June 15, 2007

Alabama Beats Louisiana for $3.7 Billion ThyssenKrupp Steel Facility Expected to Create 2,700 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. In winning what may be the biggest private industrial development project of the decade, Alabama offered TK $811 million in cash and tax incentives, and the Alabama State Port Authority promised to invest at least $115 million at the Port of Mobile, less than Louisiana's $197 million, which reflected the extensive work that needed to be done at the proposed site near Baton Rouge.

Port Mobile will build a terminal where steel slabs from a TK mill in Brazil are to be transferred from ships and onto barges for delivery some 45 miles to the new steel making and processing complex in northern Mobile County.

On June 5, Alabama voters approved increasing the state Capital Improvement Trust Fund’s borrowing limit by $400 million, of which $195 million is to be given to ThyssenKrupp AG as part of the incentive package. The special election drew a small voter turnout, but tallied a comfortable majority of yes votes.

The company’s steel and stainless divisions will jointly build and operate the Alabama facility. The complex will have a state-of-the-art hot-strip mill to serve both steel and stainless operations. With annual capacity of 5.2 million metric tons, the joint-use mill will process 3 million tons of slabs from Brazil, plus processing up to 1 million tons made in an electric mill to be built at the Alabama site.

Construction is expected to create 29,000 jobs and begin by year’s end, according to TK’s projections. The plant will serve industries including automotive, construction, electrical and utility, in addition to serving manufacturers of appliances, precision machinery and engineered products.
         
Initially setting its investment at $2.9 billion, ThyssenKrupp upped the figure some weeks later to $3.7 billion, to cover increased steel and stainless capacity, as well as additional equipment to broaden the facility’s product line. (The dollar value of the project will change with fluctuations in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar vis a vis the Euro, the European Union currency, which is stronger than the U.S. dollar.)

TK executives said the project is the central element in its strategy to increase sales of steel and stainless steel in North America, where it already is a significant supplier.

ThyssenKrupp has been a part of U.S. history for 170 years, dating back to 1837 when Alfred Krupp, founder of predecessor company Krupp, provided coin-minting machine prototypes.

Mercedes Helped Recruit ThyssenKrupp to Alabama

Mercedes-Benz executives helped convince TK to choose Alabama, Mercedes’ choice in 1993 for an auto assembly plant. They discussed the quality of the work force and support the state’s industrial development training office could provide.

>From its $300 million investment in an SUV assembly plant in Vance, which went on line in 1997, Mercedes now has more than $1 billion invested in the 3 million-square-foot complex, with 4,000 workers producing three models. Last year, it churned out 173,600 vehicles.

ThyssenKrupp has long supplied steel to DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes’ former parent. But no decision has been made about the carmaker’s Alabama plant buying steel from TK’s Alabama facility.

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.

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.

Universities in Five Southern States Join Auto Research Alliance

Seven universities–in Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky– joined an automotive research consortium, organized by the National Transportation Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Oak Ridge provided the initial funding. The alliance will be a clearinghouse for information on research and technology resources in the South.

“In the Southeast we've had automotive manufacturing grow, but not areas like design and testing,” said Kirk Schulz, Mississippi State University’s Research and Economic Development vice president.  “What we want to do is market the Southeast as a place where these things can occur as well.” In addition to MSU, the universities in the alliance are: Tennessee, Auburn, Clemson, Alabama, UAB and Kentucky.

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.

Louisiana Economic Development Wins CoreNet Award

CoreNet Global, which calls itself the world's leading professional association of corporate real estate executives, awarded its Leadership & Innovation Award to Louisiana’s Economic Development agency. The agency was cited for “refining and creating strategies to address the unique needs of citizens and businesses following hurricanes and Katrina and Rita.”

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.

Last year, GE teamed up with the Mississippi State University (MSU) College of Engineering’s Raspet lab and successfully demonstrated the production of composite components for jet engines. GE said that was an important factor in deciding to build the factory in Mississippi.

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 is Enlarging Columbus County N.C. 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.

The Midland facility will take over optical-fiber production from Corning’s Wilmington, N.C., factory. That plant will concentrate on meeting increasing demand for semiconductor-related products. The once thriving Midland factory, opened in 1999 and a year later had 900 workers. The property covers 1.2 million square feet on 250 acres; Corning had $600 million sunk in the facility when it closed in 2002.

Leading Independent Hardware Distributor Picks Kilgore, Texas, for $50 Million Distribution Center

Orgill, Inc., started construction on a 554,000-square-foot, $50 million warehouse and shipping center in Kilgore, Texas. The facility is expected to begin operating in the first quarter of 2008 with 100 employees, rising to 300 in five years. The Memphis, Tenn.-based company books revenue of $1 billion a year, supplying more than 70,000 different products to independent hardware stores, home centers and lumber yards in the U.S. and overseas. Located 120 miles east of Texas and 70 miles west of Shreveport, La., the new center will serve customers in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Karlee Co., Building Plant in Texas Border Town, Creating Up to 150 Jobs

Karlee Co., an electronics equipment maker, said it will build a plant in the border city of McAllen, Texas, to serve its customers doing business in Mexico. The facility will employ 10 people to begin with and should have 50 to 75 employees next year, and up to 150 in five years. Karlee makes equipment for telecommunications, medical, defense, automotive and semiconductor customers.

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.

Cannon Automotive Solutions Will Create 100 Jobs at Stamping Plant Being Built in Kentucky

Cannon Automotive Solutions, Inc., an affiliate of Canada-based Electromac Group, plans to spend $13.1 for a new factory in Bowling Green, Ky.  The facility will produce component stampings for Ford’s 2009 F-150 pickup trucks. The 59,500-square-foot facility is expected to be completed in October, and employ up to 100 workers in its first five years of operation.

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.

Honda’s $64.5 Million Steel Project to Add 20 Jobs at Alabama Auto Factory

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama LLC has started construction on a $64.5 million, 2,700-square-foot steel-banking facility next to an existing stamping operation. The addition will create 20 more jobs at the Talladega County auto plant, which produces more than 300,000 cars a year.

Berg Steel Pipe Plans 100 Jobs at New Mobile, Ala., Operation

Berg Steel Pipe Corp. is investing $75 million in a plant in Mobile, Ala., to produce large-diameter spiral pipe for the oil and gas industry. The deal will create at least 100 full-time jobs. Berg is part of the German Europipe family of pipe mills, and employs about 230 people at its Panama City, Fla., facility.

Degussa Plans $10 Million Expansion in Mobile, Ala.

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.

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