Winds change; turbine plant closes

BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A wind turbine plant has closed just months after announcing a $2.5 million expansion and plans to add 90 workers.

Altronics Energy, 7357 Expressway Dr. SW in Byron Township, closed earlier this year, said Ron McNees, co-owner of the plant's parent company, Altron Automation of Hudsonville.

He blamed the closing on the ongoing struggles with green energy.

It joins a list of other faltering or failed green projects:

• LG Chem Michigan, which has yet to turn out a lithium-ion car battery for sale despite a $150 million federal grant
• United Solar Ovonics in Greenville, which made thin-film solar panels, and at one time employed 424 people. The company filed for bankruptcy last year

Altronics Energy announced last June it would expand the wind turbine plant with help from the state -- a $450,000 performance-based tax incentive from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

MEDC spokeswoman Kathleen Fagan confirmed Friday the state was terminating the tax incentive agreement. She said the company had not received any state money.

The company also had applied for a property tax break from Byron Township to help with the expansion, but Township Clerk Joel Hondorp on Friday said the township had denied the request.

It was denied in 2011, he said, because the company failed to follow-up.

As part of this expansion project, Grand Rapids Community College partnered with The Right Place, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Altronics Energy, by providing Michigan New Jobs funding to build the skill sets for the workforce needed in this industry. The new employees were to be trained under a $200,000 contract during the next six years.

Julie Parks, the director of workforce training at GRCC, told 24 Hour News 8 that never happened because on Feb. 18 she received a letter from Altronics Energy that stated, in part, the company was "in process of conducting an orderly liquidation."

Altron Automation formed Altronics in 2010 to build parts for small wind turbines, and to distribute small wind turbine systems. At the time, it had just 10 employees.

It announced its expansion plans after winning a contract to build The Honeywell Wind Turbine. Instead of the much larger wind turbines that need 8 to 10 mph winds to create energy, these smaller turbines need winds of 2 to 3 mph, company officials said.

McNees, the co-owner, told 24 Hour News 8 that five of Altronics 10 employees lost their jobs, while the others took jobs at the parent company.