Invest Escanaba: Billerud $200 Million Paper Mill Development Supplemental Passes State House and Senate

"The Hunt" in the Forest
by Paolo di Dono, called Uccello (1397–1475)

Billerud in Wells Township should be happy to hear that a supplemental bill for $200 million passed in the state house and senate. You can read the article in State legislature passes funding to upgrade Billerud mill in Delta County (TV6, 2023). What you will find in the article is the need to update infrastructure and while Delta County has existing infrastructure well suited for the logging (and a few others) it will need updates. There are lots of things that go into industrial design that most people don't think about so it take some time (i.e. rain water run off, energy needs, roads, rail, etc..). Those changes will likely lead to more investment interest (Think of FDI and how that is impacted by supply chains being rerouted back to the U.S. Remember that interest doesn't mean actual investment. However, it raises the possibility of further investment. See International Monetary Fund.)

The money is being allocated. See (US News U.P. Papermill Bill. Seriously, I can't find the actual bill! You always go down to the source when you can. I will check back in a few days. Maybe it wasn't uploaded yet.). All of that is good news! The town has been on a path of development and currently has a few other things going for it such as ship building/customization as well as a budding new tourism business. Matching those internal choices and behaviors with a more robust downtown and start-up culture opens the door to design and engineering firms that will then put Esky "on the map" as a digital and innovative "hot spot" at a time when the market demands it.

U.S. largest recipient of FDI
Source: IMF

I want you to think about how those infrastructure improvements make sense for other industries and residence in a small town of 10K +/- (I don't have time now to look the number up but feel free to explore if the topic interests you. Practitioner-Scholar). Would ship building, hotels, micro manufacturers, etc....all use those infrastructure improvements? How does improvement in hard infrastructure, including new Delta County digital infrastructure, create opportunities for lower transaction costs, higher innovation, and better growth opportunities for other businesses?

Consider what a Multi Cluster might look like from a theoretical standpoint. Keep in mind that a lot of research supports interactivity of business and that is hardly new. Doing it in a new way with an opportunity to repeat such behaviors in other places is pretty important in the long run. The industries can be adjusted based on market design and local resources but it was the model I was more iterested in and some of them made sense. Consider DC MultiClusters. Micro Manufacturing, Billerud Multi Applied Theory Feedback Master Plan, Start Up Esky, R&D Esky, U.S. to Out Perform China. 

TV6, (January 26th, 2023) State legislature passes funding to upgrade Billerud mill in Delta County https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2023/01/27/state-legislature-passes-1b-funding-upgrade-billerud-paper-mill/