Yesterday, Gov. Granholm announced that Site Selection magazine has named Michigan the No. 3 state in the nation for major new corporate facilities and expansions in 2009. This is the second year in a row that Michigan has finished in the top three.

Major new corporate projects for Michigan in 2009 included: advanced energy storage and solar firms like the Wixom Renewable Energy Center (Xtreme Power and Clairvoyant Energy) on the site of the former Ford Wixom assembly plant; advanced battery development and manufacturing firms A123 Systems (Ann Arbor), Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions (Holland), Dow Kokam (Midland), Suniva (Saginaw) and major expansions by GM and Ford for electric and hybrid vehicle production here.

As Gov. Granholm said, in the Olympics, the difference between winning a gold or bronze medal can be a mere fraction of a second. The same holds true for Michigan in this important 50-state contest. We take pride in winning the bronze, but won’t rest until we win the gold.  We will continue to push our aggressive economic development and diversification strategy to accomplish that goal.

Wednesday, the New York Times highlighted the Small Business and Technology Development Center’s (SBTDC) efforts at re-training laid-off workers to qualify for jobs in emerging sectors. The SBTDC is a strategic service provider for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

So far, 527 people have taken the course, which the center offers in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. To date, 160 people in the Michigan program have introduced new business ventures, and more than 125 owners of existing businesses have enrolled in separate courses to bolster their chances of surviving. Another 1,000 would-be entrepreneurs are expected to complete the program this year.

Many of the workers being re-trained come from the auto industry, and the SBTDC’s efforts represent just one aspect of our strategy to diversify Michigan’s economy and create jobs for Michigan workers. Judging by the accolades we’ve been getting from the national media regarding our innovative economic-development toolbox, our efforts are paying off.

From solar shingles and advanced batteries to boats and scrap-tire recycling, Michigan is putting in place a diversified economy where firms across a wide spectrum of industries find success and grow new jobs. With assistance from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation,  10 companies announced yesterday that they are choosing to grow in Michigan and another business is expanding thanks to the state’s brownfield program. Combined, the 11 projects are expected to create 17,321 new jobs and generate over $804 million in new investment in the state. 

Michigan won these projects over intense competition from other states and other countries thanks to the Michigan Advantage:  powerful economic development tools, a competitive business climate and an outstanding workforce.

A few weeks ago, I shared the news that Midland had been selected as the site to manufacture Dow Chemical’s revolutionary new PowerHouse solar shingles.  This week, Dow announced it will partner with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a new Center of Energy Excellence to produce carbon fibers for use in the wind-energy sector.  Dow Kokam also announced this week that it will proceed with Phase II of a project to manufacture lithium-ion battery packs in Midland. Together, the Dow projects are expected to create thousands of new Michigan jobs.

We have worked hard to make Michigan the clean-energy capital of North America and focused our initiatives to grow alternative-energy sectors such as solar, wind and advanced batteries. Dow’s decisions to locate these facilities here demonstrate that our investments in green, clean-energy manufacturing are creating jobs and helping Michigan transition to a new 21st century economy.

This weekend, the New York Times profiled several Michigan companies who are succeeding in diversifying into new, high-growth sectors. Thanks to the MEDC’s robust toolbox of economic development tools and resources combined with Michigan’s competitive business climate, companies are finding that Michigan can give them an upper hand.

NTR’s chief executive, Jim Barry, said, “It should be no surprise we went to Detroit. The standard of manufacturing in the automotive industry is extraordinarily high, and that is the only place you can find such a concentration of skills.”

Despite the negative headlines we’re bombarded with every day, there are great things happening in Michigan as this story and others like it demonstrate.

The Dow Chemical Company announced Wednesday that Midland has been identified as the preferred site for the first, full-scale production facility of its revolutionary Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle, pending final company approval. The project could bring more than 1,200 jobs to the region by 2014.

The Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle integrates low-cost, thin-film photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar energy roofing product. The innovative product can be installed by roofing contractors with no specialized skills required.

Thanks to a coordinated strategic plan driven by research and designed to leverage our strengths, we are now out in front of our competition to capture the solar market and create thousands of new jobs in Michigan. I commend Governor Granholm, our state legislators, and our federal lawmakers for giving Michigan the tools we need to grow the solar industry, diversify our economy and create new jobs.

As far back as WWII, Michigan has been a prime location for the movie industry, and with the recent introduction of various tax incentives aimed at filmmakers, this growth industry in Michigan is taking off.  In 2009, there were 48 completed film productions which used Michigan as either their main or partial location, and 2010 is already revving up to be another stellar year.  The Michigan Film Office, created in 1979, assists in attracting production companies to Michigan.  They provide endless services such as information about the industry incentives, location selection, and sourcing of local production staff and talent – “You bring the story.  We’ll take care of the rest.”

For more information, visit michiganfilmoffice.org.

When considering locations for your company, few things are more important than the quality of life for your employees.

Today, we are proud to announce the launch of PureMichiganLiving.com, a new initiative by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) dedicated to covering good news and quality of life stories about our great state. As a part of the launch, they are asking residents of Michigan to share their stories of why they choose to live in Michigan. This “Choose Michigan” campaign seeks to collect 1,000 stories over the next week. Two lucky submissions will be randomly selected and awarded one of two great Michigan getaways donated by Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa of Thompsonville and the Westin Book Cadillac of Detroit.

Follow Pure Michigan Living on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook to show your support and share your stories with them.

We hope you are as excited as we are to see Pure Michigan Living take off.  If you are a Michigan business owner, please consider submitting your story to let other businesses know why they should Choose Michigan.

Last week, during the press preview of the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it was announced that Michigan will be the proud host of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE intensive, multi-stage testing competition phase of its 50-plus super fuel-efficient vehicles.  This is an exciting opportunity for the state of Michigan and the competition is supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan International Speedway. SQ2JXHYSYAS3

Here are highlights from the press conference and more details about the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition:

We are fighting hard to bring new investment and new jobs to our state and keep jobs here. Today, our efforts have resulted in eight job-creating projects generating 5,210 new jobs, retaining another 415 and bringing approximately $77 million in new investment to communities across the state.

The projects span the state and include alternative energy, information technology, aerospace and automotive projects. In all, they demonstrate that businesses across a wide spectrum of sectors are choosing Michigan for new growth opportunities despite stiff competition from other states and other countries. These are the types of projects that will transform our economy and create good-paying jobs for Michigan families.