from “le détroit” · the strait
Michigan approved a $1.6 million grant to help Alquist 3D build a robotics and workforce-training center at Newlab in Corktown.
A 3D concrete-printing company is setting up in Detroit, and the state is helping pay for it.
On May 19, the Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a $1.6 million performance-based grant to Alquist 3D through the Michigan Business Development Program, part of a package the governor's office announced as funding for roughly 650 jobs across three Southeast Michigan projects. The state says Alquist plans to invest at least $31.25 million and create up to 162 jobs over five years, according to the announcement from Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The company is opening what it calls a Robotics and Engineering Center of Excellence at Newlab, the innovation hub inside the restored Book Depository building in Corktown. The space is slated for research, robotics production, engineering work, workforce training, and further development of 3D-printed construction for both commercial and residential projects.
Alquist, which moved its headquarters to Greeley, Colorado in 2023, says it looked at several other states before choosing Michigan, including Nebraska, Georgia, Arizona, Arkansas, Minnesota, and North Carolina. Per the state's announcement, the company pointed to Michigan's manufacturing base, its training and education infrastructure, and access to an experienced industrial workforce.
"Detroit is one of the great manufacturing cities in the world, and we believe it is the right place for Alquist to enter this next stage of growth," Alquist CEO Patrick Callahan said in the state's announcement.
Workforce training is a central part of the pitch. The state says Alquist's program, run with community colleges and trade schools, has trained more than 200 students since September 2024, and the company is in talks with Henry Ford College, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and other schools as it builds out in Michigan.
The technology is a robotic arm that lays down concrete layer by layer, taking the place of conventional framing. That has drawn interest in a city still working to rebuild its single-family housing stock, where construction costs slow development in lower-income neighborhoods.
The move also adds to the cluster of mobility and advanced-manufacturing companies that have gathered around Newlab and the Michigan Central district. The center has not yet opened.
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