Jabil Begins $40-Million Michigan Expansion Project

18 May 2000

Jabil Begins $40-Million Michigan Expansion Project

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--May 18, 2000--Jabil Circuit, Inc. officially kicked off the $40-million expansion of its Michigan high-tech manufacturing operations today with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by nearly 1,000 employees, customers and government officials at the site for a new 200,000-square-foot Jabil facility in Auburn Hills.
    Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Auburn Hills Mayor Tom McMillin, and Jabil Circuit Chairman and CEO Bill Morean joined Jabil employees for the groundbreaking celebration. Also in attendance were officials from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Oakland County's Automation Alley.
    Morean said the new facility at Harmon and Giddings roads will double Jabil's manufacturing capacity in Oakland County when completed early next year. Founded 34 years ago in Michigan, Jabil Circuit today is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing suppliers of electronics manufacturing services with facilities on four continents.
    "Our company has grown from its Michigan roots into a $2.2-billion global supplier of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) with more than 17,000 employees in North America, Europe, Asia and South America," Morean noted. "This most recent expansion fills a growing need for production capacity and enables us to better serve our high-tech and automotive customers throughout the Great Lakes region."
    The new plant will combine with an existing 125,000-square-foot Jabil facility along Giddings Road to form a 325,000-square-foot manufacturing and product development campus. Jabil also operates a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing plant near Auburn and Opdyke roads in Auburn Hills. The company's high-tech circuit-board assembly operations in Michigan employ nearly 1,200 people.
    Officials from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation said the expansion will create as many as 1,100 new jobs for workers throughout Michigan based on an economic analysis done by the University of Michigan.
    About 640 of the new jobs will result from increased purchases from Michigan suppliers. In addition, Jabil eventually expects to add 460 or more employees to its Michigan workforce as a result of the new plant. The Murray Company of Tampa, FL, serves as architect and general contractor for the project.
    Patterson congratulated Jabil on its decision to bring new jobs to Oakland County through the expansion of its Auburn Hills facilities. "Jabil's decision to expand its operations here is further testament to the growing strength of Oakland County's Automation Alley and the county's ability to attract high-tech industry to the area," he said.
    Patterson added that Automation Alley not only is attracting new business to Oakland County, but also is actively helping Automation Alley members like Jabil attract and retain highly skilled employees.
    Automation Alley is a consortium dedicated to strengthening the economic base of Oakland County by developing and promoting Oakland County as one of the Midwest's only technology clusters. In addition to Jabil Circuit, high-tech members of the consortium include Compuware Corporation, DaimlerChrysler, Energy Conversion Devices, General Motors, Lucent Technologies, Meritor, Siemens Automotive, Textron Automotive and Visteon.
    As part of the groundbreaking ceremonies, Katherine Kleckner of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation presented Jabil's Chairman Bill Morean with a plaque recognizing the company's contributions to the State of Michigan's economic growth.
    Jabil last year was awarded a Michigan tax credit valued at more than $14.5 million over a 20-year period by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) for the expansion project. The City of Auburn Hills later approved an eight-year, 50-percent tax abatement for the project.
    Nearly 1,000 Jabil employees, each armed with miniature shovels, took part in the groundbreaking event, which was led by a Michigan team of Jabil executives that included Randy Haight, vice president of business development; Carol Dooley, a business unit director; Randy Myers, operations manager, and Karen Prince, human resources manager.
    The equipment used at the groundbreaking event, including many of the miniature shovels and three "excavating" machines designed for playground and recreational use, will be donated by Jabil to area schools, including the Will Rogers Elementary School and the Graham Elementary School, both in Auburn Hills. A donation also will be made to the Avondale School District's Early Childhood Center.