In a special contribution to Site Selection, the Honorable Marc E. Andersen, Assistant Secretary of the United States Army (Financial Management & Comptroller), explains the rationale behind the recently launched Army Enterprise Strategic Capital Initiative, an industry partnership plan involving Army land and assets which he describes as “a bold effort to align private capital, industrial innovation and national security in ways the traditional procurement system cannot.”
In an expanded web edition, snapshots display how corporate and infrastructure projects from top architecture, engineering and construction firms are leading indicators in multiple ways.
TORC Robotics is creating 500 jobs at this new engineering center in Ann Arbor Township, Michigan.
Photo courtesy of TORC Robotics
Ann Arbor SPARK this week brought together nearly 400 business, government, academic and community leaders at Eastern Michigan University for the organization’s annual meeting. A number of awards included the Economic Impact Award to the American Center for Mobility (ACM) and the Business Development Project of the Year Award to TORC Robotics.
TORC Robotics, now an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, last June announced the opening of a new $5.6 million, 500-job engineering center in Ann Arbor Township, supported by Ann Arbor SPARK and by a $3 million performance-based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF). TORC explains on its website that it is expanding its footprint by “building high-impact teams in two strategic locations: the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, home to its new operations hub, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, a well-established center for automotive and autonomous vehicle innovation. These new sites complement Torc’s existing presence in Austin, Texas; Montréal, Quebec; and its headquarters in Blacksburg, Virginia, strengthening the company’s access to top-tier talent and key industry ecosystems.”
Rail corridors connected to CN’s intermodal facility at the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia are crucial to trade flows at the heart of USMCA negotiations.
Photo by Jan Vozenilek courtesy of CN
Two concurrent events this coming summer involving Canada, Mexico and the United States have people wondering and/or worried: Are hosting communities as ready as the athletes are for the rigors of the World Cup? And what will happen during this summer’s review of the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA/USMCA)?
One dependable resource for the latter question is the Canada-U.S. Future Borders Coalition led by Executive Director Laura Dawson. She has supplied three good places to start:
Bees get busy in the apiary at Lamborghini Park.
Photos courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini
From its hometown of Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, yesterday, Automobili Lamborghini, which turned 63 earlier this month, saluted World Bee Day by highlighting its biomonitoring project launched in 2016 with bees central to the endeavor. “The initiative aims to monitor the quality of the environment surrounding the Sant’Agata Bolognese headquarters through the observation and analysis of these insects’ activity,” the company stated in declaring its continuing commitment to sustainability. “The apiary created within Lamborghini Park now includes 17 beehives, with a total population of approximately 800,000 bees, more than 120,000 of which fly daily across the surrounding area. The bees operate within Lamborghini Park, a further tangible demonstration of the company’s commitment to sustainability. Covering seven hectares and home to more than 10,000 plants, the park is a space made available to employees, the local community and scientific research.”
“Lamborghini’s manufacturing site is not only where our cars take shape, but an ecosystem where innovation, responsibility and environmental care coexist every day,” said Automobili Lamborghini Chief Manufacturing Officer Ranieri Niccoli.
In addition to a sprawling production footprint covered with recently installed photovoltaic panels, Sant’Agata Bolognese is also home to the company’s HQ named Torre 1963, itself adorned with solar panels. Any similarity to beehives is purely coincidental.
Torre 1963, Automobili Lamborghini’s head office, was inaugurated in 2017 and was certified LEED Platinum with a score of 92 out of 100, the highest ever achieved in Italy at the time.
