February 18, 2010
South Rises to World's Second-Largest Economy
Using gross state product totals for calendar year 2009, the American South overtook Japan in total gross product making the region the second-largest economy in the world. SB&D's definition of the South includes 17 states from Texas in the west to Maryland in the east.
Total GDP 2009
Economy Gross Product
U.S. $14.26 trillion
South $5.13 trillion
Japan $5.09 trillion
China $4.91 trillion
Germany $3.40 trillion
Source: www.bea.gov
Chinese Video Game Production Deal Creating 50 New Jobs in Atlanta
In February, Atlanta-based Entertainment Arts Research signed a deal to develop a virtual world and console video games for China's Shaolin Temple. The joint venture will create 50 jobs in Atlanta and represents a $22 million investment. The Shaolin Temple, founded in the 5th century and located in Henan Province, has a longtime association with the Chinese martial arts, particularly with Kung Fu. Entertainment Arts Research will produce no fewer than four new products for the Shaolin Temple over the next 12 years.
Major Expansion Announced in Louisiana by Aeroframe
In February, Aeroframe Services announced it will dramatically expand its presence at Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, La. Headquartered in Lake Charles, Aeroframe, which specializes in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft, will add at least 300 new, direct jobs this year with an average annual salary of $55,000, plus benefits. The expansion will bring Aeroframe's total Chennault employment to 550. The company's expansion is the result of a recent surge in aircraft maintenance work from both existing and new customers.
Defense Venture Group Investing $50M in South Carolina
In February, Defense Venture Group announced it will locate its manufacturing, R&D and headquarters functions in Lancaster County, S.C. The $50 million deal is expected to create 220 new jobs. The defense contractor owns Indigen Armor, a manufacturer of armored vehicles, Armorline, which produces specialized transparent ceramic products for the aerospace, defense and commercial sectors, and Tactical Runflat Systems, a manufacturer of run-flat tire solutions for the military and other sectors.
Florida in Line for $1.25B for High-Speed Rail Project
President Barack Obama visited Tampa in the winter quarter to announce that the Sunshine State will be the recipient of $1.25 billion from the federal government to build a high-speed rail project from Tampa to Orlando. The amount is about half of what is needed to complete the 84-mile stretch in the I-4 corridor, home to over eight million people. Florida officials are hoping to add to the Tampa-Orlando rail line with one from Orlando to Miami.
Broadband Initiative Awards $101 Million to Kansas Company
In the winter quarter, Rural Telephone Service Co. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nex-Tech, was awarded more than $101 million in Recovery Act funding for broadband Internet infrastructure improvements in central and western Kansas. The funds will be used to enable the development of broadband services in a 4,600 square-mile region of Kansas that's 99.5 percent unserved or underserved.
Another Headquarter Relocation for Atlanta
Novelis, a world leader in the production of flat-rolled aluminum products, announced in February it is moving its North American headquarters from Cleveland to Atlanta. The move will add 80 corporate jobs, with Novelis' Atlanta staff to include 220 people by the end of 2010 when combined with other expected staff additions. Novelis manufactures 19 percent of the world's flat-rolled aluminum products.
Gordon Food Service Creating 350 New Jobs in Plant City, Fla.
In the winter quarter, Gordon Food Service confirmed it bought the Albertson's distribution center in Plant City, Fla. to service its expansion throughout central Florida. The company expects to hire more than 350 people to work in the million-square-foot warehouse.
Defense Consultant Expanding in Fayetteville, N.C.
Booz Allen Hamilton, the large Virginia-based contractor to the Department of Defense, has elected to expand its presence in Fayetteville, N.C., home to Fort Bragg. The deal is expected to create 300 new jobs. "Our firm had the option of locating anywhere to support our work with FORSCOM and USARC," said William Butler, the Booz Allen executive who is heading up the relocation effort from Fort McPherson to Fayetteville. But in the end, Booz Allen decided to set up shop in the backyard of the U.S. Army Forces Command and Reserve Command at Fort Bragg.
British Electronics Manufacturer Opening New Facility in Durham, N.C.
ACW Technology, headquartered in England, announced in the winter quarter it will create 155 new jobs and invest $4.9 million in a plant in Durham, N.C. The company manufactures digital, analog and radio frequency devices as well as circuit boards for electronic systems for the commercial, aerospace and defense industries.
Chegg.com Locating New Logistics Operation in Kentucky
Chegg.com's newest warehousing and distribution operation is going to an existing 611,000-square-foot facility at the Cedar Grove Business Park in Shepherdsville, Ky. The textbook rental company is creating more than 100 new full-time jobs and 1,200 part-time seasonal jobs in the $27.3 million deal.
Star2Star Communications Creates 80 Jobs in Manatee, Fla.
Star2Star Communications, a provider of business grade communications solutions via the Internet, plans to add up to 60 new employees in Manatee County, Fla. A garage-based startup in 2004, the company developed its own software and technology to provide high quality telephone solutions to businesses using voice over Internet protocol.
Another Deal for Manatee
Oliphant Financial, a debt buyer and software provider to the financial services industry, plans to add 100 to 150 jobs in 2010 at the company's new headquarters location in Manatee Co.
Alliance Global Logistics Hub Ranks as Top Foreign Trade Zone
For the third consecutive year, Alliance Foreign Trade Zone No. 196 ranks as the top General Purpose Foreign-Trade Zone in the U.S. in terms of foreign goods admitted. The Alliance FTZ No. 196 admitted $5.35 billion in foreign products in 2009.
Top Five U.S. General Purpose FTZs
1. Fort Worth/Alliance (Tex.) $5.35 Billion
2. Newark (N.J.) $4.06 Billion
3. Harris County (Tex.) $3.77 Billion
4. Port Hueneme (Calif.) $3.06 Billion
5. El Paso (Tex.) $1.20 Billion
DOE Closes Electric Car Loan Agreement with Nissan
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced in February that the Department of Energy has closed on a $1.4 billion loan agreement with Nissan North America that will bring production of the Nissan LEAF model and its batteries to the Japanese automaker's massive plant in Smyrna, Tenn. The LEAF is a zero-emission, all-electric vehicle. Most of the proceeds of the loan will be spent on development and manufacture of the lithium-ion battery packs that will power the LEAF. The loan, which originated through the Department's loan guarantee program office, was issued as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, a $25 billion program authorized by Congress as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The loan will result in the creation of up to 1,300 new jobs when the plants are operating at full capacity. Modification of the Smyrna facility, which will begin later this year, includes a new battery plant and changes in the existing structure for electric vehicle assembly. When fully operational, Nissan will have the capacity to build 150,000 LEAF models and 200,000 battery packs annually. Nissan North America is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn.
Proterra Selects S.C. for Hybrid Commercial Vehicle Facility
In February, Proterra Inc., which develops and assembles drive and energy storage systems for heavy-duty vehicles, including their BE-35 fast-charge battery electric bus, announced that it will locate a facility at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). The project will include research and development as well as assembly of its vehicles. The company designs, develops and assembles all electric and battery dominant hybrid drive solutions and complete vehicles for commercial applications including transit, school and commercial buses, parcel delivery vehicles and other class 4-8 trucks. Proterra, which looked at sites in 30 different states before choosing Greenville County, S.C., expects that it will invest $68 million and create more than 1,300 new jobs in the project.
VW Supplier Park Underway -- Engines to Come From Mexico
Volkswagen has begun work on two 220,000-square-foot buildings next to its assembly plant in Chattanooga that will serve as a supplier park for the German automaker. VW expects that six suppliers will locate in the two buildings adding about 500 jobs to the project. Suppliers will produce axles, fuel tanks, seats, headliners, door panels, exhaust systems, tires, wheels, consoles and other parts in the park. The engines of the new sedan VW will assemble in 2011 will come primarily from its plant in Puebla, Mex., however some will be imported from Germany. The transmissions for the new model will be imported from Japan.
Yazaki Locating NA Headquarters in Georgia
Yazaki Corp., based in Iwata, Japan, will locate its North American headquarters in Gainesville, Ga. in Hall County. The company manufactures fuel tanks for original equipment manufacturers. Yazaki will initially employ 20 workers.
Editorial
Toyota's Problems Not Good News for Mississippi
Toyota's multiple issues over quality control of its vehicles is not good news for the state of Mississippi where the Japanese automaker built an assembly plant in the northeast portion of the state that has never opened for business. In mid-February, Toyota announced it was cutting back production at its two other assembly plants in the Southern Automotive Corridor, one in San Antonio, Tex. and the other in Georgetown, Ky., because of a drop in sales related to the recall of eight million vehicles worldwide.
In early 2007, Toyota chose to build the plant near Tupelo, Miss. to produce the Highlander SUV model. When the SUV market collapsed, the Japanese automaker announced that the fuel-saving Prius model would be assembled at the plant. Then, on December 15, 2008, the company decided to idle the finished, but unequipped facility.
Toyota officials have said there is no timetable on when or if the plant will open. There were rumors prior to Toyota's giant recall that the company would start to assemble the Corolla model in 2011 at the Mississippi plant.
It is believed that incentive agreements made between state and local governments and Toyota require that the company invest $500 million in the project by the end of 2012. So far, Toyota has invested about $300 million in the plant. If the plant was equipped, reaching the $500 million investment threshold wouldn't be a problem. But, even if Toyota decided today to go ahead and start production at the plant, it would take at least a year to ready the facility.
It has been reported by other sources that because of the delay in opening the plant, Toyota will make an interest payment of about $10 million on bonds of $293 million that were issued to the company as part of the incentive package Mississippi gave the automaker. In addition, this year Toyota will make annual payments of $5 million for 10 years to school districts in northeast Mississippi.
mike@sb-d.com
Lithium-ion Facility Set for Florida
Bren-Tronics Energy Systems (BES) announced in the winter quarter it will locate in an existing facility in Alachua County, Fla. to research and manufacture lithium-ion cells for rechargeable batteries. Renovations and upgrades of the facility are expected to cost approximately $10 million and will occur over a two-year period. BES expects to create 15 jobs in the deal.
Fisher Barton Expands in South Carolina
Fisher Barton, an OEM supplier of precision metal stampings and welded assemblies for the automotive industry and other sectors, announced it will expand its Laurens County, S.C. facility. The $2 million investment is expected to generate 15 new jobs.
Automotive IT Company Opens Office in Chattanooga
Wolfsburg, Germany-based Honigsberg & Duvel Corp., an information technology company that specializes in the automotive sector, has leased office space in downtown Chattanooga with plans to employ 30 workers within 12 months and possibly 100 in two years. About 70 percent of the company's work in Germany is for Volkswagen.
Globe Specialty Metals Restarts Alabama Plant
In February, New York-based Globe Specialty Metals reopened its silicon metal and ferrosilicon alloys plant in Selma, Ala. The plant was idled during the recession. The plant can produce 27,000 tons of silicon metal and alloys annually. The reopening means 90 workers have been rehired by the company.
Welding Robot Supplier Sets Up Shop in Atlanta
Germany-based Nimak Gmbh, which makes welding robots for automotive assembly factories, is setting up an office in Atlanta. The company has installed about 800 welding robots at the Mercedes-Benz facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and is installing about 400 at the new Volkswagen plant being built in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Pure Power Technologies Celebrates in Columbia, S.C.
In the winter quarter, Columbia, S.C.-based Pure Power Technologies, a Navistar company, celebrated the inauguration of the company's research and development operation in the Columbia Technical Center. In October, Navistar acquired the assets of Continental Diesel Systems to manufacture fuel injection systems for its MaxxForce diesel engines. Pure Power will operate a R&D center in Columbia and a manufacturing plant in nearby Blythewood, S.C. The two operations were former Continental assets and Pure Power has retained the jobs that would have been lost after Continental announced the closure of the two facilities.
Florida's Cecil Field Awarded Space Vehicle License
Cecil Field, located in Jacksonville, Fla., was recently awarded a federal license to operate as a commercial spaceport. The Jacksonville Aviation Authority secured the license, which will enable Cecil Field's 12,500-foot long runway to be used by a variety of commercial space operators including Virgin Galactic. Cecil became the country's eighth licensed commercial spaceport and the first in Florida to launch and land space vehicles that operate horizontally like airplanes.
Big Distribution Center Going Up in Berkeley County, S.C.
In February, Gildan Activewear announced it will build a new 850,000-square-foot retail distribution center in Berkeley County, S.C. The project is expected to create 250 new jobs.
Osprey Biotechnics Plans 35-Employee Expansion in Sarasota, Fla.
A Sarasota-based biotech company that creates bacterial products that promote animal health, plant health and environmental restoration, is expanding to a larger facility in Sarasota and plans to add 35 employees. Osprey's fungal products are meant to replace chemicals for a safer environment.
Consolidation Creates Jobs in Dothan, Ala.
Key Fire Hose Corp., located in Miami, is consolidating its manufacturing operations to its facilities in Dothan, Ala. The company will move its management team and about a dozen workers to a larger facility in Dothan. About 40 new jobs are expected to be created in the move.
LabCorp Picks Greensboro, N.C. for New Billing Operation
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings Inc., a provider of medical laboratory testing services, announced in the winter it will open a new billing operations office in Greensboro, N.C. The company will create 373 jobs and invest $4 million in the deal that includes a building lease of 72,000 square feet.
Fifty New Auto Supplier Jobs Created in Gaffney, S.C.
Suminoe Textile of America (STA) announced in the winter quarter that it will expand its operations in Cherokee County, S.C. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suminoe Textile Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, is a leading supplier of textile products for the North American automotive market. As part of the $6.5 million expansion, Suminoe will open a new manufacturing facility in Gaffney that will house 50 workers.
Parker Hannifin Expands Mississippi Operations
Parker Hannifin, a leader in motion control technologies and systems, announced in February the expansion of the company's Batesville, Miss. operations. The expansion accommodates additional production of refrigerant control and containment components for automotive, heavy-duty truck and off-road air conditioning applications. The expansion will create 50 new jobs.
Davidoff Relocates Headquarters to Pinellas County, Fla.
The Oettinger Davidoff Group ("Davidoff") announced in the winter quarter that it is relocating its U.S. headquarters to an existing 100,000-square-foot facility in the city of Pinellas Park, Fla. The company manufactures fine cigars at plants in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. The $10 million project will create 90 new jobs.
Experian Expanding Presence in Texas
Credit bureau Experian is adding 300 jobs at its 300,000-square-foot campus in Allen, Tex. The company is expected to invest as much as $30 million in the expansion.
LG Hausys Investing $50M in Rural Georgia
Atlanta-based LG Hausys America is expanding its manufacturing facility in Adairsville, Ga. The company, which will invest $50 million, create 80 jobs and add 95,000 square feet of production space, manufactures surface countertops.
Florida Developer to Buy Former Atlanta GM Plant Site
In the winter quarter, Orlando-based New Broad Street Cos. signed a contract to purchase the old GM plant in Doraville, Ga., which is located in the Atlanta metro. The developer plans to build a "clean and green" mixed-use community, including homes, retail and office space on the 165-acre site. The plant closed in September of 2008. New Broad Street had been in negotiations with GM for 18 months before closing the deal in February.
SL America Awarded VW Contract
SL America Corp., located in Clinton, Tenn., has been awarded the contract to supply automatic shifter assemblies for Volkswagen Group of North America. The contract is SL America's first with Volkswagen. The company will supply the automatic shifters for both the midsize sedan VW will assemble in Chattanooga as well as for vehicles the German automaker assembles in Puebla, Mexico. SL America produces gearshift systems, pedal assemblies and exterior lighting for several major automotive manufacturers, including Hyundai and GM. The South Korean firm is expected to invest $35 million as a result of the new contract and hire 300 more workers that will be housed in a 100,000-square-foot addition to its current facility.
VW Supplier Fehrer Automotive Locating in Gadsden, Ala.
Kitzingen, Germany-based Fehrer Automotive announced in February it will locate in the former Advance Auto Parts building in Gadsden, Ala. to supply the new Volkswagen plant being built in Chattanooga with seat pads. The company will also supply the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala. with the same product. About 100 jobs are expected to be created in the deal.
JPMorgan Chase Adding 600 Jobs in Florida
JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to add 600 employees in Florida this year, with 250 of them in South Florida. Since acquiring the failed Washington Mutual in 2008, JPMorgan Chase has rebranded the branches as Chase Bank and has invested $90 million in Florida since the acquisition.
Navy Contract to Create 500 Jobs in Mobile, Ala.
In the winter quarter, the U.S. Navy awarded Mobile's Austal USA shipyard $204.2 million, the second installment on what the shipyard hopes will be a 10-vessel, $1.6 billion contract. The new work on two Joint High Speed Vessels will create about 500 jobs by the summer quarter. The Joint High Speed Vessel is an Army-Navy program that includes shallow-draft ferries for carrying troops and equipment at speeds up to 43 knots in areas of combat. Austal is a subsidiary of Australia's Austal Ltd.
Company Expands in South Texas
Tyco Flow Corp. announced in the winter that it will expand its facility in Harlingen, Tex. by adding 33,000 square feet to its 80,000-square-foot facility there. The deal is expected to create 50 new jobs. Tyco is a global manufacturer of valves and controls and water and environmental systems.
North Carolina Company Adding 100 Jobs
Kewaunee Scientific is investing $13 million and adding 100 jobs in Statesville, N.C. to expand its operations and renovate its corporate headquarters. The company will begin immediately to more than double production space at one of its three Statesville manufacturing plants, which makes laboratory furniture.
SurModics Opens Birmingham Drug Development Center
SurModics Pharmaceuticals, formerly Brookwood Pharmaceuticals, opened its new drug development and manufacturing facility in Birmingham in the winter quarter. The company has won several drug delivery formulas for Roche and Genentech, among others. The company invested millions to convert the former Parisian and Saks corporate headquarters in the Oxmoor Valley into the new 90,000-square-foot headquarters and plant.
Internet Company Expands in Florida
IntegraClick, a rapidly growing Sarasota, Fla. Internet firm, has chosen two Class A office buildings in Sarasota's University Professional Park for its new headquarters campus. The new space will accommodate the company's Clickbooth.com business in addition to sister divisions Calculated Creativity and Authorise.com and lead to the addition of more than 100 jobs in the short term. When completed, the new campus could house as many as 500 new employees. IntegraClick was recently ranked No. 5 in Inc. magazine's 2009 list of the 50 fastest-growing private U.S. companies.
Rural Mississippi County Launches Tuition Assistance Program
In the winter quarter, officials in Tishomingo County, Miss. announced a new tuition assistance program that funds the tuition costs for students in the county to attend Northeast Mississippi Community College. Graduating seniors of the Class of 2010 will be the first class to be served by the new program. To be accepted students must graduate from high school by the end of May, take the ACT before the end of June, enroll in Northeast Mississippi Community College for the fall semester as a full time student and then maintain a "C" average.
Rural South Carolina Deal
In February, Bennettsville Printing announced it will locate its new operations in Marlboro County, S.C. The company expects to hire 40 in the $3 million project.
New Plant in Kings Mountain, N.C.
Solaris Industries, an international manufacturer of steel tubing, is locating a new plant in Kings Mountain, N.C. Solaris is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delhi Solac of Canada. The project will create 40 new jobs.
Aerospace Company Breaks Ground on New HQ in Pompano Beach
KAM Specialties, an aerospace metal distributor and manufacturer that sells raw material and net shape parts to companies that manufacture jet aircraft engines, broke ground in February on a new 25,695-square-foot headquarters building in Pompano Beach, Fla. The company's former facility was destroyed by fire in November.
Bioenergy Plant to Open in Georgia
German utility RWE Innogy announced in the winter quarter that it is building a $150 million, 75-employee bioenergy plant in Waycross, Ga. The new plant will produce 750,000 tons of wood pellets from forest industry by products. The wood pellets would then be shipped to the Netherlands for burning in a Dutch power plant. To land the plant, Georgia will provide a $4,000-per-employee incentive over five years.
Walter Energy to Hire 79 in Birmingham HQ Move
Walter Energy will hire 79 employees when it relocates its corporate headquarters from Tampa, Fla. to the top two floors of Hoover's Galleria Tower later this year. A spokesperson for the company said in February that 21 of its 50 headquarters employees in Tampa have agreed to make the move to Birmingham and that it hopes to have a total of 100 employees when the office opens in the early summer.
Confluence Solar Developing $200 Million Plant in Clinton, Tenn.
In late January, Missouri-based Confluence Solar announced that it will build a 200,000-square-foot plant at the I-75 Industrial Park in Clinton, Tenn. The $200 million facility will produce mono-crystal silicon ingots for photovoltaic solar power generation. The ingots are used in solar panels to generate electricity. John DeLuca, a co-founder of Confluence Solar and a former employee at the U.S. Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said that Clinton's proximity to the lab and to the new stimulus-funded Solar Institute at the University of Tennessee was a factor in choosing the site in northeast Tennessee. The deal is expected to create 250 new jobs.
Parkdale Mills Expanding in South Carolina
Parkdale Mills announced in the winter quarter that it will expand its manufacturing plant in Edgefield County, S.C. The $3 million investment is expected to create 16 new jobs. Parkdale, a privately-owned company, has been a producer and supplier of spun yarn for nearly a century.
North Carolina Company Locating in Oklahoma
Flanders Corporation of Washington, N.C., has purchased the former Best Buy building located in the New Horizons Industrial Park in Ardmore, Okla. Flanders designs, manufactures and markets air filters that contain airborne contaminants. The deal is expected to create 250 new jobs.
Level 3 Inspection Expands in Martin County, Fla.
Level 3 Inspection, which performs 3D White Light Scanning (WLS) and Computer Aided Inspection (CAI) services for the highest precision manufactured products and production tooling, is expanding in Martin County, Fla. The company is adding 33 new employees at its new lab space in the Sawgrass Business Center in Stuart.
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