Ten Places in the South for Emerging Growth Industries

Communities all across the South are building on their assets to attract emerging growth industries such as information technology, semiconductor, life sciences, and numerous others.

By Trisha Ostrowski

In today’s knowledge-based economy, it’s often not the strongest that survive, but the ones most responsive to change.  While the South is known for tradition, communities all across the region are adopting a fresh approach and a new set of priorities to attract high-growth industries.

Southern communities—especially those featured below—are stepping up to compete with the Northeast and West for knowledge-economy jobs.  Some of these markets are using already-in-place attributes, such as the presence of research universities, high quality of life, and low business costs (especially when compared to other technology-rich regions), to compete.  Still others are relying on purposeful action—shoring up R&D capacities, developing worker training programs, building infrastructure, increasing public-private collaborations, and providing resources to high-growth companies in high-growth industries.

Greenville, S.C.

Automotive technology, aviation, advanced materials and life sciences are a few of the emerging high-growth industries Greenville is working to attract.  Over the past two years, the market has seen some exciting developments in these areas.  The Timken Co. has established its automotive R&D center; Caterpillar is setting up marine engine production with a quality engineering center; 3M is engineering and will construct a new, advanced $100 million film production facility; and Cytec Engineered Materials will build a new $150 million carbon fiber production facility to serve the aviation industry.

Particularly in automotive engineering, the Greenville area is building strong infrastructure to fuel success.  In Greenville, Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) is nearing completion of its first “Technology Neighborhood,” where intellectual infrastructure has been put in place to support innovation in the automotive industry.  Clemson’s programs are focused on systems integration, which likely will be valuable and transferable to other emerging growth industries.

Fairfax County and Northern Virginia

Today, Northern Virginia is one of the top technology centers in the world.  In fact, all sectors of the technology industry are represented in Northern Virginia, including information technology, software/hardware, Internet, ISPs, telecommunications, biotechnology, bioinformatics, aerospace, and nanotechnology.  The region has experienced great success in attracting technology companies during the past several decades due in part to the region’s proximity to Washington, D.C.—the epicenter of federal government and related opportunities in federal government contracting.

A “success story” of particular note is the recent addition of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Campus, a cutting-edge facility that will house up to 250 scientists and staff to research some of the world’s toughest biomedical challenges.  Another standout story is the fact that the top export from Virginia is no longer tobacco, but semiconductor chips.  One of the two companies producing these chips—Micron Technologies—is based in Northern Virginia.

Not content to rest in its successes, Northern Virginia continues to maintain a variety of resources to sustain and grow its technology community.  The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC) (Northern Virginia Technology Council) supports entrepreneurs at all stages of their careers, particularly those starting emerging technology companies.  In addition to other programs, the Center for Innovative Technology administers its successful GAP program, which identifies and makes funds available to seed-stage technology firms.  Further, the region’s colleges and universities offer specialized technology business and engineering study programs to help ensure a steady and qualified future workforce for the region’s technology economy as well as being heavily engaged in technology R&D.

Charlotte, N.C.

The Charlotte Area is working to attract and develop fast-growing companies in four key areas.  The first, as you might expect from the home of the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, is motorsports.  As the undisputed center of this industry, Charlotte continues to deepen its motorsports cluster by including the technology side of the business, such as research and development facilities and NASCAR-related film production. 

Greater Charlotte also is growing in the life sciences arena, particularly in the area of nutrition.  The development of the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis is speeding the transformation of this former mill town to a world leader in nutritional research that may help find solutions to the global issues of obesity and proper nutrition.

Also, drawing on its history and status as the nation’s second-largest financial center, Charlotte is targeting the financial security industry that includes securing, moving and tracking financial information around the globe.  The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is helping to fund research and produce students with the skills to work in industries that run the gamut from banking to tracking homeland security operations.

Along with financial security companies, the Charlotte region also is using its unique blend of low energy rates, very low risk of natural disaster, and access to talented network administrators to attract mission critical facilities.  Increasingly, companies are choosing the region for their data storage and processing centers.  Google recently has announced a $600 million facility outside Hickory, N.C., joining a host of companies with similar facilities in the region.

Starkville, Miss.

Starkville is pursuing software design, computer simulation/animation companies, plus portable power firms, silicon carbide-related companies, along with aviation and automotive design/engineering firms.  Companies in these emerging growth sectors are able to rely on the supercomputing power that Mississippi State University has available (which is in the top 15 of any university-based supercomputer), plus talented faculty and proven research expertise in these areas.

Five technology-based companies have located in Starkville since 2006 including Harbinger Technologies, nCode, Clear Orbin, II-VI Inc. and Ardica Technologies.   In addition, local start-up company SemiSouth, based on university research patents, has doubled in size.  SemiSouth’s growth was the stimulus needed to attract a supplier company II-VI (pronounced “two-six”), which chose Starkville for a wafer cutting and polishing facility.  In addition, GE Aviation announced plans in 2006 to locate an R&D facility in MSU’s Raspet Flight Laboratory to develop composite parts for aircraft.

One proactive step Starkville officials have taken to attract emerging industries has been to establish a research park just across the street from MSU.  The Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, as it is now known, continues to grow as the state’s oldest and most successful research park.  Additional acreage and infrastructure have recently been added to accommodate growth.

Aiken, S.C.

The Aiken area’s Center for Hydrogen Research (CHR) was founded to promote and sell technology coming out of the local Savannah River National Lab.  By assembling top researchers from the public and private sectors, it may help transform hydrogen from a promising energy source into a practical, inexpensive and ubiquitous fuel.  The unique, state-of-the-art facility could help revolutionize the way the world uses power and create a vibrant and lucrative hydrogen cluster in the area.

The CHR not only places the Aiken area on the map as the leader in hydrogen research and development, it also is drawing in new companies anxious to access the resources, both human and capital, of the CHR. One prominent company that already has committed to being part of the center is Toyota Technical Center.  The company, which has leased space in the CHR, is in the process of creating a hydrogen storage system that would make hydrogen vehicles more practical.  Other companies leasing space are working in automotive along with hydrogen production and storage.

In connection the area’s rich hydrogen-based talent and resources, Aiken also is making a name for itself in other emerging technologies, including biohydrogen and alternative fuels, coal technology, glass technology and bioremediation.

Shreveport/Northwest Louisiana

Northwest Louisiana is experiencing growth in new industries as well as longtime staples of its economy.  To fuel this growth, it is establishing infrastructure to support the life sciences and other tech-intensive industries.  The community’s Intertech Science Park provides space for biomanufacturing and startup companies, including a new 60,000-square-foot wet lab business incubator and a total of 800 acres.  In addition, the park can support nanotech, IT-related companies, communications technology, energy and environmental technologies, along with micro manufacturing technologies.

Northwest Louisiana also is experiencing growth in the oil and gas sectors that have long been dormant.  Several old-line heavy manufacturing companies are reinventing themselves and transitioning their businesses into renewable energy.  Another industry staple of the area, the film industry and entertainment sectors are also hot in Northwest Louisiana, where $300 million in film production is being planned in 2007-2008.  Music and entertainment technology as well as digital media are also on the rise.

To prepare its workforce for new economy growth, Northwest Louisiana has implemented math, science and technology initiatives in area school systems such as a biotechnology academy that offers classes for high school students.
 
Memphis, Tenn.

The Memphis area’s strong infrastructure including the world’s largest air cargo airport, fourth-largest inland port in the country, five Class I railroads and a great interstate system is proving to be as attractive to emerging growth companies as it has been to those in more traditional industries.

Certainly that world-class transportation grid is a major reason why Memphis is continuing to see incredible growth in its biotech area with substantial growth in medical device (hip, knee replacement and spinal implants) manufacturing and distribution as well as major success in attracting pharmaceutical distribution operations at companies such as McKesson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson. 

Memphis also is becoming a strong market for biofuels with the location of three biodiesel and one ethanol plant in 2006.

Research Triangle Park Region, N.C.

In the 1950s, a group of innovative leaders developed the concept behind Research Triangle Park (RTP), an idea that changed the economic course of a region.  Over the past few years, even RTP has faced the decline of traditional industries and the globalization of white collar jobs. To counter that decline, the RTP area is promoting industries where the region has a competitive advantage.  Because the region is a world leader in research and development, for instance, the area now is targeting industries such as agricultural biotechnology, pervasive computing, nanoscale technologies, imformatics, analytical instrumentation, and pharmaceuticals. 

Surrounded by three universities, the RTP region is home to world-class research in a wide range of emerging fields and outstanding intellectual capital. More than 40 percent of adults hold a four-year college degree and the region boasts one of the highest concentrations in the world of people with advanced degrees.

Huntsville, Ala.

The key ingredients for attraction and growth of emerging industries in Huntsville are a business environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurial development, a world-class technology infrastructure (particularly in Cummings Research Park, the second-largest research and technology park in the U.S.), and intellectual capital with the second-highest number of scientists and engineers per capita in the U.S.

Huntsville is working to attract and foster entrepreneurial growth in several emerging growth sectors, including biotech, advanced digital communications, and others.  In biotech, Huntsville is home to the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology (HAIB), slated to open in fall 2007.  Already, the HAIB has attracted Operon Biotechnologies Inc., which is relocating its global headquarters from California to Huntsville.  In digital communications, Huntsville’s up-and-coming homegrown success story is Digium, which develops software and hardware for VoIP.

Knoxville, Tenn.

The Knoxville region is seeing success in three emerging growth industries—media (including TV programming production and post production), nanotechnology and biofuels.

On the media side, the Knoxville area known as the “Knoxville Oak Ridge Innovation Valley” has seen significant growth in recent years.  Anchored by Scripps Television Networks (HGTV, DIY, Food Network, GAC, and Fine Living), the community has a rapidly growing independent production studies.  Companies in the media industry are being attracted in large part because of Knoxville’s talent at a lower cost when compared with the more traditional media centers.  Along with an impressive number of businesses starting in media, Knoxville is getting serious about training the next generation to work in this emerging industry with a new media center being built at a local technical college.

Nanotechnology in the region is anchored by the Spallation Neutron Source, located in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  This unique facility makes the area a world leader in nanotech research attracting the attention of companies such as MTS, Nano, Nanotek and Protein Discovery.

Finally, biofuel research and refining are emerging in the region as well.  Both the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Lab are actively involved in these endeavors. 

Orlando, Fla.

Thanks to a unique convergence of the biotech, digital media and simulation industries in Metro Orlando, the community has had several recent successes in attracting companies.  For example, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, a nonprofit medical research facility focused on cancer therapies, recently chose Orlando for its East Coast location.  In addition, Florida Hospital recently announced plans to open a new global site for training and educating surgeons. Much of the training will include minimally invasive techniques and will use simulation as a training tool.  Meanwhile, San Diego-based Virtual Reality Medical Center, which specializes in computer-generated simulations to treat mental health disorders and train healthcare providers, recently opened an office in downtown Orlando with plans to open a full-scale division.  Finally, two Orlando companies formed the creation/design team behind what’s called Battle Stations 21, featuring real life disasters and conditions.  This simulated experience will the final test for all Navy recruits.

In all three of its targeted growth industries, Orlando is increasing its infrastructure to help it standout.  Last year, the University of Central Florida (UCF) won approval for a new medical college that already is helping the area become a biomedical hub.  When the Burnham Institute chose Orlando, company officials cited the UCF medical school as a reason for its decision.  The Burnham Institute facility will anchor Orlando’s new “Medical City,” which also will include UCF’s new medical school, a University of Florida medical research lab and a proposed VA hospital.

In simulation, with more than 100 modeling, simulation and training companies in the area and nearly 6,000 workers, Metro Orlando already is home to one of the industry’s largest clusters.  Many of these companies are located near UCF in Research Park.

In digital media, the University of Central Florida last year opened the doors to the UCF Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (one of only a handful of digital media schools in the U.S.).  This will be the centerpiece of the city’s vision for a downtown “Creative Village” where students can live, go to school and work.