, as always, has a full schedule – meeting with business leaders, government officials, and alternative energy experts. She is making time to keep everyone back home up-to-date on her progress, though, and you can read her updates here on The Conversation blog. Her first update should come later today.
In the meantime, I’m posting a great video of a media event the governor hosted just prior to her trip. It gives you a good idea of her day-to-day activities and what we’ll be reading about in the updates.
Governor Granholm will be rolling out the Michigan välkommen mat on her latest jobs mission – this time to Sweden and Germany! As I wrote last week, these jobs missions have historically been very, very good for Michigan economically. In the short term alone, the governor’s trips to Japan and Germany have netted over 30 companies, well over 2,000 jobs, and more than $300 million in investments for Michigan. Now, Governor Granholm will target Sweden’s booming alternative energy industry as she sells ‘the glove’ across the globe!
The governor’s decision to travel to Sweden next emphasizes her strong commitment to diversifying Michigan’s economy by investing in 21st Century industries. Sweden has an amazing focus on shifting their entire energy supply to renewable sources. They’ve set the bar high for clear, renewable energy which means scores of Swedish businesses are on the leading edge of alternative energy research. And, if Governor Granholm has her way, that research will be done here in Michigan. Exciting new technologies like the next generation of biofuels are being used to heat homes and businesses in Sweden; and those technologies could be researched, manufactured, and used here in the Great Lakes State.
And, if you’ve been paying attention, you know Germany has already proven itself to be a hotbed of 21st Century economic activity – especially in the area of advanced automotive manufacturing. With dozens of German companies already saying “Yes!” to Michigan thanks to the governor’s previous jobs missions, this will be a perfect chance to strengthen existing relationships and use those success stories to build new ones.
This trip, more than any other, will be especially exciting for our state. Governor Granholm, for the first time ever, will be able to pitch Michigan to overseas businesses with some important new tools. The state’s competitive new Michigan Business Tax (MBT) and the 21st Century Jobs Fund combined with Michigan’s unparalleled quality of life and top-notch workforce truly give our state ‘the upper hand.’ The MBT and the 21st Century Jobs Fund will give much-needed certainty to potential investors when Governor Granholm addresses the more than 500 companies at the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce meeting during her trip.
Governor Granholm and top MEDC officials will be leaving for Sweden on August 19th. A press release from the governor’s office is below. Keep checking back to www.JenniferGranholm.com for more information.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2007
Contact: Michelle Begnoche
(517) 335-6397
Granholm Traveling to Sweden, Germany to Bring New Investment, Jobs Back to Michigan
Governor’s fifth overseas investment mission set for August 19-25
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced she will travel to Sweden and Germany next month to meet with company leaders looking to expand in North America to encourage them to make their investments in Michigan. The trip, scheduled for August 19-25, will be Granholm’s fifth overseas investment mission since 2004. Michigan Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James C. Epolito will accompany Granholm on the trip.
“By going anywhere and doing anything to bring jobs to Michigan, we are bringing an infusion of global companies investing, expanding, and opening their doors in our state,” Granholm said. “Our focus on growing alternative energy and other high-growth sectors and our new, highly competitive business tax gives Michigan real advantages in attracting business from around the globe.”
While in Sweden, Granholm will meet with leaders of the country’s automotive and alternative energy sectors, including government and company officials, to develop partnerships and encourage alternative energy and automotive companies to do business in Michigan. The governor is scheduled to deliver a keynote address during the opening session of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneurial Days in Vaxjo, a three-day conference with 500-700 attendees expected. In Germany, Granholm will meet several companies considering expansions in North America to encourage them to choose Michigan.
“Michigan is definitely on the radar screen of international companies looking to establish or strengthen their presence in North America,” Epolito said. “This mission will provide a great opportunity for us to follow through on the groundwork we have laid and bring corporate investments and jobs to Michigan.”
Granholm’s two previous investment missions to Germany and two to Japan have resulted in more than $302 million in new investments and more than 2,300 new jobs.
Following her missions to Japan in 2005 and 2006, a total of 22 companies stated their intention to expand in Michigan, including DENSO, Konica Minolta, Meiden American, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Tokai Rika for a total investment of $200 million and over 1,000 new jobs. Her investment missions to Germany in 2004 and 2007 resulted in several companies investing approximately $102 million and creating more than 1,400 new Michigan jobs, including Behr America, Eberspacher, Bosch, Karmann, Mahle, FACTON, Kostal, MBTech Autodie, and AVL.
