DeMattia Group Announces Dedication Ceremony Set for Livingston Regional Michigan Technical Education Center.

Business Editors

PLYMOUTH, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2001

DeMattia Group, one of southeastern Michigan's leading design/build firms, announces the completion of Livingston Regional Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) in Howell Township, Livingston County.

A dedication ceremony is set for Friday, September 28, 2001 at 10:00 am.

U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) will be one of several honored guests at the dedication ceremony. Lt. Governor, Dick Posthumus, State Sen., Valde Garcia, State Reps. for Livingston County, Paul DeWeese and Judith Scranton, along with officials from Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) will be attending. Dr. Dick Shaink, president of Mott Community College and the Mott board of trustees are also going to be there.

All local area business and industry representatives -- including owners, CEOs, presidents, human resource professionals -- are strongly encouraged to participate in the facility's dedication day.

The Livingston Regional Michigan Technical Education Center is designed to provide flexible, high quality training in manufacturing, construction and information systems. Mott Community College will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the center. "Our aim is to help the Livingston community with economic development and expansion," said Dr. Shaink, president of Mott Community College. "We will provide training to existing and future workers that help the community grow and compete on a global basis."

The announcement that M-TEC will be offering construction trades training is welcome news, said Carol Kull, executive officer for the Home Builders Association of Livingston County. "Despite the fact there are over 5,000 persons employed in the construction trades in Livingston County, there's still a shortage of skilled workers," Kull said. "What we're hearing from our members is that there just aren't enough skilled workers and those who are trained are already working."

"One of the advantages of a conveniently located technical training center such as M-TEC is that employees don't have far to travel to attend classes," said Charles Lafayette, director of M-TEC. "And our professional training staff can offer a depth of resources not always available to individual companies.

M-TEC is located near M-59, I-96 and Grand River Avenue on Packard Drive in the TransWest Industrial Park. The facility has 12,700 SF of classroom/office space using conventional construction. A pre-engineered metal building is being used for the 25,500 SF of workshop space. Distinguished architectural features at the front entrance reflect the presence of an institutional educational facility located in an industrial park.

The owner selected the design/build delivery method for this project for many reasons; an accelerated project schedule, adherence to high quality and bringing the project within the restrained budget. "Mott Community College has found DeMattia to be a pleasure to work with, very diligent, very professional, up front and dedicated to our project," Keith Yarbrough, executive director of Mott Community College said.

DeMattia Group is an ISO 9001 certified, full-service real estate development, design and construction firm. DeMattia offers innovative solutions in site selection, land planning, design/build construction, architecture, engineering, construction management, interior design and property management. Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, they also have a regional office in Milwaukee serving the Milwaukee-Chicago market. For more information on DeMattia, visit them online at www.demattia.com.