September 7, 2007

Rail Car Maker Picks Alabama for $350 Million Plant; Will Create an Estimated 1,800 Jobs in Muscle Shoals Area

National Alabama Corp., a new subsidiary of Canada’s National Industries, Inc., began work on a rail-car factory in the Shoals region of northwest Alabama. The mile-long facility is expected to employ 1,800 people, and represents a planned investment estimated at $350 million. The plant will be able to turn out 8,000 to 10,000 rail cars a year. Company officials said work at the site was to begin within weeks after the project was announced in mid-July. The company is aiming to start production by early 2009, with full output within a year. National Industries is the parent of long-time rail car manufacturer National Steel Car Ltd. National was awarded state and local incentives that could total as much as $140 million.

Faustina to Build $1.6 Billion Ammonia Plant in Louisiana

Faustina Hydrogen Products expects to start construction late in 2007, or early 2008, on a $1.6 billion ammonia plant, in St. James Parish, La. The facility will have the capability of producing 4,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia a day - and other products - using petroleum coke and high sulfur coal instead of more costly natural gas. The plant is expected to create 200 jobs when it starts operating in 2010. Faustina has agreements to sell ammonia output to two fertilizer producers: Mosaic Fertilizer and Agrium Inc.  Faustina is a unit of U.S. Transcarbon, primarily owned by Green Rock Energy, which was formed by D.E. Shaw & Co. and investment bank Goldman, Sachs & Co., to invest in coal and petroleum coke gasification projects.

Pratt Industries Will Expand Statesville, N.C., Plant

Pratt Industries plans to invest $33 million to expand its Statesville, N.C., corrugated cardboard facility. The Australia-based company will add 68 jobs, bringing its total Statesville workforce to 170.

New Thieman Venture Will Add 44 Jobs at N.C. Facility

Thieman Metal Technologies, a contract metal fabricator, is investing $555,000 to create a new business, Revo Industries, within its existing Ellenboro, N.C., facility that will employ 44 people. Revo will powder coat, assemble and produce turn-key products for industrial and construction customers. Thieman currently employs about 70 people in North Carolina

Danish Turbine-Blade Maker to Create 1,000 Jobs in Arkansas

LM Glasfiber plans to invest $150 million in a plant in Little Rock, Ark., to make fiberglass blades for power-generating wind turbines. The facility will also house a worker training center and the Denmark-based company’s North American headquarters, and will employ more than 1,000 people within five years. LM Glasfiber has blade-making plants in Grand Forks, N.D., and Gaspé, Quebec.

Eastman Chemical Will Invest $1.3 Billion in Tenn. Complex

Eastman Chemical Co., one of Tennessee’s largest industrial employers with 7,500 workers, said in July it plans to invest more than $1.3 billion over five years in its Kingsport, Tenn., operations. Plans are to spend $265 million in each of the next five years to upgrade technology, infrastructure, research and development, and production at the massive manufacturing complex in northeast Tennessee. The plant is one of the largest manufacturing complexes in the entire South.

Bennett International Will Create 150 Jobs at New Georgia Plant

Bennett International Group, said it plans to build a 62,500-square-foot factory in Tennille, Ga., for a new venture, Bennett Building Systems, which will manufacture and sell metal utility buildings. The $6.5 million plant will create more than 150 jobs. A global transportation company, Bennett International is one of the biggest privately held, woman-owned enterprises in the U.S.

North Carolina Lands U.K. Aerospace Supplier’s Factory

Nasmyth Group, a global aerospace supplier based in the United Kingdom, will invest $15 million in its first plant and a North American headquarters in Newberry, S.C., which will employ 100 people.  Nasmyth formed a new subsidiary, NPP Inc., to operate its U.S.-based manufacturing business. Nasmyth Group is a tier one supplier; its customers include Rolls Royce, Airbus, Raytheon and Boeing.

Sub-Zero Wolf Is Building a Factory in Kentucky

The luxury appliance maker, Sub-Zero Wolf Inc., has chosen Richmond, Ky., for a $35.5 million factory that will create 100 jobs.

Kimberly-Clark Picks Kansas for Big Distribution Center

Kimberly-Clark said it will open a 450,000-square-foot distribution center in Kansas City, Kan., at the New Century AirCenter, 20 miles from Kansas City, Mo.

Work Begins on American Railcar’s New Arkansas Factory

American Railcar Industries, Inc. said construction started in July on a new plant at its Marmaduke, Ark., site. The company is also in the midst of another expansion project in Marmaduke, and one in Paragould, Ark. Altogether the three projects represent a $51 million investment and will create 300 jobs. The company is a major producer of covered hopper and tank rail cars.

Aircraft Insulation Maker Will Expand Arkansas Plant

HITCO Carbon Composites, Inc. will spend $1.8 million to increase its aircraft insulation manufacturing operations in Arkadelphia, Ark., and expects to add 60 employees in the next five years. HITCO is a unit of the SGL Group.

RSI Home Products’ Expansion in N.C. to Create 400 Jobs

RSI Home Products plans a $15 million, 350,000-square- foot addition to its manufacturing plant in Lincoln County, N.C., which will create 400 jobs. RSI makes kitchen and bathroom cabinets and countertops; its customers include Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Dassault to Double Size of Its Little Rock Service Center

Dassault Aircraft Services, in mid-August, announced a $10 million expansion of its Little Rock Service Center, doubling the square footage by the end of next year, and adding 100 employees over the next three years.

Chemical Firm Employs 44 at $14 Million Arkansas Plant

Norphlet Chemical said, in early August, it was ready to begin producing R134A auto air-conditioning refrigerant at its new $14 million facility in Norphet, Ark., with a workforce of 44.

Experian Increases Workforce at Arkansas Call Center

Experian, a Calif.-based firm providing credit reports and analysis online, said in August it would add 100 employees, increasing the workforce to 550 at its Van Buren, Ark., phone center. Opened in December 2006, the 52,000-square-foot center has 600 phone stations; it consolidated operations at two call centers in the Philippines that Experian closed.

Next