greater technology
You might be surprised by one of the Greater Lansing region’s strengths—our booming IT sector. Michigan is actually the nation’s 4th-largest high-tech employer—and a major source of software and information technology. And Greater Lansing alone is home to more than 300 IT companies, including such well-known names as IDV Solutions, Liquid Web Inc. and TechSmith Corporation.
In fact, our region’s residents are among the most tech-savvy in the country. Some 42 percent of Ingham County residents are so-called “early adopters” of the latest technology—well above the national average of 29 percent. That’s why more than 9,000 of area residents are employed in IT-related jobs. And it’s why our local IT sector grew 20 percent between 1998 and 2004—almost seven times faster than the rate for other jobs.
But we’re not just about IT. Many Greater Lansing region businesses are being built around other cutting-edge technologies that are changing the world.
Of course, advanced manufacturing remains one of our region’s strengths. Many local companies provide products and services that keep the machinery of our everyday lives running smoothly. But that shouldn’t be surprising—after all, we reinvented history’s greatest industry with the most progressive automotive plant on the planet—General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township plant, which was the first assembly plant in the world to earn gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Our residents are the people who build Motor Trend’s 2008 Car of the Year (the much-admired Cadillac CTS). And Business Development Outlook magazine ranked Lansing No. 1 among cities with the greatest growth in automotive manufacturing from 2006 to 2007.
