< Previouslightweight EV. “Our partnership with Foxconn and the creation of Project PEAR has taken shape with remarkable speed and clarity of vision,” said Henrik Fisker, chairman and CEO of Fisker. “In order to deliver on our promise of product breakthroughs from Project PEAR, we needed to rethink every aspect of product development, sourcing and manufacturing. Our partnership with Foxconn enables us to deliver those industry firsts at a price point that truly opens up electric mobility to the mass market.” Decision Day is Looming Foxconn, which has long been rumored to be the first-choice supplier of the much-anticipated Apple car, said its own worldwide electronics supplier network would give the new Fisker-Foxconn alliance a major competitive advantage. “In particular, securing the reliable delivery of chipsets and semiconductors” will give Project PEAR a leg up in the global EV market, said Young-way Liu, Foxconn Technology Group chairman. Foxconn added in late June that it planned to announce on July 1 where the new EV models will be produced. The final choice appears to be either Wisconsin or Mexico. The partnership aims to deliver more than a quarter-million new EVs per year, according to an earlier statement from Fisker and Foxconn. Projected start of production is the fourth quarter of 2023. The news followed a revamped incentives deal between the state of Wisconsin and Foxconn. On April 22, Foxconn Technology Group executives said they had reached a revised agreement with the WEDC that provides the company with fewer state tax credits than what had initially been agreed upon in 2017. Gov. Tony Evers said the new incentives pact “works for Wisconsin taxpayers while providing the support Foxconn needs to be successful here in our state.” Foxconn’s original deal with the state made the firm eligible to receive up to $2.8 billion in tax credits over 15 years, but that was conditional on the company creating 13,000 jobs and investing $10 billion in Wisconsin. Foxconn never came close to hitting either target. Foxconn subsequently never received any state aid, while the state spent around $200 million on S I T E S E L E C T I O N JULY 2021 149 such things as road improvements, sales and use tax exemptions, and grants to local governments for workforce training. Hughes refused to divulge details on what the new deal means for Wisconsin, but she did tell Site Selection that “we have been in talks with Foxconn and we are excited about what this means for Wisconsin,” adding that she “looks forward to what they have to say about Project PEAR” and any concrete plans for the company’s site in Mount Pleasant. Sparring Over Who Pays For many in economic development, the news about Foxconn’s potential investment in Wisconsin was a welcome diversion from what had dominated the conversation for much of 2021: squabbles between the Evers administration and Republican lawmakers over the budget and the governor’s proposed tax increases. On June 17, the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee released a budget plan that pledged to cut taxes by as much as $4 billion, including taxes on personal income and property taxes paid by businesses. The governor had proposed a budget that raises taxes by $1 billion and reduces the impact of the manufacturing and agricultural tax credit. Evers’ plan would limit the credit to $300,000 a year. “It is one of the most powerful incentives we have to attract and retain businesses in Wisconsin,” says Mary Perry, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Association. “We don’t want that manufacturing and agricultural tax credit touched. Don’t cap it at $300,000 a year.” Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who now serves as Jobs Ambassador for Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin, says the state should be looking at ways to shore up its workforce. “We have such desperate needs in our economy right now for workers who do not necessarily need a college degree in order to make a family-sustaining wage,” she says. “As for the mature R&D facility with an effective tax rate of 11.9%. 24TH Source: Location Matters 2021: The State Tax Costs of Doing Business150 JULY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N lieutenant governor, I supported our Wisconsin technical college system in a robust and unique way because the student debt load crisis was coming to a head very early in our tenure. For students looking to get their -year degree, our -plus- program is useful and is a rocket into a family-sustaining job at a much more reasonable price point.” Klee sch adds that “we need to get back to the basics in encouraging small business growth, attracting talent to Wisconsin, retaining home- grown talent, encouraging entrepreneurship, encouraging exports, and broadening the tax base so that even more small businesses can thrive and hire more Wisconsin workers.” She also says the state needs to be a little less humble. “Wisconsin is full of terri c communities,” she notes. “We need to make sure people understand that. Before people make a choice to go out of state, we need to make sure they know what Wisconsin has.” Hughes says that momentum coming out of the pandemic is gaining steam. “We have seen incredible things happen in the past year,” she notes. “For example, the wood and paper products industry is a $ billion business in Wisconsin. Over , people are employed in that industry here, and it’s growing. We produce our own wood and then process it in Wisconsin.” A Pipeline of Projects Logistics facilities are cropping It is one of the most powerful incentives we have to attract and retain businesses in Wisconsin.” — Mary Perry, President and CEO, Wisconsin Economic Development Association, on the manufacturing and agricultural tax credit S I T E S E L E C T I O N JULY 2021 151 up around the state as well. “We have added at least two new Amazon distribution centers in Wisconsin,” says Hughes. “We are centrally located in North America. You can get anywhere in the U.S. from Wisconsin within a 24-hour drive.” Amazon Delivery began operations last year in Greenville with a 110,000-sq.-ft., $19 million facility. The center hired 160 full-time workers and engages another 60 staffers seasonally. Since 2010, Amazon has hired a total of 3,500 workers in Wisconsin and invested more than $3 billion in the state. In other project news: ChemDirect, an early-stage company that is creating a technology marketplace to connect chemical manufacturers with customers, moved its headquarters from Los Angeles to Green Bay. The U.S. Navy awarded a $795 million frigate contract to Marinette Marine to build up to 10 guided-missile-carrying frigates in Marinette. Promega, SHINE Medical Technologies, NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes and Lyons Magnus all expanded in the Madison region. In fact, the big news out of Wisconsin over the past year has been the emergence of Madison as a city to watch on the national scene. After flying under the radar for decades, the capital city of Wisconsin burst onto the scene in 2020 with multiple accolades. Madison was named one of the 10 Markets to Lead the Post-Pandemic Rally by the National Association of Realtors. Moody’s included Madison among the 10 cities best positioned to recover quickly from the pandemic; and Brookings named Madison one of the 20 cities least vulnerable to economic setback. As the calendar rolls toward fall, Wisconsin’s grandest stage awaits in one of the state’s smallest towns. Haven, Wisconsin, is set to host the 43rd Ryder Cup international golf tournament in late September at Whistling Straits on the banks of Lake Michigan. David Kohler, president and CEO of Kohler Co. and general chair of the Ryder Cup, said in late May that he was confident the tournament would be held “in its full glory” and attract an estimated 40,000 fans per day. If that happens, expect the eyes of the world to be on Wisconsin the entire last weekend of September. Jacksonville, Florida, courtesy of Enterprise Florida 152 JULY 2021 S I T E SE L E C T I ON Source: Site Selection State of the States Report, January 2021 National Rankings O K LAH O MA S TATE SPO TLIGHT OKLAHOMA Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure in $000s: 455,396 Industrial power cost per kWh: $4.68 Total Revenue as Share of Total Expenses, FY 2004-2019: 105.2% 2020 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 1.71 30th 33rd Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2020–2021: -1 11th 2nd 27th Number of NCRCs: 148,801 | Percent Improvement 2019–2020: 2.19% 11th Tulsa, Oklahoma, Photo: Getty Images Top 5 Projects by Jobs since Jan. 2020 COMPANY CITY JOBS Canoo Pryor 2,000 Costco Oklahoma City 1,050 Amazon.com Oklahoma City 500 Communication Solutions Miami 450 Teletech Oklahoma City 350 Source: Conway Projects Database Tulsa Adds Canoo Plant To Its EV Credentials Add Oklahoma to the list of states where electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing is getting under way. In June, EV manufacturer Canoo announced the Sooner State as the location for its US manufacturing facility. It plans to begin production of delivery vehicles in Q . e company will make pickup trucks, delivery vehicles and a lifestyle vehicle. “We invested millions of dollars to fi nd the right location for our manufacturing facility,” said Tony Aquila, investor, chairman and CEO, Canoo, Inc. “We’re proud to be American made and to bring more than , jobs to Oklahoma. “We ran a multi-state competition, and Oklahoma was head and shoulders above the other contenders because of its leadership, energy-forward initiatives, strategic location and the hardworking ethic of its people,” Aquila said. “We would like to congratulate Governor Stitt and his team who competed to have Canoo in their state — and we pledge our commitment to bring more clean energy to the great state. Our investment in this manufacturing and technology center means we will deliver vehicles faster at scale — and fulfi ll our mission to bring aff ordable, purpose-built EVs to everyone.” Canoo’s -acre campus will be in the Tulsa area at MidAmerica Industrial Park, a ,-acre industrial complex located near some of the nation’s most highly traveled thoroughfares. e “mega microfactory” will include a full commercialization facility with a paint, body shop and general assembly plant. e campus will also include a low-volume industrialization facility. It will be a signifi cant investment into the state and will generate more than , high-paying jobs. Canoo’s mega microfactory is targeted to open in . The Secret Sauce Canoo has developed its own unique process that assembles both the cabin and multi-purpose platform chassis in parallel, which is expected to signifi cantly reduce costs and improve throughput. Its innovative bifurcated manufacturing process is enabled by its unique, fully self-contained, multi-purpose by MARK AREND mark.arend@siteselection.com154 JULY 2021 S I T E SE L E C T I ON platform, which houses all the critical driving components of the vehicle and is common to all Canoo vehicles. The highly automated assembly process allows for the multi-purpose platform to be produced at volume without interfering with the upper body production process. Tulsa is one of 16 cities where Amazon is using electric vehicles designed and built in partnership with Rivian. This launch follows the initial rollout of these vehicles in Los Angeles in March, and recently San Francisco, making Tulsa the third location where Amazon has put its custom electric delivery vehicles on the road. Amazon plans to operate 10,000 of these vehicles as early as next year. “From what we’ve seen, this is one of the fastest modern commercial electrification programs, and we’re incredibly proud of that,” noted Ross Rachey, director of Amazon’s Global Fleet and Products. “We’ve chosen Tulsa’s vast urban districts to be among our first sites for additional testing of the vehicle’s performance, safety and durability. We’re excited to see the vehicle cruising past the city’s vibrant art displays and for our Tulsa customers to be among the first to see these vehicles.” Deliveries will initially be conducted from Amazon’s delivery station near Broken Arrow Expressway. Recent Sooner State Projects TAT Technologies Ltd., an Israeli aerospace company, plans to relocate its thermal components activities from Israel to Tulsa. TAT is the world’s largest independent manufacturing/ repair company of thermal components for the aviation industry and is the parent company of Tulsa-based Limco Airepair. As part of this foreign direct investment announcement, the company will expand Limco Airepair, which focuses on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of thermal components. In addition to the local expansion, TAT will relocate their heat exchanger components manufacturing activities, specializing in original equipment manufacturing (OEM) of thermal components, from Israel to Tulsa. The company also plans to establish a new global research & development center within their Tulsa campus. The project is expected to add over 300 new jobs to the Tulsa metro. Carter Wind Turbines (CWT) a subsidiary of Carter Wind Energy (CWE) has selected Lawton as the location for their new wind energy company. CWT will hire 300 employees over the next five years, with initial capital investment calculated at $10 million. Lawton Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) made the announcement with company and state leaders during a press conference on Friday, April 9. CWE evaluated multiple states prior to selecting Lawton, Oklahoma. The presence of Fort Sill military base, an experienced energy labor force and Oklahoma’s Careertech programs were key factors in selecting Lawton. Ferra Aerospace, a global aerospace company headquartered in Australia, announced plans to add 25 employees to the work force at its Grove facility. The additional jobs allow the company to participate in the Oklahoma Small Employer Quality Jobs program, an incentive available to qualifying small employers paying at least 110% of the average county wage. The company currently employs 40 Oklahomans and expects to create the new jobs within the next five years. Ferra specializes in the manufacture and assembly of complex aerospace structures and subsystems for commercial and military aviation, and other defense industries. EV manufacturer Canoo will create 2,000 jobs with a new “mega microfactory” in the Tulsa area’s MidAmerica Industrial Park. Photo courtesy of Canoo156 JULY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N by MARK AREND mark.arend@siteselection.com Who says offshore wind towers and components need to be built on the coast? New York State’s eight- county Capital Region around Albany is quickly emerging as a national center for offshore wind (OSW) and clean energy components manufacturing, and it’s 150 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound. In January, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected a proposal from Norwegian energy company Equinor to build the first U.S. offshore wind towers and transition piece manufacturing site at the Port of Albany. Equinor holds two lease areas, the Empire Wind lease area located approximately 20 miles south of Long Island, and the Beacon Wind lease area that lies 60 miles off the coast of Long Island. Marmen and Welcon, Canadian and Danish manufacturers, respectively, of offshore wind towers, will participate in the project. In December 2019, Marmen and Welcon signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of offshore wind projects in the United States. Equinor’s proposal, developed jointly with Marmen, Welcon, and the Port of Albany, will transform the port infrastructure to produce offshore wind towers and transition pieces. This initiative will create up to 350 direct jobs in New York. The port development is under way, and wind tower production is scheduled for the end of 2023. The realization will generate investments of hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition to the Port of Albany, the Capital Region is home two other ports, the New York State Offshore Wind Port and the Port of Coeymans. “Thanks to the vision of Governor Cuomo and NYSERDA, New York State is the undisputed U.S. leader in offshore wind, and because of its best-in- class port assets, work force and manufacturing capabilities, the Capital Region is emerging as a component manufacturing hub and gateway to serve this transformational industry,” says Katie Newcombe, the chief economic development officer for the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) in Albany. “Marmen/Welcon plans to construct the Capital Area’s Clean Energy Hub Adds an Offshore Wind Project UPS T A TE NEW Y ORK Albany, New York Photos courtesy of the Center for Economic Growth S I T E S E L E C T I O N JULY 2021 157 nation’s first offshore wind tower manufacturing facility at the Port of Albany. This facility will serve projects in New York State and along the East Coast from Albany by transporting towers on the Hudson River to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where they will go out to installation sites. CEG is promoting the Capital Region as the location of choice for component manufacturing, engaging OEMs from around the world, preparing the work force and readying a supply chain to bring further investment to the region.” Summit Attendees Weigh In CEG hosted a Capital Region Offshore Wind Summit in April, where the project was a frequent topic of conversation. “The impacts of this manufacturing facility at the Port of Albany really can’t be overstated,” noted Beth Treseder, New England market lead, Equinor US. “It will support offshore wind development along the East Coast; it responds to New York’s commitment to clean energy; it positions the region to play a key role in the growing offshore wind industry; and perhaps more importantly it will introduce long-term, sustainable jobs. We view this facility as a key element to Equinor’s long-term goal to establish a strong manufacturing base, to support this The Port of Albany will be the site of an offshore wind tower manufacturing operation. Photo courtesy of Port of Albany, NYSERDANext >