August 24, 2007

LANSING - In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today updated listeners on the progress of her investment mission in Sweden and Germany.  Granholm discussed her meetings with business executives and government leaders, including representatives from companies that already have facilities in Michigan as well as those that are considering coming to the state for the first time.

"As the jobs and investment mission concludes, I could not be more thrilled with our successes and our prospects - we are building a great jobs pipeline from Sweden and Germany to Michigan," Granholm said. "I'll continue to go anywhere and do anything to bring more good paying jobs to 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 (www.michigan.gov/gov) for download, as is 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 follows.

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
August 24, 2007

Full Radio Address Audio: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/Gov107_Full_206491_7.mp3
Short Clip: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/Gov107_Edit_206494_7.mp3

Hi this is Governor Jennifer Granholm.  Hello from Germany!

I've spent the week here and in Sweden helping businesses in these two countries see that Michigan is the place to invest and grow jobs.

Sweden is a world leader in alternative energy.  They're so far ahead of other countries in research, and development, and production of alternative energy solutions.  I'm confident that they can help make Michigan the alternative energy capitol of America.

I met with the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, who happens to be a Flint native.  He is all about bringing Swedish alternative energy technology to the U.S.  And of course Michigan is the perfect place for these companies to grow.
 
I also spoke with Sweden's Minister of Foreign Trade.  He understands the critical role of international trade and he is very enthusiastic about Michigan as a great place for Swedish companies to grow and prosper.

And I met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden.  She oversees alternative energy in her country.  She visited Michigan earlier this year; she is a great ally in our efforts to recruit Swedish companies to create Michigan jobs.

Together, we announced a great new partnership between NewPage, an Escanaba paper mill and Chemrec AB, which is a Swedish alternative energy company.  And these two companies signed an agreement to work together to study building a renewable fuels production in the United States, in Michigan, in our Upper Peninsula that turns the byproduct of the paper mill into fuel for vehicles.

This next-generation technology, which is the first of its kind in the United States, has the potential to create jobs and fuel further growth of the alternative energy sector in Michigan, while strengthening our paper industry.  What a great sign that Michigan is a global leader for investments in cutting edge biofuel development and production.

So while we focused on the alternative energy industry, Sweden is also known for cars and earlier in the week, I met with leaders from Volvo and Saab to talk about prospects for future growth and job creation in Michigan, and with a whole slew of Swedish companies that are both alternative energy companies as well as automotive companies.

And so after a productive few days in Sweden, we headed to Germany.  And this country, I know from previous jobs missions, is all about cutting edge technology for the automotive industry.  I've pitched Michigan to some great companies including: Behr-Hella Thermocontrol, and EDAG Engineering, and ersol Solar Energy AG, Brose and ZF Lemforder and a number of others.

And as the jobs and investment mission concludes, I could not be more thrilled with our successes and our prospects.  We are building a great jobs pipeline from Sweden and Germany to Michigan!

I'll continue to go anywhere and do anything to bring more good paying jobs to our state.

Thank you for listening.

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