The metro area and the city proper lead all challengers when it comes to total number of Inc. 5000 headquarters. Sheridan, Wyoming, and Greater Provo top our per-capita chart.
Insights from Colliers International in Manila show how transit infrastructure is changing to keep up with commuters. Plus: In a follow-up to her reporting on Maryland TOD last year, Kelly Barraza reports on developments tied to the Maryland Transit Administration’s $1.4 billion investment to modernize Baltimore-area light rail.
Photo of CATL manufacturing plant in Debrecen, Hungary, courtesy of CATL
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL on Tuesday began trial production at its newly built cell factory in Debrecen, Hungary, originally announced in August 2022 “with the aim of integrating to the European automotive and e-mobility supply chain” and better serving leading European automakers. Construction of the first cell building started in summer 2023. “Prior to issuing the occupancy permit, the Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office carried out regular on-site inspections at CATL’s facilities in order to follow up on previous issues creating serious worries in local inhabitants,” the company said. “Authority representatives confirmed that the company had resolved all deficiencies identified earlier in the permitting process.”
CATL said it has been manufacturing battery modules since autumn 2024 in Debrecen and has already produced 537,000 modules. “Once all facilities [are] ready, the Hungarian plant will be CATL’s largest manufacturing base outside China with a 100 GWH capacity.”
A March 2025 Site Selection report on the Tax Foundation’s study of statutory corporate income tax rates across Europe noted that the lowest rate across EU and European OECD countries was in Hungary, while also highlighting CATL’s investment among a number of other Chinese corporate investments in the country.
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Photo courtesy of USPTO
The headquarters of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is located in Alexandria, Virginia.
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John A. Squires provided remarks on September 16 on Capitol Hill during the third annual Washington D.C. Conference: Protecting U.S. IP and Tech Leadership Through International Trade Policy Tools.
“We have entered a new era where intellectual property has become the most dominant and most important asset, not only of companies — but of nations themselves,” he said. He then highlighted the power of America’s IP:
In 2024, IP-intensive industries accounted for 44% of U.S. GDP, or $11.4 trillion./li>
50 million Americans, or 33% of total U.S. employment, are employed directly by IP-intensive industries.
Annual output per worker in IP-intensive industries was nearly $230,000, a 60% higher rate of labor productivity for a worker than those in a non-IP intensive industry at $145,000.
Read Squires’ full remarks. Then have a look at his remarks two days ago upon the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s release of its new report, “Measuring the Impact of American Innovation.” Among its findings: Between 1996 and 2025, technology transfer associated with funded university and nonprofit research that benefited from federal funding generated up to $3.3 trillion in gross economic output, contributed as much as $1.7 trillion to U.S. GDP and supported as many as 7.6 million job-years. From 2001 through 2025, academic technology transfer helped launch 19,027 startups and introduce 17,252 new products.
The agency this week also announced the University of South Florida (USF) as the location for its newest community engagement office (CEO) to broaden the agency’s outreach efforts in the Southeast Region. “The new CEO will be housed at USF’s Research Park in Tampa,” the agency said, “and will serve the intellectual property (IP) protection needs of the area’s local inventors, entrepreneurs, small businesses and other stakeholders, including students and faculty at other universities in the region.” It joins the Southeast Region CEOs recently established in Atlanta, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; and Raleigh, North Carolina; as well as the Mountain West Community Engagement Office in Salt Lake City, Utah; the Northwest Frontier Community Engagement Office in Bozeman, Montana; and the Northern New England Community Engagement Office in Durham, New Hampshire, that opened in 2025.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Archive photo courtesy of Roanoke Outside Foundation
“Virginia’s Blue Ridge GO Cross Cyclocross Race presented by New Belgium Brewing returns to Fallon Park for a weekend of mud, sweat and gears,” said a release sent to us this week about the professional racing event unfolding this weekend in Roanoke, Virginia. Competitors in the blend of road cycling, mountain biking and steeplechase navigate a short, multi-surface off-road circuit filled with mud, sand and obstacles that frequently force them to dismount and carry their bikes up steep grades. “The sport is famous for its energetic, festival-like atmosphere,” say the promoters of the event, which also includes a Lil’ Belgians Kids’ Race and the New Belgium Brewing “Grateful” Beer Mile, where contestants 21 years of age or older are invited to “chug, run and experience the GOCX course in a whole new way” while dressed in Grateful Dead-themed costumes.
The Roanoke event is part of a three-week series that included the Rochester Cyclocross race in New York last weekend and will conclude with two races at the Charm City Cross event in Baltimore, Maryland, October 3-4. Read “Seeking Something Authentic” from Site Selection’s September issue for a look at what else people are up to when it comes to outdoor recreation.
