Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Lifeway Foods, Inc., a leading supplier of kefir cultured dairy products, has announced the $7.4 million acquisition of the Golden Guernsey dairy plant in Waukesha, WI, to provide additional manufacturing capacity for its growing kefir-based business. Adding the 170,000-square-foot plant to Lifeway’s existing 50,000-square-foot facility in Morton Grove, IL, will more than quadruple the company’s production capacity and provide much-needed expansion abilities.

The Golden Guernsey plant was shuttered this past January following a bankruptcy filing, leaving 112 employees without jobs. Lifeway plans to reopen the plant this summer and rehire a portion of the workforce to staff the facility. The transaction is expected to close on June 10.

Lifeway’s growth has been fueled in part by the burgeoning natural foods movement as well as mounting awareness of the health benefits of probiotic products like kefir. Sales of probiotic foods and supplements jumped 79 percent over the past two years, settling at US$2.25 billion in July 2012, according to data from natural foods market research company SPINS. Organic food sales in the U.S. alone jumped from$11 billion in 2004 to $27 billion in 2012, according to the Nutrition Business Journal, with growth in conventional grocery stores as well as natural foods markets.

Diversification of Lifeway’s product portfolio has also contributed, with innovations ranging from ProBugs™ organic kefir drinks for children to the market’s first packaged frozen kefir. The company’s newest products include freeze-dried Lifeway ProBugs™ Bites for infants, other new ProBugs varieties for older children, frozen kefir bars, and a Greek kefir line featuring extra protein.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Gov. Steve Beshear joined company and local officials at Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products LLC in Bowling Green, KY to break ground on the company’s second expansion in recent months. Kobe Aluminum plans to add an 87,000-square-foot building, resulting in 100 new, full-time jobs and a capital investment of up to $66 million.

The news comes on the heels of another expansion announcement at the plant. In November 2012, Gov. Beshear and company officials announced Kobe Aluminum would invest $11 million in Bowling Green for the construction of a new 39,000-square-foot building on One Kobe Way in Bowling Green, creating 15 new, full-time jobs.

“I was fortunate to be here in November to announce a significant expansion for Kobe Aluminum, but this one is even better, with 100 more jobs and a $66 million investment on the way,” said Gov. Beshear. “We are proud to have Kobe here in the Commonwealth and especially happy to see the company’s continued growth and success.”

Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products LLC, a joint venture of Kobe Steel Ltd., Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, has been a corporate citizen in south central Kentucky since 2005. The plant currently has more than 270 full-time employees and has invested more than $100 million in its Bowling Green facility since opening its doors.

There are 11 Kobe Steel subsidiaries in the United States, but the Bowling Green location is the only U.S. facility to forge aluminum suspension products for the automotive industry. The new, 87,000-square-foot addition makes room for new furnaces, casting machines, forging presses and advanced presses used to meet increasing demand for high-quality precision aluminum components for the automobile industry.

“Kobe Steel had many options when we decided to establish this business in Bowling Green,” said Susumu (Sam) Koike, KAAP president and CEO. “We have had great experiences working in Kentucky, and we have never regretted our decision. The Commonwealth made the decision for additional investment easy by offering financial incentives. I assure you, we do not take these incentives for granted and will do our best to fulfill our employment obligations to make this incentive program both a business success for KAAP and an economic success for Kentucky.”

“We are excited to break ground and expand our operations in south central Kentucky once again,” said Gregory Head, KAAP corporate secretary. “KAAP has grown and prospered here because Kentucky understands our needs and respects our customers. We look forward to many more years of collaboration with state and local officials and opening new opportunities for the exceptional people we are fortunate to employ. Our desire is to become a preferred employer in south central Kentucky.”

To encourage the additional investment and job growth in Bowling Green, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $300,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA), which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing equipment.

Kobe Aluminum previously received preliminary approval for its initial expansion project in the amount of $325,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program, which is expected to be increased at the time of final approval to reflect the increased job growth and investment. A separate KEIA approval in the amount of $144,000 was also previously granted.

“I am thrilled with the latest expansion for Kobe, it affirms our community as a central automotive supplier,” said Sen. Mike Wilson, of Bowling Green. “We are blessed with great geography and even better people.”

“Our community has been fortunate over the years to play a major role in Kentucky’s automotive industry, and companies like Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products are the main reason why,” said Rep. Jody Richards, of Bowling Green. “I cannot thank its leaders enough for investing so much, and for the faith they have put into our second-to-none workforce.”

“Kobe has been a great corporate citizen for the past eight years, and we look forward to continuing this relationship long into the future,” said Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson. “We congratulate them on their decision to expand here again and send well wishes for their continued growth.”

“It’s another great day in south central Kentucky when we can announce an expansion project like this one at Kobe,” said Warren County Judge-Executive Michael Buchanon. “This company is a great example of how businesses thrive in our region, and we thank them for continuing to invest here.”

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The FAA currently is evaluating six U.S. sites as potential test flight centers for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as drones (the Wright-Patterson facility in Ohio is a leading contender). Most of our elected representatives in Washington are gung-ho for the idea, especially in districts with manufacturers who would thrive if the demand for “domestic” drones takes off. Thus far, they’ve been stymied by a handful of civil-liberties and air-safety fuddyduddys who wonder whether filling our skies with robot planes will fatally compromise our right to privacy, to say nothing of the occasional commercial airliner they may bump into.

While we’ve been watching the skies, it looks like the ground may have shifted under our feet.

The plans for mass-producing driverless cars aren’t even on the drawing boards of the major automakers, but a new survey shows that an astounding 60 percent of U.S. motorists are ready to welcome robot cars on American roads.

IT networking giant Cisco this week released the results of its study on the importance of high-tech gadgets to today’s car buyers. Not surprisingly, the Cisco survey found consumers completely enamored with the latest computer-driven automotive capabilities, from cars that park themselves to voice-activated menus for nearby Chinese restaurants.

But the real eyebrow-raiser in the survey was the response to Cisco’s question asking drivers whether they’re ready to trust driverless cars to drive them around.

The results are fascinating. Three nations with emerging automotive markets — and, presumably less experience with driving — gave driverless cars the biggest thumbs up. About 95 percent said yes in Brazil, 86 percent in India and 70 percent in China. They were followed by the U.S. at 60 percent, Russia at 57 percent and Canada at 52 percent.

But in Japan, the nation that has the most experience with robots of any kind, only 28 percent of respondents indicated they would be inclined to slide into the passenger seat of a driverless car. Also, when the risk-taking is expanded from the individual to the family, enthusiasm predictably declines for the driverless car. Fewer respondents in the Cisco survey said they were willing to put their kids in a robot vehicle.

The Cisco survey results may reflect the shape of things to come. Driverless cars probably will be tooling down a highway near you sooner than you think.

The psychological roadblock to the driverless vehicle apparently was shattered by the Google car. The Internet search giant’s robot test vehicle thus far has logged more than 300,000 miles without incident. Google says the technology for a true “fully autonomous driverless car” is still about five years away. Motor Trend, the car magazine, predicts that driverless cars will be in mass production by 2025.

The Cisco survey also revealed that consumers’ trust for automated vehicles extends beyond the steering wheel: the study found that 74 percent of drivers would be fine with their car tracking their driving habits if they could save on insurance and maintenance costs; 65 percent said they would be willing to share their height, weight, driving habits and entertainment preferences with car manufacturers in return for a more “custom” driving experience.

In the same week that Cisco’s survey results were released, the National Transportation Safety Board has proposed to lower the federal blood alcohol level threshold for drunk driving from .08 to .05, a drop of more than a third from the current standard.

Coincidence? We think not. Obviously, there’s some sort of a master plan falling into place here:

STEP 1: Track our movements with drones.

STEP 2: Take our car keys away.

STEP 3: Ply us with alcohol and entice us to recline in the ergonomically designed passenger seat of a driverless car that knows we can be lulled into a mindless sense of euphoria by the smell of Corinthian leather and the sound of Bohemian Rhapsody coming out of 16 speakers.

STEP 4: Deposit us at mass “rehabilitation” centers that have secretly been constructed on former ballistic missile launch sites in the Great Plains.

STEP 5:

(transmission interrupted, contact with human terminated)

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

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Technology shares the spotlight with music and film at the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX.

By Jenny Vickers
From the March/April 2013 issue

Technology innovation is happening across the country, but there is no better place to witness the revolution other than Austin, TX, home to a rapidly expanding technology industry.

Every year, tens of thousands of people descend on the city for South by Southwest (SXSW), a nine-day stretch of festivals and conferences designed to highlight the hottest new entrants in the world of music, film and technology. Collectively, SXSW is the highest revenue-producing event for the Austin economy, with an estimated economic impact of $167 million in 2011. It has also grown very rapidly over the years—700 participants attended its first event in 1987 and over 30,000 attended this year (up 25 percent from 2012).

The interactive portion of the event focuses on technology and is a breeding ground for new ideas and creative technologies. Foursquare launched there in 2009 and now has 20 million users. This year, BF was on hand at the event to find out more about it. We attended several events hosted by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and caught up with several new innovative tech companies.

Launch Pad For New Tech

“SXSW is a great launching point for new technologies,” said Susan Davenport, Senior Vice President of Global Technology Initiatives at the Chamber who is the lead of all things SXSW tech. “It’s really a huge innovation opportunity to get your new ideas out there and into the mainstream.”

Austin-based medical device company Spot On Sciences, Inc. attended SXSW to pitch its newest device, Hemaspot™, which helped the company become a finalist in the SXSW Interactive Accelerator for innovative health technology.

“Our device allows anyone to take a blood sample in any location at any time and ship or store the samples at room temperature,” said Dr. Jeanette Hill, CEO of Spot On Sciences.

The company is only three years old and has been on the market for three months, yet it has already gained a lot of traction in international markets. The device is now being used in remote locations in Africa for HIV testing and in Scotland for diabetes research.

“For centuries, you had to go into a blood testing facility and it’s a really big barrier for people who are the sickest, homebound and the elderly, as well as people who live in remote locations,” said Dr. Hill. “With this device you can take the test from home or any location. You don’t need a lab, centrifuge, or to ship it cold. You can take a sample then mail it to the lab.”

For its groundbreaking work, the company received a $1 million Small Business Innovation Research award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in July 2012.

“DARPA did the initial work to develop the Internet, GPS system, and rockets,” said Dr. Hill. “They think big. So they are funding us because they see our device as a way to really change the way we do health care. We really want to revolutionize clinical science.”

The device is based on dried blood spot (DBS) technology, which is best known for newborn screening and has many additional commercial uses for clinical trials, bio-banking, population studies and a wide range of medical research.

Digital technology startup UMeTime is changing the way businesses are connecting with new customers. They have built a platform that gives local business the ability to control and offer deals at their convenience. Whether you are a business that needs to speed up your slow hours, fill your empty chairs and tables, or sell sitting inventory, UMeTime offers merchants the capability to overcome these barriers and drive sales and revenue.

The company has officially launched its mobile application and is available now on iTunes or Google Play.

“Unlike Groupon and Living Social, UMeTime functions on a hyperlocal level,” said UMeTime co-founder Brett Berman. “The app allows locals to see what’s happening around them in real time, from local businesses that they like. Customers can use it for free on their mobile device.”

UMeTime moved from L.A. to Austin three months ago to take advantage of its bustling tech scene and lower taxes.

“Austin is a very collaborative environment, from the Chamber to the government to the capital factor, startups want to support each other here,” said Berman.

Since launching in Austin just three years ago, local start-up Tabbed Out has grown from a few bars and restaurants in downtown Austin to 1,000 locations nationwide. It has developed an app that lets customers pay their tabs with their phone.

“We not only made the app, but also the software that goes on the point of sale,” said Meredith Schultz, managing marketer at Tabbed Out. “We are the only company targeted for hospitality—bars and restaurants. Our app solves the pain of tipping and splitting the tab, as well as provides the ability for customers to provide feedback to the bar or restaurants.”

Tabbed Out now has a partnership with T.G.I. Fridays and is expanding to other cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Denver, DC, Dallas and Houston. The company is located in downtown Austin close to the famous 6th street, a popular location of bars and restaurants. “Austin is very friendly for start-ups and emerging technology companies,” said Schultz. “In L.A. it’s more competitive, but in Austin everyone is friendly and there to support you especially when you are starting a new business.”

We also caught up with Firefly LED Lighting’s founder and CEO Steve Barcik Amstel, who is stepping into a new role with Convergence Wireless, a wireless networking technology company that has produced the first all wireless lighting control system for buildings.

“Whereas now there is no easy way to do an energy management system without pulling a lot of wire, our product will allow you to install an energy management and information management system and even cellular, just by adding our device to light fixtures,” said Amstel.

After Firefly LED Lighting was acquired by a larger lighter company, Austin-based Convergence Wireless seemed a perfect next step for Amstel, who has lived in Austin for 27 years and started out as a facilities engineer at Texas Instruments. Amstel founded Firefly in 2009 and won the GM technology award for his work in developing long life and high efficiency LED lighting.

“I’ve always had an interest in energy management and facilities management and how can we use new things like Internet and sensing and bigger computer power to make a difference,” said Amstel. “There is so much opportunity to reduce our country’s energy demand and to save money for facilities through these technologies that I keep getting involved in it because I get excited about what we’re going to be able to do.”

Convergence Wireless is part of the Austin Technology Incubator, which helps breakthrough a number of clean energy and energy efficiency companies each year and has led Austin to being dubbed the “Clean Energy Capital of the U.S.”

“When you look at the number of startups in Austin around clean energy and environmental considerations it’s really taken off as a clean energy mecca for start-up companies,” said Amstel.

Amazon Puts Three New Warehouses In Texas

Amazon has announced plans to open three new fulfillment centers in the state of Texas, creating more than 1,000 jobs. The sites, which will use advanced technology to help fulfill customer orders, will be located in the cities of Coppell, Haslet and Schertz.

“We look forward to putting more than 1,000 Texans to work at our new fulfillment centers in Schertz, Coppell and Haslet,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North American fulfillment. “We appreciate the state and local elected officials who have helped us make this exciting investment in the state of Texas.”

“We’re pleased Amazon is investing in Texas by bringing three fulfillment centers and more than 1,000 jobs to our state,” said Texas Comptroller Susan Combs. “I thank Amazon for working with us—making it possible to bring new jobs and revenue to the state of Texas.”

“This is the biggest economic development partnership announcement in the history of our city,” said city of Haslet Mayor Bob Golden. “The jobs and potential tax base that this development will bring to our community is a major milestone in our city’s growth.”

The 1.2 million-square-foot site in Schertz and the 1 million-square-foot site in Coppell will handle larger items—anything from televisions to bbqs, for example. The 1.1 million-square-foot site in Haslet will handle smaller items like books, small electronics or DVDs, to name a few.

“Amazon, coming to Coppell, complements our strategy of building a quality business base that supports the community and the region,” said Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt. “We are thrilled Amazon chose Coppell for a new fulfillment center. We recognize their large capital investment and new jobs brought to this area.”

Recently, Amazon committed to hire more than a thousand veterans in the U.S. in the upcoming year to join the hundreds of veteran employees it has on staff currently. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates there are more than 1.6 million veterans in the state of Texas.

“We are thrilled to welcome Amazon to Schertz,” said city of Schertz Mayor Michael Carpenter. “The investment Amazon is making in our community is significant, and it is a manifest expression by yet another highly successful and well-respected company that Schertz is a great place to do business.”

USAA Real Estate Company is building the project in Schertz. Hillwood Development Company is building the project in the city of Haslet as part of AllianceTexas, a 17,000-acre, master-planned community, and is also constructing the project in the city of Coppell.

Pipe Mill Coming To Bay City

Tenaris has announced it will build its first U.S. seamless pipe mill in Bay City, Matagorda County, TX. With its proximity to Houston and to Tenaris’ North American headquarters, the location offers a combination of favorable geography, operational logistics and availability of a skilled workforce.

“Our new facility will complement our integrated global manufacturing network and work closely with our existing North American operations to further strengthen domestic production,” Paolo Rocca, Chairman and CEO, said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (with hard hat) and Tenaris President, North America, German Cura at a recent press conference announcing Bay City as the location of Tebaris’ first U.S seamless mill.

“This announcement is only possible, thanks to the hard work of state and local officials, as well as, the area business community, which always plays a major role in decisions like this,” Gov. Rick Perry said. “The most profound statement about our favorable economic climate comes when companies like Tenaris make an investment of this size in our state.”

“With this investment, we will strengthen our local production and service capabilities to address the growing demands of the energy industry,” German Cura, President, North America, said. “We are grateful for the support we have had from The State of Texas, Matagorda County and Bay City.”

An analysis conducted on the economic impact of Tenaris in Matagorda County states the company will have a large direct and indirect influence on the area. The new plant will generate 600 direct manufacturing jobs and offer substantial economic impact in Matagorda County as well as in the surrounding areas.

“The company’s commitment to the environment and safety is a top priority,” Cura said. “The facility is being designed according to the most stringent environmental and safety standards, with the implementation of control technologies that will reduce our emissions footprint and exceed state and federal regulations.” The new facility is expected to begin operations in 2016.

The growing biotech sector the Lone Star State recently got a shot in the arm from a federal initiative to expand domestic manufacturing of flu vaccines. [See related coverage of Texas biotechnology activities here.]

GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and Texas A&M University System announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has approved the establishment of a $91 million influenza-vaccines manufacturing facility as the anchor of the Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) in Bryan-College Station, TX.

“The Texas A&M Center, anchored by this facility, is expected to bring more than $41 billion in expenditures within the State of Texas over the next 25 years, and will add more than 6,800 direct and related jobs to Texas,” Gov. Rick Perry said.

“GSK is privileged to deepen our commitment to U.S. public health, as part of this unprecedented public-private collaboration to protect against pandemics and bio-threats,” noted Antoon Loomans, senior vice president, GSK Vaccines. “In Texas A&M, we have found a partner with a rich tradition of service and with pioneering technologies that will benefit the entire pharmaceutical industry in making vaccines available and accessible to all in need.”

The Texas A&M Center for Innovation is headed by Dr. Brett Giroir, vice chancellor for Strategic Initiatives at the Texas A&M System, and a core team of A&M experts in biotechnology, infectious diseases, facilities planning and construction, federal acquisitions/contracting, and government affairs. The partnership with GSK was founded on a long, collaborative relationship between Texas A&M and the Wallonia Region of Belgium, with specific planning for this project beginning in the spring of 2010.

Once constructed and operational, the Center’s influenza manufacturing facility will be able to supply 50 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine within four months of an outbreak.

“GSK’s decision to partner with Texas A&M and bring their vaccine manufacturing to our state is a testament to the investments that the A&M System and the State of Texas have made in the people, infrastructure and technologies, much of which came from critical state programs such as the Emerging Technology Fund,” Giroir said.” GSK brings unequaled influenza vaccine development, manufacturing, and regulatory expertise to our Center.”

Hitting The Sweet Spot In Sugar Land, TX

The City of Sugar Land, TX has combined a great quality of life, a growing constellation of cultural attractions and a business-friendly climate that should prove attractive to companies looking for prime locations for their facilities and tourists looking for an interesting and entertaining destination.

The focal point of Sugar Land’s push to become a destination of choice is the redevelopment of the Imperial Sugar refinery and adjacent Tract 3 property. Last year, Constellation Field, became the first project to open within the Imperial Development. This a gem of a ballpark, already becoming the go-to place for year-round entertainment, embraces the three goals of the redevelopment: historic preservation of key buildings; continued aesthetic/architectural quality; and economic development that creates successful and vibrant community projects.

The Sugar Land Skeeters’ inaugural minor league baseball season at Constellation Field last year set an Atlantic League attendance record of 465,511. When compared to minor league teams affiliated with Major League Baseball, Sugar Land ranked third in Texas behind the Triple A Round Rock Express and Double A Frisco Roughriders. In a national comparison of all professional minor league baseball teams, both affiliated and independent, Sugar Land’s average game attendance was in the top 25, with 6,751 guests per game. Constellation Field was chosen via fan vote for Baseball America’s 2013 Great Parks Calendar, the Skeeters organization was named a runner–up for Baseball Digest ‘s 2012 Organization of the Year and the new stadium was selected to host the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament, scheduled to take place in May.

Constellation Field serves as a year–round venue for community events, such as concerts and sports tournaments. It has a variety of dynamic settings, accommodating intimate catered events to large–scale stadium seating of up to 5,000 for on–field events. The stadium offered a variety of indoor and outdoor meeting and party rooms for businesses, weddings or other events. The stadium’s first two concert events were performances by REO Speedwagon and ZZ Top.

Design has begun on planned indoor Performing Arts Center that is planned for a 21-acre site near the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and University Boulevard, with a letter of intent with ACE SL, LLC was approved in August by the Sugar Land Development Corp. The City intends to create a financially feasible, operationally self–sustainable signature facility that will promote economic development, create jobs and enhance educational offerings.

To help give ACE input on the facility’s amenities, appearance and function, two planning sessions were held in the fall with team members from ACE, the architects and the City. The schematic designs are expected to be completed and ready to share with the community this spring. No timeline has been set for completion of the project. The venue will be located in Telfair within a larger mixed–use development that includes the future campuses of Fluor Enterprises, Inc. and Texas Instruments, Inc., and other proposed uses, such as a hotel and restaurant.

Sugar Land Town Square is a 32–acre, award–winning, mixed–use, public–private development. It is now fully developed and contains upscale retail and restaurants, Class A offices, a hotel and conference center, residential condominiums and City Hall. Retailers that opened in Town Square in fiscal year 2012 included Sur la Table, Gem and Bead Gallery, Pinot’s Palette, Brilliant Sky Toys and Books and Revolution Studio. New restaurants included Ruggles Green, Guru Burgers & Crepes and BLU.

The 1.3–acre plaza hosted 200 free events in fiscal year 2012 attended by nearly 100,000 people. Events included Fitness in the Plaza, Halloween Town, Christmas Tree Lighting and the New Year’s Eve event, as well as art and fashion shows, international festivals and awareness campaigns.

At the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugar Land, the Hall of Paleontology has been expanded and is now twice its original size. Arranged in chronological order, it features a triceratops and many exquisite fossils from the Paleozoic era, as well as a large collection of trilobites, extinct arthropods, Stenopterygius, Holzmaden and a sea crocodile. A new, saltwater aquarium includes a wide variety of fishes and aquatic life.

Sugar Land’s stable local economy is a magnet for relocating and expanding firms. In fiscal year 2012, significant relocations were announced, including several Fortune 500 firms that operate internationally and other national and local firms. These combined projects will result in more than $221 million in new capital investment, 1000 new jobs, 2,000 retained jobs and more than 423,000 square feet of newly constructed or leased space.

Several key planned development applications were approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council during 2012, including the Imperial/Tract 3 and Telfair developments. The City Council approved the Imperial General Land Plan Amendment 1 and zoning applications for 690–acres (the majority of the development in Imperial was Constellation Field and the associated street construction). Several key projects continue within the Telfair commercial area near U.S. Highway 59, including a Costco store, the future office campus for Texas Instruments and Fluor and planning for the performing arts center.

At the end of fiscal year 2012, Sugar Land had more than 23 million square feet of commercial space; this included 7.5 million square feet of office space, 7.6 million square feet of retail space and 8.2 million square feet of industrial space.

The Sugar Land Development Corporation and Sugar Land 4B Corporation (SL4B) each collect a quarter cent sales tax that directly funds economic development programs and City activities. The focus of SLDC is business recruitment and retention initiatives, while SL4B focuses more on quality–of–life initiatives and strategic development projects.

Propane Mega-Plant Fuels Job Growth In Alvin, TX

Gov. Rick Perry recently announced that Ascend Performance Materials Texas Inc. will construct a new propane dehydrogenation facility in Alvin, Texas, creating 100 jobs and $1.2 billion in capital investment. The state is providing $1 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund to close the deal on this expansion and job creation. Execution of the state’s agreement is contingent upon finalization of a local incentive package.

“Through our combination of low taxes, predictable regulations, fair courts, skilled workforce and competitive incentives like the TEF, Texas is a national model for creating jobs and prosperity,” Gov. Perry said. “Ascend’s new facility in Brazoria County, with more than a billion dollars worth of capital investment and the creation of 100 new jobs, further strengthens the Gulf Coast’s economy and chemical production industry.”

Ascend is a global leader in proprietary technologies central to the production of chemicals, and Nylon 6,6 plastics and fibers. Nylon 6,6 is the material of choice for high performance applications in the engineering plastics and fibers industries globally, and can be found in thousands of commercial and industrial products such as apparel, automotive, building and industrial, chemicals, consumer goods, electronic and military industries. The company has five manufacturing facilities in the U.S., which allow it to develop new products from its core technologies, and provides flexibility to respond to the expanding needs of its customers. The new facility in Alvin will focus on propane dehydrogenation, a method of producing propylene, which is common chemical building block for plastic and synthetic fiber products.

“This project builds on the existing strength of the Ascend position as a global leader in the chemicals and nylon businesses. The active support of the governor’s office, as well as that of state and local authorities, has contributed to our progress in the early stages of the development of the project,” said Tim Strehl, Ascend president.

“Ascend picked the right place to expand their business,” State Sen. Larry Taylor said. “The talented workforce in Senate District 11 and the State of Texas can provide the perfect partners for innovative companies looking to succeed.”

The Ascend project is just the latest of several major projects that have come to fruition in Texas as the oil and gas giant continues to flex its energy muscles. Gov. Perry announced last year that Dow Chemical Co. will create 150 new jobs and $1.7 billion in capital investment with the location of a hydrocarbon cracker in Brazoria County. The governor was joined at the announcement by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Dow CEO and Chairman Andrew Liveris and lawmakers; Perry committed the state to investing $1 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) to close the deal on this project.

“When it comes to attracting jobs, the Texas Enterprise Fund may help close the deal and provide the final piece of the puzzle, but it’s Texas’ growing reputation as the country’s best place to build your business that puts us in the running in the first place,” Gov. Perry said. “This announcement is great news for Texas, and even better news for the people who will eventually work at this new facility thanks to this TEF investment.”

Dow Chemical Co. is a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of products that go into businesses such as specialty chemicals, electronics, agrosciences and plastics. The new ethylene cracker in Brazoria County will processes natural gas and natural gas liquids to create ethylene, to produce plastic resins and other chemical intermediates that are used to manufacture a variety of materials including transportation, building and construction, infrastructure, wire and cable, medical devices, personal care and food packaging. This will be Dow’s largest ethylene cracker worldwide, and will use U.S. produced shale gas and natural gas liquids.

“Dow is proud to be making a significant investment in Texas with the construction of a new world-scale ethylene production plant—a key part of our comprehensive plan to further connect our U.S. operations with cost-advantaged feedstocks available from increasing supplies of U.S. shale gas,” Dow Chemical Company chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris said. “We received a lot of support from our local community and from this business-friendly state via the Texas Enterprise Fund, and are proud to expand upon our longstanding history of investing in Texas.”

The Legislature created the TEF in 2003 and has re-appropriated funding in every legislative session since then to help ensure the growth of Texas businesses and create more jobs throughout the state. TEF projects must be approved by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. The fund has since become one of the state’s most competitive tools to recruit and bolster business. To date, the TEF has invested more than $498.8 million and closed the deal on projects generating more than 67,400 new jobs and more than $19.9 billion in capital investment in the state.

Gov. Perry has made diversifying the energy mix of Texas’ electricity market one of his major priorities, helping to lower electricity prices. In 2012, Texas relied on a variety of fuel sources to meet the growing demand for electricity, including 34 percent of energy produced coming from coal, 45 percent from natural gas, 12 percent from nuclear, 9 percent from wind, and 0.5 percent from other sources such as hydro, biomass, landfill gas, and solar.

In 2007, Gov. Perry signed comprehensive energy efficiency legislation, House Bill 3693, into law. This legislation created incentives to reduce energy costs through investing in energy efficiency technologies. As a result, Texans reduced electric consumption in 2009 alone in the state by 506,000 megawatt hours. In 2011, Perry signed Senate Bill (S.B.) 1125 increasing the energy efficiency goals, including cost caps for those programs to ensure the costs remain reasonable for customers, and allowing consumers to participate in the generation market through demand-management.

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PMF’s existing 120,000 square foot facility in North Central Pennsylvania.

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Gov. Corbett has announced that Pennsylvania is expanding its commitment to advance clean, alternative and renewable energy sources with the investment of more than $9.6 million in 13 projects in 11 counties.

The post Clean Energy Investments In Pennsylvania Will Create Jobs, Leverage $109 Million appeared first on Business Facilities.

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Construction is expected to begin early next year on the new La Paloma Power Plant, to be located in the Harlingen Industrial Park in Harlingen, TX. At its peak, the enormous $650 million project will have more than six hundred workers on site, with most of the work force to be recruited locally. The plant is being developed by Coronado Power Ventures, LLC and Bechtel.

Robert Deatherage, Vice President and Industrial Relations Manager for Becon Construction Company, is general contractor for the La Paloma Power Plant project. Deatherage met with Harlingen EDC, Cameron County Workforce Solutions and Texas State Technical College executives to discuss employment and training of the customized work force needed for success of the project.

“It’s the start of a long and exciting project which will provide enough energy to interest additional manufacturers and other heavy power users,” says Raudel Garza, CEO, Harlingen EDC. “The first step involves survey and environmental crews, with human resource personnel to begin the hiring process by the end of 2013.”

Jobs to be filled will include site preparation workers, carpenters, iron workers, concrete finishers, pipe fitters, welders, and electricians as well as administrative, mechanical, electrical and industrial personnel.  Project construction is expected to take nearly two and a half years.

“With a young, abundant and trainable workforce, and a low cost of living, in addition to our pro-business environment and quality of place, it makes sense for this project and other businesses to locate facilities in Harlingen,” stated Rick Ledesma, HEDC Board Chariman.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Woodward, Inc. has announced that it intends to acquire a corporate campus site for its global headquarters and selected business group operations in Fort Collins, CO. The acquisition decision was made after extensive work with the City of Fort Collins to plan the site and to obtain necessary approvals for its intended use.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and Colorado Economic Development Commission arranged important business assistance associated with planned new jobs and investment and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation provided valuable site selection assistance.

The downtown Fort Collins site, adjacent to the Poudre River and its 21-mile recreational trail, is within walking distance of the community’s dynamic “Old Town” historic area—a popular Northern Colorado destination for shopping and entertainment. Colorado State University, a longtime Woodward partner in energy technology development, is a short drive away. A key consideration in the selection of the site was the ability to leverage Woodward’s investment and employment on the new campus to help achieve long term planning goals of the Fort Collins community, particularly for the Old Town area.

Woodward anticipates that the attributes of the site, the community, and the new campus will represent compelling, competitive differentiators for long-term retention and attraction of talented members. Of the 101-acre parcel to be acquired, Woodward is planning to donate to the City of Fort Collins approximately 30 acres, which is adjacent to the river, for restoration by the city as a natural area and for improvements to the city’s extensive trail system.

Through competitive processes, Woodward selected Ghafari Associates of Dearborn, Michigan to provide architectural and engineering services and M. A. Mortensen Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota as the construction manager/general contractor for the Colorado project.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

The growth of U.S. exports, especially to countries such as China, has put a spotlight on the need for strategic inland ports across the United States, according to Jones Lang LaSalle in a new white paper exploring supply chain dynamics. Inland ports, which traditionally focus on moving and handling imports, are also facilitating the effective movement of goods outside the U.S.

The three factors driving inland port demand include:

1. Exports riding high – shipments to emerging markets continue to rise; U.S. agricultural products are in high demand from China.
2. Rising fuel costs driving rail and intermodal – inland ports offer cost-effective intermodal access and are critical components in the rapid movement of goods to and from seaports.
3. Growth in global containerized shipping – Savvy shippers make use of import containers arriving at inland ports to export goods back overseas.

“Inland ports are becoming a critical part of the nation’s import/export cycle and the country’s competitive position on the world stage,” said John Carver, Head of Jones Lang LaSalle Ports Airports and Global Infrastructure (PAGI) group. Inland ports are hubs designed to move international shipments more effectively between maritime ports and locations throughout the U.S. interior. They are connected by dedicated rail lines to one or more seaports.

“Shippers are using inland ports to move their goods to market as efficiently as possible, and with fuel costs rising, they provide intermodal and rail options to bypass expensive and costly trucking methods,” said Carver. “Given the rise in containerized shipping methods, inland port shippers are also re-using overseas containers after they are emptied, as another method of supply chain optimization.”

China’s Hunger For U.S. Agricultural Produce

This trend is being seen in one of the country’s fastest growing export industries, agriculture. The last two years have been the strongest for U.S. agricultural exports in history. China has a growing appetite for raw agricultural products such as wheat, soybeans, corn and hay.

“The current challenge for U.S. producers and suppliers is to have an effective supply chain infrastructure in place to manage the growth in export volume, both in the near future and for the long run,” said Rohan àBeckett, Vice President,  PAGI.  “Shippers are beginning to take advantage of this glut of empty containers in the U.S. as a low-cost solution for shipping exports to China. Not only does this contribute to economic growth by helping close the trade gap with China, but it will boost industrial real estate prospects as demand for storage and distribution space will rise.”

The agriculture industry will continue to be a major contributor to overall export volume from the U.S., thereby providing a long-term user base for inland ports and their outbound containers.

The New Inland Ports

Critical to their success is their connectivity to rail and seaports and being able to provide manufacturers with smooth and quick intermodal trans-loading. Their location is vital. Many of the country’s inland ports are located in the Midwest, including Chicago, Memphis, St. Louis and Kansas City. There are a number of new locations under development such as the 4,000-acre Florida Inland Port in St. Lucie, FL., and the 580-acre Inland Port Arizona in Casa Grande, AZ., which will become the first inland port to serve the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“There are multiple real estate prospects as the logistics industry and exporters focus on hubs with immediate proximity to empty import containers, and to distribution hubs for shipment by rail to deep-water ports,” said àBeckett. “The trend toward establishing and expanding inland ports will continue, and there are major opportunities for private-sector development and investment to support the country’s growing export trade.”

Click this link to download a PDF of the report.

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Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) announced that its Impreza line of cars will be produced in its North American plant beginning in 2016. Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA), the North American manufacturer of Subaru vehicles, will expand its plant in Lafayette, IN to produce the popular compact sedans and hatchbacks, creating 900 new jobs in the process.

Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (FHI) will invest $400 million to build the Impreza at its North American production facility, SIA, and increase the plant’s capacity by approximately 100,000 vehicles annually. The expansion will involve construction to develop SIA’s space by over half a million square feet. The project will also involve the installation of new state-of-the-art equipment—primarily in the paint and body assembly sections—as well as changes to improve overall process flow, including the addition of 900 jobs to its workforce.

“Our associates are very excited about the opportunity to build the Subaru Impreza at SIA and will remain committed to the same high level of quality, safety and teamwork that goes into every Subaru built at SIA,” stated SIA’s executive vice president, Tom Easterday.

“FHI’s decision to move production to SIA illustrates their confidence in Subaru’s North American market ,” said Shiro Ohta, president and CEO of Subaru Canada, Inc.

Construction of the planned expansion is slated to begin this fall and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Construction continues on the $75 million expansion project announced last May, which will increase SIA’s capacity from 156,000 to 180,000 Subaru units annually without overtime.

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DCI Engineers provided structural design services for this multi-building office complex, which totals close to 500,000 square feet in space.

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

RealNetworks Inc. has announced that the company is moving its Seattle headquarters to a brand new office space in Home Plate Center later this year. RealNetworks signed an 11-year lease agreement to occupy over 85,000 square feet (with options for future growth), moving its entire Seattle team of more than 350 employees to the modernized office space.

“We’re very excited to be anchoring our new headquarters at Home Plate Center,” said Rob Glaser, founder, and interim CEO of RealNetworks. “This move reinforces our long-term commitment to the Seattle community and fits our strategic initiatives, our financial objectives, and our global footprint.   Moreover, when we launched RealNetworks in 1995, we were based in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, just up the street from HPC, so in a very real way we’re going back to our roots.”

RealNetworks has a global footprint extending from Seattle to Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing in Asia to Victoria, BC, in Canada, to New York and Washington, DC, on the East Coast, and to London, Eindhoven and Salzburg in Europe, creating a much more geographically dispersed workforce than in 1999 when Real last moved its HQ. The new headquarters feature the accommodations necessary to support a global company, including advanced technological infrastructure, environmentally efficient design, and interior and exterior spaces that foster collaboration and engagement.

RealNetworks will be the anchor tenant in Home Plate Center, which is located kitty-corner from Safeco Field on First Avenue South in Seattle’s vibrant SODO neighborhood. The company will initially occupy the fourth through sixth floors, with options for future growth.

SkB Architects, well known for designing collaborative and open workspaces for leading local companies, will create a customized build-out that embraces the natural elements of the Pacific Northwest. Once completed, the new office will reinforce energy efficiency, promote communication and collaboration across the company with features such as open meeting areas, a three-level staircase to improve flow throughout the company, and a lunchroom located on the top floor adjacent to the outdoor deck.

“We’re thrilled to welcome RealNetworks as the anchor tenant at Home Plate Center,” said Henry Liebman, CEO of American Life. “They are a major company that matches the innovation and dynamic growth of the SODO neighborhood. We’re sure they’ll appreciate the location, amenities and ease of access to all modes of transportation.”

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