Backing from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), is leading to the following new job-creating projects.

 

Advanced Integrated Tooling Solutions, a new-to-Michigan subsidiary of Advanced Integration Technology Inc. (a supplier of fabrication, installation and maintenance of plant floor systems) plans to invest $13.3 million to manufacture equipment for commercial, retail, and military aircraft in Chesterfield Township. The project is expected to create 1,435 new jobs, including 275 directly by the company.

 

ALTe LLC, an automotive supplier engaged in the engineering, assembly and integration of battery powertrain systems, plans to invest $51.3 million to open an assembly facility in Auburn Hills to retrofit existing fleet and other high-mileage vehicles. The project is expected to create 1,147 new jobs, including 305 directly by the company.

 

BioDri, a manufacturer of alternative-energy products plans to invest $39.5 million to build a research and development center, business development offices, and a repair and maintenance center in Blissfield. The project will create 653 new jobs, including 337 directly by the company.

 

CIBER Inc., a provider of IT outsourcing and consultancy services to clients in government, finance and manufacturing, plans to invest $8 million to establish a U.S. development center in Southfield to provide a comprehensive range of services, including IT infrastructure, operations, application management and support. The project is expected to create 1,394 new jobs, including 700 directly by the company. 

 

Cobalt Holdings LLC, is another new-to-Michigan company.  The recycler and processor of scrap tires plans to invest $6.1 million to expand and consolidate in Sturgis. The project is expected to create 187 new jobs, including 100 directly by the company, over five years. 

 

Colwell & Salmon Communications, a provider of inbound and outbound contact services to Fortune 500 companies plans to invest $4.9 million to expand its current call center in Livonia. The project will create 704 total jobs, including 502 directly by the company.

 

Dow Chemical Company received MEGA board approval for a new jobs creation state tax credit valued at $61.3 million over 15 years for Dow projects. Among those is a full-scale production facility in Midland for the company’s Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle (subject to finalizing local, state and federal funding). The solar project is expected to generate $249 million in private investment and create 6,100 new jobs including 1,275 direct Dow jobs

 

Four Winns LLC, a manufacturer of recreational fiberglass boats has defined a project to invest up to $63 million over the next eight years, an average of $7.9 million per year, to expand in Cadillac to support increased production of Four Winns, Wellcraft, and Glastron boat brands currently produced in Cadillac as well as Little Falls, Minnesota.  The project has the potential to create 5,255 total jobs, including up to 2,320 directly by the company, between now and 2018.

 

Ilumisys, a Troy-based company focused on next-generation solid-state lighting technology, plans to invest $7.4 million to expand research and development of LED lighting technology, as well as ramp up manufacturing operations.  The project will create 555 new jobs, including 213 directly by the company.

 

Katcon USA Inc., a supplier of catalytic converters, exhaust modules and complete exhaust systems, plans to invest $3.7 million to create a new technical center in Auburn Hills. The project will create 74 total jobs, including 35 directly by the company.

 

Magneti Marelli Holiding USA, a producer of automotive components and subsidiary of Fiat Holdings, plans to invest $4.5 million to consolidate its Michigan operations into one location and expand operations in Auburn Hills. The project will create 200 direct jobs by the company.

 

Quality Metalcraft, an automotive prototyping, engineering and small-run production and assembly company, will invest $1.7 million to design and manufacture aerodynamic fairings in Livonia. The project will create 137 total jobs, including 64 directly by the company.

 

Sakor Technologies, a designer and builder of advanced dynamometer systems, plans to invest $1.1 million to expand to a new facility in Perry Township. The project will create 46 total jobs, including 25 directly by the company.

 

Tata Consultancy Services , an IT services and consulting company based in Mumbai, India, plans to invest $12.5 million to establish a Business Protection Services center in Midland. The new operation will provide core business services including finance consulting, order processing, and information technology. The project will create 500 jobs during the initial phase and in a subsequent phase, TCS plans to create 750 additional jobs in support of the project.

 

TSC Michigan Inc., a new-to-Michigan subsidiary of Techno SemiChem Corp. plans to invest $31.1 million to locate its North American headquarters in Northville. The company will conduct research and development and pilot production efforts to produce electrolyte for advanced lithium ion battery cells. The project will create 1,673 total jobs, including 279 directly by the company.

 

Midwest health care startups attracted $780 million in new investments across 156 companies in 2009 according to the BioEnterprise Midwest Health Care Venture Investment Report. Michigan managed a remarkable showing, attracting $102.2 million in investments to a record 14 startups. Michigan was the No. 3 state for startup funding in the Midwest, behind only Minnesota's $199 million and Ohio's $105.4 million.

 

Detroit Edison and Traverse City-based wind power company, Heritage Sustainable Energy, have started commercial operation of a northern Michigan wind farm. The wind farm near Cadillac will supply the utility’s customers with enough electricity to power about 2,000 homes. Heritage installed seven wind turbines on the 2,000-acre wind farm, whose turbines can produce about 14 megawatts of power.

 

Japanese manufacturer Toda America Inc. plans to invest about $70 million in a plant in the Battle Creek area. It will make cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries -- 4,000 tons of finished product per year to the tune of $130 million a year in revenue at full plant capacity. Startup operations are planned for February 2011, with full production by 2013. Toda received $35 million toward the plant from the United States Department of Energy's Recovery Act Electric Device Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative.

 

West Bloomfield-based Friendship Circle received a $100,000 grant from J.P. Morgan Chase for finishing fourth of 100 nonprofit finalists in a Facebook contest. The agency, which provides real-world experiences in a village setting for special needs children, garnered over 59,000 votes.

 

Michigan has been awarded a $5.8 million federal grant to train workers for green jobs. In Southeast Michigan, plans for the grant dollars include creation of an advanced battery skills alliance to provide undergraduate and graduate-level training and placement assistance to meet workforce needs of employers involved in advanced energy storage.   Other grant-supported efforts include solar energy training initiatives in Southeast Michigan and mid-Michigan, and Flint-area training in energy efficient construction.

 

Gretchen Valade, CEO of Mack Avenue Records and chairman of Dearborn-based Carhartt Inc., made a $3 million gift to St. John Hospital and Medical Center to fund a new cardiovascular hybrid surgical laboratory. The hospital plans to launch its new, $5 million minimally invasive structural heart program with the new lab which is expected to open late this year.

 

Ann Arbor-based Merit Network Inc. was awarded a $33.3 million federal grant to extend broadband service to rural and underserved communities throughout Michigan. Merit Network reportedly intends to use the grant and $8.3 million in matching funds to build a $41.6 million, 955-mile advanced fiber-optic network across 32 Michigan counties.

 

Michigan has been awarded a $14.9 million federal grant that it will use to develop a statewide health information technology network. The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be employed to build the technological infrastructure needed to integrate local and regional health information exchanges, health systems, state systems and delivery networks. The goal is to give residents and health care providers greater access to patient records and health care information and enable providers across the state to share electronic records.

 

The National Science Foundation has awarded $25 million to Michigan State University to create a center for the joint study of natural and digital evolution. The center will conduct basic and applied research that includes and combines evolutionary biology and computer science.

 

A $25 million federal stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation makes the dream of bringing light rail transit to a portion of Detroit's Woodward Avenue a little closer to reality. The grant provides a boost to the $125 million private effort that is underway. M1 Rail is planning a 3.4-mile, 12-stop route from Hart Plaza to New Center. It is cooperating with the Detroit Department of Transportation, which will extend the line to Eight Mile Road. Combined, the joint project is $425 million, and is scheduled to begin later this year.  The M1 Rail phase could potentially be running by 2012 with the city's portion by 2013!

 

Van Andel Arena was recognized as the second highest-grossing midsize arena worldwide during the past decade by Billboard Magazine. Van Andel's $126.5 million gross made it No. 2 on the list and those figures do not include most sporting events.

 

Roberto Romero, M.D., a professor of molecular obstetrics and genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine, won the March of Dimes award for Best Research in Prematurity.   Romero and his team of researchers discovered that genetics play a significant role in some preterm births.

 

Ann Arbor-based Dominos Pizza Inc. reached a milestone this month by hitting $1 billion in online sales. They reportedly received more than 160,000 online pizza orders on Superbowl Sunday. Moments before kickoff, it is said that customers were logging in at a rate of more than 1,000 orders a minute!

 

President Barack Obama will deliver the spring 2010 commencement address at the University of Michigan. At the ceremony, to be held on May 1 in Michigan Stadium, Obama will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. He will be the fourth sitting president to visit U-M in Ann Arbor, following George H.W. Bush, Gerald R. Ford (an alum), and Lyndon B. Johnson.

 

According to the 2010 Peace Corps rankings Michigan State University ranks No. 4 overall among the nation’s large colleges and universities for producing volunteers with 86 undergraduate alumni serving in 2009. The university has remained on the Peace Corps’ Top Colleges and Universities list since the start of the ranking system in 2001.

 

Detroit Metropolitan Airport is rated best in customer satisfaction among large airports, according to a report recently released by J.D. Power and Associates. The airport earned high marks for its terminal facilities and baggage claims for airports with more than 30 million passengers a year, in the 2010 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.  That's an impressive improvement, having ranked 12th when study was last conducted in 2008.