Amgen Recommits to Holly Springs
To cater to long-term growth projections and demand for life-saving medicines a $1 billion expansion has been announced in Wake County, North Carolina, by biotechnology company Amgen. The project will include the establishment of a second drug substance facility on the company’s Holly Springs campus, which will bring 370 new jobs to the Research Triangle region. “This expansion reflects Amgen’s ongoing commitment to innovation and the people who make it possible,” said Amgen Chairman and CEO Robert A. Bradway. “North Carolina has been a strong partner, offering the skilled workforce and forward-looking business climate we need to bring vital medicines to patients around the world.” Amgen was approved for a 12-year Job Development Investment Grant from the state, which will offer the potential of an over $4.8 million reimbursement to the company over the lifespan of the grant.
Since 2012, Amazon has incorporated over 750,000 robots across its distribution facilities.
Photo courtesy of Amazon
Space To Automate
Upon the $66.5 million purchase of 143 acres in Fort Myers, Florida, in November 2024, Amazon began construction on its first robotics fulfillment center in Lee County. Project details include a new 650,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and distribution facility near the city’s master-planned community The Forum. It will deploy AI technology and robotics to house, pick and pack items for delivery. By reducing the amount of heavy lifting employees encounter, the company states it will enable employees to work more safely, more easily and more efficiently, while streamlining package deliveries. Construction work will take place over two years beginning in 2025. Once operational, the facility will create an estimated 1,000 direct jobs.
Both Texas-based CCCs will use a wide range of plastic waste streams, including non-traditional materials, to produce an average of 600 million pounds of plastic waste feedstock per year.
Photo courtesy of Agilyx
JV Cycles Back to Texas
Cyclyx International, a joint venture between Agilyx, ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, plans to introduce a new $135 million plastic feedstock recycling center in Fort Worth by 2026. This news arrives one year after the JV announced the establishment of its first Cyclyx Circularity Center (CCC) in Houston, which is expected to come online in mid-2025. The new project, dubbed CCC2, is in line with the JV’s goal of cultivating infrastructure needed to boost a circular plastics economy. The new facility is expected to produce 300 million pounds of plastic waste feedstock per year for customers using mechanical and advanced recycling technologies. “We are thrilled to achieve this important milestone in expanding the CCC network,” said Agilyx CEO Ranjeet Bhatia. “Combined, CCC1 and CCC2 will have the capacity to produce an estimated 600 million pounds of plastic feedstock annually. This investment helps redirect plastic waste away from landfills, integrating it into a circular economy as valuable feedstock for all plastic recyclers.”
New jobs at the expanded Eli Lilly site will include operators, technicians, engineers and scientists.
Photo courtesy of Eli Lilly and Company
Billions Head to the Midwest
In a move that will establish Eli Lilly and Company’s single largest investment outside of its home state of Indiana, the company has announced a $3 billion expansion of its recently acquired facility in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. The company purchased the former Nexus Pharmaceuticals site in April 2024, and now is expanding the plant to cater to rising demand within its injectable product manufacturing network. Products will focus on diabetes, obesity and future pipeline medicines, creating 750 new jobs. “We look forward to bringing high-wage advanced manufacturing, engineering and science jobs to people in Wisconsin,” said Lilly Manufacturing Operations President Edgardo Hernandez, “a state that is becoming a critical geography in our global manufacturing operations.” Construction will begin in 2025, installing advanced automation such as guided vehicles, robotics and production equipment to increase medicine production.
The investment in Wyoming in the Grand Rapids region will mark the company’s seventh U.S. manufacturing facility. (See p. 184 of this issue for more about the chosen site.)
Rendering courtesy of Benteler Group
Funds Support Expansion In the Other Wyoming
Benteler Automotive Components is investing $105 million in a new operation on a former GM property in Wyoming, Michigan. The project entails a new 315,000-sq.-ft. battery tray and other metal components facility on the company’s 20-acre site, which will create 147 new jobs. “Michigan is at the heart of Benteler’s U.S. automotive operations. In addition to our headquarters in Auburn Hills, we have been operating another facility in Grand Rapids since 1985,” says Benteler Automotive Components North American Cluster EVP Steve Bates. “This investment is a further clear commitment to the region.” In December 2024, regional nonprofit The Right Place and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced the company would receive a $1.4 million grant from the Michigan Business Development Program, $395,000 from an Act 381 Work Plan and assistance from West Michigan Works to support the project.
Patmos announced its first tenant at the new data center would be AI infrastructure company Nebius.
Photo courtesy of Patmos
Printing Press Meets Data Center Needs
The former Kansas City Star printing press located in Kansas City, Missouri, will soon be repurposed to develop a new 100-megawatt (MW) data center from Patmos. The Missouri-based data center solutions company plans to invest $1 billion in a 400,000-sq.-ft., 5-acre site to establish its second location in the city to meet growing demand in the region. Within the next five months Patmos will introduce an initial 5 MW, scaling to 40 MW in the following 18 months. “In a world where Big Tech is investing over $20 million per MW to stand up new data centers years down the road, the infrastructure already in this building allows us to build at a fraction of the cost in a fraction of the time,” said Patmos Chief Information Officer Joe Morgan. “By breathing new life into historic structures, we can create sustainable and innovative AI data centers. Repurposing these buildings not only preserves architectural heritage but also reduces the environmental impact of new construction.”