Top Deals & Hot Markets 2010

Outstanding Economic Development Performances in One of the Toughest Economic Environments Ever

By Lee Burlett

If someone polled the 3,500-some-odd economic development practitioners in the South about how tough 2009 was for landing significant job generating projects, the vast majority would probably answer that it was the most challenging year of their careers. Few would report that 2009 was "an outstanding year for us."

Big deals were hard to come by last year as evidenced by the fact that only 368 projects in the entire region met or exceeded the SB&D 100 thresholds of 200 or more jobs and/or $30 million in investment or more. Since 1994, when the SB&D 100 was first published, the 368 projects represent the lowest total on record. Prior to this year, the 16-year average of deals meeting or exceeding the 200 job/$30 million thresholds was 516. The year with the highest number of projects making the "100" was in 1998 when 636 big projects were announced in the South.

While 2009 was a very tough year for states and markets in the South in the practice of economic development, as always there were still some outstanding performances. The following "2010 Top Deals and Hot Markets" report reveals the top states and markets that excelled among their peers in what will be remembered as an incredibly difficult year -- the year of 2009.

State Category

Co-State of the Year: Louisiana, 345 Points
No. 1 in Points per Million Residents

Louisiana is on a roll like we haven't seen since Alabama's incredible run between 2003 and 2006. This is the third "State of the Year" for Louisiana in four years and the year they didn't win the South's top economic development prize they earned an Honorable Mention.

Just a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable to write that Louisiana had topped states such as Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia straight up in the number of large job and investment generating corporate and industrial projects. But that is exactly what has happened over the last several years.

It used to be that just about every significant economic development project in Louisiana was somehow related to the oil and gas, marine fabrication or the chemicals industry. That is no longer the case as the state turned deals in a variety of industry sectors in addition to those three sectors, including headquarters, agribusiness, automotive, food processing, call centers, defense and telecommunications, among others.

Louisiana's economic development performance over the last several years has greatly helped the state weather The Great Recession. While other Southern states saw unemployment rates reach double digits, Louisiana's unemployment rate hasn't come close to those levels, topping out at 7.3 percent last year. It has now dropped to 6.7 percent, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the South as of April.

Louisiana's recent success has been noticed by a lot more folks than just us. In 2009, the state saw its third consecutive year of net population in-migration. Prior to 2007, Louisiana had gone more than two decades without seeing a single year of net population increases.  

Notable Louisiana Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
V-Vehicle	1,400	$248 Million
ConAgra Foods	500	$211 Million
SNF	512	$350 Million

Co-State of the Year: Tennessee, 345 Points
No. 2 in Points per Million Residents

Other than Louisiana, Tennessee is the only state in the South that has not been affected by the recession as far as recruiting large job generating projects is concerned. Tennessee's points and deals have been better than its 17-year average each year since the economy turned for the worse three years ago. This is also the second consecutive year we have named Tennessee "State of the Year."

The Volunteer State has landed several of the South's largest and most prominent projects since 2006, including those announced by Volkswagen, Nissan, Dow Hemlock, Wacker Chemie and SAIC. Tennessee is also a Southern leader in recruiting renewable energy projects, specifically solar related deals.

Over the last several years, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and Tennessee Economic & Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber have been a dynamic team. We hate to see them go as Bredesen is term limited and will be leaving office in January 2010.  

Notable Tennessee Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Nissan	1,708	$2.5 Billion
Flextronics	740	$8 Million
Wacker Chemie	500	$1 Billion

Honorable Mention: Kansas, 145 Points
No. 3 in Points per Million Residents

Some years Kansas finds it difficult to compete with Southern economic development superstars in the South, but not this year. Kansas ended up with the third-best point total per capita of any Southern state in the 2010 SB&D 100. Kansas City, Kan. had a remarkable year with several huge deals that lifted Kansas up to its best SB&D 100 year yet. In fact, no edge/suburban market in the entire South had a better year in 2009 than the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan.

Notable Kansas Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
General Motors	1,300	N/A
U.S. Bank	1,174	$21 Million
J.P. Morgan	650	$29 Million

Honorable Mention: Maryland, 135 Points
No. 9 in Points per Million Residents

Maryland turned some impressive deals in 2009, particularly from the defense industry. Like Kansas, this Southern border state typically has a tough time ranking high in the SB&D 100. Lockheed Martin, L-3 Communications and Booz Allen Hamilton announced large expansions in Maryland in 2009 and the state also landed the South's largest logistics project with Ports America's 2,700-job Baltimore port deal.
 
Notable Maryland Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Ports America	2,700	$105 Million
Lockheed Martin	2,500	N/A
L-3 Communications	400	N/A

Southern States Ranked by Points per Million Residents - 2010

State	Total Deals	Points	*PPM
1. Louisiana	48	345	78.2
2. Tennessee	45	345	55.7
3. Kansas	18	145	52.1
4. West Virginia	8	70	38.6
5. Alabama	25	175	37.6
6. Arkansas	12	100	35.1
7. South Carolina	21	150	33.8
8. Missouri	22	150	25.4
9. Maryland	17	135	24.0
10. Virginia	21	160	20.6
11. Georgia	22	180	18.6
12. Texas	53	415	17.2
13. Kentucky	5	45	16.2
14. North Carolina	21	150	16.2
15. Mississippi	5	45	15.3
16. Florida	25	200	10.9
17. Oklahoma	3	25	6.9

*PPM = Points per million state residents earned from eligible projects the previous calendar year. 

Total Points Earned by Southern States in the 2010 SB&D 100

State	Points
Texas Tennessee Louisiana Florida Georgia Alabama Virginia Missouri North Carolina South Carolina Maryland Kansas Arkansas West Virginia Kentucky Mississippi Oklahoma	415 345 345 200 180 175 160 150 150 150 135 125 100 70 45 45 15

SB&D's State of the Year Winners 1994-2010

2010 Louisiana and Tennessee
2009 Louisiana and Tennessee
2008 Alabama
2007 Louisiana
2006 Alabama and North Carolina
2005 Alabama and North Carolina
2004 Alabama
2003 Alabama
2002 Florida
2001 Virginia
2000 Tennessee
1999 Virginia
1998 North Carolina
1997 Texas
1996 Virginia
1995 Florida
1994 Texas

Mega-Market Category

Mega-Market of the Year: Baltimore/D.C./Northern Virginia/W. Va., 160 Points

With nine million people, the 28-county mega-market that surrounds Washington, D.C. is by far the largest in the South. In addition to being the capital of the nation, the area is also the headquarters of the U.S. military. Naturally, many of deals coming out of the D.C. region in 2009 were projects supporting the military as it continues fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But there is a whole lot more to this mega-market than the government and the military. Yet, those are the two sectors that stand out in this year's "100." One of the biggest headquarters relocation deals in the South in 2009 landed in the D.C. region with SAIC. Soon, the capital region will be getting another large HQ relocation with Northrop Grumman.

Notable Baltimore/D.C./Northern Virginia/W. Va., Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Lockheed Martin	2,500	N/A
SAIC	1,200	$25 Million
Fort Meade	663	$32 Million

Honorable Mention: Atlanta, 105 Points

It's nice to see Atlanta near the top of the mega-market category for a change. This category has been dominated by just three of the South's seven mega-markets -- Dallas/Fort Worth, Baltimore/D.C./Northern Virginia/W. Va. and Houston -- for eight straight years, leaving Atlanta along with Miami, Tampa Bay and St. Louis out of the mega-market limelight. But in 2009 Atlanta reemerged with some excellent projects including the NCR and First Data headquarter relocation deals.

Notable Atlanta Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
NCR	1,200	$30 Million
CBeyond	600	N/A
First Data	500	N/A

Honorable Mention: Houston, 80 Points

The last time Houston wasn't recognized as No. 1 or with an Honorable Mention in the mega-market category was in 2004, so this year is much of the same for Texas’ largest market.

Notable Houston Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Farouk Systems	1,200	$25 Million
Halliburton	1,000	N/A
Sercel	300	N/A

Honorable Mention: Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater, 65 Points

Like Atlanta, here is another oldie but goodie. Tampa Bay has been shut out of any recognition in the mega-market division since 2004. Before that, Tampa Bay was a regular at the top of the mega-market category (2 million population or more). Maybe this year's SB&D 100 will foreshadow what's to come for Atlanta and Tampa Bay, two of the most active mega-markets in the South in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Notable Tampa Bay Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
T. Rowe Price	1,200	$192 Million
Dais Analytic	1,000	N/A
Vagent	800	N/A

Honorable Mention: Dallas/Fort Worth, 65 Points

A below average year for D/FW, but good enough for an Honorable Mention since Texas' second-largest market eked out a tie with Tampa Bay. 

Notable Dallas/Fort Worth Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Cisco Systems	100	$500 Million
Connecticut General	200	$38 Million
EFW	N/A	$32 Million

Major Market Category

Major Market of the Year: Memphis, 115 Points

For a while there, it looked like Memphis would be shut out of Tennessee's resurgence in major economic development projects over the last three or four years. Huge deals in east and middle Tennessee were the norm from 2006-2008 and West Tennessee barely even sniffed one during that time. That all changed in 2009 with Memphis winning its second "Major Market of the Year" award over the last 10 years. It won its last one in 2003. That's a pretty good record considering there are 18 major markets in the South vying for this honor every year (populations of 750,000-2,000,000) including traditional powerhouses' Charlotte, Raleigh, Austin, Hampton Roads, Richmond and San Antonio.

Notable Memphis Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Flextronics Logistics	740	$24 Million
Nike	450	$2 Million
Norfolk Southern	429	$129 Million

Honorable Mention: Kansas City, 100 Points

Wow, what a year for KC. The interesting thing here is most of Kansas City's points came from the Kansas side of the market, specifically from Overland Park, Kan.

Notable Kansas City Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
General Motors	1,300	N/A
U.S. Bank	1,174	$21 Million
Black & Veatch	500	$115 Million

Honorable Mention: Charlotte, 50 Points

Charlotte leads two other major markets in the South that tied for third place in the major market division with 50 points. Like Atlanta, Charlotte benefited from a couple of huge headquarter relocation deals.

Notable Charlotte Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Zenta Mortgage	1,002	$2 Million
Electrolux	748	$8 Million
Neighborhood Assistance	1,014	$4 Million

Honorable Mention: Raleigh, 50 Points

Raleigh-Cary did enough in 2009 to earn an Honorable Mention in the Major Market division.

Notable Raleigh Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
EMC Corp.	397	$280 Million
Talecris Biotherapeutic	259	$269 Million
DB Global Tech	319	$7 Million

Honorable Mention: Nashville, 50 Points

Nashville posted 50 points on the big board, good enough for an Honorable Mention this year. The Music City also added the "Green Economy Deal of the Year" with Nissan. Nissan has been very good for Nashville and middle Tennessee over the last 25 years.

Notable Nashville Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Simplex Healthcare	528	$10 Million
Silver Eagle Bus	372	$10 Million
Nissan	1,708	$2.5 Billion

Mid-Market Category

Mid-Market of the Year: Baton Rouge, 100 Points

Not unlike Huntsville when it won this division time and time again in the mid-2000s, Baton Rouge is the new economic development rock star in the South. Baton Rouge won its first "Mid-Market of the Year" in 2007 and was cited for an "Honorable Mention" in 2008. Then last year it earned its second "Mid-Market of the Year" honor followed by another one in this, the 2010 SB&D 100. That's three "Mid-Market of Year" awards in four years, something no mid-market has ever done in the South since we first published this ranking in 1994.

Notable Baton Rouge Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Turner Industries	500	$75 Million
SNF	512	$350 Million
Women's Hospital	N/A	$350 Million

Honorable Mention: Corpus Christi, 50 Points

Led by the oil and gas industry, Corpus Christi had an outstanding year in 2009. 

Notable Corpus Christi Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Valero Refining	N/A	$298 Million
Valiant Petroleum	275	$5 Million
Air Products	N/A	$60 Million

Honorable Mention: Charleston/North Charleston/Summerville, 45 Points

What a year for the Low Country. The Charleston, S.C. metro area landed the "Deal of the Year" for 2009 in Boeing. It also added a few more large projects last year. 

Notable Charleston Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
The Boeing Company	4,000	$750 Million
Scientific Research	400	$6 Million
American Synthetics	250	$25 Million

Honorable Mention: Shreveport/Bossier City, 40 Points

The year of 2009 was one to remember for Shreveport and North Louisiana in general. Shreveport's economy is diversifying quite nicely.

Notable Shreveport/Bossier City Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
U.S. Air Force	1,000	N/A
U.S. Support	1,000	N/A
Schlumberger	400	$48 Million

Honorable Mention: Huntsville, 40 Points

What economy in the South has grown faster than Huntsville's over the last 10 years? Even in a so-so year for this north Alabama market, it still earns an Honorable Mention in the mid-market category.

Notable Huntsville Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Dynetics	250	N/A
Toyota	240	$147 Million
Northrop Grumman	240	N/A

Honorable Mention: Kingsport/Johnson City/Bristol, Tenn. /Va., 40 Points

The Tri-Cities region of Tennessee is one of the most consistent economic development performers as evidenced by its No. 4 ranking of all mid-markets in South over the last decade.

Notable Tri-Cities Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Reclaimed Resources	118	$115 Million
Exide Technologies	100	$37 Million
Touchstone Wireless	200	$5 Million

Honorable Mention: Fort Smith, Ark., 40 Points

This is the first time we have recognized Fort Smith in the SB&D 100. The Mitsubishi deal is huge for this west Arkansas mid-market.

Notable Fort Smith Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Mitsubishi	400	$10 Million
Mars Petcare	N/A	$80 Million

Small Market Category

Small Market of the Year: Monroe/West Monroe, La., 60 Points

2009 was an unbelievable year for the Monroe metro area and northeast Louisiana. In fact, it is one of the best small market performances of all time. The point total is the second-best in the 17-year history of the Small Market division behind only LaGrange, Ga.’s 75 points last year. And the variety of industry sectors landed last year in Monroe is very impressive including automotive, headquarters and food processing among others. Interestingly, the Franklin Farms super site near Monroe, a site we have ranked as one of the best in the South, didn't factor in Monroe's fantastic year. It is still available to a large user. 

Notable Monroe/West Monroe Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
V-Vehicle	1,400	$248 Million
ConAgra Foods	500	$211 Million
CenturyLink	350	$118 Million

Honorable Mention: Houma, La., 30 Points

Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes in south Louisiana did really well in this year's "100." In fact, the 30 points earned would have won this category nine of the 17 SB&D 100 years.

Notable Houma Deals in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Thoma-Sea Boats	325	$34 Million
Performance Energy	350	N/A
Danos and Curole	300	N/A

Honorable Mention: Panola County, Miss., 20 Points

Panola County is located in rural north Mississippi. GE Aviation is building high tech engines in Batesville.

Notable Panola County Deal in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
GE Aviation	350	$85 Million

Honorable Mention: Jonesboro, Ark., 20 Points

Jonesboro added to Arkansas’ growing wind energy industry in 2009 by landing Nordex USA's $100 million turbine plant.

Notable Jonesboro Deal in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Nordex USA	700	$100 Million

Honorable Mention: Cleveland, Tenn., 20 Points

Like Jonesboro landing another wind energy deal for Arkansas, Cleveland added another solar energy deal for Tennessee. This one features an astounding investment of $1 billion (that's with a "B").

Notable Cleveland Deal in 2009

	Jobs	Investment
Wacker Chemie	500	$1 Billion

Special Recognition

Editor's note: For the second year in the SB&D 100, we are recognizing markets in the South that have stood out to us, but cannot be singled out due to SB&D 100 market rules. These counties, cities or small towns have earned special recognition because they are either included in a MSA (therefore cannot be singled out), are rural locations (we don't have a rural category any longer) or have landed a project that will eventually transform that location's economy. Here are some special achievements that we found in this year's SB&D 100.

Baldwin County, Ala.

Take a look at the top deal on this year's SB&D 100 (page 34). Note the Hybrid Kinetic Motors’ project that is No. 1 with an investment of $1.5 billion and 4,800 jobs. If that project is a deal and not a dog, it will change eastern Mobile Bay forever.

Charleston County, S.C.

Landing the "Deal of the Year" in the South is like winning the lottery and Charleston County, S.C. did it with Boeing. Every single project that has won "Deal of the Year" in the South since the SB&D 100 was first published has transformed the area's economy where it located. Examples include BMW (1992 - Greer, S.C.), Mercedes-Benz (1993 - Vance, Ala.), Texas Instruments (1995 - Richardson, Tex.) and Volkswagen (Chattanooga, Tenn. - 2009) and now Boeing this year.

Monroe/West Monroe, La.

What a year for northeast Louisiana! But like HK Motors in south Alabama, can V-Vehicle get the funding it needs and furthermore, can it build a car people want and will buy in numbers sufficient to make the automotive start up profitable at some point?

Top Deals and Deal of the Year

As mentioned in the SB&D 100 feature story, this year's batch of deals of 1,000 jobs or more (28) is better than any year since 2005 when 28 projects of 1,000 jobs or more led the list and the second best since 2000 when there were 32.

The best projects of calendar year 2009 were a mixed bag, with automotive, next generation energy and aviation/aerospace leading the way. In naming our annual "Deal of the Year," we do take into account the scope of the project, its potential for growth and spinoff job possibilities. With that, then, there is no question in our minds that Boeing's 4,000-job, $750 million plant being built at the Charleston, S.C. International Airport is the 2010 SB&D 100 "Deal of the Year."

Top 10 Deals of 2009

Project	Location	Jobs	Investment
1. Boeing	N. Charleston, S.C.	4,000	$750
2. Nissan	Smyrna, Tenn.	1,708	$2,500
3. HK Motors	Baldwin Co. Ala.	4,800	$1,500
4. NCR	Atlanta/Columbus, Ga.	2,120	$40
5. Northrop Grumman	Newport News, Va.	1,000	$230
6. Mercedes-Benz	Vance, Ala.	1,000	$290
7. SAIC	Fairfax, Va.	1,200	$25
8. T. Rowe Price	Pasco Co, Fla.	1,200	$192
9. Ports America	Baltimore, Md.	2,700	$105
10. Wacker Chemie	Cleveland, Tenn.	500	$1,000

* Investment in millions
           
Top Deals by Industry Sector

Deal of the Year: Boeing - North Charleston, S.C.
Automotive Deal of the Year: Nissan - Smyrna, Tenn.
Green Economy Deal of the Year: Nissan - Smyrna, Tenn.
Logistics Deal of the Year: Ports America - Baltimore, Md.
Headquarters Deal of the Year: NCR - Duluth, Ga.
Aerospace Deal of the Year: Boeing - North Charleston, S.C.
Defense Deal of the Year: U.S. Air Force - Bossier City, La.
Food Processing Deal of the Year: ConAgra Food Lamb Weston - Richland, La.
Medical Devices Deal of the Year: Medtronic - San Antonio, Tex.
Financial Services Deal of the Year: T. Rowe Price - Pasco County, Fla.
Customer Service Deal of the Year: Ryla - Mobile, Ala.
Telecommunications Deal of the Year: Verizon Wireless - Alpharetta, Ga.
Pharmaceuticals Deal of the Year: Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica - St. Joseph, Mo.
Healthcare Deal of the Year: The Ignite Institute - Fairfax, Va.
Advanced Manufacturing Deal of the Year: Mitsubishi Power Systems - Pooler, Ga.
Renewable Energy Deal of the Year: Gemini Solar - Austin, Tex.
Agribusiness Deal of the Year: Foster Farms - Union, La.
Data Center Deal of the Year: Lockheed Martin - Essex, Md.
Biotech Deal of the Year: Talecris Biotherapeutic - Johnston County, N.C.
Biofuels Deal of the Year: BP & Verenium - Highlands County, Fla.
IT Deal of the Year: EMC Corp. - Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Start-Up Deal of the Year: HK Motors - Baldwin County, Ala.