ravelers flying over North Dakota at night will soon see fewer lights from natural gas flares. Badlands NGL, LLC, announced plans to build a new $4-billion manufacturing facility in North Dakota that will convert ethane into polyethylene, a material used in many consumer and industrial products. It will be the largest private-sector investment in state history. The facility will use the state’s plentiful supply of ethane gas from the Williston Basin, significantly reducing the amount of natural gas flares into the atmosphere. The facility will employ more than 500 people, and will take at least three years to be fully operational.

hamrock Farms recently opened a $50-million, 190,000-sq.-ft. (17,650-sq.-m.) milk plant on 40 acres (16 hectares) of land in Augusta County, Va. The plant features the latest in extended shelf life technology, which allows milk to stay fresher, longer. The plant took 13 months to build and contains sustainability features designed to promote energy conservation and water stewardship. Shamrock sources its milk locally with the Maryland Virginia Dairy Co Op, operating under the same standards for purity and freshness, as well as sustainable farming practices, as the company’s flagship farm located in Arizona. The plant employs 50 people and will produce On-the-Go mmmmilk and Rockin’ Refuel Muscle Recovery.

enaissance RX, a biomedical firm based in New Orleans, announced plans to invest $8 million in a new headquarters location in the city’s central business district. The company provides pharmacogenetic testing to determine how individuals respond to medications, and has grown by leaps and bounds since its founding in 2012. Renaissance RX started with five employees and has since grown to 80 employees in New Orleans, and a total employment of 800 across the country. The company intends to create an additional 425 new direct jobs with an average annual salary of $54,100.

anada Goose, maker of luxury outdoor apparel, officially opened its global headquarters in Toronto in October. The site is home to the company’s new 96,000-sq.-ft. (8,900-sq.-m.) factory and doubles its previous production capacity. The company also announced the expansion of its production facility in Winnipeg. Together the two facilities have added close to 200 new manufacturing jobs and a number of management and administrative positions. Canada Goose employs approximately six percent of the cut-and-sew labor industry in Canada.

ortland, Maine, is looking to an island neighbor 2,300 miles (3,700 km.) to the northeast to help create a unique business incubator. The goal is to help local companies develop products from what would normally be considered waste products from fish and other seafood. Patrick Arnold, president of Soli DG Inc., manages the International Marine Terminal in Portland. Arnold is modeling the New England Ocean Cluster and incubator after the successful Iceland Ocean Cluster owned by Thor Sigfusson in Reykjavik, Iceland. The New England Ocean Cluster will support entrepreneurs building a diverse array of businesses from food processing to pharmaceuticals. The Iceland Ocean Cluster was founded in 2011 with 20 companies in 30,000 sq. ft. (2,790 sq. m.) of space. The incubator has since doubled in size and includes companies using various fish parts for products such as hand creams and medical bandages.

oya Foods, America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company, opened its newest US distribution center in McDonough, Ga., south of Atlanta, on September 17th. The center is 150,000 sq. ft. (13,900 sq. m.) and is expandable to 200,000 sq. ft. (18,580 sq. m.). The center will be the main distribution center for Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and part of South Carolina. During the official facility opening, the company donated 1,000 pounds of food to a local food pantry as part of its commitment to its newest community.