Big things are happening at Lansing's
Niowave, in the form of a new facility that will produce some very small things - in size, anyway. Niowave has recently announced it will invest $202 in a new facility within the
Next Michigan Development Zone at the Capital Region Community Airport that will create medical isotopes, as well as up to 120 jobs.
"The real benefit to being at that site was that location itself," says Niowave COO Jerry Hollister. "As soon as you make a medical isotope, it starts to decay. The sooner you ship them off, the more you can sell. Beign right at the airport is really huge."
The development zone at the airport will also provide incentives from the Port Lansing Next Michigan Development Corporation, a $3 million loan from the Michigan Strategic Fund and support from both DeWitt Township, the City of Lansing and the Lansing Economic Area Partnership. The 50,000 square foot facility will help Niowave join the $3 billion radiopharmaceutical industry, most of which now comes from Canada and Europe.
"Lansing is pretty unique around the country - the world even - for our workforce," Hollister says. "Not only do we have the scientific brain power, we're also a leader in advanced manufacturing. It gives us a real advantage. That's why we have our headquarters here; that's why we're expanding here."
In addition to producing medical isotopes, Hollister envisions additional applications for the accelerator, including creating lasers capable of acting as military-grade defense weapons, as well as sterilizing heat-sensitive materials.
Source: Jerry Hollister, Niowave
Writer: Natalie Burg, Development News Editor
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