Vol. 27 December 2011 Newsletter

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the NLEA Staff

The staff at Northern Lakes Economic Alliance wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

$6.6 Million Investment brings 8-10 New Jobs to Resort Township

Trucks are now able to off-load more raw material to meet the needs of a new extrusion line.

Petoskey Plastics’ Michigan manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters, located just outside the City of Petoskey, continues to invest in their Resort Township facility. Over the next two years, the company will be investing over $6.6 million in new machinery and equipment and building renovations. This will allow them to add a new extrusion line, retain their current 123 employees and hire eight to ten new employees. Petoskey Plastics is one of the area’s major manufacturing employers. This expansion will result in $177,330 new taxes.  Click here for the full story.

Invest $100,000 in Your Business

NLEA client, Stephanie Sevener of Lakeview Home Furnishings shows off a router funded by a NSLF loan

Northern Shores Loan Fund, Inc. (NSLF) assists entrepreneurs in Northern Michigan with education, training, business incubation and access to capital. NSLF provides a variety of micro-loans and larger small business loans to entrepreneurs that have found it difficult to meet conventional lending institution requirements. They were recently awarded $725,000, for small business lending, allowing them to increase the lending maximum limits per client from $15,000 to $100,000.  Click here for the complete story.

Classic Instruments of Boyne City Received Top Awards

Classic Instruments received top awards in Las Vegas.

Classic Instruments of Boyne City had a great Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas this year. They brought home three awards (two for their SKY DRIVE product and one for the V8 Speedster Series). Thank you, Classic Instruments for continuing to be the best!  To learn about the company and view their products visit classicinstruments.com.

Charlevoix Wins Chamber of The Year!

Proudly displaying the award is Charlevoix Chamber Executive Director, Erin Bemis

The Charlevoix Area Chamber of Commerce was awarded, for the second year in a row, the honor of being named Michigan's mid-sized Chamber of the Year at the annual Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals Leadership Conference.  Among the chamber's noted achievements were its significant membership increase, dedication to education through the facilitation of candidate forums, and incorporation of a new membership orientation program.  "We are thrilled to have received this prestigious honor a second year in a row," said Chamber Director Erin Bemis. "It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the staff and leadership from our Board of Directors. It really is very exciting! We love what we do, which is supporting our members, and it is nice to be recognized for our efforts."  To read more about this outstanding recognition click here.

East Jordan Iron Works becomes EJ

East Jordan Iron Works, Inc., and its affiliated companies including Norinco in France, Cavanagh in Ireland, McCoy in Canada, and HaveStock in Australia, are pleased to announce that beginning January 6, 2012, they will all do business using the same name and brand EJ. One global name and brand will unify the company and support its vision to be the global leader in product development, sales and marketing, as well as manufacturing and distribution of infrastructure access solutions. For more information on the company, please go to www.ejco.com.

New Name for an Old Friend

North Central Michigan College's Institute for Business and Industry Training is changing its naming to Corporate and Community Education. This name change reflects the division's changing programs and services to meet the educational and training needs of area corporations and the community. Corporate and Community Education (CCE) will continue to provide customized training for employers including technological instruction, computer training, health care and safety training. It will also work with area businesses to secure state and federal grants to pay for that training. For more information about CCE, call 231-348-6705.

High Speed Internet Headed to Northern Michigan

NLEA continues involvement in the regional Broadband effort because it is a powerful, enabling technology that is fast becoming the engine of economic growth in America. The economic future of Michigan communities depends not only upon whether robust broadband infrastructure is present but also upon whether businesses and individuals fully utilize that technology to grow and develop local economies.  According to a Connect Michigan study, 70% of all Michigan businesses subscribe to broadband. These businesses report median annual revenues that are $200,000 higher than businesses that do not use broadband (also maintaining a website nearly triples this additional revenue).  For further information about Connect Michigan, please visit their website at www.connectmi.org.  Click here for details from the study.

Website Matches Talent with Jobs

State efforts to better match Michigan residents with "tens of thousands" of unfilled jobs includes a new website offering workers and employers one-stop shopping for career planning, job openings, education and training. The Pure Michigan Talent Connect website went live early this month and is designed to create a central hub that can help new workers and those trying to get back into the job market. Explore all the new tools at www.mitalent.org.

Energy Efficiency Efforts Recognized

The Northwest Michigan Council of Governments (NWMCOG) recognized units of government for energy efficiency initiatives. The goal is to save taxpayer dollars and reduce energy consumption by improving the efficiency of municipal buildings. A grant to NWMCOG from the Michigan Public Service Commission supported the efficiency upgrades. The grant program, managed by the NWMCOG, made investments to five local governments in the NLEA region.

Antrim County	Charlevoix County	City of Charlevoix	City of Petoskey	Emmet County

Great Workshops, Seminars & Conferences

Click on each title for complete details:

Jan. 16      Help I Want to Start a Business! - NCMC                

Jan. 18     Fundamentals of Starting a Business Class 

Jan. 26     Growth Company CEO Series - Part 2     

Jan. 27     Business Start-Up Workshop

Jan. 27     Using Social Media to Market Your Business-an Overview - NCMC

Jan. 28     Annual Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference