Real Estate And Business Parks

Florence County, S.C., And PACE Group Form Venture

The 1,500-acre certified Grist Mill Industrial Park located on Interstate 95 is being promoted jointly by the PACE Group, the developer of the park, and the Florence County Economic Development Partnership. The site is well suited to support manufacturing and assembly, and lots will be subdivided into individual parcels based on a company's needs. This industrial park is one of the few certified sites in the state of South Carolina, a designation awarded by the South Carolina Department of Commerce. The process verifies that utilities, transportation and other critical infrastructure are in place that will allow for immediate development. To learn more, visit www.thepacegroupllc.com.

Clarendon County, S.C., Features Unique Facility Opportunity

Heavy fabricators have an opportunity to purchase a 53,000-square-foot turnkey facility in Clarendon County, which could be up and running within weeks. The building was used to make tanker trailers, and would serve a variety of heavy fabrication and heavy welding operations. The facility, which sits on a 29-acre site in the Clarendon County Industrial Park, can be expanded as 200 acres are available at the park. The facility is fully equipped and tailored for a heavy manufacturing operation, and features four heavy cranes, and 25 drive-in doors. To learn more, visit www.clarendoncountyusa.com.

Newport News, Va., Site Designated A “Right Now Site”

The Oakland Industrial Park in Newport News has been recognized by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as a “Right Now Site,” a program that establishes minimum infrastructure requirements and other “readiness standards” for industrial parks, such as available acreage, utilities and proximity to highways and interstates. The Oakland Industrial Park is recognized as a site ideal for the industrial, general industrial, light industrial and the distribution warehouse sectors. The park is home to 20 companies at this time. The site designation “allows us to attract and recruit companies by assuring them that they can locate or expand here quickly and without hassle,” says Florence Kingston, director of development, city of Newport News. To learn more, visit www.nngov.com/development.

States

Alabama State Port Authority Partners With Panama Canal Authority

The Panama Canal Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Alabama State Port Authority to increase cooperation, such as joint marketing and coordination on modernization and expansion projects to boost trade along the “All-Water Route,” from Asia to the U.S. East and Gulf coasts via the Panama Canal. The canal's expansion will double the waterway's capacity and allow more traffic and the passage of longer and wider ships. The Alabama State Port Authority has embarked on improvements to capture the anticipated increase in traffic moving from the Panama Canal. It has completed a $300 million container terminal in partnership with APM Terminals North America. The port has also begun work on a new turning basin in the lower harbor that will allow vessels in excess of 900 feet in length to access deeper draft terminals. What's more, the authority is also underway with the construction of an intermodal rail facility to capitalize on the port's five Class I railroads to move goods throughout the United States. To learn more about the MOU and the expansion activities in Alabama, visit www.asdd.com.

Indiana

Energy Drink Company To Expand In Wabash

Living Essentials, producer of 5-Hour Energy, has announced it will expand its Wabash operation, adding up to 36 new jobs by 2012. The company currently employs 130 people at its production and distribution operation. Company officials indicated they decided to expand in Wabash based on its record with the workforce, and the cooperation and assistance from state and local officials to support entrepreneurial endeavors. To learn more, visit www.edgwc.com.

Iowa

Egg Supplier Begins Operations In Franklin County

This spring, Arizona-based Hickman's Family Farms opened its Franklin County egg-production operation. Hickman's Family Farms is the largest egg supplier in Arizona; and Iowa is the No. 1 egg producing state in the country. The company is operating from the Hampton Industrial Park where it will purchase eggs from local companies and others, wash, grade and package the eggs for distribution. To learn more, visit the Franklin County Development Association at www.franklincountyiowa.com.

Louisiana

New Wood Pellet Facility To Open At Baton Rouge Port

Point Bio Energy LLC will locate a new manufacturing facility at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, where it will produce wood pellets for fuel generation, creating up to 100 jobs. The company will begin construction this summer and begin deliveries of pellets in the fourth quarter of 2011. They will be used in both industrial and residential applications. To learn more, visit www.louisianaeconomicdevelopment.com.

Mississippi

New Incentive Programs Enacted

This year the Mississippi Legislature has enacted incentive programs believed to be critical in helping the state compete for investment and jobs in three target sectors: clean energy, data centers and aerospace. The Mississippi Clean Energy Initiative allows the Mississippi Development Authority to certify companies that manufacture systems or components used to generate clean renewable or alternative energy, including nuclear, solar, wind or hydro generation. The incentive provides a 10-year exemption from state income and franchise taxes and a sales and use tax exemption, based on a minimum investment of $50 million and the creation of 250 jobs. In regard to data center functions, a new incentive provides for a state sales tax exemption for all computing equipment and software used for companies certified by MDA as data centers. The certification requires a minimum investment of $50 million and the creation of 50 new jobs paying 150 percent of the average state wage. In regard to the aerospace industry, new incentives to encourage aerospace R&D and manufacturing investment provides a 10-year tax exemption from income and franchise taxes and a sales use tax exemption for the start up of a facility. A minimum investment of $30 million and the creation of a minimum of 100 jobs are required. To learn the complete details, visit www.mississippi.org.

Puerto Rico

Pioneer Hi-Bred To Establish R&D Facility

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a DuPont business, plans to establish a second R&D center in Salinas. The lab is expected to create 100 new jobs. The plans call for the remodel of a 22,000-square-foot facility into a state-of-the-art lab, scheduled to open in early 2011. The R&D facility will focus on marker technologies in regard to seed varieties. The new lab will be located a few miles from Pioneer's existing facility. “Puerto Rico was a smart choice for many reasons,” says John Soper, vice president of Crop Genetics R&D, Pioneer Hi-Bred. “It has the same regulatory framework as the mainland United States, including efficient transportation of seed, but offers a longer growing season suitable for plant crops year-round.” To learn more, visit www.pridco.com.

Texas

HHS Rotec Selects Harlingen

HHS Rotec LLC, a manufacturer of panels made of polyurethane and galvanized steel for the housing market, has leased an 80,000-square-foot facility in the Harlingen Industrial Park. The company could employ up to 200 people when fully up and running. The company considered other sites and selected Harlingen based on available, reasonably priced industrial space, a skilled workforce, and nearby ports. The company has proposed large contracts in Haiti and Africa. To learn more, visit www.harlingenedc.com.

Port Corpus Christi In Negotiations For Purchase Of Former Naval Station

The Port Corpus Christi Commission has voted to move forward with a letter of understanding, which sets the basic terms anticipating a formal sales agreement with Service Marine Group LLC for the purchase of the Port's Ingleside Facility formally known as U.S. Naval Station Ingleside. The purchase will include 916 acres, with a vision of creating an energy and technology epicenter for the region. Under consideration is the development of a wind energy R&D and testing facility, as well as the establishment of a Coastal Marine Energy Technology Center. Service Marine Group will capitalize on the existing infrastructure and assets by offering flexible options that fit within the overall master development plan. To learn more, visit www.pocca.com.

Virginia

Virginia Castings Industries LLC Selects Radford

Virginia Castings Industries will invest $9.1 million to create a ductile iron components manufacturing facility, occupying a 200,000-square-foot existing facility, creating 300 new jobs within three years. Radford has lost a number of jobs over the last several years, including the closing of the Intermet New River Foundry facility, which Virginia Castings will occupy. To learn more about the project, visit the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance at www.nrvalliance.org.

West Virginia

State Launches E3-WV Assistance Program

The E3-WV technical assistance program aims to help small businesses and manufacturers improve their economic, energy and environmental performance. Three organizations located at the West Virginia University will partner to carry out the project. These groups are: the Industries of the Future-West Virginia, Industrial Assessment Center and the West Virginia Manufacturing Extension Partnership. To learn more about the programming, visit wvcommerce.org.