Doug Smith: Alternative Energy Heads Up!

There’s a workshop coming up soon in Waterford and I don’t want you to miss it. It could be the key to your company’s future – especially if it’s auto-based.

The Alternative Energy Manufacturing 101 conference, sponsored with NextEnergy, is set for Nov. 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oakland County Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford. Click here for more information about the conference or to register.

While there certainly are a plethora of conferences to attend, this one is important for manufacturing companies who have a unique technology or process that may fit the alternative energy sector. Alternative energy is one of the Emerging Sectors® that County Executive L. Brooks Patterson identified as critical to the future diversification of Michigan’s economy.

Auto suppliers must adapt their existing technologies to serve this market place. Diversifying the economy is not walking away from the automobile industry. It is building upon what the auto industry does well in terms of technology and manufacturing expertise. In wind energy, for example, gear boxes that are required for wind turbines could easily be made by any number of southeast Michigan companies who produce gear boxes for the auto industry.  

Aerospace is also fertile ground for companies seeking other applications for their existing technology. We are carefully examining the manufacturing of regional jets and ultra light aircraft to determine if southeast Michigan has tool and die expertise and the manufacturing capability to make this region attractive to these aerospace companies to build those planes here. Unfortunately or fortunately, we have the building space available to meet their manufacturing needs.

In the coming months, I hope to highlight other emerging sectors and identify companies that may have the appropriate technology, manufacturing process or products to use in various emerging industries. These efforts, along with future conferences, can help create new markets for many auto suppliers who need to diversify to grow their business. Our challenge is to identify those companies that have the appropriate technology to apply to another industry. Equally challenging is spreading the word throughout the county and the region so that any company which has a technology, product or process that might adaptable to another industry can be matched with that industry or marketplace.

Diversification of our companies and their technology is the foundation for a strong future for Oakland County and Southeast Michigan.