< PreviousSilicon Valley continues to welcome projects, with Equinix in June announcing its newest International Business Exchange data center in Silicon Valley at its Great Oaks campus in San Jose. The $142 million facility, named SV11, was expected to open at the end of June. With the addition of SV11, Equinix has invested more than $1.25 billion in the local economy and has additional land in the area for future expansion. Hyperscale Momentum Ah, but Equinix was just getting started. On June 14, the company announced agreements for additional joint ventures in the form of limited liability partnerships with GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, which when closed and built out will bring the xScale data center portfolio to greater than $6.9 billion across 32 facilities globally. That portfolio adds to Equinix’s global platform of more than 220 International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers “by serving the unique core workload deployment needs of a targeted group of hyperscale companies, including the world’s largest cloud service providers,” said an Equinix release. The xScale data center portfolio will span three regions: • Europe: Frankfurt (five xScale data centers), Paris (four), Dublin (three), London (two), Madrid (two), Helsinki (one), Milan (one), and Warsaw (one); • Asia-Pacific: Three each in Osaka and Tokyo; • Americas: São Paulo (three) and Mexico City (one). Three additional sites are expected to be announced at a future date. Asia-Pac Power “Asia Pacific markets continue to perform well as data center destinations given its overall growth potential and the rapid development of technology platforms and networks across many of its markets,” said Cushman & Wakefield APAC Data Center Advisory Group Leader Todd Olson. The Cushman & Wakefield report noted that Chennai, India, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among those emerging players. Recent reports from Chicago-based Arizton Advisory and Intelligence about various Asian markets project a CAGR of around 7% for Japan and for Malaysia from 2020 through 2026. This holds for Japan despite core and shell construction costs there that are triple the U.S. rate and double what it costs in China. In Malaysia, Arizton says, “Cyberjaya is the most developed data center market with around 14 unique third-party data center facilities accounting for over 70% of the existing power capacity. Other locations such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Shah Alam, and Penang will witness increased investment in 2021-2026.” In addition, the report highlights the Kulai Iskandar Data Exchange (KIDEX), which has over 700 acres of industrial land allocated for data center development, and access to around 600 MW of power. The Cushman & Wakefield report says of the new markets introduced this year, Seoul received the highest overall score. “Although considered a secondary market, Seoul has nearly 300 MW of capacity, a solid development pipeline, and all major cloud services available,” the report states. “Well-managed cities with smaller markets such as Zurich, Melbourne, and Madrid enjoyed continued gains, suggesting growing ecosystems in secondary locations, and long-time data center stalwarts London, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Silicon Valley, and Hong Kong all remain extremely relevant.” Meanwhile, some markets have had challenges due to running out of power, space or both. “Although Singapore and Amsterdam both have tempered data center development via local moratoriums, both still finished in the top 10, a testament to their strong existing markets, dense fiber and array of available services,” the report stated. “As other markets continue to grow, it will remain imperative for both markets to find solutions for future development, potentially through new forms of power generation or further multi-story construction for the limited number of remaining development sites.” Indeed, the Arizton report corroborates, “Owing to land constraints in Singapore for data center development, investments have started spilling over to Malaysia, which will be another reason for increase in investments during the forecast period.” The Cushman & Wakefield report says the pandemic effect simply gave a push to what was already unfolding. “The 2020 pandemic accelerated the change in corporate IT strategy, as companies rapidly shifted to the cloud,” said Dave Fanning, executive managing director and the company’s Data Center Advisory Group leader. “Construction of new product has skyrocketed, with the 1.6 GW under construction across markets studied last year swelling to 2.9 GW in this year’s edition.” 38 JULY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N40 JULY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N INVES TMENT PROFILE: PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS What do the films and TV shows Transformers, American Crime, Friday Night Lights, Newton Boys, Walker Texas Ranger, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas have in common? If you said Pflugerville, Texas, you were right. All had substantial scenes shot in Pflugerville, an Austin suburb that is absolutely booming in the film and TV business. But don’t just take our word for it. Ask Aaron Brown, an award-winning director and founder of Onion Creek Productions. He’s been working with a Pflugerville-based robotics company for a good while now in the shooting of films and commercials. “I’ve been working with SISU that developed a robotic arm that enables us to capture in studio or on set shots that cannot be captured any other way,” says Brown, whose Austin-based firm has become a mainstay in the Austin film scene and won eight Addy Awards in the past two years. His clients include HBO, YETI Coolers, VICE, Nissan, Gatorade and Netflix. “I met SISU at the Austin Film Festival a couple years ago,” says Brown. “They were demonstrating their smaller robotic prototypes. I did a large project with them using their new C-31 giant robotic arm.” Russell Aldridge, who co-founded BTS shot of the Moon & Stars music video using the SISU motion control arm (C31 model). Photo by Greg Giannukos Lights, Camera, Pflugerville! by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.com The bright lights of the film and TV business are shining on this Austin suburb. S I T E S E L E C T I O N JULY 2021 41 This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. For more information, contact Amy Madison at 512-990-3725 or amym@pfdevelopment.com. On the web, go to www.pfdevelopment.com. SISU in a garage a decade ago, says he moved to P ugerville from Utah to work for National Instruments, but he always wanted to launch a robotics company of his own. “ ere is a lot of tech talent in Austin, and we decided to create a tool to make industrial robots here,” he says. “We invited a videographer to make a video of us, and that is where the idea of cinematic robots began. We put something on Instagram and instantly sold four of these devices. e P ugerville Community Development Corp. had some incentives that kept us here. We found this to be a very family-friendly place. Many of our engineers have young families, and they love living here and raising their kids here.” SISU progressed to the point that it bought a building in . “In , we tripled the size of it to , square feet,” says Aldridge. “We are currently looking for more space.” e workforce in P ugerville and the greater Austin area drives the company’s growth, he adds. “ ere are so many tech companies in the Austin metro area,” he notes. “It is a very solid workforce. Austin is a great place to live, and so is P ugerville. P ugerville is right between I- and Highway . We have great access to these highways and the international airport.” It helps that Texas o ers “a very business-friendly climate,” says Aldridge. “ ey really make an active e ort to get to know the businesses that are here and help them grow. ey get people together and help them learn about each other.” Adriana Cruz, executive director of the Texas Economic Development & Tourism O ce, says that “Texas has always been a magnet for lm and TV production. e business climate of Texas appeals to the tech industries and creative industries. e Film Friendly Texas Certi cation, which was awarded to P ugerville, is a program that provides value for companies interested in doing business there. It mobilizes our community partners. ey understand the needs of media production in P ugerville. ey help production crews get the tools needed to be successful. ey are conveniently located between the Austin area and the airport and hotels, and they are close to a whole host of diverse locations that are great for lmmaking.” Amy Madison, executive director of the P ugerville Community Development Corp., says the success of lms like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Best Little Whorehouse “really put us on the map. P ugerville has always been a great spot for lming. Now, we are seeing our former success enhanced with the new high-tech equipment that SISU brings to the table.” She adds that “our community is so adaptive. We can provide the vista for lming and the creative processes bolstered by the technology that is provided right in our backyard. It would surprise people to nd that the city with the funny name has had so many lms and TV shows produced right here.” Brown is one director who says he will be back for more. “ is area has become a leader and hot spot for the creative industry, the tech industry and the business sector,” he notes. “It is a ripe environment for all these things to cross-pollinate. No other city in the U.S. comes close to o ering everything like we do. is is a beautiful bracket environment. is is a great place to be a lmmaker.” is area has become a leader and hot spot for the creative industry, the tech industry and the business sector. It is a ripe environment for all of these things to cross-pollinate.” — Aaron Brown, Founder & Director, Onion Creek Productions is area has become a leader and the creative industry, Films shot on location in Pfl ugerville: Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ★ Transformers ★ Texas Chainsaw Massacre ★ Newton Boys Source: PCDC Films shot on location 42 JULY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N Apple Rediscovers Its Core The company is one of many looking to make reshoring in the U.S. a bigger part of the digitized manufacturing environment of the future. The sixth annual State of Manufacturing Report released by Fictiv in late April found that 95% of industry leaders see digital transformation as essential to their company’s success, and 62% see re-shoring as one part of future-proofing their manufacturing. Apple on that same day in late April backed up those findings. The company pledged to add 20,000 jobs while contributing more than $430 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years. The new five- year investment goal is 20% higher than the $350 billion goal set in 2018, which the company has outpaced. The 20,000 new jobs are in addition to the 20,000 jobs the company promised to add in 2018, which it is on pace to accomplish by 2023. And the plan includes Apple’s $5 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which since its launch in 2017 already has done plenty to advance U.S. innovation. “At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to U.S. innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in late April. “We’re creating jobs in cutting- edge fields — from 5G to silicon engineering to artificial intelligence — investing in the next generation of innovative new businesses, and in all our work, building toward a greener and more equitable future.” That high-minded vision includes tens of billions of dollars slated for next-generation silicon development and 5G innovation across nine U.S. states: California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. It also includes data center investments and Apple TV+ productions in 20 states. Not all the new investment is in advanced manufacturing, but it’s safe to say it has the advancement of manufacturing in mind. The newest signature investment announced in April (as reported in Site Selection’s naming of North Carolina as the winner of this year’s by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com AD V ANCED MANUF A CTURING S I T E S E L E C T I O N JULY 2021 43 Prosperity Cup for state competitiveness) is a $1 billion campus and engineering hub in the Research Triangle region that will create at least 3,000 new jobs in machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering and other fields. It follows a $1 billion outlay for another new campus in Austin, Texas, where employees will begin showing up for work in 2022. But that’s just the beginning. Among the details offered by the company in its April announcement, Apple has surpassed its 2018 hiring commitments in Miami, New York, Pittsburgh and Portland, Oregon. And it has major plans for these locations: • California: Apple expects to grow its San Diego team to more than 5,000 employees by 2026 — a 500% increase from its 2018 goal. The company will also grow its teams in Culver City to more than 3,000 employees by 2026, which will require a campus expansion. • Colorado: Apple is growing its engineering team in Boulder, and expects to have close to 700 employees at its offices in the region by 2026. • Massachusetts: In 2018, Apple announced it would add hundreds of new jobs in the Boston metro area. With around 200 team members Microsoft likes advance manufacturing too: The company is partnering with Germany’s ZEISS to accelerate its transformation into a digital services provider in such sectors as medical technology and semiconductors. Photo by ZEISS courtesy of Microsoft46 JULY 2021 S I T E S EL E C T I O N already working in the region, Apple plans to add several hundred new jobs by 2026. • Texas: Construction for Apple’s $1 billion Austin campus is underway, with employees expected to start moving into the new space next year. • Washington: Apple’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Platinum office space in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood recently opened for the company’s 1,000 local employees, with plans to add at least another 1,000 team members. • Iowa: The design process is underway for Apple’s new data center, which is expected to create over 500 construction and operations jobs in Waukee. Glass and Lasers Apple launched its $5 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund in 2017, backing work at more than 9,000 suppliers across the country who are supporting American job creation across dozens of sectors, including silicon engineering, 5G, and manufacturing.. Awards from the fund have led to breakthrough innovations in laser technology, sustainable material development, 5G infrastructure and other fields. Among the locations to benefit: • Indiana: A new $100 million Advanced Manufacturing Fund investment will support a new facility and distribution center in Clayton, to be operated by XPO Logistics, that will accelerate delivery timelines and personalization. The award is expected to create around 500 jobs at the facility. • Kentucky: Corning was the first recipient of an award from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, and has received $450 million to support research and development into state-of-the- art glass processes, equipment, and materials. These awards led to the creation of Ceramic Shield, a new material that is tougher than any smartphone glass. Apple’s investment has helped support more than 1,000 jobs across Corning’s U.S. operations in Kentucky and other facilities. • Texas: Apple began working with II-VI in Sherman, Texas, in 2017 as part of the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund. The laser technology that II-VI manufactures in Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois helps power Face ID, along with Memoji, Animoji and more. The initial investment in 2017 helped transform a long-shuttered, 700,000-sq.- ft. building in Sherman into a high-tech manufacturing facility that houses hundreds of local jobs. “Through close collaboration with Apple engineering and operations teams, the company has rapidly increased production in the past year to enable record shipments from the Sherman facility,” Apple says. The latest investment in Corning came in May, with a $45 million award adding to the $450 million Corning has received from the fund since its launch. “Apple and Corning have a long history of working together to accomplish the impossible,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “From the very first iPhone glass, to the revolutionary Ceramic Shield on the iPhone 12 Apple in April set a target of creating 20,000 new jobs in the U.S. over the next five years, including thousands in advanced manufacturing at companies such as Corning (left) and II-VI (right). Photos courtesy of AppleNext >