40 new jobs and over $7 million investment in West Michigan’s lakeshore region
ZEELAND, Mich. – Lakeshore Advantage announces three small business manufacturers are investing in West Michigan’s lakeshore region, creating 40 new jobs and retaining more than 130. These projects represent growth in the region’s furniture, healthcare, and metal manufacturing clusters.
“We are thrilled to see continued growth and investment from manufacturers in this region,” said Jennifer Owens, president of Lakeshore Advantage. “These expansion projects underscore the strength of the furniture, healthcare, and metal manufacturing clusters in Allegan and Ottawa counties. The new facilities and jobs created will provide exciting career opportunities for residents and will contribute to our manufacturing ecosystem.”
Furniture manufacturer Zordan Industries, medical product manufacturer InnerSpace Healthcare and machine shop Proto-Tec plan to grow in Holland Charter Township, Wright Township and the City of Zeeland.
“The growth of our region’s existing manufacturers highlights the opportunities for innovation and scaling production in West Michigan”, said Amanda Murray, vice president of business solutions for Lakeshore Advantage. “Our team worked closely with each of these companies to understand their needs and connect them to resources to support their expansions. We look forward to continuing to assist local manufacturers as they create new jobs and invest in their operations and facilities in the lakeshore region.”
Zordan Industries, headquartered in Italy, designs and builds retail spaces for luxury retail brands. The company established its North American presence in Zeeland in 2017 for optimal production and service delivery to its North American client-base. Zordan operates its two sites as a B Corp with a focus on environmental sustainability and currently has 20 employees in West Michigan.
Zordan’s operations in the North American market required a larger capacity production facility not available at the company’s previous site. The company moved to a new location in Holland Charter Township where it began renovation on a 35,250 square-foot facility with added production equipment. The project will bring production jobs as well as skilled carpentry jobs within a company with longstanding clients in the luxury fashion brand industry.
The company plans to invest $1.6 million in the project which will create 21 new jobs over the next three years. West Michigan’s lakeshore region was selected for the expansion due to the company’s established relationships in the furniture manufacturing cluster in the region. Holland Charter Township provided a 12-year tax abatement to support this project.
InnerSpace Healthcare manufactures mobile and stationary medical storage products such as carts, cabinets, open storage, and embedded technology and accessories for medical supply storage. The company is headquartered in Wright Township and currently employs 125 people in the region.
InnerSpace is expected to invest more than $4.5 million and create 17 new jobs as it expands its existing facility in Wright Township. The 26,000-square-foot expansion will be used to add a stainless-steel processing line, an assembly line, and more warehousing capacity. Wright Township approved a 12-year tax abatement to support the InnerSpace expansion project.
Proto-Tec, Inc. is a computer numerical control (CNC) machine shop serving a wide range of industries including automation tooling, furniture manufacturing, metal stamping and more. The family-owned, Zeeland-based company currently has six employees. Proto-Tec will invest $1 million in the renovation of its existing facility to allow for the installation of the area’s largest CNC bridge mill. The expansion will create two new jobs and add 3,500 square feet to the facility. The City of Zeeland approved a 12-year tax abatement in support of Proto-Tec, Inc.’s expansion.
Lakeshore Advantage assisted all three companies in navigating their growth plans and providing state and local resources to support their expansion projects.