Gov. Jim Doyle today unveiled a plan to create jobs and stimulate the state’s economy by increasing investment in research and development. The plan, called Innovate Wisconsin, offers incentives for private businesses to focus on future breakthroughs.
It is the latest part of his Grow Wisconsin agenda.
“When it comes to research and development, our manufacturers are competing at the high end and already have a clear advantage over competitors around the country and the world,” Doyle said in a statement.
“To continue to stay ahead of the competition, Wisconsin’s manufacturers must invest more in research and development to improve existing products and develop new ones. Wisconsin has become a world-renowned center for research, particularly in the public sector. The next phase of Grow Wisconsin will do more to foster research in the private sector as well.”
Doyle said research and development is important to a knowledge-driven economy and Doyle has committed to making strategic investments that keep the state a leader. In the past five years, he said the state has committed to build some of the world’s leading public research institutions, including the translational research facility at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
See release:
http://wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=115028
Doyle also announced $548,000 in tax credits to assist the HellermannTyton Corp. as it moves its manufacturing facility to Milwaukee from Naples, Fla.
The company intends to invest $7.8 million to expand its current facility on Milwaukee’s northwest side and to purchase and renovate a new facility nearby.
“This company is a leader in the field,” Doyle said, adding that the state “deeply appreciates” the commitment the company is making in Wisconsin.
HellermannTyton President Jim Campion said the move would create 154 jobs in Milwaukee and that the state’s tax credits would be used for worker training.
HellermannTyton manufactures products such as cable ties, specialty fasteners and mounts, network connectivity solutions, and identification systems for use in the trucking, automotive, and voice and data industries.
Campion said part of the decision to move the plant to Milwaukee was the difficulty the company faced in finding enough skilled workers in Naples.
“The big issue that we had was attracting skilled people to come to Naples, Fla.,” Campion said. “The cost of living was prohibitive in most cases. … We were just at wits end to attract good people.”
See the release:
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=115053
