On sheer numbers of expansions and new projects during 2004, New York set the pace with 17, according to Conway Data's New Plant Database. One of the larger investments announced in the state is a $28-million expansion of manufacturing operations by American Pharmaceutical Partners (APP) at its Grand Island facility. APP will add 130 jobs and 50,000 sq. ft. (5,000 sq. m.). APP currently employs about 460 at Grand Island. The expansion will be complete by the end of the year.
      Bill Whitehead, a senior manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago specializing in site selection for industrial operations, says the primary factor in pharmaceutical plant location decisions continues to be labor-related issues such as the availability of critical employee skill sets. Other considerations at the top of the list include a suitable industrial site, quality of life factors, education resources, good access to commercial air service and proximity to other biopharma operations. "Certainly, there's the increasing importance of incentives," Whitehead says. "A good example is in North Carolina."
      Outside of the acknowledged centers of pharmaceutical development such as North Carolina's Research Triangle area, Boston, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Whitehead believes two areas ripe for investment are Kansas City, Mo., and Austin, Texas.
      He says both have all the basic criteria, plus the presence of established companies. Both also have attractive incentive programs, he says.