Area Development Homepage >> Location USA >>

Hot United States FDI Sectors: Advanced Manufacturing

Mark Crawford (Location USA 2012)

Improved technology and cutting-edge engineering can be applied to almost every type of manufacturing industry today. Foreign companies are finding plenty of opportunities to invest in manufacturing across the country, including steel fabrication, advanced materials, information systems, semiconductors and electronics, alternative energy, chemicals and plastics, heavy equipment, appliances, and rubber products.

German company SGL/BMW is building a $100 million plant in Moses Lake, Washington, to manufacture a special carbon fiber material for BMW’s “Megacity” vehicle. The carbon fiber will be shipped to Germany, where the vehicle will be manufactured. The incentive package includes $200,000 to cover training costs for new workers.

In the U.S. Heartland, Canadian company Bombardier Learjet is expanding its manufacturing facilities in Wichita, Kansas, to build the company’s newest business jet — the eight-passenger, intercontinental Learjet 85. The plant will cost about $50 million and employ up to 600 workers. Kansas provided Bombardier with $27 million in bond financing to keep the plane’s assembly in Wichita.

With its long history of manufacturing excellence, transportation infrastructure, and skilled work force, the Southeast also continues to attract foreign investment in diverse sectors. In Louisiana, Africa-based Sasol North America will construct a $175 million gas-to-liquid tetramerization unit in Westlake — the first of its kind in the world. Nearby in Iberville Parish, Shintech Louisiana LLC (Japan) is undertaking a $1.3 billion expansion of its PVC manufacturing operations, creating 80 new jobs. Incentives include Louisiana FastStart work force training assistance and eligibility for industrial tax exemption and enterprise zone programs.

Alabama has also scored several big projects, including China-based Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube, which will build a $100 million copper tube plant in Thomasville, resulting in 300 jobs. In return, the city will give Golden Dragon a 50-acre parcel that includes a $1.5 million, 50,000-square-foot building that the city constructed in 2009 to attract business investment. Thomasville will also spend about $300,000 to extend water and sewer connections. Golden Dragon is the first recruited Chinese company to build a new plant in Alabama, thanks in part to a new state bill that gives non-U.S. businesses with an investment project of more than $100 million and at least 100 local jobs tax reductions or exemptions from the state.

“This is the first, but it will not be the last, Chinese company that comes to Alabama,” promised Governor Robert Bentley. “Alabama needs more jobs, especially well-paid jobs, and we hope to create those with the help of Chinese enterprises. Hopefully we can attract Golden Dragon’s main clients and raw materials providers. I’m also expecting more cooperation between China and Alabama in biotech — many Chinese enterprises are doing well in this sector. In these days of global economy, we need to do our best to erase trade and investment barriers, rather than working on our own.”

Save/Share Article

About the Author

Mark Crawford
Mark Crawford is a full-time freelance writer in Madison, Wisconsin, who specializes in business writing. He is also the author of five books.

More articles by Mark Crawford

ASK AREA DEVELOPMENT

Have questions, comments or concerns about this article? Submit to Ask Area Development here and the author or an expert from our network of site selection and facility planning professionals will answer:

Privacy policy / GuidelinesArea Development will select a number of questions to answer each week. An Area Development representative will contact the submitting reader directly with feedback. Additionally, all submissions are eligible to appear online or in our print publication. If your question is selected for publication we will include and publish your first name, job title and industry only. The full identity of the submitting reader will not appear in published format.Area Development will not publish, share with any third parties, or use for marketing purposes any personal information submitted here without the express consent of the submitting reader.

News Items

Around The Web

Studies/Research

News Items

Around The Web

Studies/Research

German Auto Supplier Invests $60 Million On Michigan Expansion, Creating 450 jobs

State Resource Map

State News and Insight
Corporate Taxes
Business Incentives
Credits
Grants
Click on any state below

State Resource Sponsor

United States Inward Investment Location Profiles

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Is a Growing Gateway to World Trade

Global recruitment and trade are key elements of Governor Mike Beebe's strategic plan for economic development. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) is committed to attracting and retaining the best companies and the most advanced industries from around the world.

Little Rock, Arkansas: A Globally Recognized Brand

For two years in a row, the Little Rock region has been named "America's Fourth Strongest Economy" by the Brookings Institution's MetroMonitor. The Wall Street Journal calls it the nation's "Sixth Best Real Estate Market," while Forbes says it is America's "Seventh Best Place for Jobs."

CALIFORNIA

Energy Innovation from SMUD LEEDS Businesses to Sacramento

With so many states trying to lure businesses to their cities, why have such pioneering companies as Intel, Siemens Mobility, Micron, and SynapSense chosen to call Sacramento, California, home?

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Is a Global Business Center

Kentucky remains a leading location for foreign direct investment. Since January 2010, approximately 30 percent of all announced new investment resulted from FDI activity. Today, nearly 400 foreign-owned companies from almost 30 nations employ more than 75,000 people in the state.

NEW YORK

Buffalo Niagara — "Where Business Works"

Buffalo Niagara, located in western New York with a population of 1.5 million (2010), is a region that's truly on the rise. In the past decade more than 50 American, Canadian, and international companies have set up shop in Buffalo Niagara, drawn to the many unique benefits the region provides.

OKLAHOMA

Tulsa — Where Business Grows

Home to more than 900,000, Tulsa, Oklahoma perfectly balances convenience and affordability with the advantages of a highly skilled work force, a central location, a pro-business atmosphere, and an excellent quality of life.

TENNESSEE

Chattanooga: The CAN DO Community

Why have companies like Volkswagen, Alstom, Sanofi-Aventis, and Amazon.com invested more than $3 billion in Chattanooga during the worst economic downturn in recent memory?

site selection tools