March 15, 2007

FACTON, Kostal, MBTech, AVL investing in Michigan

LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today highlighted the jobs and investments coming to Michigan following her investment mission to Germany this week.  During the three-day mission, Granholm announced 787 jobs created and retained and $20 million in investments by FACTON Inc., Kostal of America, MBTech Autodie, and AVL Powertrain Engineering Inc. 

Granholm also 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.  The governor was joined on the mission by Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) President and CEO James C. Epolito.
 
"The goal of this mission was to attract international investment to create jobs and grow Michigan's economy - and we were successful in doing just that," Granholm said.  "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."
 
The following companies are 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.  Granholm and Epolito used the meetings to "seal the deal" with company executives and press for continued investment in Michigan.

"AVL, FACTON, Kostal, MBTech - these companies could have decided to invest and grow in any number of locations around the world, and they chose Michigan," Epolito said.  "That says wonders about our business climate, our outstanding workforce, and our state's overall ability to attract world-class companies and high-tech jobs."

More than 170,000 Michiganians are employed by more than 300 German-owned companies that operate in the state.  German-owned companies are defined as those with at least 50 percent German ownership.  These companies, representing a wide range of industry sectors, are heavily concentrated in advanced automotive manufacturing and research and development, sectors well known for producing high-wage jobs.

During her tenure as governor, Granholm has welcomed a number of significant German company investments to the state, including major new developments by AVL, Behr America, Bosch, DaimlerChrysler, Eberspacher, FEV, Karmann, Mahle and Söhnergroup GRW Technologies.  MEDC assistance has lead to many of the new facilities and expansions being won by Michigan in head-to-head competition with other states and countries.

Granholm's previous investment missions to Germany and Japan have resulted in more than $282 million in new investments and more than 1,600 new jobs.

Following the governor's two missions to Japan in 2005 and 2006, a total of 22 companies stated their intentions to expand in Michigan for a total investment of $200 million and over 1,000 new jobs.  Her investment mission to Germany in 2004 resulted in several companies investing approximately $82 million and creating more than 670 new Michigan jobs over the next several years.