[0:00] Great. So, our panelists today are Maureen Donahue Krause, who is president

[0:04] and CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership and also a delegate at large

[0:10] to the SEMCOG Executive Committee. DRP is a non-profit economic development

[0:14] organization that recruits domestic and international companies by sharing

[0:19] Detroit's economic story with the world. Next we have Enrico Tai, who is

[0:24] president of the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center and formerly the

[0:28] director of Oakland County Economic Development. MMTC provides personalized

[0:33] consulting services that enable Michigan manufacturers to work smarter, compete,

[0:38] and prosper. And finally, we have Glenn Stevens, who serves as the economic

[0:43] executive director of MichAuto and is also the chief automotive and innovation

[0:48] officer for the Detroit Regional Chamber. MichAuto promotes, retains, and

[0:52] grows Michigan's signature industry as the state's only automotive and mobility

[0:57] association. So, welcome all of you. So, my first question is for all of you.

[1:03] Um since resiliency is the theme of our discussion, I'd like you to all briefly

[1:09] um introduce your organizations and how

[1:12] your organization defines economic resilience.

[1:16] So, Maureen? >> Sure. Thank you so much Naheed and it's

[1:19] really a pleasure to be with all of you here today. The Detroit Regional

[1:23] Partnership works to market, grow, and support our region. It's a little bit

[1:28] bigger than the SEMCOG region. It's about 5 and 1/2 million residents. Not a

[1:32] government formula region, but it really is a self-chosen region of people who

[1:37] believe that when we combine our assets, we'll be more successful. And I think in

[1:43] our first 6 years of operation, we have shown that with over 40,000 new jobs in

[1:48] this region and well over 10 billion dollars in new investment. So, how do we

[1:54] make sure that we are ahead of the game, which is what resilience really is. It's

[1:58] certainly the ability to um you know, the overused word from a

[2:02] few years ago, but pivot to distractions, disturbances, disruptors

[2:07] in our economy, both local, national, and international. Uh we our work is

[2:13] very data-driven and very strategic, but we're always evaluating

[2:18] is what we're doing working, and what should we be looking at next? So, it's

[2:23] very important that we are able to be nimble in our work.

[2:29] Not just for DRP, of course, but for our region. Um we always have we also have

[2:34] to be strategic. So, we just updated our three-year strategic plan at the DRP, um

[2:40] once again, building on what has worked, what didn't work, and where we think the

[2:43] future is going. And certainly this SUDs plan is just something that we look to

[2:49] to help to guide us in where we need to be going as a region.

[2:54] You know, the other piece I'll talk about resilience is

[2:58] working together. And um for those of you of you who were

[3:03] fortunate or unfortunate enough to hear me speak yesterday on this topic,

[3:07] there's a few people in here who've heard me way too much this week. Um

[3:11] but you know, we're at I believe, I've worked in this region a long time, um

[3:16] well, most of my my career, most of my career, um

[3:19] we're at a really terrific moment right now, where this region is getting along

[3:23] better than anything I've seen in my career. And when you have our leaders,

[3:28] like all of you, looking at working together for the solutions that benefit

[3:33] all, we're just going to win more. And I

[3:37] think that is part of being resilient is knowing that every issue is not going to

[3:41] be a fight, but it's going to be a gathering for solutions. So, I don't

[3:45] know, there may be one person in here who's been around long enough to know

[3:50] someone I'm going to name, and that's Benjam Petrone who I work with right out

[3:55] of college. And he said one thing that has stuck

[3:58] with me my whole career that I want to just leave as my takeaway here at this

[4:02] moment. If we all agree on everything, then only

[4:06] one of us will be thinking.

[4:09] And it's actually really true. So, we don't have to necessarily agree on, you

[4:13] know, all the intricate details, but the overall where we want to go for our

[4:18] region is what's really important for resiliency.

[4:21] » Okay, thank you, Maureen. And I just remembered you were also with Oakland

[4:24] County Economic Development. >> Yeah, yeah. We both had that job.

[4:26] » She laid the groundwork. >> [laughter]

[4:28] » All right. Um Ingrid? >> Uh good afternoon, everybody. Uh Ingrid

[4:32] Tai. I'm the president of Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. And we

[4:36] are a statewide organization that works with small and medium-sized

[4:40] manufacturers. And we actually do technical training and technical

[4:44] consulting with companies. So, we're on the floor. Our folks um are primarily

[4:50] people who have come out of industry. They're former engineers, plant

[4:53] managers, um you quality control managers, etc.

[4:57] And so, they've been there, done that, and they're going on to a plant floor.

[5:00] They are helping diagnose the health of a company, and then laying out a roadmap

[5:05] of how that company can improve everything from operational efficiency,

[5:09] layout, lean six sigma, quality standards, certifications, um how do you

[5:14] implement technology into your business to become better, to solve for workforce

[5:18] shortages, um how do you use AI? That's the biggest thing we've been dealing

[5:22] with. And we even do supply chain matchmaking. So, it's a very wide

[5:26] spectrum of services that we offer. Um we are actually also part of a national

[5:31] network. There is one of us in every single state. It's an initiative that

[5:35] started about 36 years ago through the Department of Commerce under the Reagan

[5:39] administration. And it was under the premise that we needed to bolster

[5:43] manufacturing throughout the United States. Um that we need it was lagging,

[5:46] and we needed to bring it back and that the small medium sized manufacturers are

[5:51] the backbone of that economy and how do we compete with other countries like

[5:55] China? So that that's how we got started and um

[5:59] why we're in existence and I think the unique

[6:03] um thing about [clears throat] the the

[6:05] mission uh of our organization is it's about resiliency because we're

[6:09] technically an economic development organization. We have this public

[6:12] service good. We're a non-profit where we have the goal of going in and helping

[6:17] companies grow and thrive which in turn create great jobs and a tax base for

[6:23] your communities um especially when we get into like some of the more rural

[6:27] areas of our territories. I mean one company is often employing many of the

[6:33] folks in that town or that city and if that company doesn't do well or if they

[6:37] go under, that has a really detrimental effect to that community. So we

[6:42] understand that's really important but yet you've got this intersection of how

[6:45] do you run a business? So when it comes to resilient um

[6:48] what we define resilient is helping companies

[6:52] in navigate the business landscape um whether it's becoming more profitable,

[6:56] reducing waste, dealing with tariff policies, addressing supply chain

[7:00] backlogs and bottlenecks and issues, understanding how you have to have

[7:04] backup plans. So we make that business resilient so it in turn helps your your

[7:08] communities become more resilient. >> Thank you.

[7:12] » Thanks everybody for for the opportunity here. I guess this is what it's like to

[7:16] testify in front of United Nations. >> [laughter]

[7:19] » That's what it must feel like. Um so it's good to be on this panel. First

[7:22] of all, a shout out to Dave and David and Dave and the whole the whole team. I

[7:27] did actually read the whole report and I know all you did cuz you voted on it.

[7:32] But it's it's it's really solid. I mean it's it's it is really solid and it'll

[7:36] be an input for a lot of other folks, too.

[7:39] Um I I two hats. They work together. Yes, I lead MichAuto and many of you

[7:44] know MichAuto. We work very got a couple board member Vicky's from Macomb's on my

[7:49] board and we are operating and we are getting up in the

[7:53] morning to promote, retain, and grow our signature industry. It's not just

[7:57] automotive. It's the evolution of mobility. It's the evolution of how tech

[8:01] intersects with that and energy cuz it's all seamless today these days.

[8:06] And then the other hat I wear is I'm on the the the chamber's management team

[8:09] and I head up I head up a lot of different things but really one of my

[8:13] big focuses are innovation effort. You'll hear more about a project we have

[8:18] called the Ann Arbor to Detroit regional project corridor for innovation. You'll

[8:24] hear more about that and you'll hear more about innovation as part of our

[8:28] economy. I know into the year years ahead. But with regards to resiliency

[8:32] just real briefly, I think about it in terms of inflection points. My staff,

[8:37] Paul, our head of government affairs here, they

[8:39] they're like, oh, here he goes. He's going to talk about inflection points

[8:41] again. But I mean it's an impact. It's a technology impact. It's a competitive

[8:46] impact. Whether it's your business, your city, your township, your team,

[8:51] your life, it's a force of change and you have to be resilient to figure out

[8:55] how do I not get knocked off my game and take the downward trajectory. How do I

[9:00] figure out the upper trajectory because things don't stay the same. So,

[9:05] resiliency is are you adaptable? Can you be flexible enough? Do you have

[9:10] diversification? And I think at the end of the day and I

[9:13] noticed this in the report, it made me think about it.

[9:16] What's the status and the condition of the people that live in your

[9:19] communities? What's your educational attainment rates?

[9:22] What's the standard of living? What are your ALICE scores? Because your people

[9:27] are the people who are going to take you through those inflection points. And so

[9:30] that's the way I kind of look at resiliency and uh it's a great question.

[9:33] Thanks. >> Great. Great. Thank you. Um so it's a

[9:36] good start. So, my next question is for Maureen. Um, what are the main trends

[9:41] you're seeing in Southeast Michigan's economy, and how does this influence

[9:45] your attraction efforts? >> That's a great question because we

[9:49] almost discussed this at our weekly staff meeting based on who we talked to

[9:53] and um, not just from the company perspective, but from the community

[9:57] perspective. Because I always say I have 348 cities, villages, and townships

[10:02] under our region. Um, that means 348 different cities or different economic

[10:08] development strategies. So, uh, what are the trends we're seeing? Um,

[10:14] we are seeing uh, that our talent is of course our biggest asset.

[10:20] Because our talent has experience, and it might not be the exact software

[10:25] program or the exact way a line runs, but they have the ability to upskill to

[10:31] the latest innovative uh, skill set that they need. It's a huge asset. You know,

[10:37] I try not to compare us to other states that I might think are not as strong in

[10:42] certain areas that ours are. There are a lot of companies who might choose the

[10:45] cheapest location down south because it's the cheapest location, and what

[10:49] they find is the talent there is not experienced.

[10:53] Right? So, that that type of talent, our advanced manufacturing talent, is a

[10:59] trend that we're seeing is a a huge asset for us. Um, and of course

[11:05] our engineering talent, with the second largest uh, number of engineers in the

[11:09] country is a huge asset. So, companies are really looking at

[11:14] uh, the talent in much more detailed ways

[11:17] than we've ever seen uh, before. Because once again, companies are making 10, 20,

[11:22] 30-year investments in your community. They want to make sure that the pipeline

[11:25] of talent is strong. Glenn touched on mobility. You know, that has been a huge

[11:31] um, uh

[11:33] force that we've seen. Over half of our prospects in our pipeline are related to

[11:37] mobility, not all automotive. We're grateful for that the assets and the

[11:43] knowledge and you know, the capacity capabilities that automotive has given

[11:49] us, but now we're seeing more in defense and aerospace, which I know um makes a

[11:54] lot of people in this room happy as they're also working on those

[11:57] initiatives. But what are the other adjacent sectors that need the assets

[12:02] that we have? Uh so we're seeing much more in those sectors than we have in

[12:08] the past. Uh and you know, I guess the final thing

[12:12] would be how do we navigate this moment in time uh where tariffs, I know Ingrid

[12:19] mentioned those, tariffs are a disruptor.

[12:22] They're a disruptor like a global pandemic and they're a disruptor like an

[12:25] economic downturn. And so helping companies from around the world, because

[12:30] we do a lot of international uh work, how do we help them navigate the

[12:34] uncertainty? You all know as local officials, if your community can provide

[12:38] certainty to your residents and your companies,

[12:42] you're going to be very successful. Tariffs are just a diff- different level

[12:46] right now of uncertainty uh that is something we have to spend more time on.

[12:51] And there's probably going to be a question later about data centers or

[12:53] that's a whole separate uh session, so I won't get into that right now.

[12:57] » Okay. So, let me ask Glenn then for the next question. And what do you see as

[13:02] the impact of national trade policies and how are you how is your organization

[13:06] addressing these impacts? >> Wait, I I was told there was no tariffs

[13:09] and no data centers [laughter] on this panel. Thank

[13:13] I had the busiest year of my career last year.

[13:16] And and I have had a few busy years. But on January 20th, uh the America First

[13:22] Trade Policy Act came out. The industry

[13:26] and anybody who is reading the tea leaves

[13:29] knew that that was going to happen. The president, as he as he as he was

[13:34] campaigning, was very clear. We knew as an auto industry that there

[13:38] would be trade changes. There would be changes to

[13:42] the cafe standards. There would be changes to the incentives

[13:46] for EVs. It was all as I was going to say foretold, but it was.

[13:51] And so when we got it all, we didn't There was only one thing we didn't know,

[13:55] the velocity and magnitude of that change. It came fast and it came furious

[14:00] and it was to say to use Marines, it was extremely

[14:04] disruptive. And then in industry that has long lead

[14:07] times, is highly capital intensive, was very complex, it can't react quickly,

[14:14] doesn't react quickly, and didn't react well. Except, you know what? It's also a

[14:18] very resilient industry. They kept building cars and making parts and

[14:21] figuring it out. But you probably saw the numbers the other day, $36 billion

[14:27] of cost impact to the OEMs in North America.

[14:31] That has to go somewhere or it comes off the bottom line because you can't pass

[14:34] it on to the consumers. The average price of a vehicle is

[14:37] $50,000 right now and that's too high already. Loans are

[14:42] out there, credit's out there, so the industry has had to absorb that, but it

[14:47] has been a huge impact. Now, the last thing I'll say is we we did anticipate

[14:52] it, but no one should I don't think there's anything to argue about with

[14:56] some of the the methodology about why it was done. No one should argue about

[15:00] stronger borders, particularly from the drug trafficking.

[15:04] No one should argue that we want more manufacturing in our country. Why not

[15:08] raise the tariffs or the revenues of the Treasury? It was again the methodology

[15:13] that we're struggling with and it's all from our perspective, it comes down to

[15:17] do we have a new USMCA agreement and does it make us stronger with Canada and

[15:22] Mexico because as a trade block we have to be stronger.

[15:25] Sorry to riff so long on it, um, but there's so many issues and and we're not

[15:29] out of it and we're not through it. And this president believes in them and so

[15:33] we will be dealing with them. The challenge for the industry though is

[15:38] politically times are shorter than automotive planning lead times. Bill

[15:42] Ford said that it during the auto show. So it's a really difficult time for us

[15:46] to navigate, but you know, our companies are doing it.

[15:49] » Great. Thank you. So, um, I Ingrid, manufacturing continues to be a

[15:54] huge part of our economy and, um, obviously it's changing. How can

[15:58] partnerships with state and local government help create opportunities for

[16:02] small and medium-sized businesses? >> Yeah, so out the gate, um,

[16:08] we recently have been doing these innovation expos across the state and

[16:11] we've, um, invited our both our local and our state and also our federal

[16:16] legislators to be part of these because it's really important that industry and

[16:20] policy makers are in the same room together. Um, we often get feedback

[16:24] that, um, you know, these policy makers are making laws and decisions and they

[16:28] don't understand how it's affecting our businesses. Well, we say, "You've got to

[16:31] invite these folks to your plant. Have them tour your business. They need to

[16:36] understand how decisions at all the levels are impacting you." And vice

[16:40] versa, um, so what I would say for folks in this room is to make sure that you

[16:45] are reaching out to your local business leaders asking to come and do tours,

[16:50] creating, um, advisory boards, roundtables when

[16:54] you need to get feedback. That's I think the really important first step to have

[16:57] that constant line of communication. Um, and then I would say is there are a lot

[17:02] of great, uh, resources out there at all those various levels that I mentioned.

[17:06] So, um, for instance, like I said, we're federal and and state we get some

[17:10] funding through those sources, but, uh, there are a lot of great job centers

[17:14] that you can take advantage of grant opportunities, um, the industry folks

[17:18] can. There are again, you know, state programs, initiatives, associations that

[17:23] have a lot of knowledge to experts. So, I think really first and foremost is

[17:26] bridging that communication between those different levels is a great start.

[17:31] » Okay. Thank you. Um so, why is cross-sector collaboration more

[17:35] important during periods of transition? >> Yeah, there's a lot of knowledge

[17:40] transfer. So, I think that's the biggest thing. And we don't need to reinvent the

[17:43] wheel. Um I There's all these

[17:46] czars that get anointed and task force that get created and new organizations

[17:51] that people want to stand up. And often we get in the room and we've been part

[17:55] of some of these conversations when we'll sit there. I've been on calls with

[17:59] you. We're like, "We already have someone who does that." Or we already

[18:02] know a group that does that. And so, what I would say is that there is

[18:05] already a lot of money and time and people who are involved in a lot of

[18:09] these initiatives. It's just getting everybody in the room, creating a a new

[18:13] strategy or tweaking the existing one if necessary. And um figuring out what are

[18:17] those those deliverables that you've got to

[18:20] that you've got to um impact. >> All right. Thank you. Um so, um Glenn,

[18:25] Maureen mentioned the new new sectors that are coming out right now. Um but

[18:31] how is the automotive sector diversifying and building resilience?

[18:36] » Yeah, so I mentioned it in my entry comments or intro I mean, the auto

[18:41] industry is the tech industry, is the mobility industry, is the energy

[18:45] industry, is the air mobility industry. And I think that you see diversification

[18:51] all the way through that. Um when you have the energy companies at the table

[18:55] with the OEMs, it tells you that. When you have the software companies at the

[18:59] table, it tells you that. So, there are a lot of new technologies that are

[19:04] emerging, but they're all basically already here. Just look at the vehicle

[19:08] itself. The way it's designed, engineered,

[19:11] tested, the way it's built, it's using industry 4.0 technologies, it's got

[19:16] energy tied to it. The There's intelligent transportation systems, and

[19:21] you all know that in your communities. It's how does How does the How does the

[19:25] infrastructure connect to the vehicle that connects to the building that

[19:28] connects to the phone? So, it's all happening here. And we need to do We

[19:33] need to double and triple down on that. Uh the one phrase that I always has

[19:37] bothered me is we need to diversify away from the auto industry. Uh-uh. We need

[19:42] to use it as a platform for diversification. And Maureen mentioned

[19:45] it. It's about adjacent industries. I met with Justine Johnson at the Office

[19:50] of Future Mobility uh yesterday. We talked for about an hour and a half.

[19:54] Michigan should own air mobility manufacturing and advanced

[19:59] manufacturing. There's no reason why we shouldn't. No one else in the country

[20:03] has grabbed that, by the way. And most of it's done in China right now. So, why

[20:07] shouldn't we have everything we need here to develop the drones for the

[20:11] future? And that's really the opportunity for us. It's not about

[20:16] walking away from, it's about utilizing the base.

[20:19] » Maureen? >> If I could just give an example of that.

[20:22] So, a couple years ago, we had um an eVTOL prospect. Does anyone know what

[20:26] eVTOL is? Electric vehicle takeoff and landing.

[20:31] Think about the Jetsons, but it's a real thing, okay? So, they invited us to come

[20:36] and see their operation in California, and we went, and we toured three

[20:39] different facilities that they had. Um we came in second on this one for a

[20:44] reason that we couldn't control, but anyway, we sure learned a lot. Here's

[20:48] what they told us at the end of this tour that took about 6 hours and three

[20:51] facilities. They said, "You're the first group we've

[20:54] ever in here who asked the most intelligent questions, because you

[20:59] understood the technology, right? So, as we were turning around, we're asking

[21:04] questions that no one else knew about, but that's because how many automotive

[21:10] facilities and suppliers have we been in and we understand how and I thought that

[21:14] really said a lot about our knowledge base here, right? We own this knowledge

[21:20] and so why not use it for adjacent industries.

[21:24] » Thank you. Um So, going back to your comment about um

[21:30] talent, what are the biggest challenges for our businesses in attracting and

[21:34] retaining a skilled workforce? >> I'll I'll jump in on that. So, um we

[21:39] actually just queried our executive leaders of, you know, clients, plant

[21:44] owners, managers and asked them, "What are How are things going?" Um and when

[21:49] it comes to workforce, when it comes to supply chain and advanced technology.

[21:53] When it came to workforce, um people are still hiring even despite the

[21:57] uncertainty last year and I call it whiplash that we experienced. A lot of

[22:01] leaders are calling it whiplash with the changes. Um but even despite all that,

[22:05] people uh companies are still hiring. The The uh one thing that kept coming

[22:10] back though is leaders are having hard time with finding the right skill sets.

[22:14] So, they're having to train internally uh or identify apprenticeships or

[22:18] programs. So, the end it costs money to do that and it takes resources. So,

[22:21] that's um one interesting thing. Um the good news is I'd say is that for many,

[22:26] many years finding talent was the number one problem for our clients. It's still

[22:31] is a major issue, but it slid down to number two and number one is actually

[22:35] increasing sales, but they're having a hard time with the business development

[22:38] side. They need some more more um help there. So, I I would say

[22:42] that, you know, there's there's a couple things. Um we are not in the K-12 space,

[22:46] but, you know, it's continuing to focus on improving education across the state,

[22:51] um developing the STEM, the I I used to use the reading, writing, arithmetic,

[22:56] you know, the old version, but making sure we're really doubling down on all

[22:59] of that and ensuring that those folks are coming out ready, whether it's

[23:03] right into work or it's into an associate's degree or a certification or

[23:07] college. We do to Maureen's point have a lot of great engineers and a lot of

[23:11] talent, but as we all know, we're always trying to keep a lot of that great

[23:14] talent here in Michigan. So, that's where the the place and the companies

[23:18] come in tact. So, I would say those are the big things with workforce though is

[23:21] we we're on the right path, but we need to continue to double down.

[23:25] » I think you both have comments. >> Yeah, just real briefly

[23:28] pathways and place. And you've got placemaking as a core and

[23:32] you have pathways in your study, too. And that's where we that's our biggest

[23:37] Achilles heal heal in this state. I'll give you three stats.

[23:42] The recommendation for the ratio for counselors to students in our country is

[23:47] 250 to 1. The national average is 450 to 1.

[23:51] Michigan is 600 to 1. We're 49th in the country.

[23:55] Now, that's one area is school counselors, but that's a pretty major

[23:59] one and we're absolutely Even the best school districts don't have enough.

[24:02] Unfortunately, it was highlighted during the Oxford shootings, but it's something

[24:06] we've picked up and it's something that we have to do better in is getting our

[24:10] people aligned with the right skills. There are jobs. We just aren't aligning

[24:14] people right. >> Okay. And Maureen?

[24:17] » Yeah, two points I want to make. First of all, we deal a lot with site

[24:20] consultants. They're the um you know, professionals who help

[24:23] companies make big corporate decisions. They vindicated to us in a study that

[24:27] they released in the past year, what are the drivers to attract talent to your

[24:31] community? And I think you might be a little

[24:34] surprised, maybe not. It's local schools for their kids and believe it or not, it

[24:40] is four-season outdoor recreation opportunities.

[24:43] Well, you know, we've got that. So, let's work on our schools a little more.

[24:49] Um the other thing I would say is another study that we were recently uh

[24:52] made aware of, you know, what are the issues that companies um

[24:58] or I'm sorry, that talent looks at um and you know, we still have to work

[25:02] on things like transit and daycare, right? But what was the number one issue

[25:08] that talent had when you talked to them? And that was feeling a part

[25:14] of a corporate community. And Sarah, I hope I'm portraying this correctly. But

[25:20] part of this it's not all on all of our shoulders to make this perfect uh

[25:25] environment. Companies have to make their employees feel that they're part

[25:29] of it, that they have that career path, that they are engaged in the work that's

[25:33] done in the mission of the organization, whether you have 10 employees or 10,000

[25:38] employees. And it was an interesting finding to see that a lot of employees

[25:43] look more to the company to keep them happy than if they can catch a bus.

[25:48] Or it ranked up above other important issues. Don't get me wrong, they're

[25:51] important, but you know, corporations have to take some responsibility for

[25:56] that as well. >> Thank you. Um we have education um in

[26:00] the audience today, so I'm they're hearing the messages, too. So,

[26:04] um we we talked about data centers. So,

[26:08] from an economic resiliency perspective, what do you believe are the benefits and

[26:13] challenges of attracting data centers? Maureen, do you want to start?

[26:17] » You're all going to get a shot, but okay.

[26:20] » Go ahead. >> Okay, yeah, thanks. We're all jumping at

[26:23] this one. No, um we deal with every data center that looks here. So, there's a

[26:27] couple of stats you should know. There are multiple types of data centers.

[26:30] There are micro centers, which are very small that might serve a particular

[26:34] company, and then there's of course the massive um

[26:37] uh mega centers. We have 70 total in the state of Michigan right now. There's

[26:42] over 5,000, I believe, in the United States. Um so, you know, we're a little

[26:48] late to the game in Michigan. Sometimes it's good to be late to the game cuz

[26:52] what you do is you learn from the mistakes what other communities have

[26:55] found with issues like power, with issues like water. So, even the data

[27:00] centers are learning to develop the water loops, so you're not constantly

[27:04] drawing all the water out, you're putting it on a loop

[27:08] and reusing it. Power, you know, I will say what we learned early on on data

[27:13] centers is that they wanted to know how much your state was

[27:18] um power was generated by renewable sources

[27:22] because they knew this would be an issue.

[27:25] So, we first of all, when we get a data center client, and I would say we get a

[27:29] new one once every couple of weeks, all ranges of size,

[27:32] you have to go to the community first. If the community is not interested, we

[27:36] say thank you and we move on. Right? We have to make sure it's something that

[27:42] communities want. A few years ago we did a study on what

[27:47] are we missing in Michigan? And it was really power rates were too high for

[27:51] data centers and the sales and use tax was just a, you know, sort of you check

[27:56] that box if we don't fit it, we're out of the running.

[28:00] Those have legislatively been addressed in Michigan.

[28:04] So, we're in a better position, which is there So, why are they all calling us?

[28:08] They're calling us because we're very far behind other states in the amount of

[28:12] data centers here and they're calling us because of

[28:15] legislative changes that occurred in Lansing.

[28:18] So, you know, the one thing I would say about data centers and we are neutral as

[28:22] an organization, we are neutral on data centers. But I will say

[28:27] they are part of a community's infrastructure for the future.

[28:32] And the example I use is remember when you were getting the calls about people

[28:37] who did not want a cell tower in their community cuz they were evil and ugly

[28:42] and terrible and who knew what they did. Now, if you lose your connectivity

[28:48] for 5 minutes, you're freaking out because why isn't there a cell tower so

[28:52] I can be connected? A data center is a part of a community's

[28:57] infrastructure for future innovation and technology.

[29:02] And we can decide, every community can decide, do we want to be in that game or

[29:08] not? Like I said, we very much respect a community's choice on that. You're never

[29:14] going to see my team at a public hearing where a community has no interest in a

[29:18] data center. We just won't do it. There are communities though who want to be

[29:24] able to, this is a little exaggeration if you knew me, but who want to the tax

[29:28] revenue so they can literally pave their streets in gold and build new schools

[29:32] because they generate huge amount of local tax revenue.

[29:36] And that is a choice that all of you, bless you, all of you in your

[29:40] communities get to make and we respect that. But it is a trend that's only

[29:46] going to get stronger, especially for Michigan cuz when you look at the list

[29:49] of where are there data centers in the United States, we're at the bottom of

[29:53] that list right now. >> Yeah. I'll be I'll be brief, but

[29:58] so I can speak to it from the industry side.

[30:01] We have clients and people who love being part of making things for for data

[30:08] centers right now. It's very lucrative. So

[30:10] on the flip side, the industry is really enjoying that side. What I will say is

[30:16] that we are very involved in AI implementation with our clients. So we

[30:21] have already rolled out both curriculum, onsite

[30:24] training and consulting where we're advising on how to use AI in predictive

[30:29] maintenance, quality systems, and how are you using it in your operations, the

[30:32] front of the house, the supply chain matchmaking.

[30:36] We have some people on our some engineers on our staff who are technical

[30:39] experts on this. And what I will tell you today is AI is the worst it's ever

[30:43] going to be today. And AI, the demand for it and the desire for it is not

[30:49] going anywhere. It's actually just growing exponential and the amount of

[30:54] data centers and things that it needs is going to just continue to increase.

[30:58] So I it's one of those things where it's it's here.

[31:02] I mean we can't hide from it. So it's to you know this organizations

[31:07] you know I guess benefit to lean in and what is the strategy? How do we handle

[31:11] it? Because you know we we can't escape it.

[31:15] » Okay. Glenn >> I'll be even briefer. It's mindset. You

[31:19] can insert any word you want data centers, electric vehicles, AI. If

[31:23] you're not leaning into it, you'll get walloped by it and that's just a fact.

[31:28] And we have a bit of an issue in Michigan in recent surveys the chamber

[31:31] just did one. Most of our citizens, the people in your community do not

[31:35] understand how far behind we are in certain things.

[31:39] And you see the BLM reports. I don't I'm getting tired of reading the BLM reports

[31:44] cuz they're the same thing. I'm getting I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing us

[31:48] be a bottom 10 state. But at the same time there's so many good things going

[31:53] on in the state, but we have to lean into the future.

[31:56] » Thank you. We're actually out of time, but um before I was going to ask you one

[32:00] more question. So maybe I'll just ask you to give me what you feel is um

[32:06] one asset that the region has that we should leverage, but very very briefly,

[32:10] please. >> I'll go first, but you did say I could

[32:13] do two and I will be brief. So one it's it's our

[32:17] world-class innovation and know-how around advanced manufacturing,

[32:22] engineering, and research. It's we know how to do this. So lean into it. And the

[32:26] second is um our location.

[32:30] I mean the places in your communities are assets for people to live, work, and

[32:34] play. And geographically, if you look at the Detroit region, the corridor between

[32:39] Toronto and and Chicago, we sit in the middle and many people believe that it

[32:43] is a growth economy area for the future and I I do.

[32:47] » Mhm. Thank you. Thank you. >> Yeah, I would echo we have the advanced

[32:50] technology and the know-how. Um arsenal democracy, right? We lit up the network

[32:56] when we needed to make defense because we had that here. Um you know, and we

[33:00] can still do it for other things, mobility, drones. Um it just takes the

[33:04] strategy and the initiative to get it done.

[33:06] » Thank you. >> I have three words. How's that? Just

[33:10] words. >> right.

[33:12] » Workforce, weather, and water. >> Okay. All right. Um thank you. Um before

[33:20] um before we ask questions, I ask the audience to have show any questions. Um

[33:25] we all going to show a very short video that DRP has created that further

[33:29] highlight some of our assets. It's very short.

[33:40] » Detroit where I was born and raised.

[33:49] Every day I see so much happening, so much energy.

[33:54] This whole area is going to be born. I see people coming every day from all

[33:58] over the world making themselves a home.

[34:02] Start up looking to collaborate and reach fast. Legacy coming looking for

[34:06] talent and small persistence. They say that America doesn't make

[34:11] things anymore. Well, in Detroit, we never stopped.

[34:16] What matters to me is my daughter's one of them and a work ethic deep in our

[34:20] bones. These streets are paved with

[34:24] possibilities. This is where it starts.

[34:31] You got to get here.

[34:34] » Okay. >> [applause]

[34:41] » Do we have a couple of minutes for questions?

[34:46] Do we have any questions for the panel? >> There's one.

[34:51] » Okay, Joe.

[34:54] » Thank you everybody. Joel from Arrivo I'm curious about the

[34:59] item that is out of our control. These are all

[35:03] corporate decisions. They are all corporate decisions.

[35:07] Can't specify what it is, can you at least say if it's something that's in

[35:09] our space? That would be super helpful. >> No, it was something that's so annoying

[35:15] cuz we can't control it. Their main investor told them where to go in the

[35:19] end. They had a partner They had an OEM

[35:23] partner who said, "Here's where you have to go."

[35:29] Yeah, to like, you know, buy Toyota and tell No, I'm

[35:34] Yeah. >> Okay.

[35:36] Any other questions?

[35:41] Okay, well, I'd like to thank our panelists once again for sharing their

[35:45] expertise and [applause] insights. I really appreciate the great

[35:48] conversation.

SEMCOG General Assembly, March 2026, Panel Discussion

Transcript