CASCADE, Mich. — An international company is opening its North American headquarters in Kent County. It'll create jobs and result in millions invested into the community.
Tecnoform is moving into 4999 36th Street Southeast, in the heart of Cascade Township's manufacturing district.
The Italian company makes furniture for RV's and boats.
"It adds a bit of diversity to Greater Grand Rapids," Brent Case, project lead for The Right Place, says. "One thing we learned during the pandemic is that supply chains need to be resilient. And so, having a production capability here in the US is critical to their customers."
He says this move is almost three years in the making.
"They visited us for a couple of days [in December of 2019,] we took them to multiple sites. And then of course, the pandemic happened, and the project went cold for quite a while," Case says.
Through The Right Place, he looks to bring new investments into West Michigan. Tecnoform has committed to invest $7.3 million, as well as create more than 130 jobs.
There'll be a variety of production-level jobs, like engineers and manufacturers, as well as office staff for purchasing and logistics.
It'll take some time before hiring and production begins. The company's equipment still has to arrive.
"We always like to have a diverse base of businesses in the township," Township Manager Ben Swayze says.
He says that while focusing on long-time businesses is important, so is recruiting new businesses and employees to Cascade Township.
"Just like many other West Michigan communities, we thrive not only on our jobs and our manufacturing businesses, but the people that are working there, shopping in our stores, and eating in our restaurants and buying our houses in the township," Swayze says.
The Right Place works with West Michigan Works and Grand Rapids Community College to bring these new companies in, as well as provide training and access to the local workforce.
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