Oakland County Is 'Roaring Back From Ravages Of Great Recession,' Says L. Brooks Patterson
WATERFORD (WWJ) - After a few so-so years, business appears to be booming again in Oakland County.
Business investment in the county through the first six months of 2015 amounts to more than $756.8 million. That's nearly $100 million more than for all of 2014.
"Our economy is on fire," County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a statement. "We are roaring back from the ravages of the Great Recession. Our future looks blindingly bright."
The "Emerging Sectors" report for June shows nine companies announced a total investment in the county of $145.4 million, resulting in more than 1,000 new jobs and 759 retained jobs.
Among the companies is Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International, which is planning $104 million in investments in Novi and Lyon Township.
Other companies include Troy-based Energy Power Systems and Bmax USA, subsidiary of a French tech company called I-Pulse.
Since its inception in 2004, Emerging Sectors has had 346 business successes, resulting in total investment of $3.1 billion, 35,689 new jobs and 20,062 retained jobs, said Patterson. A business success is define as a company that is either new to Oakland County or expanded to the county when it considered moving to another state or country.
The county's Business Development Team works closely with Emerging Sector companies, providing assistance in such areas as site selection, workforce development, financing strategies, and coordinating state and local incentives. The team travels the world selling businesses on the advantages of locating in Oakland County. The county currently has more than 1,000 global firms from 39 countries.
Patterson said economists may debate reasons for the investment surge this year but he has his own theories.
"First, pent-up demand that is now being served," he said. "Second, our gamble on diversifying our economic base beyond automotive is paying off in spades. And finally, there is a term 'Cumulative Causation,' which means success breeds success. We are all beneficiaries."
The most successful sectors in total investment are health care and life science at $978 million, IT and communications at $620 million, and alternative energy at $548.9 million.
Patterson said the strategy is responsible for new investment in the county, on average, of $772,000 every day for 11 years.
"If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Oakland County is the economic engine that drives the Michigan economy," Patterson said.