General Motors To Expand Green Manufacturing In Baltimore
General Motors will produce next-generation, two-mode rear wheel drive motors and related electric drive components at GM Powertrain Baltimore in White Marsh, MD. Gov. Martin O’Malley, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith jointly announced the green manufacturing expansion.
GM will construct a high-volume electric drive manufacturing facility at the Baltimore County Transmission plant, creating approximately 200 jobs and retaining hundreds more already at the plant.
“Maryland is proud to be home for this new innovation driven by GM for the next generation of green technology. The technology being unveiled today will help drivers drive further on less fuel, and provide green jobs for Marylanders to support their families,” said Gov. O’Malley. “Maryland is home to one of the nation’s most talented and skilled workforces, and GM’s decision to house the manufacturing of their new technology in our State is validation of their commitment to fuel innovation, create jobs, and drive economic progress here in Maryland.”
Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith said the investment in green technology at GM’s Baltimore transmission plant will bring automotive jobs back from Mexico to White Marsh.
“Today’s announcement is great news for GM’s Baltimore Transmission Plant, great news for jobs, and great news for Maryland’s economy. Just last year, people wanted to write-off the American auto industry. But I and my Team Maryland colleagues knew differently,” Sen. Mikulski said. “Building the fuel efficient engines of the future, GM’s Baltimore Transmission Plant is going to lead the way to a better way, showing America can compete, America can innovate, and the American auto industry can lead again.”
GM is investing $129 million in the Baltimore Transmission Plant to build electric motors and related electric drive components. The company was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $105 million grant for electric drive systems manufacturing. In addition, the State of Maryland is providing a $3 million grant through the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Fund (MEDAF) and a $1.5 million grant from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation Workforce Training Fund. Baltimore County is providing a $6 million conditional grant from the Baltimore County Business Growth Fund and a $150,000 Baltimore County Economic Development Training grant.
“I applaud GM’s decision to partner with Maryland in using the technology of the future to build cleaner, more efficient cars that will lead to in new jobs for Marylanders,” said Sen. Cardin, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “This exciting projects brings together recovery funding, state financing and GM’s commitment to build automobiles of the future that will help restore our economy and the auto industry”
The new manufacturing facility will have the capacity to produce 40,000 Global Rear Wheel Drive (GRE) motors. The GRE motors, which will be placed in both automobiles and trucks, contain two electric motors and three planetary gear sets that transform power from a motor vehicle’s gasoline engine and battery into usable power to propel the vehicle and provide the fuel savings of an electric drive.
Opened in December 2000, GM Powertrain Baltimore was selected to manufacture GM’s two-mode hybrid transmission in 2006. The plant is still GM’s exclusive manufacturer of the two-mode hybrid drivetrain. The White Marsh plant employs more than 200 workers.
Qiagen To Invest $52 Million, Create 90 Bioscience Jobs
Qiagen Inc., is expanding its North American headquarters in Germantown, MD, and adding at least 90 new fulltime jobs by 2015. Qiagen will add 117,000 square feet of new manufacturing space and new office space to its corporate campus. The company expects to invest approximately $52 million in the project.
“Qiagen’s commitment to invest and expand in Maryland reaffirms the State’s position as one of the world’s leading locations for biotechnology innovation,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley. “Building on our Bio 2020 initiative, Maryland continues to foster a supportive environment for innovative biotech companies like QIAGEN to ensure that we are well positioned for tomorrow’s economy. Maryland’s biotechnology and life sciences companies develop cutting-edge therapies and diagnostics that have positive implications for individuals here at home and across the globe.”
To assist with project costs, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) provided a $700,000 conditional loan through the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund (MEDAAF). In addition, Montgomery County provided a $300,000 grant under the Montgomery County Economic Development Fund. The company is also eligible for the State’s job creation tax credit, as well as local property tax credits and workforce and training programs. As a condition of the State’s loan, Qiagen, which currently employs 580 individuals in Montgomery County and nearly 700 employees statewide, will add the 90 new jobs here over the next five years. Overall, the company currently employs 1,150 individuals in the U.S. and has 3,500 employees worldwide.
“We are experiencing rapid growth of our global business, and are pleased to expand our operations and employee base here in Maryland, a region that is an epicenter of bioscience and genomics research, discovery, manufacturing and commercialization,” said Sean Augerson, Qiagen’s Senior Director of North American Operations. “We appreciate that state and county leadership is focused on not only attracting new bioscience companies to the region, but also to fostering the growth of companies established in this region such as QIAGEN by enabling physical facilities expansions.” Groundbreaking is anticipated in Fall 2010, with completion expected in 2012—increasing square footage at the Germantown campus from 230,000 currently to 347,000 square feet at completion.
Qiagen moved its U.S. headquarters to Montgomery County 10 years ago, when it broke ground at its current Germantown location in 2000 and opened the building in 2002. Qiagen has made significant investments in Maryland, with its 2007 acquisition of Gaithersburg-based Digene, its 2009 acquisition of Frederick-based SABiosciences and its recently announced 2010 license agreement with Johns Hopkins University focused on biomarkers for predicting and measuring the success of cancer treatments.
The biotech sector is one of the fastest-growing business segments in Maryland, accounting for approximately 50,000 jobs in Maryland. Designed to attract and nurture foreign and domestic biotech companies in the region, Gov. O’Malley’s BIO 2020 initiative, a 10-year, $1.3 billion investment in the state’s bioscience industry, represents the largest per capita investment in the biosciences made by any state in the country.
