< Previous158 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nbuildout of the Hanford plant, begun early this year, is likely to be completed in the second quarter of . “We have fi nalized the whole pre-production area,” says Reckhorn. “We’ve installed electricity and plumbing and gotten the necessary permits, including the conditional certifi cate of occupancy. e plant had been closed since , so nothing was up to modern standards. It’s been a huge endeavor and we’re proud of the fact that we pretty much hit the timing.” e fortunes of Faraday Future have brightened from a year ago, when the fl edging company appeared to be on life support, having terminated work on a $-billion production facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada, in favor of launching operations from the abandoned Pirelli plant in California’s San Joaquin Valley. e company posted a net loss of $. million amid executive departures, lawsuits, desperate fundraising eff orts and reports of sunken morale. Staggering losses incurred by FF’s Chinese parent company, LeEco Group, placed Jia on a list of debt defaulters by the Chinese government and led to a government-directed freeze on his assets.Key to the company’s rebound was a $ billion investment by Hong Kong-based Evergande Health, which also assumed a -percent ownership stake, with Jia being named as CEO.“Have we turned around? Yes, we defi nitely e plant had been closed since , so nothing was up to modern Staggering losses incurred by FF’s Chinese parent company, LeEco Group, placed Jia on a list of debt defaulters by the Chinese government and led to a government-directed freeze on his assets.Key to the company’s rebound was a $ billion We’re ramping up pretty quickly.”—Patrick Duan, Vice President, Operations, North America, BYD(Continued from page ) S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2018 159have,” says company spokesman John Schilling. “Not only with the funding, but the FF 91 is on track and we’ve taken a positive direction in terms of hiring. We have momentum, including with the building of the Hanford facility.”Full-time staff at the 1-million-sq.-ft. (92,903-sq.-m.) plant now includes some 60 production workers, says Reckhorn, with plans to be at 200 by the end of the year. Sequoia Community College in nearby Visalia is providing initial training.“The area around Hanford is huge,” says Reckhorn. “The San Joaquin Valley has a workforce of two million people, so we haven’t had any issue finding people. We will hire up to 1,300 people when we’re fully ramped up. That’s probably not this year and probably not next year but the year after that.”Reckhorn says FF 91 bodies are being built and painted in Michigan, then shipped to Hanford for assembly. By setting up shop in California, Faraday Future is bucking a trend of manufacturers seeking out states where land and labor costs are lower and regulations less invasive. “If you’re counting every penny,” says Reckhorn, “then you might find places that are more suitable, but then you find other issues. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a production paradise. California’s the right place for us because this is where our customers will be.”First unveiled at the 2017 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, the futuristic FF 91 will come with a 1,050 horsepower engine that propels it from zero-to-60 mph in 2.39 seconds, quicker than the fastest Tesla. Its 130-kwh battery pack allows a range of 378 miles on a single charge. The company says a driverless valet parking feature will enable the car to park itself after the driver has already exited. Company officials decline to specify a cost, but reports have put it in the six figures. Reckhorn says to expect an announcement on that later this year. Las Vegas is a young city. It was incorporated just over years ago. More to the point, Las Vegas is a consciously and continuously young city.“When something in Vegas gets old, we blow it up and build new stuff ,” says Jared Smith, COO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance (LVGEA). Play the NumbersIf you’re an observer of the place they call Sin City, don’t look away. It will be something diff erent by the time you look back. Since , the Las Vegas area has grown by a staggering percent (the national average during that span was a mere percent) and is projected to grow to . million by . at clocks in as . people by S AVANNAH K ING & ADAM JONE S -K ELLE Yeditor @site selection.comST A TE SPO TLIGHTNevada160 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NONLY IF IT’S A SIN TO BE SMART.SIN CITY? SIN CITY? SIN CITY? SIN CITY? SIN CITY? SIN CITY? SIN CITY? 162 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Nmoving to the city every hour. Las Vegas — and Nevada as a whole — is attracting the sort of new residents growing companies thirst for: young ones. “Las Vegas, as a region, is one of the few in the country that’s getting younger. Millennials are moving here in droves, and that millennial spirit is infectious in the community,” gushes Smith.According to annual surveys by Las Vegas Perspective, employment opportunities rank as the No. 1 reason people migrate to Southern Nevada. In 2017, Nevada had the largest job growth of any state, and Forbes ranked Nevada No. 1 in its American Dream Index.Over the last two decades, more than half a million workers have come to Southern Nevada from neighboring California and Arizona alone. In fact, since 2000, Las Vegas ranks first among the 50 largest metro areas in the country for growth, and has doubled the number of workers with bachelor’s degrees. “That translates to innovation,” says Smith. “The constant influx of young talent breeds an incredibly dynamic and creative workforce.” So young workers are flocking to Nevada. Will they stay?“Hell, yes,” says Smith. “When I took this job three years ago and moved my family from Louisiana, we were apprehensive. Our opinions of Las Vegas were based on what you see in movies. We were stunned when we got here. The quality of life is spectacular. You can buy a 2,500-square-foot house for less than 30 percent of what a one-bedroom apartment or condo would cost in California. We’re never leaving!”Historically, Sin City’s workforce depended largely on the tourism industry. And indeed, approximately 30 percent of working Southern Nevadans are directly employed in tourism. But Smith sees that as a win, the source of a culture of outstanding customer service, whether the customer be a grandma hitting the slots or Tesla.“We have a culture here that developed through tourism, so we know how to deal with people. And who cares about that? Every company in the world!” Smith says. Because of that grounding in customer service, investors in Southern Nevada can access a workforce with a unique, much-coveted skill set. The Brain BetSteve Wynn once said, “Las Vegas is sort of like how God would do it if he had money.” State leaders apparently agree, and in 2015 put their money where their mouths were with a billion-dollar gamble on their hunch. They went all-in on education, with a focus on specifically developing and retaining talent in the state. One initiative involved restructuring the Clark County School District (the fifth largest school district in the country) to allow it more flexibility and independent decision-making ability within the individual schools. In total, the state passed more than 20 education reforms that year and set the state on a path to building an ever-stronger talent base. “Our state has funds for training in our target industries,” Smith says. “The state understands that there’s a cost to these things and they’ve been investing in training for companies like Tesla.”And vice versa. Tesla is helping to expand STEM programs in the Clark and Washoe county high schools as well as creating teacher training programs and STEM summer camp opportunities for students. Since deciding to build its Gigafactory in Sparks, due east of Reno in Northern Nevada, the tech giant has committed to investing $37.5 million into STEM education over five years to help bolster new technology skills among the state’s students. Tesla broke ground on its massive Gigafactory in 2014, where some 63 percent of the construction workforce are Nevada residents, as is a whopping 96 percent of the employee workforce. Once the Gigafactory reaches peak production, it expects to employ between 6,500 and 10,000 people. Success stories like Tesla’s are not a rare thing in Nevada. Manufacturing and logistics companies increasingly view Southern Nevada as a winning bet, perhaps because it’s within a one-day drive of 61 million people in 13 major U.S. and Mexican cities. Or maybe because McCarran International Airport is one of the busiest in the country and provides access to 153 worldwide markets.E-commerce giant Amazon too has invested in the region with its new 800,000-sq.-ft. fulfillment operation at Northgate Distribution Center. The Honest Company opened its 570,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and distribution center there as well. In 2016, Virgin Hyperloop One opened its testing facility for its high-speed pneumatic transportation system in Apex. Southern Nevada is on the cutting edge of the development and testing of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous vehicles. Audi unveiled its Traffic Light Information (TLI) system in Las Vegas in 2016, aimed at saving fuel and reducing traffic. “Las Vegas continues its leadership in smart city technology by being the first city to connect Scott Keogh, President, Audi ofAmerica S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2018 163164 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO Ntraffic signal network to vehicles,” said Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America. “V2I [vehicle-to-infrastructure] applications and services like Traffic Light Information are essential components as we continue to move toward an autonomous future. We applaud the innovative approach of Las Vegas in working with us on V2I as well as on our various piloted driving demonstrations over the past years.” Take It to the BankFun fact: Nevada is one of only two states that embrace the concept of the Industrial Loan Bank (Utah is the other), enacting legislation for the creation of Industrial Loan Corporations. What, you may wonder, is an Industrial Loan Bank?An Industrial Loan Bank offers strong companies in various industries a bank charter to expand their service offerings and break into the financial services industry. Examples include Toyota Financial Savings Bank and Volkswagen Bank, USA, both of which were once headed by Ray Specht. “The main reason no one knows [about these charters] is that the FDIC wasn’t approving any charters before and during the recession,” says Specht, now CEO of Specht Leadership Consulting. “The good news is that now the FDIC is approving bank charters again, and there are several companies that are actively pursuing them. There are three companies that I’m working with that want to open banks in the Greater Las Vegas area.”So, what does this mean for investors?Nevada is glad you asked.Outside of the obvious appeal to automotive manufacturing companies seeking to offer buyers lending services, the charter also presents opportunities for insurance, e-commerce and health care, among others. “This is appealing to every industry out there,” Specht says. “There’s versatility in the industrial bank. It’s a huge opportunity.” So that’s Las Vegas and Nevada today: a trifecta of young, educated talent, world-leading quality of life and an innovative industrial bank. Sinfully smart. S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2018 165by MARK ARENDmar k .ar end@ site s ele c tion.c omST A TE SPO TLIGHTNorth CarolinaPerhaps expanding employers in central North Carolina, especially in the Piedmont Triad — the region anchored by Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point — will nd the large numbers of workers they’ll need in the coming months with no problem. A recent workforce survey says that may not be the case. e population of the Triad and the nearby Raleigh-Durham metro, the high number of college grads North Carolina produces each year and a signi cant military retiree and spouse population should help sta an expansion at the FedEx Express Mid-Atlantic Hub at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro that will require new workers. A site in Kernersville, in Guilford County, was believed at press time to be the location of an Amazon ful llment center, though no nal plans had been announced. And the same county was believed in the spring to be the site of a $ million regional distribution center for Publix Super Markets that would employ ,; that project, too, had not been o cially announced in late August. ose projects alone, should they come to fruition, will make a sizable dent in the region’s supply of workers. ese companies and others will nd a recent study of North Carolina’s labor market of great interest. e key nding of the Employer Needs Survey, published by the NCWorks Commission and conducted on its behalf by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD): Half of North Carolina employers had di culty lling open positions in the late to early timeframe.Businesses Weigh in e survey, an update to similar surveys released in and in , asked more than , North Carolina businesses about their hiring practices with an emphasis on hiring di culties and workforce needs. In addition to an overall sample of all industries, researchers surveyed a sample of manufacturers and a set of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related industries.Image: Getty ImagesAn employer needs survey takes the temperature of the Tar Heel State’s labor market.by MARK ARENDmar k .ar end@ site s ele c tion.c omHalf Full or Half Empty?Labor Supply:ST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTST A TE SPO TLIGHTNorth CarolinaLabor Supply:Labor Supply:Labor Supply:Labor Supply:166 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NAmong the ndings of the survey were:• Fifty percent of employers who tried to hire in the past year had di culty lling at least one position, up from about percent in ;• Manufacturers and STEM-related businesses found it more challenging to ll positions than employers as a whole, with nearly percent reporting di culty hiring;• Employers in the state’s two largest metropolitan areas (Charlotte and the Research Triangle) had less di culty hiring ( percent) than businesses overall, while employers in the state’s medium-sized metro areas had more di culty ( percent);• e top two reasons employers gave for their hiring di culties were “employability” issues (such as a lack of a strong work ethic, professionalism or reliability) and a low number of applicants;• Seventy percent of rural employers cited a low number of applicants as the top reason for di culty, a signi cantly is year’s survey provides vital data about the extent to which North Carolina businesses are experiencing hiring di culties and identi es the top reasons, recognizing that di erent challenges exist for di erent industry segments.”— NCWorks Commission Chair Kevin Trapani S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2018 167higher percentage than that of employers as a whole (55 percent);• Eighty-eight percent of all employers said that they attempted to fill at least one position in the past year;• Prospects for job growth remain strong, with 43.3 percent of employers expecting the size of their own workforce to increase this year, and only 2.3 percent expecting it to decrease. “This year’s survey provides vital data about the extent to which North Carolina businesses are experiencing hiring difficulties and identifies the top reasons, recognizing that different challenges exist for different industry segments, different business sizes and different regions,” NCWorks Commission Chair Kevin Trapani wrote in a letter accompanying the report on the survey results. “The conclusions drawn from the report will assist the workforce development ecosystem to develop or move to scale data-informed policies and programs that equip job seekers with the skills and experience required by businesses.”In particular, he cited the need for younger North Carolinians to participate in apprenticeships, internships and other work-based learning programs that will help them develop employability skills. Trapani also said that the survey pointed to opportunities for the state’s workforce system to more fully engage with employers and promote greater awareness of available resources.“The findings in the report support the key elements of Governor Roy Cooper’s NC Job Ready initiative and his priorities for workforce development, to which we are fully committed,” Trapani said. “Our continued, collaborative progress on NCWorks Certified Career Pathways, business engagement strategies, and NCWorks Career Centers will support NC Job Ready by preparing North Carolinians for the jobs of today and tomorrow.” Next >