NEWS: State transportation economic development grant will support 1,023 news jobs in Macomb County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018
CONTACT: Michael Leon, TEDF Program Manager, MDOT Office of Economic Development, 517-241-2568

 

State transportation economic development grant
will support 1,023 news jobs in Macomb County

 

July 11, 2018 -- The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is awarding a state transportation economic development grant that will support the creation of 1,023 new jobs in Macomb County. A Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) Category A grant totaling $1,647,000 will leverage $102,404,240 in private investment, at a private/public ratio of more than 62-to-1.

             Shelby Parkway is located close to the M-53/23 Mile Road interchange in Shelby Township. Current traffic levels are substantial and, at peak times, experience heavy delays at both the M-53/23 Mile Road and Shelby Parkway/23 Mile Road intersections. To alleviate these conditions, the Macomb County Department of Roads (MCDR) will use this grant to implement several improvements, including widening the roadway and adding turn lanes to improve traffic flow.

             With the promise of these improvements, three companies were able to move forward with their expansion plans along Shelby Parkway:

• Antolin Shelby, Inc. has invested $63,200,000 in expansion in the area and is in the process of hiring 733 new employees.
• Means Transform Products has invested $28,197,000 in its facility and will be hiring 100 new employees over the next two years.
• Flex-N-Gate has invested $11,007,240 in expansion and has transferred 190 employees from the state of Illinois.

             Antolin Shelby, Inc. recently obtained new contracts to manufacture, assemble and sequence door panels and headliners that required a new manufacturing facility. The company considered a location in Nashville, Tennessee, but chose to locate in Shelby Township since it is much closer to its customer base.

             "Antolin Shelby and our 800-plus employees are sincerely grateful for the road improvements made possible by this grant," said Joe McCluskey II, Antolin Shelby general manager. "When completed, these improvements will reduce major truck and vehicle traffic delays for our business, our employees and all of the other businesses in the Cherry Creek Corporate Park, along with so many local Shelby Township residents."

             Means Transform Products manufactures transmission parts that are shipped to several locations within Michigan, as well as Toledo, Ohio, and London, Ontario, Canada. The company needed to expand to meet increased demands for its products. It considered other locations but chose Shelby Township due to the availability of a skilled workforce and the proximity to its customers, a second Means facility at 14 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue, and a third Means facility in London, Ontario. Shipments between all three plants are performed daily.

             "Means's location is ideal for customer pick‐ups being shipped to Livonia, Romulus, and Toledo," said Jeremy Bickel, Means plant manager. "Due to customer requirements for just-in-time deliveries, fast and unrestricted traffic flow through the M‐53, 23 Mile Road, and Shelby Parkway junction is crucial to our success."

             Flex-N-Gate Company Shelby LLC is an affiliate of Flex-N-Gate, a top global supplier of exterior trim components, aluminum and steel modular stamped body chassis assemblies, lighting and other automotive original equipment manager products. To meet increased demand for the car and truck bumpers it produces, the company restructured its operations. This led to a decision to expand its operations at its existing Shelby Township facility, which is near its customers in Michigan, as well as Indiana and Ohio.

             "The location of our facility in Shelby Township is close to our customers in Sterling Heights," said Bill Beistline, Flex-N-Gate/Ventra Procurement vice president. "Our just-in-time delivery requirement depends on fast and unfettered traffic flow through the M-53, 23 Mile Road, and Shelby Parkway junction, and these proposed improvements are crucial to successful traffic flow and maintaining delivery window timing."

             The total cost for the project is $2,745,000, including $1,647,000 in TEDF Category A funding, $740,500 from the MCDR, and $357,500 from Shelby Township.

             Enacted in 1987 and reauthorized in 1993, the TEDF helps finance highway, road and street projects that are critical to the movement of people and products, and getting workers to their jobs, materials to growers and manufacturers, and finished goods to consumers.

             TEDF "Category A" or "Targeted Industries Program" grants provide state funding for public roadway improvements that allow road agencies to respond quickly to the transportation needs of expanding companies and eliminate inadequate roadways as an obstacle to private investment and job creation. Eligible road agencies include MDOT, county road commissions, cities and villages. More information about the program is available online at www.michigan.gov/tedf.

 

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