County Executive Sweet on Auto Industry for Valentine’s Day

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson wants the CEOs from some of the top automotive companies in the world to be his Valentine – at least for a day.

Patterson and his economic development team are sending a gourmet Valentine’s Day chocolate car to the CEOs of 100 automotive companies with locations in Oakland County. That means General Motors CEO and Chairman Mary Barra, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne and others who sit in the C-level suites at such automotive heavyweights as Borg-Warner, Brose, Continental, Lear, Magna and Valeo will be getting a sweet package from Patterson within the next few days.

L. Brooks Patterson Sweet on Auto Industry

L. Brooks Patterson Sweet on Auto Industry

“I want our automotive companies and their suppliers – more than 200 of them are in Oakland County – to understand that we value them and their employees,” Patterson said. “Oakland County is the center of the auto industry in Michigan. We’re showing them a little love on Valentine’s Day but we appreciate them ever day of the year.”

Patterson has spent the past dozen years trying to diversify Oakland County’s economy through his Emerging Sectors® business development strategy to attract and retain companies in such fields as health care, alternative energy and information technology resulting in more than $3.3 billion of new investment and about 59,000 new and retained jobs.

In 2015, four global automotive companies located their North American or world headquarters in Oakland County: Aramco in Novi; Nexteer and TI Automotive in Auburn Hills and Superior Industries in Southfield. He has never underestimated the importance of the auto industry to Oakland County’s economy.

“My father worked at Chrysler for 43 years,” Patterson said. “The auto companies and the suppliers are often overlooked as to their role in returning Oakland County’s economy to a robust level. Their contribution cannot be overstated.”

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