Up North Progressive

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced new manufacturing jobs and mixed-use development in northern Lower Michigan today. The two projects will provide manufacturing jobs in Copemish, and new mixed-use development in Baldwin.

M R Products, a woman-owned company that manufactures crowd control and visual barriers will invest $4.2 million dollars to create 25 new manufacturing jobs and expand their business to another building. A Jobs Ready Michigan Grant will provide $200,000 to fund recruitment and training. Ryan Schultz, Chief Operating Officer of M R Products had this to say about the grant:

This Jobs Ready Michigan Grant will enable M R Products, Inc. to continue to invest in its people, particularly in training for skilled manufacturing trades. After 61 years in business, more than 50 of which have been in the village of Copemish, the expansion of 2021 places the Company in a position to work more efficiently and effectively and hire more northern Michigan residents. We are extremely excited and grateful to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for its award of this generous grant.

The grant and investment will help create new jobs in rural northern Michigan, where good-paying jobs are scarce. In Baldwin, Michigan, a community starved for affordable housing, will have new housing units available as part of mixed-use development downtown. 876 Michigan LLC has purchased a vacant building in downtown Baldwin with the plans of renovating the building to include a restaurant on the first floor and three apartments on the second floor. It’s anticipated the project will create $1.4 million in capital investment with the help of a $450,000 grant from the Michigan Community Revitalization Program. The new restaurant will be the only dine-in location in the village of Baldwin and help draw tourism to the area. President of the Baldwin Village Council, Jim Truxton, shared his thoughts.

The Village is looking forward to the successful completion of this project. We are excited about the impacts on our downtown. We couldn’t have done it without the assistance of the Michigan Strategic Fund and the ability to locally create an OPRA district to give new life to this obsolete property. We hope to inspire other property owners to revitalize their buildings.

Governor Whitmer stated how proud she and the MEDC were in providing support for these business opportunities.

As we continue Michigan’s economic jumpstart, these two projects help us create good-paying jobs and build more housing in Northern Michigan. We are proud to support the continued growth of M R Products, including these 25 new manufacturing projects in Copemish, as well the renovation of a vacant building in Baldwin to further economic opportunity and boost housing supply in the area.

The MEDC handles marketing for the state of Michigan and advocates for business development and job creation in the state.