General Electric seeking to open advanced manufacturing complex near Ann Arbor

But Vic Bhagat, GE’s AMSTC site leader, said the global company is not ruling out surrounding areas, including Washtenaw County. He said GE hopes to settle on an existing  complex within three to four months because the company wants to start manufacturing quickly. It won't be located at the AMSTC site.

Vic Bhagat, General Electric's site leader in Van Buren Township, said the company is seeking a facility for an advanced manufacturing complex.

File photo by Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

GE plans to hire 130 workers to staff the advanced manufacturing complex, giving the company more than 1,300 workers in the Ann Arbor region by 2014. GE has already hired 200 workers at its new operation in Van Buren Township.

The union of advanced manufacturing and advanced software technology is an important relationship in the push to diversify Michigan’s economy.

“Let’s not figure out how to retool factories. Let’s figure out how to retool the mindset of people, get them to start thinking about innovative processes and solutions,” Bhagat said. “Manufacturing will come with it.”

GE Vice Chairman John Rice said this morning at a press conference that the firm is hiring high-level information technology experts at a pace of two per day. The IT workers will coordinate with the advanced manufacturing complex.

“We think that Michigan is well positioned to be a leader in advanced manufacturing and we’re very happy to be part of it,” Rice said.

GE surprised industry observers in June 2009 by announcing that it had selected Michigan for its largest IT research and support center, part of CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s initiative to boost the global giant’s domestic technology capabilities.

The conglomerate is leasing half of the former Visteon Village, a pristine campus and an unmistakable relic of the auto industry’s prosperous past.

The “marriage ceremony” of manufacturing and software is a perfect fit for Michigan’s technology expertise, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin said.

“General Electric knows what it’s doing when they expand in Michigan. This is not a casual decision on their part,” Levin said.

Rice said GE had received more than 45,000 job applications since announcing that it would launch its IT center in Michigan.

“The quantity is significant, but more important is the quality. That’s the part that excites us,” he said.

Of the 200 people GE has hired, more than 90 percent were from Michigan, said Charlene Begley, GE’s chief information officer and CEO of GE Home and Business Solutions.

“They represent the tenacious, passionate spirit of this great state,” Begley said. “They also represent GE’s commitment to Michigan.”

Contact AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com’s newsletters.