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March 2013

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Cover Story

Top Industries: Milestones

When nine out of the top 10 corporate facility projects in a sector are valued at more than US$1 billion, you’ve officially arrived as a force to be reckoned with.

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Top Micropolitans: Speed Racer

RK Motors decided to put pedal to metal when the vintage muscle-car restoration business needed room to expand beyond its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

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Top Metropolitans: ‘Houston, We Have a Winner’

America’s energy boom has been kind to Houston, the country’s fastest-growing job market. As new discoveries of underground shale rich with pockets of natural gas create fertile fields of exploration and harvest for many of the world’s largest energy companies, Houston is reaping a windfall of investment.

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How To Win, Texas Style

Not so fast, Buckeyes. Texas is back in a big way with a commanding first-place finish in the 2012 facilities race to claim the Governor’s Cup after a 34-project loss to Ohio last year. Not only did Texas reclaim the coveted trophy, but it did so with a whopping 761 projects, 270 more than first runner-up Ohio, which held its own relative to last year’s tally with just seven fewer projects (491).

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Features

Pictures of the Wind

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) in February announced that global installed wind energy capacity increased by 19 percent in 2012 to 282,000 MW.

Brain Trust

Site Selection in early February hosted a roundtable conference call with a select group of corporate real estate and facilities pros from some of the most powerful biopharma organizations in the world, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

How to Herd Cats

The region around Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport — Greater Roissy — has figured out a way to coordinate and advance the overlapping agendas of nearly 30 public and private entities.

The Trust Belt

With Upper Midwest cities like Cleveland and Ann Arbor recently winning significant headquarters projects, it may be time to rebrand the region with a new moniker: the “Trust Belt.”

Investment Profiles

Many Happy Landings

Private Jet Charter, a London-based company that arranges upscale chartered flights for clients around the world, could have chosen virtually any major market in the U.S. for its North American headquarters.

One Big Greenhouse

Iroko Pharmaceuticals was little more than a seed five years ago. But it planted itself in two of the most fertile growth media for life sciences: Greater Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Powering Florida

When Cheney Brothers Inc. needed room to expand, Florida Power & Light Company delivered not just the electricity but also the deal-sealing resources that made sure the company kept its food distribution business growing in its home base of Florida.

Tunisia, European Know-How at a Competitive Cost

This market of 10 million will not be deterred. Two years after its revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring, Tunisia is emerging as an island of economic stability, and even one of relative political stability.

A Robust Turnaround

A few years ago, folks in Southwest Louisiana talked about the long road toward economic recovery following devastating hurricanes, an historic oil spill and a global financial crisis that would severely test the mettle of an entire region

International

The Great Dry Canal Race

The Panama Canal expansion, on target to be completed by 2015, has certainly put Panama and Central America back on the map.

Area Spotlights

Easier Decisions

One fertilizer plant project, in the southwest corner of Indiana, made news in late 2012 because it will happen. Another made news in early 2013, in the same part of the state, because it will not happen.

Once Lost, Now Found

Industry reports and the experts make it clear: A new world order is in the making, with the United States essentially redrawing the world’s energy map.

Be In That Number

Site Selection tracked 329 corporate facility projects between July 2011 and December 2012 landing in the dozens of counties lining the Mississippi River. Louisiana led the way among river states.

Intelligence^2

Cybersecurity is in the national headlines, after serious data incursions, an executive order from the White House and, in February, accusations of data theft from U.S.

Places to Soar

Still learning to fly? California knows how to make a nest for you, then kick you out.

Pre-Cambrian Origins

Seventy years ago Stanley Davis purchased St. Peter Creamery, in the eponymous town located just north of Mankato and about an hour southwest of Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Fountains of Youth

Foreign investors, entrepreneurs and defense-related companies are transforming two once-sleepy North Florida markets from raw material-dependent communities into thriving high-tech centers of global commerce.

Feedback Loop

Satirists Draw Scorn For Creating Actual Jobs.' "No way to treat loyal scoffers," says straight-faced applicant.

The ‘It State’ for FDI

"It is exciting to see South Carolina once again recognized as the 'it' place for business investment," noted Gov. Nikki Haley in January, when her Commerce Department announced the Palmetto State's first-place finish in a ranking of foreign direct investment (FDI) destination states for 2011 based on estimated jobs.

Urban Renewal 21st Century Style

There's a revival going on in the Northeast as companies across the industry spectrum are discovering anew the location advantages of dense population centers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

There’s Something In the Air

Perhaps it's the incentives directed specifically at aerospace company investment. Perhaps it's the presence of three national laboratories and dozens of others, three Air Force bases and three test facilities.