Two Companies to Bring 105 New Jobs, $9 Million to Michigan

2006

LANSING — Two manufacturing companies were approved for incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., to support their expansions in the state, and are expected to generate up to $9 million in investments and add 105 new jobs.

“Michigan is the number-one state for creating new manufacturing jobs, and these new expansions underscore an economic climate that is more business-friendly than ever and a manufacturing talent pool that can compete with any place in the world,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael A. Finney.

The projects approved:

  • Lauren Plastics LLC, an Ohio-based full-service provider of standard and custom extruded and molded sealing solutions, has purchased the assets of ISO Trude Inc., located in Spring Lake Township. Lauren Plastics plans to consolidate operations from Ohio with the operations in Spring Lake to continue providing customers with single and multi-material profile and tubing extrusions. The company will invest up to $7 million and create 71 jobs related to the project, resulting in a $300,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen over a competing site in Ohio. Spring Lake Township has offered a property tax abatement valued at $154,000
  • Mahindra GenZe is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate with diverse operations that span industries such as aerospace, agri-business, automotive and financial services.  The company plans to manufacture a new technology vehicle in an existing manufacturing facility in Ann Arbor, investing up to $2 million and creating 34 jobs related to utility vehicle manufacturing. As a result the project will receive a $300,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen over competing sites in other states. Ann Arbor is considering a property tax abatement in support of the project. Ann Arbor SPARK provided support to the project throughout the grant application process.

The Michigan Business Development Program provides grants, loans and other economic assistance to qualified businesses that make investments or create jobs in Michigan, with preference given to businesses that need additional assistance for deal-closing and for second stage gap financing.

The MSF will consider a number of factors in making these awards, including: out-of-state competition, private investment in the project, business diversification opportunities, near-term job creation, wage and benefit levels of the new jobs, and net-positive return to the state. Business retention and retail projects are not eligible for consideration of these incentives.