Stryker Corporation is planning a new Research and Development (R&D) center in Portage, Michigan.
Michigan economic development officials are kicking in $1 million and promises of future tax breaks to get Stryker (putting up $130 million of its own money in the project) to build the center near the company’s corporate headquarters in Kalamazoo.
According to documents submitted to the Michigan Strategic Fund and reported by MiBiz.com, the expansion will include a 435, 000-square-foot campus in Portage for the Stryker Instruments division with labs for research and new product development, a showroom, “customer experience center, ” and office space for organizational support roles.
Destination for Customers
Stryker Vice President of Quality and Facilities Brent Lalomia reportedly said the expansion serves several purposes. In particular, the project will create a “destination” in Southwest Michigan for the company’s global customer base.
“Because we have a global customer base, in order to get doctors and nurses in for training, we had to host that (training) in other cities such as Chicago or Dallas where they can fly in because we were unable in our facility to accommodate that much growth, ” Lalomia told MiBiz on December 20, 2016, following the announcement of the state grant.
“Now when we put a state-of-the-art facility in there, we’ll be able to host them, showcase what we do, showcase our manufacturing, our operations, sales and marketing teams and it will become a destination to do the training, ” he said.
The company plans to break ground on the expansion in late spring of 2017 and have the facility up and running by the end of 2019. The project is expected to add 105 new jobs to the existing 966 workers now in Michigan.
Attracting Talent
Addressing concerns that there aren’t enough qualified workers in Southwest Michigan, Lalomia expressed confidence that the company’s reputation will attract talented workers. “We’re a global leader in medical technology so we’re a destination for a lot of folks who want to be in that industry and with all of our commitments with K-12, we’re seeding it early so they want to come back and be aware of us.”
The new campus will be built on 288 acres of land bordered by Portage Road, East Milham Avenue and Ramona Avenue that Stryker purchased in October from Pfizer Inc. for $8.5 million, according to city documents. The land is undeveloped and is near other Stryker facilities on Portage, Sprinkle and Romence roads. The company’s world headquarters is on Airview Road, just up Portage Road from the project property.
Economic Development Competition
Stryker apparently wasn’t afraid to use a little economic development competition as state officials reportedly said Stryker considered expanding at other facilities in other states.
“The proposed Michigan Business Development Program Performance-based Grant incentive package will help offset recruiting cost and training cost along with continue to strengthen the long-term relationship with the Kalamazoo region and Stryker Corporation, ” Mike Gietzen, MEDC Business Development Project Manager wrote to board members of the Michigan Strategic Fund who control state economic development aid.
The Stryker family has been active in local development efforts for years after Homer Stryker, M.D., founded the company.
The Detroit Free Press reported that Dr. Stryker’s granddaughter, Ronda Stryker, is married to William Johnston, the chairman of a privately held wealth management company who earlier this year co-pledged $70 million to the city of Kalamazoo in a bid to help lower taxes.
Forbes’ wealthiest Americans list this year included members of the Stryker family. Ronda Stryker is worth $4.2 billion, placing her 134th.
This announcement indicates that Stryker plans to be in the area for a long time.
