(The Center Square) – LuxWall, a Michigan-based company that lists multi-billionaire Bill Gates among its many investors, will receive $6 million from state taxpayers.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Tuesday that the venture-capital financed window company will establish two manufacturing plants in Michigan. The project is anticipated to make capital investments of $165 million and create more than 450 manufacturing jobs.
“We’re thrilled to welcome this $165 million investment from LuxWall, creating more than 450 good-paying, high-tech jobs right here in Michigan,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Michigan is serious about being a leader in clean technology and winning today’s investment proves that the best manufacturing in the world happens in Michigan. Let’s keep competing with anyone and working with everyone to bring home transformational investments in manufacturing so we can spur economic growth and create good-paying jobs for Michiganders.”
The $6 million of taxpayer dollars will come from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Strategic Fund. LuxWall received $44 million of Series A funding earlier this year from Breakthrough Energy, a venture capital group begun by Bill Gates, according to Crain’s Detroit Business. The company manufactuers Enthermal products, which is a thin plate of glass that boasts 45% greater heat retention in the winter and 60% greater cooling retention in the summer.
“We are thrilled to be earning this significant investment by LuxWall as we continue to position Michigan as a leader in clean technology and highly advanced manufacturing,” Quentin Messer Jr. said in a statement. He’s CEO of the Economic Development Corp., and president and chairman of the Strategic Fund.
Scott Thomsen, CEO and co-founder of LuxWall, noted the company’s new manufacturing facilities will include Litchfield and Detroit.
“Today is a huge step for LuxWall as we ready our company for the commercialization phase by meaningfully expanding our footprint in Michigan to now include major manufacturing plants in Litchfield and our future Detroit site,” Thomsen said in a statement. “We are committed to creating high quality, well-paying jobs, and collaborating with Michigan Works and other agencies to develop best in class training programs to ensure we hire, develop and promote Michigan talent.”
John Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, told The Center Square he disagrees with the Economic Development Corp. handout of taxpayer dollars.
“I don’t think you could rationally look at this news and believe that the MEDC’s subsidy was make-or-break for the company’s decision to locate in Michigan,” Mozena wrote in an email.
“In the real world, sophisticated and strategic investors like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates or Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla aren’t likely to watch one of their portfolio companies put manufacturing operations someplace other than the best possible spot, just to get a subsidy worth less than 4% of their construction costs,” Mozena wrote. “But sure, they’ll happily say nice things in the press release so that politicians can take unearned credit.”
