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March 04, 1988 - Image 27

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1988-03-04

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

The remains of a once popular store, which burned down and was never rebuilt.

tive vice president, added, "We like
the idea that we can help shape a
community, but it's also a good
business move for us:'
Michigan Employment Security
Commission analysts said Benton
Harbor suffers from a staggering 24
percent unemployment rate, but city
officials suggest that figure could be
as high as 40 percent. The state
averaged an 8.2 percent unemploy-
ment rate, the MESC said.
The city is the state's only
established "enterprise zone;' where
substantial tax breaks are available
to encourage development.
Under the state pilot program,
new companies moving into Benton
Harbor would be exempt from sales

and single business taxes for ten
years. Property taxes also would be
reduced by 60 percent during that
time.
Meyhtahl, who will oversee the
$32 million project, said he might
bring to the city a few Israeli ex-
ecutives and some Entech engineers.
But, he said, most employees at the
plant will be local. The companies
also want to hire several disabled in-
dividuals, he said.
The plant, scheduled to be opera-
tional by 1989, should produce 25,000
specially designed cars a year. Of-
ficials said they will select this month
one of two locations for a 200,000- to
400,000-square-foot plant locations.
Elkon purchased rights to a vehi-

The Road To Benton Harbor

1985
Elkon Brothers purchases
rights from a British engineer to
the world's first automobile for the
handicapped driver.
January 1987
Michigan Com-
merce Director Doug Ross and
Israel Trade Commissioner David
Litvak announce at a press con-
ference in Detroit they will
establish ongoing commercial
relations.
March 1987 — Elkon Brothers
queries several engineering com-
panies in the United States, in-
cluding Entech Engineering
Technology of Troy.
May 1987 — Entech contacts state
Department of Commerce; informs
government officials that Elkon
wants to come to Michigan. Corn-





merce officials begin lobbying
efforts.
December 1987
Ross and state
Rep. Burton Leland meet in Israel
with several business and govern-
ment leaders, including represen-
tatives from Elkon.
January 1988
Gov. James Blan-
chard announces at a press con-
ference in Lansing that Elkon and
Entech officials had signed a joint
venture to build the car for the
handicapped in Benton Harbor.
January 1988
Marketing negotia-
tions begin with the Big Three
automakers.
February 1988
After several
visits to Benton Harbor,
Elkon/Entech officials choose two
possible locations for the plant.









cle for wheelchair-user drivers two
years ago from a British automobile
engineer who had developed a small
car for one passenger.
Entech will redesign the car to
meet federal standards. It will be a

sporty car, with room for passengers.
Projected cost for the car is $15,000.
Touche Ross Inc. of England is putting
together financing for the project, ex-
pected to begin in May.

Continued on Page 30

City Cries
For Help

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

enton Harbor — Windows
are smashed along Main
Street. Some buildings are
boarded up; others are just
blighted and empty. A few
vagrants roam the streets of an area
once known for its bustling
downtown.
Marquees are bare — all but one.
The Liberty Theater, which has been
vacant for years, now is used to sport
a new theme: Welcome The New Ben-
ton Harbor.
"I guess that's public relations;'
explained Benton Harbor Mayor Wil-
liam Wolf, who recently took the helm
of one of the state's most depressed
cities.
By publicizing the resources that
in the past 20 years have been over-
shadowed by poverty and unemploy-

B

ment, Benton Harbor finally is draw-
ing the kind of attention that resi-
dents and governMent officials hope
will translate into jobs and pros-
perity.
At least 500 jobs should be created
when an Israeli car company and a
Troy-based engineering firm make
Benton Harbor home to the world's
first manufactured car for handi-
capped drivers. Elkon Brothers Ltd. of
Israel, which makes Mack trucks, has
teamed up with Entech Engineering
to build the innovative product.
The first Elkon car is expected to
roll off the assembly lines in 1990.
Although the company would
help reshape a community in distress,
it is unlikely to affect a historically
predominant upper middle class Jew-
ish community of about 150 families.
The first Jews came to Benton Har-
bor about 100 years ago, during the
city's heyday.

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