The expert team at Netherlands-based BCI Global takes a close and exclusive look at two dozen ‘out-of-the-box’ cities for future software development and support centers.
LEGO pops together an expansion in Hungary; Mercedes-Benz launches over-the-road electric trucks; a biofuel refinery lands in Indonesia; Vetter brings an injectable drug product expansion to its German hometown; Chinese solar technology company LONGi will build modules in Selangor, Malaysia; the World Nuclear Association provides an update on the countries with the most nuclear power plants under construction.
PIA operates a main campus in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, and other campuses in Youngstown, Ohio; Hagerstown, Maryland; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Photo courtesy of PIA
PIA School for Aviation Maintenance (PIA) and United Airlines this week signed a new partnership agreement at United’s office in Chicago’s Willis Tower to provide eligible PIA students with a direct path to employment at United as aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs). United’s new Calibrate Technician Pathway Program has established partnerships with the Aviation Command Unit of the U.S. Army Reserve and three aviation maintenance schools: PIA, NAA, and AIM. Calibrate’s goal is to enroll up to 300 eligible students per year.
“With United expected to take delivery of 800 new aircraft between 2023 and 2032, the airline plans to hire thousands of new technicians by 2026 to support all the new planes entering its fleet,” said a release from PIA. “United has already hired more than 3,200 technicians domestically in the last 18 months.” Participants will have priority screening consideration and access to mentorship opportunities with employees from United’s 42 domestic Technical Operations stations. According to Boeing, 125,000 new mechanics and avionics professionals will need to join the field by 2042.
Site Selection Editor in Chief Adam Bruns talked to leaders from PIA and Piedmont Airlines, among others, about meeting aviation workforce challenges in “Pipeline Builders,” published in July 2019.
SITE OF THE WEEK
The Las Cruces Borderplex: Center of Trade for North America
The Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park is a 1,820-acre Master-Planned, Quest Site Solutions Certified Site. Located in the Las Cruces, New Mexico Borderplex, the Park is roughly 45 minutes from El Paso, Texas, and the Mexican Border with parcels ranging from 5 to 100+ acres to fit a variety of end users. Existing Industries include Aviation, Aerospace and Defense (primarily Unmanned Aerial Systems), Value-added Agriculture, and Advanced Manufacturing.
Over and above its current success on the gridiron, the highly ranked University of Washington is known as a world leader in innovative R&D, led by its groundbreaking CoMotion business incubator.
In its Q3 market report, Kidder Mathews stated that the San Francisco office market was reporting “its eighth consecutive quarter of negative net absorption, approximately negative 5.1 million sq. ft. year-to-date,” with vacancy at 28.8%.
Photo: Getty Images
A new commentary from DBRS Morningstar says it all in its headline: “U.S. Banks Grapple with Soaring Office Vacancies.” The document says, “San Francisco followed by Dallas and Chicago have felt the greatest strain, with vacancy rates nearly doubling in recent years. The slow pace of return-to-office initiatives in these areas, combined with businesses relocating or downsizing from previously vibrant downtown cores, casts a shadow over the potential revival of these regions in the coming years.” The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that CRE office loans account for $782 billion, or 17% of the $4.6 trillion in outstanding CRE loans in Q2 2023, the commentary says. “Nearly half of that office debt is held by banks and we expect to see continued losses within this segment over the intermediate term. However, there are nuanced developments in the sector: In September 2023, the delinquency rate for CMBS declined for the first time in six months to 3.97%, but by October, it rose slightly by 6 basis points to 4.03%. The office delinquency rate increased for the 10th consecutive month, hitting a high not seen since late 2017.”
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Photo courtesy of Nissan
Nissan late last week confirmed that all three models made at this plant in Sunderland, United Kingdom, will go 100% electric: the Qashqai, JUKE and LEAF. “Today’s announcement means the EV36Zero hub in Sunderland, Nissan’s blueprint for future manufacturing, will consist of three electric vehicles (EVs), three gigafactories and up to £3bn investment,” the company said, “great news for Nissan’s 7,000 UK employees and the 30,000 jobs supported in the UK supply chain.” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “Nissan’s investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, which already contributes a massive £71 billion a year to our economy. This venture will no doubt secure Sunderland’s future as the UK’s Silicon Valley for electric vehicle innovation and manufacturing.”
Complementing vehicle and battery production is the Sunderland City Council-initiated Microgrid project, Nissan said in a release, “which will have the capability to deliver 100% renewable electricity to Nissan and its neighboring suppliers, incorporating the existing Nissan wind and solar farms [pictured in the distance], including Nissan’s brand new 20MW solar farm.” Meanwhile, the UK government confirmed the establishment of a North East Investment Zone for that region of England, “building on the Arc of Innovation running from Northumberland down to Sunderland and Durham with opportunities along the Tyne Corridor and benefits felt across the wider region.”
