Area Spotlights

Site Selection’s annual examination of corporate facility projects locating over an 18-month period in counties abutting the Ohio River found 301 projects that cumulatively accounted for more than US$8.1 billion in corporate investment between July 2011 and August 2012.

The Mid-Atlantic is seeing an uptick in location-related activity, much of it with existing buildings rather than greenfield development.

Staying close to the supply chain of skills guided recent expansion and consolidation location decisions for at least three technology companies in the northern Boston, Massachusetts suburbs: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Red Hat, and Entegris.

Portion control has become a big business for cheese manufacturing company Bel Brands USA. Sales have more than doubled over the past four years and sales of the company’s Mini Babybel products have tripled during that time period. Bel Brands USA also has plants in Leitchfield, Ky., and Little Chute, Wis.

Wisconsin has a history in the aviation supply chain. But it now appears poised to grow into a significant center of aviation manufacturing as two companies with ambitious plans, but only mockup aircraft thus far, hope to develop major assembly facilities

Nevada leaders rethink their economic development efforts as the state adjusts to a changing economy.

Logistics offers an economic beacon for the region.

Today’s pathways to financial success lie in innovative, intellect-driven fields. In the South, our heroes are frequently found on the college gridiron. But can entrepreneurs and technological innovators be heroes too? Can our brightest techies make it here at home, or must they travel to California or Massachusetts to seek their fortunes?

Winston-Salem blends its tobacco past with a biotech future. After an 18-month, US$100-million makeover, two former R.J. Reynolds tobacco warehouses in downtown Winston-Salem re-opened in February 2012 as a 242,000-sq.-ft. (22,482-sq.-m.) state-of-the art biotech center that houses medical research departments affiliated with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and an incubator for fledgling biotech firms.

‘Community Fit’ seals a bottling plant deal.

In 1859, a well was drilled in quiet farm country in northwestern Pennsylvania for the express purpose of finding and extracting rock oil from the ground. This was to be the fuel for lamps. It became much, much more.

Some tech companies are eschewing Silicon Valley for the quality of life a few miles north. Newly hired software engineers are already busy crafting code for the “Industrial Internet” in GE’s new Global Software Center in San Ramon, Calif. When GE announced its plans for the center late last year, it planned to hire 400 software professionals. The project is going so well that the iconic company is considering doubling that number in the coming years.

A St. Louis manufacturer explains the importance of Asia to his export business. Missouri ties Tennessee among the 50 states for sharing borders with the most states, with eight. But Missouri emerged as the clear leader in jobs created over its eight neighbors during the first quarter of 2012 with 27,500, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Helping drive this job creation are record-setting exports and reshoring in some manufacturing sectors.

Rail initiatives permit double-stack trains east-west and north-south. Virginia, the railroads and private businesses all benefit. Tunnels were re-shaped in some cases, tracks lowered or realigned in others. Norfolk Southern Corp.’s aim was the same: to permit double-stack intermodal trains to pass through mountain tunnels where necessary along the length of its Heartland Corridor rail route, which runs from the Port of Virginia to Chicago.

Louisiana has added more than two dozen facility locations in the forestry, wood, pulp and paper products and biomass sectors over the past two years.

Growing a corporate presence means tapping into a culture in Oklahoma. The model that Hobby Lobby has used successfully for many years in retail site selection is now being employed at its corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.

West Virginia offered the right mix to land, Gestamp, a major automotive project for an idled plant in South Charleston.

Garden State projects focus on sustainability and clean technologies. BASF’s new headquarters in Florham Park, N.J., just west of Newark, was built as a model for sustainability.

Arkansas is surrounded by some business-friendly powerhouses. So it must try harder. And it’s doing just that, says a state business association executive. Bill Hannah is Chairman of Associated Industries of Arkansas (AIA), an association of Arkansas businesses that works with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to foster a business environment in which companies can compete and succeed. He is also CEO of Nabholz Construction Services, based in Conway, Ark., which was founded in 1949.

A leading reason companies locate where they do is proximity to their customers. That’s well documented, and it’s why Osprey Backpacks, Sitka Gear, LMS Defense, Quality Bicycle Products and LUCID (shooting accessories) all have sited new facilities in the Rocky Mountain region recently.Rocky Mountain Region:

How Oregon is winning the competition for the next generation of secure data facilities.Silicon Valley has seen the future of data centers, and it resides in Oregon. That’s the conclusion of John Sheputis, CEO of Fortune Data Centers, a San Jose, Calif.-based company that’s opening a 240,000-sq.-ft. (22,296-sq.-m.) data center on a 15-acre (6-hectare) site in Hillsboro near Portland.

Most buyers of Ford Motor Co.’s 2013 Escape won’t know specifically where their new mini-SUV was made. But, in fact, they will have Louisville labor and a labor-friendly Kentucky business climate to thank for their ride. Ford invested $600 million in late 2010 in its Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP). The project is adding 1,800 jobs to the 1,100 already in place.

Is it just coincidence that companies are realizing pioneering renewable energy success along Great Lakes shorelines? Or that territories in two nations are seeing progressive energy policies blend with their industrial heritage to spawn growth in corporate investment?

The state of Utah not only offers the best in outdoor activities. We have also found that the people who live here are very well educated and innovative,” says Albert Modrovsky, vice president of strategic initiatives for L-3 Communication Systems Group. “They tend to thrive in an environment of teamwork and are more than willing to mentor other employees by sharing their work experiences and industry expertise.