The plant will assemble Dow's Powerhouse Solar Shingles - roofing tiles that produce solar energy. The shingles are expected to reach the market in 2011, and Dow expects to create 1,400 jobs at the Midland facility by 2014.
"We're excited to add these manufacturing jobs to our Michigan Operations facility to begin contributing to the local economic base immediately," Dow vice president Earl Shipp said. In Michigan, new manufacturing jobs are welcome: Thousands of positions were lost as the auto industry downsized, and Michigan has had one of the nation's highest unemployment rates since the recession began.
In July, Michigan's jobless rate was 13.1 percent.
Dow's decision to set up shop in Midland wasn't simply corporate largesse, though. Michigan has thousands of unemployed or underemployed manufacturing-industry veterans, making it nearly ideal for companies looking to build manufacturing facilities.
"As Dow adds to its portfolio of building-related solar-energy-generating products," Shipp said, "we'll continue to tap into the base of highly skilled workers we have right here in the Great Lakes Bay Region."
