The nation is focused on Louisiana’s recovery from Hurricane Ida’s
onslaught this weekend (visit the American Red Cross of Louisiana to find out how
to help). In the meantime, we offer this piece from our July issue
focused on three projects with great promise for the state’s economic
future.
Based just up the road in Urbana-Champaign, automotive parts
manufacturer Flex-N-Gate this summer announced it will invest in
Effingham in a facility in the Crossroads Center managed by Agracel to
turn it from a logistics site into a manufacturing operation. As
reported by the Effingham Daily News, the company plans to create 50
jobs with the first year and 300 once it completes the $20 million first
phase of renovation. Part of the incentive package from the city, the
Effingham Regional Growth Alliance and Agracel is an employee relocation
fund to which each organization is contributing $100,000. The money will
back $2,000 relocation grants for up to 150 people living outside of
Effingham. Flex-N-Gate employs 26,000 worldwide, and has 69
manufacturing facilities across eight countries. The company is owned by
Shahid Khan, the owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and the Fulham
FC soccer club in the UK. “Since 2015, Khan has invested $84 million
purchasing over 24,000 acres of farmland in central Illinois, including
at least 1,400 acres in Coles County, according to an April article from
the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting,” the Effingham News
reported.
If you’ve ever purchased a pair of Gorilla Grip or Grease Monkey work
gloves, then you know Big Time Products, a personal protection and work
gear company founded in 2003 by two hardware industry executives on a
mission to manufacture a better work glove. Winner of a Home Depot
Supplier of the Year honor as well as other accolades, the company is
expanding in its hometown of Rome, Georgia, which also recently welcomed
a major expansion from Ball Corp., among others. According to Conway Analytics’ Conway Projects Database, Rome
has welcomed 13 investment projects since January 2019 from such
companies as Sunrise Manufacturing International, Integrated Fiber
Solutions, V-T Industries and Kerry Group.
The signing of two measures last summer by Gov. Mike Parson means
workers licensed in other states can now work in Missouri and that
military veterans have a new path toward occupational licenses.
Amid the flurry of surveys, guidance and predictions involving our
work-from-anywhere future, one report stands out: The 2021 Life Sciences Workforce Trends Report
released in June 2021 by the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes
(CSBI) and TEConomy Partners. Filled with anonymized insights from
corporate leaders, the report found that 75% of life sciences companies
indicate they are implementing, expanding, or considering implementing
remote work options. “While remote work represents a major upheaval,”
the report states, “it has forced firms to consider and re-think
longer-term space needs and plans for more permanent remote and flexible
work arrangements (e.g., hybrid work-from-home and office models).” The
report also addresses topics such as academic-industry partnerships,
diversity and other talent issues. Watch for special features on remote
work and “eds & meds” in the September 2021 issue of Site Selection,
headed to the printer this week.
As in neighboring Louisiana, right now all eyes are on recovery from
Ida. But our conversation with Coastal Mississippi CEO Milton Segarra
earlier this summer shows how many hidden gems and discoveries await
tourists across the region’s 12 communities. (Visit the American Red Cross of Alabama and Mississippi
for information on how to help.)
A series of images captured by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus
Sentinel-1 mission during nine days earlier this month were used to
create this GIF showing the movement of Iceberg A-74, approximately 1.5
times the size of Greater Paris. The iceberg calved from Antarctica’s
Brunt Ice Shelf earlier this year. “In early August, strong easterly
winds have spun the iceberg around the western tip of Brunt, brushing
slightly against the ice shelf before continuing southwards,” the ESA
reported. Had the drifting iceberg hit the unstable ice shelf with
severe force, it may have triggered the release of a new 1,700-sq.-km.
iceberg. “Despite reports of a minor impact, the prospective berg
remains tenuously attached in the vicinity of McDonald Ice Rumples,” the
ESA said, “where the ice shelf is locally grounded on the seabed.”
With the ice shelf deemed unsafe due to the encroaching cracks in 2017,
the British Antarctic Survey closed their Halley VI Research Station and
re-positioned it to a more secure location. Halley is made up of eight
interlinked pods built on skis which allows the pods to be easily moved
in case of unstable ice or new chasms forming on the ice shelf.
