Detroit was once home to some of the top automotive plants in the world. Known as the automotive capital of the world and the Motor City, Detroit manufactured millions of cars after Henry Ford launched the Ford Motor Company, but Detroit manufacturing slowly died out after those companies began leaving in the 1980s. The city went through some major changes as people left the city, but a new automotive company has many people wondering if Detroit is ready for a change.
Detroit Manufacturing Systems opened a new plant in the city in the summer of 2012. Located in the Gateway Industrial Complex, the company opened its doors with more than one hundred new employees. The majority of those employees are part of the UAW. During its opening ceremonies, the company announced its future plans, which will hopefully bring hundreds of additional jobs to the city. Detroit Manufacturing Systems has a deal in place to build car parts for Ford, and the company is in talks with several other manufacturers.
Jonathon Browning, the chief executive officer for Volkswagen Group of America, believes America is in the midst of a manufacturing boom. In an article by Dale Buss, Browning, who lives in Detroit, points out that the number of new cars sold in the United States is on the rise. He foresees his company selling more than fifteen million new cars in 2013, and he points out that Volkswagen sales have risen every year since 2011.
Detroit Manufacturing Systems is just one of the companies moving to Detroit. Within weeks of the company opening its doors, it hired more than thirty new employees. Rush Group, which is owned and operated by Native Americans and Faurecia, a French company, worked to make DMS a reality. The company deliberately chose Detroit because of the city's high unemployment rate and the number of viable factories and locations around it. Though many of the companies that once had bases in the city left during the 1980s, the factories and buildings those companies left behind still remain. While new companies will need to spend millions to bring those factories up to code, it might be less expensive than building new properties. Detroit manufacturing facilities are available in various areas across the city, and if DMS is any indication, the city might be ready for another manufacturing boom.
The city of Detroit is ready and willing to help companies that are interested in moving to Michigan. With plenty of former buildings for sale on the open market and a large number of unemployed people living in the city, Detroit can give companies almost everything they need. Detroit Manufacturing Systems, which launched in 2012, paved the way for similar manufacturing companies to take root in the city.
(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
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