Workers who were retained by major auto companies
are in the early stages of the transition to manufacturing
these new technologies, explains Belzowski. Local community colleges and other centers of learning are also working
to retool the workforce that has now entered the market.
“We are also seeing players in the alternative energy
arena tapping our engineers for work in the next wave of
auto technology,” Miziolek says. “New suppliers are set-
ting up shop in Michigan because the labor force is
incredibly skilled and plentiful and the cost of living is
more manageable.”
As for shuttered factories and assembly plants, there
are promising signs of rejuvenation taking place. Hizer
predicts that the absorption rate and reuse of existing
manufacturing buildings will increase across the nation
over the next two years.
“We have seen an amazing amount of creativity
involved in developing a useful role for these facilities,”
Miziolek notes. “Ford’s abandoned plant in Wixom
[Mich.] will get a new lease on life as the largest renew-
able energy park in the United States, home to solar
panels and large-scale batteries to store power for the
electric grid and from wind farms.”
Though all these trends are in their early stages, it is
clear that significant retrenchment and collaboration between
a variety of sectors have begun to converge in unprecedented
ways. “At this point, it’s an emerging market and it’s going
to take collaboration among several key sectors to promote
commercialization of electric vehicles — including the
automotive, utility, battery and technology industries as well
as governmental support,” Miller says.
Mark Kleszczewski is president and CEO of GoBusiness
Group, LLC and a freelance writer on critical business topics.
He can be reached at mark@gobusinessgroup.net.
FOR COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS
FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE, VISIT:
Bowling Green (Ky.) Area
Chamber of Commerce
www.bgchamber.com
City of Auburn Hills, Mich.
www.auburnhills.org
Dykema Gossett PLLC
www.dykema.com
Ford Motor Co.
www.ford.com
University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute
www.umtri.umich.edu
