March 24, 2006

Companies Choose Michigan, Create 700 Jobs

LANSING – In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today highlighted three company expansions that will bring more than 700 jobs to the state and help pave the way for Michigan’s economic future.
 
“Individually, these three jobs announcements are great examples of employers choosing Michigan because of our highly skilled workforce, our competitive tax and business climate, and our excellent quality of life,” Granholm said.  “But, when you look at these announcements together, they also paint an exciting picture of Michigan’s economic future.”

Companies like auto supplier Marisa Industries, the medical product business Surefil, and United Solar Ovonic, an alternative energy company, provide a glimpse into Michigan’s economic future.  It’s a future that continues to have a strong vibrant auto industry but also where manufacturers outside the auto industry look to Michigan to do business.  It’s a future where businesses in industries of the future, such as alternative energy, design and build their products right here in Michigan.  

Granholm said her administration is committed to doing everything possible to make this diverse economic future an economic reality. 
 
Each of the three companies chose to expand in Michigan over competing sites throughout the country:

•  Auto supplier Marisa Industries chose to expand their facility in Southeast Michigan, creating 220 jobs here instead of Kentucky.

•  The personal care and medical product company Surefil is establishing a new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Southwest Michigan, creating 270 new jobs.

•  Alternative energy company United Solar Ovonic chose Michigan over South Carolina to build a new high-tech facility in Greenville and create 200 new jobs now and an additional one thousand jobs over the next few years.

“From signing $600 million in targeted tax cuts for manufacturers that create jobs here, to attracting new high-tech employers to Michigan through our 21st Century Jobs Fund, we’re focused on diversifying our economy and creating thousands of new jobs for our citizens,” Granholm said.

The Governor’s weekly radio address is released each Friday at 10:00 a.m. and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state through an affiliation with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.  The address will also be available on the Governor’s website on Mondays as a podcast for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.

Broadcasters Note:  Governor Granholm’s radio address can be accessed through Sunday evening exclusively through the Members Only page of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters website. 

Publishers Note:  The text of today’s address is attached.

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