Governor Whitmer joins Wacker Chemical Corporation grand opening of NCA Innovation Center and Regional Headquarters.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer joins state and local leaders as well as business leaders for a ribbon cutting and tour of the Wacker Chemical Corporation (Wacker) Innovation Center and Regional Headquarters in Ann Arbor during Economic Development Week.
“The Innovation Center will be Wacker’s new North American headquarters for a diverse and broad workforce and be a workspace for 300 Michiganders operating on the cutting edge of manufacturing and high-tech innovation,” says Governor Whitmer in a press release. “This facility is a talent magnet, showing other firms that Michigan is the obvious answer when deciding where to expand or move their business. Our position as a global epicenter for high-tech manufacturing and innovation is clearer than it has ever been thanks to companies like Wacker. Let’s keep working together to grow the economy, create good-paying jobs, and conduct groundbreaking research that will define the future—right here in Michigan.”
The $50-million-plus investment allows chemists, scientists and senior leadership, who had previously worked out of three separate Michigan locations, to collaborate in a single space and provides room for expansion and growth. The Innovation Center includes world-class labs; a full-service cafeteria; a 24/7 fitness center; and open collaborative workspaces, according to the press release.
The campus covers 18 acres and serves as the hub of leadership and innovation for Wacker’s North and Central Americas (NCA) region. The state-of-the-art center currently houses more than 250 team members. This reportedly is Wacker’s second expansion in Michigan in recent years. In 2017, the company established a Silicones R&D Center in Ann Arbor. The new headquarters project created 70 new jobs and generated more than $50 million in private investment, resulting in vital support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, according to the governor’s office. Michigan reportedly was chosen for the company’s North American Innovation Center & Regional Headquarters over competing sites in Tennessee and Ohio.
Read the entire press release at www.michigan.gov
