MAY 2024 siteselection.com MAY 2024 Volume 69 • Number 3 SITE SELECTION2 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION ▼ FEATURES 31 TRIBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT A growing fi lm studio and new riverfront development are central to the strategies of the Cherokee and Muscogee Nations in Oklahoma. 34 NORTH AMERICAN AUTOMOTIVE Companies and locations adjust to a new industry landscape. 42 HEALTH TECH & LIFE SCIENCES CENTERS Two entrepreneurs describe why North Dakota makes sense for their life sciences companies. 46 INDUSTRIAL HEMP They’re 5,000 miles apart, but new ventures in Italy and Minnesota have hemp innovation in common. 48 OIL & GAS A pause on LNG export terminal approvals hasn’t put a dent in LNG exports or already-approved terminal expansions. THE MAGAZINE OF CORPORATE REAL ESTATE STRATEGY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT VOLUME 69 NUMBER 3 May 2024 ▼ INTERNATIONAL UPDATE 12 ASIA Editor Emeritus Mark Arend reports from Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in China’s Henan Province. 18 UNITED KINGDOM A new trade promotion pact with Texas is one of eight agreements between the UK and U.S. states, with more on the way. 20 WORLDREPORTS Updates on Stellantis in Brazil; Novartis in Singapore; Europe’s 10 best cities; a hydrogen hub in northern Spain; solar manufacturing in India; and semiconductor materials in Japan. 22 LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN Nearshoring to diversify from China? Chinese fi rms may already be there to welcome you. 26 NORTH AMERICAN REPORTS Yokohama tire manufacturing in Coahuila, Mexico; federal support for Intel in four states; top states for solar installations; Google in Missouri; Amazon in Massachusetts; FUJIFILM Diosynth in North Carolina. 82 QUEBEC An EV and battery ecosystem begins to take shape in the Francophone province. ▼ COVER STORY 53 GLOBAL BEST TO INVEST The United States and Ireland top our annual indices of country-level economic development performance, while Seoul takes top honors among metros. 58 MAC CONWAY AWARDS Based on project, investment and job creation data, these are the regional economic development groups deserving top honors. 73 PROSPERITY CUP Thanks to playing the long game, perennial contender Georgia bests Indiana and Texas in this annual index of state competitiveness. 84 TOP DEALS EVs, semiconductors and tens of billions of dollars dominate our lists of the top 20 projects of 2023 in North America and top 20 projects abroad. SITE SELECTION MAY 2024 3 FOLLOW US! siteselection.com ▼ INVESTMENT PROFILES 32 MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 49 PORTUGAL 116 CONSUMERS ENERGY ▼ INVESTMENT REPORT 107 COSTA RICA Life sciences companies continue to invest in a place that excels in the science of living. 151 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE GUIDE ▼ DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITOR’S VIEW: Silver Linings Playbook Revisited 176 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 6 IAMC INSIDER: Empowering women in your organization, and a report from the Forum in Greenville. ▼ SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION 172 SHOVEL-READY SITES What good is a prepared site if the power can’t get to it? These shovel-ready electrical transmission projects for renewables could make a diff erence. QUAD CITIES INTELLIGENCE REPORT 65 ▼ AREA SPOTLIGHTS 28 I-35 CORRIDOR Texas is investing in billions of dollars of improvement projects along its 600 miles of this key North American artery connected to nearly half of the state’s GDP. 90 GULF COAST PORTS New statistics say seven of the nation’s busiest ports are along the Gulf Coast. Ron Starner fi nds out why. 94 FLORIDA Entrepreneurs and innovators are fl ocking to Florida. In their own words they tell us why the state is winning the race for talent. 118 ARIZONA CHIPS Act deals would boost plans by Intel and TSMC in Greater Phoenix, while aerospace and aviation investment continues to skyrocket. 132 OHIO A new report fi nds that Ohio claims the top two emerging hubs for biotech research. 140 GREAT LAKES Armed with new federal funding, Great Lakes ReNEW aims to do nothing less than “drive a decarbonized, circular blue economy that would transform the Great Lakes region.” 142 IOWA Two company leaders in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City corridor shed light on why the region makes sense as home base for growing companies with national footprints. 144 KENTUCKY Thanks to a helping hand from Uncle Sam, two new factories employing advanced manufacturing technology are about to get even cleaner and greener. 168 COLORADO The newly launched Colorado Hub for Healthcare Impact wants to turn Colorado into “America’s epicenter for life sciences innovation.” 170 UTAH The Beehive State’s sterling reputation for mineral exploration continues to help it attract major investments crucial to the nation’s economy. Where can you fi nd high-quality manufacturing, sites, people and lifestyle? QC, that’s where. Three distinct viewpoints shed light on a bi-state region with a sense of unity that transcends even the mighty Mississippi.4 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION T o believe things are going to work out, or not to believe. That is the question. You’ll have to forgive this former poetry and theater major. Writing this on Shakespeare’s 460th birthday, I can’t help but ask, “Is it indeed nobler ‘to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?’ ” That question was not asked by Kearney for its 2024 FDI Confidence Index or by DHL for its 2024 Global Connectedness Index. Then again, it was. Despite the proverbial geopolitical, humanitarian and economic “headwinds,” the DHL report finds globalization to be as resilient as ever and the Kearney survey sees an uptick in investors’ net optimism. Led by the United States in No. 1 position, followed by Canada, China, the UK and France, the Kearney FDI Confidence Index resonates well with this year’s Global Best to Invest Rankings in this issue, where the United States, the UK, Germany, Canada and Ireland lead the way. Moreover, says, Kearney, “a striking 88% said they were planning to increase their FDI in the next three years — 6% more than last year.” How, in a year when half the world’s population is headed to the polls and conflict seems to rule the day, is that possible? Investors do not have their heads in the sand: Kearney says 85% of corporate respondents anticipate FDI decisions will be influenced by geopolitical tensions and most expect a more restrictive regulatory environment to increase risk. Nearshoring is a popular hedge. But the positive outlook remains. Ever since the pandemic, Kearney says, “investors are determined to find silver linings in the face of adversity.” Which leads to another club of countries found in our index and others: Those perennially satisfied nations such as Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Finland. All six of them (with Finland No. 1) are in the Top 10 in the World Happiness Report released this spring by Gallup, Oxford and the UN. The United States didn’t even make the top 20. But that doesn’t mean companies aren’t happy to invest here. “It’s significant that even though we have political polarization on display right now, we have this tremendous vote of confidence from investors around the world,” said Erik Peterson, a partner at Kearney. “They’re willing to say, ‘Look, there are a lot of other significant elements with respect to return in the U.S. that may supersede elements we see.’ In my view, it shows an upside.” Hamlet never saw the upside, as “the native hue of resolution” got “sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,” causing “enterprises of great pith and moment” to “lose the name of action.” But enterprises today are taking action with their dollars, people and technology. In the process, they might even be making their investors, employees and communities as happy as the happiest nations. After all, said Prospero, “We are all made of dreams.” MEMBER Site Selection (ISSN: 1080-7799) (USPS ), May 2024, volume 69 number 3. Published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November by Conway Data, Inc., 6625 The Corners Parkway, Suite 200, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 USA. Periodical postage paid at Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and additional mailing offices. Single issue: $20 plus shipping. Annual subscription: $95 in the United States; $135 to non U.S. addresses. PRINTED IN USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Site Selection, 6625 The Corners Parkway, Suite 200, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 USA. ©2024 CONWAY DATA, INC. Publisher/Director LAURA LYNE Executive Vice President RONALD J. STARNER Head of Publications & Editor in Chief ADAM BRUNS Editor Emeritus MARK AREND Senior Editor GARY DAUGHTERS Associate Editor ALEXIS ELMORE Assistant Custom Content Editor LINDSAY LOPP Art Director NEGIN MOMTAZ Production Coordinator/Designer BOB GRAVLEE Lead Designers SEAN SCANTLAND RICHARD NENOFF Designer ASHLEIGH PORTER Data Services Manager KAREN MEDERNACH Senior Research Associate BRIAN ESPINOZA Research Associate McKENZIE WRIGHT GLOBAL SALES & MARKETING Vice President of Sales CHARLES FITZGIBBON Regional Director — Northeast U.S. MIKE GLENNON Regional Director — Midwest U.S. CATHY McFARLAND Regional Director — Southeast U.S. MICHELE RABALAIS Regional Director — Western U.S. PAUL NEWMAN Director of Sales & Marketing for Custom Content U.S., Central & South America MARGARET ROSE Europe BRENDAN DOHERTY, +44 7999 786752 Japan HIROKO MINATO, +81 50 8882 3456 Korea CHUL LEE, +82 2 466 5595 Sales Development Representative MARTA RUSSELL Sales Administrator CHRISTI STANSBERRY BUSINESS DEPARTMENT Chief Financial Officer DEBBIE PORTER Accounting Associate DAVIS WILSON CIRCULATION Circulation Manager JULIE CLARKE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TEAM Director of Programming & Analytics DANIEL BOYER IT Coordinator MARK BERTRAM The publishers believe that the information contained in this publication is accurate. However, the in formation is not war ranted, and neither Conway Data, Inc., nor the Industrial Asset Management Council, assumes any liability or responsibility for actual, consequential or incidental damages re sulting from inaccurate or erroneous information. Site Selection incorporates Industrial Development. PHONE: (770) 446-6996 FAX: (770) 263-8825 TOLL FREE: (800) 554-5686 EMAIL: editor@conway.com WEB: www.siteselection.com Silver Linings Playbook Revisited EDITOR’S VIEW6 MAY 2024 SITE SELECTION insider May 2024 Mark Your Calendar … www.iamc.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS Fall 2023 - Fall 2024 Chair Betsy K. Power PepsiCo Vice Chair Cary Hutchings BNSF Railway Company Secretary-Treasurer Matt M. Boehlke Xcel Energy Past Chair Karen L. Shchuka Penske Transportation Solutions James Chavez South Carolina Power Team Alan Darner WK Kellogg Co William DeBoer Kohler Co. Connie Fricke Land O’Lakes Lindsay Friedman Prologis Jim P. Horigan Corning Inc. Robert Kontur EnerSys Amy Madison Pflugerville Community Development Corp Dave Quinn, CEcD Fairview Texas EDC Eric Zahniser Cresa IAMC President & CEO J. Tate Godfrey, CEcD Two Halves Make a Whole I work for a wonderful company. One of the reasons I think of PepsiCo that way is the way it empowers women — you know, those people who make up half the world’s population. It’s why the company signed the White House Equal Pay Pledge in 2016. More recently, during Women’s History Month this spring, the company rolled out for the third consecutive year its “She is PepsiCo” campaign that recognizes women who work in front-line supply chain roles by featuring personalized displays on PepsiCo trucks. The campaign has boosted applications from women for these positions at PepsiCo Beverages North America by 6% since it started in 2022. For several years the company has backed a digital life skills training course with the International Youth Foundation that features scenarios with women serving in positions of authority and in non- traditional professional roles. It’s part of PepsiCo’s goal to invest $100 million by 2025 in initiatives to provide 12.5 million women and girls around the world with resources for workforce readiness and in programs that empower women. This spring, two young women were among the four recipients of a $25,000 Frito-Lay Community Builder Scholarship. One of them, Dartmouth College freshman Mehar Bhasin of Lakeville, Connecticut, co-founded the non-profit STEAM Bloom to address gender and race disparities in STEM. The organization has provided over 2,000 students free access to computer science resources. My employer is not the only organization I’ve encountered that is leading the way in leadership by women. I guess you could say it started with my first job at my aunt’s ice cream shop. As a professional, for many years I’ve been involved with the Commercial Real Estate Women Network (CREW), whose expertise and professional camaraderie have multiplied from 1,100 members at its founding 35 years ago to more than 14,000 today in more than 80 markets, including affiliates in Mexico, the UK, France and, as of March, Ireland, recognized in this issue as one of the most promising places to invest. IAMC is another organization not afraid to feature women front and center. Five women currently serve on our 15-member board — the same ratio PepsiCo currently has on its own 15-member board. You can find strong, knowledgeable women leading our capable IAMC staff in Atlanta and speaking from the IAMC Forum stage: Erica Orange, the futurist and executive vice president of The Future Hunters, captivated the audience at our Spring Forum in Greenville with her remarks on AI. I’m proud to see women bringing their expertise, communication skills and energy to everything from our strategic vision planning to our philanthropic endeavors, our Fun Runs at Forums and our thriving Emerging Leaders group. Where are the wonderful women in your organization? Where are the wonderful men championing their professional development? Just like a review of your lease portfolio, gaining a clear look at the roles and perhaps unrealized potential of women on your team can reveal opportunities you didn’t know were there. Betsy K. PowerNext >