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| FROM SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE, MARCH 2023 ISSUE |
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BIOPHARMA
A new report from KPMG sheds light on Sub-Saharan opportunities.
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INVESTMENT PROFILE: IRVING-LAS COLINAS, TEXAS
Irving-Las Colinas cements its role in the region’s biotechnology and life sciences sectors.
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Wisconsin
The epic reputation of Epic Systems continues to grow, and so does its campus, as the medical software company is adding two new buildings — named “Creatures” and “Guilds” — to its “Wizards Academy” cluster. The expansion will add 1,700 new jobs to the company’s existing Verona headcount of 11,600. The company also has a “Storybook”-themed campus where its newest building, named “Castaway,” opened in January. As documented by the Wisconsin State Journal earlier this month, the gargantuan footprint of Epic even includes a treehouse constructed from materials left over from the company’s first campus, constructed nearly 20 years ago in this town southwest of Madison.
Thailand
South Carolina–based Kyocera AVX, a global manufacturer of advanced electronic components, has opened this advanced manufacturing facility for ceramic and tantalum capacitors in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The new facility features 1.2 million sq. ft. of manufacturing and warehousing space. The complex consists of three separate buildings housing manufacturing and office spaces, break areas, a sports arena, a pavilion, and a cultural center for employees to practice Thai customs and gather for sponsored events. “The construction process began in 2019, took more than 6 million man-hours to complete, resulted in zero reported injuries, and earned Kyocera AVX both local and national recognition for its handling and prevention of COVID-19 during construction,” said the company, which maintains 33 research, design, manufacturing and customer support facilities in 16 countries around the world.
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| COLORADO – BUSINESS COMES TO LIFE 2023 |
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BIOSCIENCE
Talent, investment and a surge of development propel a thriving biotech industry in Colorado.
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RESEARCH
Driven in part by the presence of 33 federally funded labs, Colorado is the No. 2 state for technology and science and welcomed $1.75 billion in higher education R&D in 2021.
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| SITE SELECTION RECOMMENDS |
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The Arc of Dreams, created by South Dakota Artist Laureate Dale Claude Lamphere, crosses the Big Sioux River in downtown Sioux Falls.
Photo courtesy of Travel South Dakota
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In December the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP), a non-profit think tank focused on “expanding economic opportunity to those who least have it,” published its ranking of the 50 U.S. state public university systems by median lifetime return on investment. The winner? South Dakota, where the median ROI is $217,000, nearly twice the national median of $118,182. Minnesota comes in second, followed by No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 Kansas — a clean sweep for the Midwest when it comes to making a good living. Yes, the list includes the lowest-ROI systems too (Hawaii, Louisiana and New Mexico).
“High-ROI states commonly have a well-developed technical college system. A preponderance of career-oriented majors at four-year schools also plays a role,” said the report, which also analyzed the highest-ROI individual programs. Nursing programs at the University of Texas at Arlington and Ohio University were highest ranked, followed by a business degree at Indiana University’s flagship campus in Bloomington.
Top 10 State Public College & University Systems by Median ROI
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South Dakota: $217,000 |
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Minnesota: $215,000 |
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Iowa: $214,000 |
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Kansas: $181,000 |
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Pennsylvania: $167,000 |
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Virginia: $166,000 |
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Arizona: $164,000 |
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Texas: $159,000 |
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Michigan: $154,000 |
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Nebraska: $154,000 |
Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
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| KENTUCKY — WHERE TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION |
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BUSINESS CLIMATE
In 2022, Kentucky notched its second-best year in history for new plant investment and its fourth-best for job creation. Put 2021 and 2022 together, and you get the best two-year economic development run in state history.
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Photo by Victor Diaz Lamich for Montréal en Lumière, courtesy of v2com newswire
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Bonne Journée de la Langue Française! Happy French Language Day to you and yours. According to Amsterdam-based BoldData, 16 million companies in 30 countries are French-speaking, and more than 720,000 of them are in Canada, most of them in Québec. That’s where last month, for the second year in a row, the unique multimedia experience known as the Skating Loop was open to thousands during the annual Montréal en Lumière Festival at the Quartier des Spectacles downtown. The nearly quarter-mile elevated loop was illuminated by 165 LED lights and featured projected images on the side of a building, a custom-made soundtrack and yes, a custom-built Zamboni for ice maintenance. Watch for the Québec spotlight in the May 2023 issue of Site Selection.
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