Kellogg opening service center in Cascade TWP

[MJLO]

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/02/despite_fears_kellogg_co_job_t.html#incart_river

 

Ok I need someone smarter than me to explain something.  Obviously a couple weeks ago Kellogg announced it was opening a global services center in Grand Rapids and will be transfering and or creating 300-600 new jobs at the facility.  What I dont understand is all the news stories coming out of Battle Creek about leaders from the area scrambling to keep those jobs in BC.   The way these people are being quoted you would think that Kellogg is moving it's entire corporate footprint to Cascade.   Are they over blowing it because they didn't get the facility?  Or is there some kind of actual threat of Kellogg leaving?   Major corporations the size of Kellogg have brain power all over the world, I'm failing to see what the drama is.

[walker]

I'm not smart enough to know either but Aaron Renn, who writes the Urbanophile blog, says that he frequently finds "that to locals it’s particularly galling when a company does something like this within the state boundaries."  

 

Renn just wrote an interesting article in his blog about the Kellogg move and says it's about scale:

 

http://www.urbanophile.com/2014/02/21/the-great-urban-divide-michigan-edition/

[mpchicago]

From what I have read it appears that only 50 or 60 employees out of a possible 600 are coming from Battle Creek.  The rest are apparently consolidating from around the country.  I guess time will tell.  It's also possible that some of those Battle Creek employees could simply end up living right where they are now.  I think BC is just a little over an hour commute to Cascade Twp.  It's possible that some of those employees live in Kalamazoo County, which would result in a commute closer to 40 to 45 minutes. 

[RegalTDP]

I don't see any signs of Kellogg leaving Battle Creek from this.  On the contrary, I think the fact they're looking close by for a skilled labor pool - as opposed to, like, Naperville or something - means they're betting on the vitality of this region, and are therefore even less likely to move.  As least that's how I see it... I think part of the city leaders' grumbling comes from how BC just invested a lot into renovating their downtown, and I think they were hoping it would lead to more expansion there.  So I kinda get the frustration when they announced an expansion in another city.  I think people in GR would grumble too if a local company here did the same thing.

[GRDadof3]

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/02/despite_fears_kellogg_co_job_t.html#incart_river

 

Ok I need someone smarter than me to explain something.  Obviously a couple weeks ago Kellogg announced it was opening a global services center in Grand Rapids and will be transfering and or creating 300-600 new jobs at the facility.  What I dont understand is all the news stories coming out of Battle Creek about leaders from the area scrambling to keep those jobs in BC.   The way these people are being quoted you would think that Kellogg is moving it's entire corporate footprint to Cascade.   Are they over blowing it because they didn't get the facility?  Or is there some kind of actual threat of Kellogg leaving?   Major corporations the size of Kellogg have brain power all over the world, I'm failing to see what the drama is.

 

 

The Urbanophile is hit or miss lately but he does make a good point:

 

I understand the frustration, but at the end of the day, this is the reality of the modern world we live in. We see similar business decisions every day. Kellogg’s is in Battle Creek for historical reasons. There’s no way the company would ever choose to locate there today. The changing demands of the global marketplace create a need for skills that are easier to find in or lure to a place like Grand Rapids (metro population one million) than Battle Creek (metro population 135,000). That’s reality.

 

I find this to be a similar situation with Consumers Energy (CMS Energy). I don't think they'd ever consider HQing in downtown Jackson today if they had the choice. Most energy companies are located in very large metros where the center of "energy" resides.

 

http://www.mlive.com/business/jackson-lansing/index.ssf/2011/07/post_35.html

[fotoman311]

 

The Urbanophile is hit or miss lately but he does make a good point:

 

I understand the frustration, but at the end of the day, this is the reality of the modern world we live in. We see similar business decisions every day. Kellogg’s is in Battle Creek for historical reasons. There’s no way the company would ever choose to locate there today. The changing demands of the global marketplace create a need for skills that are easier to find in or lure to a place like Grand Rapids (metro population one million) than Battle Creek (metro population 135,000). That’s reality.

 

I find this to be a similar situation with Consumers Energy (CMS Energy). I don't think they'd ever consider HQing in downtown Jackson today if they had the choice. Most energy companies are located in very large metros where the center of "energy" resides.

 

http://www.mlive.com/business/jackson-lansing/index.ssf/2011/07/post_35.html

 

Wow.  This editorial from the former head of the economic development org in BC reads like an email that someone typed up and should have let sit overnight before deleting the next morning, but instead they accidentally sent it to the major newspaper in town and asked them to publish it in the opinion section.  Kinda feel sorry for the person that has to try and smooth that over.

 

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20140217/OPINION02/302170030/Jim-Hettinger-column-Contrasts-corporate-community-relations?nclick_check=1

 

My guess is that a reaction like this illustrates exactly why Kellogg did not announce their intentions ahead of time.

 

 

 

It is hard to believe this move has anything to do with driving stock value. To the company, this is a marginal decision which, just happens to culminate in the economic and image destruction of an iconic American community. What a wonderful model of American capitalism to present to our young people in a time when they’re already pretty skeptical.

[MJLO]

One of the points made in Urbanophile was how GR is off the beaten path in terms of accessibility.   I do think that having a north/south Interstate  (not just 131 and 31) would help make us a much more viable area from an accessibility stand point.   That would have to help us from an economic stand point.  Since Indiana has stepped up its game from Indy to South Bend by upgrading US 31 to full freeway, maybe it's time Michigan finished that long awaited connection for US 31 in Berrien County so 196 can be redesignated I-67 to Indianapolis. 

[jonathan.jam]

The highways do not necessarily make Grand Rapids more accessible; people still have to travel the length of them to get here. In terms of not being accessible, Grand Rapids is usually seen as such because it is fairly isolated. One must travel north from Detroit and then South to keep going to Chicago versus a more straight-forward route via Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, etc.

[MJLO]

Having no direct north/south link west of Lansing makes an impact on desirability.  Just having the Kokomo Bypass on US-31 has shaved off a half hours drive time to Indy, which gives access to multiple connections. Or the fact that you cannot connect to 80 in South Bend without having to do the Napier Ave connector has an impact on GPS routes.

[RegalTDP]

Wow.  This editorial from the former head of the economic development org in BC reads like an email that someone typed up and should have let sit overnight before deleting the next morning, but instead they accidentally sent it to the major newspaper in town and asked them to publish it in the opinion section.  Kinda feel sorry for the person that has to try and smooth that over.

 

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20140217/OPINION02/302170030/Jim-Hettinger-column-Contrasts-corporate-community-relations?nclick_check=1

 

My guess is that a reaction like this illustrates exactly why Kellogg did not announce their intentions ahead of time.

 

Well, that oughta teach Kellogg a lesson! 

 

I don't get how this is "stealthy" or a "sneak attack."  Isn't "announcing their intentions ahead of time" what they're doing now?

[MJLO]

Is Kellogg still on track to take over that facility?