MARSHALL ? What’s particularly impressed Steve Dodge, president of Stelmi America Inc., with working in Marshall, is the quality of life and the support offered by the community for business.
Stelmi has been a tenant of The Brooks, an industrial and research park south of the city of 7,103. His company, a steel bar processor for the hydraulic industry, since 2002. Stelmi operates a 72,000 square foot facility on just under five acres.
?I?ve been personally very impressed with the Marshall community and the business environment,? he said. ?But the best thing in Marshall is the quality of life. There is a closeness in the community that is quite tangible, as well.?
The Brooks has 23 businesses located in the industrial park, which is strategically located at the intersection of I-69 and I-94. Some lots are still available for development, said Michael Hindenach, Manager of Marshall Economic Development.
?We have seven lots ready to go now,? Hindenach said. ?Lot seven is tied into a larger parcel. We could pull together 100 acres if that is what is needed. But most of our clients are looking for smaller lots, typically two to four acres. We also have the infrastructure buried and we?re wired for fiber optic. We?d love to have companies looking to do lab work, or use our fiber technology. But we?re not going to turn away business because they don?t fit into our image of a dream tenant. You have to be pretty fluid in economic development.?
Hindenach said resident companies include machine shops, advanced manufacturing, auto suppliers, a printing shop, petroleum-products distributor, a mold maker and a company that does pharma prep for assisted living homes. In the newer part of The Brooks, Marshall hopes to recruit more technology focused companies. But Marshall is really selling small-town Michigan.
?That?s who we are. We?re not pretending we?re anything else. The important part for us is to be ourselves. We?re looking for those companies looking for a smaller-town environment. I have a 13 and 11 year old and I could send them downtown with money and not worry about them. Marshall has that small-town feel.?
It also has small town housing prices, Hindenach said. A ?very nice house? in Marshall ? the picturesque former capitol of Michigan and an important station on the underground railroad that helped slaves escaping from the old south a century and a half ago ? goes for around $150,000, he said. Huge homes sell from $350,000 to $500,000. Marshall also is home to the famous Schuler’s Restaurant which has been providing a world-class dining experience for more than 100 years.
The Brooks caters to smaller businesses, Hindenach said.
?A company with 15 employees in a big metro area won?t get a lot of attention from economic development folks,? he said. ?For us, we are a small community and we are more responsive to smaller companies.?
Stelmi President Dodge couldn?t agree more. A year ago, he said, he was muttering around town that he needed to get a grinder for his business. He said Hindenach made sure Stelmi received the tax abatements that made his new grinding system possible. What?s more, he was out of town when the presentation for the abatements had to be made to local official, so Hindenach made the pitch for him.
If you want to learn more about The Brooks, click on BrookSpark.Com
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