3,900 Mich. jobs to be created, retained with new tax incentives

State tax credits approved for 11 Michigan businesses and cities by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, or MEGA, on Tuesday may keep and create more than 3,900 jobs for Michigan residents, including university students.

Production Engineering, Inc., was considering leaving Michigan for Indiana before they qualified for the program. The automobile part manufacturer now plans to invest more than $11 million to move its warehouse to Jackson, Mich.

James Jansen, president of Production Engineering Inc., said companies like his need college graduates as the manufacturing industry becomes more technology-driven.

“We need technicians, engineers, business people to drive our company forward,” Jansen said.

“We’ve just recently added a graduate from Michigan State this year that’s in charge of a lot of our finance at the company. These kinds of things open up a lot of opportunities for graduates as they move forward and hopefully we’ll keep them in Michigan.”

The businesses and cities approved were the second group of companies to benefit from a Michigan law, signed by the governor in April, that opens all companies to tax breaks, provided they invest in Michigan and create new jobs. Previously, Michigan companies were required to find tax breaks outside the state before being approved by MEGA.

The cities of Muskegon and Detroit were acting on behalf of Betten Auto Group and Grand River and Six Mile LLC respectively.

“We’ll reimburse (companies) for what they paid in taxes, if they hire the amount of people they said they were going to hire and that we’ve agreed on,” said Bridget Beckman, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

She added that the average amount saved by companies was about $2 million in tax breaks.

The economic growth is not only about manufacturing jobs, but a wide range of jobs, said Adrian Smith, general manager of Brembo North America, which plans to build a new headquarters in Novi.

“I think efforts like these will increase the possibility to get good graduates out of school,” said Dan Sandberg, president of Brembo’s Homer location.

“There’s always room for good college graduates in the workforce here in Michigan and the more companies we can retain here in Michigan, obviously the more opportunities we’re going to have for students.”

“I think Michigan can use all the help it can get,” said Anna Hunsinger, an exercise physiology graduate student. She added that she is looking for a job in Michigan, but is worried because of a lack of jobs in the state.

Beckman said if not for these incentives, these businesses would have left the state and expanded in several different states or countries.

Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, was among the Michigan legislators who supported MEGA’s decision.

“These are going to help companies that are looking to grow, that have options all over the country, and frankly all over the world, it will help them choose Michigan,” he said.

Published on Tuesday, June 17, 2008