Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announced the county’s business attraction and retention strategy created in 2004 has brought in more than $3 billion in total investment to the county.
“This is a testament to these companies — 337 of them,” Patterson says. “They contributed (invested) to this huge success. I congratulate each and every one of those companies for helping rebuild Oakland County’s economy after the Great Recession, and along the way creating 35,000 new jobs in a completely diversified portfolio.”
Patterson says Oakland County saw $60.4 million in new investment in May, resulting in more than 650 new and retained jobs.
The most successful sectors have been the health care and life science industries, representing $975 million of total investment. The IT/communications sector was second with $619 million in total investment.
The companies that invested in the county in May include: Farmington-based ISOQA, advanced manufacturing; Rochester Hills-based Georges Pernoud NA Inc., advanced materials; Southfield-based BASF Corp., advanced materials; Auburn Hills-based Visioneering Inc., aerospace; and Ferndale-based Allied Printing Co., communications and IT.
Patterson introduced the Emerging Sectors program in 2004 in an effort to diversity the county’s economy, which was heavily dependent on the automotive industry. The county targeted international as well as North American companies, in the advanced electronics, advanced materials, alternative energy, information technology/communications, aerospace, and defense/homeland security sectors.
