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| FROM SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2023 ISSUE |
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WESTERN EUROPE
Medtech in particular takes a fancy to the island, where two major companies alone employ more than 8,000 people.
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ALABAMA
Alabama prepares for the future of eco-friendly manufacturing innovation as industries shift focus with billions of dollars in investments.
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AUTOMATION
Automation sweeps through the world’s industries, with no plan to slow down.
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| KANSAS — THE STATE OF UNEXPECTED |
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BROADBAND
The state is doing its part to connect more homes and businesses to broadband.
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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Kansas programs enable personal, community and business growth.
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Canada
The Ontario government announced early this month this C$33.4 million manufacturing investment by Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, a leading coffee and tea manufacturer in Mississauga. A release from the province stated, “Mother Parkers is a fourth-generation family-owned manufacturer and supplier and a true Ontario success story. Over the last century, Mother Parkers has grown from a small wholesale grocery distributor in Toronto into a global tea and coffee company, manufacturing private label products for some of the world’s largest retailers and restaurant chains, as well as its own brands.” The company’s investment will add a new cold coffee and tea extracts manufacturing facility next to its existing facilities. The Ontario government is providing Mother Parkers with $5 million through the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competitiveness stream of the province’s Regional Development Program. Ontario is investing more than $100 million through the Regional Development Program from 2019 to 2023 to strengthen advanced manufacturing sectors in regions across the province. To date, the province has provided companies with $74 million in support through the Regional Development Program, leveraging $804 million in investments for 71 projects and helping to create more than 1,425 jobs in the province.
Mexico
Sweden’s SKF early this month announced it is locating engineering and manufacturing capabilities in a greenfield facility in Monterrey, Mexico, that will “create a strong regional base for the development and manufacturing of SKF’s high-performance deep-groove ball bearings (DGBB) for North American car manufacturers and tapered roller bearings (TRB) for industrial and commercial vehicle applications.” David Johansson, president of SKF Automotive, said, “Monterrey is strategically located near many of our customers and partners in Mexico, with developed logistics channels to major distribution hubs in the USA.” SKF says the first production lines in Monterrey are expected to open in mid-2023. “SKF specialists from the Americas, India, China and Europe are involved in the technology and competence ramp-up of the factory,” the company said, “which is expected to generate some 1,200 jobs for the local community once fully operational.”
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| COLORADO – BUSINESS COMES TO LIFE |
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The full Digital Edition of the 2023 Colorado – Business Comes to Life publication is now available. Featuring interviews with business, state and community leaders, this year’s edition examines such topics as the state’s talent attraction advantages, smart government, the semiconductor opportunity, outdoor recreation, and research and higher education activity. Spotlights focus on four economic centers in the state, while also profiling such industry sectors as cleantech, financial services and fintech, aerospace, energy, bioscience and quantum technologies. Digest it all and you’ll see why a top official at Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade used one word to describe the state’s economic future: “Bright.”
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| SITE SELECTION RECOMMENDS |
States Taking the Greatest Number of EV Actions in 2022
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Two new reports shed light on two important sectors. First, Texas-based Site Selection Group offers their rundown of the world’s largest contact center deals in 2022, broken out by onshore (U.S.), nearshore and offshore where, ironically enough, California-based [24]7.ai is creating 9,000 jobs across India in 2022-23. Meanwhile, as every jurisdiction chases the electric vehicle and battery sector’s mammoth investments, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center this month released its 50 States of Electric Vehicles 2022 Annual Review and Q4 2022 Report, providing insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on EVs and charging infrastructure. The report finds that in 2022 the greatest number of actions related to rebate and grant programs, rate design, charging station deployment, and targets for state procurement of electric or zero-emission vehicles. A total of 790 electric vehicle actions were taken during 2022. “The Top 10 states taking the greatest number or most impactful actions in 2022 were California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington, North Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Arizona, and Colorado,” says the report.
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Photo courtesy of Norfolk Southern
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On the official Flickr page of Norfolk Southern you’ll find this 2015 photo of Norfolk Southern train 11V as it climbs the mountain around track three at Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pennsylvania. “The entire train can be seen: Engines 8073 and 9311, 87 cars, and helper units 6333 and 6315, a total length of about 5600 feet,” says the railroad. “The head end is on the left side of the image (running counter-clockwise) and is much higher in elevation than the rear end's helper units.” The 11V is a daily manifest freight operating between Enola Yard near Harrisburg and Bellevue, Ohio. Altoona is also home to the railroad’s Juniata locomotive shop, which the company says “can strip a locomotive down to the bare frame and completely rebuild it, including the engine, alternator, wiring, cab, trucks, combos and running gear — all in 6.5 days.”
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