Youngstown is out and Manistee is in as
the manufacturing site chosen by Mariah
Power, a maker of wind turbines headquartered
in Reno.
With $7 million in initial funding from
venture capitalists expected this month and
orders in hand for 3,000 turbines,Mike Hess,
chief executive officer at Mariah, has been
shopping sites for a manufacturing plant.
Nevada didn't make the cut, he adds, citing
a lack of skilled workers. The plant is expected
to employ 141 over the next three years.
Mariah Power expects to start manufacturing
in January and produce 3,000 units
next year, he says. Orders include 800 from
individuals, 500 from corporations and the
balance from 45 dealers in the United States
and overseas.
Plans to colonize an existing factory in
Youngstown, Ohio, fell through when the city
demanded a $2 million letter of credit as collateral
on a $1.8 million loan, says Hess.
"I didn't want to take the risk," he says of
the state's promise to forgive the loan in
future.
Meanwhile,Manistee Mich., offered a
43,000-square-foot plant that's been manufacturing
conveyor systems for the automotive
industry. It has room to expand and skilled
workers on hand to satisfy the contractual
manufacturing agreement.
"It saved us half a million in equipment
costs," says Hess."I'm getting a manufacturing
plant without paying up front. There's nothing
like this in northern Nevada."
In addition to the $1 million worth of
existing steel-working equipment and tooling
equipment at MasTech Manufacturing,
Michigan also coughed up a $400,000 state
grant.
When Hess first went to visit the site, he
recalls, a contingent of 18 community leaders
took him in tow to extol the virtues of their
community and tout their plans to keep the
young people from leaving town by ensuring
them jobs.
"The community involvement was unbelievable,"
says Hess.
Upon his return to Reno,Hess met with
Chuck Alvey at the Economic Development
Authority of Western Nevada, Mike Skaggs at
the Nevada Commission on Economic
Development and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki.
"We talked about what it would take to
make this area viable as a site for Mariah's second
plant,"Hess says.He's also in talks with
Emmanuel "Manos" Maragakis, interim dean
of the college of engineering at University of
Nevada, Reno, about ways to mint the needed
electrical and mechanical engineers.
Mariah Power's Windspire connects directly
to the household power supply. The system
is designed for locations with at least half an
acre of land and wind speeds that average
about 12 miles per hour.
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