IAV Automotive chooses Northville over Ontario, to create 198 jobs

Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that Northville Township was picked over Ontoraio, Canada for IAV GmbH of Germany’s new engineering facility.

The company said it will invest $18.2 million to expand its operations from Ann Arbor to Northville, breaking ground this summer and opening in Spring of 2008. IAV GmbH currently employs 67 people at it Ann Arbor facility. The expansion will create 198 new jobs, 107 directly by the company.

Employing over 2500 people worldwide, IAV’s primary mission is to provide engineering services in powertrain, electronics and vehicle development. The Ann Arbor division was formed in 1998.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) said a Single Business Tax credit of nearly $3 million over 12 years was approved to complete the deal. Northville Township is currently considering a$1.4 million tax abatement over a similar number of years.

“Aside from the strong business case made by the MEDC and Northville Township, Michigan’s outstanding workforce was the major factor in landing this project,” MEDC President and CEO James C. Epolito said. “No other state can match our automotive talent, including the highest number of automotive engineers on the continent.”

Securing IAV’s expansion was only one of 10 economic development projects the MEDC claims will retain 4,237 jobs in Michigan and provide $167.7 million in new capital investment across the state. 

Source: MEDC