LANSING—Four business projects expected to generate a total investment of $130.6 million and create 395 jobs across Michigan have received support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. announced.
- LLamasoft Inc.,received a $515,790 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant to support a $10.7 million expansion that is expected to create more than 70 jobs. Ann Arbor-based LLamasoft supplies analytics for supply chain design and optimization and serves more than 750 major corporations worldwide. LLamasoft is executing an aggressive strategic expansion plan and is investing in its existing infrastructure, expanding and upgrading its current offices to attract and retain the talent it needs to achieve its growth goals. The expansion of its current headquarters will allow for additional software developers, engineers, professional services and sales representatives. Michigan was chosen over competing sites in Colorado and Texas. The company has already added more than 100 jobs in Michigan since 2016. Ann Arbor Spark plans to assist the company with finding candidates for the new positions. Individuals interested in careers with LLamasoft should visit https://llamasoft.com/company/careers/.
- Roskam Baking Co. received a $1 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant to support an $85.2 million expansion that is expected to create 238 new jobs. Roskam, headquartered in Kentwood, is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated business that has been making a variety of baking products and snacks since 1923. The company is a contract manufacturer for several major food brands in addition to developing and selling its own branded products. Roskam is expanding to add a new line of frozen breakfast food production and is also vying for two large co-production contracts with a national food company with plans to add two production lines to its existing Michigan plant. Michigan was chosen over sites in other states where the company has existing facilities. The Right Place Inc., the economic development agency for the Grand Rapids area, worked in collaboration with Roskam and the MEDC to ensure the company continued its growth in the region. The Right Place also connected Roskam Baking Company to workforce development resources at West Michigan Works! to assist with worker training. For more information on careers with Roskam Baking Company, visit here. The city of Kentwood is supportive of Roskam’s decision to expand in the city, which will bring new jobs to the community. The city is considering the approval of a local PA 198 Property Tax Abatement.
- Baraga Township has been awarded up to $73,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for the Selkey Fabricators LLC expansion project in Baraga. Selkey Fabricators, incorporated in 2015, specializes in heavy industrial welding and machining. The company plans to purchase new machinery and equipment that will allow it to diversify operations and compete in a higher volume market. The project is expected to generate up to $146,000 in private investment and create six jobs. Without the CDBG assistance, the company would not have been able to move forward with the project.
- Bluewater Technologies Group, currently based in Southfield, received a $300,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant to support a new $34 million headquarters in Novi that will create 81 new jobs. Bluewater is a systems integrator and provider of creative technology for events, will relocate to Novi in 2020. The new location will be a ground-up, new-construction building that provides room for future expansion, and will offer many amenities for employees in the building and throughout the nearby community. In addition to MSF support, the city of Novi anticipates approval of a property tax abatement in support of the project. The MEDC also authorized a State Education Tax Abatement to be used in conjunction with the locally approved abatement. For more information on careers with Bluewater Technologies Group, Inc., visit bluewatertech.com/careers. The new office and warehouse space will be developed and constructed by Amson Nassar Development of Birmingham. Colliers and CBRE brokered the transactions. Biddison Architecture, GreenTech Engineering and MA Engineering are working on the design.
For more information on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org.