COVER STORY From Site Selection magazine, November 2007   North Carolina keeps its spot atop Site Selection‘s U.S. Business Climate ranking; a defense contractor explains why he’s not surprised. by MARK AREND and ADAM BRUNS,editor bounce@conway.com   N orth Carolina has no intention of ceding its Top Business Climate ranking any time soon. For the […]

EDITOR’S VIEW From Site Selection magazine, November 2007   by MARK AREND mark.arend bounce@conway.com Business Climate Change O ne way to look at the results of two recent corporate-real-estate-executive pulse-taking exercises is in terms of “before” and “after.” Our annual survey of executives’ picks for the best state business climates included a new question this […]

NOVEMBER 2007 A Serious Passion (cover) Meet a Member IAMC Professional Forum Special Report Request Information

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE From Site Selection magazine, November 2007     Enter the Fray Jurisdictions of all sizes do what they can to reduce the cost of doing business. by MARK AREND, ADAM BRUNS & JOHN W. McCURRY, mark.arend bounce@conway.com C orporations and governments alike are faced with transparency mandates that have brought renewed focus […]

NORTH AMERICAN REPORTS From Site Selection magazine, November 2007   While Some Refineries Refine Their Plans, Shell Moves Forward Checking It Twice Math Problems Dealing with a skills deficit and a taxation burden may be the key to U.S. competitiveness, say summiteers.   T by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns bounce@conway.com  he competitiveness of the U.S. economy […]

PROJECT FINANCE From Site Selection magazine, November 2007   Interest High in No-Interest Option Islamic finance achieves a higher profile in the industrial world. by ADAM BRUNS,adam.bruns bounce@conway.com T hrough the second quarter of 2007, the global issuance of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, had reached a record level of US$24.5 billion, and showed no signs […]

ompanies seeking sites typically use similar lists of criteria. It’s the ranking of the criteria that varies, depending on the type of company and management’s priorities.    While the preferred alternatives are historically stable, they are now changing rapidly, and an ideal location today may not be ideal tomorrow due to changing markets and globalization, and […]

he global economy is completely reliant on an optimized transportation system with little room for failure of each vital link in the supply chain. Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ or Zone), while thought of as bastions of job creation and tax savings schemes in the manufacturing process, also allow for flexibility and fluidity in the inherent […]

TECHNOLOGY TOOLBOX From Site Selection magazine, November 2007    Software Aids BPO Firm’s Site Search by JOHN W. McCURRY john.mccurry bounce@conway.com S ervice Source, a San Francisco-based outsource sales organization specializing in the business of technical service contract renewals for computer hardware, Dave Dunlap, senior vice president of worldwide operations, Service Source software and healthcare […]

WORLD REPORTS From Site Selection magazine, November 2007   LCD Makers Invest to Meet Soaring Demand by JOHN W. McCurry john.mccurry bounce@conway.com  The Triangle industrial zone in Zatec, Czech Republic, is home to new LCD manufacturing facilities built by Japanese firms. The Triangle is a former air base that has been redeveloped. E astern Europe is […]