The governor is “determined to make Iowa the go-to state for businesses
reshoring their operations and for those seeking low taxes and fiscal
predictability,” writes Editor in Chief Mark Arend.
South Korea’s Iljin Materials is making its first European investment
and only the second outside Korea (after a site in Kuching, Malaysia)
with this new factory announced May 16. “One of the reasons for the
choice was the warm, mild climate in Catalonia, which Iljin CEO Yang
Jeon-Sik describes as ideal for producing elecfoil,” says Invest in
Spain of the company’s signature product: copper foils thinner than a
human hair that are essential to lithium batteries. The location in
Mont-roit de Camp in Tarragon, along the coast southwest of Barcelona,
is anticipated to have a production capacity of 25,000 metric tons
annually. But the company aims to produce 100,000 metric tons per year
in Europe in order to satisfy electric vehicle industry demand, which
means more European locations are likely in the offing.
Eleven months after announcing its plans, ZF Group on May 11 inaugurated
its new HQ at FINSA Guadalupe Park in Nuevo León, Mexico. The complex
will be home to a manufacturing plant, an IT center and a shared
services center in charge of administrative functions for the entire
North American region, said a release from FINSA. ZF employs more people
in Mexico than any other German firm, with 16 plants employing more than
25,000 people. According to other reports from Mexico Business and
others, the site will produce steering assistance systems and accident
avoidance technology. Construction on an R&D center at the site should
be complete by the second half of 2023. “Nuevo León always figured on
the list [of places to settle] with a strategic place due to the
enormous production of high-level students in its university centers and
leading engineering schools in Latin America,” said Alberto de Icaza,
director of government relations in Mexico for ZF Group.
The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data on population shifts and growth by state
and by city. As this chart illustrates, cities in Texas and Arizona took all
five of the top spots in population growth between July 2020 and July 2021
among cities with populations of 50,000 or more, and the top three spots by
numeric increase in population. It is important to note that the new figures
apply to individual municipalities and not to metro areas. Hover over each
state in the map at the link above and you’ll find many larger cities
dropping slightly in population, but increases in those cities’ suburbs.
— Adam Bruns
PHOTO OF THE
DAY
NPS Photo by Gary Ladd courtesy of
National Park Service
In the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, this photo shows the path
the Colorado River once took through Reflection Canyon before Lake
Powell was created. Low water levels this year have forced the closure
for the remainder of the year of Dangling Rope Marina, and the temporary
closure of multiple Lake Powell launch ramps to motorized watercraft.
“Since 2001, declining water levels due to climate change and 20 years
of drought have reshaped Lake Powell’s shoreline,” says a recent National Park Service bulletin. “Today we
are experiencing low lake levels and their effects on boat ramp access
points, on-lake facilities, and the landscape.” Real-time and historic
water levels in Lake Powell can be viewed here.
