Michigan is known by many names – Great Lakes State, Wolverine State, The Mitten. When it comes to economic descriptions, however, the state can add a new moniker to its lexicon – the Comeback State.

Nearly 300,000 private-sector jobs have been created in Michigan since December 2010, including 120,000 new manufacturing jobs since 2009. The state’s gross domestic project growth (GDP) outpaced the national average in 2013, with output growing by 11.4 per cent from 2009-2013, compared to 8.4 per cent for the US economy. Auto sales are the highest they have been in eight years.

REINVENTED BUSINESS CLIMATE
Site Selection magazine ranks Michigan among the top five states for major new corporate facilities and expansions for two years in a row. One of the catalysts fuelling this growth is a re-engineered, competitive business climate where businesses of every size and in every industry can compete, grow and create new jobs.

A complex business tax was replaced with a streamlined flat 6 per cent corporate income tax, propelling the state’s national business tax climate ranking to third among the 12 most populous states.

In a move that will improve the corporate tax climate even more, Michigan is phasing out personal property taxes that small businesses and manufactures pay on office and industrial equipment. This reform is estimated to cut taxes by $500 million per year, create 15,000 jobs and increase private investment by $450 million.

In addition, over 1600 outdated or burdensome environmental, workplace and business rules have been revised or eliminated. Michigan’s move to a Right-to-Work state now allows businesses to partner with a world-class workforce that is free to decide whether union membership is right for them.

MANUFACTURING MIGHT

As the home of the Motor City, Michigan is the North American centre of automotive manufacturing. Global and domestic vehicle manufacturers have invested approximately $14 billion in the state from 2009-2013. There are 12 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) assembly plants and 35 OEM components/materials plants in Michigan, more than any other state.

While vehicles and related parts are the leading manufacturing sector, it is not the whole story. Michigan is a leading manufacturer of food and beverage products, chemicals, plastics, rubber, wood and furniture products. The state is fi rst nationally with over 14,000 manufacturing facilities including 1400 metalworking machinery and 640 tool and die facilities. This wealth of production capability accounts for nearly 16.5 per cent of the gross state product, $66.2 billion, and employs 13.5 per cent of the workforce.

Manufacturers help drive Michigan’s economy, with $54.6 billion in manufactured goods exports in 2013.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LEADER
From automotive innovations and healthcare breakthroughs to water technologies and nuclear science, Michigan’s concentration of research and development (R&D) facilities and talent is second to none.

More research and development experts call Michigan home than any other state. The state’s 70,000-strong R&D workforce, together with 87,000 industrial engineers, lays the groundwork for technical and scientific innovation.

Michigan R&D centres represent more than 75 per cent of US automotive R&D spending, $9 billion – the most in the country.

Michigan’s University Research Corridor, an alliance between Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, draws $1.9 billion in federal academic research dollars to Michigan.

Over the past five years, they have announced an average of one new invention every day, and collectively these discoveries have led to more than 500 license agreements for new technologies and systems.

Independently, the University of Michigan ranks second in the US in higher education R&D investment with $1.3 billion.

Michigan State University’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory is a world-leading laboratory for rare isotope research and nuclear science education. With support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the laboratory operates as a national user facility that serves more than 700 researchers from 100 institutions in 35 countries.

Because of this concentration of R&D, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office chose Detroit as its first satellite office outside Washington, DC. The region is responsible for 26 per cent of all automotive patents – 2.7 times more of any other state.

WORLD-CLASS TALENT
Michigan ranks first among US states for high-tech workforce talent with more than 87,000 engineers, 70,000 R&D professionals and 181,000 skilled workers. The state’s 500,000 auto-related jobs represent 22 per cent of the US industry workforce, and automotive employment in the state has increased 39 per cent between 2009 and 2014.

A network of 15 public universities, 60-plus independent universities and colleges and 28 community colleges is producing the educated and skilled talent that advanced manufacturing and high-tech firms need for innovation and growth.

Top-ranked schools and programmes include:

• University of Michigan’s accounting and engineering programmes rank in the top 10 nationally
• Michigan Technological University graduates have the highest percentage of science, technology, engineering, mathematics degrees (STEM)
• Michigan State University’s number two ranked logistics and supply chain programme

GLOBAL PLAYER
Michigan is home to more than 1200 foreign-owned companies. Since January 2003 and July 2014, companies from 34 countries invested $13.1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) projects creating over 55,700 jobs.

Over the same time period:

• 24 UK-based companies invested $760 million in projects creating over 2900 jobs
• $100 million expansion by Jackson National Life, a Michigan subsidiary of Prudential PLC
• $13.3 million investment by GKN to establish a facility to house GKN Driveline and GKN Sinter Metals subsidiaries
• $600,000 investment by Avon Protection Systems, the wholly owned subsidiary of Avon Rubber, to expand production of gas masks at its Michigan facility

GATEWAY TO NORTH AMERICA
Located within 500 miles of half of the US and Canadian population and income, Michigan is a strategic entry point to the North American market. The state has nine international border crossings, nautical connections to the Atlantic via the St Lawrence Seaway, a rail system with 3600 miles of track, 19 commercial airports, and 1240 miles of toll-free interstate highway lines built for industrial use.

PURE MICHIGAN LIFESTYLE
Michigan is a great place to do business, and it is a great place to live and play. From urban excitement to the great outdoors, the state offers beaches, mountains, forests, parks, museums and hundreds of cultural and historical attractions to suit every taste. Home to four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan’s 3200 miles of freshwater shoreline is the longest in the world. No matter where you stand, you are never more than six miles from a body of water among our 11,000 inland lakes and 36,000 miles of rivers and streams. For golfers, there are 650 public courses set among glorious natural surroundings. The cost of living in many Michigan metropolitan areas is lower than the US average:

• Grand Rapids:11.5 per cent lower
• Lansing: 18.3 per cent lower
• Kalamazoo:18.8 per cent lower
• Detroit: 26.7 per cent lower

The ABC News Good Morning America programme named Sleeping Bear Dunes the “most beautiful place in America”.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, talent and jobs, tourism, film and digital media incentives, arts and cultural grants, and overall economic growth. The MEDC offers a number of business assistance services and capital programmes for business attraction and acceleration, entrepreneurship, strategic partnerships, talent enhancement, and urban and community development.

MEDC Attraction provides: