Relocations and Expansions - Spring 2019

ALABAMA

Navistar plans $125 million Alabama project
Navistar, a commercial truck and bus manufacturer, is investing $125 million in its plant in Huntsville, Ala. The investment is being made to produce next-generation big-bore powertrains. The project will create 145 jobs.

Solar facility to be built near Montgomery, Ala.
Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and California-based Lightsource BP announced a $125 million energy generation project. Lightsource BP will finance, develop, build, own and operate a solar facility and will deliver energy to AMEA under a 20-year power purchase agreement. More than 350,000 solar panels on 800 acres just outside Montgomery make this one of the largest solar power arrays in Alabama.

New lumber mill breaks ground in rural Alabama
Tuscaloosa-based Westervelt Company broke ground on a new lumber mill in the spring quarter in Thomasville, Ala. The $200 million mill will create 125 jobs.

Two companies pick Ozark, Ala.
Anvil Industrial Group and Motobilt Inc. will establish plants in Ozark, Ala. Together, the two facilities will create 75 new jobs.

Georgia-Pacific to expand Alabama mill
The Georgia-Pacific Naheola, Ala., mill has been selected as the location for a new tissue machine and roll storage building to support the company’s consumer bath tissue business. The investment will total more than $120 million.

ARKANSAS

Aerojet Rocketdyne breaks ground on solid rocket facility in Arkansas
Aerojet Rocketdyne officials joined Arkansas state and local leaders to break ground on the latest facility in a continuing expansion of the company’s Camden, Ark., solid rocket motor center of excellence. The 17,000-square-foot Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) facility, set to open in spring 2020, will expand the decades-long capability of solid rocket motor production in Camden.

Dragon Woodland reopens Arkansas sawmill
Dragon Woodland Sawmill held a grand opening in May at its 120-acre sawmill in Helena-West Helena, Ark., purchased in April 2018. At peak production, the former mill employed more than 1,500 workers during World War II to build crates to ship munitions overseas. Dragon Woodland Sawmill Corporation has expanded the facility and updated equipment, creating approximately 75 new jobs in the Arkansas Delta.

Lockheed Martin announces big expansion in South Arkansas
Lockheed Martin announced in the spring it will invest $142 million at its facilities in Camden, Ark. The company manufactures defense weapons at its Arkansas facility. The project will create more than 300 jobs and will bring employment there to beyond 900 workers.

Firearms manufacturer CZ-USA chooses Little Rock for headquarters and manufacturing plant
CZ-USA, the U.S.-based affiliate of a Czech firearms manufacturer, announced in the spring its plans to locate its North American Headquarters and build a new manufacturing facility on approximately 73 acres at the Port of Little Rock. The company will invest up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs. CZ products are considered some of the highest-quality firearms in defense, competition and sport shooting around the world.

SupplyPike chooses Fayetteville, Ark.
SupplyPike, a start-up software company that offers a digital supply chain management system, plans to locate in Fayetteville. The project is expected to create nearly 180 new jobs.

FLORIDA

Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock needs 1,200 new workers for expansion
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., is seeking more than 1,200 new workers for its expanded resort and 450-foot guitar-shaped hotel.

Boeing relocates its space division from Northern Virginia to Florida’s Space Coast
Boeing announced in June that it will move the headquarters for its space division from the Washington, D.C. metro to Brevard County, Fla. Brevard County is home to Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral and Patrick Air Force Base as well as private space companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA has also called Florida’s Space Coast home for decades. Boeing is the prime contractor for NASA’s Space Launch System.

Aerospace parts and coatings manufacturer opens Florida plant
Sintavia, a manufacturer of metal additives for the aerospace and defense industry, officially opened its new plant and headquarters in Hollywood, Fla., in the spring quarter. The company has installed over $25 million in equipment at the plant including 3D printers and several furnaces. The new facility is capable of producing thousands of aerospace parts and coatings. The project will create 130 jobs.

Company relocating HQ to Fort Lauderdale
Techtronic Industries, a manufacturer of industrial and consumer products, is moving its U.S. headquarters to Fort Lauderdale. The project will create 75 jobs.

Amazon bringing planes to Lakeland, Fla.
Lakeland’s Linder Airport in central Florida will be landing large cargo jets and 1,000 new jobs as Amazon invests over $100 million in constructing a 285,000-square-foot air cargo complex on a 47-acre site.

GEORGIA

Swiss electronics company locating in Georgia
A Swiss electronics company, Elma Electronic, is relocating a manufacturing facility to Gwinnett County and adding 93 new jobs. The manufacturing site, planned for Lawrenceville, is expected to open this summer.

Emory University plans a $1 billion “health innovation district”
Emory is rezoning land in the City of Brookhaven to develop a health innovation district that will include office space, medical services, a new hospital, commercial space, a hotel and multifamily units. The cost of the project is $1 billion.

Software company adding 200 jobs in Atlanta area
LeaseQuery is expanding its facilities in Dunwoody, Ga. The accounting software company is adding 200 jobs.

Invesco’s new Atlanta HQ means 500 jobs
Atlanta-based investment giant Invesco will expand its global headquarters in a new Midtown office tower and add 500 jobs over the next few years. The company will invest $70 million in the move.

Contract manufacturer to open in Georgia
Contract manufacturer Plethora will locate a $17 million facility in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta. The company provides on-demand manufacturing from rapid prototyping to automated design software to CNC machining. The deal will create 250 jobs.

Starbucks celebrates Augusta, Ga., plant expansion
Starbucks, the maker of Augusta’s most ubiquitous consumer export, recently celebrated the opening of its newly completed roasted-bean addition. Announced in 2017, the $130 million expansion promised the addition of 100 new jobs.

KENTUCKY

Stave company breaks ground on 220-job cooperage in Kentucky
Independent Stave Company broke ground on its bourbon barrel operation in Morehead County, Ky. The $66 million plant, called the Commonwealth Cooperage, is expected to house 200 workers.

Amazon breaks ground on $1.5 billion air hub
Amazon broke ground on its air services hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in May. CEO Jeff Bezos made a surprise visit to the groundbreaking and hopped on a John Deere front loader to turn the first pile of dirt. The new air hub is expected to create 2,000 new jobs.

New stave mill for Southern Kentucky
Pennington Stave and Cooperage plans to establish a new stave mill in Metcalfe County, Ky. The staves are used for bourbon barrels. The $34 million investment will create 126 jobs.

Chewy.com bringing 300 jobs to Louisville
Florida-based Chewy.com, an online pet supplies retailer, is expanding in Louisville. The Chewy.com Pharmacy Customer Service Center represents a $7.2 million investment in Louisville. It will create 300 jobs for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, with a wage of $35 an hour.

Georgia-Pacific announces $100 million investment in Bowling Green, Ky.
The Koch Industries-owned Georgia-Pacific announced the expansion of its facility in Bowling Green. The project will involve a $100 million investment, which will create 50 new jobs and add 80,000 square feet to the facility to make its Dixie line of plates and bowls.

Manchester Tank and Equipment creating jobs in Kentucky
Manchester Tank and Equipment plans to move into an existing facility in Campbellsville, Ky., to establish a $10 million propane tank manufacturing facility. The project is expected to create 175 full-time jobs.

UPS completes $310 million Louisville expansion
UPS has completed its $310 million, multi-year expansion at its Centennial Ground hub in Louisville, Ky. The company will add 300 full- and part-time positions as part of the expansion that more than triples the size of the facility to over 1 million square feet.

LOUISIANA

Lotte Chemical opens in Lake Charles, La.
South Korean officials attended the grand opening of the $3.1 billion Lotte Chemical manufacturing complex, which is made up of an ethane cracker and an ethylene glycol plant, in Westlake, La. The complex, which broke ground in 2016, is a joint partnership with Lotte and Westlake Chemical. It will bring in 250 direct jobs to the Lake Charles area.

Cheniere investing another $3 billion in LNG export terminal in Southwest Louisiana
Houston-based Cheniere is adding a sixth train unit at its liquefied natural gas export terminal on the Sabine Pass in Cameron Parish, La. The company is investing $3 billion in the new unit.

DOE approves another LNG plant near Lake Charles
Houston-based energy company Tellurian in the spring quarter reported that the U.S. Department of Energy granted its $30 billion liquefied natural gas project a long-term export license. The company crossed a major regulatory threshold, winning approval for Driftwood LNG, as the project is known, from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Driftwood will include a gas liquefaction and export facility on the west bank of the Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles.

Manufacturer setting up shop in Jefferson Davis Parish
Lacassine Operating Company will invest $12.5 million to construct a catalyst blending plant in Lacassine, La. The company serves oil refineries throughout the world. The deal will create 40 jobs.

Ernst & Young plans New Orleans center
Ernst & Young plans to open an executive support center within its expanded and remodeled downtown operations complex in New Orleans. The new center will create 200 jobs.

Valero, Diamond Green Diesel announce $1.5 billion in new Louisiana investments
In the spring quarter, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced a $1.5 billion investment at two facilities in Norco, La. Valero Energy subsidiary Diamond Alternative Energy and partner Darling Ingredients will make a combined $1.1 billion investment to expand their joint venture Diamond Green Diesel refinery. In a separate Norco project, Valero will invest $400 million in the alkylation unit at the Valero St. Charles Refinery. In the renewable diesel project, Diamond Green Diesel will retain 49 jobs while creating 50 new direct jobs with an average salary of $130,000 plus benefits.

Shell Chemicals plans $1.2 billion plant in Geismar, La.
Shell Chemicals will advance feasibility plans for a potential $1.2 billion manufacturing expansion at its 841-acre complex in Ascension Parish. Pending final decision from Royal Dutch Shell, the plan calls for a world-scale monoethylene glycol plant.

MISSISSIPPI

Relativity to build rockets at NASA Stennis Mississippi
California-based rocket manufacturer Relativity is investing $59 million in a rocket plant at NASA Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss. Stennis has long hosted rocket tests. The company, which will use three-dimensional metal printing to build its rockets, will hire 200 in the deal.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is increasing its manufacturing capacity in Shannon, Miss.
General Atomics is expanding its defense products plant in Lee County, Miss. The project is a $50 million corporate investment and will create 75 jobs over five years.

Engineering firm expanding in Tupelo
The Hyperion Technology Group, an engineering firm, is investing and relocating its operations to another facility in Tupelo, Miss. The deal will create 25 jobs.

Tech company expands in the Delta region of Mississippi
Social enterprise technology company PeopleShores is adding 175 new jobs at its facility in Clarksdale. The company, which located there in January, initially created 25 jobs in Mississippi’s Delta Region. The “PeopleShores” mission is to provide gainful employment to individuals in the Mississippi Delta and will have a significant impact on those who fill the jobs and their families, while also fostering more vibrant communities throughout the region for generations to come. “I commend PeopleShores for its initiative to transform rural communities through job creation,” Gov. Phil Bryant said.

Southern Coffee Services adding 55 jobs
The Mississippi-based coffee roaster Southern Coffee Services is expanding its operations in Lexington. The project is a $2 million corporate investment and will create 55 jobs.

Shipbuilder expands in Pascagoula
To accommodate a new $745 million contract with the U.S. Coast Guard, VT Halter Marine will invest $37.5 million to expand operations in Pascagoula. The project is expected to create 900 jobs over the next five years.

Perfect Steel hiring 60 for new location in old Mississippi plant
Sixty new jobs are coming to Lumberton, Miss., now that a Florida steel manufacturer has moved into the old Cooper Power Systems plant in the city’s industrial park. Perfect Steel plans to hire 60 workers for the facility.

MISSOURI

Kansas City lands 500-plus USDA jobs
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced that Kansas City’s largest employer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is the beneficiary of 568 jobs as the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture relocate to the city from Washington, D.C. The USDA expects to open its Kansas City operations this fall.

Pet products manufacturer to move HQ in Missouri
Cosmos Corporation, a maker of pet products such as dental and flea and tick products, is moving into a new headquarters in O’Fallon, Mo. The company is currently located in Wentzville. The project will create 60 jobs.

New plant to be built in Missouri
Empire Comfort Systems, maker of fireplaces, heaters and grills, will break ground on a new 130,000-square-foot facility in Poplar Bluff, Mo. The project will create 100 new jobs.

Startup announces apparel factory in St. Louis
Evolution St. Louis will open a high-tech knit manufacturing facility using cutting-edge 3D technology in downtown St. Louis. The new company, which expects to create 50 to 60 jobs within its first three years, intends to help startups, boutique designers and established brands launch or relocate their sourcing and manufacturing to the U.S.

Pfizer chooses Chesterfield, Mo., for R&D complex
Pfizer will open a $236 million research and development facility in Chesterfield. The 295,000-square-foot facility brings together around 450 existing Pfizer colleagues and provides more than 80 new positions.

NORTH CAROLINA

Pella to open North Carolina plant
Iowa-based Pella Windows and Doors will open a new plant in Rockingham County, N.C. The vinyl window maker plans to launch its first manufacturing plant in North Carolina after receiving an incentive package from the state. The $20 million project is expected to house 124 workers.

Manufacturer expands in North Carolina
Greenheck Group, a manufacturer of ventilation equipment for commercial and industrial uses, announced a major expansion in Shelby, N.C., which is located west of Charlotte. The company plans to invest more than $58 million and add 403 new jobs. The new jobs will represent an added annual payroll of over $16 million.

Another Amazon facility announced. . .this one in Kernersville, N.C.
Amazon is on the move again, this time announcing a new 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Kernersville. The new facility will house 1,000 workers.

Pharmaceutical plant to be built in North Carolina
KriGen Pharmaceuticals will invest in its first U.S. plant in Lillington, N.C. The India-based company will manufacture medical IV bags and liquid injectables at its new $7 million plant. The deal will create 100 jobs in Harnett County.

British firm picks Durham for second U.S. headquarters
England-based Parexel International chose Durham for its second U.S. headquarters in the spring quarter. The company is one of the world’s leading contract research and services firms in the biopharmaceuticals industry. The $1.7 million investment will call for 264 new jobs.

Pet products company adding jobs in North Carolina
Florida-based Synergy Labs, a pet products maker, is investing over $11 million in an existing facility in Burke County, N.C. The company plans to hire 237 workers in the deal.

Centric Brands selects Greensboro for 213 jobs
New York City-based apparel firm Centric Brands will bring 213 jobs to downtown Greensboro. The company has signed a lease for 50,000 square feet in the Gateway Building.

OKLAHOMA

Pratt & Whitney expands in Oklahoma
Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies, is expanding its Military Aftermarket Services facility at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. The project will create 100 new jobs.

IT company hiring in OKC
The information technology company Rural Sourcing is hiring 90 technology workers for its new office space in the Bricktown part of Oklahoma City.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Carolina Panthers to build $200 million headquarters in South Carolina
The NFL’s Carolina Panthers are investing $200 million in a headquarters and training facility in York County, S.C. The South Carolina legislature passed an incentives bill for sports teams to receive job development grants and tax credits to pave the way for the project.

Greenville County lands 500 jobs
Getronics, an IT firm, is locating its Global Service Center in Greenville County, S.C. The company has been in the county for some time. The project is expected to create 500 jobs.

E-cigarette maker JUUL to create 500 new jobs at Lexington County plant
E-cigarette maker JUUL is establishing a new plant in Lexington that the company says will create 500 new jobs.

Merchant Iron Works expanding in Sumter
Merchant Iron Works, a leader in steel and metal fabrication, is expanding its facilities in Sumter, S.C. The $2.5 million project will create 27 new jobs.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals hires 650 local teachers in Lexington County
Nephron Pharmaceuticals is introducing the formation of its educator program. Local teachers and administrators are paid $21 an hour for much needed auxiliary support of company operations. The mission is to provide secondary income to these individuals while helping Nephron fill and complete orders. Over 650 teachers are currently registered to assist the 1,000-plus Nephron employees in Lexington County.

Spectrum Quartz plans complex in South Carolina
Spectrum Quartz, a manufacturer and distributor of quartz and other glass products, plans to open a new production operation in Dillon County. The company is investing $22.5 million and creating more than 150 new jobs.

U.S. Waffle plans facility in Pickens County
U.S. Waffle plans to launch a new frozen food processing facility in Pickens County. The company’s $22.1 million investment is projected to create approximately 114 new jobs.

Eastover Solar invests $80 million in Richland County
Eastover Solar will invest $80 million to construct a new solar farm in Richland County. Designed to generate the equivalent electricity required to power approximately 18,000 homes, the solar project will be located on a 740-acre site outside of Eastover, S.C.

TENNESSEE

Motor and fan manufacturer announces plant in Washington County, Tenn.
Electric motor and fan manufacturer will invest $37 million and create 200 new jobs in the Northeast Tennessee region. Connecticut-based Ebm-papst’s new facility in Washington County, Tenn. — its second in the U.S. — will produce fans for refrigeration, air conditioning and ventilation systems. The project represents the largest capital investment in Washington County since 2011.

Skin care products manufacturer expands in Knoxville
Scapa Healthcare opened its new medical device manufacturing facility in Knoxville in June. The company will hire 100.

Company locating call center in Knoxville
Sitel is locating a new call center in Knoxville. The company is hiring 200 in the deal.

Rooms to Go investing millions in Tennessee
Rooms to Go is investing $69 million in a new warehouse in Wilson County, Tenn. The deal will create 200 new jobs. 

DHL adding jobs in Memphis
Logistics firm DHL Supply Chain is adding 50 jobs at its facility in Memphis. The company is expanding its medical device and pharmaceutical logistics business. The project calls for an
$8 million investment.

Trucking company to invest $88 million and create 225 Nashville jobs
Trucking company Western Express will invest $88 million to expand its Nashville headquarters. The expansion will create 225 headquarter jobs during the next five years. In addition, the company plans to hire more than 350 drivers each year during that same period.

Fresenius Medical Care builds distribution complex in Knoxville
Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, broke ground on its distribution center in Knoxville. The facility will support more than 120 new jobs and allow for future growth of the company’s nearby manufacturing plant that opened in 2016.

Swiss-Based Medacta eyes Franklin for U.S. HQ
Medacta USA will invest $2.5 million to relocate its U.S. headquarters to Middle Tennessee from Chicago. The orthopedic and medical device maker will create more than 50 jobs in Franklin. The company, which specializes in orthopedic products and accompanying surgical techniques, will establish its U.S. headquarters and a research and development lab.

TEXAS

Google taking large blocks of space in Austin, investing $600 million
Google is ever-expanding in Austin, the Texas capital city. The technology giant is leasing two new office buildings there, and is taking the entire 25-story, 723,000-square-foot tower known as Block 185, which is being built now. The space is enough to accommodate nearly 6,000 workers. Google is also investing $600 million in a new data center in Midlothian, Texas, which is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Google currently employs more than 1,000 in Austin working on projects with Android, Google Play and G Suite.

JPMorgan Chase is hiring 4,000 more in Texas
JPMorgan Chase moved thousands of employees into its new Plano, Texas, campus in the spring quarter and now it has announced it will build a new tower at its campus there. The additional $100 million project is expected to create 4,000 new jobs.

Exxon-Sabic to build $10 billion plant near Corpus Christi
ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries will break ground on a petrochemical plant across the bay from Corpus Christi, Texas. The ethane steam cracker complex, which will be the world’s largest, will create more than 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs.

NRG Energy to bring an inactive natural gas power plant in Corpus Christi back online
The 385-megawatt Gregory natural gas plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, will be restarted by Houston-based NRG Energy. The plant will be able to meet the needs of about 77,000 homes on the hottest day of the year. The plant ceased operations in late 2016 because its co-generation partner, Sherwin Alumina, filed for bankruptcy.

Exxon to move forward with $2 billion project in Baytown, Texas
Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil Corp. will expand its Baytown chemical plant, creating about 2,000 jobs during construction. The expansion is expected to start up in 2022, and once online will create at least 25 permanent positions.

Facebook invests millions in Texas solar farm
Facebook has invested $416 million in a large solar farm in Andrews County, Texas. The new solar farm will generate 379 megawatts annually.

DFW and American to build a sixth terminal
The main DFW airport and American Airlines have reached an agreement to build a sixth passenger terminal. Terminal F is part of a $3.5 billion expansion of DFW. The new terminal will include 24 new gates and will open in 2025.

Call center to hire over 1,000 in Texas
More than 1,100 new positions will soon be added in El Paso. Teleperformance USA, a customer experience management company, is opening a new operations center in El Paso, which is experiencing near record low unemployment.

One thousand Texas jobs created with TJ Maxx distribution center
The new TJ Maxx Distribution Center on San Antonio’s South Side opened its doors recently, adding more than 1,000 jobs and making a promise to improve land on the city’s South Side. In addition to creating jobs, TJX has committed to donating 15 to 20 acres of land to the Southside Independent School District for construction of a school; to creating a 4-mile Espada Bike and Hike Trail; and to conveying 300 acres of wetlands for various purposes including preservation, research and community recreation.

VIRGINIA

Hershey plans big expansion of its rural Virginia facility
The Hershey Company, the famous chocolate producer and snacks company, will invest $104 million to expand its major manufacturing operation in Augusta County, Va. The deal will create 65 new jobs.

Merck plans to invest $1 billion in its manufacturing operations in Rockingham County
New Jersey-based Merck announced in the spring it will expand its vaccines plant in Rockingham County, Va., to the tune of $1 billion. The company will add 120,000 square feet to its existing 1.1 million-square-foot operation in Elkton, Va., to increase production of its Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. As part of the expansion, Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) and James Madison University (JMU) will collaborate to address Merck’s short- and long-term workforce needs through the development of a custom workforce solution. BRCC and JMU will establish a pipeline of biotechnology engineering and computer science talent that will allow the Shenandoah Valley to accommodate the future growth of Merck and other life science industries and manufacturers in the region. The Merck project will create 100 jobs.

Gaming company to create more than 100 jobs in Virginia
Castle Hill Gaming is hiring 106 new employees at its corporate headquarters in Albemarle County, Va. The gaming firm is investing $1.3 million in the expansion and is looking for artists, data scientists and computer programmers to fill  the positions.

Amazon HQ2 to hire 400 people in Arlington, Va., by the end of year
Amazon announced that it was ahead of schedule in the hiring process for its second headquarters in Arlington, Va. In a blog post, the company announced that it will have 400 Arlington-based employees hired by the end of 2019, and 25,000 over the next decade.

Litehouse bringing 160 new jobs to Danville, Va.
Litehouse, which produces refrigerated salad dressings, dips and other packaged goods, will invest $46 million to acquire and expand Sky Valley Foods and establish its first East Coast production facility in the City of Danville. The company will retain the Sky Valley Foods employees and create an additional 160 new jobs over the next five years.

WEST VIRGINIA

Big deal in West Virginia
Domestic Synthetic Fuels will break ground this year on a new $1.2 billion coal-to-liquids fuel facility in Mason County, W.Va. The plant will convert West Virginia coal and natural gas to gasoline and other fuels. The plant will be the first of its kind in the U.S. 

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