< Previous54 JULY 2025 SITE SELECTION Okaloosa County, where Williams International will build a high- volume aviation gas turbine engine manufacturing facility in the Shoal River Industrial Park. In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $3.2 million through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to expand manufacturing in Okaloosa County, according to a release. FloridaCommerce partnered with several state and local organizations including CareerSource Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest, Space Florida, Okaloosa County and Triumph Gulf Coast on this major economic development win for Florida. “This billion-dollar investment is a major win for the Free State of Florida and for Floridians,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Williams International’s investment in the Florida Panhandle will create more than 330 jobs and is a 14| © 2024 Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Source: JLL Research, Lightcast 0% 100% 200% 300% 400% 500% 600% 700% Aerospace and defense change in job postings by MSA: Jan 2020 vs October 2024 11| © 2024 Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Aerospace and defense office leasing volume by market: 2020 –2024 Source: JLL Research 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 3,500,000 Washington-DC MetroDenverDallas-Fort WorthSan DiegoBaltimore Lease volume (s.f.) 20202021 20222023 2024 SITE SELECTION JULY 2025 55 13| © 2024 Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc. All rights reserved. Source: JLL Research, Lightcast 44,415 31,368 25,402 18,594 15,237 14,005 12,922 9,576 8,304 6,710 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 Los AngelesWashington DCSeattleDenverDallasSt. LouisHuntsvilleOrlandoPhiladelphiaBaltimore Aerospace and Defense Product and Parts Manufacturing Job postings by MSA: January 2020 –October 2024 We are seeing A&D fi rms consider a broader range of markets in their site selection process. e heightened competition in the industry is driving A&D fi rms to consider all markets that may lower operating costs, provide a business-friendly environment and help attract top talent.” — Tom Taylor , Managing Director, Aerospace and Defense, JLL We are seeing A&D fi rms consider a broader range of The three charts on this and the facing page appear in the Q1 2025 Aerospace and Defense Industry Insights report from JLL.56 JULY 2025 SITE SELECTION success story of the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund in Northwest Florida.” Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. said May it fi nished the $ million expansion of its aircraft completions operations at St. Louis Downtown Airport, adding to Gulfstream’s St. Louis MRO facility that opened in to provide dedicated hangar space and service to support the entire Gulfstream fl eet. e company employs more than team members on site in St. Louis and encompasses a total facility footprint of , sq. ft. St. Louis Regional Freightway reports that the bi-state region has seen .% job growth in the aerospace sector over the past fi ve years. “ e St. Louis area is a booming aviation hub fi lled with skilled and capable talent, and that has played a role in our continued investment in the region,” said Gulfstream President Mark Burns. e St. Louis area is a booming aviation hub fi lled with skilled and capable talent, and that has played a role in our continued investment in the region.” — Mark Burns , President, Gulfstream e St. Louis area is a booming SITE SELECTION JULY 2025 57 G reen steel production has reinforced its position in the Nordic region, having seen a big push in corporate investment in a region that has a stable, innovation-driven environment with clean energy options, greatly developed infrastructure and a highly skilled workforce. Norway-based Blastr Green Steel successfully secured a second round of strategic partner financing, advancing the development of its flagship steel plant in Inkoo, Finland, powered partly with hydrogen. Finland has a long tradition and deep expertise in steel manufacturing. Antti Kaikkonen, Finland country manager for Blastr Green Steel, says Finland knows how to build, operate and maintain critical 24/7 industrial processes. “Finland has a very robust power grid, and today, over 95% of its electricity production is carbon dioxide-free,” Kaikkonen tells Site Selection. “In addition, Finland has the most extensive renewable energy project development portfolio in Europe. The required amount of electricity is available at a competitive price.” Finland aims to be carbon neutral by 2035 and is committed to establishing a circular economy. “We recommend companies explore areas with strong local support and access to CO2-free electricity,” Kaikkonen says. “The past year has reinforced the need for resilient supply chains, sustainable production models and building cost competitiveness. Blastr Green Steel is integrating sustainability into every step of the process — using green hydrogen and fossil-free electricity and focusing on circularity. Our goal is to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions while maintaining high-quality steel production and cost competitiveness in European markets.” Blastr has worked closely with the Port of Inkoo Authority on land and harbor development. The entities will cooperate to develop Inkoo Shipping’s harbor areas for Blastr’s future cargo. Northern Europe Forges Path for Sustainable Steel Recently, Norwegian steelmaker Celsa Nordic was rebranded as 7 Steel Nordic after being acquired by Prague-based Sev.en Global Investments in April. Cardiff, Wales-based Celsa Steel UK was also acquired in this move, now touting the name 7 Steel UK. Both groups will produce an overall production capacity of 2 million metric tons. Last year’s rebranding of Stockholm- based Stegra, founded in 2020 and formerly named H2 Green Steel, followed the steel company’s successful raising of €6 billion in funding for the world’s largest green steel production facility in Boden, located in northern Sweden. The Swedish Energy Agency’s Industrial Leap fund granted approximately €100 million to the development of a plant in Boden. This capital comes from a larger €265 million program approved by the European Commission looking to further green steel in Sweden. Northern Sweden was chosen as the location of the plant due to its close access to the power grid, availability of raw materials and existing logistics infrastructure. Stegra plans on producing 5 million tons of green steel annually by 2030 and is planning a second phase of development with the goal of doubling production capacity. by KELLY BARRAZA kelly.barraza@siteselection.com THE NORDICS The 7 Steel Nordic site in Sweden. Photo courtesy of 7 Steel Nordic Sustainable Scandinavian Steel Continues to ThriveHow a Growing Mid-Sized Texas City Builds a Technical Workforce P flugerville Mayor Victor Gonzales says there are many reasons why this booming Austin suburb in Central Texas was recently named the No. 15 Best Place to Live in America by U.S. News & World Report. “We had 272 people in Pflugerville when I was born,” he says. “We have 70,000 people now. We are the trail capital of Texas, and we are just 15 minutes from downtown Austin. Pflugerville is a regional draw. We are not a small town anymore.” Gonzales says Pflugerville’s lofty ranking stems from its overall attractiveness to workers and their families: “Our schools, our public safety and our commercial business growth set us apart,” he says. “When families move here, they want the best schools for their children. Our school district is one of the best in Texas.” They also come for the jobs, and on that count Pflugerville ranks among the best performing cities in Texas. Pflugerville excels at job creation because it invests heavily and regularly into worker training and talent attraction. The holy grail of economic development is workforce development, and no one understands that better than Jerry W. Jones Jr., executive director of the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation (PCDC). Jones knows that in order for his city to maintain its competitive edge as a magnet for business, it must constantly up its game in worker training, higher education, and talent attraction and retention. Each of these areas INVESTMENT PROFILE: PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS How a Growing Mid-Sized Texas City Builds a Technical Workforce by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.com 58 JULY 2025 SITE SELECTION A city of 70,000 people in Travis County in Greater Austin, Texas, Pflugerville is ranked the 15th Best Place to Live in America by U.S. News. Photo courtesy of Pflugerville Community Development Corp. A top 15 national ranking adds to the appeal in talent attraction. Mayor Victor Gonzalesis addressed in detail in the recently produced Pflugerville Workforce Study commissioned by the PCDC. Among the key takeaways, says Jones, is the need for greater alignment across all aspects of the workforce ecosystem. “The most important thing we learned from our recent Workforce Study is the critical need for better alignment and proactive engagement across our workforce ecosystem,” says Jones. “The study highlighted existing and projected misalignment between K-12 CTE [career technical education] inventory, current local training programs and the specific talent needs of our growing target industries. It underscored that while we have foundational elements, a more unified, data-driven approach is essential to build pipelines ahead of demand, rather than just reacting to current shortages. This also includes identifying and addressing the barriers to work that exist for various segments of our population, which directly impact workforce participation and the supply of talent.” The goal is to make sure that Pflugerville is able to produce the in- demand talent needed by employers. Just as Pflugerville more than doubled in size from 28,000 residents in 2000, Greater Austin nearly doubled from 1.25 million people in 2000 to 2.313 million today. Keeping up with growth means constantly enhancing worker preparation. Jones says Pflugerville will use the new study to get even better. “As a result of this study, Pflugerville plans several changes,” he says. “For adult education and reskilling, we are actively pursuing clarity on how the Pflugerville Independent School District’s CTE Center can be used for adult training in the evenings and on weekends. This includes working toward a memorandum of understanding with PfISD and collaborating with partners, such as WFSCA/Skill Point Alliance, to develop targeted programs. For CTE training, we are working with PfISD CTE leadership to identify the needs of our primary employers. This will allow PfISD to develop pathways that address these needs, ensuring instructional alignment with future target industries. We will also socialize the importance of this alignment across various community groups and businesses.” Help Wanted: Technical Skills In recent years, Pflugerville has experienced a growing need for workers trained in robotics, CNC, computer science and 3D printing/additive manufacturing. These are the jobs being created at workplaces like that of Cortec Precision Sheet Metal in Pflugerville. Cortec General Manager Manuel Teschera says that area schools and training centers produce top-quality talent. “When you look at our welders, machinists and other technicians, we’ve been able to find them, recruit them and train them for the jobs we need,” he says. “Precision metal work in this area has grown over the years; and a few other metalworking shops have moved here.” The growth of semiconductor manufacturing and 3D printing at additive manufacturers in the region contributes to this surge in worker demand. To help meet that need, Jones says he wants the city to actively recruit and ultimately secure a branch campus of a major higher education institution. “The City Council and PCDC Board of Directors have challenged me to recruit and ultimately secure a satellite campus for a university or community college,” he notes. “I have initiated conversations with presidents and senior staff from various universities in Texas. We are currently in discussions regarding the potential for a satellite campus model in Pflugerville, which aligns directly with identified workforce needs. Ideally, we are seeking a four-year university presence that can provide specific advanced technology and engineering programs, along with entrepreneurial and innovation pathways, that will support our target industries and future workforce.” The goal of this effort, he adds, is to equip more local residents with competitive skill sets in engineering, advanced manufacturing and other specialized fields. Jones says the community plans to use apprenticeships, learn-and-earn models and a burgeoning youth entrepreneurship training program to develop future workers. Finding New Funding Models “Our investments in initiatives like the PFORGE Youth Entrepreneur Program [a collaboration with PfISD] and supporting CTE equipment needs within PfISD have been highly successful in delivering tangible programs,” he says. “Our collaborations with Workforce Solutions Capital Area [WFSCA] and leveraging their funding streams have also been vital. In the future, we would like to explore tapping into federal funding sources, such as those from the Economic Development Administration, particularly for larger-scale projects like the potential innovation and entrepreneurship center or wet lab development. Additionally, we’ll continue to advise businesses on maximizing Texas Workforce Commission training grants for upskilling their existing workforce.” Jones says investments like these make Pflugerville a desirable destination for workers and families. “The reality,” he says, “is that we have a growing, diverse and adaptable workforce which, with proper training and support, can meet the evolving demands of our target industries.” For Pflugerville and its employers, that’s a recipe for success. SITE SELECTION JULY 2025 59 This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. For more information, go to pfdevelopment.com or contact Adam Maxon at adamm@pfdevelopment.com. Jerry JonesA Bountiful Chobani and Ferrero Group grow in more than one place at a time. W hen opening the pantry or refrigerator door to satisfy a craving in an instant, how often is the backstory of the product considered? Before food and beverage products ever hit the grocery store shelves they find their beginnings in fields across the globe, often closer to your backyard than you’d think. Manufacturers depend on a steady supply of various produce, livestock and field crop products and are willing to locate directly near the source. Since January 2024, more than 1,000 food and beverage projects have been announced throughout North America, from manufacturing facilities and distribution warehouses to R&D centers and fresh office space. While many of these investments reflect an individual project, some manufacturers delivered multiple projects over the course of the year. Global food manufacturer Chobani currently operates in four locations in the world — Australia, Idaho, Michigan and New York — and with demand on the rise the company plans to return to its home base to expand. Twenty years since the launch of Chobani’s first manufacturing location in South Edmeston, New York, the company is heading 50 miles northwest to the city of Rome to introduce Project Gladiator, representing the largest U.S. investment in a natural foods production facility. “New York is where Chobani’s journey began,” Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya said in announcing the new project in April. “It was the perfect spot to start Chobani 20 years ago, and it’s the perfect place to continue our story. Working with dedicated dairy farmers and the resilient community, we built something truly special — something bigger than the food we make. We ignited a movement toward better food made with heart, passion and only the highest- quality ingredients.” Chobani has begun construction on a new $1.2 billion production facility on 150 acres of the former Griffiss Air Force Base, now known as the Griffiss Business and Technology Park. The site will handle more than manufacturing of the company’s leading yogurt, oat milk and creamer products, as it will additionally serve as a hub for future innovation. Community collaboration will be vital to the project’s longevity, gathering expertise from Mohawk Valley farmers, businesses, higher education institutions, entrepreneurs and leadership to promote new economic opportunity while fueling a future talent pipeline. The facility will house 28 production lines capable of processing 12 million pounds of milk each day, producing more than 1 billion pounds of the brand’s leading dairy products. Chobani’s focus on natural ingredients has placed an emphasis on the importance of New York dairy farmers who already supply over 1 billion pounds of raw milk annually to the company’s operations in South Edmeston. The company stated that once the Rome facility is complete, Chobani expects to increase raw milk purchases to 6 billion pounds per year. “With our new plant in Rome and our original home in South Edmeston, we’re entering a new dimension, partnering with hard-working people across the heartland of New York to build an ecosystem of natural food production and nourish families throughout the country,” said Ulukaya. “When you invest in people, in local communities, you’re not just building a business — you’re building a future.” The activity follows Chobani’s March 2025 announcement of a $500 million expansion of its Twin Falls, Idaho, operations — the company’s largest facility investment at the time — which aims to increase production capacity FOOD & BEVERAGE 60 JULY 2025 SITE SELECTION by ALEXIS ELMORE alexis.elmorer@siteselection.com Spring SITE SELECTION JULY 2025 61 In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul joined Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya to officially break ground on a $1.2 billion project in Rome. Image courtesy of Darren McGee/ Office of Governor Kathy Hochul by 50% once complete. Project details include an additional 500,000 sq. ft. of production space for a total of 1.6 million sq. ft. across 24 production lines. Construction at the Twin Falls site is anticipated to be completed in 2026, creating at least 160 new jobs. There’s Always Room for Dessert Innovation is at the forefront of the Ferrero Group’s latest North American expansion projects, as new flavors and treats are set to head into production at Ferrero locations in Ontario, Canada, and Franklin Park, Illinois. Both investments were driven by the company’s popular Nutella brand. In Ontario, Ferrero’s $321 million Brantford expansion will introduce new production lines designed to produce Nutella Biscuits — the first time the product will be manufactured outside of the company’s European operations. In addition, Ferrero will launch its latest innovation, Ferrero Rocher chocolate squares, which for now will be exclusive to the Ontario facility. Much like Chobani, the company depends on the local raw materials supply chain for ingredients such as wheat flour, refined sugar and dairy. The region’s robust agricultural base, in addition to its workforce and advanced manufacturing capabilities, made it the ideal Ferrero location in which to expand the nearly 20-year-old facility. The investment will support integration of new technology such as Internet of Things systems and advanced robotics to boost productivity, while creating 500 new jobs. Just outside of Chicago in the village of Franklin Park, Ferrero is preparing to integrate a new Nutella flavor into production at the same location that manufactures Butterfinger and Baby Ruth products. The new flavor is the first time the company has strayed from its traditional hazelnut chocolate spread in over 60 years, adding just one new ingredient — peanut butter. Nutella Peanut was the catalyst to construct the nation’s first Nutella production line in Illinois, which will be available in stores by mid-2026. The $75 million investment will create 65 new jobs at the facility, part of a portfolio of Illinois operations that include the company’s first North American chocolate plant (opened in May 2024 in Bloomington), a Keebler production site on 110th Street in Chicago and an Innovation Center and R&D Labs that launched in 2023 in Chicago’s historic Marshall Field and Company Building. INVESTMENT PROFILE: MARYLAND A erospace companies looking to get their operations airborne quickly will find they can easily do so in Maryland. Over 9,000 such companies have a presence in the state, perhaps because it has the highest concentration of aerospace engineers in the country. Pick an aerospace sector from space technology to unmanned aerial vehicles, and chances are an in-state federal research lab, military facility or aerospace company is working today on tomorrow’s cutting- edge systems. Aerospace is one of Maryland’s top strategic industries, according to Deputy Secretary Ricardo Benn, who oversees the Maryland Department of Commerce’s innovation and growth portfolio, including the Office of Strategic Industries and Entrepreneurship and Office of International Investment and Trade. “We have some amazing assets, including NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center [in Greenbelt], where I started my professional career,” says Benn. “It’s one of the most important space facilities in the world for planetary sciences. We have NAVAIR, the Naval Air Systems Command, in St. Mary’s County, and many other facilities that are all focused on different aspects of aerospace. “Our focus is on ecosystem development,” says Benn. “That means focusing on the companies and suppliers within the state and their challenges and leveraging the tools and capabilities we have to help them grow and expand. And it means courting sources of capital so they can expand.” Benn recently attended a leading conference of the unmanned vehicle systems industry that was attended by delegations from around the world. “We took a delegation of eight Maryland companies to expose them to those markets,” he relates. “That’s a key mechanism for us — to facilitate domestic connections these companies need as well as international access. Companies in Maryland are part of that global supply chain, so we want to by MARK AREND mark.arend@siteselection.com 62 JULY 2025 SITE SELECTION America’s Aerospace Ecosystem Starts in Maryland Genesis Engineering Solutions, based in Lanham near the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, produces advanced aerospace components to advance the use of uncrewed aircraft systems. Photo courtesy of Genesis Engineering Solutionsmake sure they have the access they are seeking.” As unmanned aerial systems and their uses become more ubiquitous, aerospace companies and federal agencies have an academic research resource in state for expertise on keeping their flight plans on track. From testing nascent UAS technologies to improving established systems, the UAS Operations and Research Center, part of the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, is a key part of the state’s aerospace ecosystem. “National airspace integration, for example, is among the areas we’re working on,” says John Slaughter, director of the Center. “This is taking mature technology, UAS techniques that have been developed elsewhere in the country in less congested airspace, and moving it into Maryland airspace, which is complex. In addition, we work on projects of all kinds involving NASA, Homeland Security, military branches, state agencies and others, as well as private entities that may be involved in research or other innovation involving drones.” Out of This World Maryland’s aerospace reach extends well above the ceiling capacity of unmanned aerial vehicles. It can be found on numerous space missions — some with familiar names today and others with mission names that in time will be familiar. “Maryland’s Goddard Space Flight Center is recognized as one of the premier institutions for aerospace science in the United States and the world,” notes Robert Rashford, president and CEO of Lanham-based Genesis Engineering Solutions, a space technology systems company located near Goddard. “Three notable flagship missions are the Hubble Space Telescope service missions, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Roman Space Telescope with a planned launch in 2026. These three telescope projects, along with the Space Science Institute in Baltimore, have made significant contributions to science both nationally and internationally.” Among other projects, Genesis Engineering is developing the Single Person Spacecraft, a fully enclosed vehicle designed for orbital maintenance and other out-of-spacecraft missions. In Baltimore County, Rocket Lab USA recently opened a Space Structures Complex to manufacture composite products for spacecraft and rockets. The company designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle for satellites and is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, according to the company, the Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 200 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations. In February 2025, X-Bow Systems, a producer of advanced solid rocket motors and defense technologies, opened a new office in Indian Head in Charles County, Maryland, where it began operating in a converted retail complex in 2024. The company is a contractor for the U.S. Navy and is involved in the modernization of the nearby Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head base. Aerospace activity can be found throughout much of Maryland, notes John Slaughter, from the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground in the northeast to St. Mary’s County in the south, a hotbed of military and civil aviation development. It’s where the UAS Operations and Research Center is located, as are NAVAIR, the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and the Maryland Autonomous Technologies Research Innovation and eXploration (MATRIX) Lab operated by the University of Maryland. “Maryland is packed with expertise in everything from small UAS to the largest air- and spacecraft,” notes Slaughter. “Even more important, its engineers are at the cutting edge of making these systems more and more autonomous. Future- focused companies aspiring to operate in that space will find Maryland an unmatched place to set up shop.” This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the Maryland Department of Commerce. For more information, visit business.Maryland.gov/aerospace. SITE SELECTION JULY 2025 63 The University of Maryland’s UAS Operations and Research Center in St. Mary’s County works with public- and private-sector entities to advance unmanned aerial vehicles’ efficacy. Photo courtesy of the UAS Operations and Research CenterNext >