CommunityLink
Sturgis, MI
Business & Industry"Business is Booming"
The economy in Sturgis has never been healthier. Business is booming and the job market is flourishing: finding just the right job for any interested person is reasonably certain.
Sturgis continues to attract major businesses as well as smaller entrepreneurs. Its historical trend of being home to international industry since the 1800s has not wavered — Sturgis maintains its allure. The city has extensive economic bragging rights, with over 70 plants employing a total of 5,600 workers located in or near the city. Its business sector is leading-edge, solid and diversified. It hosts divisions of several international, multimillion-dollar corporations. The products manufactured in Sturgis include nutritional foods, tool and die, aluminum truck bodies, wood products, auto parts, plastic and paper products, and much more.
One of the largest employers in Sturgis is Burr Oak Tool and Gauge Company Inc. It employs 350 persons and has maintained several customers worldwide for over 60 years. Its line of manufacturing is tools, dies and specialized machinery.
Two other major employers are Morgan Olson, a manufacturer of commercial trucks that employs 600 persons, and the Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, which employs 525 pediatric and medical/nutritional products workers.
Other top Sturgis employers include Sturgis Hospital, the school system, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Sturgis Molded Products, the Syntech Division of Summit Polymers and the City of Sturgis. Also employing more than 100 people are Americraft Carton Inc., International Paper, LTI Printing Co., Midwest Plastic Engineering Inc., Midwest Tool and Cutlery Inc., Precision Speed Equipment Inc., Sturgis Iron and Metal Co. Inc., and Penguin LLC. Four of the city’s industries have international affiliations, bringing the wealth of the world to Sturgis’ doorstep.
There are several fine industrial parks in Sturgis, including three with acreage available for new businesses. The Airport Industrial Park is located south of Kirsch Municipal Airport and has 42 sites, most of which are occupied. Stapleton Industrial Park, located north of the airport, includes 40 platted acres divided into 15 sites and an additional 60 acres available for development. Bullard Industrial Park opened in 1999 on North Clay at Memorial Drive with 27 sites; two are sold. Sturgis Industrial Park is a full 60-acre industrial park hosting Sturgis Molded Products, Oak Products and Morgan Olson, while the Armory Industrial Park on North Clay Street features 15 sites and eight industries on 20 acres. Most parks include full services and competitive land prices.
The Sturgis Improvement Association (SIA) has as its objective the promotion, retention, expansion and attraction of activities in the City of Sturgis through the productive reuse of the city’s land and buildings, while maintaining a strong collaborative strategy with city government and other local development boards. The SIA has established industrial park covenants as a means to ensure the purchaser that only appropriate and attractive facilities will be located in their area.
Sturgis has much to offer new or expanding companies, as evidenced by the large assortment of businesses and industries already calling Sturgis home. In fact, in just the past five years, Sturgis has welcomed over 20 new businesses and has seen 50 business expansions.
Sturgis’ businesses and their employees celebrate company and regional pride and promote fitness by competing each year in the Sturgis Area Corporate Cup Competition. This competition features a slate of basketball games, races, golf, tug-of-war and banner contests galore. The corporate structures in Sturgis are both positive and appealing. The future productive path mapped out by the city is encouraging to all concerned.
Another major industry is agriculture; cultivating the rich soil of the Sturgis/St. Joseph County area is an extremely lucrative business. A great amount of corn is grown here; more popcorn and seed corn is raised in St. Joseph County than in any other area county, causing St. Joseph County to be dubbed the “Seed Corn Capital of the World.” The farms are great employers, hiring hundreds of people for summer work each year.
In 2003 a Master Plan was adopted into Sturgis’ Zoning Ordinances. It is an excellent document, composed with the objective of keeping Sturgis as a vital, vibrant and appealing area for businesses both large and small to locate. Maintaining the aesthetic appeal of the city as well as ensuring the convenience and safety of the population at large was a main focus of the Master Plan. A vibrant downtown has its own enhancement plan supported by a downtown development authority board.
City ordinances governing the look and safety of the community include rules concerning junk and second-hand auto dealers, solicitors, peddlers, taxi cabs, alcohol vendors, transient merchants, and more. Home businesses must have a special use permit. Building, fire, signage and property maintenance codes, among others, are in place. All necessary information concerning codes, ordinances and regulations is readily available at Sturgis’ City Web site, and city officials are always available for consultation.
The most obvious helping hand in the city is the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce. Special benefits are available to Chamber members, including:
• The opportunity to advertise in the monthly newsletter “Chamber Calling”
• Assistance celebrating grand openings
• Business and health insurance group rates
• Chamber Dollars, including promotions with the “Dollars” usable at any participating business
The Chamber also sponsors an extremely popular raffle and party each October with a chance to win a dream vehicle (the special vehicle has been a Harley-Davidson motorcycle the last two years), with tickets selling for just $50. There is always a lucky winner.
The Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce is constantly active in promoting the area and helping prospective new businesses or industry in any way possible. The Chamber is truly an outstretched hand to the community, answering dozens of inquiries daily from a myriad of mixed concerns. Involving itself with all that is happening in Sturgis, with a smile and sincere greeting — welcoming, listening, helping.
Sturgis: a community working together for the good of all.
Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce
269.651.5758
e-mail: sturgischamber@charter.net
www.sturgischamber.com
