Metro Detroit companies to invest $35 million, add 240 jobs

Posted on November 24, 2015

Livonia automotive design and engineering firm Rivian Automotive LLC plans to invest $29.5 million and add 174 jobs at a new Dearborn research and development center to develop high-tech vehicles, rather than court talent in Florida and Silicon Valley.

The company obtained a $1.77 million performance-based grant for the R&D project Tuesday from the Michigan Strategic Fund, a division of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Rivian, founded in 2009 as a design company with a focus on concept vehicles, plans to add 174 jobs in engineering services over and above its current 17 local employees. The city of Dearborn is also considering incentives to support the new center.

“We are excited to be expanding in Michigan, and building upon the state’s great autoshuttermotive DNA,” Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said in a statement. “Michigan provides a strong environment for high-growth, high-tech companies.”

Michigan employs nearly 5,000 industrial designers, more than any other state, and has 370 automotive research-and-design centers. Rivian chose the location in part for access to experienced automotive engineers and proximity to the auto supplier base.

“Michigan is at the forefront of innovation in automotive design and manufacturing, and Rivian is taking its place as a leading company imagining the next ‘automotive experience,’ which translates into making sure the state’s auto industry remains competitive far into the future,” CEO Steve Arwood of the MEDC said in a statement.

In other incentives awarded Tuesday, the MSF board:

  • Approved a local and school capture of more than $1.2 million (capped at $700,000 by a prior agreement) for Romulus-based Packaging Specialties Inc., or PackSpec, to invest $5.6 million and add up to 70 jobs in Romulus. The company, a corrugated and fiberboard packaging maker, plans to redevelop a building on 10.85 acres along Middlebelt Road for packaging, manufacturing and assembly operations. PackSpec plans to consolidate and grow operations, adding 50 jobs within two years and another 20 jobs in 10 years at an average $15 per hour in Romulus. The expansion would nearly double its Michigan employee headcount.
  • Amended a previous 20-year retention tax credit agreement for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US LLC at its plants in Sterling Heights and other locations in Michigan. The new agreement will increase the number of employees for which it can claim credits to 27,000 over time, reduce the Global MEGA Tax Credit agreement length by two years and allow the company to gain those last two years of credits sooner, in return for an additional $1 billion in new capital investments during the credit period. The agreement caps the state’s liability for previously authorized job retention tax credits. FCA will provide periodic forecasts of its estimated tax credits to the state to assist the MSF and state in budget planning.