LANSING — Two business expansions in the Lansing area will lead to 60 new jobs and $5.8 million in private investment, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said Monday.
MEDC announced approval of a Michigan Business Development Program incentive and a Community Development Block Grant award for the projects, which included:
* Lansing-based Neogen Corp., a developer of products and services for food and animal safety. The company plans to renovate an existing building in Lansing that will include office, lab and manufacturing space, investing more than $1 million and creating 25 jobs. As a result, the company has been awarded a $100,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. Michigan was chosen over competing sites in multiple states. The city of Lansing has offered a property tax abatement for the proejct. Individuals interested in career opportunities with Neogen should visit www.neogen.com.
* Ingham County has been awarded $300,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for job training for the Orchid Orthopedic Solutions LLC project in Delhi Township. Orchid, a contract designer and manufacturer of medical devices, is operating existing equipment at near full capacity. The company plans to invest about $4.8 million in new machinery and hire 35 additional employees over the next two years. The CDBG funds will assist the company with training of the new employees. In return, the company has agreed that at least 18 of the 35 positions will be held by low to moderate income persons. To learn more about Orchid or to view current job opportunities visit their website at www.orchid-ortho.com.
The Michigan Business Development Program provides grants, loans and other economic assistance to qualified businesses that make investments or create jobs in Michigan, with preference given to businesses that need additional assistance for deal-closing and for second stage gap financing.
The MSF considers a number of factors in making these awards, including: out-of-state competition, private investment in the project, business diversification opportunities, near-term job creation, wage and benefit levels of the new jobs, and net-positive return to the state. Business retention and retail projects are not eligible for consideration of these incentives.
The Michigan Strategic Fund, in cooperation with MEDC, administers the economic and community development portions of the Community Development Block Grant program. CDBG is a federal grant program using funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development.
Each year Michigan receives approximately $30 million in federal CDBG funds, out of which various projects are funded throughout the state. Funds are used to provide grants to eligible counties, cities, villages, and townships, usually with populations under 50,000, for economic development, community development and housing projects.
For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit michiganbusiness.org. For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit michigan.org. Michigan residents interested in seeking employment with any of Michigan’s growing companies should check mitalent.org, where more than 83,000 jobs are currently available in a variety of industries