'A high-tech gold rush': Silicon Valley firm says Michigan is the place to be
GREEN OAK TWP. — A firm from Silicon Valley has landed in Livingston County, taking advantage of Michigan's growing market for electronic vehicle batteries, semiconductors and high-tech manufacturing.
RK Logistics Group has expanded out of California into a more than 52,000-square-foot warehouse at 10631 Hi Tech Drive in Green Oak Township near Whitmore Lake. The commercial logistics facility will serve as the firm's Midwest regional hub.
The facility provides warehousing, eCommerce fulfillment, and supply chain management services for electric vehicle battery and semiconductor equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and manufacturers of the devices that test and measure semi-conductors and chips.
“It’s kind of a reverse gold rush,” said Kelly Weaver, the firm’s director of operations for Michigan. “The high-tech gold rush is really coming to Michigan."
Weaver said one of the company's key clients expanded to the area, so they followed. He declined to identify the client.
He said he sees potential in the growth of high-tech industries in the state, including future start-ups.
“We came out here because of what Michigan (the university) is doing, their initiative to bring high-tech and make Michigan the next MIT, and we’re also looking at the surrounding area,” he said.
He said Whitmore Lake is a good location because it has access to major freeways.
“There aren't many other third-party logistics (firms) of this size that have a facility on the (US-23) corridor," he said. "You’ll see other logistics companies that have offices, but there isn’t really any storage in this corridor."
There's also easy access to the I-96 corridor to Lansing and Grand Rapids, as well as M-14 to I-94.
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Weaver added, when construction of the new Gordy Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor is complete, more products classified as dangerous goods will flow out of Canada into Michigan, as battery plants open in Ontario and Montreal.
In the next few years, he said, the company hopes to expand the firm’s footprint in the area by another 60,000-260,000 square feet and create jobs.
"It was a great place to start."
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 'A high-tech gold rush': Silicon Valley firm says Michigan is the place to be
