MIDLAND ? Business Facilities magazine has ranked the Midland area No. 3 in the country for economic growth potential and for Alternative Energy Industry Leaders. The rankings were for metropolitan areas with less than 200,000 residents.
The news was reported Wednesday by Midland Tomorrow, the Mid Michigan economic development organization.
?We?re very pleased that Midland has received this recognition,? said Maureen Donker, Mayor of the City of Midland. ?We work hard at making Midland a top location for businesses of all sizes, and this award helps recognize the success of our business community.?
First and Second places in the economic growth potential categories were Panama City, Florida, and Manhattan, Kansas. Tucson, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, ranked first and second in the Alternative Energy Leaders category.
?Over the last several years, Midland has become a hotbed for alternative energy manufacturing,? said Scott Walker, chief executive officer of Midland Tomorrow. ?We have a cohort of entrepreneurial businesses in all areas from the alternative energy projects of Midland Solar Applications and Fulcrum Composites to the energy generation and storage of Kinetic Wave Power, Advanced Battery Concepts and Point Hope Energy. Midland also has a host of growing, second-stage clean technology and advanced manufacturing companies, such as �GIS Environments, The Apothecary Shoppe Pharmacies, Ingenuity IEQ, Liquid Molding Systems, and the manufacturing efforts of Michigan Molecular Institute.?
Walker noted as well that Midland is the world headquarters of The Dow Chemical Company and Dow Corning Corporation, global chemical companies making significant inroads into alternative energy applications.
Business Facilities based their rankings on their evaluation of recent announced projects, strategic development plans, state incentives and investments, industry sector leadership and overall growth potential. According to Business Facilities? Editor-in-Chief, Jack Rogers, Midland?s strong showing is directly attributable to the area?s ?major surge? in alternative energy initiatives.
?Business Facilities was particularly impressed with Dow?s plans for wind, solar and alternative battery projects and with the state?s commitment of more than $60 million in tax credits,? he said. ?We believe manufacturing facilities for DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles and Dow Kokam Advanced Battery Group?s lithium batteries have tremendous growth potential.?
Midland is part of a three-county region focused on alternative energy manufacturing attraction and development. In addition to Dow, Dow Corning Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor maintain their corporate headquarters and significant manufacturing plants in the region, and their alternative energy products range from crucial component manufacturing in the industry to new waste disposal systems in their own plants.
The rankings in Business Facilities complement strong efforts in the Great Lakes Bay Region to develop our alternative energy manufacturing cluster. The economic corporations in Midland, Bay and Saginaw Counties are working together to attract alternative energy manufacturers to our area. The fruits of this partnership include the attraction of Evergreen Solar in Midland and Suniva and GlobalWatt in Saginaw, and discussions with other prospects are underway.
For details on the rankings and process, visit the article on Business Facilities? Web site at
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