Press Release

Contact: Mark Arend (770) 325-3438 tel (770) 263-8825 fax mark.arend@conway.com 6625 The Corners Parkway, Suite 200 Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 • USA www.siteselection.com

Press Release

Texas Wins Site Selection Magazine’s Governor’s Cup Award for 2012

Top Metros and Top Micropolitans for Corporate Facility Location Also Named

Atlanta, March 4, 2013: Texas has won the 2012 Site Selection Governor’s Cup, which the 59-year-old Atlanta-based magazine has awarded annually since 1978 to the U.S. state with the most new and expanded corporate facilities as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant Database. Conway Data publishes Site Selection, the senior publication in the corporate real estate and economic development field. The newly redesigned magazine is the official publication of London-based Red Hot Locations and the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC, at www.iamc.org). Site Selection’s yearly analyses are regarded by corporate real estate analysts as “the industry scoreboard.” The magazine’s circulation base consists of 45,000 subscribers, most of whom are involved in corporate site selection decisions at the CEO/President/COO level.

The Lone Star State’s 761-project finish for 2012 is up substantially from its 464-project, second-place finish in 2011, when it was runner-up to Ohio’s 498 projects. The Buckeye State placed second this year, with 491 projects, followed by Pennsylvania (430), Michigan (337) and Illinois (322). The business climate in Texas is such that not only do many companies need to be in Texas, but many want to be in Texas – the top exporting state, where tort reform was passed in recent years, and there is no corporate or state income tax. Governor Rick Perry also credits the political climate in Austin, where it is widely understood that pro-business policies result in job creation.

“This is a confirmation of the men and women of the Texas legislature understanding that if we will continue with the predictability and stability of tax and regulation and legal policy that allows entrepreneurs to keep more of what they earn, then we will become the job creation magnet in America,” Gov. Perry told Site Selection. “That is what has happened.”

“Texas reclaimed the Governor’s Cup in a decisive fashion, with a 270-project margin over its nearest competitor,” says Mark Arend, editor in chief of Site Selection. “This is the first time the winning state has crossed the 700-project line since the 2005 Governor’s Cup – which Texas also won, with 842 projects. Site Selection congratulates the governor and the many state level and local economic development professionals who work to keep Texas as competitive as it is.”

The magazine’s New Plant Database focuses on new corporate facility projects with significant impact. It does not track retail and government projects, or schools and hospitals. New facilities and expansions included in the analyses must meet at least one of three criteria: (a) involve a capital investment of at least US$1 million, (b) create at least 50 new jobs or (c) add at least 20,000 sq. ft. (1,858 sq. m.) of new floor area.

New Take on New Plant Tallies; Top Metros and Micros
The annual New Plant Scoreboard published in conjunction with the Governor’s Cup rankings features state rankings by region. For 2012, the regions were led by Pennsylvania (Northeast); Ohio (East North Central); Kansas (West North Central); Georgia (South Atlantic); Texas (South Central); Arizona (Mountain); and California (Pacific). The scoreboard featuring full regional rankings is included in the Governor’s Cup cover story found at siteselection.com.

The Top Metros for new and expanded corporate facilities for 2012 were led by Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas, among metro areas with populations over 1 million; Dayton, Ohio, among areas with populations between 200,000 and 1 million; and Sioux City, Iowa-Neb.-S.D., among areas with populations between 50,000 and 200,000. Full lists of the Top 10 Metros in each population category appear below.

In the magazine’s ranking of Top Micropolitans – cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people which cover at least one county – Statesville-Mooresville, N.C., was tops among the nation’s 576 micropolitan areas for the ninth time in 11 years, followed by Findlay, Ohio; Lexington-Thomasville, N.C.; Wooster, Ohio; and Batavia, N.Y., and Shelby, N.C., which tied for fifth place. Ohio bested North Carolina and Tennessee as the state with the most Top Micropolitans.

All of the above stories are posted at the magazine’s award-winning website, www.siteselection.com.

Site Selection magazine, published by Conway Data Inc. since 1954, delivers expansion planning information to 45,000 subscribers, many of them employed by fast-growing firms. Site Selection is also available via Site Selection Online (www.siteselection.com). Site Selection’s growing family of e-newsletters includes the weekly Site Selection Dispatch and the following monthlies: The Site Selection Energy Report, The Site Selection Life Sciences Report, Site Selection International, The Site Selection Aerospace Report and, coming in March, The FDI Report from Red Hot Locations.

Conway Data is an international publishing, association management and events company headquartered in Atlanta. The firm manages the Industrial Asset Management Council. Conway Data also owns and manages London-based Red Hot Locations, an events firm focused on foreign direct investment and global corporate location trends, and New York-based The PONT Group, an international public relations and marketing agency specializing in economic development, inward investment, trade and macro-tourism.

(Note: All circulation information is publisher’s own data unless otherwise specified).