In a move seen as symbolic of the region’s rebirth with a more
diversified economy, the 320-acre site in Wixom once used to build
cars for Ford Motor Co. will be an energy park focused on
production of renewable electrical energy storage systems.
A joint venture between Austin, Texas-based Xtreme Power Inc.
and Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Clairvoyant Energy plans to
purchase the 4.7 million-square-foot manufacturing space and
redevelop it as a new energy park.
The irony of a car factory that had produced some former
gas-guzzlers turned into a green energy production park is not lost on
Clairvoyant CEO David Hardee.
“It’s the ultimate irony; I love it,” he said.
The 50-year-old building will house manufacturing of Xtreme’s
large-scale power systems and Clairvoyant’s solar panels.
Clairvoyant and Xtreme plan a total capital investment of $475.4
million and the creation of 2,500 direct jobs over the next five years,
according to a briefing memo prepared by the Michigan Economic
Development Corp.
Hardee expects the real estate deal to close in the second quarter of
next year.
Clairvoyant plans to create up to four solar panel manufacturing lines
at the energy park, with a capital investment of $857 million over
four phases, and is expected to create 751 jobs over five years.
Once completed, Clairvoyant will have the capacity to produce more
than 2.5 million solar panels a year at the Wixom site, potentially
replacing the need for one large coal plant every year.
Xtreme will focus on large-scale systems to store power generated
by windmills, solar panels and other technologies.
Redevelopment work is expected to start next year, with
manufacturing to be under way by 2011. The companies are looking
for tenants to fill the 2.4 million square feet of manufacturing space
not being used by the joint venture. Hardee said leases will likely
start being signed next year.
The deal was the result of a nine-month negotiation involving
Clairvoyant, Xtreme and Ford Motor Co., facilitated by the MEDC.
Hardee said Michigan made sense based on both the involvement of
the MEDC and the facility itself.
The Wixom Assembly Plant was one of Ford’s largest and oldest manufacturing sites, producing 6.6 million vehicles during its 50 years of operation.
Production began in 1957 when Wixom became Lincoln Division’s new
national headquarters and the sole producer of all vehicles for the
Lincoln Division. Over the years, Wixom Assembly produced the
Lincoln Continental, Town Car, LS, Mark VI, VII and VIII, as well as
the Ford Thunderbird and Ford GT.
At its height, more than 5,000 workers were employed at the
plant. The Wixom plant employed approximately 1,000 workers
when it closed in 2007.
“The facility has such good bones,” Hardee said. “It puts us one year
closer to going to market because the heavy-duty infrastructure is
already there.”
Source: Crain Communications Inc.
Author: Daniel Duggan
