Governor Gretchen Whitmer ended a South Korea and Taiwan investment mission Friday with one quantified Michigan project: Hansae Mobility’s planned $93.2 million expansion in Chesterfield Township, expected to create 102 jobs while retaining 171 existing positions. The trip also produced a new Oakland County–Taichung sister-city relationship and additional company meetings, but the administration’s September 18 mission summary did not announce another newly committed investment.
The Hansae project is the clearest near-term outcome for Michigan workers. The South Korean automotive-components maker plans a 400,000-square-foot Macomb County facility that will combine final assembly and machining now performed in separate locations or by Korean suppliers. Michigan’s project announcement says the expansion is supported by a $625,000 performance-based state grant and a workforce proposal valued at $702,413, including an estimated $582,000 from the Going PRO Talent Fund.
Commitments depend on milestones
The state describes the $93,214,535 investment and 102 jobs as company commitments, not completed results. Michigan Economic Development Corporation support will be formalized in a performance agreement, and grant money is disbursed only as milestones are met. The terms can be amended or canceled if the commitments are not fulfilled. That makes future MEDC reporting the measure of whether the announced hiring and capital spending arrive on schedule.
Whitmer’s delegation also met Korean firms already operating in Michigan, including POEN, BRILS and HL Mechatronics, and discussed shipbuilding, robotics, semiconductors, drones and advanced manufacturing with business and government leaders. In Taiwan, meetings included President Lai Ching-te, Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao, cabinet officials, Taichung’s mayor, aerospace manufacturer AIDC and drone maker Thunder Tiger, according to the mission wrap-up.
Taiwan strategy remains a longer-term effort
The Taiwan portion emphasized prospecting rather than a second signed project. The administration’s September 17 briefing said Taiwan-based companies have undertaken Michigan projects totaling $249.65 million and 461 direct jobs since January 2019. It identified Delta Electronics, YCM, Sunspring Metal and Logic Solutions among companies investing after the state opened a permanent Taiwan office.
Michigan opened that office in March 2024 under MEDC administration to promote investment and connect suppliers, concentrating on semiconductors, electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing. Whitmer’s latest visit was her third to Taiwan, indicating that the state is treating those relationships as a continuing pipeline rather than a one-trip transaction.
The new Oakland County–Taichung agreement is designed to support economic, educational and cultural exchanges, but the state has not attached a dollar or job figure to it. For now, the Chesterfield expansion is the mission’s measurable Michigan result. Residents tracking the project should watch for the performance agreement, construction milestones and Hansae job postings rather than treating the full commitment as money already spent. Additional meetings may develop into projects later, but they should be evaluated when companies disclose locations, capital commitments, job targets and any requested public incentives.
