manufacturing

Friday is National Manufacturing Day. Current State looks at the events going on in the Lansing area.

The Lansing area, like much of Michigan, has been shaped by manufacturing. But the industry has taken a beating in the past 13 years. The state has lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs since 2001. After years of cuts, though, the industry is starting to make a comeback here in mid-Michigan.

Last week, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee voted down a proposal to join the United Auto Workers union. The UAW had expected to win that vote, and the rejection is seen as a blow to efforts to expand membership by unionizing plants in the south.

Federal officials are watching mid-Michigan’s efforts to revitalize its former General Motors assembly sites.   The Obama Administration is poised to offer its help.

Governor Rick Snyder says Michigan can be the leading center of manufacturing in North America – if the state makes the right moves.

The governor delivered an address to 1,500 people attending a business conference on Mackinac Island.

Michigan manufacturers could strengthen their operations with help from a new Michigan State University initiative. 

EATON RAPIDS, MI (WKAR) - Plans are underway to build a new foundry in mid-Michigan that will make components for wind turbines. Business and civic leaders say the plan will create about 200 new jobs for the region.

Dowding Industries and Astraeus Wind Energy make wind turbines in Eaton Rapids. The foundry that will be located at the plant will cast the 20-ton hubs that attach to the blades.