Fall 2005

QUIZ

Which Southern states rank among the top five U.S. states in the value of Department of Defense contracts during fiscal year 2004?

(Scroll down for answer)

Alabama

Nucor Expanding Operations

Nucor Corp. plans to build a galvanizing facility in Decatur, Ala. that will add as many as 75 employees and cost $200 million. The company has also optioned 100 acres adjacent to its existing plant for the expansion. Construction could begin in early 2006 with a target startup date of September 2006.

New Northrop Grumman Lab in Huntsville

Northrop Grumman Corp. announced on October 11 that it is adding a lab and hiring about 70 engineers at its Cummings Research Park complex in Huntsville, Ala. Work at the new lab will focus on the company's Kinetic Energy Interceptor missile-defense program. Northrop Grumman employs about 1,200 workers in the Huntsville area.

Coating Firm to Create 80 New Jobs

St. Louis-based Precoat recently bought a 150,000 square-foot facility on 22 acres in the Birmingham area where it plans to make more than $30 million worth of improvements and hire 80 people. The company initially considered Atlanta, but found a “perfect match” in a Birmingham building formerly occupied by Southern Coil Processing.

Arkansas

Atlas Tube Building $55 Million Manufacturing Plant in Blytheville

Atlas Tube, Inc. has announced plans to build a 450,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Blytheville that will bring 100 new jobs. Construction on the $55 million plant will begin immediately, with production set to start in the third quarter of 2006 and full operations underway by the end of 2006.

Cardinal Health Announces 500-Job Call Center in Arkansas

Ohio-based Cardinal Health Inc., announced in mid-October is will open a call center in Sherwood, Ark., that will house 500 workers. Sherwood is located near Little Rock. The call center will support Cardinal Health's 50,000 customers in the U.S., including hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies.

Florida

Merrill Lynch to Add 800 jobs in Jacksonville

Merrill Lynch & Co. plans to add 800 employees at its Jacksonville location by 2007. Merrill Lynch, which has been in Jacksonville for more than 20 years and employs 1,700 people, will add 800 workers in the technical development area, infrastructure support department and services and operations division.

Giant HR Company Adds 300 Jobs in Orlando

Hewitt Associates LLC, one of the world’s largest human resources companies will add 300 new employees to its customer service and systems support center in Orlando’s Central Florida Research Park by the end of 2005. The Orlando community successfully competed for the project against five others in North America.

Georgia

Aflac Begins $100M Expansion

Aflac Inc. has broken ground on a $100 million building project in Columbus that will add 340,000 square feet of office space and house 2,000 new employees in the next five to seven years. The Columbus, Ga.-based insurance company said the first phase will add 90,000 square feet. When complete in 2007, it will house the company's customer service administrative business units. The project is Aflac’s third major building effort within seven years and the company recently announced that its profits jumped 60 percent in the third quarter 2005.

Carrollton Company to Expand

Greenway Medical Technologies, which provides software and services to physicians, will expand its Carrollton, Ga., location to accommodate its new PrimeARM division, creating 250 jobs for the area. Greenway will spend $1.2 million on the expansion.

Georgia-Pacific to Double Production in Savannah

Georgia-Pacific Corp. will spend $100 million to more than double the production at its gypsum plant in Savannah, Ga. The project is expected to be completed in early 2007.

Lowe's Invests $20M to Expand in Valdosta

Expanding its distribution network, Lowe's Cos. will expand its distribution facility in Valdosta, Ga., investing at least $20 million and creating more than 100 jobs. The expansion includes an addition of 350,000 square feet to the existing facility and a new stand-alone structure totaling 210,000 square feet.

Target Warehouse Going to Savannah

Target Corp. will to build a 2 million-square-foot import warehouse at the Savannah River International Trade Park, four miles from the Garden City Terminal at the Port of Savannah. Construction has begun and should be finished by summer 2007. The facility will employ 200 at first, with several hundred more jobs to be added later.

Faus Group Moving North American HQ to North Georgia

Laminate flooring company Faus Group Inc. has acquired a 78-acre site in Gordon County to expand its American manufacturing and distribution operations and move its administrative offices. The expansion will bring more than 350 new jobs to north Georgia over the next two years.

American Consumer Products Chooses Columbus

American Consumer Products Corp. announced in the fall it is investing $7.5 million and creating 150 jobs in Columbus, Ga. The company is purchasing the former MUTEC/Panasonic building where it will manufacture and distribute healthcare products like soaps, shampoos and skin cleaners for sale to retailers such as Costco and CVS. The company is based in Illinois.

Kansas

DHL Hub Moving to Kansas City

DHL International Ltd. is moving its Columbia, Mo., ground transportation hub to Kansas City, Kan. The company will lease 69,000 square feet and create 130 jobs

Kentucky

Amazon.com Opening Sixth Kentucky Distribution Center

Seattle-based Amazon.com announced in October it will open its sixth Kentucky distribution center, this one in Hebron, Ky. It's the second facility for the online retailer in Hebron. The 543,000-square-foot facility will house about 70 workers. Amazon.com currently operates distribution centers in Campbellsville, Lexington, Louisville and Hebron.

Louisiana

New Orleans’s First Big Deal Post-Katrina

Tenet Healthcare Corp., announced in late October that it plans to invest nearly $500 million to establish a new healthcare network in New Orleans. The healthcare provider was the largest in the New Orleans region prior to hurricane Katrina's devastation to parts of the city. The hurricane damaged two of Tenet's urban campuses, the Memorial Medical Center and the Lindy Boggs Medical Center. Both hospitals remain closed. Three of the other hospitals in the New Orleans region operated by the company were damaged. Tenet officials have said that the damage caused by Katrina will give the company an opportunity to "reinvent" how it will offer healthcare services in the future. The proposed new healthcare network has been named the NOLA Regional Health Network.

Maryland

FedEx Ground Opens $70M Maryland Hub

Ground carrier FedEx Ground has opened a new distribution center in Hagerstown, Md. The 325,000 square-foot, $70 million hub will employ 400. The Hagerstown center is part of the company's expansion plan, which includes 290 terminals and is expected to be completed in 2010.

Chubb Corp. Bringing 200 Jobs to Baltimore

The Chubb Corp. plans to open a commercial insurance processing center in Baltimore by the end of 2006, bringing up to 200 jobs to the state.

Sparta to Add 100 Jobs in Columbia

Sparta Inc., which provides engineering services to the Department of Defense, has doubled its Columbia office space in anticipation of hiring 100 new employees. The company recently signed a deal for almost 67,000 square feet of office space and will move into the new space by May 2006.

Mississippi

SeverCorr Drawing More Companies to Lowndes County

Local development officials now anticipate that the 1.2 million square-foot, $750 million SeverCorr steel mill currently under construction in the Golden Triangle Industrial Park will draw more than the 1,000 indirect jobs to Lowndes County than originally projected. Recently announced projects include a $21 million, 300,000-square-foot Baldor Electric Co. plant that will create 150-175 new jobs. Talley Defense Systems is building a $7 million facility that will create 100 jobs and Aurora Flight Sciences is building a $7 million plant that will initially create 30 jobs.

Two Georgia-Pacific Plants to Reopen

Georgia-Pacific Corp. will bring 500 jobs to southwest Mississippi by reopening two mills. The plywood plant in Gloster and sawmill in Roxie will restart operations after being closed about three years ago. The state of Mississippi estimates that more than 1,000 indirect jobs will be created by suppliers.

Monotech/PSP Industries Expands

Monotech/PSP Industries has expanded its Tishomingo County operation. The expansion will create about 100 new jobs, most of which will be welders and fitters. The company manufactures air pollution control structures for the electric power industry. About 200 workers currently work at the 400,000-square-foot plant.

Missouri

Accent Opening New Call Center in Missouri

Accent Marketing Services LLC, an international provider of customer relationship management solutions, is opening a new inbound call center in Farmington, Mo., an hour south of St. Louis. The center will create 450 new jobs by late 2006.

Express Scripts Moves to UMSL

Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy-benefit management companies in North America, will build its new corporate headquarters on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). More than 1,100 corporate positions will relocate to the facility in March 2007 and as many as 480 additional jobs are expected to be added within the next five years.

North Carolina

Lenovo Selects Morrisville for $84M, 400-job Deal

China-based Personal computer maker Lenovo will spend $84 million to build a campus in Morrisville, adding 400 new jobs over the next five years. The expansion will bring Lenovo’s Triangle workforce to 2,220.

New York-based Human Resources Firm Moving HQ to Raleigh

Human resources firm Headway Corporate Resources Inc. is moving its corporate headquarters from New York City to Raleigh and also opening a national recruitment center in Tarboro - a $4.25 million investment that will create 188 jobs. In Tarboro, Headway will move into a vacant Sprint building.

Barloworld expansion to Add 90 jobs in Charlotte

Industrial equipment company Barloworld Handling is expanding with a 109,000 square-foot facility that could eventually add 90 jobs. The company plans to start construction before the end of 2005 on a $10.3 million building.

Ericsson Moving Division to Raleigh

Telecom equipment giant Ericsson is moving the research and development operations of its Internet Protocol Infrastructure division to Raleigh from Rockville, Md. It plans to hire about 45 employees.

60-Job Deal Announced in Harnett County

Boon Edam Tomsed Inc. is planning a $4.2 million expansion in Harnett County that is designed to create 60 new jobs over the next three years. Boon Edam Tomsed Inc., a manufacturer of revolving doors and crowd control products, is consolidating two operations in California and Utah and relocating them to its existing Harnett County facility.

CPA Organization to Bring 360 jobs to Durham

In a cost-cutting move, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) plans to relocate 360 jobs to Durham from New York City and Jersey City, N.J. AICPA said it made the decision to help deal with the escalation of labor costs in the New York metropolitan area. The organization will incur a first-year cost of $49 million with the move, but expects to save $10 million to $11 million per year over a 15-year period.

DHL to Build at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport

Package delivery giant DHL Holdings Inc. plans to build a $6 million service center at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport that will consolidate its area operations and employ 175. The 80,200 square-foot operation will be DHL's largest U.S. airport service center.

Energy Group to Add Jobs in Charlotte

The Electric Power Research Institute, the electric utility industry's main research organization, plans to add more than 150 jobs in Charlotte over the next few years. The group occupies 153,000 square feet in two facilities at University Research Park and may add a third building in 2006, perhaps outside the research park.

GE Announces $78M, 200-job Wilmington expansion

General Electric plans to invest $78 million to expand and renovate its nuclear and aircraft engine operations in Wilmington. The expansion will create 200 new jobs. GE will build 18,000 square feet of new office space and renovate another 20,000 square feet of existing space.

Oklahoma

Orchids Paper Expands at MidAmerica

Orchids Paper Products broke ground on a 60,000-square-foot expansion of its facilities at the MidAmerica Industry Park, located in Pryor, Okla. The company makes paper products at the plant. About 50 new jobs are expected to be added to the current employee base of 250.

Pliant Adds Jobs

The Pliant Corp., a producer of packaging for the food industry, is adding new equipment and about 50 new workers at its facilities in McAlester, Okla. The company is adding 45,000 square feet of manufacturing space. The deal represents an investment of about $15 million.

South Carolina

CitiFinancial Hiring 800

Citigroup Inc. is moving about 700 Charlotte employees across the border to a 165,000-square-foot center in Fort Mill, S.C. and has announced it will hire an additional 800 workers there. The customer service facility works collections for Citigroup's CitiFinancial consumer credit division.

Italian Flooring Company Locates in Chester County

Margaritelli, an Italian manufacturer of wood flooring, is relocating to Chester County from Massachusetts. With a $4 million investment, Margaritelli is moving near the community of Richburg and hiring 65 employees. The company will add a manufacturing operation to the site, marking the first time Margaritelli will produce wood flooring in the United States.

Tennessee

Schering-Plough Enters Growth Mode

Schering-Plough Corp. is expanding its distribution presence in Memphis and has signed a 156,250-square-foot lease at Memphis Distribution Center.

Aegis Grows in Memphis

Aegis Interworld is consolidating its New York and Dallas offices into Memphis and relocating into a new 13,000-square-foot office where it will employ 40. Aegis, which relocated to Memphis in August 2005, is a provider of outsourcing solutions.

Scott Paper Investing $30M in Memphis

Scott Paper Limited is investing $30 million in its Memphis mill to double capacity. The initial investment of $10 million will be used to speed up two machines currently in operation at the mill, which will increase production capacity by 10,000 tons in the first quarter of 2006.

Pinnacle Foods Bringing 200 Jobs to Jackson

Pinnacle Foods Group, Inc. is expanding its Jackson, Tenn. facility to absorb operations from another plant the company closed in Erie, Pa. The $13 million expansion will mean 200 new jobs and an addition of 14,000 square feet.

Texas

Austin is Samsung's Choice for $3.5B Chip Plant

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the world's largest maker of computer-memory chips, plans to build a $3.5 billion, 300mm chip manufacturing plant in Austin. Samsung will employ 700 full-time workers at the new plant.

Sunoco to Bring 149 Jobs to Sugar Land

Philadelphia-based Sunoco Logistics Partners will locate its western division headquarters and 149 jobs in Sugar Land. The move is expected to take place in February 2006.

Start-up Business-jet Factory to Create 135 Jobs

A precision engineering and manufacturing group is investing up to $7 million in a start-up plant in Grand Prairie to make the tail section for a new class of business jet. Hampson Aerospace Inc., whose parent is United Kingdom-based Hampson Industries P.L.C., has the exclusive contract to build the tail section for the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet -- a contract valued at $500 million over its lifetime.

Schlumberger Moving U.S. Headquarters to Houston

Oilfield services giant Schlumberger Ltd. is relocating its U.S. corporate offices from New York to Houston in the second half of 2006 in a move that will place the company closer to key engineering and operational facilities. The relocation was designed as a step toward improving the company's focus on growth in the oilfield services sector. Currently, Schlumberger employs more than 8,000 people in the Houston area.

Countrywide to Add 1500 New Jobs in Plano

Countrywide Financial Corp., which late in 2004 announced plans to create 5,000 new jobs in Richardson, Tex., is buying a 420,000 square-foot office campus in Plano where it will be hiring about 1,500 more new employees.

AMD Submits Plans for $200M Campus

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has sent strong signals of its intent to move forward with plans to develop a massive corporate campus in Southwest Austin. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker has hired a general contractor for the project and has submitted a plat map to the City of Austin's planning department. Construction on the new campus is set to begin in early 2006, with employees beginning to move there in early 2007.

Company Moves West Coast Operations to North Richland Hills

Triad Financial Corp. will bring much of its West Coast call center operations to North Richland Hills. The move will bring 270 positions to the company's Texas call center and increase its existing 72,000-square-foot back-office space there by as much as 70 percent.

Travel Agency Call Center Announces 160 New Jobs for San Antonio

SatoTravel plans to add 160 additional personnel in San Antonio to join 210 employees already working on the city’s northwest side. SatoTravel is a division of Englewood, Colo.-based TQ3 Navigant, one of the largest travel-management business services providers.

Virginia

Micron Technology Announces 860-Job Deal in Manassas

Micron Technology will invest $1.2 billion in its Manassas plant and bring 860 jobs to the city, more than doubling the plant's current employment. The company has been upgrading its existing plant to produce a new line of its 300mm flash memory chips.

High-Tech Jobs for Rural Russell County

CGI-AMS Inc., is investing $6 million to open a software development and systems integration facility in Russell County, Va. The company provides IT services to the government and the private sector and will create 300 new jobs within 30 months.

StarTek Opening Third Virginia Facility

StarTek Inc., a provider of business process outsourcing services, announced in the fall quarter it is opening a customer care facility in the City of Petersburg. The company will create about 500 new jobs. StarTek provides services primarily to the telecommunications industry.

UnitedHealth Expanding in Roanoke

UnitedHealth Group is expanding its presence in the City of Roanoke. The company, which is now involved in the new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit program, is adding 250 jobs to its current base of 160 employees.

West Virginia

 BB&T Hiring 150

Financial services company BB&T is adding 150 new jobs at the company's Charleston, W.V. service center. The operations center was established in West Virginia's capital city in 2002.

BPB America Building Wallboard Plant

BPB America, a manufacturer of wall and ceiling products, announced it will build a $100 million wallboard plant next to American Electric Power's Mitchell electric plant. The project will result in the creation of about 200 new jobs.

QUIZ ANSWER

Virginia (2), Texas (3) and Maryland (4) are the three Southern states that rank in the top five U.S. states in the value of DoD contracts. Florida, Missouri, Alabama and Kentucky rank in the top 15 and Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee rank in the top 25.