Eovations recipient of $1.3 million in tax credits over the next seven years

It never hurts to get a little help from your friends.

Eovations, a company that is investing $16 million in a research and development and production center in Bay City, found out recently that it will be the recipient of a boost from the State of Michigan in the form of $1.3 million in tax credits over seven years.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority board approved the tax incentive for the company, which is expected to create 64 new jobs. The Bay City facility will produce a composite building material called EoTek, which is a versatile wood substitute that could potentially outpace wood in durability.

"It looks like wood, it functions a lot like wood and it can replace wood in a number of different uses," says Fred Hollister, the president of Bay Future. "It will resist mold and disease and has no catastrophic failure point. You can bend a two-by-four into a U and it won't break. And, not only does it reduce the need to cut trees, it's recyclable."

Eovations has been working with Bay Future for about 18 months. The company has leased the 77,000-square-foot former Thompson Bay Building in the Marquette Industrial Center, where they hope to begin operations in early 2011.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Fred Hollister, Bay Future