$1 billion HSC expansion announced for Saginaw County
Monday, December 15, 2008
SAGINAW — Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) announced today further expansion of its Saginaw County site in Thomas Township, said Sen. Roger Kahn, M.D.
“This expansion will be $1 billion in size and create 300 permanent jobs and 800 construction jobs,” said Kahn, R-Saginaw Township.
The expansion announcement is the result of work started in the early spring of 2008. HSC had asked the Legislature for help with its energy costs if Saginaw County and Michigan were to be competitive for another (the next round) of HSC expansion. There had been a $500 million HSC expansion project in 2005 and a $1 billion expansion initiated in 2007. That last one will be completed in 2010. HSC noted at the time that they were not done expanding and that they were planning another expansion of as much as $1.4 billion, according to Kahn.
“We had Senate hearings in Saginaw in the summer and we worked with the administration and the House to craft legislation to make Michigan’s energy costs competitive with other states, notably Tennessee,” Kahn said.
“The resulting legislation allows HSC to receive up to $35 million in refundable tax credit support annually. Over 12 years this will total $300-$350 million. The Legislature also enacted an Anchor MEGA law that allows HSC a credit for businesses they attract that locate within 10 miles of the firm and which provide support to HSC. I authored Senate Bill 1270, now Public Act 262 of 2008, as part of this process.”
Other legislators in the Senate and House, both Republican and Democrat, have been supportive. The city of Saginaw helped make water available for the project. Thomas Township helped with roads, ditches and sewage, while Saginaw Township helped with the wastewater system. Richland Township helped with zoning and the electrical transmission line issues.
“Why have your elected officials helped HSC?” said Kahn. “It is about jobs – good jobs for our people and jobs with benefits. These are jobs that support families and bring hope back to mid-Michigan.”
Recently, HSC asked for further support from Saginaw County in the form of drains, and the county is now working to help with this too.
HSC asked for further modification of the newly passed Anchor MEGA law in the past two weeks. Kahn and his Senate colleagues are working on the issue.
Dow Corning announced that there is a $200 million investment poised to take advantage of the Anchor MEGA law. This would provide mid-Michigan even more jobs and by the multiplier effect create more jobs yet.
HSC is the world’s leading supplier of polycrystalline silicon, which is used to produce solar panels and computer chips.
“Our economy is transitioning,” Kahn said. “We have been trappers, farmers, loggers, and automobile manufacturers in the past. We will continue to harvest some logs, farm, and, God willing, we will continue to make automobiles. That is our heritage. We also look to new work in our future. Polycrystalline-silicon-based industries like HSC are a big part of that.”
Kahn concluded, “I am pleased our people, our hard working people, will get this chance for work. Our job in the Legislature is not done. We need to have a medical school here, expand SVSU and Delta and empower other job providers both small and large to be successful here too.”
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