Bringing Manufacturing Back to the US, What Will it Cost?

Michelle Comerford is the Industrial & Supply Chain Practice Leader at Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co., one of the largest specialty site selection and incentives advisory firms in North America. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Michelle develops corporate location strategies and executes site selection projects for BLS & Co.’s manufacturing and distribution clients across the US. Throughout her 23-year career, Michelle has advised numerous clients across a wide variety of industry sectors on facility site selection decisions through consideration of specific operating factors and costs including supply chain network optimization and transportation costs, labor costs and skill availability, real estate, utilities cost and capacity, taxes, and incentives. Michelle’s previous roles include Managing Director of Austin Consulting within the national industrial design-build firm The Austin Company and Broker/Logistics Analyst at commercial real estate firm The Staubach Company. She is expert at the evaluation of supply chain logistics, location strategy, labor market analysis, community/site selection alternatives, as well as due diligence, incentives negotiation, property acquisition, and other aspects of project implementation for manufacturing plant investment decisions. Michelle has been a featured speaker at a number of economic development events and meetings, and she is a frequent contributor to manufacturing and supply chain industry-specific publications. Michelle is also a member of the Site Selectors Guild, where she is currently serving as Chair of the Board of Directors. Michelle earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a double major in Logistics and Marketing from John Carroll University.

MFG Connector founder, Jim Mayer, has always believed that the middle class is built on manufacturing and that industry is a cornerstone of the nation's prosperity. With a passion for the people and their stories, Jim set out to create a platform that highlights the human element of manufacturing and provides practical solutions for business owners to align, cultivate stronger cultures, and strengthen engagement within their organizations.

Matt Stagemeyer, PE, is the National Operations Director and engineer-procure-construct (EPC) Project Manager for Food & Consumer Products at Burns & McDonnell. With more than 18 years of experience, he leads multidisciplinary teams delivering complex design-build and EPC projects for top food and consumer brands. Known for his collaborative, construction-first mindset and focus on sustainable solutions, Matt provides high-quality, safe and reliable facilities while advancing client goals and business success.

Joseph Windover is a seasoned Construction Executive within the Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions team, boasting over 25 years of experience across diverse industries, including manufacturing and technology. Since joining Sherwin-Williams in 2016, Windover has been instrumental in working with general contractors to streamline operations and ensure a safer, faster, simpler construction of electric vehicle battery cell and semiconductor facilities. He currently serves as a committee member of the Charles Pankow Foundation, where he is collaborating on the development of modular steel floor innovations for tall building construction. Windover has also served as Chair for the Ohio and Indiana chapters of AMPP since 2018. He is a recognized published contributor for the Institute for Construction Innovation and has been a speaker at industry-leading events such as the Advancing Integrated Project Delivery Summit and the Advanced Manufacturing Facility Conference.

Jacob Allard is a Construction Executive for Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions. He has been with Sherwin-Williams since 2008 and currently helps automotive manufacturers build safer, faster, simpler electric vehicle battery cell plants. He has provided his industry expertise to help with the build of 13 EV battery factories since 2019. He spoke at the Advancing Integrated Project Delivery Summit in 2022 and the Advanced Manufacturing Facility Conference in 2023 to share insights about EV plant construction with other industry leaders.