Michigan No. 1 for R&D projects

Site Selection Magazine: Michigan No. 1 for R&D projects

Michigan is the No. 1 state in the nation for research and development facility project announcements, beating out Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina, according to the January issue of Site Selection magazine.     According to “States Reinvent the Future through Industrial R&D,” Michigan was also in the top 10 for the reported investment and job creation plans associated with these projects. Michigan’s strong base of engineering talent and the strength of its research universities are cited as biggest reasons for the strong R&D activity – the Mitten State ranks no. 5 on the magazine’s list of top 12 states for Bachelor’s Degrees conferred in engineering.  “Access to talent is the most important factor in being an R&D state,” Michigan Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Michael A. Finney notes in the article.

Finney goes on to say that Michigan is producing “new engineers by the thousands:” all 15 of the state’s public universities offer engineering programs, with two of the nation’s top engineering programs belonging to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

The Big Three automakers continue to be significant contributors to the state’s R&D activity; other contributing factors include the state’s University Research Corridor, an alliance of MSU, U-M and Wayne State University focused on economic transformation, fostering invention, innovation, and technology transfer; and the MEDC’s business incubator and start-up support programs.

In a separate article in the same issue focusing on metro Detroit, “Where the Tech Jobs Are,’’ more attention is given to Michigan’s recent dramatic hiring wave, particularly in the tech sector.

Quicken Loans, Compuware and other companies have located high tech facilities in Detroit’s Woodward Corridor, bringing thousands of jobs to the area. And Grand Rapids was cited as the second metropolitan area nationally in positive employment change for 2011 – compared with Atlanta, which ranks 93rd and showed no employment growth in the same period.

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Blogger note: Rogers City is a great location for a modern R&D facility.  We boast scenic waterfront on Lake Huron, available broadband, reasonable real estate prices, full services, a competitive work force, and likely a new high tech power plant.  Any developer looking for these qualities should investigate Rogers City, Michigan.