Economic progress and successes were celebrated at the Economic Development Council of Livingston County’s (EDCLC) annual meeting, co-hosted by Ann Arbor SPARK. The organizations also honored organizations and businesses that demonstrated outstanding business leadership in the last year, and made significant investments in Livingston County. Pinckney Community Schools was honored as Talent Innovator of the Year for its Cyber Range, and Tribar Manufacturing and the Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) were awarded Economic Development Partners of the Year.
“Along with our colleagues at EDCLC, Ann Arbor SPARK is committed to working with state and local partners to grow the region’s economy, and our collaborative efforts are yielding impressive results,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. “From talent to incentives to transportation initiatives, this thoughtful and robust approach to attracting and retaining growing businesses is creating jobs and investment – from all over the world – in Livingston County. In a fiercely competitive global market, the assets in our region are a definite advantage.”
Several companies that achieved significant growth in the last year were also honored. The companies were:
Armor Protective Packaging, which consolidated its out-of-state operations to its headquarters in Howell.
C&B Machinery, which invested $2.95 million in relocating to Green Oak Township as a way to accommodate its planned future growth.
Chem-Trend, which recently announced a $7.7 million investment in expanding its research and development facility in the City of Howell.
Grupo Antolin Interiors, for expanding its facility in Howell Township, and investing $44.9 million in the region.
Medical Comfort Specialists, for investing $3.25 million in expanding its Fowlerville facility by 10,000 sq ft.
Tribar Manufacturing, for hiring 100 new full-time employees to accommodate its growth.
A video highlighting the economic successes in Livingston County
Pinckney Community Schools was honored for being awarded grant money from the State of Michigan to establish a Cyber Range Hub at Pinckney High School. A Cyber Range Hub is a facility that contains a computing and networking infrastructure to provide certification courses, cybersecurity training exercises, and product hardening/testing through a direct connection to the Michigan Cyber Range. The Michigan Cyber Range is hosted and facilitated by Merit Network in partnership with the State of Michigan and with the sponsorship of DTE Energy.
Tribar Manufacturing and the MTA were honored for their partnership, which led to a growing relationship between the MTA and other Livingston County businesses. MTA is bringing talent from the Flint area to Livingston County, helping to fulfill the demand for talent in the region.
