A Microcosm of Michigan

In many ways, what's happening at the GM factory in Lansing is a microcosm of Michigan. From advanced vehicle manufacturing and information technology to biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, companies throughout Michigan are challenging conventional thinking on site selection, facility design and operations.
        The industrial workplaces of the future are being built right now in Michigan, and the state has the data to prove it:

• Over the last three years, Michigan has recorded more than 6,200 capital expansions of $1 million or greater, representing a combined total of $52.5 billion in capital investment and more than 144,780 jobs created at new or expanded corporate facilities. All of these numbers are the highest in the nation.
• For the past five consecutive years, Site Selection has ranked Michigan as the No. 1 state for new business investments and expansions.
• Michigan is the No. 1 state for business attraction and retention programs, according to Coopers & Lybrand.
• More than 15,500 manufacturing plants in Michigan employ a total of 800,000 people, or roughly 20 percent of the state's work force.
• Advanced manufacturing in Michigan is a $109-billion annual industry --the largest concentration in the country.
• Michigan is No. 1 in America for automobile-related research and development, spending an estimated $13 billion a year on vehicle-related R&D. Michigan also has the No. 1 public university for R&D spending (the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor).
• With more than 531,000 workers engaged in high-tech jobs, Michigan is the fourth-ranked state for total high-tech employment. More than 200,000 workers are employed in life sciences.
• Life sciences is a $1.6-billion annual industry in Michigan with more than 300 companies, including Pfizer, Lumigen, Osmic, Apolife, Esperion Therapeutics, Statprobe and Pharmacia.
• Information technology is a $9.1-billion annual industry in Michigan with more than 7,000 companies including EMC, EDS, Cisco, Covisint, Microsoft and Unisys.

        Many other statistics verify Michigan's standing as a national leader in high-technology and advanced manufacturing, but the proof is in the ground. Major corporate facility projects -- representing new thinking in site selection and facility design -- are being built at a faster pace in Michigan than in any other state.