It's a Small World After All

Mert Lvingstone
IAMC Chair

I'm hopeful that the headline brings a smile to your face as you think of the cute (to some of us) kids' tune or the fun (to some of us) ride at Disneyworld where that cute tune is played … over and over and over again.

The world we work in can at times seem very big. But at other times, it really is a small world. And that's why I'm focusing here on one of the major themes in our new IAMC 2020 strategic framework and roadmap to the future: globalization.

Among IAMC's active member companies are many Fortune and Global 500 international manufacturers with growing sales and employment. A recent survey revealed that 90 percent of our active members work for global companies. More than 50 percent have international real estate responsibilities and regularly deal with international real estate issues. In January 2011, the board formed an International Task Force to explore what IAMC should be doing to address the globalization-driven needs of our members.

An initial exploratory event was held in Singapore this past November, hosted by IAMC Secretary, International Task Force Chair Kevin Dollhopf, V.P. Worldwide Real Estate for Hanesbrands, Inc. A total of 18 attended this inaugural event with a very clear takeaway: There is a real need in Asia for a professional real estate association that is 1) focused on industrial assets and the unique challenges for industrial asset managers, and 2) based on relationship building, networking and a commitment to open dialogue and information sharing.

The IAMC board received a thorough update from the International Task Force at its January 2012 meeting. There are now plans for similar events in Europe in London and Brussels. To learn more about and register to attend these events, go to www.IAMC.org.

Now let me be clear: These efforts to date are exploratory in nature and we know there are many issues to tackle as we proceed with this critical initiative.We will move slowly and deliberately, ensuring we're taking the myriad of financial, governance, legal and other considerations into account. Our board and staff are working closely together to ensure we proceed carefully. However, to think forward and deliver on both the needs of our existing members and opportunities to reach new members, we are proceeding.

While the world can sometimes seem small, its range of economic, social and political turmoil will provide an ever-challenging landscape for global industrial asset managers to navigate. We think IAMC can be the association to help provide navigational skills and continue to deliver great value to our members for the years ahead.

I need to wrap up this column now so that I can join a conference call with my Johnson & Johnson colleagues in India — just more evidence that it is indeed a small world after all. Mert Lvingstone
IAMC Chair

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IAMC INSIDER

From Site Selection magazine, May 2012

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Leaders Worth Following

Pictured at the groundbreaking for Boeing’s new Everett Delivery center (inset) are (left to right) Bob Horton, Everett Delivery Center employee; Matthias Baschant, manager Aircraft Delivery, Lufthansa; Michael Frank, director, Shared Services Group – Site Services; Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager, 787 program and Everett site and Jeff Klemann, vice president of the delivery center.

Images courtesy of Boeing

oeing in early March began construction on its new enhanced Everett Delivery Center (EDC) in Washington State.

"The new Everett Delivery Center will be more than just a building," said Jeff Klemann, vice president of the delivery center. "It's an investment in our customers, our local community, our employees and Boeing's future."

The EDC houses major functions and personnel related to the delivery of its 747, 767, 777 and 787 commercial airplanes to customers from around the globe. The new facility will feature three times the office, conference and delivery operations space as the current EDC, which has delivered more than 3,500 airplanes to customers. The design includes a customer complex and delivery lounge. More than 150 customer representatives work on site.

The new EDC is expected to open for operation in early 2013. Plans are in place to ensure seamless deliveries during the interim period.

n late March, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., announced it will open a new parts distribution center in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, by mid-2013. The 500,000-sq.-ft. (46,450-s.-m.) facility, the latest step in a modernization plan, will employ up to 150 people and is expected to be operational by mid-2013. Cat said San Luis Potosi was an "ideal location for a strategic logistics operation" due to access to major airports, a rail hub and a major highway crossroads.

"The facility in Mexico will be the sixth new parts distribution center in the modernization plan and will join new facilities in Central California; Clayton, Ohio; Spokane, Wash.; Waco, Texas; and Dubai, UAE," said the company.

In addition to those new facilities, there are also capacity expansion projects under way at existing Cat Logistics facilities in Atlanta, Ga.; Grimbergen, Belgium; Melbourne, Australia; and Shanghai, China.

Also in March, Cat said it would be investing $20 million and adding 80 jobs in an expansion of its facility in Sumter, S.C. And it announced an excavator production expansion in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Currently, Caterpillar has 17 facilities in China and another nine under construction.

uPont opened a new Innovation Center in early March in Mexico City. "This Innovation Center in Mexico leverages the power of the DuPont global network, allowing us to collaborate and meet some of the growing needs in the areas of food, protection and energy in Mexico," said DuPont Chief Science & Technology Officer Douglas Muzyka. The new facility is DuPont's sixth Innovation Center, with a seventh slated to open in Brazil later this month. Other Innovation Centers which recently opened are operating in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India and Japan.

In April, the company opened its fifth ballistics testing facility, at the DuPont Knowledge Center in Hyderabad, India (pictured above). The facility houses a ballistic testing range, a 600-ton helmet press and stab testing equipment. It is the fifth DuPont site for testing protection materials in ballistic applications. Others are located in Richmond, Va.; Meyrin, Switzerland; Paulina, Brazil and Wilmington, Del.

"With applications testing facilities located close to our global customers, we can better collaborate on innovations that help keep people safe and better protect the environment, structures and critical processes," said Thomas G. Powell, president of DuPont Protection Technologies. The company makes Kevlar® at the Cooper River plant near Charleston, S.C.; in Richmond, Va.; Maydown, Northern Ireland; and at the DuPont-Toray facility in Tokai, Japan.