- Governor Gretchen Whitmer cuts the ribbon and opens a new LuxWall high-tech window factory in Litchfield.
- The extremely energy-efficient windows produced here save energy and help achieve emissions targets.
- CEO Scott Thomsen’s startup LuxWall went from research and development in 2021 to opening the first of two factories, scheduled to open in 2024.
- Watch the video to get a look inside the Litchfield factory and see Governor Whitmer’s remarks and Thomsen’s comments.
In Litchfield, Governor Gretchen Whitmer arrived on Monday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new clean energy production facility.
(The following is a transcript of the entire broadcast)
“When you think of clean energy, the first things that come to mind are solar panels, huge wind turbines or huge batteries…”
– Governor Whitmer points out that clean energy is not just about energy production.
“…but we must not forget the windows – the biggest source of energy loss in buildings. The LuxWall team has taken on this challenge.”
According to LuxWall CEO Scott Thomsen, his Ypsilanti-based startup has moved from research and development in 2021 to opening its first factory in 2024.
A second factory is scheduled to open in Detroit within a few weeks.
Together, Whitmer says, “this will create more than 450 well-paying, high-tech jobs and expand our leadership position in advanced manufacturing.”
Backed by a nearly $32 million Department of Energy grant and taking over and modernizing an old manufacturing facility in Litchfield, LuxWall looks like exactly the kind of success story Governor Whitmer would like to see as she pursues her vision of rebooting Michigan’s manufacturing base.
I asked CEO Scott Thomsen: Why Litchfield?
“Originally we wanted to be in Romulus near Detroit – just north of the airport – but we had no power,” he says.
The Litchfield facility had the necessary space and energy infrastructure – the legacy of an old power plant nearby.
The windows produced in Litchfield are uniquely energy efficient, says Thomsen, which makes this factory unique in the world.
“People had overlooked the right way to do it,” he explains. “So we put a lot of scientific work into developing new materials that hadn’t been used before.”
Windows that are as energy efficient as walls mean energy savings and lower emissions, Whitmer notes:
“As we all know, the cleanest and cheapest form of energy is the energy you don’t use.”
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