Spring 2007
Relocations and Expansions
QUIZ
How many major automotive assembly plants, including the two being built and those in Alabama, are located within 200 miles of Birmingham, Alabama?
(a) 6 (b) 5 (c) 12 (d) 9
(Scroll down for answer)
ALABAMA
Alabama Wins $3.7 Billion ThyssenKrupp Steel Plant Promising 2,700 New Jobs
Alabama triumphed over Louisiana in the contest to win the $3.7 billion ThyssenKrupp AG steel-mill complex, which is projected to employ 2,700 workers by 2010. Alabama proffered $811 million in cash and tax incentives plus the State Port Authority’s pledge to invest at least $115 million at Port of Mobile, where TK plans to bring slabs from its steel mill in Brazil.
Sikorsky Aircraft expands in Huntsville, to Add 165 Jobs
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. opened a 30,000-square-foot facility in Huntsville to support U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters and other military aviation programs. Sikorsky’s Huntsville workforce of 65 is expected to increase to 160 next year.
Berg Steel Pipe Plans 100 Jobs at New Mobile Operation
Berg Steel Pipe Corp. is investing $75 million in a plant to produce large-diameter spiral pipe for the oil and gas industry. It will create at least 100 full-time jobs.
Degussa to Invest $10 Million to Expand Mobile Capability
A high-tech foam used in the giant Airbus A380 airliner and skis will be made at a $10 million plant Degussa AG plans to build at the company's Mobile site. The facility is expected to add about 14 jobs.
BAE Systems Picks Warrior River Steel Site Near Cordova for Ammunition Plant
Defense contractor BAE Systems said it will lease a plant at the Warrior River Steel site and hire 30 to 40 workers to produce ammunition systems for the new U.S. Navy Zumwalt class warship, also known as the DDG 1000. BAE has nearly 1,000 employees in Alabama, at facilities in Anniston and Huntsville.
Honda Picks GKN Aerostructures’ Alabama Plant to Make Components for New Honda Business Jets
Honda's new aircraft manufacturing unit said the GKN Aerostructures plant in Tallassee, Ala. will produce carbon-fiber-composite fuselages for the new Honda light business jet. The new jet will be built at a new plant at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. Honda has said it plans to deliver the fuel-efficient business jets starting in 2010.
SCA Tissue Investing $145 Million in Machinery, Adding 30 Jobs, at Barton, Ala., Factory
SCA Tissue North America said it would invest $145 million for new papermaking machinery at its Barton, Ala., plant. The plant will add 30 people to its current work force of 400.The new equipment will increase tissue production to 170,000 tons a year.
ARKANSAS
Dassault Will Invest $20 Million in Little Rock Facility,
Add 200 Employees
Dassault Falcon Jet said it plans to spend $20 million for a 116,000- square-foot addition to its Little Rock, Ark., business-jet completion center. Dassault expects to hire more than 200 people over the next two years.
Drilling Equipment Maker Will Create 175 Jobs in England, Ark.
England OilField Services Inc., plans to build a plant to manufacture oil and gas drilling equipment in England, Ark., 20 miles southeast of Little Rock. The 33,000-square-foot facility will create 175 jobs. The company said it hopes to begin production late this year.
Anchor Packaging Plans to Expand Paragould Plant
The planned expansion of manufacturing operations at Anchor Packaging’s Paragould, Ark., plant will create 69 more jobs. Besides Paragould, Anchor has operations in Marmaduke, Ark., with total employment of about 600 in Greene County, Ark.
Baldor Electric Will Add 100 Jobs at Fort Smith, Ark., Plant
Baldor Electric Co. said it will close an electric-motor factory in Madison, Ind., acquired when it took over Reliance Electric Co., and will add 100 to the work force at its Fort Smith, Ark., electric-motor plant.
FLORIDA
Unison Industries to Boost Employment by 100 at Jacksonville Plant
Unison Industries LLC, a unit of GE Engine Services Inc., said it plans to add 100 jobs at its Jacksonville factory that makes electrical and mechanical aircraft components. The company said it expects a 20 percent sales increase and will increase its marketing, sales and engineering staffs.
Laney & Duke Completes Large Distribution and Supply Logistics Center in Jacksonville
Laney & Duke, which provided logistics, warehouse and transportation services to many Fortune 500 companies, recently completed construction of a 400,000-square-foot distribution center in Jacksonville.
GEORGIA
State Gained 12,500 Jobs Last year
The Georgia Department of Economic Development said statewide data show that 204 new or expanding companies created 2,500 new jobs in 2006.
Target opens giant Savannah warehouse
Target Corp. opened, in June, a 2 million-square-foot import warehouse in Savannah, with more than 100 employees to handle overseas cargo and merchandise for Target's Southeast stores.
KANSAS
TECT Aerospace Expanding Kansas Operations to Park City
TECT Aerospace, which has factories in Wichita and Wellington, plans to open a third plant in Park City, where it will invest $7 million to renovate and equip a plant that will create 80 jobs in the next five years. The company is a division of TECT Corp. of Thomasville, Ga.
Aircraft Component Maker Plans New Factory in Wichita, with 40 Additional Jobs
Triumph Aerospace Systems Inc., which makes windshields, windows and other airplane parts, will build a 39,600-square-foot plant in Wichita and add 40 more employees to its workforce of 140.
KENTUCKY
James Marine Expanding in Paducah, Ky., Adding 45 Jobs
James Marine said it will invest over $2 million in a new operation to produce specialty vessels, including towboats and tugs that will create 45 or more jobs. James Marine employs more than 650 workers in its many marine enterprises. These include, towing on the Tennessee River, barge and boat repair, as well as 13 dry docks for servicing vessels, and new vessel construction.
Crane Maker to Expand in Kentucky, Creating 120 Jobs
Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co. said it will invest $24 million to increase crane production and support capabilities at its Lexington, Ky., headquarters, upping employment by 120.
Mauer Investing $10.8 Million in Plant in Boone County, Ky.
Mauer USA is building a plastic-injection molding factory that will create 100 jobs in Boone County, Ky. The 40,000-square-foot facility, to cost $10.8 million, will produce caps and closures for the U.S. packaging industry.
Psion Teklogix Decides to Expand in Covington, Ky., Area
Psion Teklogix, a mobile computing and data processing provider, had considered leaving Boone County, Ky., until officials put together an incentive package. The company has agreed to stay–and to expand its operations. Monica Salvo, a spokeswoman for Canadian-based Psion Teklogix, said the expansion would include the addition of about 80 jobs over the next 10 years. When it’s is completed, Psion will move into a new building that the developer hopes to start constructing soon.
Louisville research firm adds 350 workers for Medicare job
Wilkerson & Associates LLC hired 350 more employees for a total of 600 workers at its bi-lingual call centers gathering information for a Medicare survey. The research firm has call centers in Louisville, Madisonville, Hopkinsville and Henderson, Ky.
PharMerica’s New Louisville Headquarters to Create 200 Jobs
PharMerica Corporation, a new publicly traded pharmaceutical company, will locate its corporate headquarters in Louisville, creating 200 new jobs. The company, formed by the combination of AmerisourceBergen Corporation’s and Kindred Healthcare, Inc.’s institutional pharmacy businesses, will constitute the second largest national provider of institutional pharmacy services.
LOUISIANA
ACCENT Marketing Will Open 370-Worker Call Center in Louisiana
ACCENT Marketing Services plans to open a facility to handle service calls from Boost Mobile cell-phone customers. Employment at the 320-seat center, expected to start up in August, will employ about 370 people by year’s end, and eventually could need 550 workers.
MARYLAND
Cinectic Landis Grinding to Build Factory, Creating 150 Jobs In Washington County
Cinetic Landis Grinding Corp., a global producer of precision grinding systems is investing $10.5 million to move manufacturing and assembly from Waynesboro, Penn., to an 85,000-square-foot plant to be built in Washington County. The Groupe Fives-Lille unit expects the new facility to create 150 jobs.
MISSISSIPPI
Comcast is Bringing 600 Jobs to Madison County, Miss.
Cable company Comcast said it plans to open, in August, a customer service center in Madison County, Miss., with a staff of more than 600, bringing the company’s statewide employment to 1,400.
PACCAR Will Invest $300 Million in New Mississippi Factory
Truck manufacturer PACCAR will build an engine plant on a 394-acre site in Lowndes County, Miss. The company is investing $300 million in the factory, which will create 500 jobs. Production is expected to begin in 2010.
GE Picks Batesville, Miss., for Jet Engine Component Factory
General Electric Co.’s GE Aviation division will start construction on a 200,000-square-foot plant in Batesville, Miss. The facility will produce carbon fiber and epoxy resin components for jet engines. It is expected to create 110 jobs in the first 18 months of operation.
MISSOURI
Vari-Form Picks Liberty for Its First U.S. Factory
Canadian auto parts-maker Vari-Form is investing $8 million in a factory in Liberty, its first in the U.S. Due to start production before year’s end, the facility will create 40 jobs.
T-Mobile to Add 200 More Jobs at Springfield Center
T-Mobile plans to increase the labor force at its Springfield customer service center from 600 to about 800.
Express Scripts Opens New Headquarters on University of Missouri-St. Louis Campus
Express Scripts Inc. officially opened its new corporate headquarters building at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in June. Express Scripts is one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S.
Missouri Gained 4,100 jobs in May
Missouri employers added 4,100 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis in May. That brings total jobs created since January 2005 to 94,300.
NORTH CAROLINA
Copper Pipe Producer is Expanding North Carolina Plant
KobeWieland Copper Products will invest $71 million to increase manufacturing capacity at its Pine Hill, N.C., plant, creating 65 jobs over the next three years. The international supplier of copper pipe and tubing for air condition and plumbing uses employs 483 people at the Pine Hill factory.
Top Tobacco Announces Addition to Columbus County Plant
Roll-your-own company Top Tobacco said it will spend $16.8 million over the next three years to build and equip an 18,800-square-foot addition at its Lake Waccamaw, N.C., factory. It will add 70 employees, increasing the factory workforce to 160.
Corning Is Opening North Carolina Optical Fiber Plant Mothballed in 2002
Citing increased demand for optical fiber, Corning Inc., said it is starting up the Midland, N.C., optical fiber factory it closed five years ago, when it had 550 workers. A “very small” work force will be needed when production resumes in six to nine months, a spokeswoman said.
New Jersey Plastics Fabricator Moving to Ayden from New Jersey
CMI Plastics will open a $7.1 million manufacturing facility in Ayden, N,C., creating 165 jobs over the next three years. Founded in 1939, CMI Plastics is moving its operations from Cranbury, N.J.
Aludisc Opening Aluminum Products Plant in Clinton
Aludisc LLC will invest $3.3 million in a manufacturing facility in Clinton, creating 70 jobs. Aludisc makes discs for the aluminum container industry; it is a sister company of Alumino del Centro C.A. of Caracas, Venezuela.
Valdese Weavers Will Expand Burke Facility, Add 61 Jobs
Valdese Weavers said it will spend $19.3 million to expand its manufacturing facilities in Burke County, creating 61 jobs. The company, has operated in the state for 72 years.
California Firm Picks Kinston for New Factory
AG Machining Inc. will invest $1.6 million on a manufacturing facility in Kinston that will employ 29 people. The California-based company specializes in metal fabrication and machining and powder coating for the printing and computer industries. This will be its first plant on the east coast.
Duke buys wind-power business from Tierra
Duke Energy Corp. has bought Tierra Energy's wind-power development business for an undisclosed amount of money. The deal includes more than 1,000 megawatts of wind-development projects under way in the western and southwestern U.S. Three projects, in Texas and Wyoming, are expected to be operational by the end of 2008.
OKLAHOMA
Google Picks Oklahoma for $600-million, 200-Job Data Center
Google Inc. is building another data center far from its Santa Ana, Calif., roots. This one will be located in Pryor, Okla., near Tulsa. Like the data center Google announced for South Carolina, in the spring, the Pryor center is budgeted at $600 million, and when fully operational will employ 200. The first building, a vacant structure in the MidAmerican Industrial Park, will be refitted and is expected to be operating by summer or fall of 2008. Then construction is to start on a new structure.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Google Chooses 520 acres in South Carolina for Data Center Creating 200 Jobs
Search engine giant Google Inc., selected 520 acres in Goose Creek, S.C., for a $600 million data center that will house about 200 employees. This is one of a network of large centers Google will operate on the East Coast. Another is being built in Lenoir, N.C.
Starbucks Announces new Roasting Plant in South Carolina
Starbucks Coffee Co. will start building a 150,000-square-foot roasting plant in St. Matthews, S.C. Expected to start up in early 2009, the plant will have about 160 full-time employees.
Florida-Based Tank Maker Will Create 150 Jobs in Chester
Florida-based JRS Custom Fabrication, which designs and produces fuel tanks, trailers, weatherproof enclosures and related components, for the power generation industry will invest $3.5 million on a new plant in Chester, S.C. that will create 150 jobs.
Fixture Maker to Invest $3 Million in Rock Hill, S.C., Facility
L.A. Darling, a Paragould, Ark.-based maker of retail fixtures and display cases, plans to spend $3 million to set up a plant in Rock Hill, S.C., to refurbish fixtures that will employ 50 people.
TENNESSEE
Arch Plastics Plans to Ramp Up Production at Chattanooga Plant, Adding 90 Jobs
With production nearly booked to the limit through year-end, Arch Plastics Packaging said it is adding equipment and employees to meet increasing demand at its Chattanooga facility. The pharmaceutical-bottle maker anticipates increasing its workforce tenfold to 100 over the next three years.
Starplex Scientific Holds Groundbreaking in Cleveland, Tenn.
Canada-based Starplex Scientific, a manufacturer of clinical and industrial specimen collection and transportation products, broke ground on a 70,000-square-foot facility in the Cleveland/Bradley Industrial Park in the spring quarter. The deal is the first expansion for the company outside of Toronto. About 25 workers will be hired initially.
Sanderson Pipe Building $25 Million Plant in Clarksville
Fla.-based Sanderson Pipe Corp., announced in the spring quarter that it is building a 152,000-square-foot facility in the Clarksville-Montgomery County Corporate Business Park. The company plans to hire 50 people in the first year and expects over 100 employees at the facility within five years. Sanderson makes PVC pipe.
TEXAS
GE invests in $300 Million West Texas wind project
GE Energy Financial Services is putting up $300 million, half the equity, in a 209-megawatt Roscow Wind Farm being developed by Airtricity Inc., in the West Texas counties of Mitchell, Nolan and Scurry.
Leading Independent Hardware Distributor Picks Kilgore, Tex., for $50 Million Distribution Center
Orgill, Inc., is building a 554,000-square-foot, $50 million warehouse and shipping center in Kilgore, Tex., that is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2008 with 100 employees, increasing to 300 in five years. The Memphis-based firm supplies more than 70,000 products to independent hardware stores, home centers and lumber yards in the U.S. and overseas.
Karlee Co. Picks Texas Border Town for 150-Worker Plant
Electronic equipment maker Karlee Co. plans to build a factory in the border city of McAllen, Tex., to serve customers doing business in Mexico. The facility will go online this year with 10 employees, and will employ up to 150 people in five years.
R&D Molders Moves Production to Georgetown
Plastics manufacturer R&D Molders is consolidating its operations in East Austin and Lockhart to a new plant in Georgetown, Tex., with 48 employees.
VIRGINIA
Merck Increasing Production at Elkton Facility, Creating 70 Jobs
Merck & Co. announced a $193 million project to enhance production capabilities at its Elkton operation that will add 70 jobs. In December, Merck announced a $57 million expansion at the Elkton facility.
Wood Products Firm Will Add 30 Jobs in Smyth County
American Wood Fibers, a specialty forestry products company, will invest $9 million and add 30 employees to expand its operations in Smyth County.
WEST VIRGINIA
Emerald Biofuels to Make Biodiesel at Institute, W.Va.
Emerald Biofuels LLC has announced a $15 million project to produce biodiesel fuel at the Bayer CropScience site in Institute, W.Va. Golf, Ill.-based Emerald Biofuels has developed a proprietary process for making biodiesel fuel from soybean oil and other seed crops. Construction of the production facility is expected to start in June, with product shipment by the end of the year. Terms of its agreement with Bayer call for Emerald to produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel fuel annually. At least a dozen employees from Bayer CropScience will support the biodiesel operation.
QUIZ ANSWER
The answer is (d) 9. The auto plants are: Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes in Alabama, Nissan and Toyota (under construction) in Mississippi, Saturn and Nissan in Tennessee, GM in Kentucky and Kia in Georgia (which is also building a new plant).
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