Tiara's Energetx gets green for green

HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) -- Vincent Reyna knows what it's like to work in an industry that's dependent upon discretionary spending.

Now back to work, Reyna was laid off for two months last year. His employer, Tiara Yachts, has cut its workforce by about 300 since 2008.

They're still building boats. That will continue.

But a few years ago, leaders of the company had an idea. They had the workforce, the materials and the know-how.

The end result is Energetx , a Tiara spinoff. Energetx is now building items like molds for windmill parts and lightweight bodies for a hybrid mass transit buses.

It's given Reyna some hope for the future.

"We've gone through so much in the 18 years that I've been here," he told 24 Hour News 8. "What's happening now is just definitely a positive step in the right direction."

Currently, 18 people work for Energetx. They're looking for 10 more now, another 1000 by 2016.

Those workers are helping support what some consider to be speculative green-energy initiatives.

But Kelly Slikker, whose grandfather started Tiara three decades ago, said he's seeing more and more demand for the composite material used on their yachts in other industries, from transportation to defense to wind energy.

"That just continues to grow. So we feel it's a tremendous opportunity," Slikker said.

For employees like Reyna, they're convinced this new challenge will pay off big.

So does Governor Granholm.

Despite an unemployment rate hovering around 15%, there are companies finding new ways to build their business.

That was the governor's message Wednesday night during her state of her State address. It brought her to Holland Friday to tour Energetx plant.

"It's fantastic for the state. It's fantastic for the planet," Granholm said. "Because certainly the projects they are diversifying into are going to be helpful to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. It's really terrific all around."

The company had some help from the state in the form of $27.3 million in tax breaks, and from taxpayers, in the form of $3.5 in Recovery Act money from the federal government.

"The federal dollars that came to us are all about creating jobs. And that's exactly where they're going," the governor said. "The Recovery Act was slated for the purpose of creating jobs and this is an example of that recovery act working."

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