Michigan Brands .(MP3- 3MB)

Radio Address: Governor Says Businesses of the Future are Right Here in Michigan Granholm Announces New Federally Qualified Health Centers Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board Recommends 65 Projects Totaling Over $34 Million Governor Granholm to Deliver State of the State Address January 29 Governor in Washington D.C. to Advance Alternative Energy; Advanced Vehicle Technologies to Create Jobs in Michigan Granholm Applauds House Action on Bills to Combat Mortgage Foreclosure; Calls on Senate to Act Swiftly Granholm Visits NewPage Corporation, Says Alternative Energy Industry Can Create Thousands of Jobs in Michigan

Take a look around your house. If you’re like a lot of people, you might have a box of cereal from Kellogg’s, or maybe a dishwasher from Whirlpool, or maybe some items made with plastic from Dow. In your fridge, there’s some leftover pizza from Little Caesar’s . . . and in the garage, of course, maybe a car from Ford or General Motors or Chrysler.

If you’ve lived here a while, you know all about these great Michigan businesses. Some of them have been around so long they’re virtually synonymous with the cities where they were born: cities like Battle Creek, Dearborn, or Midland. These are Michigan business success stories, and they’re known the world over.

Well, these days, I’ve made it my mission to spread the word about some other great and up-and-coming Michigan businesses that maybe aren’t quite so well-known.

You may have heard that I’ve been traveling around the state to visit businesses that are helping build our new and developing alternative energy industry. Last Monday, I went up to Escanaba to talk with some of the leaders at NewPage Corporation where they’re working on ways to turn their waste products into biofuels that can generate electricity or even be processed into fuels for cars and trucks.

I also recognized firms that are doing some other exciting and new things as part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Diversification Celebration. These are companies like Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids, Electrojet in Brighton, Stryker in Kalamazoo, or Illumisys in Troy. They’re just a few of the firms that are pushing the envelope on alternative energy, advanced automotive, life sciences, manufacturing and materials, and homeland security and defense – areas that are going to be critical as we diversify our economy.

I can tell you this: the companies I’ve visited so far and the businesses we’ve recognized are living proof that the businesses of the future are right here in Michigan and that they are ready to grow and thrive in Michigan. The same innovative spirit that made Michigan an industrial powerhouse is alive today, and it’s what will transform and diversify our economy.

Who knows? Maybe one day some of the companies we recognized last week will be as familiar to Michigan – and to the world – as Whirlpool or Kellogg’s or even General Motors. This is our goal.

In Michigan, we’re proud of ALL our businesses. And we know that growing our small and up-and-coming businesses into BIG businesses is how we’re going to fulfill the promise of the Next Michigan for all our citizens.

> read more