Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that nine companies in eight communities across Michigan will be expanding or locating in the state, helping to create and retain more than 8,600 direct and indirect jobs and spurring more than $90 million in private investment. The decisions are the result of assistance to the following companies by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC):  Benteler Automotive Corporation, Dawn Food Products, General Dynamics Land System, Jatco USA, Kellogg Company, Michigan Packaging Company, Quicken Loans/Rock Financial, RLP Technologies, and TG North America. 

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•  Dawn Food Products (Leoni Township, near Jackson):  The company plans to consolidate and expand its Michigan headquarters in Leoni Township near Jackson, resulting in the creation of 401 new jobs, including 110 direct jobs by the company. The company, which chose Michigan over northern Ohio, manufactures and distributes high-quality baking supplies, including ready-to-bake and ready-to-sell products to the baking industry worldwide.  A wholly-owned subsidiary of Dawn Foods, one of the world’s largest  full-service, family-owned baking industry suppliers, the company is headquartered in Jackson and currently has 274 employees in Michigan.

•  General Dynamics Land Systems (Sterling Heights):  The company has chosen Sterling Heights over potential sites in Florida and South Carolina to expand its R&D operations.  The expansion will result in the creation of 325 new jobs and an additional 180 spin-off jobs over the life of the credit.  General Dynamics Land Systems is the defense industry’s largest supplier of armored military vehicles.  A subsidiary of General Dynamics based in Falls Church, Virginia., the company is a market leader in land and amphibious combat systems headquartered in Sterling Heights with more than 2,000 employees in Michigan.

•  Jatco USA (Wixom):  A subsidiary of Japan-based Jatco Ltd., the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive continuously variable transmissions, Jatco USA will invest $11.9 million in a new 76,000-square-foot headquarters and engineering center.  The expansion will create 75 jobs in the first year, and a total of 212 jobs by 2012. All 43 current employees at Wixom will be transferred to the new facility.  The company currently manufactures transmissions for eight Japanese automakers, including Nissan and Mitsubishi, plus 20 other overseas companies.  Wixom competed against Bowling Green, Kentucky for the expansion.

•  Kellogg Company (Battle Creek):  The company plans to relocate its U.S. Snacks business unit to Battle Creek, resulting in the addition of 538 jobs, including 300 directly by the company.  A single business tax credit worth approximately $3.7 million over the next five years, combined with local assistance and the prospect of a Michigan Agricultural Renaissance Zone, helped convince Kellogg to invest $3.2 million to relocate the unit to Michigan from Elmhurst, Illinois.

•  Michigan Packaging Company (Mason):  The company plans to expand operations in Mason.  Michigan Packaging, a manufacturer of corrugated paper sheets, began operations in 1967 in Eaton Rapids and doubled its capacity in 1995 with construction of a new facility in Mason.  The expansion will retain a total of 105 jobs, directly, as well as an additional 122 indirect jobs as a result of increased economic activity. 

•  Quicken Loans/Rock Financial (Troy):  The company plans to expand its Michigan operations in Troy, resulting in the creation of 1,200 new jobs and an additional 4,695 spin-off jobs over the next four years.  The company had considered locating the $29.1 million expansion at a number of competing sites in Nevada.  Quicken Loans, Inc, which consists of Quicken Loans, Rock Financial, and Title Source, is the leading provider of home loans on the Internet.  Headquartered in Livonia, the company currently has more than 1,700 Michigan employees. 

•  RLP Technologies (RLPT) (Farmington Hills):  The wholly owned research and development subsidiary company of R.L. Polk & Co. will open a new facility in Farmington Hills, specializing in building industry-leading data warehouses and the tools and the applications to mine intelligence from data.  The project will create 50 jobs in the first year and a total of 142 over five years.

•  TG North America (TGNA) (Troy):  The Tier One supplier of safety systems, body sealing, fuel systems, and other components to the automotive industry plans to relocate to another facility in Troy, doubling its usable space.  TGNA’s expansion will retain its 186 full-time employees, add as many as 200 new employees, and create 193 indirect jobs over the next five years.  The new facility will continue to serve as the North American headquarters for its parent company, Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. of Japan. Its R&D and customer product engineering activities include advanced development of safety systems products and application engineering to support Light Emitting Diode technology for U.S. automotive companies.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a partnership between the state and local communities, promotes smart economic growth by developing strategies and providing services to create and retain good jobs and a high quality of life.  For more information on the MEDC’s initiatives and programs, visit the Web site at www.michigan.org.

Nine MEGA Projects
Combined Economic Analysis
Summary Estimates
(All estimates in 2004 dollars)

TOTAL JOBS CREATED/RETAINED  8,683
Direct     2,866
Indirect    5,817
 
NET POSITIVE STATE REVENUE IMPACT $  363,212,000
Revenue Foregone   $   59,722,000
Revenue Gain    $  422,934,000
 
Personal Income Generated Over
Life of the Tax Credit Agreement $5,499,016,000