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Southwest Michigan First outlines 2026 work plan, highlights regional investment and local job wins
Summary
Southwest Michigan First presented its Road to Regional Prosperity strategic plan to Kalamazoo County commissioners on April 7, touting more than $3.1 billion in regional investment and listing several local expansions that together should produce hundreds of jobs and site-readiness work across the county.
Southwest Michigan First officials updated Kalamazoo County commissioners on April 7 about the organization's 2026 work plan and a multi-county strategy to attract and retain jobs and investment.
Jill Bland, executive vice president for economic development, said the region has seen more than $3.1 billion of new investment over the past three years and pointed to the Blue Oval battery plant and local projects that will ripple into Kalamazoo County. Bland listed recent local wins and grant deployments: Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet completed a $3.8 million expansion and added 22 jobs; CalSEQ completed a climate-controlled grinding facility update; Keystone Solutions Group built a $2.5 million clean room and expects roughly 55 new jobs; Pro Services plans a major mechanical project and workforce training initiative expected to create 250 positions; and Majesty's Animal Nutrition opened a new facility in Portage expected to create about 40 jobs.
Riley Lukompski, who leads attraction programming, summarized workforce and site-preparation initiatives: state site-readiness grants are being pursued in townships across the county to advance environmental and geotechnical studies and ready parcels for development; programming such as MIX helps retain creative and product-design talent; and regional marketing aims to generate millions of impressions to attract people and businesses to the Greater Midwest.
Commissioners asked about incentive benchmarking and job-creation verification; Bland said the organization monitors benchmarks tied to incentives and noted recapture provisions in cases where job commitments are not met. Commissioners also discussed how to prioritize high-paying job recruitment versus lower-wage job creation and noted the county's interest in site remediation to attract life-science and higher-tech employers.
Bland also announced leadership transition: the board has named Carla Sonos interim CEO while the organization conducts a national search.
Why it matters
The presentation positioned Kalamazoo County to compete for larger regional projects by aligning workforce programs, readying sites for development and coordinating marketing across seven counties. Commissioners signaled support for site remediation tools and workforce pipeline programs that aim to raise local average incomes.
Provenance: topic introduction SEG 270; topic finish SEG 629.
