Area Spotlights

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.