Gov. Whitmer announces transportation economic development grant that will reconstruct Church Street in the village of Quincy, support 50 new jobs

March 5, 2020 -- The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded a state transportation economic development fund grant that will reconstruct Church Street in the village of Quincy. The Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) Category A grant totaling $325,972 will help leverage $14 million in private investment, at a private/public investment ratio of nearly 43-to-1.  

Speedrack Products Group Ltd. is headquartered in Sparta with manufacturing facilities in Quincy and Litchfield. The company fabricates tubular warehouse racks and rack systems for sale primarily throughout the United States and Canada. The Quincy plant takes rolled steel forms and then welds and paints those forms into shelving components.

Due to increased demand, the company requires additional manufacturing capacity. Unable to expand at their Litchfield facility, the company considered sites in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and Quincy for the expansion. However, to accommodate an expansion at their Quincy facility, changes to their commercial vehicle access will be required. Additional loading dock locations, proposed as part of the expansion, will be more efficiently accessed from Church Street. However, Church Street is not designed to all-season standards and does not have the ability to accommodate commercial vehicles. The grant will help fund the reconstruction of Church Street between Cole and Broughton streets to all-season standards, make drainage improvements, and install curb and gutter. The improvements provided by this grant funding will ensure year-round access for the facility. 

"I am pleased that we were able to work with Speedrack Products Group and our local partners to support the transportation needs of this company's expansion," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said. "This underscores the link between transportation investments and economic development. As a state, we need to invest more in our roads so that employees have safe routes to work and companies have unimpeded access to markets."

"Speedrack is very appreciative of the team members from the State of Michigan, MDOT, and the City of Quincy, for addressing the traffic issues relating to our manufacturing plant expansion," said Don Porritt, chief financial officer of Speedrack Products Group Ltd. "It has long been our intention to be a productive and safe component to the community. We feel improved infrastructure will continue to allow for traffic to flow efficiently and safely. The efforts and decisions to make these changes have confirmed our desire to further invest in this community."

The overall cost of this project is $434,630, including $325,972 in TEDF Category A funding and $108,658 from the Village of Quincy.

Enacted in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993, the TEDF helps finance highway, road and street projects that are critical to the movement of people and products, and getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers.

TEDF "Category A" or "Targeted Industries Program" grants provide state funding for public roadway improvements that allow road agencies to respond quickly to the transportation needs of expanding companies and eliminate inadequate roadways as an obstacle to private investment and job creation. Eligible road agencies include MDOT, county road commissions, cities and villages. More information about the program is available online at www.Michigan.gov/TEDF.