< Previous174 NOVEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NNetflix will produce original content from a hub in New Mexico.No stranger to hosting film productions, New Mexico has landed a thriller.Netflix in October announced plans to establish a production hub in Albuquerque, saying the incentivized deal with the city and state will generate $1 billion in production money over the next decade and add up to 1,000 production jobs a year.The presence of the streaming entertainment colossus, with 130 million subscribers worldwide and growing ambitions to create its own content, is expected to create a ripple effect across New Mexico’s film industry.“I assumed that after the announcement I’d get some calls,” Nick Maniatis, director of the New Mexico Film Office, tells Site Selection, “but it’s been unbelievable. Shows that were on the fence are not on the fence any longer. They’re coming. People are saying, ‘We want to be there, too.’ ”The state’s film industry, says Maniatis, set successive records in 2015, 2016 and 2017, culminating with a half-billion-dollar spend last year.Netflix has a history with the Land of Enchantment. The seeds were planted in 2015, with production of the Adam Sandler comedy, “The Ridiculous 6.” Since then, Netflix has brought nine productions to the state, including the Emmy Award-winning limited series “Godless” and “Longmire.”“Our experience producing shows and films in New Mexico inspired us to jump at the chance to establish a new production hub here,” said Ty Warren, Netflix’s vice president for physical production. “The people, the landscape and the facilities are all stellar. The combination of great crews, existing infrastructure, financial incentives — it was all part of it.” Albuquerque, said Warren, will be the company’s “home away from home.”What got the ball rolling, as if by coincidence, was the availability of Albuquerque Studios, a 170,000-sq.-ft (15,794-sq.-m.) production facility with nine sound stages, around which Netflix will build its New Mexico hub. Despite having facilitated “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul” and a host of other high-profile productions, Albuquerque Studios has operated under capacity and has suffered from legal problems, including by G ARY DAUGHTERSgar y.daug hter s @ site s ele c tion.c omSOUTHWEST UNITED ST A TESNew Mexico’s $500-million film industry looks poised for a breakout.Source: New Mexico Film Officebankruptcy. Alicia Keyes, film liaison for the Albuquerque Film Office, tells Site Selection that she was mulling ways to better leverage the under-utilized facility when she happened to speak by phone last spring with a friend at Netflix.“I was asking him,” says Keyes, “about having to fly executives back and forth each week between L.A. and Albuquerque. “And I just said to him, ‘Why are you guys not buying Albuquerque Studios?’ ”Netflix was interested, says Keyes, but signaled that it wanted support from the city and state. Negotiations commenced in May, say officials, with New Mexico eventually extending $10 million in funding through the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) and the city committing another $4.5 through LEDA. The sale price of Albuquerque Studios, reported to be in the range of $30 million, would not be confirmed by Netflix or the studio, both of which declined to comment for this report. Netflix will qualify for tax rebates of up to 30 percent as part of the New Mexico film incentive program, first instituted in 2003. Governor Susana Martinez, who had earlier sought to rein in the program, nonetheless hailed the deal.Debra Inman, senior vice president for business development at Albuquerque Economic Development, Inc., emphasizes in an interview that the benefits will flow beyond the film industry.“When you look at the fact that about 30 percent of all production spend is actually spent on local goods and services,” Inman says, “then you are supporting a variety of your industry sectors. Hotels, restaurants, catering, lumber suppliers, paint stores, graphic designers, accountants, digital media firms, equipment rentals and sales, florists ... it’s kind of unlimited when you think about the impact that it has on your local community.”Nevada Goes ‘Green’Nevada’s new market for legal marijuana has had its own impact on state coffers. First-year tax collections, which ended in June, totaled $69.8 million — about 140 percent of the $50.3 million the state had predicted. State-licensed dispensaries and retail stores saw total taxable sales of $529.9 million, according to the State Department of Taxation, generating $42.5 million in tax receipts through the 10-percent Retail Marijuana Tax. The 15-percent Wholesale Marijuana Tax brought in close to $27.3 million, the Department says.“We expect things to continue to improve in terms of numbers,” Bill Anderson, director of the Taxation Department, tells Site Selection. “It’s a brand new industry that’s just getting off the ground. Chances are quite good that our 2019 collections will again exceed projections by a sizable amount.”The momentum is swinging in that direction. The last four months of the 2018 fiscal year (ending in June 2018) witnessed the largest sales of the year, and July set another record with $7.9 million in tax receipts. Meanwhile, the state is ramping up capacity. In December, says Anderson, Nevada will issue another 64 licenses for adult-use dispensaries, roughly doubling 178 NOVEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nthe current number. The initial round of approvals awarded licenses in five of the state’s 17 counties, with a heavy focus on southern Nevada, including Las Vegas. “We’ll continue to see the industry spread to other counties,” says Anderson. The cost of a retail license is $20,000.Evergreen Organix, in Las Vegas, is the state’s biggest producer of edibles, including cookies, brownies, baked goods, cereal treats and gummies, all of which it sells to dispensaries, says Jillian Nelson, vice president of operations. The company operates a pharmaceutical grade laboratory where it extracts marijuana concentrates from plants it grows on site, and a kitchen that manufactures the edibles. Evergreen Organix, which has no retail operations, also sells “pre-roll” marijuana in bulk.Nelson argues that state tax collections are based on an inflated assessment of the per-pound price of marijuana, and thus may render an exaggerated picture of actual sales.“Sales,” she says, “have done pretty well. Overall, as an industry I think they are a little bit above what the expectation was.“I do think the state has done a very good job of regulating the industry,” says Nelson, “especially if you look at the experience of some other states. Everything in this industry is kind of ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ in terms of regulation. Everything’s always changing, and our regulators have done a really good job of trying to understand the industry. They’re doing the best they can.”Infosys Taps ArizonaInfosys, the Indian technology services and consulting giant, will author the next chapter of its U.S. expansion with a technology and innovation hub that will train and employ more than 1,000 people at an unannounced site in Arizona, widely believed to be in the Greater Phoenix area. The company says its Arizona Technology and Innovation Hub will have a special focus on autonomous technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), full-stack engineering, data science and cybersecurity.In May 2017, Infosys committed to opening at least four technology hubs across the U.S. and, in the process, to hire and train 10,000 American workers. To date, the company has opened hubs in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Raleigh, North Carolina, and has announced other hubs for Hartford, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Evergreen Organix sells pre-roll marijuana and more than 70 varieties of edibles to Nevada retailers.Image courtesy of Evergreen OrganixIsland. The company says it has already hired nearly 5,900 people.In its announcement, Infosys recognized Arizona’s broad talent pool as a factor in its decision. Addressing local economic leaders, Infosys President and COO Ravi Kumar also cited the state’s technology base.“Arizona, as a state, has a great confluence of manufacturing, high tech and technology companies,” Kumar said. “This could be the IoT center of the United States and potentially the IoT center of the world.”According to Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce authority, the decision by Infosys “further solidifies our state’s reputation as a tech industry leader. This operation will create a significant number of high-value jobs and focus on advancing emerging technologies.”Along with hiring new talent, Infosys will be “upskilling” local professionals through its talent training curriculum, operated in conjunction with local colleges and universities. Arizona State University in Tempe, which produced 23,000 graduates last year, has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing research institutes. In a 2017 interview with Site Selection, Kumar maintained that having access to centers of higher education is a key consideration in determining where to locate Infosys tech hubs.“Our aim is creating the enablement and training infrastructure that will support this talent to enter the workplace,” explained Kumar. “The first employees who have come on board are trained on university campuses with faculty from Infosys, sometimes combined with faculty from our university partners. The U.S. is a huge potential talent pool, which needs to be converted into an actual workforce.”180 NOVEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NEmployment in Arizona’s technology industry expanded by an estimated , jobs in , according to a report released in May by the Computing Technology Industry Association, (CompTIA). With , workers accounting for . percent of the state’s total workforce, Arizona ranks th among the states in net tech employment, according to CompTIA’s report, “Cyberstates .” e report found that the tech industry contributed $ . billion to Arizona’s economy last year.Since August, Arizona has experienced a bounty of tech companies announcing expansions. In addition to Infosys, they include:• Acronis: A global leader in cyber protection, Acronis announced plans to double its investment in Arizona to $ million and to created more than new jobs in engineering and R&D.• Airobotics: An Israeli automated drone startup that supports the mining industry, Airobotics launched its launched North American headquarters in Scottsdale, bringing new jobs with it.• Rogers Corporation: A global manufacturer of tech-focused materials, Rogers corporation announced plans to created new jobs through an expansion of its manufacturing operations in Chandler.• Cognizant: e IT services company based in Teaneck, New Jersey, celebrated the opening of its newest regional technology and service delivery center in Mesa, which will house more than new tech workers. [Arizona] could be the IoT center of the United States and potentially the IoT center of the world.”— Ravi Kumar, President and COO, Infosys S I T E S E L E C T I O N NOVEMBER 2018 181Greater Owensboro takes the trophy this year for most per-capita projects along the Ohio River corridor.Pinpointing Owensboro, Kentucky’s spot on the map is getting easier every day, because the reasons to do so keep multiplying.For one thing, it’s the first major Kentucky city in the Central Time Zone as you move west along the state’s northern border following the Ohio River. It’s also home to the International Bluegrass Music Museum, and to an annual international barbecue festival that celebrates, among others, Western Kentucky’s unique style of mutton.The metro area’s spot on the map is getting noticed for more reasons, however, especially when it comes to manufacturing. In this year’s annual review of corporate end-user facility investments in counties along the Ohio River’s entire multi-state length, Greater Owensboro led all metro areas in projects per capita, with 14.All of them are manufacturing projects. And one important one is in Hawesville, in Hancock County, a town of fewer than 1,000 people that finds itself playing a pivotal role in the trade war currently unfolding between China and the U.S. Part of the Greater Owensboro metro area, Hawesville as of early 2018 was home to the last U.S. smelter in operation capable of producing the high-purity aluminum necessary for defense and military applications. It belongs to Chicago-based Century Aluminum Company, the largest U.S. producer of primary aluminum. The company was on the ropes because of what it called “the flood of foreign metal that has been destroying by ADAM BRUNSadam.br uns @ site s ele c tion.c omGREA T RIVER CUPPhoto courtesy of Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce182 NOVEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nthe U.S. aluminum industry and threatening our nation’s national security.” en came President Donald Trump’s March Presidential Proclamation implementing a -percent tari on all primary aluminum imports intothe United States (with temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico).“President Trump’s decisive action protects thousands of American aluminum workers from countries that cheat and puts U.S. national security rst,” said Century Aluminum President and CEO Michael Bless in March, when theHawesvillesmelter was operating at only percent of its total capacity of , metric tons per year (mtpy).A ceremonial restart of three idled potlines that was attended by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross took place in August, when Century said its investment would total more than $ million. Nearly jobs will be created by the restart, which also includes a substantial technology upgrade to make the smelter competitive in the years ahead.Community Fixtures Aren’t Standing StillIn Owensboro proper, other rms around for generations are making moves to ensure they stay for generations to come. e O’Bryan family launched Owensboro Grain Company in , when its founder purchased corn for local distilleries, eventually sending product out by barge. At that time, a company history relates, “the town boasted six buggy makers, ve wagon manufacturers, a wagon wheel factory and a dozen blacksmiths.” A shift to soybeans in the late s drove growth. Today, the company’s OG&A BioSpecialties branch is moving forward with its new “HDX” project, which uses hydroconversion technologies to convert soy and related bio-based feedstocks into a line of products registered as BioFAME-PH (a bioester) and BioWax-PH. e company ships by every mode, but as for other rms in the region, the river still works too.“Because of our locationon theOhio River, we respond quickly to market demands by being able to ship by truck, rail, orriver,” says the company. “Being located on theriver makes our company a perfect supplier to the world marketplace.” e same holds true for Dahl & Groezinger, a fth-generation scrap iron and metal recycling busines. “We supply buyers across the nation and ship internationally to buyers throughout the world,” says the rm, which is expanding with a $ -million investment.‘Constant Improvement’Newer rms are in on the action too: Last fall, Gryphon Environmental LLC, which makes industrial drying systems for food processors, paper manufacturers (such as nearby Domtar, also expanding), the municipal wastewater treatment market and other industries, announced it would invest more than $ . million and create full-time jobs as it moved to a larger facility within Owensboro.“ e City Commissioners and I are proud to support the expansion of Gryphon Environmental in Owensboro,” said Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson. “It’s a thrill to see one of our Innovation Network companies mature to the place where they qualify for state incentives as they grow. ey are a true model for this program.” at’s just part of a workforce training infrastructure area leaders trumpeted last March when Site Selection named Greater Owensboro the No. Top Metro among U.S. metro areas with populations lower than ,. Leaders at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation (GOEDC), noted the industry-led GO FAME/GO CAREERS work-based educational program as a model program of Great River CupP er capita projects o ver 18-month period, minimum of 3 projectsMetro Projects Pop.Owensboro, KY – WINNER 14 116,506Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 91 1,269,702Paducah, KY-IL 6 97,820Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 97 2,149,449Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 4 121,336Wheeling, WV-OH 4 145,205Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 9 363,325Pittsburgh, PA 39 2,355,968Evansville, IN-KY 5 315,162Next >