Success Stories
Governor Rick Snyder, State Representative Frank Foster, and State Senator Howard Walker tour Lake Superior State University's Robotics Laboratory, the Product Development Center, and discuss the new SmartZone on Feb. 4 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
How can the U.P. economy grow?
January 26, 2012 - "I think in working together in the Upper Peninsula, you have a much more dynamic voice in Lansing in order to get the resources that we need to put up here to help with the economic growth of your communities," Smith added.
Sault Ste. Marie Recognized as a Four-Star Community for its Entrepreneurial Climate
November 15, 2011 – Sault Ste. Marie has been recognized for its work to foster entrepreneurial growth and economic development in a study by researchers at iLabs, University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Center for Innovation Research. Sault Ste. Marie was honored as a Four-Star community along with 44 other communities across the State, with seven communities recognized as top performers.
ICI in the News
ICI is experiencing rapid and substantial growth. A key strategic part of our business model is vertical integration. Per the press release we have signed an option agreement to acquire the supplier of our base material that we manufacture in the Sault. As such we need to expand our footprint in the Industrial Incubator. The great news with this expansion is that we are creating more jobs for the area. ICI currently employees 31 people in the Sault and is actively recruiting (2) more professional positions. With this vertical integration we will see the need to increase that staffing level. As ICI is a public company I cannot share specifics but we are actively working on several new projects that would easily double the number of jobs within the year.
AMI in the News
Aggressive Manufacturing Innovations, Inc. will be adding at least 10 new jobs here in the Sault, according to President Jeff Evans.
Hoover Precision Products
Small Business Category
WINNER - Outstanding Diversification Achievement in Life Sciences
Founded in 1913 in Ann Arbor to serve Michigan’s growing auto industry, Hoover Precision Products today develops and produces quality precision balls and bearings for highly critical applications in aerospace, medical, and defense operations. In 1990, it became a subsidiary of Tsubaki Nakashima Company of Japan, a global manufacturer with facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America.
From left to right:
Doran Silver, Medical Components Business Unit Manager, Hoover Precision Products Tom Williams, Plant Manager, Hoover Precision Products Eric Sturdy, President, Hoover Precision Products Governor Jennifer M. Granholm Tom Patton, Plastic Ball Business Unit, Hoover Precision Products Matthew P. Cullen, MEDC Executive Committee Chair and GM Executive
R&B Electronics
Manufacturer of electro-mechanical aircraft components
On September 21, 2007, there was a Grand Opening of the completely renovated Foreign Trade Zone Building in the City’s Industrial Park and its occupancy by R&B Electronics, Inc. a successful Sault Ste. Marie manufacturer of electro-mechanical aircraft components.
R & B Electronics, Inc. is a woman-owned manufacturing firm that was originally established in Texas in 1986 by Allie M. and Debra G. Rogers, and in February 1999, established a plant in Sault Ste. Marie and moved into the 7,500 square foot City-owned Carbide Dock building with a handful of employees.
The company is a specialized manufacturer of electro-mechanical assemblies for the aerospace industry with products including electrical grounding assemblies, connector accessories, diode assemblies, resistor assemblies, grounding jumpers, flexible bus bars and terminal links. Over the past eight years, the firm has grown and matured and had outgrown the Carbide Building.
The Sault Ste. Marie EDC brought representatives from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to a meeting with R & B Electronics, Inc. in March of 2006 to explore the possibility of a rehabilitation, expansion and environmental cleanup of the old FTZ building in the Industrial Park for R & B’s future growth. This 12,000 square foot building held the potential to provide the additional space needed by the company, as well as the ability to acquire the 3 acre parcel for future additions.
Over the next several months, the City obtained a $155,000 grant from the DEQ to clean up soils at the site and a $190,000 grant from the MEDC through the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) for a good portion of the cost to rehabilitate and add an office wing on the FTZ building. The Sault Ste. Marie EDC committed $220,000 of its own funds to help in the renovation and expansion of the building, and construction was begun in late 2006. The building was completed in stages during the spring and summer of 2007.
This expansion has helped R & B Electronics, Inc. to grow to over 53 employees, with more expected over the next year.
Photo - From left to right
Scott Horner, Plant Manager, R&B Electronics, Inc. Jeff Holt, Chairman, Sault Ste. Marie EDC Ray Bauer, Sault Ste. Marie City Commissioner and EDC Liaison Ken Murdock, Account Manager, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Wayne Olsen, Comptroller, R&B Electronics, Inc. Tony Bosbous, Mayor
Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation
Rural Community Economic Development Partner
WINNER - Outstanding Diversification Achievement Rural Economic Development Partner Award
Created in 1981 by the city of Sault Ste. Marie, the EDC has helped grow the area’s manufacturing base with nine major industrial expansions and the city’s manufacturing footprint has grown more than 60 percent to 423,000 sq. ft. since 1991. Its staff of three half-time employees has established multiple funding sources for economic development, including creation of the $320,000 Essex Fund, the Airport Tax Increment Financing Authority and managed growth through land sales and development projects from $0 assessed value to over $4,000,000 by 2005.
Photo - From left to right:
Matthew P. Cullen, MEDC Executive Committee Chair and GM Executive Jim Hendricks, Executive Director, Sault Ste. Marie EDC Jeff Holt, Chairman, Sault Ste. Marie EDC Governor Jennifer M. Granholm