Organizational & Program Description

Organizational & Program Description

The Keweenaw Industrial Council (KIC) is made up of a volunteer Board of Directors and a paid, part-time Executive Director. Membership includes over 145 key business and community leaders and others interested in promoting economic development in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties. The Board conducts an annual membership campaign to raise operating funds.

The KIC began operations in the 1970's following the closing of the last copper mine in the area. The area had been heavily dependent on the mining and logging industries. As mining ceased, many local companies that had supplied the mines also ceased or moved out of the area. Nor could logging support the area since little value-added operations were performed locally, the logs being exported to more urban areas that captured the value-added job creation.

The KIC was created to promote diversification and expansion of the manufacturing and, more recently, the tourism and service sectors. This is accomplished by focusing on providing services to local manufacturing and service businesses to help them expand, by encouraging local entrepreneurs to start up new businesses and by attracting businesses to the area.

The KIC also assists the commercialization of technologies developed at Michigan Technological University, one of the premier engineering schools in the U.S. KIC provides assistance to the Keweenaw Technology Business Network, a group of small ìhigh techî companies, many of which are spin-offs from Michigan Tech.

The KIC provides direct assistance to companies including writing business plans, providing financial and other management advice, structuring business expansion and start-up projects, conducting financial packaging, writing grants for public infrastructure in support of industrial expansions, arranging for labor force training, responding to outside companies wishing to move into the area, and other assistance as requested.

The KIC has also been instrumental in: creating two local revolving loan funds used as "gap" financing for expansions and start-ups; developing and implementing special marketing assistance programs to assist companies to broaden their customer bases; conducting workshops of interest to the business community and most recently, establishing a tax-free industrial renaissance zone in Houghton County.

During the past ten years, the KIC has had a number of major successes, including the expansion of over 15 local companies, the start-up of both "off-the-shelf" and "high" technology companies, the creation of two revolving loan funds, the commercialization of a major forest products technology, and a significant improvement in the quality of life of local citizens. In 1995, the KIC earned the U. P. Economic Development Organization of the Year award and in 1997 the Project of the Year award.

Return to: KIC HomePage

For more information - Email to: Phil Musser pmusser@mail.portup.com

Created by Bill Campbell (bill@nitrate.com)

Last Updated: 12 March 1997