Awards And Certifications From October 15
Saginaw Future Receives National Honor - Excellence in Economic Development "Gold" Award: Saginaw Future Inc. received a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for "Nexteer's Journey" in the category of Business Retention & Expansion - Single Events for communities with populations of 200,000 - 500,000 from the International Economic Development Council. During the bankruptcy of Delphi and the sale of the Steering business, Saginaw Future, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce and Buena Vista Charter Township, banded together to create a positive message to potential buyers. Each local governmental unit passed resolutions supporting a unified package encouraging Delphi to retain operations and look for opportunities to expand in the region. The effort was successful - Delphi Steering Systems was spun off as a standalone automotive supplier, renamed Nexteer Automotive and was later purchased by Pacific Century Motors. Currently Nexteer is Saginaw County's largest taxpayer, has 4,200 local employees and company revenue is expected to reach $2.2 billion this year. Nexteer now produces steering and driveline systems for 60 automakers besides GM and announced $150 million in equipment upgrades. Nexteer's journey is clearly a testament to its outstanding local management, talented workforce, innovative technology and determination present in our community. Appointments were also announced at the IEDC's 2012 Annual Conference, the Nominating Committee of the IEDC elected JoAnn Crary, CEcD, President of Saginaw Future Inc. as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors and re-elected Crary to its Board of Directors for a two-year term. More at www.SaginawFuture.com or www.iedconline.org.
EMU Mechanical Engineering Technology Program Accredited: Eastern Michigan University's mechanical engineering technology program is now accredited - a distinction That will directly increase job opportunities for its graduates. The Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission, a unit of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, has granted accreditation for the bachelor's degree in the MET program, which is housed in the College of Technology at Eastern. ABET accreditation will not only benefit future graduates, but also is retroactive for EMU students who graduated from the MET program within the last two years. Eastern's program provides graduates with a strong technical foundation that integrates the methods, materials, machinery and power resources found in modern industry. Students receive both lecture and hands-on laboratory training in manufacturing processes, engineering mechanics, thermo-fluid sciences, mechanical vibration, machine design, and senior design projects based upon industrial partnerships. ABET accreditation is required by many of the major corporations and government agencies around the country that hire new graduates. MET graduates are sought by employers in almost all sectors of engineering, including aerospace, automotive, chemical, construction, defense and electronic industries, to name a few. Students who are interested in learning more about the MET program should go to www.emich.edu/cot/progsites/met.
