Six foreign direct investment deals among 12 in January as Oakland County Business Development starts 2015 strong

Oakland County business developers closed 12 deals in January, attracting $68 million in total investment, including more than $50 million of foreign direct investment from six international firms.

Germany-based engineering company Durr Systems, Inc. will invest $40 million in its new home in Southfield, consolidating operations from Auburn Hills,
Plymouth and Wixom into a single location. The facility on Northwestern Highway is a former DTE call center. The move will create 320 jobs while retaining
180, which includes $21 million for renovations of the building and $19 for expansion.

The Durr consolidation caps a month that brought investment of $68 million of investment to Oakland County, responsible for 656 new jobs and 518 retained jobs.

“Oakland County’s economy is rebuilding with gusto,” Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “The most current round of investment underscores what a truly international community Oakland County has become.”

The January investment comes on the heels of January’s announcement that the county had attracted 30 deals in 2014, accounting for foreign direct investment of $171 million. Economic developers from the county’s business development team will be attending the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C. in March as partners of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The summit, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, encourages foreign investment in the United States. More than 40 countries are expected to attend.

“We’ve worked hard to develop our international reputation with over 30 trade missions between us and Automation Alley,” Patterson said. “Trip by trip, we’re building a reputation as an attractive location for foreign investment.”

The county has long prided itself on the international diversity of its business investment. More than 1,000 international firms from 38 countries have business locations in Oakland County.

The business development team has trips planned to Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, and Taiwan in 2015. Deputy County Executive Matthew Gibb will be joining Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on a trade mission to China later this year.

Among the significant international deals that came to Oakland County in January:

• NHK International Corp.: Wixom/Novi; an automotive supplier based in Japan, $9 million investment; 26 new jobs; 75 retained jobs.

• Sciemetric InStruments: Troy, an auto and medical device firm based in Canada; $100,000 investment; 15 new jobs.

• Kdac: Farmington Hills; a Korean auto parts supplier; $1.2 million investment; four new jobs, 18 retained jobs.

• JCU USA: Novi, a Japanese chemical coating manufacturer; $300,000 investment; four new jobs.

• WTI (USA) LLC: Novi; a Chinese supplier; $300,000 investment; four new jobs, four retained jobs.

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