"Most of the concerns are with the public sector," Carroll tells GlobeSt.com. "They're basically saying we should be doing more for them to get businesses in their areas, and want reports on results, the bottom line."

Since taking over, Carroll says the partnership is working a better reporting method of results. The public sector members don't generally attend the meetings where the process is being fine tuned, he adds.

For example, he says he can show correlation between 40 deals, including 26 new facilities in the area and 14 instances where local companies expanded overseas. Carroll adds his group helped bring in a 50,000-sf manufacturing plant for Auto Chassis International of France into Huron Township. The $11.7-million building houses 20 jobs.

"We find companies, through our staff here and the public sector, and talk to them about putting their business in our region, and try to help them stick with this area throughout the process," Carroll says.

Carroll says his partnership brings in the firms, and then the local government bodies can offer tax relief and financial incentives to keep them here.

"We try to be aggressive to find these companies, and using the marketing tools to make the deals happen," Carroll explains.

He says the partnership is largely responsible for bringing in Recticel North American of Belgium, which plans to lease a 260,000-sf build-to-suit facility on 18 acres in Independence Township in Oakland County. The building will cost $36 million and will employ 286 people. "When their company was just months away from going to Canada, we stepped in and brought them here," Carroll notes.

Carroll said other recent deals the partnership has assisted on include:

* A five-year, $3.3-million lease for 125,000-sf in Plymouth Township for McLane Foodservice of Texas, a supplier of Tri Con restaurant chains.

* J. Eberspaecher GMBH and Co. of Germany is building a 66,000-sf North American headquarters and technical center in Novi for $25 million.

* Hercules Welding Products Obara Corp. of Japan is purchasing a 160,000-sf building for an expansion, at a price of $2 million.

* During period July 1 to Sept. 30, the partnership assisted in at least 10 deals valued at more than $94 million in new business for the region, Carroll says.