GOOGLE STAYS FUTURE-FOCUSED
About 400 acres in Stillwater, Oklahoma have been acquired by Google, as the company plans its latest data center development. An estimated $3 billion will go towards the construction of an AI-focused data center campus, which project documents show could introduce numerous 300,000-sq.-ft. data center facilities. In August, Google announced $9 billion would be going toward cloud and AI infrastructure projects in the state by 2027, which includes the Stillwater project and an expansion of its existing facility in Pryor. Additionally, Google has selected the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University to participate in the first cohort of its Google AI for Education Accelerator program, providing students opportunities to gain a Google Career Certificate or take an AI training course at no-cost. The electrical training ALLIANCE will also partner with Google to fund a new program that aims to enhance the state’s electrical workforce pipeline. “This is an extraordinary time for American innovation,” the company said in its blog post. “These investments will prepare Oklahoma’s students with critical AI and job-ready skills and create a talent pipeline of workers to power not only Oklahoma’s future, but America’s AI leadership.”
REINFORED PRESENCE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Dinson Iron and Steel Company, a unit of China-based nickel manufacturer Tsingshan Holding Group, will soon begin an expansion of its steel plant in Zimbabwe. The $800 million investment will aid the company in constructing a new blast furnace and infrastructure that will scale the plant’s current 600,000 metric tons per year capacity to 1.2 million metric tons annually. Once complete, Dinson will track carbon steel demand in order to assess need for additional centering, rolling and steel plants at the site. The project’s initial phase introduces a 50-megawatt thermal power plant, which combined with power generated by furnace gas will cover 20% of the facility’s power needs. “The factory’s development achievements are exactly the model the country expects – enterprises settling in, promoting production, and boosting development,” said Zimbabwe Vice President Kembo Mohadi on a site visit in July 2025. “The factory produces a variety of steel products, some of which are exported to earn foreign exchange. This is exactly the model we want.” Increased capacity will enable the country to cut reliance on importing steel, while enhancing the global portfolio of one of the world’s top nickel producers.
Photo courtesy of Johnson & Johnson
DOUBLING DOWN ON NORTH CAROLINA
Johnson & Johnson has announced a fresh $2 billion investment to construct a manufacturing facility at FUJIFILM’s Holly Springs biopharmaceutical manufacturing site in North Carolina. “With the recent signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we continue to expand our investment in the U.S. to lead the next era of healthcare innovation,” said Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato. The project will allow the company to expand its U.S. manufacturing capabilities and capacity, meanwhile the official press release notes that this investment is one of many coming down the future pipeline. The new facility will span more than 160,000-sq.-ft. and will create 120 new jobs in the region. This news comes as part of the company’s greater $55 billion plans across the nation over the next four years. In Wilson, construction is ramping up on a $2 billion, 500,000-sq.-ft. biologics manufacturing plant, which broke ground in March 2025. ONce complete, the Wilson operations will create an additional 500 jobs.
Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore
