July 18, 2008
Announcements signal diversification of state's economy
LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today highlighted new company investments and jobs projects across the state that mean thousands of new jobs for Michigan citizens.
"Following months of hard work and great efforts by our economic development team, Dow Chemical of Midland and Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait announced they have chosen Michigan to locate the headquarters of their joint venture, K-Dow Petrochemicals, bringing 800 jobs to our state" Granholm said. "We were also thrilled to announce that 18 new jobs projects across Michigan will create over 6,900 additional new jobs and involve over $231 million in new investment."
Michigan won these investments from several other states, including Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Indiana, and Tennessee, as well as the countries of Britain, Germany, and India. The governor said that the decisions to invest here are proof that Michigan can compete and win, because it is a great place to grow businesses and jobs.
"The companies that are choosing to invest here are proof that we can diversify Michigan's economy," Granholm said. "That is why we are working the most aggressive strategy of any state in the nation to create jobs and grow the economy, and I will continue to go anywhere and do anything to bring new jobs like these to communities all across our state."
The governor's weekly radio address is released each Friday morning and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state. The address is available on the governor's Web site at (
www.michigan.gov/gov
) for download, together with a clip of the quote above. The radio address is also available as a podcast on the Web site, as well as on iTunes and via RSS feed for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers. Links to the audio files and text of today's address follow.
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
Radio Address - MEGAs and DOW
July 18, 2008
Hello, this is Governor Jennifer Granholm.
Following months of hard work and great efforts by our economic development team, Dow Chemical, a great Michigan company of Midland, and Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait announced that they have chosen Michigan to locate the headquarters of their joint venture, K-Dow Petrochemicals, bringing 800 jobs to our state. This is going to be an $11 billion world-wide company. The fact that it will be headquartered here is terrific news for Michigan.
Along with Dow's decision to locate its new joint venture here, we were also thrilled to announce that 18 new jobs projects across Michigan will create over 6,900 additional new jobs and involve over $231 million in new investment. A quick scan of these investments shows these new jobs are in our targeted 21st century hi-tech sectors, including alternative energy, life sciences, homeland security and defense, and advanced automotive manufacturing.
Perrigo Company - for instance - is expanding its headquarters and two additional facilities in Allegan County, creating 400 new jobs in the life sciences sector. A Massachusetts-based developer and manufacturer of solar panels, Evergreen Solar Inc., is going to create 596 new jobs with its plans to locate a new manufacturing facility in Midland.
Gibbs Technologies, a developer of high-speed amphibian vehicles - cars that you can drive on both water and land - plans to locate an R&D facility in Auburn Hills, creating 250 new jobs. And let me tell you, these vehicles are really something else!
Also in southeast Michigan, Steel Tool & Engineering Co., a manufacturer of component parts for military and commercial aircraft jet engines, they are going to create 112 new jobs with plans to combine its operations into one facility located in Gibraltar.
Michigan won these investments from states like Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, and even countries such as Britain, Germany, and India. Their decisions to invest here are proof that we can compete and win, because Michigan is a great place to grow businesses and jobs.
On the very same day that we announced some encouraging news that Michigan's economic transformation is advancing, came General Motors' announcement about its ongoing plans to restructure in the face of globalization and record high gas prices.
It was just the latest reminder that we have to continue to work to diversify this economy of ours in order to grow jobs in the 21st century. And that is why we are working the most aggressive strategy of any state in the nation to create jobs and grow the economy. The companies that are choosing to invest here are proof that we can diversify Michigan's economy, and I will continue to go anywhere and do anything to bring new jobs like these to communities all across our state. I look forward to telling you more great job creation news in the days ahead.
Thank you for listening.
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