Incentives Keep Projects from Leaving Michigan

DETROIT-Four companies plan to expand their operations in Southeast Michigan. Robert Bosch Corp., Faurecia, Akebono Corp. and Advanced Technology Services have announced expansion plans.

“When companies compare Michigan with other potential locations, our business climate, trained workforce and other key factors look very attractive,” says Governor John Engler.

The worldwide automotive supplier Robert Bosch Corp. is expanding its automotive original equipment headquarters, including some engineering, sales and administrative operations and moving certain corporate positions from its Chicago headquarters to a new facility in Plymouth Township. A Single Business Tax credit offered by the MEDC and valued at $20.8 million over a 17-year period helped convince Bosch to bring the new facility and jobs to Michigan.

Faurecia, a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier, is creating a 97,500-sf facility in Auburn Hills to accommodate production of automotive components. A Single Business Tax credit offered by the MEDC and valued at $7.3 million over a 10-year period encouraged Faurecia to build the new facility in Auburn Hills rather than another competing location in Ontario.

A high-technology Single Business Tax Credit worth $3.6 million over 10 years encouraged the Akebono Corporation to hire new employees and relocate existing staff to a facility in Northville Township. The relocation will accommodate the company’s needs to expand their automotive brake engineering > and testing facilities in the US. The project is a $54-million investment.

Advanced Technology Services (ATS) will lease up to 40,000 sf of new space for its expansion in Livonia. The company, headquartered in Peoria, IL, is a leading provider of industrial parts and repair, factory maintenance and IT services for manufacturing operations. A Single Business Tax credit worth $997,000 over seven years helped the company decide to choose Michigan over another potential location in Illinois.