At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, the FW Stock & Sons Mill officially became the Mar-Vo Mineral Company factory, made possible by a substantial subsidization from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
The subsidization, given by MEDC to Hillsdale City Manager David Mackie in the form of a giant check, amounts to more than 75 percent of the total cost of the property. The Community Development Block grant from the MEDC contributed $82,685 of the $105,000 mill resulting in a total cost of $23,315 for Mar-Vo.
Councilwoman Emily Stack-Davis said the grant will encourage entrepreneurs and small business owners to invest in Hillsdale, despite it being an isolated area.
“Economic development grants do a great job of helping business gain a foothold in a new environment,” Stack-Davis said. “The grant promotes economic growth in rural areas and gives new businesses a reason to stay. For me, I first saw a mill, but the grant helped this new company see an opportunity.”
Mar-Vo Mineral Company CEO David Wheeler — the inventor of nutritional supplement products for livestock and deer, the main products of Mar-Vo — cut the camouflage-colored ribbon with his family and co-workers, officially becoming the first business owner to occupy the mill in 12 years.
“We are both thankful and excited about this opportunity,” Wheeler said. “The chance to take over and save such a historic piece of Hillsdale is great. It’s great having the property, but there’s still plenty of work to do.”
The company, based out of Osseo, Michigan, will continue production at its current facilities until it can move the entire operation to the new site in January. Wheeler said he is excited to utilize the mill’s massive space, which offers escalated production capacity.
“We now have almost 10 times the space to work with,” Wheeler said. “The best example I can show for how much of a benefit this facility is, is that we went from having one very true loading dock to eight of them in great condition. Also the gravity-fed grain bins on the roof are ideal for the type of production we are doing.”
Wheeler, who has been trying to buy the factory for several months, said the MEDC grant expedited the process.
“The grant from the state made the proceedings go much quicker,” Wheeler said. “Without the money it would’ve made the process go much slower. Now I don’t have to focus on acquiring the facility as much as I can focus on renovation and cleaning it.”
The mill housed numerous businesses — including the Doughnut Corporation of America and General Mills — since it was built by F.W. Stock in the late 1800s. When General Mills vacated the premises in 2003, the abandoned factory quickly became a favorite spot for local high school and college students to explore.
Dr. Jeffrey Horton, a retired dentist from California, purchased the mill in 2010. Horton repaired years of damage due to vandalism and welded doors shut to deter frequent trespassers. With Mar-Vo moving in, abandoned exploration will be an activity of the past.
Mary Wolfram, Hillsdale’s Director of Economic Development, said Wheeler’s company is what the city of Hillsdale needs to revitalize its economy.
“I would say this is a game changer,” Wolfram said. “The factory was the city’s proverbial white elephant in the room, and now it is occupied with a productive company generating exciting and cutting edge products. This is going to breathe life into a dead facility.”