eographic information systems (GIS) are playing an increasingly integral role in the world of economic development and corporate real estate. Information technology heavyweight Dell Inc. came to appreciate the value of GIS during its 2004 site search for a new customer service center. Dell eventually chose a 60-acre (24-hectare) site in Oklahoma City for a […]

overnors are naturally proud of big economic development wins for their states, and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley is no exception. When MeadWestvaco announced in September 2004 a US$10-million expansion in rural Lanett, on the Alabama-Georgia border, Riley noted, “What makes this expansion even better is knowing that this plant won the competition for these [55] […]

orporate America continues to enjoy Southern hospitality, as evidenced by Site Selection‘s Top Economic Development Groups of 2004.       While this year’s battle for a top group honor was closer than ever, one trend shows no sign of ebbing: When it comes to competing for jobs and capital investment, the region that frequently […]

n December 22, 2004, Dell Inc. and North Carolina officials were gathering at a podium in Winston-Salem to announce the company’s investment of more than $100 million in a new assembly plant. State transportation workers at that moment were on the ground at Alliance Science and Technology Park staking rights-of-way for the project, in preparation […]

he projects considered for Site Selection‘s Top Deals of 2004 ranged far and wide. So did the innovation and creativity behind them.       As always, we started from objective jobs and investment data: total capital investment and number of jobs created. Then we took into account regional economic impact, value of jobs created, […]

ncreasing focus on core competencies is far more than just a pie-in-the-sky ideal for corporations today. A firm’s core business must always be its primary concern for survival in today’s often harsh economic environment. So, frequently, companies seek ways in which to Michael Naughton, executive vice president of New York, N.Y.-based U.S. Realty Advisors free […]

orporate site selectors have known for years that the presence of a major research university can be a determining factor in choosing a business location. The American Electronics Association calls university-related research and development the second most important site selection factor, behind access to capital, for a high-tech company.       However, only recently […]

orporate real estate executives know what they want in a service provider: a listening ear, a capable team and a commitment to deliver on the project.       Two long-time service providers who have worked with hundreds of national clients say that these three qualities are essential to providing superior service to a corporate […]

verybody in this room has something to do with the rebound since 9/11.”       That’s how Jim Dieter, executive managing director for CB Richard Ellis, greeted a full house of continuous learners at the IAMC Professional Forum on Monday morning, March 21, as he prepared to explore with them the “Dynamics of the […]

ur New Plant Database tallies are complete, and this issue of Site Selection is brimming with related rankings of Top Metros, Industries and States (see the Governor’s Cup cover story on page 146). by MARK AREND My congratulations to all of the areas mentioned in the rankings, because they would not appear if they hadn’t […]

ig Blue is getting a whole lot bigger in New York. And IBM’s bringing along a host of other high-tech heavyweights in Since a watershed investment decision that kept Big Blue in New York, IBM’s Fishkill complex has served as an investment catalyst. a US$2.7-billion expansion blitz. A trio of Empire State projects will create […]

From Site Selection magazine, March 2005 WORLD REPORTS ‘New Europe’ Beckons Foreign direct investment increasingly is shifting to the European Union’s eastern sector. by JULIA COX In years to come, 2004 may well be viewed by analysts of inward investment trends as the year that the map of FDI activity in Europe was fundamentally re-drawn. […]

SITE SELECTION / NAI GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL LOCATION INDEX From Site Selection magazine, March 2005 C H A R T Site Selection / NAI Global Industrial Location Index PDF Format, 140 KB TOP OF PAGE Top of Page | Cover | Letter to Editor | Site Selection Online | SiteNet | ©2005 Conway Data, Inc. All […]

Dear IAMC Members and Prospective Members,       Just as we often ask ourselves on the job, I find myself asking this question at the end of my tenure as chair of IAMC: “Where did the time go?”       But I know the answer. It went into a year and a half […]

orporate real estate executives like the impact that Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is having on the reporting Bob Zane and management of facility performance. They just wish that compliance with the law cost less time and money.       That’s the bottom line of a new research study conducted by the Atlanta-based Industrial Asset Management Council. […]

on-Way Transportation, a US$2.6-billion freight forwarding and logistics specialist based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has a vast and growing portfolio. The company employs nearly 20,000 and operates about 28,000 trucks, tractors and trailers with about 450 facilities of various sizes and functions.      Bill Giles, Con-Way’s national pre-construction coordinator, sets things in motion for […]

s if to underscore its claim to the 2004 Governor’s Cup, Texas ended the calendar year with a December new-jobs announcement that dwarfs the number of jobs associated with any of the more than 660 qualifying projects that won the state the award. Countrywide Financial will add 7,500 employees to its payroll in the state, […]

NEW PLANT SCOREBOARD From Site Selection magazine, March 2005 C H A R T New Corporate Facilities and Expansions 2002-2004 PDF Format, 536 KB C H A R T 20 Giants: 2004’s Biggest U.S Corporate Facilities PDF Format, 58 KB TOP OF PAGE Top of Page | Cover | Letter to Editor | Site Selection […]

or the past 40 years, Pier 1 Imports has made its home in Fort Worth, Texas. If Chairman and CEO Marvin Girouard has his way, the US$2-billion company will call Fort Worth home for at least the next 40.       In 2004, Pier 1 moved into its new $90-million corporate headquarters in the […]

f having one Top Small Town is great for a county, then having two is better. Just ask the folks in Iredell County, N.C.       By registering 24 new and expanded corporate facility projects in 2004, the Statesville- Mooresville, N.C., Micro-politan Statistical Area claimed Site Selection’s Top Micropolitan of the Year award.   […]

ith 613 projects, the transportation equipment sector had the most projects of any industrial sector in 2004, according to the Conway Data New Plant Database.       Three of the top five transportation projects by investment were automobile plants in China, led by DaimlerChrysler with its US$1.25-billion complex in Beijing, in addition to its […]

ased in Windlesham, in the affluent borough of Surrey Heath, U.K., that is known for its knowledge-intensive companies and pharmaceutical expertise, industrial gas company The BOC Group employs more than 44,500 people and had 2003 sales of over US$7.4 billion. It also serves almost any industry you can think of: glass to steel, semiconductors to […]

ne company’s scandal is another company’s opportunity.       Last year, the U.S. Air Force had a preliminary US$23-billion dollar deal with Boeing to lease and buy 100 aerial refueling tankers. But the deal fell apart amid a growing procurement scandal. Last May, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld returned the process to square one by […]

ENVER, Colo. — Lower leasing rates have contributed to a rebounding industrial market in severalmajor American cities, according to a new report by the ProLogis Research Group.       The new market “leaders” in the distribution-warehouse sector, according to the Denver-based company,are the Los Angeles Basin, New Jersey, Las Vegas, Reno, Seattle and St. […]