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DELTA COUNTY -- Three Delta County companies out of 54 in Michigan have been selected to participate in an Economic Gardening pilot. It's being offered through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and the intent is to grow small and mid-sized businesses and create new jobs in the state.

VanAire in Gladstone is considered a mid-sized company, but job expansion is on the horizon. In fact, officials said that in the past month, they've added five positions, and starting next January, they'll get 35 hours with a strategic research team.

It's all part of an Economic Gardening program administered through the Edward Lowe Foundation.

“It's certainly an honor to be selected for this,” said VanAire CEO, Bill VanDeVusse, “and the encouragement we've received from the Delta County EDA has been phenomenal."

The Delta County companies that were selected were nominated by Vicki Schwab, director of the Delta County Economic Development Alliance.

“These nominations are critical in helping our current businesses expand,” explains Schwab, “and hopefully the project will result in more good-paying jobs in our community."

VanAire will focus on better modifying their product for the oil and gas industry, as well as rebranding their product into more of an engineered solution. The company makes valve automation hardware. They ship internationally to China and Finland, but they've also received their first order from India.

While officials are proud of the international expansion, they are looking forward to growing even more with this support.

“You know, our hope certainly is that it'll be targeted specifically to our needs if we need a little more time in one area and a little less in another,” VanDeVusse said.

The two other Delta County companies selected because of their growth potential were Andex in Escanaba and Creative Composites in Rapid River.