On May 6th, Ford Motor Company announced it was investing $550 million to transform the Michigan Assembly Plant in the city of Wayne from a large SUV factory into a modern, flexible small car plant.
The plant, which opened in 1957, most recently built the highly profitable Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. Now Ford is re-tooling the plant to make the smaller, more fuel efficient Focus and the electric Focus. The new Focus will begin rolling off the assembly line in 2010 and the battery-electric version of the Focus -- Ford's first all-electric passenger car -- is scheduled to debut in 2011.
"I can tell you that our next battery-electric vehicle will be the next generation Ford Focus, and it's going to be built right here at Michigan Assembly," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas.
With the Michigan economy struggling to emerge from recession, the news of Ford's decision to make its electric Focus in Wayne County rather than out-of-state was met with great enthusiasm and hope.
"We are talking about retaining 3,200 jobs," said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, who was on-hand at the Michigan Assembly Plant. "That's enormous." The jobs include skilled trades, production workers and salaried positions.
Wayne County, in partnership with the city of Wayne, approved a Brownfield plan for the site, which allowed Ford to request tax credits for its investment and allowed reimbursement of approximately $14 million for planned demolition and site preparation costs. Wayne County also provided the consultant who assisted Ford Motor in drawing up the tax incentive program.
Progress through Diversification and Customer Service
Wayne County's role in the re-tooling of the Michigan Assembly Plant illustrates the County's support for not only traditional manufacturing industries, but also new growth sectors that include battery technology and alternative energy. This dual focus reflects the need for economic diversification and a concerted effort to develop a symbiosis between industries and sectors that are economically linked.
In April, for example, A123, a company that supplies lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, announced it is opening a headquarters in Livonia. The county's TURBO (Transforming Underdeveloped Residential and Business Opportunities) program, which offers property tax abatements, was a powerful incentive for A123 to pick Wayne County.
Other battery manufacturers are also considering Wayne County as a location for its plants because of the infrastructure footprint, its developed and refined intellectual capital, and the County's innovative and creative incentives.
The project also reflects a new way of doing business for Wayne County's Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) that emphasizes expediency in meeting the needs of prospective businesses. Wayne County fast-tracked the processing of the Brownfield plan by approving it in just 11 days, which created the necessary tax incentives for Ford to commit to invest in the Michigan Assembly Plant.
"We have revised government," said Turkia Mullin, chief development officer of EDGE and assistant CEO. "EDGE's mission is simple: to retain jobs, grow jobs, support our existing business community and new emerging industries, and provide excellent customer service."
Projects on the Horizon
In response to the many advanced technology companies seeking to locate in southeast Michigan, Wayne County along with the DeMattia Group will develop a fully-integrated 2.5 million square foot technology park in Plymouth Township.
The Advanced Technology Park, located near the intersection of Ridge Road and 5 Mile, will be home for research and development, prototype and production manufacturers. Technologies include lithium-ion battery materials, components and assembly; electric, hybrid passenger and mass-transit vehicle component manufacturing and assembly; LED lighting components and assembly; alternative automotive fuel system manufacturing; and fully-integrated and computerized security vehicle development and manufacture.
Ground breaking for the technology park is slated for July 2009 with project completion by the summer of 2011.
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