Photo by Laura Lyne

IAMC Chair Bob Zane visits with Fran Saele, managing director of CB Richard Ellis.

"K.C. COMBO": IAMC Director Greg Long, Hallmark Cards, with his son and fellow IAMC member Mark, with Zimmer Real Estate Services, Oncor International.

Bill Sproull, vice president of economic development for the Greater Dallas Chamber, enjoys the lunchtime company of IAMC Director Bill Pearson, BASF Corp., and economist Dr. Robert Genetski, a featured speaker at the Forum.

The peer-to-peer roundtables were once again among the most popular and well-attended sessions of the Forum.

A room full of corporate participants was held in rapt attention at the Research Roundtable on Wednesday, focusing on the real estate implications of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

California-based International Rectifier, a world leader in power management technology, has opened an R&D center in Skovlunde, Denmark, near Copenhagen. The facility's team of engineers will primarily focus on advanced high-reliability DC -to-DC converters.

Among the buildings in the International Rectifier portfolio managed by Gregory Takagi is this wafer fab in Newport, Wales, U.K.

        The company also opened in March 2004 a new analog integrated circuit design center in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. It is now one of five such centers under the direction of Jeffrey G. Mansmann.
        "The Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina is a great fit for International Rectifier," said Mansmann at the facility's dedication. "There is a well-developed base of highly skilled engineers with analog and mixed-signal design expertise here that enjoy working at the leading edge."
        The RTP facility is one of 13 design centers the company operates worldwide. International Rectifier's analog and mixed signal integrated circuits, advanced circuit devices, integrated power systems and components aim to enable high-performance computing and reduce energy waste in motors, the world's single largest consumer of electrical power.
        Gregory Takagi, director of facilities for the El Segundo-based firm, is an IAMC corporate member.

Philips Electronics NV, parent company of Philips Electronics North America Corp., announced in March 2004 that it will soon require its 50,000 suppliers around the world to follow labor and environmental standards similar to the company's own high standards. These include compliance with child labor regulations and offering workers basic health and safety protection as well as the right to join a union. The policy, part of the company's second annual sustainability report, will be phased in over the next two years, according to a company spokesperson.
        Between 2002 and 2005, Philips reduced its overall energy consumption by 9 percent and water usage by 15 percent. In 2003, Philips was recognized for its sustainability efforts with the world's number one ranking for its industry group in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
        Ralph Pirtle, director of real estate for Philips Electronics North America, is an IAMC member. Among the buildings in the International Rectifier portfolio managed by Gregory Takagi is this wafer fab in Newport, Wales, U.K.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad is investing $40 million and creating 150 new jobs in an expansion of its Memphis intermodal facilities, after an 18-month search that also considered sites in nearby regions of Arkansas and Mississippi.

BNSF's intermodal yard in Memphis will grow its acreage by 159 percent, and add 150 employees.

        The project will entail the eventual shutdown of operations at the railroad's Marion, Ark., intermodal yard, as the operation's annual number of lifts grows from the current 250,000 to more than 400,000 by 2009, and the envisioned possibility of 1 million in 2020.
        The Memphis expansion will add 91 acres (36.8 hectares) to the railroad's current 57 acres (23 hectares), and is being helped along by a $4.4-million incentive package that includes a nine-year freeze on taxes that could extend to 13 years if the company meets its targets.

Cunningham

        "This opportunity offered the three key elements for intermodal growth – track access to land on, expansion space for parking and storage of loading traffic, and equipment and people for the lifting operation itself," said IAMC member Vann Cunningham, assistant vice president at BNSF. "Memphis ultimately won over all other locations through a combination of the cooperation and partnership demonstrated by the local community, coupled with its reputation and geographic positioning. A Memphis address in the distribution industry resonates like no other, so we were pleased to be able to keep our primary address here."
        Elsewhere in Memphis, the new 3,000-acre (1,214-hectare) super terminal project being pursued by CN and CSX Intermodal continues to take shape. The new facility's 9,000 ft. (2,743 m.) of tracks and 1,800-spot trailer yard will serve a projected 200,000 lifts per year by the two railroads, and will replace CN's smaller Johnston Terminal, where the two companies also worked together. IAMC Vice Chair Charles McSwain is with CSX realty development. CN is an IAMC Founding Sponsor.
        Meanwhile, at the Lincoln, Ala., digs of Honda, Norfolk Southern in late March dedicated its new $15-million, 125-acre (51-hectare) railyard, which will ship Honda's Odyssey and Pilot vehicles on two outbound daily trains from the automaker's 2.8-million-sq.-ft. (260,120-sq.-m.) plant.
        Richard Parker, vice president of real estate at Norfolk Southern, is an IAMC member.