The automotive industry has been the heart and soul of the Michigan economy for nearly a century. That fact remains true. But the automotive industry is changing. Today, it includes more high-technology applications in research and development and the manufacturing process.

Automakers and their suppliers are opening new facilities designed specifically for advancing automotive technology. Companies such as Nissan and Brose North America are choosing Michigan, thanks in part to a state program managed by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) that includes a single business tax credit for businesses that expand or relocate to the state.

The program helps keep Michigan at the forefront in automotive research and development. The state is home to 85 percent of all vehicle-related research and development activity in the country with $13.5 billion spent annually and 65,000 workers employed by companies in the field, according to MEDC.

R&D Facilities to Stay in State

Brose North America chose Auburn Hills, Mich., over Ontario when it looked to expand its research and development capabilities. The company, a subsidiary of Brose International, will invest more than $26 million in a new building, as well as in machinery and equipment. Brose North America manufactures window regulators, door systems and seat adjusters.

It will receive a single business tax credit worth up to $6.5 million over an eight-year period and up to $130,000 in economic development job training grants. Additionally, the city of Auburn Hills approved a local tax abatement worth more than $1.1 million over eight years to support the project.

The Auburn Hills project will create 562 jobs in Michigan, including 260 directly by the company. Brose North America's operations will result in total net state revenue increases of more than $20 million during the life of the tax credit.

The tax credit helped convince Nissan to expand its Nissan Technical Center North America in Farmington Hills rather than transfer all research and development capabilities to its worldwide technical headquarters in Atsugi, Japan.

The single business tax credit is valued at up to $15.7 million over the next 17 years. The expansion will provide more than $68 million in revenue to the state during the life of the tax credit. The project is expected to generate more than $851 million in personal income.

The automaker will invest more than $38 million to improve buildings and equipment to expand the operations in Farmington Hills.

The facility will focus on high-value research, engineering, design services and enhanced computer simulation capabilities. Advancements made at the facility will be applied to Nissan vehicles marketed in North America.

Michigan Gets Midwest Drug Testing Lab

The single business tax credit is helping non-automotive companies, as well. Michigan has spent the past decade trying to entice new industries into the state in an attempt to diversify its economic base.

CTS Management LLS, a Tacoma, Wash.,-based diagnostic testing laboratory specializing in drug testing, is locating its new Midwest operations facility in Kalamazoo. The new facility is expected to generate 205 new jobs, including 191 directly by the company. The project will also provide more than $7 million in revenue to the state.

The company is building a 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art laboratory, and an administrative office in downtown Kalamazoo. The total company investment is more than $8 million.

CTS is receiving a single business tax credit worth up to $1.1 million over the next 10 years. The city of Kalamazoo has also proposed a 50 percent tax abatement of the company's real property improvements for 12 years and new personal property for six years. The estimated value of these abatements is $1.1 million.

A high technology single business tax credit of $2 million over 10 years convinced DELMIA Corp. to expand in Auburn Hills.

DELMIA, a three-year-old e-manufacturing brand for its French parent company, Dassault Systems, will invest about $9 million to expand its facility.

A provider of lean digital software solutions aimed at streamlining the manufacturing process, DELMIA, chose to expand in Auburn Hills over moving to South Carolina. More than 100 new jobs will result from the expansion.