Displaying items tagged: Michigan Economic Development Corp

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has unveiled a new program it says will help communities attract businesses to available properties across the state.

For nearly 90 years, workers in the rural community of Evart processed dairy products out of the Dean’s Dairy building. After shutting its doors and ending an era in 2013, the vacant building now has new owners who plan to repurpose it for automotive component manufacturing.

Floor care product company Bissell Inc. plans to invest $10 million into an expansion project at its corporate headquarters.

Manufacturing holding company Andronaco Industries Inc. plans to relocate its Conley Composites LLC subsidiary from Oklahoma to a new location in Kent County.

GRAND RAPIDS — A proposed contract between Start Garden Inc. and the Grand Rapids SmartZone would put in place new goals for fostering local tech startups. Rather than focusing on certain activities, the proposed contract establishes outcomes such as adding 10 new tech startups annually to the SmartZone service area, with six of those companies over two years owned by minorities or women, and providing service to 15 startups a year through its business incubator on Pearl Street in downtown.

For years, the city of Hudsonville wanted to encourage developers to create a more traditional downtown for the Ottawa County community. Officials often found themselves in a Catch 22 in trying to spur those kinds of development projects. Because the city lacked what’s traditionally classified as a downtown area, the local government was unable to seek funding incentives for developers, which in turn hindered the growth of a centralized urban area.

MUSKEGON — A deal to redevelop the former Ameribank building is making headway, but the project remains contingent on incentives from the city and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Muskegon developer John Essex, managing partner and president of Core Development LLC, submitted a formal purchase agreement to the city prior to the Jan. 30 deadline. If the project goes ahead, it would transform a partially demolished building into a new use in the core of the city’s downtown.

At first glance, the 2019 Health Check report published by Grand Valley State University seems to suggest that medical innovation in Michigan and nationally slowed dramatically in recent years. But health care and legal experts say the medical patent numbers in the report don’t quite reflect reality. They cite an array of factors that likely drove steep declines from 2014 to 2017 in the number of medical patents issued and assigned, both nationwide and in Michigan.

A subsidiary of a China-based manufacturer of electromechanical actuators plans to invest $2 million into a new headquarters facility on the lakeshore.

WYOMING — A Cleveland-based producer of specialty abrasive products plans to move part of its business to the Grand Rapids area after it was acquired by local private equity firm Stone Fox Ventures LLC.

Two major Southwest Michigan development projects are moving forward after receiving approval for state incentives.

GRAND RAPIDS — Hal Zaima’s innovation seeks to address a lingering and serious problem in health care: infections acquired in hospitals that lead to the deaths of thousands of patients annually.

KALAMAZOO — Recycler Schupan & Sons Inc. plans to invest $10.1 million into expansions at a pair of locations in Southwest Michigan.

Smaller public universities in Michigan will have to come up with less matching funding to secure state grants that support startup companies coming out of research labs.

The Michigan Strategic Fund steered additional money into two capital funds that support high-tech startups and growing small businesses in the state.

The Invest Michigan Pre-Seed Fund II received $3 million to invest in startups through loans or equity. Grow Michigan LLC will receive $9.6 million for a second mezzanine-style fund that will provide loans to growing small businesses.

A recent kerfuffle between Grand Rapids economic development officials and executives at Start Garden Inc. highlights the challenges cities face when they try to encourage more entrepreneurial investments. 

NEWAYGO — A West Michigan Tier I automotive supplier is investing $45 million into a 175,000-square-foot facility expansion designed to improve workflow and efficiency. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Oct. 29, 2018.

Four business expansions in West Michigan that will collectively generate $110.3 million in investment and create more than 280 jobs earned state incentives today.

In response to increased demand, West Michigan Compounding LLC is investing $6 million into its existing facility in Montcalm County.

The Michigan Milk Producers Association plans to invest $24 million to expand its existing dairy plant operations in St. Joseph County.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Sept. 17, 2018.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Aug. 6. 2018.

Pfizer Inc. is the first manufacturer to take advantage of the Good Jobs for Michigan incentive program signed into law a year ago by Gov. Rick Snyder.

SpartanNash Co. will not meet the original employment projections included in a 2013 state incentive package.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for July 23, 2018.

In anticipation of a multifaceted effort to restore the Grand River through downtown Grand Rapids, numerous public and private partners are coming together to activate a number of key sites along the riverbanks.

New issues have become top of mind for West Michigan economic developers and economists.

LANSING — The Small Business Association of Michigan wants to build on the state’s past efforts in economic development policy while also creating continuity from one governor’s administration to the next.

Amazon.com Inc. has made its first official announcement regarding the ecommerce giant’s long-planned distribution center in southeastern Kent County.