The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Leaders gather to plot course
By Sandi Kasha, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: February 1, 2007
ANN ARBOR – Business and political leaders from across the state, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, gathered in Ann Arbor Monday to announce the formation of the Pfizer Strategic Working Actions Teams (SWAT) to help aid employees of the Pfizer research facility on Plymouth Road and look at long-term solutions for the site.
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Pfizer Inc. announced last week that it was closing the Ann Arbor facility, which currently employs 2,100 people. The phase-out will conclude by the end of 2008 when the facility is closed for good.
Granholm, Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Ann Arbor Spark President and CEO Mike Finney were among 60 local leaders attending the closed-session summit to implement strategies to attract businesses to Pfizer's 90-acre site and more than 2-million square feet of lab and office space. The meeting was held at the Michigan Information Technology Center in Ann Arbor.
The group also announced Monday a $1 million commitment from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth to help assist dislocated workers.
"We all live in this community," said Coleman, who announced U-M is working with its "University Research Corridor" partners, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, to help strengthen and diversify Michigan's economy. "We want it to be good for the community. We want it to be a win-win situation."
Pfizer has said that it plans to transfer up to 70 percent of the Ann Arbor work force to other company locations. One of the goals of SWAT will be to try and keep many of these skilled professionals in Michigan.
"We want to encourage them to stay here," Granholm said. "Accelerate them to stay, and if they do stay they have options."
Ann Arbor Spark's mission is to "advance the economic development of innovation-based businesses in the Ann Arbor region by offering programs, resources, and proactive support to business at every stage."
Finney said Monday that "there is a tremendous desire to develop high-tech industries here. It's an incremental process and we are prepared to listen and adjust and we'll get better and better."
Finding the right jobs here in Michigan that match the skills and experience of those who have worked many years at Pfizer won't be easy. But the action teams have begun to take "action" to find those opportunities.
Ann Arbor Spark already has set up business formation and acceleration resources.
"Spark is already doing amazing work," said State Rep. Pam Byrnes (D-52nd District) who attended Monday's meeting. "They are setting up committees that deal with talent, community (cultural and government), business development, public policy and funding and what to do with the site."
Byrnes was encouraged with the results of the meeting.
"It's a remarkable showing of community effort and turns something bad into a positive opportunity for new growth," she said. "We talked about issues that we need to focus on to attract business. This isn't just an Ann Arbor issue, it's a Washtenaw County issue. It effects over 700 people in my district alone so everyone is going to be affected by this."
When asked what could've been done to help make Pfizer stay, Coleman said the decision was made in New York and it wasn't personal.
But Hieftje remains positive about the future. "Ann Arbor is a very resilient community with deep pockets," he said.
Granholm agreed, noting that despite the struggling auto industry and Pfizer's departure, the Ann Arbor region will continue to thrive.
"Michigan won't slow down, but will speed up," she said.
The Ann Arbor site, which had been a Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis facility before the company's merger with Pfizer, began operating in 1960, with 256,000 square feet of lab and office space. It includes a new state-of-the-art building for product and technical development research, as well as a new fully integrated discovery facility.
So there are plenty of resources to offer a potential buyer of the site.
"Right now, our first priority is to help support the Pfizer colleagues," Finney said. "There are many people working very hard to ensure that all Pfizer colleagues that want to stay in Michigan find opportunities in the region – either by joining another company, or by launching their own venture."
Updated information and details of these opportunities will be posted on the Ann Arbor SPARK website including business formation seminars, career fairs, and job postings.
Sen. Liz Brater, Detroit Renaissance President Doug Rothwell and Pfizer Senior Vice President David Canter also attended the summit.
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