Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Solar Deal Brings Jobs

A Traverse City company has landed a major deal on a solar-power project in California. It means 20 new manufacturing jobs in northern Michigan.

Cone Drive Gearing Solutions in Traverse City beat out international competitors to win a contract to help build a utility-scale solar project in the Mohave Desert. The system is the world's largest concentrated solar power complex under construction, nearly 400 Megawatts.

Solar power is a relatively new company focus for Cone Drive. Its 20 new positions in Traverse City will be assembly line production and manufacturing jobs, in a unionized facility with a current workforce of 163.

The company says the contract will also bring in work for at least two of their local suppliers. Those companies are not named, and Cone Drive leaders won't say the total dollar value of the solar-power contract.

Source: http://ipr.interlochen.org/