Area Development
Office furniture manufacturer and seller Haworth Inc. will invest $15.6 million to transfer its wood and wall product manufacturing from Alberta, Canada, to Holland and Big Rapids, Michigan, according to the Michigan governor's office. The company plans to create 649 direct jobs with the move; more than 700 indirect jobs are also expected. "We feel very good about the work force in western Michigan," says John Mooney, Haworth's CFO, quoted in the Holland Sentinel. He tells the Sentinel that other factors in the decision to consolidate at the Michigan facilities include transportation costs and proximity to customers in the eastern half of the United States. The governor's office says the state will provide Haworth with a tax credit valued at approximately $22.4 million over 13 years; the city of Holland will also consider property tax abatement valued at $900,000. The Sentinel says the move will take approximately three years to complete, but most of the hiring will take place within the next three months.