Granholm Finds Common Ground in Town Halls, Prepares for Jobs Mission to Germany .(MP3- 3MB)

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I am pleased to report that new jobs and investments are coming to Michigan following my investment mission to Germany. The goal of my mission was to attract international investment to create jobs and grow Michigan’s economy, and we were successful in doing just that.

During our three-day mission, we announced that 787 jobs will be created and retained, and $20 million in investments will be made by four companies. Not only are we bringing jobs home today, we’ve also set the stage to continue to grow jobs and investments throughout the state in the future.

I met with executives and business leaders from DaimlerChrysler, Magna Steyr, FEV Motorentechnik & Co., and GETRAG to encourage the companies to grow their presence in Michigan and locate potential expansion projects in the state – including DaimlerChrysler’s planned $3 billion investment in its powertrain operations.

Following are the companies expected to invest and create and retain jobs in Michigan:

• FACTON Inc. – This high-tech software company plans to invest $1 million to locate its new North American office in Auburn Hills. The project will create 93 new Michigan jobs, including 59 directly by the company.

• Kostal of America Inc. – This subsidiary of Kostal Group will relocate its Novi operations to Troy and expand to become one of three new Kostal Group international research and development centers of excellence. The expansion will create 203 new high-tech jobs and involve $13.6 million in capital investment.

• MBTech Autodie, LLC – This company plans to invest $5 million in the former Autodie facility in Grand Rapids. The project is expected to retain 422 Michigan jobs.

• AVL Powertrain Engineering Inc. – This auto engineering company will accelerate the hiring of 125 workers for its new technology center in Ann Arbor and plans to expand its operations with an additional 80 workers.

Each of these companies chose Michigan over competing states and countries, including North Carolina and Canada, which speaks volumes about our business climate, our outstanding workforce, and Michigan’s overall ability to attract world-class companies and high-tech jobs.

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