This year’s index offers a snapshot of where private- and public-sector
physical facility investment are converging for the public good,
increased prosperity … and perhaps better roads for all those trucks.
The editors of Site Selection are preparing the annual Business Climate
rankings, and we need your help. A key part of the rankings that appear
in our November issue is input from you on which states have the
business climates you find most attractive. Please take a minute to
respond to the simple survey that follows. The deadline is Friday,
September 2nd. Click on the following survey link to take this survey:
https://forms.office.com/r/0aATZimz43
PROJECT WATCH
Arizona
New York–based Corning announced last week that, based on a long-term
relationship with AT&T, it’s expanding its optical cable manufacturing
capacity with a new 250-job facility in Gilbert, Arizona, part of the
Greater Phoenix area. The project is the newest in “a series of
investments in fiber and cable manufacturing totaling more than $500
million since 2020,” said the company, in order to support public and
private investments in broadband, 5G and the cloud. “This investment is
a significant step forward for our country and building world-class
broadband networks that will help narrow the nation’s digital divide,”
said AT&T CEO John Stankey. On the same day, AT&T, along with U.S.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, announced at Mesa Community College
the deployment of fiber internet service to the Mesa area by 2023.
Corning and AT&T are supporting the White House’s Talent Pipeline Challenge, and have created the
Fiber Optic Training Program. The initial class
is currently under way in North Carolina, and the program aims to train
50,000 American workers over the next five years. “We believe access to
broadband means access to opportunity – from education to healthcare to
quality of life,” said Corning Chairman and CEO Wendell P. Weeks. Watch
for more coverage of this and other projects in The Greater Phoenix Intelligence Report
appearing in the November 2022 issue of Site Selection, and in the
Southwest regional review in that same issue.
As first announced in January by the company and documented in detail by
the Nebraska Examiner in May, Fortune 300 insurance and financial
services company Mutual of Omaha is working with the city and developer
Lanoha Real Estate Co. to develop a new headquarters tower in downtown
Omaha on property available due to the relocation of the downtown
library.
“We are inspired by the energy in downtown Omaha and recognize the
importance of a vibrant urban core for the city’s future,” said Mutual
of Omaha Chairman and CEO James Blackledge early this year. The
development of a downtown headquarters tower provides a rare opportunity
to create an inspiring workplace for our associates while contributing
to the vitality of downtown Omaha.” Part of the plan involves the
redevelopment of the company’s current midtown campus. “These plans
represent a win-win, as our proposed downtown headquarters tower will be
a significant addition to the strength of our urban core while freeing
attractive property in Midtown for redevelopment, with the connection of
the modern streetcar line fueling both projects,” Blackledge said. The
cost of both projects, reported the Examiner, is expected to approach
$1 billion, with an expected relocation of the company’s 4,000 employees
to the new tower in 2026.
New Jersey-based global contract development and
manufacturing organization Cambrex last Thursday announced
it had finished the first phase of a $30 million capacity
expansion at its active pharmaceutical ingredient
manufacturing facility in High Point, North Carolina. The
new 30,000 sq. ft. will provide future workspace for 85
analytical and chemical development scientists, the company
said. The growing demand for small-scale API manufacturing,
including for orphan drugs, is one driving factor. “Our
expansion goes beyond providing capacity,” said Tom Loewald,
Cambrex CEO. “It provides state-of-the-art technology and
laboratory equipment, an energy-efficient infrastructure and
an ideal space for our scientific experts to work
side-by-side with our clients.”
Read Site Selection’s in-depth interview conducted earlier
this year with Loewald about how the Cambrex team is
pursuing a rapid global growth plan.
PHOTO OF THE
DAY
Embodying the infrastructure leadership in the U.S. and Canada (Nos. 1
and 2 in this year’s Global Groundwork Index) is the Gordie Howe
International Bridge. This photograph, taken in July, depicts progress
on the U.S.-side tower in Detroit. “Together, the bridge towers and
cable system are being constructed to support nearly 34 million pounds
of weight,” says the bridge project’s official website. “Once completed,
the full weight of just one tower will be approximately 30,000 metric
tonnes/66 million pounds — the weight of 165 jumbo jets.”
