The Traverse City Region – the Midwest’s Hotspot for Innovation & Growth. At Traverse Connect, the approach to economic development is forward-thinking and non-traditional. Instead of focusing resources on “chasing smokestacks,” the Traverse City Region values a healthy mix of attracting new business to the region while supporting the growth of our existing companies and encouraging the creation of new industries from the ground up. Building a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem means fostering a culture of openness and information exchange between companies and across industries within our region, from corporate headquarters and startup entrepreneurs, down to Main Street coffee shop founders. The goal is to ignite a community of entrepreneurs and local partners who feed off each other’s talent, creativity, and support at each stage of growth. By focusing on local business conditions, we hope to create clusters of new firms and industries that ultimately produce a fertile landscape long term. By encouraging the growth of existing assets – healthy partner relationships, the scaling up of our existing companies – and attracting new business, Grand Traverse County will see already vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem continue to flourish and grow.
The Grand Traverse region is the economic hub of Northern Michigan. Its diverse local economy has seen many transitions over time, originating in the 1850s with the start of the Sawmill at the mouth of the Boardman River.
In the 1950s John Parson and Frank Stulen patent the first CNC -or Computerized Numerical Control- technology in Traverse City beginning the “Second Industrial Revolution” for this area. This became the industry standard for which they received the National Medal of Technology & Innovation the nation’s highest award for technological advancement. Presently, Traverse City’s diverse economy now is home to world leaders in manufacturing, technology, and agriculture, all rooted in one of the most naturally beautiful towns in America and we seek to expand our technological innovation footprint.
Traverse Connect and the Grand Traverse Area Manufacturing Council collaborated to provide manufacturers with the resources they need to grow and expand their businesses, and to improve the sustainability and growth of the local manufacturing sector by increasing the awareness and utilization of resources available to our local businesses. Contact Traverse Connect for more information.
