The Ontario government announced early this month this C$33.4 million
manufacturing investment by Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, a leading
coffee and tea manufacturer in Mississauga. A release from the province
stated, “Mother Parkers is a fourth-generation family-owned manufacturer
and supplier and a true Ontario success story. Over the last century,
Mother Parkers has grown from a small wholesale grocery distributor in
Toronto into a global tea and coffee company, manufacturing private
label products for some of the world’s largest retailers and restaurant
chains, as well as its own brands.” The company’s investment will add a
new cold coffee and tea extracts manufacturing facility next to its
existing facilities. The Ontario government is providing Mother Parkers
with $5 million through the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation
Competitiveness stream of the province’s Regional Development Program.
Ontario is investing more than $100 million through the Regional
Development Program from 2019 to 2023 to strengthen advanced
manufacturing sectors in regions across the province. To date, the
province has provided companies with $74 million in support through the
Regional Development Program, leveraging $804 million in investments for
71 projects and helping to create more than 1,425 jobs in the province.
Sweden’s SKF early this month announced it is locating engineering and
manufacturing capabilities in a greenfield facility in Monterrey,
Mexico, that will “create a strong regional base for the development and
manufacturing of SKF’s high-performance deep-groove ball bearings (DGBB)
for North American car manufacturers and tapered roller bearings (TRB)
for industrial and commercial vehicle applications.” David Johansson,
president of SKF Automotive, said, “Monterrey is strategically located
near many of our customers and partners in Mexico, with developed
logistics channels to major distribution hubs in the USA.” SKF says the
first production lines in Monterrey are expected to open in mid-2023.
“SKF specialists from the Americas, India, China and Europe are involved
in the technology and competence ramp-up of the factory,” the company
said, “which is expected to generate some 1,200 jobs for the local
community once fully operational.”
The full Digital Edition of the 2023 Colorado – Business Comes to Life
publication is now available. Featuring interviews with business, state
and community leaders, this year’s edition examines such topics as the
state’s talent attraction advantages, smart government, the
semiconductor opportunity, outdoor recreation, and research and higher
education activity. Spotlights focus on four economic centers in the
state, while also profiling such industry sectors as cleantech,
financial services and fintech, aerospace, energy, bioscience and
quantum technologies. Digest it all and you’ll see why a top official at
Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade used
one word to describe the state’s economic future: “Bright.”
SITE SELECTION
RECOMMENDS
States Taking the Greatest Number of EV Actions in 2022
Two new reports shed light on two important sectors. First,
Texas-based Site Selection Group offers their rundown of the world’s largest contact center deals
in 2022, broken out by onshore (U.S.), nearshore and
offshore where, ironically enough, California-based [24]7.ai
is creating 9,000 jobs across India in 2022-23. Meanwhile,
as every jurisdiction chases the electric vehicle and
battery sector’s mammoth investments, the NC Clean Energy
Technology Center this month released its 50 States of Electric Vehicles 2022
Annual Review and Q4 2022 Report, providing insights
on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions
on EVs and charging infrastructure. The report finds that in
2022 the greatest number of actions related to rebate and
grant programs, rate design, charging station deployment,
and targets for state procurement of electric or
zero-emission vehicles. A total of 790 electric vehicle
actions were taken during 2022. “The Top 10 states taking
the greatest number or most impactful actions in 2022 were
California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington, North
Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Arizona, and
Colorado,” says the report.
PHOTO OF THE
DAY
Photo courtesy of Norfolk Southern
On the official Flickr page of Norfolk Southern you’ll find this 2015
photo of Norfolk Southern train 11V as it climbs the mountain around
track three at Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pennsylvania. “The entire
train can be seen: Engines 8073 and 9311, 87 cars, and helper units 6333
and 6315, a total length of about 5600 feet,” says the railroad. “The
head end is on the left side of the image (running counter-clockwise)
and is much higher in elevation than the rear end’s helper units.” The
11V is a daily manifest freight operating between Enola Yard near
Harrisburg and Bellevue, Ohio. Altoona is also home to the railroad’s
Juniata locomotive shop, which the company says “can strip a locomotive
down to the bare frame and completely rebuild it, including the engine,
alternator, wiring, cab, trucks, combos and running gear — all in 6.5
days.”
