< Previous156 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION A Lot to Like in Opelika Germany-based appliance manufacturer Miele chose Opelika as the home to its first U.S. manufacturing plant, according to a December 2023 announcement. As of now the investment to be made by the company is unknown, although as phase one of the project expects to come online in 2026 more than 150 new jobs will be created. The company operates eight locations in Germany, including its headquarters in Gütersloh. As it also operates facilities in Austria, Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland, the decision to expand into the U.S. was a natural move to increase its global portfolio. “Overall, Opelika offers the best conditions for a successful start for our new plant, including the long-term perspective for further expansion stages,” said Miele Senior Vice President of Business Unit Cooking Uwe Brunkhorst. Alabama beat out locations the company considered in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi during the site selection process. This facility aims to produce for a number of the company’s business units as its appliance range covers kitchen, laundry and floor care products. Once phase one is complete, Miele will look to construct a new facility on site that will represent its U.S. production center and will look to build upon its initial workforce hires by 2030. Alabama Keeps It Healthy Not only is innovation a consistent factor in the state’s industrial development growth, but it’s also a factor that drives new investment for companies to expand their R&D capabilities. Over 36 years ago, the now commercial- stage biotech company BioCryst Pharmaceuticals was born in Birmingham, Alabama. While the company moved its U.S. HQ to Durham, North Carolina, 13 years ago, the company still plays a major role in the state from its Discovery Center of Excellence located 14 minutes south of Birmingham in the city of Hoover. With the support of $1.8 million in tax abatements, which includes a 10-year non-educational property tax break and construction-related sales and use tax break from the Hoover City Council, the company plans to move forward with its $22 million expansion at Riverchase Corporate Park. As part of this expansion the company aims to create 70 new jobs with an average salary of $172,000 per year. BioCryst’s Discovery Center of Excellence serves as the global company’s hub for R&D within its focus on oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics, which are used to aid treatment of rare diseases. The investment supports build-out of an additional 20,000 sq. ft. of lab space for research areas including biology and pre-formulation, equating to about a 42% overall site increase. The project is not the only “Discovery” happening in Alabama’s biosciences sector. In October 2023, Discovery Life Sciences opened the doors to its new global HQ at the HudsonAlpha Biotech Campus in Huntsville. The 93,000-sq.-ft. facility was made possible by $15 million in funding HudsonAlpha received from Alabama’s Public School and College Authority back in 2021, which supported the construction of Discovery Life Sciences HQ and HudsonAlpha’s Center for Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture. “These state-of-the-art facilities will cement our market leadership position and enable us to accelerate the research and development of new therapies, diagnostics and technologies by the global healthcare product industry, as well as expand our support of important academic and government-sponsored research worldwide,” said Discovery Life Sciences’ then- CEO Glenn Bilawsky, who continues to serve on the organization’s board. Here, the company has one goal: Streamline. From genomics, proteomics, molecular pathology and flow cytometry to cell biology services the company offers, this facility aims to streamline sample collection, data analysis and R&D for its service users. The company brought in 115 employees to its new location and has plans to increase new roles. Logistics Industry Is All In on Texas Growth F rom New Year’s Day to mid-November , Site Selection’s Conway Projects Database has tracked , U.S. facility investments with a logistics function. Nearly % of them were in Texas. No wonder Port Houston in October reported its biggest month ever for loaded exports, and year-to-date container imports up by % compared to the same period in the pre-pandemic year of . at single port supports economic activity totaling $ billion in Texas — nearly % of Texas’ total GDP — and $ billion in economic impact across the nation. Among the facilities lining up at Port Houston to make their own impact is a new ,-sq.-ft. Houston ColdPort facility from temperature-controlled REIT and integrated solutions provider Lineage Logistics, which marked the facility’s grand opening in November. “We are excited to strengthen our presence in Houston at such a pivotal time for the market,” said Brian Beattie, Lineage’s president of North American West. “ e city has recently seen a surge in port demand amid congestion and other issues at the big ports on the West Coast. By adding ColdPort to our Houston network, Lineage’s customers have another option to help manage their costs and increase productivity. Additionally, they’ll have better access to our world-class global network,” which numbers more than facilities with more than . billion cubic feet of capacity. Lineage currently employs more than , team members across its facilities in Texas — six of them in Houston. ose facilities have a combined capacity of more than million cubic feet (.% of the company’s global total) and approximately , pallet positions. The Rest of the Story All top states for logistics projects last year except Georgia raised their totals, and all stayed within the top this year. Texas (up by ) and by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com E-COMMERCE & LOGISTICS 158 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION KDC and Oncor Electric Delivery Co. in December started construction of a new 422,000-sq.-ft. distribution center at Railport Business Park in Midlothian, Texas, about 31 miles southwest of downtown Dallas. Rendering courtesy of Alliance Architects SITE SELECTION JANUARY 2024 159 California (up by 97) displayed the largest upward spikes, while a few states shifted places by one or two spots. As for metros, No. 1 Chicagoland knows how to stay No. 1, with more than 600 projects. That was up by nearly 30 from the previous period examined one year earlier. But Dallas- Fort Worth and Greater Houston, Nos. 2 and 3 respectively, shot up by nearly 100 projects each. And Greater Los Angeles, despite that port congestion reputation, tallied 40 more projects than that previous period to reach No. 4 with 177 projects. Among the sharpest upward movers in the top 20 is the bi-state Kansas City region, which with 73 projects moved from No. 18 to No. 14. Among the projects landing there is a new 300,000-plus-sq.-ft. facility near the CPKC intermodal terminal in South Kansas City, Missouri, from Vertical Cold Storage that will employ around 130 individuals at a site centrally located within 30 miles of BNSF, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern terminals. The leader of one company expanding in that area — Radiant Logistics, which established a new office in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas — offers some insight into this year’s top international logistics locations too: “We’re seeing some of our customers begin to pivot to Southeast Asia or Mexico,” said Bohn Crain, Radiant’s founder and CEO, in an earnings call in the fall. “Certainly, China is not going away. But it remains soft. Right now would typically be a go-go time and we’d be at the absolute height of peak season right now. It’s muted at best. Mexico and Southeast Asia have ever so slightly taken market share from China. I think we’re seeing an acceleration of some of those strategies, tipping even more heavily toward Mexico.” Mexico comes in at No. 4 in our facility project tallies behind No. 1 Canada, No. 2 United Kingdom and No. 3 Australia, with projects evenly distributed among the states of Baja California, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Guanajuato, Mexico and Nuevo Leon, where DHL Supply Chain in November inaugurated its new Gaia II logistics center in Ciénega de Flores, expected to generate up to 2,000 direct and indirect jobs when all three phases are complete. Ontario dominates the Canadian scene. Leading regions in the UK include Northamptonshire, Birmingham, Leicestershire and Bristol, while Brisbane in Queensland just outraces Melbourne in Australia. Top 10 U.S. Metros 1 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 609 2 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 529 3 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 376 4 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 177 5 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 143 6 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA 134 7 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 111 8 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 100 9 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX 91 10 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL 87 Source: Conway Data Projects Database Logistics Facility Investment Projects January 1, 2021 to November 13, 2023 Top 10 U.S. States 1 Texas 1,241 2 Illinois 669 3 California 451 4 Ohio 356 5 Georgia 272 6 Florida 254 7 Virginia 205 8 Pennsylvania 195 9 North Carolina 188 10 South Carolina 172M ike Mallett knows a thing or two about building a successful business. Over the last 20 years, he’s built two companies that have been ranked among the INC. 500 fastest-growing firms in the nation. His latest venture, Liveshopper Sassie, ranks No. 5 in the country with an astounding three-year growth rate of 37,386%. A software company in the market research space, Liveshopper Sassie is experiencing exponential growth, and Mallett says it is by design that he chose to build this firm in the small town of Findlay, Ohio. “I graduated from the University of Findlay and then went to Washington, D.C.,” says Mallett, the founder and CEO of Liveshopper Sassie. “Five or six years later, I realized Findlay was a great town, so I sold my first business and moved back to Findlay. Findlay is a safe environment. The school systems are good. The people are good. It is a friendly town. It is like a Rockwell painting. It is just a really cool place.” What Mallett says about Findlay is true of many communities in the Midwest, but most other cities in this part of the country don’t share Findlay’s economic strength. Site Selection magazine has ranked Findlay as the No. 1 top performing micropolitan area in the U.S. in corporate facility investment projects for each of the past nine years. This Northwest Ohio community of 40,000 people about 100 miles south of Detroit rests on Interstate 75, a freeway that for decades has transported many a Midwesterner southbound seeking greener economic pastures in the Sunbelt. Findlay, however, wins the battle against Midwest brain drain by offering gainful employment at companies large and small, from juggernauts like Marathon Petroleum and Cooper Tire to industry- disrupting upstarts like Liveshopper Sassie. To see just how aberrational Findlay is in the American Heartland, consider a recent economic performance study by FinanceBuzz. In an October 26 report titled “The Fastest Growing and Declining Cities Across the U.S.,” researchers at FinanceBuzz scored every city of 200,000 people or more on eight metrics of economic growth, from population and job growth to new businesses and new home construction, from 2019 through 2022. MIDWEST 160 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION How to Beat Brain Drain in the Midwest Business builders share tips from Heartland harbors of tech growth. by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.com An historic building in downtown Findlay, Ohio, serves as the new headquarters of Liveshopper Sassie, the fifth-fastest- growing private company in America. Image courtesy of Liveshopper SassieOnly three Midwest cities placed in the top half of the 117 U.S. cities studied: Grand Rapids (24th); Toledo (46th); and Indianapolis (49th). Conversely, five Midwest cities were ranked among the 25 U.S. cities that are experiencing the fastest decline: Detroit (5th); Chicago (6th); St. Louis (11th); Wichita (16th); St. Paul (20th); and Minneapolis (25th). Following the Findlay Formula Mallett says it’s instructive for people to understand why he elected to build his company — one that powers market research at Hilton Hotels and most of the Fortune 500 — in Findlay. “The cost of living is better here than in Washington, D.C.,” he says. “The lifestyle of being able to walk to work is great. You can get anywhere in town in 10 minutes. There is a great talent pool in Findlay. I have hired really good people for Liveshopper Sassie here. I buy my own buildings and open them up for my team. A huge, five-story building was just sitting there downtown for 100 years. I bought it and restored it. It now serves as a great headquarters for my company. Findlay has great leadership that makes progress like this happen.” Forget brain drain, Mallett says. It’s more like brain gain. “I have hired people from Valparaiso, Findlay, Ivy League schools and the Carolinas,” he says. “They wanted to come home. I hired 40% of my staff that way. They found me and wanted to come home. We’ve also hired graduates from Ball State, Bowling Green, Toledo and other schools in the region. I have people who retired early from Marathon and wanted to work here.” Mallett says other Midwestern communities can learn a lot from Findlay. “Findlay has done it right for a long time,” he says. “It has the amenities, the schools and the proximity to pro sports teams in Cleveland, Detroit, Columbus and Cincinnati. We are just 90 minutes from an international airport in Detroit. And you cannot overstate the importance of Marathon. We bring in a lot of new people to our town. Our restaurants are locally owned; and the Hancock Hotel is a five-star hotel built by Marathon. If you want to get where Findlay is today, look at places like Lima and Tiffin. People are investing in those Northwest Ohio communities too.” Dan Sheaffer, director of Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development, says that Findlay is successful because it is a regional jobs engine. “About 56% of our workforce comes into town daily,” he says. “We have been increasing investments in different areas of our economy. We have invested in our city and county with crosswalks, landscaping, parks and bike paths. Those amenities make a difference.” Having companies that pay competitive wages makes a difference too. “We often rank in the top five locations in average wages across the state — right there with places like Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo,” Sheaffer says. “And we are constantly improving our affordable housing stock, our child- care offerings and our workforce development programs. That is how you grow your economy organically.” serves as the global company’s hub for R&D within its focus on oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics, which are used to aid treatment of rare diseases. The investment supports build-out of an additional 20,000 sq. ft. of lab space for research areas including biology and pre-formulation, equating to about a 42% overall site increase. The project is not the only “Discovery” happening in Alabama’s biosciences sector. In October 2023, Discovery Life Sciences opened the doors to its new global HQ at the HudsonAlpha Biotech Campus in Huntsville. The 93,000-sq.-ft. facility was made possible by $15 million in funding HudsonAlpha received from Alabama’s Public School and College Authority back in 2021, which supported the construction of Discovery Life Sciences HQ and HudsonAlpha’s Center for Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture. “These state-of-the-art facilities will cement our market leadership position and enable us to accelerate the research and development of new therapies, diagnostics and technologies by the global healthcare product industry, as well as expand our support of important academic and government-sponsored research worldwide,” said Discovery Life Sciences’ then- CEO Glenn Bilawsky, who continues to serve on the organization’s board. Here, the company has one goal: Streamline. From genomics, proteomics, molecular pathology and flow cytometry to cell biology services the company offers, this facility aims to streamline sample collection, data analysis and R&D for its service users. The company brought in 115 employees to its new location and has plans to increase new roles. Vertex Gigawatt modules, which incorporate -millimeter wafers and polysilicon sourced from both the U.S. and Europe. By investing $ million in this project the company has established its fi rst module factory in the Western Hemisphere. Once operational, the facility will create , jobs in the region. “We have long had a vision to manufacture solar products in the United States, and we are proud of the jobs we are creating and the investment we are making in the Wilmer community,” said Trina Solar US President Steven Zhu. “Trina’s goal in building this facility is to begin to create an ecosystem of American manufacturing that can serve the burgeoning U.S. solar market.” Trina selected Wilmer due to the ability to expand this site in the future. Texas as a whole has become a hotspot for solar energy investment, pulling in $ billion in Q of , according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. e industry is new to the city itself, which means Wilmer is primed for further solar supply chain investment thanks to its industrial space, land and incentives to support this growth. Built to Last ere was an abundance of reasons Stream Data Centers decided to build its th Texas built- to-suit location in Wilmer. Low cost and reliable power, tax incentives, renewable energy sources, pristine network connectivity and the region’s overall potential were just a few. “ e City of Wilmer has been a great partner throughout the process and Oncor has been fantastic to work with,” says Stream Data Centers CCO Chris Bair. It’s not the only way Oncor engages with the community: For several years the largest energy delivery company in Texas has been an industry partner in the Pathways to Technology Early College High School model at Wilmer-Hutchins High School, where associate degrees and work experience can help students get an early start on career tracks in construction management and energy sustainability. Stream builds its turnkey data centers catered specifi cally to the needs of its customer base of Fortune companies within hyperscale, fi nancial services and healthcare sectors, making these investments in the state a natural fi t to serve these clients. e ,-sq.-ft. data center campus is currently under development on a -acre site in the city, having begun work on phase one in . e initial phase brought a $ million investment and introduced , sq. ft. of space. A strategic site selection decision ensured the project was clear of environmental hazards such as fl ooding, fl ight paths and railways to avoid disruption of service. Once complete the data center will have megawatts (MW) of critical capacity and will feature an on-site Oncor substation for a total investment of $. billion, creating new jobs. e substantial investment qualifi ed the company to gain a sales tax exemption on equipment and electricity under the Texas State Data Center Tax Incentives program. Stream says this location holds a rich mix of local, long-haul and dark fi ber providers and is supported by dual dedicated underground MW utility feeds that are pre-designed to support the full capacity of the data center. “It’s a great site in an excellent market and Stream is happy to be building out our eighth data center campus in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro,” says Bair. “As a Dallas-based developer of data center capacity, it was clear to Stream that Wilmer was a great location for our newest hyperscale-friendly campus in the market.” A business-friendly environment and shovel- ready sites make Wilmer a clear choice for more great locations to come. This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the City of Wilmer and Wilmer EDC. For more information, contact the Wilmer Economic Development Corp. at 972-441-6373. On the web, go to www.wilmeredc.com. SITE SELECTION JANUARY 2024 163 We have long had a vision to manufacture solar products in the United States, and we are proud of the jobs we are creating and the investment we are making in the Wilmer community. Trina’s goal in building this facility is to begin to create an ecosystem of American manufacturing that can serve the burgeoning U.S. solar market.” — Trina Solar US President Steven Zhu s fl ooding, fl ight paths and railways to avoid disruption of service. We have long had a vision to A Milestone Anniversaries Bring More Than Parties to Tennessee A s Site Selection with this issue celebrates years in business, it’s only natural to notice companies celebrating their own major milestones with major investments. In Tennessee, two in particular stand out: one from an anchor employer and one from a new arrival. In January , California-based In-N-Out Burger kicked off its th anniversary year by announcing its intentions to open future restaurants in Tennessee with a new $ million Eastern territory offi ce to be built in the corporate oasis of Franklin. “We are very excited to provide Tennesseans with our quality burgers, fries and shakes,” said Lynsi Snyder, In-N-Out owner, president and sole granddaughter of Harry and Esther Snyder, who started the company with a small burger stand in Baldwin Park, California, in . As of the date of the announcement, the company had locations in seven Western states and more than , associates the company says it treats like family — a way of doing business sure to resonate in the Volunteer State as the restaurant company makes its fi rst foray into the Eastern time zone. “In every decision I make, I always consider what my family would want,” Snyder said. “I have no doubt that my grandparents, dad and uncle would be proud of this decision to grow our associate family and serve even more amazing customers beginning in Nashville and the surrounding areas.” In-N-Out plans to open its fi rst restaurants in Tennessee by . Its plans for Franklin include an anchor restaurant and around , sq. ft. of offi ce space. Connecting the World Through Memphis On April , , FedEx Corp. marked years since the company’s fi rst fully operational night in Memphis. Today the company connects countries and territories and employs more than , people across more than , facilities (, of them in the U.S.), moving approximately . million packages per day. “It is an honor and a privilege to work with such an innovator like Fred Smith who guided us to where we are today,” said President and CEO Raj Subramaniam of the company’s founder and executive chairman. “Today is a celebration of our dedicated team members who are committed to our Purple Promise of making every FedEx experience outstanding — now and for the next years.” by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com TENNESSEE STATE SPOTLIGHT Soon customers in the Nashville area will be the fi rst in the country’s eastern region to be able to order a double cheeseburger combo at In-N-Out Burger. Photo courtesy of In-N-Out Burger 164 JANUARY 2024 SITE SELECTION BY THE NUMBERS TENNESSEE Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure in $000s:1,718,758 Number of NCRCs:140,997| Percent Improved 2022–23: 2.30% Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2023–2024: -1 Industrial power cost per kWh: $6.55 Total Rev. as Share of Total Expenses, FY 2007-21: 105.2% 2023 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 1.03 Selected Top Projects by Capital Investment COMPANY CITY INVESTMENT $M Richardson Intl. Memphis 220 6K Jackson 216 SK Food Group Cleveland 205 Fedex Corp. Memphis 200 Nokian Tyres Dayton 174 Source: Conway Projects Database Milestone Anniversaries Bring More Than Parties to Tennessee SITE SELECTION JANUARY 2024 165 Part of those next 50 years is a $1.5 billion expansion and modernization of its World Hub that is expected to be complete in 2025. Among the recent manifestations of that expansion is a planned $220 million, 1.3-million-sq.-ft. sorting facility on Sprankel Avenue at Memphis International Airport right next door to a $212 million sorting facility already under construction that FedEx originally filed a permit for in 2019. The company filed a building permit with the city in August for the newer facility. In October 2023, FedEx’s annual economic impact report produced in consultation with Dun & Bradstreet found that FedEx contributed more than $80 billion in direct impact to the global economy in FY 2023. Among other findings: • “Analysis of spending with roughly 73,000 unique suppliers over calendar year 2022 revealed that the company’s spending with these suppliers during that time supported 1.1 million jobs.” • “Operational enhancements included opening new facilities across a range of locations such as Ireland, Poland, Australia and South Korea; enhancing many existing facilities by introducing advanced sorting equipment, adding warehouse capacity, and expanding airport ramp and road truck operations; and implementing operational efficiencies in markets like Alaska.” • “In FY 2023, FedEx directly contributed an estimated 8.2% of net economic output to the U.S. transportation and warehousing sector and indirectly contributed $8.7 billion to net output across the U.S. economy.” The company may benefit from a new $15 million, 104,000-sq.-ft. accelerated training center in North Memphis announced in December by the Greater Memphis Chamber. Located at a property at Gateway Shopping Center donated by Belz Enterprises, the tentatively named Prosper Memphis Accelerated Training Center will offer adults industry- approved skills certifications within four to 22 weeks, “quickly qualifying them for high-demand jobs in logistics, manufacturing, construction, and technology,” said a Chamber release. Next >