ow AgroSciences is pursuing growth on its headquarters campus in Indianapolis and at Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette.

In Indy, Dow in August signed a 15-year lease for a build-to-suit, 80,000-sq.-ft. (7,432-sq.-m.) building to be developed and owned by Browning Investments, Inc. The new R&D space will mean 100 new research jobs to be added to Dow AgroSciences' existing Indianapolis payroll of 1,200.

"This expansion will enable us to accelerate investment in new scientific expertise, capabilities, and markets for our growing Seeds, Traits and Oils business," said Daniel R. Kittle, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development at Dow AgroSciences. "The quality of jobs and the level of intellectual capital that these jobs represent are a great testament to the life sciences infrastructure that is thriving here in the metro Indianapolis marketplace," said Bill Ehret, CEO and principal at Summit Realty Group, which represented Dow in the lease agreement.

West Lafayette can boast a pretty fair life sciences infrastructure too, which was improved on the final day of September when Dow AgroSciences announced it would occupy 15,000 sq. ft. (1,394 sq. m.) at Purdue Research Park's new Herman and Heddy Kurz Purdue Technology Center. In addition, the company will be the exclusive tenant of a forthcoming 6,000-sq.-ft. (557-sq.-m.) greenhouse complex. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) will support the Purdue Research Foundation in the construction of the US$2.2-million greenhouse research center with a grant to assist in development costs.

Up to 30 scientists will be working in the Purdue Research Park as part of this collaboration over the next three years, with up to an additional 18 contract research workers to be hired from the surrounding community. Researchers from the company will have access to the Purdue College of Agriculture's 23 research facilities.

One week after partnering with its home-state IEDC, Purdue Research Foundation received an award from the "other" IEDC, as the International Economic Development Council announced that the organization had received a 2009 IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Award in the category of Regionalism and Cross-border Collaboration.

ife sciences companies in the Greater New York City area are shifting and consolidating their HQ positions.

In July, pharmaceutical and healthcare commercialization services firm in Ventiv Health, Inc., moved into its new headquarters in Somerset, N.J., allowing it to consolidate various divisions from two office buildings in Somerset, two offices in Somerville and one 50-person office in Newtown, Pa., where the company had considered locating the expansion. The new building will house more than 500 employees in a four-story building, which encompasses 154,035 sq. ft. (14,310 sq. m.) of leased space. Somerset is the largest location for the 7,000-employee company.

Terry Herring, president and COO of inVentiv Health said the new HQ gives the company space to support current and anticipated growth. In addition, "it brings more of our capabilities together under one roof, making it easier for employees from different businesses to share resources and collaborate to deliver integrated solutions for clients."

In September, the state of New Jersey announced the company recently finalized a grant under the state's Business Employment Incentive Program associated with its plans to create 150 new full-time jobs at the location. The company has also been approved for incentives under the Business Relocation and Retention Assistance Grant Program for maintaining over 400 jobs in the state.

In New York's Westchester County, OSI Pharmaceuticals in July announced the consolidation of its U.S. operations onto a single campus in Ardsley, part of the Town of Greenburgh. OSI signed an agreement to purchase a 43-acre (17.4-hectare) site, which consists of approximately 400,000 sq. ft. (37,160 sq. m.) of existing office and laboratory space, for $27 million. The company expects to realize in excess of $15 million in yearly operating synergies upon completion of the consolidation, which is anticipated by the fourth quarter of 2010.

Approximately 350 current U.S. employees will move to Ardsley from OSI's facilities in Melville and Farmingdale, N.Y.; Boulder, Colo., and Cedar Knolls, N.J., before the end of 2009. OSI will receive incentives from New York State in connection with this move, with further potential incentives as the business continues to grow over the next five years.

Expansion had been considered at Broadhollow Bioscience Park on the campus of Farmingdale State University on Long Island. Based on Long Island since 1983, the company has employed about 200 people at the sites in Farmingdale and Melville.

In 2006 OSI moved into a new HQ in Melville, in a $20-million deal that included a pledge to create up to 250 jobs over three years.

Colin Goddard, CEO of OSI, said the site search was"an extensive and highly competitive process involving the exploration of options in multiple different states."

wo Upper Midwest industrial stalwarts and a Korean electronics conglomerate are finding their legs in the Mexican maquila capital of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas. Michigan-based Steelcase plans to move into a new chair manufacturing plant in the city in early 2010. Wisconsin-based Kohler Co. will close a 44-year-old facility in Searcy, Ark., on the day before Thanksgiving and consolidate stainless steel sink manufacturing at a seven-year-old plant in Reynosa. And LG Electronics will create 1,200 jobs there as it shuts down a 586,853-sq.-ft. (54,519-sq.-m.)plant in Mexicali, which NAI Global describes as being "completely surrounded by [a] middle to low income housing pool of 200,000 workers."

olls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Ltd. will invest $3 million as it consolidates R&D at its North American headquarters at Stark State College of Technology in North Canton, Ohio. The expansion is expected to add about 60 jobs to the company's current fuel cell technology payroll of 32 in Ohio. The State of Ohio has awarded $3.5 million to the company and invested $7.5 million at the college to help establish its fuel cell prototyping center in 2006. Rolls-Royce is developing utility-scale fuel cells with potential to launch production in 2012.

Stark's involvement in the sector began in 2003 when it partnered with the Stark Development Board, Case Western Reserve University and SOFCo-EFS Holdings, a local developer of solid oxide fuel cells, on development of a Fuel Cell Prototyping Center. Rolls-Royce later purchased SOFCo.

"There is a global competition for attracting and growing high-tech advanced energy companies," said Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (U.S.) Inc. CEO Mark Fleiner. "The commitment of Ohio to support the development of a fuel cell industry, the strong partnership with Stark State College and the close proximity with development partners were key factors in our decision to grow operations in North Canton."

Another Rolls-Royce division, Rolls-Royce Marine, has opened a new commercial marine service center in Donovan's Industrial Park in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, not far from the thriving Port of St. John's. The company's 25,000 sq.-ft. (2,323-sq.-m.) facility will provide state-of-the-art repair and overhaul expertise for marine customers in the Atlantic Provinces and other locations, and will employ up to 36 people within the next three years. The total value of the project is estimated at C$10.5 million (US$10 million).

The marine business of Rolls-Royce employs roughly 8,000 people worldwide, and provides products, service and expertise to more than 30,000 vessels in the offshore, merchant, naval surface and submarine markets. The project will see C$500,000 from the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, part of C$29 million allocated to the province for business attraction. "As we continue to promote Newfoundland and Labrador's impressive energy projects, our growing capabilities in marine industries, and other strengths, we are increasingly being recognized as an attractive destination for business and investment," said Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Business for the province.

St. John's is the 20th largest metro area in Canada. Earlier in 2009, Rolls-Royce opened marine service centers in Galveston, Texas, and Seattle, Wash.