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Working
to build a healthy, vibrant future for our Upper Peninsula
community.
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Keweenaw
Industrial Council Programs & Future Challenges
Programs Future
Challenges
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Programs
The
Keweenaw Industrial Council (KIC) is made
up of a volunteer Board of Directors and a
paid, part-time Executive Director. Membership
includes over 250 key business and community
leaders as well as other groups and individuals
interested in promoting economic development
in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties.
The Board conducts
an annual membership campaign to raise operating
funds. The KIC began operations in the 1970's,
following the closing of the last copper mine
in the area. The area had been heavily dependent
on the mining and logging industries. As mining
ceased, many local companies that had supplied
the mines moved out of the area, or simply
folded. Logging could not support the area
either since little value-added operations
were performed locally, and the logs were
generally being exported to more urban areas.
The KIC was
created to promote diversification and expansion
of the manufacturing and, more recently, the
tourism and service sectors. This is accomplished
by focusing on providing services to local
manufacturing and service businesses to help
them expand, by encouraging local entrepreneurs
to start up new businesses and by attracting
new high tech businesses to the area. The
KIC also assists the commercialization of
technologies developed at Michigan Technological
University (MTU), one of the premier engineering
schools in the U.S. The KIC provides assistance
to the Keweenaw Technology Business Network,
a group of small high tech companies, many
of which are spin-offs from MTU.
The KIC provides
direct assistance to companies including writing
business plans, providing financial and other
management advice, structuring business expansion
and start-up projects, conducting financial
packaging, writing grants for public infrastructure
in support of industrial expansions, arranging
for labor force training, responding to outside
companies wishing to move into the area, and
other types of assistance as requested.
The KIC has
also been instrumental in: creating two local
revolving loan funds used as "gap" financing
for expansions and start-ups; developing and
implementing special marketing assistance
programs to assist companies to broaden their
customer bases; conducting workshops of interest
to the business community and most recently,
establishing a tax-free industrial renaissance
zone in Houghton County.
During the
past ten years, the KIC has had a number of
major successes, including the expansion of
over 15 local companies, the start-up of both
"off-the-shelf" and "high" technology companies,
the creation of two revolving loan funds,
the commercialization of a major forest products
technology, and a significant improvement
in the quality of life of local citizens.
In 1995, the
KIC earned the U. P. Economic Development
Organization of the Year award and in 1997
the Project of the Year award. top
Future Challenges for the
KIC:
While the Keweenaw economy is, in fact, much
stronger and diversified than it has been
in the past, there is still much to be done
to provide jobs for all those who wish to
work and live here, and to provide an economy
strong enough to adequately withstand the
inevitable economic downturns. The KIC believes
the following are some of the important future
challenges:
- Develop a longer-term economic development
strategy with the involvement and commitment
of the Keweenaw community that will lay
out development priorities and respective
responsibilities and generally, guide
local economic development efforts.
- Take on longer-term special projects
that could significantly improve the local
business climate and create future jobs,
e.g. creating an environment for high
tech firms that might involve creation
of a high tech incubator, and development
of special funding mechanisms such that
this sector would grow more quickly and
create more jobs for residents.
- Improve the business support system
for local entrepreneurs. The Keweenaw
grows excellent entrepreneurs, but not
all these entrepreneurs possess the host
of talents necessary to start-up and grow
a successful business. Improving the entrepreneurial
business climate might involve offering
entrepreneurial classes to teach business
skills, mentoring programs to make use
of the talents of successful business
people, targeted funding programs to provide
higher risk capital and other projects.
- Work with WUPPDR and the North Country
Renaissance Zone to increase the current
low level of funding available for promotion
of the ren zone to out-of-state businesses.
- Increase the available manufacturing
space for location of both local businesses
and out-of-area businesses to the Keweenaw.
The Keweenaw currently has very few available
manufacturing buildings. This could involve
constructing speculative buildings, rehabilitating
existing buildings and developing business
incubators.
- Increase the level of value-added activity
in the wood products sector. Most of our
wood fiber is still being shipped to other
areas where the majority of the value-added
activity is performed and the majority
of the jobs are created.
- Improve transportation systems that
economically link the Keweenaw to outside
markets. This could involve improvements
in commercial air service, availability
of rail transportation and other transportation
issues.
- Expand and diversify the tourism sector,
particularly during the "shoulder" months
when tourism revenues typically decline.
- Increase funding for the KIC to allow
longer-term project planning and implementation
with a greater level of effort. The KIC
currently has only year-to-year funding
at a significantly lower level than most
other U.P. communities, which does not,
unfortunately, even provide for office
staff support. top
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© 2000 Keweenaw Industrial Council. All rights reserved.
Web questions or comments? pmusser@chartermi.net
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| Designed
by Waboos
Web, 2000 |
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All
rights reserved by the Keweenaw Industrial Council |
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