December 15, 2006

We Were Wrong -- Dell Ahead of Schedule in Winston-Salem

Much was written about Dell's incentive package provided by North Carolina and locals in the Piedmont Triad region of the Tar Heel State two years ago. If you "Google" us, you'll find a story where we wrote "North Carolina Paid Too Much for Dell." Rarely, if ever (I think the Dell deal was the first and only) have we written that any state has paid "too much" for a big deal in the South. In fact, we've been accused of being "fiscal liberals" by conservative economic think tanks more times than we can remember because of our staunch support of financial incentives to locate industry to the South. Our opinion on that practice hasn't changed. It was refreshing to learn in the fall quarter that Dell's employment at its plant in Winston-Salem is ahead of schedule. Dell promised the state and locals in Winston-Salem it would employ 750 workers by the end of 2006. As of this writing, (12/13/06), Dell now has 1,178 workers on its payroll at its new plant in Winston-Salem. Good for them, and in the future we will try to make sure we don't forget and continue to practice what we preach.

Looks Like Rumored East Coast Location for Toyota Assembly Plant Might Come True

Reliable sources have told SouthernAutoCorridor.com that Japanese automaker Toyota has narrowed an area of North Carolina in the Piedmont Triad region, a site in Southwest Virginia and and a site in Southside Virginia for a future automotive assembly plant. A location near Greensboro has been favored by the automaker, however, Toyota officials viewed by helicopter an Interstate site that is located southeast of Richmond in rural Southside Virginia during Thanksgiving week.

As we've written several times over the last year or so, Toyota is not looking to build one assembly plant in North America, we believe they are currently considering three new facilities. Since 2003, Toyota has also announced, built or taken over three assembly plants in North America.

Other states in the Southern Auto Corridor are also being looked at by Toyota for future assembly plant operations. Visits were made by the company over the last nine months to Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee. However, we believe the next Toyota assembly plant will be announced in either North Carolina, Southwest or Southside Virginia. (For more news on the South's automotive industry go to www.SouthernAutoCorridor.com)

1,000 Jobs Coming to Durham County, N.C.

Quintiles Transnational Corp. will expand in Durham County, creating 1,000 new jobs and investing $10.1 million during the next six years. Headquartered in Durham, Quintiles is the world's largest clinical research organization measured by global revenue. The privately-held company helps drug makers develop and commercialize new medicines. Its core business is conducting clinical trials under contract to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Quintiles already employs more than 1,000 in the Research Triangle region with employees currently working in Durham and Morrisville. ( For more news about the South's growing life sciences industry, visit www.BioIndustrySouth.com .

Four of Five Southern States Make Top Five List for Best Locations

Site Selection magazine has once again named North Carolina the No. 1 state in the U.S. as the best state for operating a business. The ranking came out in the fall quarter. Following the Tar Heel State was Texas, Ohio, Georgia and Tennessee.

Florida Only Southern State to Break Top Five in Tax Environment Ranking

Only one state in the South made it onto the annual top five ranking done by Washington-D.C.-based non-profit, The Tax Foundation. The list is headed by Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Nevada and Florida.

Samsung Breaks Ground in Austin

One of the most impressive deals turned this year was Samsung's new, $200 million, 300mm chip plant in Austin, Tex. That facility, being built next to an existing Samsung facility, broke ground in the fall quarter. The project, once completed, is expected to have an economic effect on the Austin region of over $3 billion a year.

Big Deal in Tampa Bay

Jabil Circuit is building a new 2 million-square-foot corporate headquarters campus in St. Petersburg on Interstate 275 near Gandy Boulevard. The project will includes both manufacturing and office uses. Also in the fall quarter, Jabil announced an $881 million acquisition, purchasing Taiwan Green Point Enterprises, which, naturally is based in Taiwan.

Big Deal in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Ilinois-based Alberto-Culver Co., announced in mid-December that is is building a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, Ark., that will house about 400 workers. The new plant will produce personal care products such as Alberto VO5, St. Ives and Nexxus brand products. The company is investing $60 million in the deal.

New Megasite Available in South Carolina

In the fall quarter, officials representing Clarendon, Lee and Sumter counties, gathered in a soybean field adjacent to S.C. Highway 527 nearby busy Interstate 95, to celebrate the groundbreaking of the "I-95 Megasite," a 1,263-acre joint industrial park shared by the three rural South Carolina counties. The new I-95 Megasite is the third supersite identified and certified in the Palmetto State.

ServiceMaster Headquarters Moving to Memphis

Fortune 500 company ServiceMaster will move its corporate headquarters to Memphis. The announcement means that more than 150 headquarters positions will be transitioning from the company's current location in Downers Grove, Illinois. In addition, the company will create several hundred additional jobs at the Memphis headquarters over the next five years.

Lockheed Martin Bringing 1,000 Jobs to Houston

After earning a multi-billion dollar contract from NASA to build the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle for America's human spaceflight program, Lockheed Martin has announced that it will bring about 1,000 new jobs to the Houston area. The company will invest $68 million.

New Beef Processing Plant in Oklahoma to Create as Many as 3,000 Jobs

Smithfield Beef Group, Inc. and ContiGroup Companies, Inc. will form and joint venture to build a new beef processing plant in Texas County, Okla. The facility will be the first of its size in more than 20 years in the U.S. and cost is estimated to be $200 million.

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