LANSING – Gov. Jennifer Granholm returned from her latest trade mission to Germany and Belgium saying that a battery pack manufacturing company will soon look for a location in West Michigan for a construction site.
Granholm said the company fortu PowerCell has identified several potential market areas, including vehicle batteries, battery back-up for cell phone transmitters and power-generation plants as it looks at manufacturing locations in the state. The company, in business since 1997, focuses on battery technology that looks at high energy value for each unit of weight.
“We look forward to partnering with fortu as part our strategic plan to become the advanced battery capital of the world and diversify Michigan’s economy,” Granholm said.
Her trip also took her to Belgium and while in that country, Granholm met with executives of Hansen Transmissions, the second-largest producer of wind-energy gearboxes to encourage the firm to look at Michigan for the location of its upcoming repair facility.
This trip was one of the shortest of the eight trade missions Granholm has made since taking office but the first one where the governor did not announce a definite plan by a company to create jobs in the state.
The administration gave no indication when she might embark on another mission. She was accompanied on this trip by officials of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and NextEnergy.
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
a>>
