Breakthrough Deals:
New Trend-Setting Corporate Locations
b y T I M V E N A B L E
Auto plants in Detroit. Financial services offices in New York City. Distribution centers in Chicago.
Those cities and facility types go together like bread and butter, the result of decades of business success. But the world around us is changing rapidly, and new business location patterns are being established as companies discover opportunity in nontraditional areas.
A recent Site Selection survey of some 3,900 economic development organizations, for instance, unearthed a number of recent “breakthrough” facility locations — projects in which companies sited offices, factories and distribution facilities in areas not previously known for their ability to attract such investments.
Above: Sitel Corp.’s 25,000-sq.-ft. (2,300-sq.-m.) facility in the Loring Commerce Centre, a redeveloped military base near Limestone, Maine, is the first call center to locate in the northern part of the state.
The underlying message for site seekers, of course, is to always be on the lookout for areas that, due to changing markets, shifting location requirements and improving community resources, are newly competitive contenders for business investment.
Here’s a sampling of the breakthrough locations found in the SS survey.
New Office Opportunities
Ada, Okla.: Sykes Enterprises’ 425-employee computer support call center is seen as a real breakthrough for rural Ada (pop. 15,630).
Amherst, N.Y.: NationsBanc Mortgage’s new US$20 million regional loan processing center underscores New York’s competitiveness for back-office facilities.
Baton Rouge, La.: Landing West Teleservices’ 1,500-employee call center is a coup for Louisiana’s capital city. The 24-hour, seven-days-a-week facility draws much of its work force from former welfare recipients and other nontraditional workers.
Enfield, Conn.: TeleTech’s new 550-employee customer service center, now Enfield’s fifth-largest employer, underscores Connecticut’s competitiveness for customer service operations.
Fairfield, Ohio: Merck-Medco Managed Care is investing $23 million in its new mail service pharmacy. The firm is renovating a 100,000-sq.-ft. (9,290-sq.-m.) hardware facility.
Greenville, N.C.: Forklifts manufacturer Hyster & Yale’s new marketing, administrative and product development center is the first relocation of a nationally recognized firm’s corporate headquarters to Greenville. The facility will employ more than 350 people, earning an average of $50,000 annually.
Kansas City, Kan.: Teletech’s 1,300-employee customer service center, which located in a shopping center site, is bringing new life to a struggling urban neighborhood.
Kenton County, Ky.: GE Capital Information Technology Solutions’ new 1,000-employee customer care center is a breakthrough for Kentucky because of the highly technical worker skills required. The training network set up for this new facility will produce a continuous pool of trained technical workers.
Oshawa, Ontario: Unio Energy’s new inbound/outbound call center, which doubled employment within a year of start-up, also spurred the installation of fiber-optic cabling through much of the downtown area.
Salt Lake City: Gateway 2000’s recent announcement of a 300-employee sales operation comes on the heels of the computer maker’s choice of Salt Lake City for a 250,000-sq.-ft. (23,225-sq.-m.) assembly plant.
St. Louis: Local development officials say MasterCard International’s decision to expand its metro St. Louis Global Technology and Operations Center “leapfrogs the region into a technology hub” and will be instrumental in developing additional high-tech investments. The firm will add at least 500 new jobs.
Wichita Falls, Texas: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas’s 290-employee customer service and claims processing center is the city’s first inbound teleservice center.
Manufacturing Breakthroughs
Amarillo, Texas: Bell Helicopter’s $40 million, 1,200-employee plant is the city’s first major aerospace facility.
Barrie, Ontario: Linear Transfer Systems’ new computer numerical controls (CNC) press-transfer system plant underscores high-tech firms’ growing interest in the community.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Smiths Industries’ $7 million, 105-employee aerospace research and development facility is a breakthrough for western Michigan.
Russellville, Ark.: Sundiro’s new 28,000-sq.-ft. (2,600-sq.-m.) motor scooters plant is Arkansas’ first Chinese manufacturing facility.
St. Cloud, Minn.: Winnipeg, Manitoba-based New Flyer Industries’ selection of Minnesota for its 300-employee bus plant illustrates that the state has significantly reduced key business costs — and that site selection opportunities exist despite an overall tight labor market.
Distribution Destinations
Hesperia, Calif.: Heilig-Meyers Furniture Co.’s 488,000-sq.-ft. (45,335-sq.-m.) distribution center is the first facility of its kind in Southern California’s high desert region.
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: Gap’s selection of Dutchess County for its 2.5 million-sq.-ft. (232,250-sq.-m.) clothing distribution center is the area’s biggest coup in the distribution and logistics arena.