Great Lakes Economic Development

Chamber: Let's focus on what matters: Development seen as key to its health

2011-02-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

By Nancy Kaffer

As the Detroit Regional Chamber works to balance its budget, President and CEO Sandy Baruah says fiscal stability and long-term viability lie in realigning chamber programs with its core mission: economic development in Southeast Michigan.

"You're going to see much more focus on economic development programs, see a much more robust economic development staff," Baruah said. "And you're going to see more revenue coming in."

Facing a projected budget hole of "several hundred thousand dollars" -- Baruah declined to provide a specific figure -- the chamber began bolstering its financial situation, including laying off nine employees two weeks ago, leaving the chamber with 65 employees. The most recent cuts were necessary, Baruah said, to make budgetary room for a renewed emphasis on economic development.

"It's just like any other business," Baruah said. "We've got to focus on what's more important ... frankly, all of the functions that we cut last week in those very painful cuts are all things we would like to continue to do, but at end of day we have to focus on what's important, and what's important is to focus on economic development."

The chamber is composed of three related entities: the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Detroit Regional Chamber Foundation Inc. and a for-profit entity, Detroit Regional Chamber Service Inc. Revenue across all three entities was $18.1 million in fiscal 2010. The budget for fiscal 2011 is $15.3 million, CFO Karen Belans said last week. According to a federal tax filing, revenue for the chamber proper was $5.8 million in fiscal 2009, the most recent year available, compared to $6 million the year before. The chamber ended that year with an excess of $128,676. The foundation ended fiscal 2009 with $2.9 million in revenue and an excess of $5,278, according to the tax document.

Registrations for the chamber's signature event, the annual Mackinac Policy Conference, are up 39 percent over this time last year. The 2010 conference had 1,498 attendees, and Baruah expects this year's attendance to exceed that number. Baruah said the budget for this year's conference is $2 million, and the chamber expects profits of $100,000 or less.

Chamber membership, Baruah said, has started to rebound after a drop when the economy crashed.

"Sales have been up since late 2009," he said.

The chamber has about 20,000 members, including affiliates, or members of other chambers with reciprocal membership in the Detroit Regional Chamber, with just under 5,000 core members, whose dues are at a higher level.

Revenue from the insurance packages the chamber offers members through its for-profit arm has historically been more than one-third of its overall revenue. But the amount the program brings in is expected to drop from roughly $6 million to $4 million in fiscal 2012, Baruah said.

Further, health care reform changes due in 2014 mean the relevance of such a program to the small-business market could change, he said -- some recent surveys have suggested that post-reform small-business owners may stop offering medical insurance to employees, directing them instead to purchase insurance through the proposed state health insurance exchanges.

"The chamber has historically received a majority of the biggest single chunk of its revenue from its affinity programs, particularly the Blue Cross (Blue Shield of Michigan) programs. We're going to continue to do that, find products that are useful to our members, that provide a positive and reasonable return for us, but at the end of the day I can't count on any particular product to fund the chamber."

Barbara Allushuski, chairwoman of the chamber board and president of Right Management, said the chamber brought Baruah in because of his economic development experience -- his résumé includes the post of U.S. assistant secretary of commerce, during which time he led the federal government's Economic Development Administration.

"This is what we need, to help build the economy, to bring jobs back, and that's a huge focus for the chamber," she said. "There's no getting around that the health care reform means less revenue dollars coming into the chamber. Like other businesses, we are needing to change our business model. We need to have a strong value proposition for members."

Allushuski said the chamber is focusing on the value proposition it offers its members, especially its small-business members.

"We're going to have focus groups to make sure we have the services small business needs," she said. "I also believe that we need to be very focused on the state. We're very excited about the new governor and excited to partner with other chambers around the state."

Economic development programs Baruah is championing include:

• The reboot of the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership, a 10-county public-private partnership that works to bring business to the area, which was started by Baruah's predecessor, Dick Blouse. Baruah said he spent the summer working with the heads of metro Detroit counties and their economic development staffs to re-create the regional partnership.

In November, the partnership and the region's leading economic development organizations signed a letter of intent to work together on economic development.

"We went back to our investor group in the beginning of January and you are going to see a much more energized program" on regional economic collaboration.

• The MichAuto program, which became part of the chamber in July and is focused on bolstering the auto supply chain in the state.

• TranslinkeD, also started by Blouse, a project that would make Detroit a center for global and regional shipping.

"Logistics, the bridge, the energy cluster in Southeast Michigan that we should rebuild, because it's 70,000 jobs if we do it right," Baruah said.

A clearly defined mission is the right move for the chamber, said Beth Chappell, president of the Detroit Economic Club and past chairwoman of the chamber. She currently sits on the chamber board.

"I think Sandy's doing exactly the right thing," she said. "We're all doing more with less, which is pretty cliché though very true. Out of necessity, we're having to focus on what our core mission is and nothing else. There's all these ancillary things anywhere you go, and we're at a point in this economy where we don't have luxury of extra resources."

Nancy Kaffer: (313) 446-0412, nkaffer@crain.com

BGSU symposium focuses on future of Great Lakes

2011-02-02T22:48:00.000-05:00

By MIKE SIGOV
BLADE STAFF WRITER

BOWLING GREEN -- Speakers at the 24th annual Reddin Symposium at Bowling Green State University Saturday discussed the importance of ecological preservation of the Great Lakes and investment in the natural resource for the benefit of our children and grandchildren, if not for our own.

"It's a priority issue of how we spend our money. Not all the solutions are known but many of them are known, and in many cases we know at least how to move in the right direction. But in many cases, we don't know even in which direction to move," said John Smol, professor of biology at Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.

"We need more money for the research -- that's one side of it. The other side is that governments and people should start investing in the solutions such as decreasing the greenhouse gases. Some of it might cost more in the short term, but there's nothing cheap about it."

Asked if we are talking about millions and billions of dollars, he said, "Yes. But we are also talking about the future of our children and grandchildren. But it would be very well spent. It will be like insurance."

One of three featured speakers, Mr. Smol spoke to about 100 faculty, elected officials, and businessmen from the United States and Canada who attended the symposium, "The Great Lakes: A Resource at Risk," held in Olscamp Hall. The event was presented by the Continuing and Extended Education program at the university.

Another speaker, John Gannon of Windsor, Ont., a limnologist recently retired from the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor, talked about the research management policy in preservation of the Great Lakes environment.

Mr. Gannon said his message is that a lot of environmental factors such as climate change, algae blooms and nuisance algae, the continuation of wide-spread toxic substances, and invasive species interact with each other.

That's what makes it more complex for researchers, research managers, policy makers, and the public to understand what's going on, Mr. Gannon said.

On the bright side, he said, there is an opportunity for the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement under renegotiation by the United States and Canada to encompass issues such as invasive species and climate change, and to jump-start more interest and focus on the pact as a mechanism to resolve these problems.

Michael McKay, biology professor at BGSU and one of the event organizers, agreed by saying that "the public has to look at how the Great Lakes affect them."

He added the lakes are important as a resource of fresh water, recreation, and commerce -- all vital for job creation.

If people examine the Great Lakes in the context of those issues, maybe they can elevate the lakes to a more important place and understand why it is crucial that more money is allocated to the lakes, Mr. McKay said.

Tom Blaha, executive director of the Wood County Economic Development Commission, said he hopes the event creates opportunities for new Canadian investment in northwest Ohio and helps the local businesses find new markets in Canada.

Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com, or 419-724-6089.

The Next Economy: Economic Recovery and Transformation in the Great Lakes Region

2010-10-09T09:25:00.002-04:00

Jennifer S. Vey, Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program
John C. Austin, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program
Jennifer Bradley, Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program

Brookings Institution
September 27, 2010 —

As the American economy works its way slowly out of the Great Recession, a consensus is developing among public and private-sector stakeholders that simply re-constructing our old economy, one based on highly-leveraged domestic consumption, would be a serious mistake. The nation must instead focus on building the next economy, one that is oriented towards greater exporting, powered by a low-carbon energy strategy, driven by innovation, and that creates opportunities for all.

The Great Lakes region, too long tagged with the misleading nickname, The Rust Belt, could show the rest of the country the way forward to the next economy. Although battered by decades of declining economic health, and particularly by the recession, the nation’s heartland still has many of the fundamental resources—top-ranked universities, companies with deep experience in global trade, and emerging centers of clean energy research to name just a few—necessary to create a better, more sustainable, economic model.

This is not to disregard the region’s challenges. Its major metros have neither the economic development strategies nor the transportation infrastructure in place to fully take advantage of their export generating capacity. Many have inefficient physical development patterns, hollowed out urban neighborhoods, and concentrations of energy-intensive industries, and thus remain the epicenters of the nation’s fossil fuel-reliant economy. They lack the early-stage capital and other supports needed to strengthen existing firms and encourage start-up enterprises. And many suffer from deep, entrenched poverty, and have low educational attainment levels compared with their peers nationwide.

With both the strengths and challenges clearly in mind, this report provides a roadmap to economic recovery and transformation in the Great Lakes region, powered by its metropolitan areas. It describes how federal, state, and local stakeholders can leverage the region’s substantial assets to create a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive economic future.

The report finds:

First—The Great Lakes region, particularly its metropolitan areas, has significant resources essential to creating the next economy:

Global Trade Networks —These networks, developed in large part by the auto industry, are critical to an export economy. Seven Great Lakes metros—Dayton, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Toledo, and Youngstown—are already among the country’s top 20 metro areas in terms of the share of their metro output that is exported. In particular, Great Lakes metros can capitalize on the growth potential of knowledge exports, as they have a concentration of top universities and associated medical complexes.

Clean Energy/Low Carbon Capacity — Industries and universities in Great Lakes metros have created the research capacity and manufacturing prowess needed to build a clean energy, low-carbon economy. They have an outsized ability to lead on wind and solar renewable component manufacturing, and to capitalize on the “green-blue” potential of the Great Lakes and their waterways. The region’s research and innovation infrastructure is already spurring the development of new products and processes: Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois are among the top states in terms of green tech patenting, focused on new technologies in battery power, hybrid systems, and fuel cells.

Innovation Infrastructure — Great Lakes metros have the industrial and institutional infrastructure necessary to power an innovation economy. The 21 largest Great Lakes metros alone are home to 32 major public and private research universities, which attract substantial federal research investment. The region produces approximately 36 percent of America’s science and engineering degrees each year. Between 2001 and 2007, an average of nearly one-third of the country’s patents each year were awarded to the Great Lakes states.

Opportunities — Like innovation, opportunities grow in the presence of a robust educational network, such as the one that exists in the Great Lakes region. In addition to its public and land grant universities—the latter created in the 19th century to promote agriculture, science, and engineering—the region is also dotted with community colleges, which help the region’s workers develop skills and credentials necessary to secure jobs in the region’s industries, and in so doing maintain a pool of skilled employees to attract and support them.

Second — To realize the promise of the next economy, federal, state, and metropolitan leaders should join with the private and philanthropic sector to:

Invest in the assets that matter: innovation, infrastructure, and human capital

Devise new public-private institutions that are market-oriented and performance-driven.

Reimagine metros’ form and governance structures to set the right conditions for economic growth.

Michigan needs tax incentives to compete for jobs

2010-09-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

Chris Knape | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- Despite political rhetoric, Michigan needs tax incentives, lower taxes and fairer trade policies to remain globally competitive.

That was the collective conclusion of a panel of a top site-selection consultant and two economic development experts speaking Friday at the West Michigan Policy Forum.

Ron Pollina, a site selection consultant, said the country stands to lose many of the new "green energy" jobs it has created in wind, battery and other industries once subsidies run out if Congress doesn't create trade policies with the nation's interest in mind rather than special interests. Michigan also needs to create a more competitive environment.

"You have to change the business climate in this state or, long term, those companies won't be here," he said.

"The basic problem is in Washington, D.C.," said Pollina, author of the book "Selling Out a Superpower." "We have horrendous trade policies established by special interests."

For Michigan to quickly become more competitive, the state would do well to adopt a Right-to-Work policy, said Pollina. Doing so would take off the table some outsiders' concerns about problems with unions.

He also said Michigan has become less competitive because it has let some programs such as tax-free Renaissance Zones sunset while others have lost pace against more aggressive competing states.

"Your competition is not the surrounding states around Michigan, your real competition is global competition: Mexico, India, Brazil and China," said Pollina, whose company is based in Park Ridge, Ill.

Michigan has dropped in virtually every competitiveness metric measured by Pollina's firm. It was ranked No. 1 in 2004 for its incentives and economic development agency. Today it ranks 11th.

Overall it ranked 7th in 2004 and, today, ranks 31st in terms of total performance.

He blamed the sunset of tax-free Renaissance Zones and less competitive tax credits from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority for part of the drop.

Birgit Klohs, CEO of The Right Place Inc. in Grand Rapids, derided calls for the elimination of tax incentives. Doing so would immediately take Michigan out of consideration by many expanding companies, she said.

"I will be glad to lay down my weapons if 49 other states agree to do the same," she said. "We need a better tax climate, but if you unilaterally disarm me and my colleagues by cutting out incentives, then I'm out of this game."

Doug Rothwell, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, said Michigan needs to take a holistic look at reforming its tax system and simplifying tax incentives in order to remain competitive.

"The Michigan Business Tax equates to the highest corporate income tax in the country," he said. "We don't have enough assets to offset, compensate for the cost problem."
That being said, Rothwell said there are no quick fixes.

"There is no silver bullet for this stuff," he said. "I think that's something in Michigan that we fall in to. I am so sick of the economic development fad of the month."

E-mail Chris Knape: cknape@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/Kcorner

Michigan's economic recovery hinges on turnaround strategies debated by Rick Snyder, Virg Bernero

2010-09-19T08:35:00.002-04:00

By: Nathan Bomey
AnnArbor.com Staff

As Michigan’s gubernatorial candidates vie for the chance to lead the state’s economic revitalization efforts, regional economic developers are hoping to influence the state’s strategy after the Nov. 2 election.

Michigan’s economic development strategy is becoming a central issue in the race between Ann Arbor venture capitalist and Republican candidate Rick Snyder and Lansing Mayor and Democratic candidate Virg Bernero.

The new governor will shape the future of Michigan’s economic development strategy, which will decide the pace and complexion of the state’s resurgence.

At stake: the future of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s tax incentives and the state’s role in distributing small amounts of capital to private companies.

“There’s a fair amount of uncertainty at the MEDC with the change in administration,” said David Parsigian, managing partner of the Ann Arbor office of law firm Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn. “A lot of people have left, and it’s kind of hard to see what’s going to happen in terms of who staffs that thing, how it’s built and what it’s going to focus on.”

Since Gov. Jennifer Granholm took office in 2003, MEDC’s Michigan Economic Growth Authority Board has distributed $3.56 billion in tax incentives to 508 companies, according to a list of tax credits MEDC provided to AnnArbor.com. Studies by the Anderson Economic Group and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy say the MEGA program has been a waste of government resources, while a competing study by the Upjohn Institute says the tax incentives are worthwhile.

Regardless, Michigan’s economy, pummeled by the automotive crisis and global economic trends, has lost 592,900 jobs since 2003, according to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. Some 13.4 percent of Michigan’s jobs have been eliminated over the last seven years.

Snyder and Bernero told AnnArbor.com they would both take a harder look at the effectiveness of the state’s tax incentives and give more economic firepower to Michigan’s regional economic development groups.

But they differ on the tax incentives MEDC should be allowed to distribute - incentives local economic developers promote heavily in discussions with businesses that are considering their future in Michigan.

Snyder and Bernero both claim to be the most effective “job creator” in the race. But their policy proposals, placed in the context of Michigan’s evolving economic development picture, illustrate the increasing influence of groups like Ann Arbor SPARK, Grand Rapids-based The Right Place, Detroit-based TechTown and the University Research Corridor, a coalition among the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

Those organizations are convinced incentives need to stay in some form. But their main focus is on the pursuit of collaborative opportunities with other economic development groups, major corporations, startup companies, universities and state government.

“It is all about collaboration if you’re going to make this work,” said Stephen Forrest, chairman of Ann Arbor SPARK and U-M's vice president of research. “People who want to come to this region are not interested in our differences. They’re interested in how we work together, how SPARK and any other economic developers can connect them to the state and how the state can connect them to the national.”

SPARK, for one, is emphasizing the importance of “open source economic development,” the idea that successful economic development practices should be shared with other communities because the various regions throughout the state rise and fall together.

“To have this what I would call boundary-less development strategy is extremely important and it has borne many fruits for the Washtenaw County area as well as for southeast Michigan in general,” Forrest said. “And I believe that philosophy has extended appeal to other economic developers around the state and outside the state.”

SPARK’s collaborative moves offer pathway

Increased collaboration in Michigan’s economic development process is already unfolding as the gubernatorial transition draws near.

SPARK announced in August that it would lead a $1 million business plan competition in cooperation with Oakland County-based Automation Alley, Detroit-based TechTown and the new Macomb-Oakland University Incubator. The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan is funding the project through the new Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan.

The statewide business plan competition - which aims to encourage entrepreneurialism in Michigan - is the latest in a series of collaborative economic development projects SPARK has agreed to lead.

The group already manages the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which invests in startup technology companies on behalf of the MEDC and the state’s 15 SmartZones, as well as the Michigan Microloan Fund, which provides small amounts of financing to companies that can’t get traditional bank financing. Collectively, SPARK has distributed $11.2 million to 84 companies through those programs.

The group has also coordinated with local communities, universities and the state to launch several business incubators. The biggest, a 57,000-square-foot life sciences facility in Plymouth Township, was the result of cooperation among SPARK, MEDC, Wayne County and private companies.

Collaborative economic development efforts like those, which have been praised by local businesses, should serve as an example for Michigan’s future economic development strategy, SPARK CEO Michael Finney said.

“I think it’s part of the solution,” said Finney, whose ties to Snyder could make him a candidate to become the next CEO of the MEDC. “We think we’ve created a model that has huge upside potential, and the upside potential is definitely beyond the Ann Arbor region.”

The evolution of SPARK provides a framework for understanding the economic development mindset of Snyder, who co-founded SPARK in 2005.

Snyder said MEDC should encourage economic development organizations throughout the state to replicate successful business services offered by groups like SPARK. One program he likes is a service in which SPARK collects job openings at local companies and connects talented local jobseekers to those businesses. SPARK posted 2,781 job openings for 1,001 companies from 2006 to 2009.

“I’m still amazed that more organizations aren’t doing that,” Snyder said. “That’s something that we should be doing statewide.”

Jeff Mason, executive director of the URC and a former vice president at MEDC, said collaborative efforts among the state’s top economic development groups are vital.

“It just becomes stronger when everyone is rolling in the same direction,” he said. “We see the opportunity to work with the MEDC and with a new administration and the existing administration to effectively harness the assets and the resources we have to benefit the future of the state’s economy in anyway that we can be of assistance.”

Bernero’s economic development approach can be viewed through the lens of his strategy in Lansing.

Over the last five years, the Lansing Economic Development Corp. gave out $177.6 million in tax incentives in 121 installments - including 37 brownfield redevelopment credits, 24 obsolete property rehabilitation tax certificates and 18 tax abatements. LEDC claims those efforts created more than 5,100 jobs in the city of Lansing.

“Much of my strategy is what I’ve done in Lansing,” Bernero said. “It’s not based on hypotheticals. It’s based on actual things we’ve implemented in the city. We’ve leveraged every asset we have locally.”

Bernero said that without incentives, the state would be missing a vital element in its economic development tool kit.

“I believe in a global economy we’re competing not just in a local basis, but state and global basis. It would be disarmament, waving the white flat, to scale back the use of economic incentives,” Bernero said.

That aggressive use of incentives reflects a philosophical divide between Snyder and Bernero.

Snyder believes MEDC’s incentives are indirectly making it more expensive for Michigan’s existing companies to do business. He wants to significantly slash the number of incentives MEDC distributes through programs like the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) Board’s tax credits.

Snyder wants to eliminate the state’s controversial Michigan Business Tax in favor of a 6 percent corporate income tax.

“A natural consequence of that is you should be able to reduce the amount of incentives that are required,” he said. “Why do you need incentives at that level? It’s because we’ve got a broken tax system. In some ways those are Band Aids. You’ve almost got to buy someone to come into our state because of our broken tax structure.”

Opinions about Michigan’s tax incentives strategy vary among the state’s economic development leaders, past and present. Several economic development leaders said in interviews that they believe the incentives need to stay, although they also said they’d like to see the Michigan Business Tax reworked.

“I believe we need to make Michigan a much more business friendly state,” said James Epolito, who served as CEO of the MEDC under Granholm before resigning in spring 2009. “But at the same time you can’t just throw away your tax incentives and expect people to come to Michigan. You’re not only competing against other states in the Midwest but all over the county and all over the world.”

Doug Rothwell, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, which has endorsed Snyder, said the MEGA tax credits have been misguided. He said the state shouldn’t be focusing on specific sectors of the economy MEDC has historically favored, such as life sciences, alternative energy and advanced manufacturing.

“I think the issue here is not too much that they have too many incentives, it’s the way it’s being used,” said Rothwell, who served as CEO of MEDC when Snyder was chairman of the agency under Gov. John Engler.

“We get enamored with the economic development fad of the month. There is no one answer to this. The answer is the basic blocking and tackling, which is get yourself a competitive business climate, make sure you’re having an aggressive economic development strategy and incentive program.”

Bob Trezise, CEO of Bernero’s Lansing Economic Development Corp. rejected the suggestion that incentives are part of the problem. He hopes “those core community tools,” like brownfield redevelopment credits, aren’t eliminated under the next governor’s administration.

“Those tools have been magic bullets for cities,” he said. “Without those tools, we would have really been dead in the water. I do not think this is the time to be cutting incentives. That is absolute insanity.”

Finney said some level of tax incentives is necessary though not always decisive for companies considering where to expand.

“Being on the ground and talking to companies on a daily basis, incentives is not one of the topics that come up very early in the conversation,” Finney said. “In fact, it tends to come up when companies are very close to their final decision making. You’ve got to package and sell all the other things. You’ve got to lead with the talent we have here, the infrastructure we have, the quality of education we have. When you lead with all those things, this state fares very well when compared to other states throughout the country.”

One of the main problems for small companies is lack of access to capital, which typically helps them expand, introduce new products and hire more workers.

Bernero wants to form a state-owned-and-operated bank to offer loans directly to Michigan companies that can’t get access to credit from big banks that “have basically stymied our recovery.”

“Our small businesses are being punished for the abuse of Wall Street,” Bernero said. “They’re the most creative, dynamic businesses. They’re the ones that create the jobs and they’re being stifled from the growth.”

Chuck Hadden, CEO of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, said he would be willing to consider a state-owned bank like that in North Dakota. But he’s not sold on it.

“It’s definitely worth exploring, if for no other reason than it puts some heat on other banks out there to make something happen,” Hadden said. “We’re not really comparable to North Dakota though.”

Access to capital is a key aspect of the success of Michigan’s research universities in their efforts to launch startup companies and boost the economy in their respective communities.

Forrest, Snyder’s successor as chairman of SPARK, said the state’s 15 public universities form a major asset that needs to be leveraged more effectively. He said the URC was “the single greatest resource we have to build on.”

But those university spinoff companies generally can’t get off the ground without access to loans or venture capital, financing that helps them get their products ready for the market.

Rothwell said a state-owned bank is not an effective way to get capital to startup companies. He said he is comfortable with programs that place state money in the hands of professional investors to back promising Michigan companies. But he said he was uncomfortable with Michigan offering loans directly to companies.

“At some point you have to let the market determine what is worth investing in and what’s not,” Rothwell said.

Forrest, for one, wants to see visionary leadership from the next governor.

“I’m most interested to see how the old equation is going to change. What are the ideas behind moving us from an entrenched, heavy manufacturing economy, which we all know has drained away? How do we make this transformation? What is the long-term vision?” Forrest said.

He added: “The state of Michigan used to be at the very heart of the American economy. It was the driver. So what do we do to make that happen again? It may be too big of an ask to hope that at some point that we can overtake the state of California or Texas, but we can certainly be a player in their league, and I want to know what’s the strategy to go there?”

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.

Great Lakes Water Should be Valued, Not Discounted

2010-08-24T22:17:00.000-04:00

A central premise of the new Great Lakes Compact is that Great Lakes waters are worth protecting and that a premium be placed on water conservation and efficiency. In short, we need to put our own house in order.

That point is being missed by Milwaukee, however, as that city looks to offer Great Lakes water at a discount to lure high-volume business and industry water users to relocate and expand there.

It’s not that we shouldn’t lure sustainable businesses to invigorate the Great Lakes economy. In fact, quite the opposite.

But it’s time community leaders in Milwaukee and other Great Lakes communities put their money behind the words of the compact -– that the lakes are an asset to be touted and protected, not discounted and squandered. Put another way, if Great Lakes cities don’t recognize the intrinsic value of being situated near the world’s largest concentration of freshwater lakes, how can they convince others of their value?

In comments presented to Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission (PSC) in Milwaukee Wednesday, Alliance Water Conservation Director Ed Glatfelter urged the commission to reject Milwaukee’s bid for a discounted “economic development” water rate, terming it a “a false bargain with cheap water.”

“Great Lakes municipalities with a ready supply of water who want to promote economic development need to promote the reliability and long-term sustainability of their water resource -- genuine qualities that contrast with artificially low prices,” he said.

Indeed, Glatfelter –- with more than 26 years of water supply management experience under his belt -- notes that smart marketing could even help communities pay for water infrastructure if they use full-cost and conservation pricing for water.

There are other reasons to deny Milwaukee’s request. Among them: the city’s water rates are already low. A draft PSC survey of large cities in Wisconsin and throughout the United States determined Milwaukee’s water rates would be the fifth lowest of the 28 cities surveyed even after proposed rate increases on the city’s existing water users are enacted.

Another reason: Fully 68 percent of respondents to a recent survey of corporations considering relocation or expansion say sustainable development is more important now than ever.

Noting growing concerns about the availability of long-term water supplies beyond the Great Lakes Basin, Glatfelter said, “The reliability, long-term sustainability and quality of the Great Lakes Basin’s water resource should be attractive enough -- even at fully valued prices -- to be an effective economic development tool.”

Attractive enough, to be sure, but still taken for granted by many in the region. It was this same complacency that drove adoption of the Great Lakes Compact back in 2008, a policy that largely bans water diversions from the Great Lakes at the same time that it calls for ratcheting up conservation and water efficiency in the region.

The simple thinking was this: the region must demonstrate that it values and protects the waters of the Great Lakes before it can tell others who come calling for water to do the same.

Ultimately, the battle for maintaining the Great Lakes over time won’t be won with a single sweeping piece of legislation, but with many smaller acts that underscore our reverence and commitment to these waters.

The Wisconsin PSC has an opportunity now to send a clear message that Great Lakes water doesn’t belong on the closeout rack.

Alliance For The Great Lakes

Exports in the Great Lakes:

2010-08-09T20:45:00.002-04:00

How Great Lakes Metros Can Build on Exports and Boost Competitiveness

JENNIFER BRADLEY, EMILIA ISTRATE AND JONATHAN ROTHWELL1

Findings

Using newly developed information from the Brookings report “Export Nation,” this analysis of export activity in the 21 largest metros of the Great Lakes region for the years 2003 to 2008 reveals that:

■ Exports support 1.95 million jobs in the largest metropolitan areas in the Great Lakes. Even after decades of decline in manufacturing employment, export industries (primarily manufacturing) still employ millions of people in the region, ranging from 398,000 in Chicago, to 240,000 in Detroit, to 20,000 in Des Moines, as of 2008.

■ Great Lakes metros have some of the highest dollar volumes of exports and
the greatest reliance on exports of any of the large metropolitan areas in the nation. Chicago and Detroit rank third and ninth, respectively, in total dollar export volume among top 100 metropolitan areas, and Minneapolis, St. Louis, and Indianapolis all rank in the top 20. Great Lakes metros also tend to export a greater proportion of their economic output than most large metropolitan areas.

■ In general, Great Lakes metros with the highest levels of manufacturing employment are less innovative than their manufacturing oriented or export intensive peers. Nationally, metros that are manufacturing oriented or export intensive (or both) tend to create patents at much higher rates than other metros. But most Great Lakes metros underperform on innovation compared to their national peers, despite high levels of manufacturing employment and generally high export intensity. Only three of the 15 most manufacturing-intensive metros in the region, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Rochester, post above average patenting rates.

■ The region’s metros lag the nation’s other large metros in terms of service exports and service export growth. Only Chicago and Minneapolis export more services as a share of total output than do the nation’s top 100 metros as a whole, and only four Great Lakes metros (Syracuse, Buffalo, Des Moines, and Columbus) outpaced other large metros in the growth of their service exports. Despite this lackluster growth performance relative to other metros, infl ation-adjusted service exports grew faster than output in 20 of the 21 Great Lakes metros from 2003 to 2008 (Pittsburgh was the only exception).

■ Considerable growth in global customers for products and services produced in the Great Lakes metros will come from the large emerging markets of Brazil, India, and China. Most Great Lakes metropolitan areas (12 out of 21) send 8.6 percent or more of their export value to Brazil, India, and China (the BIC countries), meaning that they meet or exceed the average large metro export share going to the BIC nations. Some Great Lakes metros, such as Youngstown, Des Moines, and Columbus, have seen huge jumps in the value of their exports to BIC countries over the last five years.

A legacy of success in exports does not guarantee future dominance, a lesson that Great Lakes metros should have learned through rough experience. But raising exports holds out the promise of creating thousands of new jobs in Great Lakes metros that desperately need them. For that reason, metropolitan leaders and their federal, state, and private sector partners must be aggressive and creative in determining what new or re-imagined goods and services the world demands from them, and equally dedicated to expanding their global reach.

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2010/0726_exports/0726_great_lakes_exports_bradley.pdf

Think tank lists Des Moines, Iowa, as No. 2 city for performance during downturn

2010-06-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel

As the nation's industrial heartland rises from recession, its cities might look to an unlikely metro region to emulate: Des Moines, Iowa.

According to The Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C., think tank, Des Moines nearly tops a ranking of "overall performance during the recession" of the 21 biggest cities of the Great Lakes region, which stretches from Minneapolis and St. Louis, Mo., to Pittsburgh and Rochester, N.Y.

Iowa's capital edged past Madison, which has a larger population, while Des Moines also came out well ahead of both Chicago and Milwaukee under the index. Brookings used a composite measure of employment, unemployment, economic output and housing prices. It tracked each from the start of the recession through the first quarter of 2010.

Only one city fared better than Des Moines: Buffalo, N.Y. But even before the Brookings study, Iowa had caught the attention of Wisconsin's economic planners. Many ask why Iowa - seen by some as a sleepy agricultural state without major cities or professional football or baseball - outpaces the Midwest.

"Anybody that's been watching economic data sees that Iowa definitely outperforms other states in the region," said Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance in Madison. "It's a fairly recent phenomenon."

Many took notice in 2008 when IBM Corp. announced plans to create 1,300 technology jobs in Dubuque, Iowa. At the time, a media commentator in the Research Park Triangle, a university and technology mecca in North Carolina, expressed astonishment that IBM chose "the land of farms, cattle and the Iowa caucuses."

"Iowa has won good marks for its economic strategy," said Tim Sheehy, a top official in the Milwaukee 7 economic development consortium and president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. "Some of the work that we did early on looked at Des Moines."

"We've been watching Iowa for the last three or four years," said Berry, who tracks competitive benchmarks for Wisconsin. In the 10 years from 1998 to 2008, Iowa's per-capita economic output outpaced the national average while Wisconsin lagged behind the national average, Berry said.

Among the reasons for Iowa's relative success: The state has two notable research universities - Iowa State University in Ames and the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Iowa invests disproportionately in its universities, and it relies less on heavy manufacturing than many neighbors, he said.

The 21 largest cities of the Great Lakes region - which have roots in the 19th century farm, factory and foundry economy - offer one of the most relevant comparisons for Wisconsin's urban centers.

Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Louisville, Ky., and Cincinnati cluster in the middle of the pack, Brookings found. "The extent of job losses during the Great Recession has been highly varied across the Great Lakes region," it said. And compared with the rest of the nation's metro centers, "the Great Recession has been more severe and its recovery weaker in the Great Lakes region than any of the previous three recessions and subsequent recoveries."

Faring worst on the list was Youngstown, Ohio, a former steelmaking town of about 500,000 people.

The ranking makes clear that cities with a concentration of automakers or auto-parts supplies "are among those with the largest employment declines in the nation." Detroit has suffered employment declines greater than 10% since its pre-recession employment peak, as have Dayton, Youngstown and Toledo in Ohio, it said.

One bright spot: The region as a whole avoided the worst of the housing-price inflation that led to the mortgage meltdown. Housing prices fell in the past three years in the Great Lakes region, Brookings said, "but by significantly less than in the 100 largest metropolitan areas."

***
Great Lakes rankings
The Brookings Institution measured employment, unemployment, economic output and housing prices in the 21 biggest cities in a region that includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin and the western parts of New York and Pennsylvania. Ranked from the top:

Buffalo, N.Y.

Des Moines, Iowa

Madison

Rochester, N.Y.

Columbus, Ohio

Indianapolis

Pittsburgh

St. Louis, Mo.

Syracuse, N.Y.

Cincinnati

Louisville, Ky.

Milwaukee

Minneapolis

Akron, Ohio

Chicago

Cleveland

Dayton, Ohio

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Detroit

Toledo, Ohio

Youngstown, Ohio

Source: Brookings Institution

How one Michigan city tries to lure Millennials and retain talent

2010-06-21T21:28:00.001-04:00

T. J. Hamilton | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- Bridget Clark Whitney and Leslie Perales represent the yin and yang of Michigan as a destination for talented, college-educated Millennials.

Whitney oozes Grand Rapids' youthful energy from every pore.

The 30-year-old is executive director of Kids' Food Basket, a fast-growing nonprofit agency that serves after-school meals to children in low-income families. She could be a poster child -- or maybe more accurately, a poster Millennial -- for the crusade to attract young professionals to West Michigan and stem the state's so-called "brain drain."

A dynamo on the job and off, the Pittsburgh native and 2003 Aquinas College graduate bubbles over when describing the qualities that should make Grand Rapids a hotbed for 21- to 35-year-olds.

"Everything you want, you've got here, short of IKEA or Whole Foods. The culture, the excitement, the nightlife, the sociability and the people all together create an incredible place to live," she raves. "There's an incredible generosity that exists. It's part of the culture. ... There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be."

The Pennsylvania transplant even blogged online, "I'll say it: Grand Rapids. Best. City. Ever."

Perales, 24, is impressed by Grand Rapids' progress, but it doesn't guarantee a job and it's unlikely to bring her back here anytime soon.

Perales, a Zeeland High School graduate who earned a print journalism degree from Grand Valley State University in 2007, adores her new home in Reston, Va., just outside Washington D.C.

After her boyfriend, GVSU grad Steve Loges, couldn't find work in Michigan three years ago, he accepted a position with his brother's Internet marketing firm outside Washington. Perales joined him four months later. In just three weeks, she found work as a general assignment newspaper reporter and has since taken a better-paying job as content editor for Knowlera Media, which specializes in how-to videos.

Perales loves the culturally diverse Washington area and wonders if the Grand Rapids area can match that city's vibe and robust economy.

"At this point, I'm not sure if I want to come back at all," she concedes. "I love it here. It seems like a lot of young people in the area really enjoy living here. The opportunities that you find here, you just don't feel like you have to go searching for those more diverse opportunities. They're just everywhere here."

Economic hurdles

Stopping the brain drain of Millennials drawn to vibrant urban centers and making Michigan a magnet for creative minds is a hot topic, online and on the street. Groups such as the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE), seek to revitalize industrial cities in the region, in part, by targeting these young, "post-boomer urbanists" who experts consider linchpins in spurring growth, innovation and economic recovery. More here.

Economic development group's performance and budgeting being questioned

2010-06-07T22:03:00.001-04:00

Melissa Domsic
mdomsic@lsj.com

LANSING -- Three years after its founding, the Lansing Economic Area Partnership Inc. regional economic development group seems to be at a crossroads.

LEAP has been involved in several efforts to boost business and the economy in general since its formation, from helping draw IBM to Michigan State University to compiling the Greater Lansing Next: A Plan for Regional Prosperity that outlines ways for the area to grow.

But some local officials are raising questions about the organization's overall performance and budgeting, including transparency. And some LEAP board members are taking another look at their financial commitments.

"Some of us believe the initial three-year (financial) commitment was to help the organization get off the ground," said Ted Staton, East Lansing city manager. "Now that it has a plan and is working on that plan, they need to move to the next phase of the organization's existence."

Nonprofit group LEAP was formed in 2007 to unite public and private organizations to boost the region's economic development.

Of the 36 organizations listed as board members, 15 said they intend to continue financially supporting LEAP. Eight said they were unsure of their plans for next year, including three companies that recently had management changes. Six municipalities will consider lowering their contributions. Four board members did not respond to requests for information.

Three board members exchange services instead of paying a fee, including the Lansing State Journal.

While the organization has support from many business and community leaders, it also has been catching flak for what some local officials describe as a lack of transparency and measurable results.

Delhi Township Trustee Derek Bajema recently questioned whether the township's $35,000 annual investment in LEAP was paying off.

"I understand that the economy has been down, it's tough to attract business in this kind of environment," he said. "At the very least, I think just more transparency needs to be there."

Bajema requested a copy of LEAP's budget and received a seven-line budget that didn't break down components, such as the $750,843 in personnel costs.

"At the heart of it all really is: These are taxpayer dollars, and if nothing else, let's see how you're spending taxpayer dollars," Bajema said.

LEAP is funded by contributions from more than 60 businesses, local governments and other community organizations. About half of the members serve on the board of directors.

The organization provides the same seven-line budget to its board members.

Board member and Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher said he thinks LEAP needs to better account for the money it spends.

"I think LEAP does do great work in the community and they should be willing to go out there and show the funders exactly how they're using that money and how they're accomplishing their goals," he said.

This year's $1.2 million budget provided to the Lansing State Journal by LEAP included a $750,843 personnel budget for eight employees.

President and CEO Denyse Ferguson would not disclose details beyond the seven-line budget.

However, LEAP files financial reports with the Internal Revenue Service. A report filed in September 2009 shows former President and CEO Matthew Dugener was paid a $144,845 salary plus benefits in 2008. Ferguson made $120,791 plus benefits. She served as executive vice president until October 2008, when Dugener resigned and Ferguson took over as interim president and CEO. Justin Himebaugh, former chief operating and financial officer, made $104,710 plus benefits.

Ferguson has noticed people have focused on the amount spent on wages and benefits and are asking why the business development budget isn't larger. But, she said, service organizations such as LEAP hire professionals to carry out business development activities and pay them accordingly.

The business development budget accounts for incidental costs that arise as the employees carry out their jobs, Ferguson said.

For more on this story, read Friday's Lansing State Journal.

New York considers five Great Lake offshore wind proposals

2010-06-07T20:00:00.001-04:00

The state of New York has begun a multi-phase review process for five proposals seeking to build offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes.

The New York Power Authority is expecting to spend six to seven months looking into the projects proposed for state waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario before picking a preferred developer or developers.

The proposals came forward under the Authority’s Great Lakes Offshore Wind (GLOW) initiative, launched last December.

The exact size and location for the wind project has not been decided, but the Authority’s original request for proposals sought projects of between 120 megawatts and 500MW in capacity.

Under the current timeline, a preferred developer or developers will be selected in late 2010 or early 2011, before a two-year permitting process is carried out.

Construction for the successful wind projects is slated for a 2013 start, with hopes that offshore wind farms could be commercially operational by 2015 or 2016.

Richard M. Kessel, president and chief executive officer, NYPA, said on Friday: “There is much work to be done before any project can be built and once NYPA’s initial review phase is complete, there will be significant opportunities for community participation in the next phases of the evaluation process.”

The Authority said the five proposals now being reviewed represented a “strong showing”, comparing it to the three projects that came forward for Delaware’s offshore wind attempt and five for New Jersey.

The successful project or projects will enter into a power purchase agreement to sell generated power to the NYPA.

Meanwhile the Authority has been encouraging businesses in the state to come forward if they might be in position to provide goods or services to a developing offshore wind industry in New York.

Companies can register on the GLOW initiative website, where 220 businesses have already listed their availability.

A number of “Get Listed!” events are being organized to help businesses find out more, with one scheduled for June 24 at Syracuse University, and another for July 27 in Dunkirk.

Bill Daily, administrative director and chief executive officer at the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, said: “Harnessing this resource to generate electricity will lead to economic development by the creation of jobs. Many jobs during construction phases, but more importantly high-paying permanent jobs located in our communities along Lake Erie.”

While local politicians and citizens groups are supporting the development of offshore wind in New York State waters, opposition to the installation of wind turbines is also materializing.

Legislatures in Owego, Jefferson, and Wayne Counties have all passed resolutions opposing “the New York Power Authority’s proposals to provide incentives for the siting of wind towers (Great Lakes Offshore Wind project) in Lake Ontario’s eastern basin”.

Great Lakes are Dead, Long Live the Great Lakes

2010-06-03T21:44:00.001-04:00

John C. Austin, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program
June 01, 2010

The portion of the blogosphere inclined to noodle over Brookings State of Metro America report, included some who now ask, “whither the Rust Belt?” and “whither the Brookings Great Lakes Economic Initiative?”.

I’m pleased to say all are alive and in forward-looking form. The Great Lakes Economic Initiative developed several years ago, not out of a DC-based “mega-region” overlay, but as I traded notes from my years as an elected official and public policy-shaper in Michigan and teamed up with similarly situated political, business and civic leaders from Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and elsewhere around the region. We basically said, “Don’t we have a similar economic and cultural story? Aren’t we trying to treat the same problems; and leverage the same assets? Isn’t there more we can do working together to accelerate our economic transition?”

At the same time Dick Longworth, a Pulitzer prize-winning former journalist, documented the shared Midwestern and cultural reality in his book Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism.

The basic story line of the Great Lakes states was of a region uniquely rich in raw materials and fertile land that became the breadbasket of the growing country, then the world’s manufacturing innovation and creation center.

As the grains of the plains came to Minneapolis-St. Paul, it became the flour-milling and export capital of the world, home to Pillsbury and General Mills. As pigs were slaughtered in Cincinnati, making soap as a byproduct, the consumer products giant Proctor and Gamble grew. As buggy makers in Flint and Detroit were converted by Henry Ford and Billy Durant into Ford and GM, so too metal-benders for farm equipment in Grand Rapids starting making chairs for Steelcase and Herman Miller, electronics innovators in Dayton led to EDS and AC-Delco, iron ore from Duluth-fed US Steel in Gary, Cleveland and Buffalo. More here.

Great Lakes Share of Selected National Totals

2010-06-03T21:29:00.003-04:00

A Blueprint for ‘Regional Transformation’

2010-06-03T21:24:00.002-04:00

A proposal for a region-wide venture capital fund may be the key to future prosperity for the Great Lakes states, but how badly do they want it?

by MARK AREND
mark.arend bounce@conway.com

Frank Samuel, Jr., author of “Turning Up the Heat: How Venture Capital Can Fuel Regional Transformation,” a Brookings Institution report If one could simply light a spark under the economic potential resident in the Great Lakes region, and transform those states into red-hot centers of enterprise, then why hasn’t it happened yet? Two reasons: Every spark needs an energy source, and the region has to want the spark in the first place.

Long-term economic prosperity will elude regions and nations if businesses cannot grow and flourish and create jobs – if entrepreneurship is not rewarded and encouraged to take root and bear fruit. In the Great Lakes, this means keeping area companies with promising ideas and technologies from growing their businesses somewhere else.

A paper released in late January by The Brookings Institution explains how to do just that. “Turning Up the Heat: How Venture Capital Can Fuel Regional Transformation” was authored by Frank Samuel, Jr., a consultant and former science advisor to Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and architect of some of that state’s most successful venture capital initiatives, including the Third Frontier program. The paper was also the topic of a March 2010 Global Midwest Policy Brief, “A Venture Capital Strategy for the Great Lakes,” from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Samuel advocates the formation of a Great Lakes 21st Century Fund, a fund of funds managed by the private sector – that’s a key point – and capitalized with US$1 billion to $2 billion targeting early-stage ventures with the goal of keeping them from moving and expanding elsewhere. His premise is threefold:

The Great Lakes region has the ingredients in place for economic growth, including major research assets, a rich supply of human capital and a mature industrial base.

Venture capital investing in the region is hindered by too few “investable” deals emerging from area research institutions, the high cost of early-stage investing due to geographic and other reasons and a lack in capacity to fund initiatives further into their life cycle, prompting them to seek locations outside the region that can provide post-early-stage financing.

A coordinated effort in the part of multiple stakeholders is needed “to create and sustain a virtuous cycle of venture investment, entrepreneurship and firm growth in the region.”

In early April, Site Selection Editor in Chief Mark Arend spoke with Frank Samuel about his case for a Great Lakes regional venture capital fund, which was first recommended in a 2006 Brookings Institution report called “The Vital Center.” More here.

Building a better brand

2010-05-29T21:26:00.001-04:00

SPECIAL REPORT

By HANK DANISZEWSKI, The London Free Press

In a world where companies and even countries live by their branding, Southwestern Ontario — a huge farming and manufacturing region, with 20% of Ontario’s population — often defies recognition beyond its borders. A regional economic conference in London next week will tackle that issue. Hank Daniszewski reports.

* * *

Southwestern Ontario is more than a place. It could be a brand. One that could be sold to the world.

That's one of the goals of the South-West Economic Alliance (SWEA) assembly to be held at the London Convention Centre June 3 to 4.

It's been more than four years since area municipalities met in Stratford to forge the alliance, an economic front for the region, and SWEA chairperson Dan Mathieson said this will be a watershed meeting for the 250 delegates.

"The biggest weakness we have is that people in governments and businesses outside the region can't identify what the Southwest does. It's time to build a brand around our economy," said Mathieson, who is mayor of Stratford.

Mathieson said SWEA must counteract the perception Southwestern Ontario is no more than an extension of the American rust belt, with a sagging manufacturing sector done in by the collapse in the auto industry.

He said the region represented by SWEA has a diverse economy with a strong and evolving agricultural base and a manufacturing sector that is fighting back with new productivity and green technologies "We have some of the most fertile agricultural land in the country. We need to talk about tourism and bioscience and other things we do well," he said.

Mathieson said his own city is a classic example of image not fitting the reality. While Stratford is known internationally for its Shakespearean festival, Mathieson said the theatres have been icing on the cake for a city that has always relied on manufacturing and agriculture.

That's why the Ontario Pork Congress held in Stratford every year gets equal billing to the Stratford Festival on the city's welcome signs.

A study done for SWEA by the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario analysed the economic development plans of 19 Southwestern municipalities. It showed agriculture was the top shared economic priority, followed by tourism and culture, green technology, advanced manufacturing and transportation and logistics.

Serge Lavoie was hired last August to serve as SWEA's full-time president and administrator.

Lavoie admits manufacturing and agriculture have been written off as "dead ends" by some policy markets battered by the economic downturn, the rising value of the Canadian dollar and trade policies.

But he said SWEA recognizes these sectors are still the key to the region's economic future."

"It's what we have been in the past. It's what we are still good at it and it's not going away. It's simply changed and we have to nurture those changes," he said.

Lavoie said agriculture has become a "different beast" branching out to green energy production and bioplastics. He said manufacturing is also evolving into more efficient and "green" technologies.

He said SWEA has been able to broaden its original municipal base by entering into formal partnerships with the universities including Western, Guelph, Windsor and Waterloo and Fanshawe College.

He said post-secondary institutions can provide expertise and research in business, rural economic development and engineering.

SWEA has also created a 45-member advisory council that includes representatives from businesses such as Libro Financial, Ernst & Young and SmartCentres.

Mathieson said it has taken years of meetings and debate to pull SWEA together. There was initial skepticism from municipalities such as Woodstock. And Elgin County and St. Thomas are still not members.

Mathieson said there were fears municipalities would have to surrender their economic development office to a bureaucratic regional super agency.

"We are not top-down, trying to control where development takes place. We are trying to bring the area together in a cohesive fashion to tell our story," Mathieson said.

Lavoie said SWEA has become more of a "think tank" and forum for the region's municipalities to work on common strategies.

"We have created a big tent where everyone can work together. That's very different from a super economic development agency," he said.

E-mail hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca, or follow Hankatlfpress on Twitter.

Indiana to partner with Chinese on economic development

2010-05-29T21:20:00.001-04:00

Business First of Louisville

Indiana Secretary of Commerce Mitch Roob Friday joined Zhang Yingxin, deputy director general of the China Investment Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Commerce, to sign a memorandum of understanding that outlines an economic development partnership between Indiana and the Chinese government.

The agreement outlines ways Indiana and China can strengthen trade and economic development opportunities, according to a news release from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

According to information provided by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. for 2008, the most recent data available, Indiana exported $930 million worth of goods to China, making it the state’s sixth-largest export destination. Indiana exported $759 million worth of goods to China in 2007 and $559 million in 2006.

“As Chinese companies look to expand into the U.S., Indiana has the manufacturing and life science capabilities to attract a significant portion of this new investment,” Yingxin said in a release.

The agreement was signed at the U.S.-China Advanced Technology Vehicle Summit, which is being held this week in Indianapolis. The event brought a delegation of more than 70 Chinese automakers to Indiana to meet with Indiana companies that make components for hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles.

The event is being presented by the Energy Systems Network, a nonprofit organization that is focused on the growth and commercialization of Indiana’s clean-technology and energy sectors.

CanAm Wind Energy sets itself to be an industry force

2010-05-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

By Matt Glynn
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
The Buffalo News

Call it tilting at the wind power industry.

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise is teaming up with Greater Rochester Enterprise and the Niagara Economic Development Corp. in Southern Ontario to try to attract investments in that segment of renewable energy.

The initiative, called CanAm Wind Energy, will debut at the 2010 Wind Power Conference and Exhibition, scheduled this week in Dallas.

The three groups are pitching their collective territory as suitable to support the manufacturing, assembly and distribution of wind energy-related components.

The collaboration is designed to better position the three areas to compete as one against big regions in the West and Midwest angling for the same type of investments, said Paul Pfeiffer, a BNE spokesman.

The three groups want to use a unified approach working with government leaders, businesses, universities and other nonprofit economic development groups.

"Each community stands to benefit from the joint effort," Pfeiffer said.

For instance, promoting a bigger roster of suppliers in the CanAm Wind Energy territory increases the area's overall appeal to potential investors, Pfeiffer said. And an investment by a company could generate more business for suppliers from across the territory.

Tom Kucharski, BNE's president, said that development of the wind energy sector suffered during the economic downturn but that interest seems to be picking up again.

"We're betting it will be part of an industry solution going forward," he said. "And what we have here matches up really well with what it looks like the industry will be needing."

Through CanAm Wind Energy, the three groups play up their binational location, proximity to major markets, existing base of suppliers and transportation infrastructure, as well as the strong wind patterns in the Great Lakes area.

Renewable energy is one of the industry clusters the BNE targets for jobs and investment. Kucharski said the region is home to many suppliers that serve other industries, such as the auto industry, that could diversify their businesses by making parts for wind turbines.

The effort will include promoting the region, connecting businesses with resources available in the region and finding ways to increase resources for new and existing companies.

The binational initiative was formalized through a memorandum of understanding among the three organizations. About $10,000 will be spent on the CanAm Wind Energy effort in Dallas, with a grant from National Grid covering about half of those expenses, Pfeiffer said.

mglynn@buffnews.com

Michigan's Lieutenant Governor urges port communities to work together

2010-05-24T23:45:00.001-04:00

By Dave Alexander | Muskegon Chronicle

MUSKEGON -- Michigan's port communities should take lessons from the state's development of an emerging advanced battery manufacturing sector, Lt. Gov. John Cherry said Thursday in Muskegon.

Speaking to the Michigan Port Collaborative at the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor, Cherry said the port communities have the built-in advantage of promoting the state's No. 1 resource -- the Great Lakes.

At a time of "resource scarcity," the 100 port communities across the state must work together on a common strategy to improve the state's harbors, what Cherry calls Michigan's "front doors."

Advanced battery plants now being developed from Midland to Holland -- including the fortu PowerCell plant in Muskegon Township -- are the result of a strategic plan to make Michigan the leader in powering future electric vehicles, Cherry said.

Similar efforts to bolster activities such as commercial shipping and recreational boating can produce similar economic development gains, he said.

"The more attractive our port cities, the more attractive the state of Michigan is for those seeking a home or a business in our state," Cherry told the 110 port officials from Detroit to Marquette gathered here. "With batteries, we took action quickly and worked together to achieve our goals. The ports must do the same." More here.

Gov. Doyle: Announces $1.6 million for Wisconsin’s coastal communities

2010-05-24T23:43:00.000-04:00

Contacts: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162
Carla Vigue, Department of Administration, 608-266-7362

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle announced today $1.6 million in grants to protect and enhance Wisconsin’s coastal communities and natural resources. The Governor awarded 39 grants that will be used by nonprofit organizations, as well as local, state, and tribal governments to assist with projects totaling nearly $5.4 million.

“Our wise stewardship of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior is critical to the long term environmental and economic health of Wisconsin,” Governor Doyle said. “The Great Lakes provide us with drinking water, commerce and recreation. They are critical habitat to countless species of plants and animals. I am pleased to announce these investments to support efforts to protect our coastal resources, ensuring that the integrity of our lakes will be maintained for future generations.”

The grants will support projects that will protect and sustain resources in coastal communities. Funds will be used for enhancing public recreational access to the lakes, wetland preservation, storm water management, education, habitat protection, and the protection of critical land.

As Chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors since 2004, Governor Doyle has led major efforts to protect, preserve and improve the Great Lakes for future generations. His work to identify key priorities to protect the Great Lakes became the foundation for the work of the Great Lakes Action Plan. Governor Doyle also helped make history with the passage of the Great Lakes Compact, ensuring the protection of the world's largest fresh water basin for generations to come, and has taken aggressive steps to stop the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species into the Great Lakes.

Recipients for this year’s grants were recommended by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Council, a Governor-appointed citizen and governmental advisory group. The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, which administers the grant program, balances natural resource protection and sustainable economic development along Wisconsin's Great Lakes coasts. Additional information about the Coastal Management program can be found at http://coastal.wisconsin.gov.

A complete list of grants can be found at: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=19567

Analysis: Great Lakes Wind Development Too Risky

2010-05-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

By Russ Harding
Mackinac Center for Public Policy

More than any other state, Michiganders identify with the Great Lakes. They are essential to the state's tourism industry and provide extensive recreational opportunities to boaters, fisherman, and those who stroll the many miles of pristine beaches. It seems hard to believe that anyone would want to put the Great Lakes at risk for the unproven development of off-shore wind energy.

On-shore wind energy is expensive and off-shore wind energy even more so. A study done for the Heritage Center for Data Analysis titled "A Renewable Electricity Standard: What It Will Really Cost Americans," quantifies the economic cost of wind energy. The study predicts that using on-shore wind to provide electricity for a family of four as opposed to coal would increase monthly bills from $188.66 to $339.58. For off-shore wind that climbs to $403.65.

The impact from development of wind farms in the Great Lakes is arguably a much greater concern than high energy costs, especially for communities along the Great Lakes that depend on tourism for their economic livelihood. Constructing hundreds of wind turbines in the water, each approaching 400 feet in height with blades as long as 70 feet, would transform the scenic vistas of the Great Lakes into one of an industrial complex. Hardly "pure Michigan."

It seems ironic that state officials who were more than enthusiastic about banning directional drilling for oil and natural gas under the Great Lakes (even though the nearest structure would be at least a quarter of a mile inland from the lakeshore) seem to be content with locating wind farms in the waters of the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes are Michigan's irreplaceable treasure. Any claimed benefit from developing wind farms in the Great Lakes is not worth the risk.

Progress and Pride: Solar seems like Great Lakes Bay Region's salvation

2010-05-24T23:36:00.000-04:00

By Kathryn Lynch-Morin | The Saginaw News

SAGINAW — Over the past six months, the San Jose, Calif.-based solar technology company known as GlobalWatt has been quietly settling into its new digs on Saginaw’s northeast side.

The same 74,000-square-foot facility that once housed Enterprise Automotive Systems — where workers performed processing operations on aluminum engine blocks for Saginaw Metal Casting Operations — soon will be the production home of advanced solar modules and power systems for use by the military, in the aftermath of emergency situations such as earthquakes and hurricanes, rural farming, and other specialty applications.

Since December, when the company announced it would locate in Saginaw, GlobalWatt’s Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Chitre has been reiterating the importance of the Great Lakes Bay Region’s automotive past and how it will play a role in GlobalWatt’s — and the region’s — future success.

“Without the existing expertise and infrastructure of the automotive industry, we wouldn’t have been able to do this in such a short amount of time,” Chitre said.

While Chitre says GlobalWatt didn’t go out looking for an empty auto plant, he admits the coincidence is undeniable.

“It’s the way the universe worked out,” Chitre said. “It was just a fate.”

GlobalWatt is not alone in its solar or alternative energy efforts, as Dow Chemical Co., Dow Corning Corp., Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., Suniva, Evergreen Solar, Dow Kokam, Merrill Technologies and others are part of an emerging alternative energy manufacturing chain that experts say will forever change the region’s employment and economic landscape.

Saginaw Future Inc. President JoAnn T. Crary said those employers see a benefit in the workforce of the Great Lakes Bay Region. More here.

GE and Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation Announce Great Lakes Offshore Wind Partnership

2010-05-24T23:32:00.000-04:00

GE and Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) of Northern Ohio announced today a long-term partnership beginning with the development of the first fresh water offshore wind farm in the US and involving a broad range of other initiatives.

Under the new partnership GE will provide direct-drive wind turbines to LEEDCo's 20 megawatt offshore wind project in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie. The partnership and project is a significant step towards accelerating the deployment of offshore wind in the Great Lakes. The announcement was made at the American Wind Energy Association's annual WINDPOWER Conference in Dallas.

"Ohio's greatest potential for creating wind energy is offshore in Lake Erie, and this partnership marks a significant step forward," said Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. "In Ohio, we have all the right assets to make offshore wind energy successful, including an innovative workforce and the manufacturing strengths that would allow us to build all the component parts for wind turbines. This partnership will not only advance offshore wind technologies, it will also advance Ohio's economy. We are eager to continue the state's strong collaboration with GE and LEEDCo as we pursue this exciting, first-of-its-kind initiative for Lake Erie."

The LEEDCo-GE partnership builds on the momentum of a four-year effort by The Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force and other partners in Ohio to establish an offshore wind industry on Lake Erie, leveraging the region's strong manufacturing base. More here.

Bold experiment produces few jobs

2010-05-23T23:21:00.000-04:00

Billion-dollar fund developed to diversify, save state's economy

BY KATHERINE YUNG
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Four years after Michigan launched the 21st Century Jobs Fund to diversify its economy and create jobs, the first two major initiatives under the 10-year, billion-dollar program have generated mixed results so far.

A handful of small companies that received loans look promising, a handful have failed and only a small number of direct jobs have been created. Venture capital firms outside the state that were awarded millions have been slow to invest in Michigan businesses. And the majority of the grants, loans and investment dollars went to recipients in one city: Ann Arbor.

On the positive side, many of the small companies that received loans say the money has proved critical to their survival. "It's really helped enable a lot of growth in our company," said Michelle Crumm, co-founder and chief business officer of Adaptive Materials. The Ann Arbor maker of portable fuel cell power systems for the military used the $6.3-million loan it received to buy new manufacturing equipment and to develop its products.

The jobs fund has been the centerpiece of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's economic development strategy. But critics say the money could have been better spent. Others accuse the state of trying to pick winners by funneling millions to only four industries: advanced manufacturing, alternative energy, life sciences and homeland security and defense.

"It's very difficult to pick the right technologies and industries," said Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future, an Ann Arbor think tank, and a former deputy director of the Michigan Department of Commerce. "Government doesn't know how to do that very well." More here.

Ohio's economic development plan is a model for Wisconsin

2010-05-22T22:47:00.001-04:00

Sparked by the success of a referendum in Ohio earlier this month to enlarge bonding for economic development by $700 million, there is a growing interest in a similar initiative in Wisconsin.

By a solid margin of 62%-38%, voters in Ohio authorized the four-year expansion. The plan builds on the creation in 2002 of a $1.4 billion bonding program to promote innovation and long-term growth.

Ohio's economy, which has lost 635,000 jobs since 2000, is just as challenged as Wisconsin's, and voters there bit the bullet and supported a large-scale initiative called the Ohio Third Frontier. The commitment of more than $2 billion for economic development in that state dwarfs all job-creation initiatives in Wisconsin.

The Third Frontier leaders rolled out some impressive statistics to make the case for the additional $700 million of investments in promising industries, technologies and entrepreneurs. They did not use the normal metrics for investing, like return on equity. Instead, they looked at creation of companies and jobs and the amount of tax revenue flowing from the new economic activity. More here.

Minnesota starts to shake off unemployment blues

2010-05-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

Employers add 10,200 workers in April; jobless rate at 7.2%

By Julie Forster jforster@pioneerpress.com

Kristin Johnson was laid off in October from a marketing job at Target Corp. after six years with the retailer. When she started her job search, the market was grim. But in recent months, Johnson noticed a marked change in promising job postings. Last week, she clinched a new job at better pay and with similar benefits.

"I couldn't be happier," said Johnson, 30, who on Monday starts her job as a consumer marketing manager for a custom jewelry company in the Minneapolis warehouse district.

Johnson's story replayed thousands of times illustrates a labor market in recovery as employers start to hire again. Minnesota went into the recession ahead of the U.S., starting with an earlier downturn in the housing market. Now, it is coming out ahead of the nation.

Minnesota employers added 10,200 jobs in April, the state reported Thursday, helping to push the unemployment rate down slightly to 7.2 percent, versus 9.9 percent for the nation. That is the largest gap between the two on record.

The trend represents a return to normal. At the end of 2006, Minnesota had lost the historic advantage of having an unemployment rate better than the U.S. rate. Traditionally, Minnesota's rate had been 1.5 to 2.5 percentage points lower. For some of 2007, its jobless rate actually jumped above the national rate. In May 2009, the state had a full percentage point advantage, and the spread has been widening since.

In Minnesota, more people are finding work across a broad base of industries. Consumers are starting to spend again, and retail employers are hiring. The retail and wholesale trade sector showed strong signs of job growth. Manufacturers added jobs for the fourth month in a row, as factories ramped up to meet an increase in orders. Those sectors were particularly weak during the recession and are typically the first to lead a recovery.

Minnesota's economy wasn't as damaged as the economies of states such as California and Florida, which had more severe downturns in the housing and construction markets, said Scott Anderson, senior economist with Wells Fargo. More here.

GLIDE receives $75K to help budding companies

2010-05-19T23:10:00.000-04:00

State Rep. Matt Lundy (D-Elyria) and State Sen. Sue Morano (D-Lorain) announced May 10 that the state will spend $75,000 to help a local program that encourages new high-tech companies to create jobs. The Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE) will use the state funds to expand their services to more budding companies.

“To compete for high-tech jobs for Ohio the state must continue to invest in GLIDE. By helping the companies grow, we are able to grow new jobs for Ohio,” Lundy said.

GLIDE was founded in 2001 as a partnership between Lorain County Commissioners, Lorain County Community College and the Ohio Department of Development. Their mission is to promote job creation and economic growth in Lorain County and northern Ohio. GLIDE serves as a business incubator to support all facets of the start-up, development and growth of technology based companies. More here.

Chrysler to rehire 379 in Kokomo

2010-05-19T23:08:00.000-04:00

Chrysler says it will rehire 379 laid-off workers and hire 20 new supervisors to build transmissions at its operations in Kokomo, Ind.

The company said Tuesday that it will invest $43 million in equipment to expand the Kokomo operations, which include casting and transmission plants.

Some of the workers have already been brought back, said Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson.

The factories will build components and transmissions that accompany four-cylinder engines in Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep small and midsize vehicles.

Chrysler says the investment was made possible because of a tax abatement granted by the City of Kokomo.

Business-friendly bills signed into law in Green Bay

2010-05-19T23:02:00.001-04:00

BY NATHAN PHELPS •
nphelps@greenbaypressgazette.com • May 10,
2010

In an area continuing to weather the lingering effects of one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday signed several pieces of legislation aimed at creating and retaining jobs and industry in the state. More here.

Mich. economic agency defends itself after audit

2010-05-14T21:40:00.000-04:00

By TIM MARTIN

LANSING, Mich.

The head of Michigan's economic development agency said it will defend itself Wednesday from lawmaker criticism after an audit said some companies that received tax incentives didn't live up to agreements on how much they would pay workers.

Michigan Economic Development Corp. CEO Greg Main said agency officials will detail their review and audit practices for the tax credits at a House Tax Policy Committee hearing.

The MEDC has been under fire since the auditor general report on Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax incentives was released last month. State Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, wants the auditor general to do a more thorough review of tax credits for the 2008 and 2009 tax years because much of the audit focused on earlier years.

Cassis called the report "troubling" and said further investigation is needed.

"To put Michigan back on the right track, we must regain confidence in state programs, like MEGA," Cassis said in a statement. "This is done by being watchful and accountable with taxpayer dollars."

But Main said the follow-up report Cassis ordered will just duplicate a similar review already has started within the MEDC.

MEDC officials are upset they didn't get a chance to testify at last week's hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, which Cassis chairs.

Main said the agency agreed with much of the audit, but he has issues with how it and the MEDC have been portrayed by some lawmakers.

"I think there was an attempt to impugn the integrity of this organization and the companies who have used this program," he said.

MEDC started audits of every tax credit awarded since 2006 before the auditor general report was released last month. Those audits, done with the help of an outside firm, are to verify job creation numbers reported by companies. The audits should be finished this year.

MEDC also began conducting pre-audits before issuing tax credit certificates to companies this year and doing criminal background checks on many types of tax credit applicants. Pre-audits include on-site visits and reviews of documentation needed for verifying the number of employees hired and wages paid by companies receiving tax credits.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered the background checks after a convicted embezzler out on parole was awarded a $9 million tax incentive in March. The credit was rescinded before RASCO CEO Richard Short got any money, and he would up in jail.

One year after ribbon cutting, Valley company closes it doors

2009-10-11T16:08:00.000-04:00

By Arthur Foulkes
The Tribune-Star

A local company that expanded into a new 37,500-square-foot facility one year ago near the airport has closed its doors.

Reel Time Logistics officially opened a new warehouse and distribution facility just west of the Terre Haute International Airport–Hulman Field in October 2008. Now the doors of that business are locked and no truck or other traffic is visible at the facility.

“Reel Time Logistics, to our knowledge, is closed,” said Lisa Johnson, marketing and communications manager for the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp.

One year ago, Reel Time Logistics had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new facility on South Hunt Street to expressions of optimism about the company’s future.

At the time, the company was providing third-party logistics services for companies such as Dicks Sporting Goods, Clabber Girl, Great Dane Trailers, Scott Pet Products and Cummins-Consolidated Diesel Co., a company official said at the time.

Reel Time Logistic employed about 50 people in October 2008, mostly full-time truck drivers, another company official said.

The Reel Time Logistics property, which includes the 37,500-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility and 20 additional undeveloped acres, is listed for sale with an Indianapolis real estate company. The property includes a little more than 30 acres in total with an asking price of $2.25 million, according to the Turley Martin Tucker Web site.

Local contractor Thompson Thrift built the Reel Time Logistics facility. Reel Time was founded 51⁄2 years ago in Terre Haute and operated out of offices south of the city while its truck fleet was based on Margaret Avenue prior to opening the Hunt Street warehouse and distribution building.

Company officials for Reel Time Logistics could not be reached Friday for comment.

Keeping promises on Ohio jobs behind AG Cordray's review of economic development awards

2009-10-11T15:57:00.000-04:00

COLUMBUS, Ohio: With Ohio's unemployment rate hovering above 11 percent, the announcement Thursday by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray that he will start to review economic development awards made by the state of Ohio to make sure businesses and organization who took the money in exchange for creating or saving jobs are keeping their promises, should be received favorably by Gov. Ted Strickland and lawmakers who know the road to restoring prosperity is years away and growing steeper in incline each day.

The bill and the goal

Acting on a requirement in HB 420, a new law about transparency in government, Cordray said his office is ready to monitor the awards for economic development the state makes.

"Our goal, as defined by statute, "he said, "is to ensure that tax dollars are being used as intended in these awards. Promises were made by businesses and organizations to create and save jobs in Ohio and those promises must be kept."

His office mailed letters our this week to more than 3,000 recipients who received awards over a five year period between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2009. The letter asks these recipients to complete an online report within 30 days, that the AG's office will then analyze and place the data from it in a report to the General Assembly.

"The public expects performance and accountability when the government spends our money for these purposes, and we will work hard to provide exactly that by enforcing the terms of these contracts," Cordray said in a media release.

To view the report, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/EDAP. The office will also monitor future awards and will report its findings to the General Assembly.

Ohio's Third Frontier Yields $6.6B in Economic Activity

2009-10-11T11:20:00.001-04:00

Ohio's $1.6 billion Third Frontier research and tech-commercialization effort, set to expire in 2012, generated $6.6 billion of economic activity, 41,300 total jobs, and $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits following $681 million in state spending on the program between 2003 and 2008, according to a report released this week at a meeting of the Ohio Third Frontier Advisory Board and Commission.

Making an Impact: Assessing the Benefits of Ohio’s Investment in Technology-Based Economic Development Programs recommended that Third Frontier officials ensure that the program will continue past 2012; foster a better understanding of the program and its relationship to Ohio’s strengths; enable a stronger balance between research support and commercialization; and emphasize more entrepreneurial support programs, technology company attraction, and cluster expansion.

Ohio credits Third Frontier with commercializing or creating more than 500 companies and attracting $3.5 billion in private investment to Ohio. The report also credited Ohio Third Frontier with boosting the state's economy and high-tech business climate by:

• Dramatically increasing the availability of early-stage capital
• Improving the entrepreneurial environment for technology
• Improving research and development collaboration
• Driving employment growth in Ohio’s technology sector
• Contributing to the diversity and competitiveness of Ohio’s manufacturers
• Recruiting non-Ohio companies
• Charting a course consistent with tech-based growth in other regions

Making an Impact was produced for Ohio's Department of Development by SRI International and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. The project also received guidance from the Ohio Third Frontier Advisory Board and Commission.

Saginaw Snags 500-Job Solar Plant

2009-10-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm Tuesday announced a significant addition to Michigan’s burgeoning clean-energy industrial base as Georgia-based Suniva Inc. will invest $250 million in a new solar manufacturing facility in Saginaw County’s Thomas Township. Suniva will create 500 new jobs over the next five years subject to receiving a Department of Energy loan guarantee, which the company recently applied for. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority Tuesday, on Michigan Economic Development Corp. recommendation, approved a photovoltaic Michigan Business Tax credit valued at $15 million over five years. State officials also approved incentives to move forward the Wixom transformation project announced last month. Clairvoyant Energy Solar Panel Manufacturing Inc. was granted a photovoltaic MBT credit valued at $25 million, and Xtreme Power Inc. received an advanced-battery credit valued at $100 million. More.

A Big Wake-Up Call for the Midwest

2009-10-10T23:02:00.000-04:00

In an exclusive interview, Richard C. Longworth, author of "Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism," describes "A Big Wake-Up Call" for the Midwest. Read it here.

Daniels pleased with state economic development efforts

2009-10-06T21:15:00.000-04:00

Bowdeya Tweh - bowdeya.tweh@nwi.com, (219) 933-3316 | Posted: Friday, October 2, 2009

CROWN POINT | Gov. Mitch Daniels gave his stamp of approval to the job performance of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.'s board of directors while battling the effects of difficult business climate during a Thursday meeting.

While acknowledging the poor economy has had an effect on businesses, Daniels said he was pleased with the amount of projects the IEDC has granted and the work board members put into the economic development mission in Asia last month.

After Indiana officials visited China and Japan, Indiana's Secretary of Commerce Mitch Roob said positive leads were generated with six suppliers for manufacturing firm Cummins Inc. in China, and delegates had discussions with seven businesses in each country on locating in Indiana. While in Japan, Roob, who is also the IEDC's chief executive, began to investigate opportunities with Sony and said talks are continuing on some operations potentially being located in Indiana.

Daniels admitted that before he was governor, he thought trade trips were more symbolic than results-oriented. But the payroll income that can be generated from one business locating in the state makes the trip worth it, he said.

"We need to keep doing these and budgeting as much as we can towards them," Daniels said.

The meeting was held at the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana.

From Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, the IEDC has granted funds to 120 projects, which is one project less than the comparable 2008 period. Total job commitments also fell this year to 14,056 from 14,743 in 2008. Investment commitments so far in 2009 have fallen nearly 64 percent from last year's mark to $1.28 billion.

However, Roob said one positive development is that the average wage for employees in IEDC-funded projects was $21.09 per hour in 2009, which is higher than the average state wage of $18.35 an hour. Projected income created per incentive dollar offered was $5.13 this year, down nearly 13 percent from a year earlier. But the total this year is still better than in 2005 through 2007. Roob said Indiana is continuing to seek a high return on its investments in the form of dollars in Hoosiers' pockets.

"We're happy with the type of people we've recruited," Roob said.

After a brief discussion during the meeting, Roob said the IEDC needed to research how long it takes for jobs to reach the marketplace after investments are made in companies.

California IT firm plans to add 1,000-plus jobs in Ann Arbor area

2009-09-23T07:04:00.000-04:00

Systems in Motion, a Fremont, Calif. IT services firm, has chosen to locate a new support center in the Ann Arbor region.

Systems in Motion plans to create 1,084 new jobs in the Ann Arbor region over the next five years. Additionally, the company plans to invest $12.5 million in capital.

Systems in Motion was approved Tuesday for state tax credits by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board, and will also receive support from Ann Arbor Spark, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., Washtenaw County Employment Training and Community Services, the Michigan Department of Information Technology and Eastern Michigan University.

“A collaboration between state and regional partners to provide Systems in Motion with the training resources, tax incentives and other business-critical support helped the company choose Michigan over competing sites,” said Ken Theis, director, Michigan Department of Information Technology. “Growing companies often need far more resources and support than one entity can provide, so by recognizing shared strengths and coming together to fill the gaps, collaborative efforts, like the one in place to bring Systems in Motion to Michigan, can help grow our economy and bring thriving businesses to our state.”

Venture-backed Systems in Motion combines the best practices of global service delivery, with strategic investments in intellectual capital and assets built for next generation technology architectures. The company was considering Texas and Ohio for its new service center location before choosing the Ann Arbor region.

“We’re delighted to be able to join with state, county and local agencies, as well as education institutions in Michigan to build a true public-private partnership,” said Neeraj Gupta, CEO, Systems In Motion. “Systems In Motion’s Ann Arbor facilities will drive technology leadership for global enterprises, while providing an important job creation engine for the local community.“

As part of its incentives package, Systems in Motion will receive up to $1.5 million in workforce development funding that reflects a strong collaboration between ETCS and EMU. Combined, ETCS and EMU will provide $10,000 in education to each Systems in Motion employee as well as 50 percent on-the-job training.

“Educational and skills development resources were important factors in Systems in Motion’s decision to choose the Ann Arbor region for its new service center,” said Trenda Rusher, director, ETCS-Michigan Works. “By working with EMU and Ann Arbor Spark, we were able to show Systems in Motion that we could develop their workforce through leading-edge training and education, providing a key differentiator for the Ann Arbor region over competing sites. Access to this type of worker training and educational funding is a strong driver of economic development.”

Systems In Motion is driving the development of a uniquely cost efficient “Inshore” IT service model that combines global innovation in service delivery with local implementation capabilities. Systems In Motion’s operational expertise, coupled with investments in service development tools, accelerates the deployment of business-aligned IT. Key services delivered include design, development, implementation, testing and support for technology products, applications and IT Infrastructure.

Hummer buyer says it likely will locate headquarters in southeast Michigan near Detroit

2009-09-22T22:46:00.000-04:00

By: TOM KRISHER
Associated Press

09/22/09 5:00 PM EDT DETROIT — The Chinese company that's in the running to buy Hummer from General Motors Co. likely will locate the brand's corporate headquarters near Detroit, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Spokesman Nick Richards says Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp., which is still negotiating to buy the brand, initially will employ about 100 people at the headquarters with plans to grow that to 300.

The headquarters would house global design, engineering, product planning, purchasing, sales, service, marketing and financing, Richards said. The company plans to invest $9.4 million over five years, he said.

The Michigan Economic Development Authority on Monday approved a $20.6 million state tax credit over 10 years to lure the company to Michigan. According to a memo filed with the authority, Hummer is considering sites in Detroit and suburban Auburn Hills, both of which have indicated they would grant tax abatements. Hummer also considered sites in South Carolina, Louisiana and Tennessee.

The tax credit is contingent on Sichuan Tengzhong closing the deal for Hummer with GM, although the memo says all definitive documents for the sale have been signed by GM and Sichuan Tengzhong.

The memo says the Hummer headquarters also would create another 641 jobs with other companies and generate $36.6 million in additional revenue for the state, excluding the tax break costs.

The company will decide on the headquarters' location by Oct. 31, the memo says.

The Hummer brand features large off-road vehicles that initially were developed for military use. GM wants to sell the brand because it loses money, but Hummer has a highly rated dealership network that Sichuan Tengzhong may be after.

Sichuan Tengzhong is a little-known Chinese truck and industrial equipment maker. The sale could still be blocked by Chinese regulators who are questioning its wisdom.

Tengzhong's CEO, Yang Yi, has said the company will maintain Hummer's headquarters and operations in the U.S., while investing in research and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Tengzhong is likely benefiting from heavy stimulus spending on construction projects in China and from rebuilding after last year's earthquake in Sichuan, given the company's specialization in construction equipment and heavy trucks.

Tengzhong earlier said it broke ground on a 3.5 billion yuan ($500 million) factory to make oil field equipment.

Sichuan Tengzhong spokesman Tim Payne said negotiations are still under way to close the deal with GM.

"We're confident we'll get there one day. These things take some time," Payne said from Beijing. "It's a deal in a complicated environment."

IN Economic Development Officials Head to Europe

2009-09-22T22:41:00.000-04:00

Indianapolis, Ind. -- Indy Partnership Business Development Director Kristie McKillip departs for Germany today on a trade mission promoting the 10-county Indianapolis Region. It is McKillip’s third trip to Germany in 10 months.

According to a July 2009 Indiana University Kelley School of Business report for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), more than 65 percent of the foreign direct investment in the state of Indiana comes from Europe, and Germany-based employers represent about 14 percent of all companies and all dollar investment of foreign origin in the Indianapolis Region.

Indy Partnership President & CEO Ron Gifford—who just returned from traveling with Governor Daniels on the state’s trade mission to China and Japan—said Indy Partnership is directing its economic development resources toward those areas that offer the greatest potential return on investment as well as have the highest likelihood for bringing new jobs to Central Indiana.

“More than 14,000 new Indiana jobs have come from Europe since 2004,” Gifford said. “Maintaining good working relationships with current partners and introducing new European companies to the Indianapolis Region is both prudent and proactive.”

The trade mission has been planned in cooperation with IEDC’s Director of International Development Steve Akard, Michael Krueger and Mariya Gandzhova with IEDC Europe, and Duke Energy and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership (NEIRP) who are also sending representatives on the trip.

McKillip has 23 confirmed meetings with German advanced manufacturing companies and renewable energy firms over the 11-day mission, including meetings with several prospects who already have sales offices in Central Indiana.

“My goals in Europe are the same as they are domestically: to deliver the message that the Indianapolis Region is one of the world’s most competitive locations for business and to back it up with data and case studies,” McKillip said.

In addition to the prearranged meetings with manufacturers, chambers of commerce and other economic development prospects, McKillip will represent the Indianapolis Region at three different trade shows. These trade shows include Motek 2009 international exhibition for industrial automation in Stuttgart, RENEXPO 2009 renewable energy trade fair in Augsburg, and FachPack 2009 packaging and labeling technology exhibition in Nuremburg.

Similar to Ron Gifford’s daily blog and frequent Twitter updates from Governor Daniels’ trade mission to China and Japan, McKillip will take advantage of both technologies to keep Indy Partnership investors and community partners apprised of her economic development activities while in Germany. Visit http://blog.indypartnership.com/blog/news-from-the-road- to read McKillip’s blog and http://twitter.com/KDMcKillip to receive her Twitter updates.

Economy divides Ohio politicians

2009-09-22T22:36:00.000-04:00

By Julie Carr Smyth
The Associated Press
Posted Sep 22, 2009 @ 12:05 PM

COLUMBUS — Ohio can breathe a sigh of relief. Gov. Ted Strickland finally appointed a permanent replacement last week to succeed Lee Fisher at the helm of the Ohio Department of Development.

Economic development ship righted. Yellow brick road to the Emerald City of prosperity straight ahead.

Right? Well, not exactly.

No sooner had Strickland answered attacks from the Ohio Republican Party over the state’s many months without a development director by appointing Lisa Patt-McDaniel than GOP lawmakers called a series of press conferences across the state Monday.

Their focus was to attack him and fellow Democrats in the Ohio House for being lackadaisical about tackling Ohio’s economic woes.

Republican lawmakers pointed out that one economic competitiveness index places Ohio 49th of 50 states. Forbes rated the state 47th in its prospects for growth in areas such as job creation, income growth, business openings and venture capital investments (despite another ranking that put Ohio tops in the nation in such investments two years in a row).

The lawmakers took particular aim at the House Economic Development Committee, which they say has failed to conduct regular hearings or pass a single substantive bill.

“So far, Democrats have not shown that they are willing to make any important decisions regarding economic development within our state,” said state Rep. Dave Hall. “How many more businesses and young people need to flee the state before the Democrats decide they need to act?”

Republicans, who control 46 of 99 House votes, laid out a series of proposals they believe could help create jobs and stop businesses from leaving the state.

Among them are offering tax credits to companies that hire unemployed Ohioans, creating a small business resource portal online, tracking job placement success and collecting data from companies that leave the state.

The lawmakers failed to note that few bills on any topic have been passed since the session began in January. And chances are, with Democrats leading the House and Republicans leading the Senate, few will.

Another thing that gets lost in the dustup over the state’s development efforts is that the Ohio Department of Development and the House Economic Development Committee may have “development” in their names, but they are far from the only engines of Ohio’s economy.

Some argue they aren’t even the main places where transformative ideas are likely to start.

Joe Shure, deputy director of the State Fiscal Project at the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said state development departments tend to lead states’ PR efforts — not their economic comebacks.

“In a lot of states, it’s really a marketing office, it sends the signal to other states that we’re ’Open for Business,”’ Shure said. “What really matters to a state’s economic prosperity is the quality of education, the transportation network, its environmental regulations, a tax system that’s adequate to raise needed revenue. Those are not really the things development directors deal with.”

Being without a permanent development director for nearly eight months during this historically abysmal economy is certainly unfortunate for the state. And it can’t be ignored that the development directorship is only one of several within Strickland’s administration that have been sidetracked by controversy.

However, according to Shure, the GOP may be overstating the case when it characterizes the Development Department as central to Strickland’s strategy for improving Ohio’s economy.

“Gov. Strickland clearly doesn’t consider job creation a priority,” Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine wrote in one of his many attacks over the open directorship.

Then DeWine took aim at Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who stepped aside as development director to run for a coveted U.S. Senate seat. “The Strickland-Fisher administration has checked out. It’s no wonder Ohio’s economy is spiraling out of control when the guy responsible for turning it around has no idea what’s going on.”

Shure said whether or not a state has a development director, or even a Development Department, isn’t highly relevant to its economic competitiveness.

“It’s kind of in vogue for states to have highly visible economic development people out there marketing and basically trying to take jobs from other states,” he said. “But no state should think doing that is going to replace slogging it out in the areas that make the most difference. There’s no replacement for doing economic development the old-fashioned way.”

Campaign focuses on plight of Rust Belt

2009-09-14T21:47:00.000-04:00

'I will stay if ...' party to be held here
Monday, September 14, 2009

By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Two friends in their 20s, after working together on a political campaign in Manhattan, decide to leave in favor of their hometowns: Pittsburgh and Detroit.

If you're expecting a punch line, you're a step behind. Sarah Szurpicki and Abby Wilson -- the founders the Great Lakes Urban Exchange, or GLUE -- can make you believe the Rust Belt is the place to be, not the place to leave.

A loose network of people in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Toledo, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y., GLUE started two years ago after Ms. Szurpicki, a Detroit native, and Ms. Wilson, a Pittsburgher, left New York to take their enthusiasm for urban living to their own hometowns.

In the spring, they launched the first GLUE campaign -- a series of "I Will Stay If ..." parties that kicked off in Detroit in June. The second party, reframed with the theme "Why Pittsburgh?" is from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Shadow Lounge, 5972 Baum Blvd., East Liberty.

One need not be affiliated with GLUE or of a certain age to participate.

Carrie Hagan, a graduate student in history and policy at Carnegie Mellon University, met Ms. Wilson through the League of Young Voters and joined the party committee "and the next thing I know I am throwing the party," said Ms. Hagan. "I couldn't stand the idea of not being part of something like this."

She said East Liberty was chosen because of its convergence of economic development and minority population.

"We want a comprehensive conversation," she said. "A lot of people are feeling pride in being here right now, but for a lot of people, Pittsburgh has not been the most livable city, and we want feedback from them. We want to know what has made people stay, but we realize quality of life varies."

Ms. Szurpicki said GLUE is an experiment in driving urban policy from the roots up. Every party results in photographs of participants holding signs that tell what it is about their city that would make them stick with it. The photos will be data for GLUE to play a part in reviving and setting urban policy.

Read more

Editorial: Going with the wind

2009-09-10T16:03:00.000-04:00

By John Phipps
August 26, 2009, 9:00AM

One good thing about hard times is they force innovation. And here's an invigorating example: West Michigan is rigging itself to set sail in the emerging wind energy industry.

Grand Rapids Community College, encouraged by The Right Place economic development group, has succeeded in getting eight West Michigan community colleges -- from Traverse City all the way down to Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph and Battle Creek -- to cooperate on one big idea to promote wind energy in West Michigan. Grand Valley State and Ferris State universities are also on board.

So are key local industries working in wind, such as Rockford Berge, Cascade Engineering, Applied Technology Systems, the Holland Board of Public Works and others.

The big idea: A $16 million wind energy training and testing center supported by all 10 schools.
The center would train skilled workers to service the turbines and wind farms that are popping up like summer sunflowers throughout the country. The centerpiece of the training school could be a 300-foot tower, the kind a major power supplier would operate. But it likely would have a variety of other wind towers, smaller home wind machines, and solar and other renewable energy training equipment. Testing labs also are planned, with an eye toward having the wind industry pay to use them.

This groundbreaking college collaborative should be considered a statewide example for aggressively recruiting a new industry, while cutting costs by sharing resources. Lawmakers, policy makers and the governor's office should support the effort as the schools finalize planning and begin applying for federal and state green-energy grants to make it happen. Alternative energy is a good way to diversify our economy. If new, well-paying jobs are going to be created, the state must be committed to supporting bold endeavors like this testing and training facility.

Right Place President Birgit Klohs estimates there's a window of just a few years for West Michigan to prove itself a player in the wind market. She is working with industries to position the region, following the road map in a 52-page report she released 18 months ago. The report calls wind West Michigan's best opportunity for growth over the next five years.

The community college training center could become nationally known, she said.

"My long-term dream is that if someone in Montana says 'wind energy technicians' they say 'Oh, those people in West Michigan -- they have the best programs.'â€‰"

The center will need a 50-acre site to call home, The most promising area, organizers say, is in or around northern Allegan County, which is one of the best regions in Michigan for harvesting wind energy, according to a study by Michigan State University's Land Policy Institute. The policy report also concluded Allegan County, which has a unique proximity to urban areas, eventually could support up to 300 turbines as wind farm demand grows. The Traverse City and Thumb regions also are flagged as top on-shore wind-capturing locations.

Planning for wind turbines won't be a breeze. There is hard work ahead, and policy makers should prepare to address environmental, community and business issues thoroughly and openly.

But the wind industry is truly taking flight. Nationally, its jobs now total 85,000, already outnumbering coal mining jobs, according to a new American Wind Energy Association study. Within just a few years, Michigan may have 1,000 wind turbines turning to meet demands of the state's renewable portfolio standards, rules that require electric suppliers by 2015 to get 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources.

Wind is a rare example in these tough times of where West Michigan's assets seem to align perfectly with an up-and-coming industry. The Great Lakes are among the nation's best wind factories. The region is already a proven leader in making things, with a strong work force and infrastructure.

We are, for once, in the right place, Klohs said. In this economy, that's a blast of fresh air.

Shuttered factories, shattered lives in US rust belt

2009-08-15T11:26:00.000-04:00

By Mira Oberman (AFP) – Aug 2, 2009

DETROIT, Michigan(AFP) — Weeds have not had time to overtake factories shuttered in the wake of recent bankruptcies at General Motors, Chrysler and a host of suppliers, but the signs of shattered lives are spreading as the economically devastated region, dubbed "the rust belt" after its steel industry, fails to absorb the collapse of the auto industry.

Long lines at the unemployment offices. Empty shelves at the food banks. Boarded up businesses. Homes lost to foreclosure, their contents strewn on the street.

Michigan, the birthplace and home of the US auto industry, is the hardest hit.

"There's just no doubt that region has faced an incredible tsunami of events," said Mark Partridge, an economist at Ohio State University.

"It's really tough on the psyche... they've had one failure after another."

In the past ten years, Michigan has lost half its manufacturing jobs as the Detroit Three saw their share of US auto sales slide from 70 to 45 percent.

That's more than 543,000 people forced out of plants where the wages were usually good enough to pay for a nice house, a college fund for the kids and maybe even a cottage.

Most blame management for pumping out ugly, unreliable cars people simply didn't want to buy.

Some blame the union and its gold-plated benefits, while others say it's the government's fault for shifting the burden of healthcare costs to employers.

But simply put, GM, Ford and Chrysler had been losing market share to Asian automakers for decades.

They managed to post record profits in the 1990s by developing gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, but were slow to match the smaller crossovers introduced by Toyota and Honda.

When fuel prices soared, the Big Three tanked.

The plant closures started in 2005 and the restructuring plans deepened as the economy slowed in 2007. The union made historic concessions. Management got focused on fuel efficiency and quality.

And then -- just when it looked like they might pull through -- the credit crunch and financial crisis hit in the fall of 2008. US auto sales fell to lows not seen in decades.

Ford survived with the help of massive loans it secured before credit dried up, but GM and Chrysler were forced into bankruptcy protection and a 50-billion-dollar government bailout.

Michigan went from having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country -- 3.3 percent in June of 2000 -- to topping the list every single month for over three years.

More than 740,000 people here were actively looking for work in June as the unemployment rate hit 15.2 percent. An untold number have moved away or simply given up.

"I think there's a lot of hope," said Andy Levin, deputy director for Michigan's department of energy, labor and economic growth.

Governor Jennifer Granholm -- a charismatic and energetic speaker with close ties to President Barack Obama -- has been traveling the globe to pitch the state's resources to prospective employers.

She's making a major push to draw alternative energy jobs, touting the state's experience with advanced manufacturing and engineering its easy access to the shipping lanes and wind power of the Great Lakes.

State officials have also devoted millions of dollars to an innovative retraining program for unemployed and low-income residents and have launched a major tourism campaign promoting Michigan's miles of pristine shorelines.

"It's an incredibly beautiful place and we have all these incredible water resources and our manufacturing process and know-how," Levin said in a telephone interview.

"We can make things cheaper, faster, better than other places because we have the highest concentration of engineering talent."

The success stories fill 12 pages of a website set up by the state's economic development corporation to tout the "Michigan Advantage."

A 2.9-million-dollar investment by a medical device firm (108 jobs). An 84-million-dollar expansion by an insurance company (1,600 jobs). A new, 220-million-dollar plant to build batteries for hybrid cars (498 jobs).

They pale in comparison to the 337,600 jobs Michigan has lost in the past year alone.

"The fallout from the shrinkage of the auto industry -- even in the best scenario -- we will be feeling that for years," said Charles Ballard, an economics professor at Michigan State University.

"The downward trend has been going on for 60 years, so it's not going to be fixed by Thursday. Even if they do the right things it'll take years before they bear fruit."

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Healthy Lake Erie means stronger economy

2009-08-15T11:16:00.000-04:00

Congress is getting ready to vote on legislation that could pump up to $475 million into funding for Great Lakes restoration.

With blue skies and the temperature in the 80's, this was a perfect day on Lake Erie. At Edgewater Beach in Cleveland, lots of kids were playing in the shallow water near the warm sand.

With 10,000 miles of freshwater coastline, millions treasure the freshwater seas known as the Great Lakes. Patty Palyu and her daughter Christine were walking back to their car after a great day in the sunshine at Edgewater.

"I grew up with the tradition of going to the beach whenever our family had the chance to get to Lake Erie," said Patty. "And it's free, it's close and beautiful."

Christine Palyu added, "the water today was very clean. I just hope people in Washington understand how important this is for all of us."

In downtown Cleveland, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown talked about the impending vote in Congress to provide $475 million in funding for Great Lakes restoration.

Senator Brown said, "this federal money just makes great sense. Investing in the Great Lakes region is an important way to promote economic development."

The economists at the Brookings Institute think tank estimate that the Great Lakes region would see at least a $2 economic benefit for every $1 invested in restoring Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes.

Kristy Meyer, director of Clean Water Programs for the Ohio Environmental Council said, "we need to send a clear message to Congress. Stand up for the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their jobs, drinking water, and way of life."

Calvin Jefferson was taking his wife Anne and their three children to the lake this afternoon.

Said Jefferson, "I'd pay to get $2 dollars back for a $1 investment if it's something worth it, like the beaches here."

Across Northeast Ohio boaters and fishermen know the treasure that we have with our billions of gallons of fresh water.

Fishing charter captain, Mike Blankenship walked off his dock at the Inner City Yacht Club and said, "Look around. This is the walleye capital of the world. Let's get it together and use it right".

But invasive species like the goby are a constant threat.

Getting rid of them could be part of the federal funding package. The federal restoration plan would include cleaning up the rivers and tributaries that flow into Lake Erie.

Carol Caruso, Vice President of the Greater Cleveland Partnership said, "in terms of jobs, the economy, the lifestyle and the attraction of people to this wonderful city. I can't think of a city that's better positioned to take advantage of this federal funding."

Cleveland understands the need and the priority of restoring the sweet water seas. And many hope that Congress won't miss the boat when the Senate votes on the Great Lakes appropriation in September.

© 2009 WKYC-TV

Dow battery factory will have ripple effect on area's economy

2009-08-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

by Eric English | The Saginaw News
Thursday August 06, 2009, 7:15 AM

MIDLAND - Construction of a huge new factory in Midland to make advanced batteries for the automotive industry will break ground in October or early November, a spokeswoman for the Dow Chemical Co. said Wednesday. When completed, the factory will employ an estimated 800 people.

"It's entirely our intention to move quickly on this, to get it up and operational and hire people as soon as possible," Dow spokeswoman Kristina Schnepf said Wednesday.

Dow will build the 800,000-square-foot factory as a joint venture with batterymaker Kokam America Inc., which currently produces batteries used in electric vehicles and by the military, Schnepf said.

The location of the factory will be on Dow property at the corner of Saginaw Street and Bay City Road, near the Genji restaurant in Midland.

Local leaders say the project will help the entire Great Lakes Bay Region's economy.

"The impact is going to be enormous," said JoAnn T. Crary, president of the economic development agency Saginaw Future Inc.

Dow officials were in Detroit on Wednesday to hear Vice President Joe Biden, who announced a $161 million Department of Energy grant to support the proposed battery venture between Dow and Kokam.

The grant was among $2.4 billion in federal dollars awarded for manufacturing and developing advanced batteries for electric vehicles.

The federal money was the last major piece of financing Dow and Kokam needed to start the estimated $665 million project. Dow and Kokam are putting in an amount at least equal to the federal money, Schnepf said.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority previously approved about $145 million in tax credits for the joint venture. Crary said Saginaw Future worked with other area economic development groups to change state law and lift the $25 million limit on such state credits in order to get the larger amount approved for the Dow project.

The project is likely to create hundreds of construction jobs to build the factory, which Dow expects to be up and running by 2011. That's welcome news to Tom Ryder, president of the 2,000-member Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council.

"We're very hopeful. We could really use the jobs," said Ryder, adding that each local trade union currently has about 30 percent of its work force unemployed. The Saginaw electrician's local, for example, has 48 of its 130 members out of work, he said.

Ryder said the Dow Kokam project would be the third big employment opportunity, after work at Hemlock Semiconductor in Saginaw County and a planned expansion of Consumers Energy's Karn-Weadock generating complex in Bay County.

Schnepf said Dow hasn't announced any contractors or a bidding process for the new factory. It also isn't taking job applications for people to work at the new plant; more information will be available as the project gets under way, she said.

"It's extremely exciting. This is a huge vote of confidence in Michigan companies, especially Dow," Schnepf said.

The new Dow Kokam factory would replace some of the 400 to 500 jobs Dow is cutting in the Midland area as part of staff reductions announced in 2008.

When completed, the plant will make up to 60,000 batteries a year for electric or hybrid electric vehicles.

"I applaud President Obama and the DOE for helping ensure the next generation of advanced battery technology is developed and built right here in America," said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow's chairman and chief executive officer.

"Dow is excited to begin using our expertise in chemistry to help overcome the technical challenges of developing and commercializing the next generation of advanced automotive batteries," he said.

Kokam America Inc. is based in Missouri and is the U.S. affiliate of South Korea-based Kokam Co.. The company makes a patented product called a Superior Lithium Polymer Battery. Kokam claims its product is one of the highest energy and power density batteries available.

Team NEO's goal: Score with top business site consultants

2009-08-15T10:53:00.000-04:00

by By Tom Breckenridge, Plain Dealer Reporter

Experts in matching companies with new locations enjoyed dinner at one of Northeast Ohio's prime sites Thursday evening -- near the 50-yard line in Cleveland Browns Stadium.

It's one of many perks showered this weekend on four of the country's leading real estate prospectors, hosted by Team NEO and the region's top companies.

The four are site consultants, hired by businesses to find spots for growth and relocations. Team NEO is among thousands of business-attraction groups that hope to persuade these influential real estate pros that this slice of the country has a lot to offer.

Team NEO sponsors several of the whirlwind, red-carpet tours yearly. In keeping with a "jock'' theme, site consultants from New York, Chicago and Dallas will be squired today to dinner for inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. On Saturday, they'll check out the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron.

John Kuntz/The Plain DealerDennis Donovan, principal for WDG Consulting in New Jersey, runs onto the field at Cleveland Browns Stadium Thursday evening as Robert Ady, left, of Ady International Co. in Illinois and Jay Foran, right, Team NEO's senior vice president-business attraction, form a tunnel. Browns President Michael Keenan, second from left, watches.

In between, they'll hustle through numerous visits, including to the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. headquarters in Akron and to Stark State College's fuel cell center in North Canton. Cleveland Browns President Michael Keenan pitched the region's assets during Thursday's four-course dinner.

Team NEO has sponsored the red-carpet tours for two years. Other regions have been at it much longer. It's hard to measure the tours' impact. Team NEO says it has generated some three dozen solid leads for new business through the site consultants it targets. Just a handful of those will pan out, the nature of the business-attraction game.

Team NEO and its business partners in the region kick in tens of thousands of dollars for the tours. They're crucial in the competition for new business, and aim to let site consultants know that the region is eager to help, said Team NEO spokeswoman Carin Rockind.

"We want them to know if they recommend this community, their clients will be taken care of, whether its real estate needs or building business relationships,'' Rockind said.

Lake St. Clair Initiative plans lake marketing efforts

2009-08-14T23:49:00.000-04:00

By Chad Halcom

A nonprofit organization in Macomb County expects to launch a Web site within weeks to help foster tourism businesses and economic development for Lake St. Clair, one of its organizers and directors said.

Harrison Township-based Lake St. Clair Initiative Inc., a 501(c)(6) business organization also known as The Lake St. Clair Tourism Initiative, hopes to have the Web site active by mid-to-late August, said Stephen Remias, a founder and board member of the initiative and president of MacRay Harbor Inc.

Remias and Eric Foster, owner of rival marina company Belle Maer Harbor in Harrison Township, are both directors on the initiative board.

Other directors in the initiative include representatives of the Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development and the Michigan Boating Industries Association.

The Lake St. Clair Initiative, incorporated last October, hopes to use the Web site along with promotional events and other programs to foster business development on or near the lake. No URL address is selected as yet for the new site, Remias said.

“But even if you Google local boat companies, or places to rent a Jet Ski- style watercraft, you can’t always find them,” Remias said. “Some of that is just a limited number of those services, and we want to help with that too, but there’s also a visibility issue.”

Remias said the initiative will try to foster both tourist attraction and related businesses on the lake such as personal watercraft and parasailing operations, and recreational boating. Later, some general business development will follow in communities along the lake.

Cooperation Lands Call Center, 500 Jobs

2009-08-14T22:01:00.000-04:00

Aug. 13, 2009 7:02 a.m.
By George Nelson

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Rapid growth is driving VXI Global Solutions Inc. to open a new inbound call center downtown this fall that’s expected to employ 500 workers within its first year, possibly twice that number, depending on the needs of the company.

Mayor Jay Williams and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan were joined Wednesday by political and development leaders to announce that VXI Global Solutions of Los Angeles would establish a new global fulfillment center at 20 Federal Place where InfoCision Management Corp. operated a call center until earlier this year.

VXI plans to spend $4 million to modify the space for its needs, officials said.

In the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, Williams observed, the city “is constantly proving itself as knowing how to get things done.”

During the press event at City Hall, the mayor said VXI plans to open its call center Oct. 1, starting with 150 employees, including some 100 inbound sales agents for “a major satellite television provider,“ information technology and human resources staff, and local management. The company then plans to hire 50 additional employees each month, for a total of 500 in the space, he continued. VXI has the option of leasing an additional floor, possibly bringing total employment to 800 jobs. More here.

PM launches economic agency to help southern Ont.

2009-08-14T21:57:00.000-04:00

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Thursday the launch of a new agency to boost economic development in southern Ontario.

Harper said the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario, which will be headquartered in the city of Kitchener, will support economic development, innovation and diversification. The creation of the agency had been previously announced in the federal budget.

"This new agency will help southern Ontario's communities, workers and businesses position themselves to take advantage of exciting new economic opportunities when the recovery eventually and inevitably takes hold," Harper said.

Harper said Minister of State Gary Goodyear will be responsible for the agency and will embark on a tour of the region in the coming weeks.

The agency will have a $1-billion budget over five years.

The agency joins other federal economic development programs that help out regions, including the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Canada Economic Development Agency for the region of Quebec, Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Federal Economic Development Initiative of Northern Ontario.

Harper said Kitchener was chosen because the government wanted a central Ontario location, but not one in the Greater Toronto Area.

Speaker: Midwest must reinvent to survive

2009-07-29T16:43:00.000-04:00

WOOSTER -- If the Midwest states are to survive in this age of globalization, they must reinvent the region and seek ways to collaborate and merge, a senior fellow with a foreign affairs organization said.

The Midwest's economy revolves around two "big things," intensive agriculture and heavy industry, said Richard Longworth, author of "Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalization" and a fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. However, globalization has tossed both of these up in the air.

Longworth was the keynote speaker of the three-day NorthCentral Region Mini Land Grant Conference at Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center's Shisler Center. It wraps up today.

While the region manufactures as much as it ever has, it is doing so with fewer people, Longworth said, using a steel plant that produces the same output today with one-tenth the number of employees.

A century ago, the Midwest acted as the Silicon Valley of today, where the ideas of backyard tinkerers and basement entrepreneurs like the Timkens, Ketterings and Goodriches in Northeast Ohio, Longworth said. The ideas were so good, the corporations were so powerful, this region lived off of them ever since.

Those corporations provided good-paying jobs, consequently no other good ideas were needed, which led to the loss of the knack to innovate and invent, traits that enabled this area to dominate the national and world economy.

Longworth concludes the Midwest must reinvent itself or die. Part of the solution is for land grant schools, cities and other organizations to look beyond state lines and political boundaries to cooperate with one another rather than compete. He spoke of the need to develop global cities in the region because the true competition was not coming from nearby states, but from across the globe.

In Northeast Ohio, the Fund for Our Economic Future has been promoting regionalism. Longworth's recommendations takes the mission of the Fund and expands it. Rod Crider, president of Wayne Economic Development Council, said regional groups like the Fund need to connect with others to think and act differently to help the Midwest come back.

Collaboration will need to work on all levels, whether it's Wooster, Wayne County, Northeast Ohio or the Great Lakes region, Crider added.

Bobby Moser, dean of OSU's College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, asked Longworth what his priorities would be.

The priorities should include education at all levels, and there should be an awareness about how education fits with economic development, Longworth said. He added there needs to be a high-speed rail system to connect the Midwest's cities so travel time would be about two to three hours.

Tuesday's morning session included discussions about the bioeconomy. Adam Liska of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln spoke about the "Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn Ethanol," Randy Fortenbery of the University of Wisconsin-Madison talked about issues faced by bio-refinerie, Stephen Myers of Ohio State University talked about bioproducts being created through the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center, and Theresa Selfa, a sociologist at Kansas State University, addressed how ethanol plants were impacting rural communities.

Is right-sizing the right fix?

2009-07-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

On Detroit's near east side, just a stone's throw away from the hulking and abandoned Packard Plant, sits a neighborhood with overgrown fields, dumped trash, toppled trees and collapsed structures.

Three women perch on a porch having Bible study, while another woman chats on the phone from her porch farther down the street. Their homes are two of the few inhabited ones in a five-block radius, and both offer a wretched view. Their neighborhood represents a growing number
of Detroit enclaves that are ripe to be stripped, scrubbed and made over.

Urban planners insist -- and Detroit's political leaders are beginning to acknowledge -- that the city cannot continue to function as if nearly 2 million people still live there. That tax base is long gone, taking with it the money required to maintain city services and a crumbling infrastructure.

"Detroit once had 1.8 million people, and it's not likely that that number is going to come back in the next two to three decades -- if ever," said Dan Kildee, Genesee County treasurer and a national advocate for downsizing initiatives.

Experts say a downsized Detroit is doable, if these steps are taken:

Create a new city master plan, a blueprint for future development and the regreening of the landscape.
Identify which parts of the city are most suitable for habitation and development.
Develop an execution plan that acknowledges any right-sizing will take 25 to 50 years and should be done in 5-year increments to accommodate budget constraints.
Take a full inventory of all city-owned parcels and develop a plan to clear, clean and assemble them into usable shape.
Establish state and federal alliances with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Reserve Board to pursue block grants that could be used to relocate residents.
Build a partnership with private investors willing to support Detroit's future.

Former Mayor Dennis Archer and other city stakeholders began talking about right-sizing Detroit 15 years ago, when they touted tripling the city's green space and reshaping neighborhoods through demolition and relocation.

That was when the city still had about 1 million people.

Now, three mayors later, in a city with at least 100,000 fewer inhabitants and a budget deficit of $200 million to $300 million, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is scrambling to find creative ways to save money on city services. It's a daunting task.

Bing said he first plans to strengthen some of Detroit's neighborhoods by using part of the $47 million the city received from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program -- funded by HUD -- to demolish vacant structures, especially near schools.

But right-sizing will take time. More here.

Michigan CEOs believe state’s economy will worsen, survey shows

2009-07-23T22:17:00.000-04:00

By Amy Lane

Michigan CEOs are pessimistic about Michigan’s economy in the coming months but believe the national economy will hit bottom and begin to improve, according to a survey released Wednesday by Detroit Renaissance Inc. and the Michigan Business Leadership Council.

The survey of 60 Michigan chief executives found approximately 90 percent forecasting the same or lower employment and Michigan capital investment over the next six months.

Sixty-eight percent said they expect the Michigan economy will worsen over the next six months, while 80 percent believe the U.S. economy will be the same or improve.

Looking ahead 18 months, 80 percent of those surveyed believe Michigan’s economy will stay the same or worsen, with 49 percent saying the economy will be the same and 31 percent expecting further decline.

However, 78 percent of CEOs believe the U.S. economy will be in recovery.

In a news release, Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance and the leadership council, said the survey results should be informative to state policymakers.

The leadership council is a statewide group of corporate executives that meets throughout the year to discuss ways to improve the economy and make Michigan a more competitive place to do business.

“The results show two things: First, Michigan cannot expect to grow out of its fiscal crisis anytime soon so it must make structural budget reforms, and second, major changes are needed to stimulate economic growth in this state,” Rothwell said.

Voices grow in opposition to potential regional water pipeline

2009-07-18T09:03:00.000-04:00

By Roberto Acosta
Staff Writer

GENESEE COUNTY -- A Canadian MP from Sarnia has joined a Michigan drain commissioner and the City of Detroit in concern over a possible Genesee County water pipeline.

"The lack of information about the project has caused great concern across my community," said Patricia Davidson in a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Steve Chester, the state's Department of Environmental Quality director.

Davidson, a member of Canada's Conservative Party, is asking for 60 additional days of public comment to review the proposal.

"This is something we don't want to be making uninformed decisions about," she said. "We need to have the time to determine what's happening. Public comment is currently set to close on July 15.

Jeff Wright, Genesee County Drain Commissioner, has said the pipeline would stretch 65 miles into Sanilac, Lapeer and Genesee counties and carry a projected cost of $603 million.

Construction would be done in cooperation among the Genesee County Drain Commission-Division of Water and Waste Services, the City of Flint, Greater Lapeer County Utilities Authority and Sanilac County.

Wright in the past HAS explained that the plan is for intrastate use and is not considered a diversion under the Great Lakes Compact.

Dennis Lennox, Cheboygan County Drain Commissioner, filed an objection to the proposal on June 5 and has talked of seeking legal action if the Department of Environmental Quality approves the plan.

"Genesee County's proposal opens the door to identical pipelines across the Great Lakes, which would result in mass diversions and the commercial exploitation of water resources," he said.

Lennox also sent a letter to Granholm and Chester asking for more time to review the plan because he was "concerned that the views of Canadian officials, as well as authorities across the Great Lakes region, may not be taken into consideration by the Department of Environmental Quality because they did not have adequate time to study Genesee County's proposal before the close of public comment."

Pamela Fisher, interim director for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, listed several objections to the pipeline in a letter from the department and City of Detroit to Brant Fisher, an environmental engineer specialist for the DEQ's Water Bureau.

The letter says there are factual inaccuracies in the GCDC permit application, and that it fails to comply with the water compact's section concerning the "balance between economic development, social development and environmental protection of the proposed withdrawal and use and other or planned withdrawals in water uses sharing the water source."

The letter states a new pipeline would place an "immediate 6 percent rate increase for all the rest of the DWSD's 85 wholesale customers, as well as the residents of the City of Detroit" because of a smaller customer base. It also questions the project cost, saying the figure "does not, to our knowledge, include the cost of maintaining a connection to DWSD's system, which will be necessary if GCDC is to have the redundancy it needs."

Wright said local customers would see an increase of $7 per month during the pay-off period for a 25-year bond, but could see an overall $200 million savings in rate fees.

Ohio's job growth in advanced energy industry grew 31%

2009-07-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

A new report released by The Pew Charitable Trusts ranks Ohio best in the Midwest and among the top five states in the nation for job growth in a clean energy economy. According to the Ohio Business Development Coalition, the non-profit organization that markets the state for capital investment, the report is further evidence that Ohio is uniquely positioned to succeed in the advanced energy industry thanks to its existing strengths in manufacturing and engineering, along with its vast, skilled labor pool capable of an easy transition to fulfill the jobs of the future.

"This report further proves Ohio's dedication to technology innovation coupled with its access to a world-class supply chain and a talented, educated workforce is vital in building a strong foundation for the widespread application of advanced energy systems," said Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher. "There are many business incentive programs the state offers to companies that create new jobs, thereby creating a supportive and encouraging environment for new investment."

Based on significant research and input from experts in the field, including the advisory panel that helped guide the study, Pew developed the following definition: A clean energy economy generates jobs, businesses and investments while expanding clean energy production, increasing energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution and conserving water and other natural resources.

The Pew study shows in 2007 Ohio ranked among the top five states with the most jobs in clean energy (3,653), energy efficiency (5,367) and environmentally friendly production (2,800). Overall, Ohio boasted a total of 35,267 clean jobs in 2007, which represents an overall job growth of 31 percent since 1998 and an average annual job growth of .85 percent each year. For more information about The Pew Charitable Trusts and the report, visit http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=53254.

Ohio's leaders are leveraging the state's key assets such as Ohio's manufacturing infrastructure, skilled workforce and advantageous location to support a growing advanced energy industry. Ohio's historic strengths in advanced design, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing combined with the state's ability to seamlessly transform these existing skill sets into those needed to compete for the jobs of the future creates the perfect environment to make the state a global leader in this rapidly growing industry. Ohio-based companies are now producing an increasing array of solar panels, wind turbines and component parts, biomass products, fuel cells, hydroelectric components, geothermal parts and storage facilities that promote better utilization of advanced energy resources and competitiveness in a global marketplace.

"Ohio has surplus automotive skilled labor and manufacturing capability that is rapidly being converted to accelerated growth of the clean energy industry and is available for clean energy companies that want a rapid start," said Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition. "Ohio is successfully reinventing itself as the location of choice among leading suppliers to the technologies of the future, and our state serves as a model for struggling states and cities with economies that rely on traditional manufacturing processes."

One of the most significant initiatives supporting Ohio's advanced energy industry is the Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to expand Ohio's technological strengths and promote commercialization that leads to economic prosperity throughout Ohio. Since its inception, the program has retained or created 7,700 high-paying technology jobs and has attracted more than $3.5 billion in private investment to Ohio, a 9:1 return on investment. Ohio's Third Frontier has already invested more than $100 million in advanced energy technology research and development since 2002, and is projected to provide $24 million in additional grants related to advanced energy in the coming year.

"Business leaders in the advanced energy industry are realizing how, in Ohio, they're able to successfully build a business without sacrificing their personal life," Burghard said. "Business owners profit from the bottom-line benefits of better work:life balance for their employees. Ohio offers low-cost, low-stress communities in a combination of micropolitan and metropolitan cities. This diversity provides executives and employees the resources and time to make any ambition achievable. Ohio truly is the state of perfect balance."

Minnesota Lawmakers Establish Green Jobs Plan; Gov Takes Final Action on Budget

2009-07-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

As one of several states working to recruit and retain companies that create green jobs, Minnesota lawmakers passed a measure to create a multiagency authority to promote, market and coordinate state agency collaboration on green enterprise and green economy projects. At the same time, legislators rejected Gov. Tim Pawlenty's Green JOBZ proposal, creating a tax-free program for renewable and clean energy businesses modeled after the original JOBZ program and part of the governor's Jobs and Recovery Act (see the Feb. 4, 2009 issue of the Digest).

The Ominbus Environment, Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce bill signed by the governor establishes the Green Enterprise Authority, a cooperative effort between the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Department of Commerce to design programs to attract green jobs to the state. The Green Enterprise Authority will receive the remaining balance of the FY09 special revenue fund appropriation for the Green Jobs Task Force. Establishment of the authority was a major priority of the task force, a bipartisan coalition of legislators, business leaders, policy experts and state agencies created by the legislature in 2008.

Lawmakers also rejected a measure providing $50 million in investment tax credits for certified capital companies (CAPCOs) introduced by the governor earlier in the session. Gov. Pawlenty proposed the investment tax credits, which would be deferred until 2012, available to insurance companies for early-stage investments in CAPCOs.

The governor vetoed a bill that included a $10 million-a-year, 25 percent tax credit for angel investors, citing opposition to tax increases in other parts of the bill, reports the Star Tribune.

Gov. Pawlenty took final action on the state's two-year budget last month following approval of a spending plan by the legislature in May that left a $2.7 billion shortfall between spending and revenues, according to the governor's office. Executive actions taken to balance the budget include a $100 million reduction in higher education appropriations and a 2.25 percent reduction to most state agency operating budgets. This is in addition to the 5 percent reduction imposed on many agencies as part of the recently enacted budget.

The Omnibus Economic Development bill includes $200,000 each year of the 2009-11 biennium for the Office of Science and Technology (OST). The OST was created in 2008 to develop a collaborative partnership between industry, academia and government to coordinate federal funding procurement efforts in S&T in Minnesota. DEED received $400,000 in FY09 to expand current SBIR and STTR efforts and develop a process for technology partnering and commercialization to enhance the S&T funding and technology pipeline.

Lawmakers also approved $500,000 each fiscal year for the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota to recruit, retain and expand bio business activity, implement the Destination 2025 statewide plan, and update a statewide assessment of the bioscience industry.

The K-12 Education Omnibus bill approved by lawmakers includes $750,000 in FY10 for Math and Science Teacher Academies. The legislature approved $3 million for the creation of regional academies in 2007, which provide professional development and training opportunities to math and science teachers.

Reduced Funding Scales Back Indiana Life Sciences, Technology Development Initiatives

2009-07-15T22:10:00.000-04:00

While maintaining a $1 billion reserve over the next biennium, the 2009-11 budget signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels reduces by half funding for the state's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund and appropriates only a fraction of the requested $70 million for the Indiana Innovation Alliance, an initiative to grow the state's life science industries.

Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund administered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) will receive $35 million over the next two years - half the amount appropriated last biennium.

Supporting numerous entrepreneurial ventures over the last 10 years, IEDC uses the fund to offer loans and grants to companies bringing new technologies to market, to match SBIR grants, and to create University Centers of Excellence.

Additionally, no funding was included for IEDC's High Growth Business Incentive Fund, which received $3 million last biennium.

The Technology Development Grant Program, which supports the creation and expansion of technology parks, will receive $3.8 million over the biennium, $400,000 less than last biennium.

Lawmakers allocated $20 million over the next two years to establish the Indiana Innovation Alliance, a partnership between Indiana University (IU) and Purdue University. Hoping to bring more external funding into the state by providing matching funds for large-scale research grants and initiatives, the presidents of the two universities asked lawmakers for $70 million over the biennium to be divided among two priority areas. This included $25 million each year to enhance state-of-the-art core research capabilities for university and corporate research, specifically in bioeconmic areas, and $10 million each year to expand education and healthcare innovations by growing statewide medical and bioscience programs.

In the end, lawmakers approved just $10 million each year, allocating $5 million for core research for the two universities, $3 million for expansion of the IU School of Medicine, and $2 million for Purdue's health care technology assistance program, reports the Lafayette (IN) Journal and Courier.

Legislators also concurred with the governor's proposal to eliminate the $20 million Life Sciences Fund approved as a one-time appropriation last biennium to support recruitment and retention of world-class scientists specializing in life sciences at the Indiana School of Medicine.

Federal stimulus funds were allocated during the session to support several economic development projects in the higher education system. Specifically, the enacted budget includes $20 million in bond authority for a drug discovery center at Purdue University West Lafayette and $10 million for the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery, a partnership between industry, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame. Launched in March 2008, the collaboration is one of four across the nation designed to create new research opportunities that will lead to development of atomic-scale technologies and drive future computing breakthroughs, according to the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). Additional funding comes from Notre Dame, IBM Corporation, SRC's Nanoelectronics Research Initiative, and the city of South Bend.

Another $5 million in federal stimulus funds was allocated to support the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship program to add new math and science teachers in underserved areas of the state and for startup costs to establish new Tech High Schools.

The 2009-11 enacted budget is available at:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/1092/HE/HE1001.1.html.

High-Tech Industry Wins Big in Wisconsin

2009-07-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

Gov. Jim Doyle signed the 2009-11 biennial budget last month, providing funding for university-based research and enhancing tax credits for angel and venture investors supporting high-tech R&D.

Several of the governor's priorities outlined earlier this year in the Digest as part of the state's stimulus plan were funded this session, including the following provisions to enhance the Angel Investment and Venture Capital Tax Credit programs, known as Act 255:

Tripling the Acceleration Wisconsin tax credit from $1 million to $4 million for angel and venture investors in support of startup technology companies, beginning retroactively for the 2008 tax year;

Tripling the annual pool of credits available from $5.5 million to $18.25 million per year for angel credits and from $6 million a year to $18.75 million a year for venture credits, beginning Jan. 1, 2011;

Raising the aggregate creditable investment from $8 million per year from any combination of angel or venture sources, beginning Jan. 1, 2011;

Allowing angel investors to claim the entire 25 percent credit on their investment in the first taxable year; and,

Permitting insurance companies to claim the venture capital investment tax credit against gross premium tax liability.

The enacted budget also funds several TBED initiatives from the governor's budget proposal (see the Feb. 25, 2009 issue of the Digest). They include:

Providing an R&D tax credit for businesses that increase R&D by more than 125 percent of the company's three-year R&D average in the form of an income and franchise tax credit worth $1 for every $1 investment above 125 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2011;

Creating a capital gains tax exemption for investments of up to $10 million in new businesses. The pool of available credits will be tripled beginning in 2011; and,

Exempting the sales and use tax for machinery and other tangible personal property used for qualified manufacturing or biotechnology research, effective Jan. 1, 2012;

In support of new job creation, the enacted budget consolidates five existing tax credit programs, including development zones, enterprise development zones, agricultural development zones, technology zones and airport development zones. The goal is to further target those credits to businesses that create jobs, invest capital, and provide training and retraining to new and incumbent workers, according to the governor's office.

University-based R&D investments include $8.2 million for the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery for research in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology. The institute is part of the Grow Wisconsin Plan first announced by the governor in 2003 (see the Sept. 19, 2003 issue of Digest).

The enacted budget also includes the governor's recommendation to provide $8 million over the biennium to establish University of Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiatives at the Madison, Stevens Point and River Falls campuses for projects to develop the next generation of bio-based fuels and energy. To establish the Wisconsin Genomics Initiative for research into personalized health care for disease identification and prevention, the budget appropriates $2 million in FY10.

Lawmakers allocated $25 million in FY11 for the Wisconsin Covenant Scholars grants. This appropriation will establish a funding base for the grants, which are available to students who maintain a B grade average who are entering into the higher education system in the fall of 2011.
The 2009-11 enacted budget is available at:

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/acts/09Act028.pdf.

Battery innovation thrives in area

2009-07-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

Firms work with wind, cars, grids

By Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: July 10, 2009

As an energy producer, wind is fickle: Maybe it'll blow when you need it. Maybe not.

So the race is on to find more efficient ways to store the electricity wind produces when it's blowing, so the lights can stay on when it isn't. A Milwaukee company is smack in the middle of that race - a player in a high-tech sector that local economic strategists hope will become a growth engine for the region.

"Wind has incredible potential to be a significant portion of the nation's energy supply," said Kevin Dennis, vice president of sales and marketing for ZBB Energy Corp. "But to be a reliable resource, it ideally needs to be coupled with energy storage and to be flexible in how the power is managed and controlled out to the grid."

A joint venture between ZBB Energy and Eaton Corp. earlier this month shipped its first rechargeable energy storage system for the renewable power sector to Ireland, where it is being installed alongside a wind turbine that is already providing half the power needed by the Dundalk Institute of Technology.

While Milwaukee's highest-profile economic development strategy has centered on freshwater technology during the past year, a secondary effort seeks to make the seven-county Milwaukee area a center for advanced battery research, development and manufacturing - exactly the type of work already going on at ZBB and several other area companies.

Wisconsin touts new economic development programs

2009-07-11T08:27:00.000-04:00

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press Writer
3:32 PM CDT, July 10, 2009

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin came up empty in the competition to land a new General Motors Corp. car plant, but tax breaks that were a part of the state's pitch may end up helping other businesses stay or expand.

"Coming in second or third on this GM plant may turn out to be a long-run blessing," said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which advises the governor and Legislature on economic development and other issues.

GM closed its production plant in Janesville in April, cutting about 1,200 jobs. The state lobbied the auto giant to reopen the plant to make a new line of small cars, but GM chose a Michigan plant instead.

Janesville residents who hoped the plant would reopen might find it hard to believe that losing might really be a win. But the incentives designed for the automaker may end up luring other, more attractive businesses to Wisconsin, Still said.

New tax breaks, some of which were included in the state's $195 million pitch to GM, were passed by the Legislature this year despite a $6.6 billion budget shortfall.

Republicans have criticized the Democratic-controlled Legislature as bad for business because it balanced the state budget in part with $3 billion in higher taxes and fees. But Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's administration says it has overhauled the state's economic development incentives to make Wisconsin a leader in keeping and retaining jobs.

The new tax breaks, which emphasize investment and research and development, give Wisconsin "one of the most powerful economic development tools in the country," said Zach Brandon, executive secretary of the state Commerce Department. More here.

Where's the startup action in Michigan?

2009-06-23T22:11:00.004-04:00

MEDC leader calls on firms getting state funds to invest faster in local companies

Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News

The head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. says venture capital and private equity firms given tens of millions in state money are taking too long to invest in local companies.

The Michigan 21st Century Investment Fund was set up three years ago with $109 million from Michigan's tobacco settlement revenue. Its goal is to help jump-start the state's new economy by giving the money to investors to fund Michigan startups.

But those investors have distributed only $35 million to a dozen Michigan businesses so far. The Michigan 21st Century Investment Fund dispersed its final $35 million to four more firms Monday, including one private equity and three venture capital firms. Eight previous investment firms and one company, Microposite Inc. of Auburn Hills, have received money from the fund.

"Given our economic situation, we would like to see more action," said Greg Main, CEO of the MEDC, which promotes economic growth. "I don't hear anyone saying to me that a deal isn't around. The deal flow is here."

State data show that the pool of venture capital funding in Michigan reached $1 billion in 2008, a $100 million increase from the previous year, and that $246 million was invested in Michigan businesses in 2008, a $141 million jump. More here.

Mich. finally gets good news with small car plant

2009-06-23T22:11:00.003-04:00

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN and DAVID N. GOODMAN

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has snatched back a few of its fast-disappearing auto jobs, winning a high-stakes competition with two other states to build General Motors Corp.'s next-generation subcompact car.

The news is a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy Michigan economy that has seen unemployment hit a nation-leading 14.1 percent, lots of housing foreclosures, unpaid furlough days for state workers and uncertainty for thousands of others worried about whether they'll still be getting a paycheck in the months ahead.

GM said Friday it would use an idled midsize car plant in Orion Township, about 40 miles north of Detroit, to assemble small and compact cars. The automaker also had considered plants in Janesville, Wis., and Spring Hill, Tenn.

GM said it expects to start retooling the Orion assembly plant in late 2010, and run two shifts there by 2011, producing 160,000 vehicles annually. The move will save 1,200 jobs.

"We're delighted," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. "I think the impact of reopening that plant and making the small car here will have a huge long-term effect not just on Oakland County but southeast Michigan and help us address some of the real serious employment issues that we have in this region."

A spokesman for Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said GM Manufacturing Vice President Tim Lee told the governor Friday morning that the automaker chose Michigan. More here.

Study is being sought for a crossing between Port Burwell and Ohio

2009-06-23T22:11:00.002-04:00

Both Ohio senators in Washington have urged the Ontario government to fund a feasibility study for a Lake Erie ferry that could create a new border crossing at Port Burwell.

Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown have asked the ministry responsible for rural economic development to favourably consider the request from the municipality of Bayham.

The senators said a proposed ferry from the Mentor area east of Cleveland would provide a new economic corridor between Ohio and Ontario which have $88 million in trade daily.

The $550-million proposal for six modern high-speed ferries to carry transport trucks, cars and passengers would alleviate road and border congestion, reduce pollution and provide a new link between two auto-reliant economies. A downturn in the auto sector has battered both jurisdictions which could benefit from new linkages. More here.

Michigan's wind energy biz gets big lift: $100 million GE investment

2009-06-23T22:11:00.001-04:00

General Electric Corp. CEO Jeffrey Immelt and Gov. Jennifer Granholm today unveiled the details on a $100 million advanced manufacturing, technology and software center in Van Buren Township.

The GE facility will initially employ about 1,200 employees. It will help scientists and engineers develop next generation manufacturing technologies for GE’s renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine and other technology products, Immelt said at a press conference.

Work at the facility will include developing new composites, machining, inspection, casting and coating technologies.

The work will be done in a 100,000-square-foot facility to be constructed on vacant land at the Visteon Village campus in Van Buren Township.

GE software and IT employees will be housed in some of the current Visteon Village buildings and new construction will mostly house an advanced manufacturing technology lab, Immelt said.

“We’ll be putting both machinery capability and technologies to really develop the next generation of manufacturing technology that helps us be productive and have higher quality,” Immelt said.

Granholm said at the press conference that the new facility helps Michigan diversify its high-tech industry and will provide a much needed boost to the state’s economy. She said GE’s decision to locate the facility in Michigan shows how much the state has to offer high-tech firms.

“We’ve got more engineering talent that’s hungry and ready to go than anywhere in the world, and you can’t have found a better place to be able to make it a success, and quickly,” Granholm said. GE plans to begin filling positions for the new facility by the end of 2009, Immelt said.

The jobs will pay about $100,000 per year, Granholm said. More here.

German Renewable Energy Company Chooses Indiana

2009-06-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

VAT-Getriebetechnik (VAT), an international manufacturer of wind turbines and renewable energy-powered lighting systems, announced today the company's plans to locate its U.S. headquarters and first North American manufacturing and service facility here, creating more than 120 new jobs by 2011.

The company, a provider of vertical vane wind turbines and solar-and-wind powered street lighting for municipal or neighborhood use, will invest $3.3 million to locate its North American headquarters in Park One Business Park in Muncie-Delaware County. Initially, the marketing, installation, service and maintenance operations will locate in an existing Park One building as new construction and existing buildings are considered for the future operations.

"Finding ways to be more energy independent has become increasingly necessary in today's worldand I can't think of a better place than right here in Indiana to launch the newest developments in alternative energy," said Governor Mitch Daniels. "We are celebrating today as another global leader in renewable energy innovation has chosen to plant its North American roots in our state."

VAT will split its lines of business into VAT-Service, LLC, a service and maintenance division for wind turbine gear boxes, and VAT-Energies, LLC, a manufacturing division which will specialize in vertical vane wind turbine and solar-and-wind powered street lighting production. The company's vertical vanes and unique street lighting systems are installed in locations around the world including Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

"We see, in the U.S. marketplace, great opportunity based on our expertise in wind technology and renewable lighting alternatives for both commercial and community applications. The 20 years of expertise we bring from Europe has enabled the VAT-Group to succeed globally. We anticipate the same success in the U.S. marketplace," said Oliver Viehweider, president of VAT-Getriebetechnik.

The German company currently employs more than 130 employees in Germany and other parts of Europe. The company will begin hiring engineers, service technicians, logistics managers and administrative staff later this year.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered VAT up to $1 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. Delaware County will purchase $1.5 million in solar-and-wind powered lights and a vertical vane windmill from VAT at the request of Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance-Vision 2011.

"We are excited about the opportunity to bring VAT to Delaware County. Increasing the presence of alternative energy companies is a strong component of our community's economic development effort. These are the type of high-paying, high tech companies that we want to bring to our community," said Todd Donati, president of the Delaware County Commissioners.

VAT is the second group of companies specializing in wind and renewable energy components production to select Indiana for its U.S. headquarters in the past year. Last fall Brevini announced plans to locate its North American wind turbine gear box manufacturing facilities in Delaware County, creating 450 jobs and adding millions in new capital investment.

In a report released this week by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the number of clean energy jobs in Indiana grew by nearly 18 percent between 1998 and 2007, ranking the state first in the industrial Midwest in overall job growth in the clean energy economy.

Farmers Insurance Investing $84 Million to Expand Michigan Facility

2009-06-23T22:10:00.001-04:00

Farmers Insurance will invest $84.4 million to expand its campus in Caledonia, Michigan, according to the Michigan governor's office. The company plans to create 1,600 new direct jobs and approximately 1,100 construction jobs with the project, which will include the construction of two new buildings that the Associated Press says will total 275,000 square feet. One building will house offices, a training facility, and a call center, while the other will be used for printing and distribution operations. Construction on the new space is scheduled to begin in the fall, with the buildings opening in the spring of 2011. "We're excited about the future and what it can mean for us in this location," says Robert Woudstra, Farmers' CEO, a native of nearby Grand Rapids. Farmers is a subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services of Switzerland. The governor's office says the state has offered Farmers a tax credit valued at $62.5 million and an employee training grant of up to $335,000; local governments are also considering tax abatement.

Michigan Commercial Bakery Investing $60 Million for Expansion

2009-06-23T22:08:00.000-04:00

Roskam Baking Company, a producer of cereal, snacks and dry baking mixes for major food companies, will invest $60.5 million to expand its facility in Kentwood, Michigan, according to the Michigan governor's office. The project is expected to create at least 1,500 new direct jobs and approximately 1,600 construction jobs over the next five years; the Grand Rapids Press reports that the direct jobs will pay an average of $12.73 per hour plus benefits. The company plans to add new production lines to accommodate increased manufacturing contracts with new and existing customers. The state is offering Roskam a $20.1 million tax credit over the next 10 years; the Press reports that the company must invest at least $25 million and maintain a minimum of 1,000 new jobs by the sixth year of the deal in order to retain the tax breaks. The city is also expected to provide property tax abatements.

Customer Service Company Opening Call Center, Hiring 1,000+ in Ohio

2009-06-23T22:07:00.001-04:00

PlusOne Communications, a new provider of customer care services to the healthcare and communications industries, will open a call center in Akron, Ohio, according to city officials. The company plans to begin operations at the beginning of next month with an initial work force of 30 employees, with plans to grow to 200 employees by fall and to more than 1,000 over the next 18 months. The Akron Beacon Journal reports that the center will be housed in the former Firestone Bank, renamed the Verge Building; the property is owned by Jill Bacon-Madden, wife of PlusOne Communications president Robert Madden. The building was purchased for $2 from the city in 2007, and Madden tells the Journal that the company has invested more than $5 million in renovations and equipment, with contributions from the city of approximately $1.5 million to improve sidewalks, lighting, parking, and landscaping. According to the Journal, company salaries will range from $20,000 to $30,000 per year for representatives, with mid-level managers earning $35,000 to $40,000 per year and upper managers earning $60,000 to $100,000 per year; employees will also receive benefits including medical insurance. "We have a great labor work force here," says Madden, quoted in the Journal. "We have people who are disciplined. They show up for work on time. They work hard when they are working."

Biotech Company Relocating Headquarters to Wisconsin

2009-06-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Exact Sciences Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company that is working on new methods to detect colorectal cancer, will relocate its corporate headquarters and R&D operations to Madison, Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin governor's office. The company expects to create up to 150 jobs over the next five years as it commercializes its research.

The company is currently located in Marlboro, Massachusetts. "We are grateful to Governor Doyle and the Department of Commerce for their support of Exact Sciences Corporation's relocation to Wisconsin," says Kevin Conroy, the company's president and CEO. "The assistance provided by the governor was a critical part of our relocation decision. We know from past experience that Wisconsin, and the Madison area in particular, is a great place to build a biotechnology company."

Conroy is a former president of a biotech company that has operations in Madison. The state will provide a $1 million loan to Exact Sciences to help with working capital and the purchase of new equipment. The governor's office did not provide information regarding the dollar amount of company's financial investment.

Grant helps explore alternative energy farming

2009-06-22T23:05:00.000-04:00

By BRYAN SCHAAF
Staff Writer

WOOSTER -- A $250,000 grant for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center will allow researchers to begin assessing the potential for farmers in Northeast Ohio to grow crops, not just for consumption, but also for purpose of alternative energy.

The grant, approved by members of the Fund for Our Economic Future, is the next step in the group's efforts to expand Northeast Ohio's $8.2 billion agriculture industry.

"We're trying to improve our overall business, and what we're doing is looking at what we can do in the agriculture sector," said Chris Thompson, director of marketing and communications for the Fund. "What can we do to shift from more commodity agriculture to more specialty or value-added agriculture? Or from locally grown foods to growing crops for biomass? The Fund understands the critical role agriculture plays in the vibrancy of our region. In Wayne County and other areas, protecting and enhancing agricultural land is a top priority for communities, and we want to find ways of helping them achieve that goal.

According to an FFEF release, there are more than 2,200 farms in Northeast Ohio and about 40 percent of the region's land is used for agriculture.

Much of that land, though, is limited to commodity products, and each year more land is lost to residential and commercial development.

Fund member Lud Huck said there are currently several individuals doing research work around Northeast Ohio, and part of the grant will be used to tie those researchers together.

"This is going to touch everybody in Northeast Ohio," said Huck. "This is a strong move into the development of agriculture both for food purposes and commercial purposes in the area of alternative energy. This is a research module for a year that will put the tools together and develop a method of communicating information amongst all interested agriculture people in the region."

Huck said crops, such as Russian dandelions, which produce latex that can be used in natural rubber, and the jatropha plant, which has nuts that produce larger amounts of oils that can be used in ethanol, would be prevalent alongside traditional plantings like corn and soybeans.
"There are 15,000 vacant lots in Cuyahoga County alone where products like these could be grown that have commercial industrial value," Huck said.

Fund members concur that expanding the region's specialty agriculture production would result in higher incomes and job growth, and would also preserve the region's natural assets.

"Agriculture is a critically important industry to the economic future of our region, and this research will identify options to accelerate its growth," said Peter Meisel of the Meisel Family Foundation and co-chairman of the Fund committee that recommended the grant.

Dr. Casey Hoy, an entomologist at OARDC with a focus on agroecosystem health, will oversee much of the research, which is scheduled to be completed by next summer.

Hoy has already been working to build local sustainable food networks in the region, which is backed by a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant.

"Agriculture is certainly one of the biggest industries in Ohio, and Northeast Ohio leads the pack in that whole area," said Dr. William Ravlin, assistant director at OARDC. "The idea is rather than shipping in produce from Florida, California, Mexico or somewhere else, what is the potential to produce food locally and distribute it? And what is the potential to do so with a solid product that efficiently links food production with consumers and builds the local economy as a whole?"

Huck said the $250,000 grant not only has the support of the Fund, but also the Wayne Economic Development Council and Wayne Growth Partnership.

In addition to Hoy, Brian Gwin and Rod Crider from the WEDC, Jim Currie from the OARDC and Adam Briggs from the Shoolroy Foundation have also been instrumental in moving the project forward.

Reporter Bryan Schaaf can be reached at 330-287-1645 or bschaaf@the-daily-record.com.

Cleveland Students AIM for Manufacturing Careers

2009-06-22T21:39:00.000-04:00

Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) Friday, June 19, 2009 - In Cleveland, Ohio there is no lack of enthusiasm among students who are interested in learning about careers in manufacturing. This week, 50 students began a 5-week career exploration camp at Cleveland's Max S. Hayes Career and Technical High School. Competition to attend WIRE-Net's Accelerated Introduction to Manufacturing Camp was steep with over 270 applicants vying for the 50 slots.

Those selected for "AIM" camp will enter 9th or 10th grade this fall. They were chosen based on demonstrating a minimum grade point average of 2.5, a B average or higher in math, and the recommendation of their school math teacher. WIRE-Net hopes that the camp will help build the pipeline of students who will want to attend Max Hayes, the only high school in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District that teaches academic and technical skills in manufacturing related trades.

According to Jessica Walker, WIRE-Net's AIM Camp Program Coordinator, students will learn marketable skills. "Over the course of the 5 weeks, students learn fundamental skills such as measuring, reading blue prints, basic machining, shop safety, and applied math, science, technology, and life skills. They also will tour a local advanced manufacturing plant so students see the connection between what they learn in the classroom and the skills they need for success in advanced manufacturing."

AIM Camp will operate Monday through Friday beginning June 15th through July 16th with morning and afternoon sessions. Tuition for the camp is free to students. The camp provides students with the opportunity to earn a stipend based on behavior, performance, timeliness, and attendance. AIM Camp is funded through several sources including: U.S. Department of Labor MAGICC grant to the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Workforce Investment Board, MYCom (part of the Youth Development Initiative of Cuyahoga County and is partially funded through Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners and Starting Point), as well as corporate and private foundations.

Michigan cities scramble to recycle auto plants

2009-06-22T21:34:00.000-04:00

Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News

Plans by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC to shutter Michigan auto plants will dump 25 million square feet of industrial land onto a struggling commercial real estate market and have sparked a race against time in communities unsure what to do with vast, vacant sites.

In addition to the loss of an estimated 10,000 factory jobs in the next two years, the host communities will lose millions in property taxes they can sorely afford to forfeit: GM already has taken steps to slash as much as 80 percent of its tax liability in some municipalities.

"If you look at the history of closed plants, it's not encouraging" said Kim Hill, director of the Automotive Communities Program at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. "They are unique facilities. I can't give you percentages of closed plants that get reopened, but in the past, it's been small."

The combined square footage of the nine plants on the pending GM and Chrysler closure lists is larger than a dozen Great Lakes Crossing shopping malls. It's double the size of the Cedar Point amusement park, or half the footprint of Grosse Pointe Shores.

While smaller plants have been reborn as other businesses, most of the nine GM and Chrysler will mothball are far bigger and more difficult to market. GM's Willow Run transmission plant, for example, is a mile long.

The targeted auto plants, including Chrysler's Conner Avenue plant in Detroit and GM's Wyoming Metal Stamping in western Michigan, are in dense urban surroundings, and cities want them razed in order to market vacant land. But demolition and environmental cleanup are enormously expensive.

"There's really been two options in the past: Convince an automaker to utilize it, or tear it down," Hill said. More here.

Regional economic development organizations' links with Michigan's universities to play influential role in state's economic recovery

2009-06-15T21:38:00.000-04:00

Posted by Nathan Bomey Michigan Business Review June 04, 2009 06:50AM

Stephen ForrestRelationships between regional economic development organizations and Michigan's top universities are poised to play an increasingly influential role in helping the state's economy recover from its devastating economic crisis.

Central to Michigan's evolving economic development model is the tightening partnership between the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor SPARK.

U-M Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest, SPARK's new chairman, said in an interview at the Mackinac Policy Conference that one of his top priorities is spreading SPARK's model across the state. He was elected chairman of SPARK after founder and possible Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder opted not to seek reelection.

Forrest suggested that regional economic development organizations could drive economic activity throughout the state.

"We shouldn't be that concerned about it being in Ann Arbor," Forrest said. "It should be something that's good for the state and good for the region, because we're all in this together.

"So my ambition is to expand our concept of partnership and to really get these various organizations that historically might be separate to work together in a cooperative way."

Whether a shift of power to organizations like SPARK and Southwest Michigan First could lessen the role of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. is unclear and likely dependent on the outcome of the 2010 elections. MEDC CEO Greg Main could not be reached for comment.

Forrest's comments came as Michigan business leaders repeatedly suggested on Mackinac Island that the state should adopt more cooperative economic initiatives and partnerships. The concept of increased economic development collaboration appears to be gaining momentum.

"We really are one Michigan," said Ron Kitchens, CEO of Southwest Michigan First. "We can talk about regions, and regions are important - they're part of who our culture is. But our problems are endemic to the entire state."

Jeff Mason, a former MEDC official and new executive director of the University Research Corridor, said Michigan's universities are the lynchpin to the state's success. But he suggested that the URC - a coalition among U-M, Michigan State University and Wayne State University - would have to collaborate with other organizations to jolt the economy.

"Economic development is a team sport. It's a collaboration amongst universities, government and the private sector," Mason said.

Michael Finney, SPARK's president and CEO, said his organization has been working closely with Wayne County economic development officials to explore new avenues for collaboration.

SPARK and Wayne County struck a deal in 2008 with Esperion Therapeutics founder and Lipitor co-discoverer Roger Newton to establish the Michigan Life Science Innovation Center in Plymouth Township. The biotech incubator has space for some 10 companies, including anchor tenant Esperion and U-M startup Lycera - drug discovery firms that have collectively attracted nearly $60 million in venture capital.

The Wayne County incubator is outside of SPARK's traditional Washtenaw County boundaries, but Finney said it was a natural fit.

"We don't really view any place in the state of Michigan as competition to us. We view the rest of the state as partners," Finney said. "If there are things that we can do or things that we're doing that will allow the rest of the state to improve at a more rapid pace, we think it's in our best interests to do it. We think as the rest of the state gets better, the Ann Arbor region gets better."

Forrest said SPARK's economic development initiatives - which include incubator space, business accelerator activity and talent enhancement programs - could serve as a model for the state.

"And it's not out of line with the other regions that economically function within the country. You go to the Bay Area or Massachusetts, there's a very tight relationship between academia, the business sector and the government," Forrest said.

Keith Cooley, CEO of Detroit-based economic development group NextEnergy, said Michigan's tendency to provoke regionalism is counterproductive. He suggested that the trend toward cooperation was overdue.

"It's about time," Cooley said. "We're one state."

Contact Nathan Bomey at (734) 302-1725 or nathanb@mbusinessreview.com.

Urgent work for Rock County economic development

2009-06-15T21:18:00.000-04:00

JANESVILLE — They typically fly well below the radar, working the phones and Internet, quietly meeting with prospects or handing out information at trade shows.

Doug Venable and James Otterstein are selling Janesville and Rock County as a prime location for companies to expand, relocate or start up.

With a local economy devastated by plant closings and job losses, their work has a sense of urgency.

As employment evaporates, the citizenry wants to know what its government—federal, state and local—is doing to bring relief.

The answer, at least at the local level, is as much as it can, said Venable, Janesville’s director of economic development, and Otterstein, Rock County’s economic development director.

“People get frustrated because of the loss of jobs, but James and Doug are out there every day,” said Rock County Administrator Craig Knutson. More here.

Detroit Suburbs Beckon Fiat Executives With $1,595 Sandals

2009-06-14T22:14:00.000-04:00

June 8 (Bloomberg)

Some people in Birmingham, Michigan, can’t wait for the Italians to take over Chrysler LLC.

Karen Daskas, owner of a women’s fashion shop called Tender, said she carries Chrissie Morris high-heeled sandals -- original price $1,595; now $795.50 -- that might appeal to Italian expatriates from Fiat SpA. A few doors away, jeweler Gary Astreins said that “new blood” should bring new jobs to an ailing economy. Next year, students at a local public high school may be able to study Italian.

“I’m preparing to work for the relocation of Fiat’s executives,” said Carolyn Bowen-Keating of Weir Manuel Realtors in Birmingham. “I’m organizing a presentation of our services at the Italian consulate in Detroit.”

Bowen-Keating, 57, is trying to win business from the expected arrival of executives from Turin-based Fiat, which would control Chrysler following federal court approval of a sale. Chrysler is based in another Detroit suburb, Auburn Hills.

Should the acquisition go as planned, 100 to 200 executives may relocate to Michigan within 18 months, according to Gerald C. Meyers, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a former chairman of American Motors Corp. A Fiat spokesman, Gualberto Ranieri, declined to comment on how many employees might move.

Chances are those managers will live in or near Birmingham, population 20,000, if the housing choices of other car industry executives are any guide.

‘Green and Beautiful’

During his almost two-year tenure as Chrysler’s chief executive officer, Robert Nardelli used to stay in Birmingham at the Townsend Hotel. Rick Wagoner, General Motors Corp.’s former CEO, lives in the city. His successor, Fritz Henderson, lives a mile away in Bloomfield Hills. Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche lived in Bloomfield Township when he ran the U.S. operations of DaimlerChrysler.

Birmingham is in Oakland County, where much of Detroit’s middle class moved after the city’s riots of 1967, said Robin Boyle, professor of urban planning at Wayne State University in Detroit. Birmingham’s downtown is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, and is within 20 miles of the headquarters of GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler.

“The place is very green and beautiful and conveniently located for those working in the auto sector,” said Stefano Aversa, the Florentine co-president of restructuring firm AlixPartners LLP. “The reputation of Detroit and its surroundings is much worse than it deserves.” More here.

Great Lakes Bay Region has competition when it comes to attracting solar industry

2009-06-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

by Jeff Kart The Bay City Times
Friday June 05, 2009, 7:30 AM

In February, more than 100 business and community leaders gathered to celebrate the launch of Michigan Solar Advantage - a tri-county effort to attract solar investment to the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The announcement didn't make national news.

If Bay, Saginaw and Midland counties hope to grow a solar economy in the area, they'll have to get in line.

Numerous other states are running ahead of Michigan in the race for solar manufacturing, based on recent investment announcements and incentives to lure in business and jobs. And globally, most solar panels are made overseas, in places like China and Malaysia.

RAY OF HOPE

Reporters Eric English and Jeff Kart look at how solar energy businesses are moving into the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Michigan is definitely a hotbed of activity. But there is competition," said Monique Hanis, director of communications for the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade group in Washington, D.C.

In the United States, Ohio, Tennessee, Oregon and Nevada have attracted big solar companies to their states in recent months.

While Michigan is emerging as a hub of U.S.-based investment, thanks to giant solar-material maker Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. in Saginaw County, German and other foreign solar companies have been locating in other states, Hanis said. More here.

Obama Offers 'Rust Belt' Aid to Offset GM Bankruptcy

2009-06-14T21:40:00.000-04:00

Secretary Hilda Solis announced plans to provide Michigan with another $49 million to help retrain laid off workers.

By Karen Dybis, Agence France-Presse June 2, 2009

Armed with aid packages and promises of a better future, President Barack Obama's cabinet members fanned out across the U.S. "rust belt" on June 2 to calm concerns in the wake of a bankruptcy filing by General Motors.

The political risks for Obama were high as the government took a 60%stake in the troubled automaker in exchange for providing $50 billion dollars to help finance a restructuring which includes plans to close 14 plants and cut 21,000 U.S. jobs.

The layoffs will hit states like Michigan and Ohio which are already devastated by a decades-long decline in the manufacturing base. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced plans to provide Michigan with another $49 million to help retrain laid off workers while touring a GM engine plant in Romulus, Michigan. Some 700,000 jobs have been lost in the state of Michigan alone since the beginning of the decade.

"I know that it's staggering right now, but the Obama administration is fighting like the dickens to turn it around," Solis told a small group of workers.

The fuel-efficient and hybrid engines built at Romulus will help General Motors reshape its business for the 21st century, Solis said, and the administration will help fuel the growth of "green" jobs.

"Traditions change, history changes and it changes us," Solis said. "It's time to step up to the plate and be ready for that change." More here.

Michigan Works to Remake Itself Without King Auto

2009-06-14T21:34:00.000-04:00

By BILL VLASIC and NICK BUNKLEY

DETROIT — The former General Motors Centerpoint truck plant in Pontiac, Mich., is another empty building that served for years as a reminder of the declining fortunes of American automakers.

But the day after G.M. filed for bankruptcy, it was bustling with activity.

Ed Montgomery, the Obama administration’s director of recovery for auto communities and workers, was touring the building with camera crews in tow.

Amid all the grim auto news, it was as good a photo op as he could have hoped for — the building was the future home of the Motown Motion Picture Studio.

The state, with the help of incentives, lured 25 film crews to Michigan last year to shoot movies like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “Gran Torino,” from Clint Eastwood, and officials are hopeful about a new growth industry.

“I’m very optimistic about the project,” said Mr. Montgomery, adding that the studio could create 3,000 new jobs. “That’s an excellent start.”

But any promising starts in Michigan are overshadowed by the brutal reality of the state’s economic plight. Just across the street from the building Mr. Montgomery was touring, workers at a huge G.M. truck plant learned the day before that their factory would be closing, one of seven more Michigan plants the automaker plans to shut down.

G.M. has promised to use its tour through bankruptcy to become a more nimble and competitive company, but Michigan faces an even tougher task in reinventing itself.

For all the talk of California’s economic woes, the distress in Michigan is greater. About 800,000 jobs have been lost in the state — about one in every six — since 2000, and its unemployment rate has reached 12.7 percent, higher than any other state.

The fallout has been even worse in heavily populated southeastern Michigan. Manufacturing jobs in the seven-county region that includes Detroit have fallen 51 percent since the beginning of the decade, and auto-related positions have fallen 65 percent.

The economic crisis has been so severe that Michigan, with a $1.4 billion budget shortfall, is closing eight prisons to save money. It is also canceling more than 130 road and bridge repair projects because the state cannot come up with enough money to get matching federal funds.

“Movie studio jobs are going to be measured in the hundreds,” said Don Grimes, an economic forecaster at the University of Michigan. “It’s nowhere near the replacement numbers for what’s going on.”

On a broader level, the troubles of the auto industry are having a profound impact on the overall United States economy. The industry — with Michigan as its center — now accounts for only 1.5 percent of the nation’s economic output, down from 3 percent in 2007 and 5 percent at its peak in the 1950s.

The automakers have historically played a big part in ending recessions. Car companies, in the past, would increase production and add workers to satisfy pent-up consumer demand after a downturn. But now, the industry’s troubles may be prolonging the misery.

“If not for the problems in the auto industry, this recession would have been much milder,” said Ben Herzon, an economist at Macroeconomic Advisors, in St. Louis.

In Michigan, the state’s leaders are hoping to build on what’s left of the once-mighty Big Three automakers, and attract new jobs tied to the alternative-fuel vehicles of the future.

The state has authorized tax credits to support a new battery manufacturing plant for G.M., and similar assistance for three other proposed battery projects. The jobs created will number in the hundreds at first, but state officials are hopeful that Michigan will be at the center of battery development nationwide.

Still, battery production has a long way to go to match the jobs being lost. On Monday, G.M. opened a new battery lab at its Warren, Mich., technical center that will be used by an existing team of about 1,000 engineers. On the same day, the company said it would cut an additional 400 union jobs by shutting down medium-duty truck production in Flint.

Michigan is also pursuing wind-power technology, solar-panel manufacturing, even production of railroad cars — any viable industry that might be interested in hiring the thousands of engineers who used to work in the auto industry.

“This community still has a lot of things going for it,” said Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan. “This is the heart of the automotive research capital of the world, and there’s a strong structure to build on.”

The bankruptcies of G.M. and Chrysler have, if nothing else, kept both of the automakers alive for the foreseeable future. The state has thus avoided its worst nightmare — that G.M.’s headquarters in Detroit and Chrysler’s sprawling technical center in Auburn Hills would be added to the list of vacant buildings along the Interstate 75 automotive corridor.

The research and development campuses at the Detroit automakers, as well as new operations occupied by Toyota and Hyundai, are the foundation for growth in new technologies like lithium-ion batteries.

But those operations cannot replace the tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs that G.M., Ford, Chrysler and their suppliers have shed in recent years.

White-collar positions have also steadily decreased at all the automakers and their suppliers. In response, Gov. Jennifer Granholm started a retraining program in 2007 — “No Worker Left Behind” — to provide up to two years of free tuition to unemployed workers. So far, more than 60,000 people have signed up.

Providing education for laid-off workers is a priority for Governor Granholm, who joined Mr. Montgomery last week on his tour of the Pontiac movie studio.

“We are not interested in looking in the rearview mirror,” she said. “We need to be able to play both offense and defense.”

Retraining is essential to broaden the skills of factory workers and others in the hardest-hit segments of the economy. “The recession is just crushing industries that tend to employ people with less education — construction, manufacturing, retail stores,” said Mr. Grimes.

Classrooms at community colleges across the state are jammed with former auto industry employees trying to prepare themselves for a new career.

Greg Cortis, 36, had been a contract worker at G.M.’s huge technical center in Warren, Mich., for three years before he was laid off in October. He is taking courses in carpentry, electrical work and other construction skills in Oakland Community College’s facilities management program.

Leaving the auto industry behind, after a total of 15 years in the business, was difficult, he said, but a fact of life in today’s Michigan. “You’ve got to work,” said Mr. Cortis. “I don’t want to be on a two- or three-year unemployment extension.”

Indiana: A hobbled march forward

2009-06-14T21:29:00.000-04:00

Jun 4th 2009 FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
From The Economist print edition

Finding new things to do in the depths of the rustbelt

STEVEN CHU, the energy secretary, who specialises in atomic physics, travelled on June 2nd to Fort Wayne, Indiana, which specialises in pickup trucks. General Motors (GM) had declared bankruptcy the day before, and Mr Chu was one of many cabinet members sent to cheer up the rustbelt. He toured a local firm that makes geothermal heat pumps, then announced $50m to promote such technology. On the far side of town Orval Plumlee, the president of the local United Auto Workers, was too busy to leave the union hall. Panicked workers had been calling him non-stop.

As a manufacturing giant topples, Indiana finds itself in an odd position. GM’s bankruptcy will devastate Michigan, the rustbelt’s feebly beating heart, and Indiana will suffer too. The state had about 80,000 workers in the car and parts manufacturing industry in 2007, the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Labour Statistics. But Indiana is not typical of the region. Before the recession the state was bustling, its unemployment rate was below the national average.

Mitch Daniels, the governor, may have to tap state reserves to pass a budget, but on June 1st he insisted that “Indiana remains in vastly better shape than most states and any of our neighbours.” Its economy has made progress, with one foot stuck in the past and a toe dipped in the future. It is a promising stance, though a wobbly one.

Indiana is still a laggard in many areas. Only 21% of those aged 25 and older have a college degree, compared with 28% across the country. Hoosiers’ average income has failed to keep up with America’s, sliding from 32nd place among the states in 1997 to 40th a decade later.

Indiana’s economy is more dependent on manufacturing than any other state. But as the Big Three’s clout has waned, Indiana has evolved accordingly. Less powerful unions and ample foreign investment make the state what Morton Marcus, a prominent local economist, calls “the middle finger of the South thrust into the North.” Indiana’s output of car and parts manufacturing grew by 31% from 1997 to 2007. Michigan’s shrank by 20%. The day before GM’s chief executive first asked Congress for a bail-out, Indiana celebrated the dedication of a Honda factory. More here.

Where are Wisconsin business incentives?

2009-06-03T22:09:00.001-04:00

JANESVILLE — When a company looks for a site for a new facility, the discussion often starts with geography, moves to labor costs and ends with state incentives.

In 2005, Janesville lost on the first and last elements in the battle to land a $100 million Lowe’s distribution center and its 500 jobs.

Lowe’s decision to build 1.4 million-square-foot facility in Rockford, Ill., was based on two factors. Rockford is only 45 miles from DeKalb, which Lowe’s said was the geographic center of the area to be served by the facility.

And Illinois officials brought a $26.1 million incentive package to the table. Janesville was able to muster only $15.6 million from state and local sources.

The lessons learned in 2005 take on more importance now as Janesville works to recover from the loss of thousands of auto industry jobs.

The Lowe’s project is not unique.

Wisconsin communities routinely find themselves on the short end of recruitment battles with neighboring states that are more freewheeling with incentive dollars and tax abatement programs.

When they’re not losing companies to foreign countries, Midwestern states are increasingly seeing companies relocate to or expand in other U.S. regions. More here.

Local officials consider impact of GM bankruptcy

2009-06-03T21:32:00.000-04:00

by Tom Tolen The Livingston Community News
Tuesday June 02, 2009, 3:52 PM

General Motors, the once-mighty corporate giant whose brands were household names and its plants the lifeblood of many U.S. communities, filed its Chapter 11 petition in New York this week, marking the fourth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and the largest for an industrial company.

It's hard to gauge what the impact will be on Livingston County, but it's not good, according to local automotive and economic experts.

While the county does not have any auto assembly plants, it is home to many suppliers, several of which have closed their doors in recent months, putting hundreds out of work, said Livingston County Economic Development Council Director Fred Dillingham.

Auto supplier, Metaldyne, which has a facility employing about 100 people in Hamburg Township, also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.

A company spokesman said it's unclear if this move will affect the Hamburg plant.

"We have a number of companies with as much as 90 percent of their business from GM; we have an awful lot of trickle-down effect from GM," Dillingham said. More here.

Milwaukee chamber boss offers tips for development

2009-05-31T20:46:00.000-04:00

By Dave Alexander
dalexander@muskegonchronicle.com

MUSKEGON -- Economic and community development has much more to do with people and their skills than it does with tax policy, highways or the fresh water of Lake Michigan.

That was the message the head of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce gave a Muskegon business group Friday at the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor.

Milwaukee chamber President Tim Sheehy acknowledged that his community and Muskegon share a tremendous asset in Lake Michigan but he learned from an economic minister of Singapore on a trip a decade ago what was important to a region's economic future.

"Milwaukee, Muskegon and Singapore all have great deep-water ports," Sheehy told the Business for Breakfast gathering of the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce. But the minister said his country's future was tied to it being a "port of human knowledge."

The game changer in attracting companies to a community like Milwaukee or Muskegon is the population's education and the workers' skills, he said.

The Milwaukee economic development strategy is to focus on two key indicators: the percentage of work-age residents with at least a bachelor's degree and the percentage of work-age residents without a high school degree.

The most important economic development strategy should be to increase the former and decrease the latter, he said.

Sheehy's numbers show Muskegon has a lot of work to do in improving its "human capital."

Milwaukee has 27 percent of its 18-to-64-year-olds with at least a four-year college degree, compared to only 13 percent for Muskegon County. As for non high school graduates of the same age, Milwaukee has 11 percent, compared to Muskegon's 17 percent.

Offshore Wind Energy Proposed for Great Lakes

2009-05-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Buffalo, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Following the release of offhsore wind development guidelines last week by President Barack Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, New York Power Authority (NYPA) president and CEO Richard Kessel announced a major public-private initiative for the potential development of wind power projects in the New York State waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

NYPA released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to initiate efforts to develop offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes. A Request for Proposals (RFP) to examine technical issues related to the viability of such projects is expected to be released before the end of the month.

To carry out the initiative known as the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project, NYPA, with the support of wind power proponents including National Grid, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, state and local environmental organizations, wind power developers and the University of Buffalo, is gathering a wide range of environmental, economic development, technical, financial and other information to serve as the foundation for the possible installation of wind power projects by one or more private wind power developers, sized to a minimum of 120 megawatts.

The first step in the initiative was taken when NYPA issued the RFEI for environmental, economic development, technical, operational, socio-economic, financial and other information from the wind power industry. This information will assist NYPA in determining the feasibility of taking the next step of preparing a wind power development RFP which, if issued, would be expected to result in high-quality proposals for the construction of wind generating projects.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) welcomed the announcement.

“This is a great sign for offshore wind energy in the U.S.,” said Denise Bode, CEO of AWEA. “As we seek to dramatically expand wind energy, both on- and offshore, it is vital that we commit to long-term stable policies such as the Renewable Electricity Standard to allow the market to reach its full potential and enable businesses to build new factories and create new jobs.”

Governor's Report: Michigan is Still in Motion

2009-05-17T20:11:00.000-04:00

The automotive industry may have hit a stop sign, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm's aggressive strategy is maintaining forward momentum in the crown of the Great Lakes. From motion pictures to nanotechnology, the Wolverine State is in the hunt for new jobs.

By Jack Rogers

Nowhere has this year's economic debacle hit harder in the United States than in Michigan. The state that is synonymous with a U.S. auto industry on the brink of bankruptcy currently is suffering with the nation's highest double-digit unemployment rates.

To add insult to injury, the crown jewel of Michigan's economic development efforts—a $17-billion project between Midland, MI-based Dow Chemical and the government of Kuwait—was canceled abruptly by the Kuwaitis earlier this year when they felt the bite of the sudden plunge in the price of oil.

So it is understandable if you wouldn't expect to hear a lot of good news coming from the crown of the Great Lakes these days. But you would be wrong.

Governor Jennifer Granholm and her economic development team have been extraordinarily busy since the beginning of the year. Hardly a week goes by without the announcement of a major new job-creation initiative from the governor's office. More than a dozen new projects expected to create nearly 9,000 new jobs and an investment of more than $300 million in the state have been unveiled since the beginning of the year, and Granholm says more are on the way.

Diversification has been the watchword of Michigan's counterattack against the pervasive economic gloom.

"We are undertaking the most aggressive economic diversification strategy in the nation, and helping Michigan manufacturers expand into new, high-growth sectors is a critical component of that effort," Granholm says. More here.

Marketing paying off in Tecumseh

2009-05-17T10:59:00.000-04:00

By David Frownfelder
Daily Telegram
Wed Apr 08, 2009, 05:30 PM EDT

TECUMSEH, Mich. -

To find new businesses and attract tourists, Tecumseh is turning to the Internet and partnerships with universities and business groups.

Aggressively marketing itself is key for economic development in the city, economic development director Paula Holtz said Monday in delivering her department’s annual report at the Tecumseh City Council meeting.

“When we get the opportunity to talk to a business that wants to come to Tecumseh, we leave no stone unturned,” Holtz said.

The city is advertising on CPIX, a major commercial and industrial real estate Web site in Michigan. In addition, the Tecumseh Business and Technology Campus Web site has generated some interest, she said.

“CPIX is being used to market the campus, and checking the (Tech Park) Web site, we found 50 hits recently,” Holtz said.

A joint effort with Michigan State University and the Michigan Corn Growers Association is being explored for the campus. What form that will take has not been determined, as this is in the early stages of development.

“These are baby steps,” Holtz said.

The city recently joined a site selector network that matches up businesses with potential sites. Tecumseh is targeting smaller industrial and commercial enterprises, which add fewer than 100 jobs but are vital for the area’s economy, Holtz and city manager Kevin Welch explained.

Business recruitment is only part of the city’s marketing plan. Advertising in other markets such as Toledo, Jackson and Ann Arbor has paid off in bringing people to Tecumseh to visit. Holtz cited festivals such as the annual powwow at Cal Zorn Park in June, Promenade Tecumseh and the Appleumpkin Festival as examples of how well the marketing is paying off.

“The Appleumpkin (Festival) has really taken off. The past two years we have had record crowds,” Holtz said. “And, the powwow continues to grow.” More here.

Recession highlights importance of regional economic development

2009-05-17T10:38:00.000-04:00

By Bill Ihlenfeldt

The time for Momentum West is more critical now than ever!

We all are struggling to come to grips with the economic condition of our world today. I don't remember a time in my life when it has been a more critical issue. We are in a period of trial and error in which leaders worldwide are struggling to find the key to turn things around. We also hear that no matter what occurs, the future will be different.

Western Wisconsin has always been somewhat insulated from these types of downturns, perhaps because we have avoided the major fluctuations in housing, wages, employment and other areas. One could argue that causes other problems, but at this time it is something of a positive factor. We have also worked well together in developing and diversifying the region in which we live. Perhaps the loss of employers such as Uniroyal has made us more aware of what can happen, and this has stimulated us to look to the future with the optimism that working hard together pays off.

Organizations such as Momentum Chippewa Valley and United St. Croix Valley have worked to market their respective regions and tackle common regional issues for about 20 years. Today, the scene has changed, and their successes have bred new, larger organizations in other parts of the state. We also have talked for many years about the I-94 Corridor, or connection, because of the common thread the interstate creates between Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Chippewa Valley.

Leaders in the region soon realized that this common thread created a natural environment with common needs, issues and problems. Those same leaders also realized that working together gives us more clout when dealing with issues downstate and nationally, and a new, larger organization was born: Momentum West.

Momentum West is a regional marketing organization made up of 10 counties in western Wisconsin: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk and St. Croix.

Volunteers from these counties have been working for the past year to craft an organization that will make certain that our region is recognized in Madison, nationwide and even globally.

Momentum West is largely funded by the private sector, which is critical, because if we are to create a better economy for the region, then the business community must guide us. Higher education also is involved because a highly trained workforce is a key to a better economy, while county governments play a role because of their economic development units and emphasis.

Momentum West provides a venue to bring all of these resources to the table to carve a new image and to find new directions and ideas for the region with a private-sector basis. It is not another economic development layer, nor is it doing work similar to local chambers of commerce. Rather, it is an organization that transcends localities and looks at the big picture for the region.

It is designed to make the state and nation aware of our great qualities and work to help local units of government, chambers of commerce and economic development organizations move in directions that are not possible independently.

Together, we can influence our future as a region. Because we cannot be complacent, the time is right for Momentum West.

Ihlenfeldt is volunteer interim director of Momentum West and retired president of Chippewa Valley Technical College.

Promises to create new jobs fall short

2009-05-17T10:27:00.000-04:00

Many tax incentives go unused because firms fail to deliver on pledge
BY KATHERINE YUNG • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • May 17, 2009

Michigan's major economic development tool has produced only about 24,000 new jobs over its 14-year life, a Free Press examination has found.

State officials also say the program -- tax incentives granted for jobs that are created or saved -- has retained more than 43,000 positions.

The state, however, has shed more than 700,000 jobs since the decade began. In March of this year alone, 25,000 people in Michigan joined the unemployment rolls.

Overall, the Free Press found that when it comes to job creation projects in Michigan, reality often falls short of promises.

Each month, state economic development officials trumpet business expansions and relocations that have won tax credits because they will add jobs in Michigan even as the auto industry's slump makes that difficult.

The Free Press studied 195 of these incentives awarded from 1999 through 2005 and found that slightly more than half of them were not fully utilized or never used at all because companies failed to create enough jobs to claim the tax credits.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. defends the incentives, which have cost $411 million, noting that companies benefit only if they create jobs. "It has had a big impact," said Peter Anastor, the agency's manager of community and urban development.

But Michael LaFaive, a director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said: "This is a job announcement program, not a real jobs program." More here.

Phone-based service firms drawn to Northeast Ohio

2009-05-14T23:56:00.000-04:00

by Tom Breckenridge and Michelle Jarboe/Plain Dealer Reporters
Monday May 04, 2009, 7:31 PM

CLEVELAND — Opportunity is calling.

Companies specializing in phone-based service -- from telemarketing to technical support -- have hired thousands of Northeast Ohioans in recent years.

Experts say our region is fertile ground for such companies, which are drawn by attributes many see as a downer -- lots of skilled jobless workers and empty buildings at busy crossroads.

Call center biggies, like TeleTech Holdings Inc. and InfoCision Management Corp., have opened offices from the Youngstown area to Lorain, as have smaller, more specialized operators.

Many of these jobs, paying $10 to $14 an hour, aren't the focus of most economic development strategies.

But many provide benefits and complement long-term strategies to bring higher-skilled, higher-paying jobs to the region, economists say.

"Not everybody can work at high-tech jobs, or have MBAs or Ph.D.s," said Ziona Austrian, director of the Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University. "These jobs fit people with different skill levels and different educational levels."

The latest calling operation to land here is Collectcorp Corp., which plans to bring 60 jobs to an Engle Road office building in Middleburg Heights this year, officials said. The company anticipates having up to 135 jobs by the end of 2010.

The Phoenix-based company specializes in loan and credit collections for dozens of large companies, ranging from American Express to Bell Canada.

Collectcorp liked the region's work force and the proximity to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The company could receive more than $200,000 in tax breaks from Ohio and the suburb.

"The increase of our U.S.-based client business has increased our capacity needs," company Chief Executive Nicholas Wilson said in a press release Monday.

Team NEO, the region's leading business-development group, believes companies specializing in call center services are a growing sector.

Such companies account for about 1 percent of the region's $170 billion annual economic output, said Carin Rockind, head of Team NEO's marketing and communications.

Real estate brokers say that roughly a half-dozen companies are scouting Northeast Ohio sites for call centers or customer support operations.

Some of the companies already are in Northeast Ohio, while others have just a small presence here or would be new to the market.

Most are looking at suburban locations, which provide ample parking, though a few companies have expressed interest in setting up call centers in downtown Cleveland.

David Browning, managing director of the CB Richard Ellis brokerage in Cleveland, said he's aware of four or five potential call center deals in Northeast Ohio.

Two of them are in final lease negotiations and might be announced within two months, he said.

"I'm a little surprised by it, in that we clearly are in an economic downturn where a lot of firms are shedding jobs," said Browning, who has seen a small wave of interest in call centers during the last 60 to 90 days. "To all of a sudden have a category like this, call centers -- and it's various industries that these call centers are supporting -- it's good for the market and it's good for employment."

Browning and other brokers would not identify the companies that are seeking space.

An unidentified call center operator recently toured the former Cole National Corp. headquarters in Twinsburg.

Larry Finch, the city's director of community planning and development, said the company is looking for 50,000 to 150,000 square feet. The center might employ 600 people, with room to grow.

"I understand they're considering a couple other locations, in other areas and other states," said Finch, describing conversations with the company as "preliminary."

The U.S. call center market has experienced a slowdown since late 2006, but researchers said call centers actually have added jobs during the past year.

Some companies that sent customer service overseas are rethinking outsourcing and bringing call centers home.

"Although there has been a lot of growth internationally, there's been a lot domestically, as well," said Sean Carman, senior director of research and consulting with CB Richard Ellis' labor analytics group in Phoenix.

He believes companies are putting a greater emphasis on customer service and keeping their existing customers, rather than spending money to woo new ones.

"Every company's got their own reason," he said. "I really haven't had a chance to ask people why they're growing."

Executives with CB Richard Ellis' labor analytics group said that most of the call centers they have scouted for in Ohio involved higher-end skill sets, related to pharmacy, technology, nursing or health.

Though the average starting call center wage in the Midwest was $10.14 per hour last year -- or roughly $21,100 per year -- workers in more specialized fields such as nursing can make more than $45,000 a year, said Jim Trobaugh, a senior vice president with the labor analytics group.

Indiana officials seek to lure more wind energy jobs

2009-05-14T23:46:00.000-04:00

Officials with the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the Indiana Office of Energy Development are in Chicago this week, talking with representatives of wind energy companies during what is being billed as the world’s largest wind conference and trade show.

More than 1,200 exhibitors and about 15,000 people in the national and international wind energy business are expected to attend the conference, Windpower 2009.

Representatives from Duke Energy Corp., various Indiana economic development agencies and researchers from Purdue University also will attend the conference.

In April, the American Wind Energy Association ranked Indiana as the fastest growing state for wind energy installations in 2008. It is estimated that more than 800 megawatts of wind energy will be produced in the state by the end of the year, the IEDC said in a news release.

State officials hope to tout that distinction to companies seeking to develop wind farms.

Last month, Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D) and BP Wind Energy launched the first phase of Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Benton County, Ind. The largest wind farm east of the Mississippi, Fowler Ridge is expected to generate enough carbon-free electricity to power more than 120,000 homes, according to the release. The wind farm also is expected to create as many as 200 jobs.

“Indiana has risen quickly as a national leader in wind energy development and is a natural location for future investment from the growing industry,” Indiana commerce secretary and IEDC CEO Mitch Roob said in the release.

Study: Ohio's incentives need fine-tuning

2009-05-14T23:32:00.000-04:00

A new report on Ohio’s job attraction and retention strategies indicates a 2005 tax reform package has lessened the burden on existing and incoming businesses, but cautions that many reforms lie ahead in making the system work better.

The Ohio Department of Development released a report titled the “Ohio Economic Development Incentive Study,” first commissioned in 2007 and composed of development leaders from around the state. The study looks at Ohio’s job-creation tax incentives, loans and its local development programs along with the bureaucratic backbone of the system.

The good news in the report: A comprehensive tax reform package passed under the Taft administration in 2005 appears to have lessened the burden for business and has helped Ohio be competitive with nearby states. For example, a small manufacturer’s job retention project costs and total tax burden are expected to lessen by about 15 percent based on Ohio’s projected tax structure in 2011.

The tax reform package credited with easing the weight on businesses’ shoulders included a phased-in 21 percent reduction of the state’s personal income tax, a crucial revenue source that hit the spotlight once again this week. State officials on Tuesday said that sagging income tax revenue could lead to tapping Ohio’s rainy day fund to plug a hole of $600 million or more in this year’s budget

A detailed analysis of various business incentives, however, points to a need for improvement in a number of areas, including the state’s job creation tax incentive, a key weapon in its economic development arsenal. The study found that a 150 percent of federal minimum wage requirement for companies proposing to add jobs allows businesses to get a tax break for creating relatively low-paying jobs. Reporting requirements, the study said, also come at companies’ expense and generate “no apparent benefit to the public.” The study recommended the state increase the minimum-wage threshold for job-creation requirements and simplify reporting requirements.

The task force commissioned for the study also looked at localities’ Community Reinvestment Area and Tax Increment Financing district initiatives.

“Tax abatement began in Ohio as a targeted urban development program, but now virtually all areas of the state qualify,” the study said, recommending that Ohio redesign the programs to limit eligibility to a streamlined list of criteria.

The study also took aim at what it considered a fragmented economic development landscape, with hundreds of agencies within the state that can generate confusion for businesses. It urged that economic development incentives provided by the state be standardized and simplified, a recommendation that echoed for top-level operations at the Ohio Department of Development itself.

To download the full report, click here.

Buffalo poised to display its green side to 3,000 visitors

2009-05-14T21:47:00.000-04:00

By Stephen T. Watson
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

If you believe our poor meteorological reputation, bringing a solar power conference to Buffalo is like talking about snow removal in Phoenix or preparing for hurricanes in Minneapolis.

But Buffalo this week hosts one of the largest national conferences on solar and other renewable energy sources, and that’s not a punch line for a joke in a Jay Leno monologue.

In fact, organizers say the Solar 2009 National Conference offers a chance for an expected 3,000 out-of-towners to see that this region is a hotbed of activity in renewable energy and green jobs.

“We need to be put on the map for a little bit more than snow,” said Edward E. Hogle, who is building student housing in Black Rock that will use solar energy and boilers running on grease and vegetable oil.

A number of businesses that offer green products and services have sprouted up here in recent years, and experts say this region can be a center for the nation’s emerging green economy.

Companies, schools and local governments also are working to become environmentally friendly, taking advantage of solar and wind power to operate more efficiently.

“People say, ‘Why Buffalo?’ It only makes sense for Buffalo, because of our strategic location,” said Marika Woods-Frankenstein, cultural and environmental development coordinator for the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts.

The conference, in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, will show off local green projects, including wind turbines, solar panel arrays and Hogle’s green housing.

And if you think this a stretch for a place perceived as a frozen landscape 10 months of the year, think again. We have more sunny days annually than Rochester, Syracuse — and Orlando, Fla.

“Buffalo has been called the sun capital of the Northeast,” said Adam Rizzo, president of Solar Liberty, a Williamsville company that installs solar systems.

Interest in the Solar 2009 conference is sky-high, said Neal Lurie, American Solar Energy Society spokesman. With about 5,000 people expected, the Buffalo event will have the biggest crowd in the conference’s 38 years, he said, “which is impressive when you consider last year we were in San Diego.” More here.

Will Flint become a pioneer in how to purposely shrink a city?

2009-05-08T21:26:00.000-04:00

The New York Times, April 21

Instead of waiting for houses to become abandoned and then pulling them down, local leaders in Flint, Mich., are talking about demolishing entire blocks and even whole neighborhoods. The population, stores and services would be condensed into a few viable areas and the rest would return to nature. Planned shrinkage became a workable concept in Michigan a few years ago, when the state changed its laws regarding properties foreclosed for delinquent taxes, allowing them to become the domain of county land banks. Other cities with shrinkage problems are setting up land banks as well. More here.

How Michigan attracts clean tech companies from Massachusetts

2009-05-08T21:23:00.000-04:00

Boston Business Journal, April 17

With its strong manufacturing legacy, high-tech research capabilities, and incentives, Michigan has wooed three Massachusetts clean-tech firms to build large scale manufacturing facilities that will generate thousands of jobs. Part of Michigan’s strategy is to target specific companies and engage with them at a high level; still, it makes a few in Massachusetts wonder if the state should retool its strategy with more direct financial incentives. More here.

Midwest Still Tops in Trade

2009-04-30T21:29:00.000-04:00

Ball State report card gives the Great Lakes region an 'A' for its global position.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

By Jonathan Katz

Despite the downfall of the U.S. auto industry, the Midwest remains the nation's top region for imports and exports, say Ball State University researchers in the "Manufacturing and Logistics 2009" report card.

The study ranks Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio as the top five states for international trade. Although the data are not recent enough to capture the most current restructuring efforts by the Detroit Three automakers, the region should remain a key player for global activity in the years to come, says Michael Hicks, director for Ball State's Center for Business and Economic Research, which conducted the report. "The Midwest is still the place where automobiles and parts are going to be manufactured," he says. "Even a retooled auto industry is still going to be making automobiles."

The report graded each state in six areas of the economy, including logistics health, human capital, the cost of benefits, the global position of manufacturers, state-level productivity and innovation, and the tax climate.

The researchers determined global reach by collecting data from the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration. Some of the data included measures of per-capita exported manufacturing goods, manufacturing income received from foreign-owned firms in a state and the reach of foreign direct investment.

The top-ranked states for human capital, defined as the quality and availability of labor, were widely dispersed nationwide. Minnesota, New York, Utah, Washington and Wyoming led the way. States receiving "F" grades in the area of employment include Alabama, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas and West Virginia.

The human capital rankings are based on educational levels, attainment rates of adults in community colleges, the number of associate degrees awarded annually on a per-capita basis and the share of adults 25 years or older enrolled in basic adult education.

As for the benefits and wages costs, Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota and Utah provide the best environment for manufacturers. The benefits measured range from a variety of healthcare issues to liability and casualty insurance, workers' compensation costs and fringe benefits.

The areas of productivity and innovation and tax climate could see some dramatic shifts in the near future, says Hicks. The recession should prompt many states to re-evaluate their tax environment, and statewide policies aimed at creating venture capital could create new business opportunities, Hicks says.

NYPA Eyeing Lake for Wind Power

2009-04-28T19:13:00.000-04:00

Chris Caya

BUFFALO, NY (2009-04-23) Nearly 40 wind turbines could dot the horizon of Lake Erie,or Lake Ontario, in the not too distant future, if an initiative by the New York Power Authority takes flight.

NYPA is requesting developers to provide data so it can guage whether a large-scale, off-shore wind farm, could be built on the Great Lakes, in western New York. NYPA President,and Chief Executive Officer, Richard Kessel says,the facility would generate at least 120-megawatts of electricity - or about 6-times the amount of power produced by the Steel Winds facility in Lackawanna.

Kessel says,"it's important to point out,this is not just a wind project. This is also an economic development project for [the region]. And, I believe,that if this project goes forward,the potential here,is to make western New York one of the centers for wind manufacturing in the country."

Federal and state lawmakers have blasted NYPA recently for not using un-allocated power from the Niagara Power Project to boost the local economy. Kessel,who has been on the job about 6-months says,"NYPA has not done enough[in the past]to help western New York." And, in the next few months, "I am committed to come up with a plan" for [returning] a "significant portion" of the "un-allocated megawatts" to the [region] for economic development.

According to the Power Authority president,the large-scale,off-shore wind farm,and the manufacturing industry it could spin-off, "could be the biggest boon" for the region in its history. Buffalo Audubon Society, Executive Director, Bill Hudson says, [his organization] "enthusiastically supports the development of wind energy," if it's done right. "At Audubon, we realize there will be some impact to wildlife. But we have to think about how this clean energy can off-set the terrible impact to our climate from global warming," Hudson said.

Developers have until June 15th to formally submit an interest in the project,which the Authority estimates could cost as much as $1-billion. If approved,the wind farm, could be operational in about 5-years.

© Copyright 2009, wned

Protecting waterways fuels Michigan's job growth

2009-04-28T19:02:00.000-04:00

by Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry Jr.

Michigan touches four of the five Great Lakes and has the longest freshwater coast in the United States. That means we have a special obligation to protect our waterways, and it also positions us at the global center of transformative economic possibilities.

So while every day in Michigan should be Earth Day, every day must also be focused on our economy and jobs. Fortunately, in Michigan, protecting our freshwater resources and growing our economy are two sides of the same coin.

Protecting our waterways and the singular economic potential of Michigan's unique geography are two fundamental elements of the MI Great Lakes Plan, released in January by the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes and developed with the input of thousands of Michigan citizens.

With the MI Great Lakes Plan as a blueprint, we are aggressively taking advantage of new federal recovery dollars to help achieve our goals of protecting habitat and coastal areas, and upgrading local drinking water and wastewater systems. These on-the-ground projects will create new jobs today and will further support the creation of tourism-related jobs that have already increased by 33 percent in our coastal communities between 2001 and 2007.

The MI Great Lakes Plan also points out the new economic opportunities that arise in the water technology sector, estimated to generate $500 billion worldwide annually. Water will be the world's next oil, and with that comes a need for new freshwater management technologies and expertise. More here.

Granholm hails battery projects

2009-04-15T19:56:00.000-04:00

LANSING – Gov. Jennifer Granholm said today the commitment of four companies to produce advanced automotive batteries in Michigan – aided by up to $100 million each in extra state tax credits – strengthens the state’s stature as a future automotive leader.

“Michigan has planted its flag,” she said. “Michigan will be the place where the electric vehicle, and the batteries that power that vehicle, will be researched, developed, manufactured and assembled.”

Hours earlier, the four companies -- one more than expected – were granted the generous tax credits, in addition to standard tax breaks from the Michigan Economic Development Authority (MEGA).

The MEGA board also approved a $2.8-million tax credit over 12 years for a planned $146-million film and TV studio in Allen Park, to be built by a Burbank, Calif.-based enterprise.

The battery-maker deals could help General Motors and Chrysler win support from President Barack Obama in their quest for government assistance to head off financial collapse. Granholm said Obama has made energy independence a U.S. priority. More here.

Biotech development could be a valuable job generator

2009-03-22T15:05:00.000-04:00

By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Most communities across the United States face job losses this year.

But Pine Island and surrounding communities stand on a precipice with the Elk Run biotechnology project that could bring thousands of new jobs to the region, increase construction, draw national attention, boost population growth and add a whirlwind of activity during the coming decade.

California-based Tower Investments, and venture-capital group Burrill & Co., also of California, announced that nearly $1 billion is in play for development of a biotechnology center at Elk Run.
Burrill specializes in the life sciences.

"It's a big plan. There could be thousands of jobs out there eventually," said Gary Smith, president of Rochester Area Economic Development.

People in the know say Burrill is attracted by Pine Island's location within a short driving distance to researchers at Mayo Clinic and a short commute to research labs at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.

The biotechnology project will also have access to the Hormel Institute in Austin, IBM in Rochester and the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, which is located in Rochester and the Twin Cities with a Rochester headquarters.

There are hundreds of biotech companies, large and small, scattered throughout the state, such as Medtronic in the Twin Cities and Kerry Bioscience in Rochester.

And there's a skilled work force and a well-established educational system that produces doctors and researchers.

Plop down $1 billion to draw biotech companies to Pine Island, and the results could turn Minnesota into a globally competitive biotech powerhouse.

"You can't say enough about the potential that this may hold for the area," said Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha. The most important aspect of the project, he said, "is the jobs it's going to create for the area."

If the biotech project succeeds, Smith said, it would have regional effects. People have been second-guessing the project, he said, but "with the right people engaged with one another, just about anything is possible out there."

"Mayo Clinic has had dialogue with Tower Investments for the past few years as they work toward development of Elk Run," said Mayo spokesman Adam Brase. "We have been asked to participate in some planning activities."

State Rep. Randy Demmer said it's hard to get his arms around the project's potential economic impact.

"I know it's multiple companies. It's a biobusiness park is what it is. So we're talking about a group of companies that would be synergistic," Demmer said.

"Working with a world-class firm like Burrill brings to Elk Run capital, experience, innovation and opportunity that will be transformative for the region," Tower founder and CEO Stephen Marks said in a statement.

Pine Island long ago foresaw the coming competitive nature of the local economic market and positioned the city to take advantage of opportunities that exist now, said City Administrator Abraham Algadi.

The city plan avoids new development in flood zones and residential development along U.S. 52, he said. The city mapped out the best places for retail development, housing and business growth. Biotechnology became the obvious best fit, and a clear plan for the city's future took shape.

"Once you fix this with broad brushes like this, it makes private investment easier," Algadi said.
A few developers came and went before Tower Investments became interested, he said. But now Tower has signed a deal.

"Good things come to those who wait," Algadi said.

"Elk Run is geographically and strategically positioned in a uniquely propitious way. The opportunity to work with Tower on this enterprise is exciting for us especially considering Elk Run's proximity to Rochester, home of Mayo Clinic, and its incredible potential to create and attract bioscience companies to the state," said Burrill founder and CEO G. Steven Burrill.

Reporter Jeff Hansel covers health for the Post-Bulletin. Read his blog, Pulse on Health, at Postbulletin.com

Wind is at the back of West Michigan's fledgling renewable energy industry

2009-03-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

Posted by Julia Bauer The Grand Rapids Press March 15, 2009 05:00AM

GRAND RAPIDS -- Solar power is hot. Wind turbines are terrific. But will renewable energy power up jobs as fast as Michigan's auto industry is switching them off?

"I don't think it's a complete solution, a silver bullet," Grand Rapids lawyer Scott Watson said of the region's growing energy industry.

"But it's one component of silver buckshot."

As alternative energy gathers momentum, area manufacturers are dipping their toes into a widening pool of opportunity.

What they're hoping to find is an incoming tide of customers and a boatload of tax breaks from state and federal coffers.

In the past six months, big wins blew in for Michigan manufacturers contemplating the energy industry: The state set a goal to tap 10 percent of its energy needs from alternate fuels by 2015.

Then last month, renewable energy projects got a boost in the federal stimulus package.

Most West Michigan manufacturers still are mulling the impact of those programs. But they're feeling optimistic.

"I think it certainly will help create a market for wind power, in particular, but also for renewables across the board," Watson said of the state and federal incentives.

"When you have a market for installing this, you have a market for manufacturing components."

No one expects renewable energy to single-handedly replace the automotive jobs lost in West Michigan. The hope is that it has the potential to supplement a company's bottom line.

"We're still going to build cars," said Rick Chapla, of the Grand Rapids economic development agency, The Right Place Inc. "But (with these new products) it's a more diversified base.

The state's car-making muscle will in fact be a leg up for these startups.

"Turbines are not terribly different from the supply chain associated with the auto industry," Chapla said. "It is a very big opportunity."

Two high-profile endeavors already are tapping wind and solar.

United Solar Ovonic, a division of Energy Conversion Devices in Auburn Hills, has two plants, each 280,000 square feet, in Greenville.

The maker of flexible solar film is running a healthy backlog and employs more than 400 in the Montcalm County town.

Although solar power is hot, the best bet for Michigan is wind-driven, said Watson. He has studied the tax breaks written into the federal stimulus package to nurture the nation's bid for energy independence.

"We've got great wind, particularly offshore," Watson said. "It's all about the resource.

"With the current technology, the resource (in Michigan) is better for wind technology than solar."

Wind power made big news last week.

On Wednesday, Spanish logistics firm Berge Logistica Energetica and Rockford Construction of Grand Rapids formed Rockford Berge.

It expects to find sites and build wind farms in Michigan and eventually around the Great Lakes.

The new venture plans to advise and manage projects with wind turbines from 150 to 350 feet tall, or higher.

Is Chicago our kind of town?

2009-03-21T23:57:00.000-04:00

So, should this region rebrand itself as Chicagoland?

Traveling abroad, should we say we hail from the greater Chicago area, you know, land of the Cubs, Bears, White Sox? (And would that make our Big 10 team, gulp, the Northwestern Wildcats?)

The benefits of sharing Chicago's halo are obvious.

From Berlin to Beijing, people immediately recognize Chicago and think of a vibrant, progressive city. Say Michigan, and they think Detroit in ruins, then cars and automakers on the verge of bankruptcy.

So line up behind Chicago if you want to make a splash in the global marketplace -- that was the advice of Chicago author Richard Longworth last week to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids.
"West Michigan has more to do with Chicago than it does with Detroit or even Lansing," said Longworth, author of the book "Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism."

Give up on the quaint idea of state identities, said Longworth, a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "Globalization couldn't care less about state lines drawn two centuries ago.

"We're basically one economy, and we should be working together." More here.

Great Lakes States Sweep Metro Rankings

2009-03-21T20:43:00.000-04:00

In addition to racking up the most number of projests totals in the statewide and micropolitan categories, the Great lakes states also dominated the metro ranking as well.

Seven of the top Tier One metros came from the Great Lakes including Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill./Ind./Wis.; Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio/Ky./Ind.; Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.; New York-Newark-Edison, N.Y./N.J./Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; and Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio.

In the Tier Two category (populations between 200,000 and 1 million) the Great Lakes state placed six cities in the top 10 including Dayton, Ohio; Akron, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio; Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa./N.J.; Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich.; and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio/Pa.

And among Tier Three metropolitan areas (less than 200,000 in population) placed five in the top ten. Those winning honors were Springfield, Ohio; Jackson, Mich; Wheeling, W.Va./Ohio; Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.; and Muskegon-Norton Shores, Mich.

The rankings confirm that the Great Lakes states region is the seeing more new projects and business expansion than other part of the U. S. and are no longer deserving of "rust belt" moniker.

Great Lakes States Place Six of Ten in Governor's Cup Rankings for Biz Growth

2009-03-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

Ohio won Site Selection magazine's Governor's Cup for the third year in a row and earned its fourth victory in the past six years; it won the 2003 award as well.

Ohio's 503-project finish narrowly edged runner-up Texas' 497 qualified projects. Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina complete the top five finishers with 296, 290 and 245 projects, respectively.

Rounding out the Top Ten were New York, Virginina, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.

While many believe that southern and southwestern states are gaining the most new business investments, these Site Selection rankings prove that the Great Lakes region is where busineses are placing their money. A skilled workforce, central access to markets and improving regulatory environments have allowed the region to shed its "rust belt" image," said GLEDC president Rod Crider. More here.