Tri-County Marketing Spurred By Cooperation, New Regional Publication
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New 106 page "Regional View" Publication Sponsored by Chambers is cooperative marketing tool.
Central Warehouse has acquired this 300,000 former Crane Resistoflex factory on Wilder Road in Bay City completing its tri-county presence.
The New Year looks better already and it's still a week away!
A small news announcement recently may have signaled a vastly more important economic trend for the tri-county area of Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties -- expanded transportation hub/warehouse distribution and potentially increased waterborne commerce.
At the same time, a stepped up regional marketing campaign under the VISION TRI-COUNTY banner makes it clear that area leaders are committed to cooperation for growth.
The Monitor Township Board recently voted 4-3 to move along approvals for a massive new estimated $12 million warehouse-distribution center at Valley Center Technology Park that is projected to employ 200-300 workers.
And, the region's largest employer, Delphi Corp., with 6,800 workers, has forged a deal called "terrific" by union officials and has investors interested in acquiring the firm. Some 800 temporary jobs were made permanent in the recent agreement.
Bob Adamowski, executive director of the Bay County Board of Realtors, is enthusiastic about a recent publication, entitled 3-Point Perspective: A Regional View," sponsored by the chambers of commerce of Bay, Midland and Saginaw.
"This publication shows regional cooperation so important to economic growth in the region," said Adamowski. "It is great for anyone thinking about moving into the tri-counties either to open a business or to live here."
A delegation of 23 regional leaders recently met with legislators in Washington, D.C., to push for funding for road and infrastructure for a planned new terminal at MBS Airport, Freeland, serving the tri-county area.
Central Warehouse Co., a 97-year-old Saginaw firm, has acquired one of the largest buildings in Bay County, a 300,000 square foot former factory on Wilder Road in Bay City, and has announced it will be operating an import-export business along with logistics and general public warehousing, short and long haul cartage and full distribution service.
Most recently, the huge building was home to Crane Resistoflex, that acquired the former Dow Plastic Lined Pipe Plant. Crane consolidated operations and moved out in 2002 and the building has been for sale since then.
Central Warehouse has smaller warehouses in Saginaw, Midland and Dayton, Ohio. The firm also does light assembly and provides manufacturing services.
Company officials have not provided further details, but business observers indicate the move could be targeted at the first commercial use of the St. Lawrence Seaway for foreign trade in several decades.
Nearby on the river is the old Dow Chemical Company dock that saw dozens of foreign ships annually in the years immediately after the much-touted St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959.
The Dow dock was to be the site of a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) eyed by the late Herbert "Ted" Doan, then president of Dow. The Midland firm won approval of Congress for the FTZ, after a series of hearings in Bay City, but the effort languished as huge container ships began to dominate overseas shipping and local traffic dropped off.
However, a FTZ now located at Bishop Airport in Flint may extend its reach to the Port of Bay City-Saginaw, transportation experts indicate.
The port is the second busiest in Michigan, after Detroit, with mainly bulk cargoes being shipped in and out. Observers say there is tremendous potential to tap into the seaway's Short Sea Shipping initiative. That is a container focused operation designed to take the pressure off crowded large ports like New York and Montreal as well as provide an alternative to overburdened truck shipping and clogged highways.
Officials from the tri-counties are cooperating to develop a new disposal site for dredged materials near Zilwaukee. That site is vital to dredging the river to allow passage of deeper draft vessels.
The regional magazine, published by the F.P. Horak Co. of Bay City, dangles tantalizing headlines and news items, including:
"Healthcare is reshaping the Tri-County economy;"
"The economic impact of a sports team can be felt immediately in the number of employment opportunities created;"
"Mid-Michigan is ranked in the top 30 percent for number of engineers per capita by Forbes Magazine;"
In 2005, Bay Future, Midland Tomorrow and Saginaw Future (economic development agencies) assisted 29 companies that invested more than $786 million in Mid-Michigan;"
"Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation (Dow Corning affiliate) is the world's largest producer of polycrystalline silicon; approximately one-third of all electronic devices use material created by the company, currently undergoing a $500 million expansion resulting in creation of 300 jobs."
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