Macomb’s place in the regional economy and our location in the heart of the global automotive industry is attracting new business and investment. With the assistance of MCPED and our partners, a large number of domestic companies have decided to locate or expand their facilities here. Below is a brief description of some of the companies that have recently located or expanded operations in Macomb and the role MCPED played in the process.

The Comcast Corporation

Comcast, the nation’s leading cable-communication services company, had an opportunity to expand their operations in one of three regions: the Detroit area, St. Paul, MN, or Indianapolis. The MCPED, as project manager, coordinated local resources, bringing to the table Macomb Community College, which offered customized employee recruitment, assessment and training assistance, and the City of Sterling Heights, which made available the venue for a job fair. The state, in turn, awarded Comcast with a Single Business Tax Credit. Today, Comcast is constructing an 18,000 square foot addition to their Sterling Heights center and will be adding 200 new associates to their 235-employee workforce.

Eagle Manufacturing

Eagle Manufacturing is a global designer and producer of in-line fabrication systems and other special machinery. They have located their new headquarters in the Macomb County community of Shelby Township. The company, a supplier to the automotive, residential construction, and consumer products industries, has invested more than $4,000,000 in the construction of the new 49,000 square foot manufacturing and engineering facility and the acquisition of new machinery and equipment. With this expansion, the company expects to add approximately 30 new jobs to their workforce over the next two years. The MCPED, in the role of economic development “project manager”, assisted Eagle with every aspect of site selection process and in securing tax exemptions.

General Dynamics – Land Systems Division

Headquartered in Sterling Heights, General Dynamics – Land Systems Division was recently awarded a nearly $2 billion contract by Boeing Company to design and build manned ground vehicles for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program. With this contract came the opportunity to bring an additional 150 engineering jobs to Sterling Heights. The MCPED, in partnership with the MEDC and the City of Sterling Heights, coordinated efforts to assemble a package of tax exemptions and credits that brought the jobs to our community. The contract, the largest ever for the Sterling Heights division, has the company producing a volume of 18 different prototype vehicles. Delivery of the first prototype vehicle is scheduled for 2007, with actual production of vehicles to be completed by 2009.

PTI Engineered Plastics, Inc.

PTI will soon have a new 95,000 square foot facility constructed in Macomb Township. PTI is a research-technology based company that specializes in the building of prototype production-molding tools for the manufacture and assembly of injection-molded plastic components. The company, which serves the automotive, consumer, and medical products industries, is investing nearly $12 million in the building and new machinery and equipment. In addition to retaining 112 current jobs, this expansion will enable the company create approximately 52 new jobs. The MCPED provided PTI with comprehensive assistance in securing a tax exemption from the township and the state.

Safie Specialty Foods

Safie Specialty Foods is a local producer of a gourmet line of pickles. In 2003, Safie’s business success forced them to relocate to larger, more suitable quarters. With site selection assistance from the MCPED, Safie was soon occupying a new 14,000 square foot food processing facility in Chesterfield Township. The MCPED also provided Safie with the assistance that they needed to secure an Industrial Facilities Exemption Tax from the township and the state. In total, Safie invested more than $1.5 million in building, machinery and equipment, and will be creating approximately 60 new jobs.

T.M Smith Tool

T.M. Smith Tool is a manufacturer of hydraulic tool holding systems and precision machined tools and fixtures. As part of the “tool and die” industry, an industry segment that has been hard hit by low-wage foreign competition, the company is just one among Macomb County’s many tool and die firms. To address the industry’s hardship, the legislature created the Tool & Die Renaissance Zone, a program that provides a 100 percent tax exemption to qualified firms for a term of up to 15 years (at the discretion of the local unit of government). The MCPED, working with the City of Mount Clemens and the company’s consultant, helped Smith to secure the city commission’s approval for the tax exemption. The zone was approved for the full 15-year term.