Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Johnson Controls to Build Battery Plant in Michigan

It’s pretty bad when Wisconsin is losing business to Michigan.

Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) on Tuesday announced that it will open its first U.S.-based production facility for lithium-ion batteries in Holland, Mich., which will create 500 jobs using $148.5 million in Michigan tax credits and incentives.

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a package of tax credits to a group of four makers of batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.

Glendale-based Johnson Controls, through its battery joint venture with France-based Saft SA, won a package of tax incentives valued at $100 million and another $48.5 million in other Michigan state incentives, said Mary Ann Wright, who leads the Johnson Controls-Saft venture. It will renovate and retrofit an existing Johnson Controls manufacturing site in Holland at a cost of $220 million, the company said. It will have an initial capacity of 15 million lithium-ion cells.

Wright emphasized that Johnson Controls remains committed to keeping its battery engineering, research and development at the joint venture’s hybrid-battery engineering labs in Glendale, adjacent to the corporation’s international headquarters.

 

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1223 hrs
Economy + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Yes…where was Jim Doyle???

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 14, 2009 at 1327 hrs


  2. JCI has a lot of property in the Holland area that they picked up in the Prince purchase so this doesn’t surprise me. Its good to see them jobs coming back to West Michigan we have been eroding for over a decade here now.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 14, 2009 at 1337 hrs


  3. “using $148.5 million in Michigan tax credits and incentives.”

    My guess is that Doyle’s offer was to only raise their taxes by $148.5 million dollars…  How long before the Wisconsin operations get consolidated over to Michigan?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 14, 2009 at 1407 hrs


  4. And Michigan is a combined reporting state, no less.  I thought yesterday it was determined here that was why TTM Technologies was reducing workhours at it’s Wisconsin location, because of combined reporting.

    Sounds like maybe Wisconsin doesn’t have the $$$cajones to buy businesses like other states do.

    Keep “connecting the dots” - like they say, even a broken clock gets it right twice a day.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 14, 2009 at 1429 hrs


  5. “It will renovate and retrofit an existing Johnson Controls manufacturing site in Holland at a cost of $220 million, the company said.”  Note how it says renovate and retrofit.  So Owen all this is is Michigan keeping some of JCI, not Wisconsin loosing anything. 

    If you didn’t know Holland, MI is a pretty significant JCI location as is Plymouth, MI (they shuttle staff to those sites from Milwaukee a few times a week).  They’ve long been connected to the auto industry there.

    Posted by Dave Reid on April 14, 2009 at 1546 hrs


  6. Owen,

    Maybe you could join with a couple other bloggers and create a “jobs gained/jobs lost” website that keeps track of this via the press releases. 

    I’m sure we’ve got some new jobs and plant expansions that have occurred here the past twelve months.  Right?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 14, 2009 at 1751 hrs


  7. Steve - can you name any?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on April 14, 2009 at 1854 hrs


  8. Carver Boat expansion announced one year ago today: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?locid=19&prid=3302 (+450 jobs)

    Marten Transport Services announced on Feb. 25 that they will expand: http://commerce.wi.gov/NEWS/releases/2009/020.html (+30 jobs)

    Those are two expansions that I quickly found.  A ‘scoreboard’ is a great idea—but it should cover Gov. Doyle’s current term.  Losses would include Thomas, Kohler and JL French, among others.

    Posted by hsgbdmama on April 15, 2009 at 0606 hrs


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