Ford Motor Co. said it is betting on Michigan suppliers for the future as part of a new partnership it's formed with JPMorganChase, the state of Michigan, Michigan Central, and Newlab – its a partnership that will create a multibillion-dollar opportunity for suppliers over the next decade and support jobs.
Ford and its partners announced on Sept. 29 that they are starting the Michigan Launchpad for Industrial Innovation & Transformation (LIFT). Its goal is to help suppliers who have the technology a business might need, but that supplier can't get the financing, the workforce, or the customer to scale up and prove itself. Michigan LIFT, then, means to help bring all of that together.
The announcement was made in a blog written by Liz Door, Ford's
chief supply chain officer.
"Ford is America's automaker, and we believe American manufacturing's best days are ahead," Ford CEO Jim Farley, says in the blog. "Michigan LIFT is about helping solve real manufacturing challenges faster. It connects innovators, suppliers, and manufacturers with the support they need to scale."
As part of it, Door wrote that Ford "aspires to award up to $1 billion in business to innovative new and existing suppliers through the platform." Door said that JPMorganChase plans to provide up to $1 billion in financing and Michigan Central, Newlab, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. intend to attract additional industrial buyers representing more than $1 billion in annual demand by 2036.
The news comes one day ahead of Farley's second annual Accelerate conference at Michigan Central where business leaders will convene to discuss ways to help solve the crisis in the Essential Economy, those are the skilled trades in which demand is outpacing supply of workers and the problem is growing as older skilled trades people retire.
Door said LIFT is an example of turning the conversations about the Essential Economy into action by helping innovative companies launch their ideas into the market, strengthen suppliers and build an industrial base that will be more resilient in the future.
Along with this launch, Ford announced that its charitable giving arm, Ford Philanthropy, and JPMorganChase will contribute $550,000 in joint support for Focus: HOPE, a Detroit-based nonprofit providing education and job training.
Door wrote that this grant will strengthen Focus: HOPE's industrial manufacturing training program, which teaches manufacturing skills, robotics, and welding, and it will expand "employer connections, career placement support, and transportation assistance for trainees."
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford plans to award $1 billion in new business to suppliers by 2036
