Dow-Kuwaiti company to bring 800 high-paying jobs to Metro Detroit.

Southeastern Michigan will become the home of the world headquarters of an $11 billion joint plastics venture between Dow Chemical Co. and the Petrochemical Industries Co. of Kuwait, bringing with it $100 million in investment in Michigan and as many as 800 high-paying jobs, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday.

Along with the state's announcement that it was investing more than $231 million in 18 other projects that may produce nearly 7,000 jobs, Dow's move was a bit of sunshine in an otherwise dark day for the state's economy, with General Motors' announcement of cutbacks and Volkswagen picking Tennessee over Michigan for a new assembly plant.

The headquarters of K-Dow Petrochemicals, in Wayne County along the I-96/I-94 corridor, would bring jobs that pay an average salary of $95,000 a year, Granholm said.
"K-Dow, which will bring hundreds of jobs to our state, would rank in the top half of the Fortune 500 if it was publicly traded, and the fact that it will be headquartered here is good news for Michigan," Granholm said at a news conference at her Capitol office.

"This affirms that the state of Michigan is willing to work hard to attract new investment and jobs to our state," Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of the 110-year-old Dow Chemical Co., said in a statement.

The world headquarters will receive yet-to-be-determined state and local tax incentives. Officials hope final approval of the incentives will come quickly, enabling K-Dow to begin operations before the year is out.

Michigan beat Texas and Louisiana in landing the headquarters project.

The company, among other things, will produce plastics used in a variety of products, including food packaging, appliances, durable goods and automotive parts.

The Michigan site offers a number of benefits, company officials said, including easy access to international flights at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a strong school system where employees' children can continue to speak Arabic, a nearby Arab-American population of about 300,000, and "Michigan hospitality."

Granholm was scheduled to meet in Kuwait with company officials earlier this year, but had to cancel at the last minute following her emergency abdominal surgery. Kuwaiti business executive instead met with her at the governor's residence in Lansing.

The new venture is expected to employ about 5,000 people worldwide, including many in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Granholm said that while Tuesday's news on the auto front was disappointing, Michigan must continue to set a course to find ways to diversify its jobs base for a sustainable, future economy.

"The story of Michigan is that we are diversifying and doing everything we can to replace those automotive jobs" while supporting the state's automotive sector, the governor said.

Chris Huntley, a spokesman for Midland-based Dow, said it's too early to say precisely how many jobs at the joint venture's world headquarters will be filled by people already working at existing Dow facilities.

"A significant number of the jobs will be new to Michigan," Huntley said.

In December, Midland-based Dow announced plans to sell a 50 percent interest in five of its businesses to the subsidiary of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum for about $9.5 billion to form the joint venture. The partnership links Dow's market reach with Kuwait Petroleum's vast energy supplies.

Michigan Republican Party spokesman Bill Nowling said that while the joint venture is good news, "this decision has to do more with a business plan on Dow's part as opposed to any effort by state government."

The announcement was welcomed in Michigan's sizeable Arab community, which is centered in Dearborn.

"I think if they come down here, they're going to be happy," said Hebah Alwerfalli, marketing and membership director for the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. "Oh my God -- they'll make friends, have dinner. We're a very hospitable people."

Separately Tuesday, Granholm announced the $231 million investment, from the state's Economic Development Corp., in 18 projects. It included a $5.9 million state tax credit to encourage Gibbs Technologies, Inc., the developer of amphibious vehicles, to locate a research and development facility in Auburn Hills.

U.K.-based Gibbs plans to hire 60 to 80 workers by year's end to help develop the vehicle, according to CEO Neil Jenkins.

Jenkins said Michigan will be in the running, along with Alabama, to make some of the cars when production starts, probably in 2010.