Former Xerox Subsidiary Eyes Michigan

SCIO TOWNSHIP, MI-Gyricon Media Inc., a company that makes electronic paper in California, is looking to build a plant here. The company plans to lease a large facility in the township and then invest in building upgrades, machinery and equipment.

The plans call for a $29 million investment at the site over a three-year period.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp., a private-public partnership formed to entice companies to the state, is offering assistance to the company in the form of a Single Business Tax credit of $8.2 million and a 100% abatement of the State Education Tax, worth about $340,000.

Township officials are currently considering a tax abatement for the company that would be worth more than $1 million over 12 years.

Gyricon is a spin-off of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. The company’s SmartPaper is a reusable display material that has many of the properties of regular paper, but is electronically write-able and erasable.

The move would create 634 jobs for the community.