It was another busy day in Germany, packed full of productive meetings and travel throughout this beautiful country.  After a quick breakfast, we said goodbye to Dusseldorf and hopped on a quick flight to Stuttgart, which is located in southern Germany.  The city is the sixth largest in Germany and is rich with historical sites and culture.  I also found some great World Cup souvenirs in Stuttgart!  Our first stop took us to a meeting with officials at Getrag AG, a systems supplier and integration partner for transmission and drivetrain systems.  We were loud and clear with our message to Getrag - Michigan has the tools and resources to compete with any location in the world, and we are ready to do business with them.  Getrag officials expressed their interest in being a partner with the Great Lakes State.
 
This afternoon, I talked with the managing director of FACTON.  I thanked him for his company's exciting new venture in our state and encouraged him to continue to invest here in the future.  FACTON, a leading software vendor in the area of cost process optimization (CPO) in Europe, announced yesterday that they will invest $1 million to locate its new North American office in Auburn Hills.  The project will create 93 new Michigan jobs, including 59 directly by the company.  FACTON helps automotive companies perform cost analysis, simulations and optimizations of future product costs.
 
After several media interview calls back to the U.S., I had an opportunity to sit down with Dr. Dieter Zetsche, the charismatic leader of DaimlerChrysler.  I made sure that he knew we are very eager to encourage the $3 billion powertrain investment be made in Michigan.  Zetsche complemented our state as an excellent partner with DaimlerChrysler and said he appreciated how far Michigan has been willing to bend to partner with Chrysler to ensure a competitive business climate.  I let him know that we are ready, willing and able to do whatever it takes to ensure that those investments stay in Michigan. After our meeting, we attended a dinner hosted by DaimlerChrysler officials - it was a delightful evening.
 
In addition to FACTON's announcement today, we are pleased to announce that two other German companies plan to grow in Michigan.  Kostal, who I met with on the first day of our trip, will relocate its Novi operations to Troy and expand to become one of three new Kostal Group international research and development centers of excellence.  The expansion will create 203 new high-tech jobs and involve approximately $13.6 million in investment!  MBtech Autodie LLC will invest approximately $5 million in the former Autodie facility in Grand Rapids - that project is expected to retain 422 Michigan jobs, including 200 directly by the company.  Great news for our West Michigan workers.
 
As our state continues to struggle through this economic transformation, I continue to be optimistic about the days ahead.  These jobs announcements are a reminder that we will win the battle to be competitive one step at a time.  Stay tuned…