目 录

Furniture. Grand Rapids has been traditionally known as the Furniture Capital of America. Through the years, theMetro Grand Rapids region has been considered the capital of office furniture manufacturing, with office furnituremanufacturers Steelcase, Herman Miller and Haworth headquartered there. As of 2004, the “Big 3” of the officefurniture industry had produced products worth approximately $9 billion annually.Life Sciences. Michigan leads the nation as one of the fastest growing life sciences states. Its growth has exceeded theU.S. average, rising 72% in employment, 32% in number of companies and 165% in sales. To date, Michigan is home tomore than 500 life sciences companies that employ more than 31,000 people.Agriculture. In spite of urban expansion into farmlands, Michigan has maintained about 53,000 farms withapproximately 10.1 million acres. To date, Michigan ranks first nationally in the production of dry black beans,blueberries, pickling cucumbers, flowering hanging baskets, impatiens and geraniums. In addition to beans and wheat,principal field crops are oats, hay, corn, rye, potatoes, soybeans and sugar beets. The state is also a major producer offresh-market and processing vegetables, and it long has been a major supplier of spearmint. In 2004, Michigan ranked8th nationally in milk production, with 3.7 percent of U.S. production. Livestock in Michigan in 2005 totaled 1 millioncattle, 83,000 sheep and lambs, and 960,000 swine. In 2005, the state's sheep yielded 480,000 pounds of wool. In 2004,the value of poultry production from eggs, turkeys and other chickens was $164 million.Alternative Energy. The state is leading the way in developing alternative fuel energy sources that will reduce dependenceon foreign fuel, such as fuel cells, biofuels, advanced batteries, hybrid vehicles, photovoltaics and wind turbines. Michigan’s agricultural products, like the soybeans used to create biodiesel, are contributing greatly to a growth spurt in the alternativeenergy sector. Recently, 11 ethanol and biodiesel fuel manufacturing companies chose to locate in Michigan.Homeland Security. Michigan is home to companies and organizations working to develop and refine technology andresources for protecting the homeland. For example, Emergent BioSolutions in Lansing is the maker of the only FDAapprovedanthrax vaccine. One of the Army’s largest weapon systems R&D centers is located in Warren.Cost of Living and Doing BusinessCompanies and residents find the cost of living and doing business to be very affordable. Home prices, as reported bythe Housing Index for 2006, compare favorably with high-tech and industrialized regions around the nation: Detroit,$95,000; Boston, $355,000; Washington, D.C., $420,000; San Jose, California, $655,000. The Consumer Price Index (astatistical estimate of the level of prices of goods and services) covering the Metro Detroit region and about 50% of thestate’s population has historically been below the national average.Doing business in MichiganStrategic Location and LogisticsMichigan is strategically located in the central United States. Both Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Canada are onlya few hours by car from Detroit. Interstate Highway I-75 connects Michigan’s businesses to major industrialcenters between Michigan and southern Florida (including manufacturing facilities of automotive OEMs such asChrysler, Ford and GM, and the U.S. manufacturing facilities of many foreign OEMs operating in the U.S. andtheir suppliers). Interstate Highway I-94 starts at Detroit’s east border with Windsor, Canada, and runs all theway to the West Coast of the United States. Michigan’s highway system is connected to Canada by three vehiclebridges and one vehicle tunnel.The state has numerous efficient and convenient connections, with 19 airports, an extensive rail network and navigationalconnections to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway. The recently expanded and modernized Detroit MetroAirport is the nation’s newest international terminal, offering daily nonstop flights to more than 130 destinations and 15countries.9