KALAMAZOO – Comstock Native, Joseph Cortes, will return from the East Coast to launch International Component Strategies and be the first tenant at the redeveloped Midlink Business Park.
International Component Strategies, which will take 160,000 square feet of space at Midlink, is an automotive asset recovery company that creates international export markets for surplus automotive parts and equipment generated by Big Three automakers and their suppliers. The relationship of ICS with the automotive industry brings the Midlink redevelopment story full circle. Midlink is the former General Motors stamping plant.
Cortes said that at least three other communities ? two of them outside of Michigan ? were under consideration for ICS? headquarters.
?Our business plan is predicated on strong, long-term financing. We approached Southwest Michigan First not really knowing how they could help us,?? Cortes said. ?We were overwhelmed at the depth and scope of community resources that they were able to bring to the table for us, starting with the Bank Consortium through announcing our location. Thanks to the combination of help we received, we believe we have put in place the ingredients to achieve our long-term financing and facility goals.?
Southwest Michigan First provided ICS with multiple sites to consider while they worked through the development of their business strategy. Midlink offers space from 50,000 to 500,000 square feet. A solid transportation infrastructure is nearby. Midlink Business Park provided all of the special needs as well as the incentives already in place for ICS.
Four years prior, the Charter Township of Comstock, Hackman Capital and Southwest Michigan First formed a public/private partnership to redevelop a 2 million square foot former automotive stamping plant, formerly owned by General Motors. Southwest Michigan First and Comstock Township first got the site designated as a State of Michigan Renaissance Zone, which would provide businesses locating in Midlink with a business environment nearly tax free from State and local taxes.
The owners, Hackman Capital backed by GE Capital financing, spent more than $20 million dividing the 2 million square foot rectangular stamping plant into two buildings, removing more than 300,000 square foot from the center; removing the wood block flooring and top layer of sub floor; subdividing all of the mechanicals; painting and relighting the facility.
Comstock Township and Southwest Michigan First partnered on a $3 million grant proposal to provide new public roads, as well as sewer and water that would serve the remaining 200 acres of land surrounding the building. The result was a world class business park branded Midlink Business Park.
ICS had been introduced to Bank Consortium members shortly after the company approached SMF in July 2004, just three months after the consortium had been assembled to expanding SMF?s new business creation strategy beyond a strict focus on the life sciences. The Kalamazoo Bank Consortium for Innovation is a formal association of eleven bank executives from Kalamazoo County that have come together to assist SMF in its efforts to start and grow new companies in the region.
?ICS came to us with a unique business plan at a time when the Bank Consortium was just getting started,? said Gail Lindsey, director of equity investments for SMF. ?We knew that the Consortium was a unique model for economic development and would be helpful in vetting new business opportunities, but we had no idea what a tremendous resource they would play in our attraction efforts. The members of the Consortium have given many hours of their time and ICS has given us the platform to test our theory. The result is a new partner, ICS, a truly international company.?
The meeting with the bankers helped ICS executives prepare a financial pitch to the investor and banking communities. Bank executives reviewed ICS? business plan and financial model and provided coaching and insights about what makes a good company from a bank?s perspective. Based on the insights the group provided, ICS was able to modify its business plan and financial model to secured financing from Huntington Bank. Jerry Blaisdell, Huntington Bank regional president for Kalamazoo and Southwestern Michigan, is a member of the Bank Consortium.
?We found an engaging business model and a compelling market opportunity in ICS,? Blaisdell said. ?One of the underlying intangibles of the deal was the fact that Southwest Michigan First ? and all of the community partners that are represented at the table through their organization – was integrally involved in the project from the onset and committed to making ICS a success.?
While the final paperwork was being prepared with by the bank and Midlink Business Park, Southwest Michigan First connected ICS to MiWorks!, a state employment service that helped ICS hire its first 10 employees. ICS expects to employ from 150 to 300 people over the next 12 to 24 months.
?What makes Kalamazoo an ideal location for our company goes way beyond its physical proximity to the Big Three automakers, their suppliers and their plants,? said Joseph Cortes, CEO and chairman of the board of directors for ICS. ?We found support for our business concept from the moment we introduced it to Southwest Michigan First. Kalamazoo is a community that wanted our business, worked with us to develop a solid model for our company, and even found us a location that will enable us to scale up as our business grows.?
