While e-commerce was creating thousands of jobs across the nation last year, high-profile, diverse projects in the manufacturing, information technology, financial services, energy, and other sectors were also making news.
Area Development’s annual Gold and Silver Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities. We asked for information from all 50 states about their top-10 job-creation and investment projects initiated in 2018. Based on a combination of weighted factors — including the number of new jobs to be created in relation to the state’s population, the combined dollar amount of the investments, the number of new facilities, and the diversity of industry represented — six states achieving the highest weighted overall scores were awarded Area Development’s Gold Shovels in five population categories: 12+ million, 8+ to 12 million, 5+ to 8 million, 3+ to 5 million, and fewer than 3 million. Runners-up in each of these population categories were awarded Silver Shovels
2019 Gold Shovel Awards: The Winning States
- Texas (12+ Million Population)
- Georgia (8 to 12 Million Population)
- Virginia (8 to 12 Million Population)
- Arizona (5 to 8 Million Population)
- Alabama (3 to 5 Million Population )
- Mississippi (Under 3 Million Population)
2019 Silver Shovel Awards
12+ Million Population Category
- Florida
- Illinois
- New York
8 to 12 Million Population Category
5 to 8 Million Population Category
- Indiana
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
3 to 5 Million Population Category
Under 3 Million Population Category
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Rhode Island
Technology and retailing giant Amazon certainly was the talk of the economic development world throughout 2018. Cities
all over were holding their breath, awaiting the word regarding which of the 20 finalists would be chosen for the
company’s HQ2 project. However, the winners weren’t always who they seemed to be initially. The promised 50,000-job HQ2
project turned into a pair of 25,000-job announcements — in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Crystal City, Virginia, and
in Long Island City in Queens, New York — until local opposition helped torpedo the latter deal. (Note: Virginia did not
report the Amazon project for the 2018 Shovel awards as it was not yet under way last year.) Meanwhile, one of the other
HQ2 finalists, Nashville, has collected an incredibly valuable “consolation prize,” a 5,000-job “Operations Center of
Excellence” at the Nashville Yards. That turned out to be the biggest job total on the 2018 Shovel project list for
Tennessee.
“Nashville is a place that has great talent, great educational skill sets — huge higher education opportunities with
Vanderbilt, MTSU, Tennessee Tech and…the University of Tennessee. We think it’s a great location to grow this new Center
of Excellence,” said
Holly
Sullivan, one of the leaders on Amazon’s location team.
E-Commerce Creating Jobs Across the Country
While the HQ2 saga was the big national focus, Amazon was busy making comparatively smaller investments all over the
country — but really big deals in the places where they landed. Indeed, the 2019 Shovel Awards highlight numerous
Amazon-related major projects, in addition to HQ2 and Nashville.
Among them:
- A 1,500-job fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, set to open next year;
- A 1,500-job facility in Tucson, Arizona, that will handle a variety of functions, from customer returns to light
assembly to 3D printing to customer pickup;
- A distribution facility in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood, Indiana, adding 1,250 jobs to its 8,500 existing
Indiana jobs at more than half a dozen facilities;
- Two new facilities in North Carolina, near the Charlotte airport and in Garner, both worth about 1,500 jobs;
- A fourth distribution facility in Michigan expected to ultimately employ 2,025 in Kent County;
- A new distribution center in Dallas, which is slated to employ 1,500;
- And Amazon’s first Mississippi fulfillment center in Marshall County that will employ 850 people.
All in all, though Amazon left many HQ2 finalists disappointed when it announced its biggest decision, there are lots of
communities across the country cheering on the company’s 2018 development activities. And while Amazon is the clear
leader in direct online retailing, the ever-growing preference of shopping via computer and smartphone is creating
thousands of additional jobs across the country involving other companies. Birmingham-based Shipt, for example, has been
a pioneer in same-day delivery of groceries and other essentials, successful enough that Target acquired the company in
2017. Shipt is expanding its operations in Alabama and expects to hire nearly 900 more people.
The top online retailer of musical instruments and audio gear — Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, Indiana — is building
two new facilities and adding a thousand jobs. Meanwhile, Wayfair has made it convenient to order furniture and home
goods online. The company promised as many as a thousand jobs in Chatham County, Georgia, with a brand-new warehouse.
And speaking of furniture, Ikea opened a high-tech Joliet distribution center in Illinois, and Overstock.com’s new
Kansas City fulfillment center will allow it to reach 99 percent of U.S. customers within two-day shipping.
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Financial Services & Info Tech Job-Creators
While Amazon was clearly the biggest cumulative job creator of 2018, there were plenty of other headlines that included
noteworthy employment counts. Numerous projects were announced last year with promises of at least a thousand new jobs,
many in the financial services or IT sectors.
The state of Arizona, in particular, basked in a wealth of location announcements with job totals of a thousand or more
apiece. Financial services and IT were particularly strong winners in the Grand Canyon State. Allstate, for example,
pledged more than 2,500 jobs and a planned corporate campus in Chandler, while Voya Financial will add a thousand there.
Freedom Financial is expanding with 1,000+ jobs in Tempe, and The Money Source is growing with 500 new jobs in Phoenix.
Big Arizona news in IT also included Deloitte with 2,500 new jobs in Gilbert and Infosys with 1,000 in Phoenix.
Infosys is also adding thousands of jobs in Indiana, another big example of IT growth. The company opened a Technology
and Innovation Hub last year and broke ground on its U.S. Education Center. Salesforce, meanwhile, is adding a thousand
jobs in Chicago. And Texas landed at least three big-job-count deals in the world of IT: Okin Business Process Services’
U.S. headquarters in San Antonio, Cognizant Technology Solutions’ tech and service delivery center in Irving, and Paycom
Software’s location in Grapevine, for a combined total of nearly 3,500 jobs.
The insurance and financial services sectors were good to Indiana, with a massive Geico project in the works in
Indianapolis. More big financial services projects around the country include four-figure employment totals at
RoundPoint Mortgage and ServiceMac in South Carolina. And in the financial technology sector, BlackRock Inc. is
expanding in a big way in Atlanta, while Charlotte is welcoming a major expansion at the AvidXchange corporate
headquarters.
In the corporate sector, Inspire Brands picked the community of Sandy Springs, Georgia, for its new headquarters. It’s a
big, multi-brand player in the restaurant business, with such names as Arby’s, Sonic, and Buffalo Wild Wings, and its
project is worth some 1,100 jobs. AllianceBernstein, a global investment management firm, picked Nashville for its new
headquarters. That’s a $70 million+ investment yielding 1,050 jobs. The company plans to build a private wealth group
there, and potentially a local investment team. And Honeywell will locate a headquarters facility in Mecklenburg County,
North Carolina, a 750-job deal.
SlideshowTop 2018 Projects By State
2019 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Billion Dollar(s) Projects Of The Year (2018)
Project |
Location |
Jobs |
Investment |
Mazda/Toyota |
Huntsville, AL |
4,000 |
$1.6 billion |
Nikola Motor Co. |
Coolidge, AZ |
2,062 |
$1 billion |
Bigelow Aerospace |
North Las Vegas, NV |
30 |
$6.6 billion |
FedEx |
Memphis, TN |
0 |
$1 billion |
Formosa Plastics |
Point Comfort, TX |
340 |
$5 billion |
Cheniere Energy |
Corpus Christi, TX |
430 |
$3 billion |
Lyondell-Basell |
Channelview, TX |
160 |
$2.4 billion |
Covestro |
Baytown, TX |
75 |
$1.72 billion |
Micron Technology |
Manassas, VA |
1,100 |
$3 billion |
Close
2019 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Top 2018 Projects By State
-
2018 Top Projects: Texas
Population: 28.70
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Amazon |
Dallas |
N |
1,500 |
$90 million |
Distribution |
2. |
Okin Business Process Services |
San Antonio |
N |
1,400 |
$23 million |
IT Headquarters |
3. |
Cognizant Technology |
Irving |
N |
1,090 |
$2.7 million |
Regional Tech & Service Delivery Center |
4. |
Paycom |
Grapevine |
N |
1,000 |
N/A |
IT |
5. |
Gartner, Inc. |
Irving |
E |
800 |
$12 million |
Software |
6. |
Formosa Plastics |
Point Comfort |
E |
340 |
$5 billion |
Plastics |
7. |
Cheniere Energy |
Corpus Christi |
N |
430 |
$3 billion |
Energy - LNG |
8. |
LyondellBasell |
Channelview |
E |
160 |
$2.4 billion |
Chemicals |
9. |
Covestro |
Baytown |
E |
75 |
$1.72 billion |
Chemicals |
10. |
Braskem |
La Porte |
E |
50 |
$675 million |
Polymers |
-
2018 Top Projects: Florida
Population: 21.29 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
PGA Tour |
St. Johns County |
E |
307 |
$86 million |
Headquarters |
2. |
Webstaurant, Inc. |
Hillsborough County |
N |
305 |
$1 million |
IT |
3. |
Baker McKenzie |
Hillsborough County |
N |
300 |
$3.3 million |
Headquarters |
4. |
Nucor Corp. |
Polk County |
N |
250 |
$238 million |
Steel |
5. |
Pratt & Whitney |
Palm Beach County |
E |
215 |
$100.4 million |
Aircraft Parts |
6. |
Jinko Solar |
Duval County |
N |
200 |
$50.5 million |
Solar Panels |
7. |
Wyndham Destinations, Inc. |
Orange County |
E |
200 |
$7.5 million |
Headquarters |
8. |
Steelco Florida, Inc. |
Hillsborough County |
E |
195 |
$130 million |
Steel Mill |
9. |
McLane Company, Inc. |
Marion County |
N |
125 |
$59 million |
Distribution |
10. |
CAE USA |
Hillsborough County |
E |
100 |
$48 million |
Simulation/Training |
-
2018 Top Projects: Illinois
Population: 12.80 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
World Wide Technology |
Belleville |
N |
500 |
$115 million |
Technology Services |
2. |
Ikea |
Joliet |
N |
200 |
$80 million |
Distribution |
3. |
Pinnacle Foods |
St. Elmo |
N |
110 |
$54 million |
Food Mfg. |
4. |
Salesforce |
Chicago |
N |
1,000 |
$475 million |
Software |
5. |
Illinicare Health |
Carbondale |
N |
400 |
$5.7 million |
Insurance |
6. |
S&S Activewear |
Lockport |
N |
360 |
$37 million |
Distribution |
7. |
Carl Buddig & Co. |
Montgomery |
N |
350 |
$30 million |
Food Mfg. |
8. |
Berner Food & Beverage |
Cherry Valley |
N |
200 |
$25 million |
Food Mfg. |
9. |
Bystronic |
Hoffman Estates |
N |
140 |
$30 million |
Machinery |
10. |
Neuco, Inc. |
Bolingbrook |
E |
130 |
$11 million |
HVAC Parts |
-
2018 Top Projects: New York
Population: 19.54 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Applied Materials |
Albany |
N |
300 |
$600 million |
Semiconductors |
2. |
Away |
New York City |
E |
249 |
$3 million |
Headquarters |
3. |
Blink Health Group LLC |
New York City |
E |
323 |
$3 million |
Healthcare Technology |
4. |
Broadway National Group |
Hauppauge |
E |
150 |
$10 million |
Headquarters |
5. |
Green Empire Farms LLC |
Oneida |
N |
118 |
$70 million |
Food Mfg. |
6. |
NextGen Power |
Syracuse |
N |
292 |
$150 million |
Electronics |
7. |
Norsk Titanium |
Plattsburgh |
N |
383 |
$50 million |
Aerospace |
8. |
SungEel MCC |
Endicott |
N |
86 |
$23.3 million |
Batteries |
9. |
Topiderm Inc. |
Amityville |
E |
110 |
$122 million |
Skincare Products |
10. |
Regeneron* |
Rensselaer |
E |
1,500 |
$837 million |
Biopharmaceuticals |
*Project of the Year |
-
2018 Top Projects: Georgia
Population: 10.52 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Inspire Brands |
Sandy Springs |
N |
1,100 |
$32 million |
Headquarters |
2. |
BlackRock |
Atlanta |
N |
1,000 |
$42.2 million |
FinTech |
3. |
Wayfair, Inc. |
Savannah |
E |
1,000 |
$45 million |
Distribution |
4. |
Norfolk Southern |
Atlanta |
N |
850 |
$575 million |
Headquarters |
5. |
Fox Factory Holding Corp. |
Gainesville |
N |
800 |
$50 million |
Bicycle/Vehicle Parts |
6. |
thyssenkrupp AG |
Atlanta |
N |
650 |
$200 million |
Hdqtrs./Innovation Ctr. |
7. |
Salesforce |
Atlanta |
N |
600 |
$12.3 million |
CRM - Regional Hdqtrs. |
8. |
Hanwha Q Cells Korea |
Dalton |
N |
500 |
$150 million |
Solar Cells |
9. |
Facebook |
Social Circle |
N |
100 |
$750 million |
Data Center |
10. |
Starbucks |
Atlanta |
N |
500 |
$16 million |
FinTech |
-
2018 Top Projects: Michigan
Population: 9.99 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Ford Motor Company |
Wayne County |
E |
2,500 |
$738 million |
Automotive/Engineering |
2. |
Amazon |
Kent County |
N |
2,025 |
$190 million |
Distribution |
3. |
Stryker Corporation |
Kalamazoo County |
E |
260 |
$109.8 million |
Medical Devices |
4. |
Ashley Capital |
Oakland County |
N |
613 |
$85 million |
Distribution |
5. |
Loc Performance Products, Inc. |
Wayne County |
E |
700 |
$71.5 million |
Defense/Military |
6. |
KLA Corporation |
Washtenaw County |
N |
500 |
$71.1 million |
Semiconductor Eqpt. |
7. |
United Shore Financial Services, LLC |
Oakland County |
E |
600 |
$69 million |
Financial Services |
8. |
The Kroger Co. |
Macomb County |
N |
377 |
$24.9 million |
Distribution |
9. |
Morley Companies, Inc. |
Saginaw County |
N |
525 |
$5.2 million |
Professional Services |
10. |
Nexient |
Washtenaw County |
E |
300 |
$4.2 million |
Information Technology |
-
2018 Top Projects: North Carolina
Population: 10.38 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Amazon |
Mecklenburg County |
N |
1,500 |
$200 million |
Distribution |
2. |
Amazon |
Wake County |
N |
1,500 |
$200 million |
Distribution |
3. |
AvidXchange |
Mecklenburg County |
E |
1,229 |
$41 million |
FinTech |
4. |
Mountaire Farms |
Chatham County |
E |
580 |
$86 million |
Food Processing |
5. |
House of Raeford Farms |
Duplin County |
E |
488 |
$75 million |
Food Processing |
6. |
Polywood |
Person County |
N |
384 |
$35.3 million |
Furniture |
7. |
Honeywell |
Mecklenburg County |
N |
750 |
$248 million |
Headquarters |
8. |
Sonic Automotive |
Gaston County |
N |
500 |
$11.2 million |
Automotive |
9. |
National General Insurance |
Forsyth County |
E |
626 |
$12.2 million |
Financial Services |
10. |
Albaad USA |
Rockingham County |
E |
302 |
$45 million |
Personal Care Products |
-
2018 Top Projects: Virginia
Population: 8.40 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Micron Technology* |
Manassas |
E |
1,100 |
$3 billion |
Semiconductors |
2. |
1901 Group |
Fairfax & Montgomery Counties |
E |
805 |
$4 million |
IT |
3. |
KPMG |
Fairfax County |
E |
521 |
$31.4 million |
Business Services |
4. |
Monogram Foods |
Henry County |
E |
300 |
$30 million |
Food Products |
5. |
Discovery, Inc. |
Loudoun County |
E |
240 |
$16 million |
Media Technology |
6. |
WillowTree, Inc. |
Albemarle County |
E |
200 |
$12.3 million |
Software Development |
7. |
Speyside Bourbon Cooperage |
Smyth & Washington Counties |
N |
160 |
$35 million |
Stave Mill & Cooperage |
8. |
TemperPack |
Henrico County |
N |
141 |
$10.4 million |
Thermal Insulation |
9. |
England Furniture |
Lee County |
N |
79 |
$1.3 million |
Furniture |
10. |
Service Center Metals |
Prince George County |
E |
58 |
$45.2 million |
Aluminum Extrusions |
*Project of the Year |
-
2018 Top Projects: Arizona
Population: 7.17 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Allstate |
Chandler |
N |
2,530 |
$38.9 million |
Banking/Finance/Insurance |
2. |
Deloitte Tax LLP |
Gilbert |
N |
2,500 |
$37.5 million |
IT |
3. |
The Money Source |
Phoenix |
N |
500 |
$7.5 million |
Banking/Finance/Insurance |
4. |
Nikola Motor Co.* |
Coolidge |
N |
2,062 |
$1 billion |
Commercial Trucks |
5. |
Amazon |
Tucson |
N |
1,500 |
$145 million |
Logistics/Distribution |
6. |
Freedom Financial Network |
Tempe |
N |
1,100 |
$20 million |
Banking/Finance/Insurance |
7. |
Voya Financial, Inc. |
Chandler |
N |
1,060 |
$60.6 million |
Banking & Finance |
8. |
Infosys |
Phoenix |
N |
1,000 |
$18.3 million |
IT |
9. |
Cognizant Technology Solutions |
Phoenix |
E |
921 |
$4.6 million |
IT |
10. |
Nationwide Realty Investors |
Scottsdale |
N |
514 |
$139 million |
Banking & Finance |
*Project of the Year |
-
2018 Top Projects: Indiana
Population: 6.69 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
GEICO |
Indianapolis |
E |
1,474 |
$16.5 million |
Insurance |
2. |
Amazon |
Greenwood |
N |
1,250 |
$80 million |
Distribution |
3. |
Sweetwater Sound, Inc. |
Fort Wayne |
E |
1,009 |
$76.4 million |
Warehousing |
4. |
Infosys Ltd. |
Indianapolis |
N |
1,000 |
$224.1 million |
Professional & Technical Services |
5. |
U.S. Steel Corp. |
Gary |
E |
0 |
$750 million |
Steel |
6. |
Lehigh Cement Co. LLC |
Mitchell |
E |
52 |
$548 million |
Cement |
7. |
United Collection. Bureau, Inc. |
Jeffersonville |
N |
621 |
$2.5 million |
Business Support Services |
8. |
Fulcrum Centerpoint, LLC |
Gary |
N |
163 |
$567 million |
Petrochemicals |
9. |
SF Motors, Inc. |
Mishawaka |
N |
467 |
$159.1 million |
Automotive |
10. |
Indiana NAP LLC |
Hammond |
N |
45 |
$201 million |
Data Processing/Hosting |
-
2018 Top Projects: South Carolina
Population: 5.08 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Google |
Berkeley County |
E |
0 |
$600 million |
Data Center |
2. |
Keurig Dr. Pepper |
Spartanburg County |
N |
500 |
$350 million |
Packaging |
3. |
Roundpoint Mortgage |
York County |
E |
1,100 |
$34 million |
Financial Services |
4. |
JW Aluminum |
Berkeley County |
E |
50 |
$255 million |
Aluminum |
5. |
Becton, Dickinson and Co. |
Sumter County |
E |
125 |
$150 million |
Medical Equipment |
6. |
Zeus Industrial Products |
Calhoun County |
E |
350 |
$76 million |
Polymers |
7. |
ServiceMac, LLC |
Lancaster County |
N |
1,000 |
$24 million |
Financial Services |
8. |
W International |
Berkeley County |
N |
600 |
$35.2 million |
Welded Metal Products |
9. |
Draexlmaier Automotive of America |
Spartanburg County |
E |
460 |
$42.7 million |
Automotive |
10. |
Samsung Electronics |
Greenville County |
N |
400 |
N/A |
Customer Service |
-
2018 Top Projects: Tennessee
Population: 6.85 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Amazon |
Nashville |
N |
5,000 |
$230 million |
Corporate Offices |
2. |
AllianceBernstein L.P. |
Nashville |
N |
1,050 |
$71.5 million |
Corporate Offices |
3. |
FedEx |
Memphis |
E |
0 |
$1 billion |
Freight/Trucking |
4. |
DENSO |
Athens |
E |
320 |
$190 million |
Motor Vehicle Parts |
5. |
Van Hool |
Morristown |
N |
640 |
$47 million |
Heavy Duty Trucks |
6. |
Indigo Ag, Inc. |
Memphis E |
700 |
$6.6 million |
R&D |
7. |
Asurion, Inc. |
Nashville |
E |
400 |
$288 million |
Insurance & Pension Administration |
8. |
Oshkosh Corp. |
Jefferson City |
N |
359 |
$30.6 million |
Automotive |
9. |
Keep Truckin, Inc. |
Nashville |
E |
386 |
$3.5 million |
Software Publishing |
10. |
Ernst & Young LLP |
Nashville |
E |
600 |
$22.7 million |
Business Services |
-
2018 Top Projects: Alabama
Population: 4.90 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Mazda/Toyota* |
Huntsville |
N |
4,000 |
$1.6 billion |
Automotive |
2. |
Amazon |
Bessemer |
N |
1,500 |
$325 million |
Distribution |
3. |
Mercedes-Benz U.S. Int’l. |
Bibb County |
N |
325 |
$268 million |
Automotive |
4. |
Haier U.S. Appliance Solutions, Inc. |
Decatur |
E |
255 |
$115 million |
Appliance Manufacturing & Distribution |
5. |
Airbus Mobile |
Mobile |
E |
432 |
$264 million |
Aerospace |
6. |
Facebook |
Huntsville |
N |
100 |
$750 million |
Data Center |
7. |
Shipt |
Birmingham |
E |
881 |
$10 million |
e-Commerce/Distribution |
8. |
Kimber Manufacturing Inc. |
Troy |
N |
366 |
$38 million |
Firearms |
9. |
Lockheed Martin Corp. |
Troy |
E |
60 |
$130 million |
Aerospace |
10. |
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC |
Montgomery |
E |
75 |
$388 million |
Automotive |
*Project of the Year |
-
2018 Top Projects: Kentucky
Population: 4.40 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Beam Distillery |
Bullitt County |
E |
5 |
$585 million |
Distillery |
2. |
Nucor Steel |
Gallatin County |
E |
70 |
$650 million |
Steel |
3. |
Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. |
Marion County |
E |
24 |
$463.8 million |
Distillery |
4. |
Novelis Corp. |
Todd County |
N |
125 |
$304.9 million |
Aluminum |
5. |
GE Appliance Park |
Jefferson County |
E |
400 |
$200 million |
Household Appliances |
6. |
Global Win Wickliffe, LLC |
Ballard County |
N |
500 |
$150 million |
Paper Packaging |
7. |
Century Aluminum |
Hancock |
E |
250 |
$116.5 million |
Aluminum |
8. |
Sister Schubert’s Homemade Rolls, Inc. |
Hart County |
E |
134 |
$74 million |
Food Processing |
9. |
Independent Stave Co. |
Rowan County |
N |
220 |
$66.5 million |
Wood Barrels |
10. |
Kobelco Aluminum |
Warren County |
E |
115 |
$48.5 million |
Aluminum |
-
2018 Top Projects: Nevada
Population: 3.03 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Axion Corp. |
Reno |
N |
511 |
$27.6 million |
Engineering/Manufacturing/Distribution |
2. |
Sephora USA, Inc. |
North Las Vegas |
N |
460 |
$36 million |
Logistics |
3. |
MECP1 Reno 1, LLC |
Reno |
N |
50 |
$106.8 million |
Data Center |
4. |
KRS Global Biotechnology, Inc. |
Henderson |
N |
160 |
$34.6 million |
Pharmaceuticals |
5. |
AeroSpec NDT Services, Inc. |
Lyon County |
N |
85 |
$124.6 million |
Aerospace/Defense Services |
6. |
Bigelow Aerospace |
North Las Vegas |
E |
30 |
$6.6 billion |
Aerospace/Defense |
7. |
VM Innovations |
Henderson |
E |
56 |
$60.8 mllion |
Aviation Services |
8. |
Scientific Games Corp. |
Las Vegas |
E |
300 |
$2 million |
Business/IT |
9. |
Design, LLC |
Henderson |
N |
50 |
$300 million |
Data Center |
10. |
C4 Mining Co. Inc. |
Clark County City |
N |
30 |
$25.4 million |
Business/IT |
-
2018 Top Projects: Utah
Population: 3.16 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Clarus Corp. |
Holladay |
E |
147 |
$40 million |
Headquarters |
2. |
GoHealth |
Lindon |
N |
363 |
$900,000 |
Insurance |
3. |
Canopy Tax |
Lehi |
E |
538 |
$7.5 million |
IT/Technology |
4. |
Amer Sports |
Ogden |
E |
155 |
$32 million |
Headquarters |
5. |
HealthEquity |
Salt Lake Cty. |
E |
500 |
$29.8 million |
FinTech |
6. |
Lending Club |
Salt Lake Cty. |
N |
860 |
$17.9 million |
FinTech |
7. |
Bullfrog Spas |
Herriman |
E |
150 |
$20 million |
Hot Tubs |
8. |
Merit Medical |
Salt Lake Cty. |
E |
1,010 |
$505 million |
Medical Devices |
9. |
Sarcos Corp. |
Salt Lake City |
E |
292 |
$2.4 million |
Tech/Robotics |
10. |
Moog Inc. |
Salt Lake Cty. |
E |
120 |
$2.2 million |
Defense/Aerospace |
-
2018 Top Projects: Mississippi
Population: 2.98 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Amazon |
Marshall County |
N |
850 |
$45 million |
Distribution |
2. |
SYNNEX Corp. |
Desoto County |
E |
600 |
$20 million |
Electrical Components |
3. |
Pearl River Foods |
Leake County |
E |
450 |
$1 million |
Poultry Processing |
4. |
Toyota |
Lee County |
E |
400 |
$170 million |
Automotive |
5. |
Williams-Sonoma |
Lee County |
E |
350 |
$18.5 million |
Furniture |
6. |
Raytheon |
Scott County |
E |
45 |
$100 million |
Radar |
7. |
DMC Power |
Desoto County |
N |
125 |
$8 million |
Connection Systems |
8. |
Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi |
Lee County |
E |
50 |
$100 million |
Automotive Parts |
9. |
Peco Foods |
Clay County |
E |
300 |
$40 million |
Poultry Processing |
10. |
Unified Brands |
Warren County |
E |
250 |
$9.5 million |
Food Equipment |
-
2018 Top Projects: Kansas
Population: 2.92 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Element, LLC |
Colwich |
N |
60 |
$180 million |
Ethanol |
2. |
Viega, LLC |
McPherson |
E |
40 |
$210 million |
Valves/Pipe Fittings |
3. |
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. |
Wichita |
E |
1,400 |
N/A |
Aircraft Parts |
4. |
Resers Fine Foods |
Topeka |
E |
60 |
$74 million |
Food Processing |
5. |
Scavuzzo’s Inc. |
Kansas City |
N |
70 |
$100 million |
Logistics/Distribution |
6. |
Palmer Manufacturing & Tank Inc. |
Garden Ctiy |
E |
201 |
$16.6 million |
Metal Fabrication |
7. |
Orizon Aerostructures, LLC |
Olathe |
E |
400 |
$127.3 million |
Aviation Parts |
8. |
GEICO |
Lenexa |
N |
500 |
$9.8 million |
Insurance |
9. |
Camso Manufacturing USA, Ltd. |
Junction City |
E |
41 |
$44 million |
Rubber Products
|
10. |
Overstock.com |
Kansas City |
N |
200 |
$14.2 million |
Logistics/Distribution |
-
2018 Top Projects: Nebraska
Population: 1.92 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Michael Foods |
Bloomfield |
E |
100 |
$150 million |
Food Processing |
2. |
Facebook |
Papillion |
E |
100 |
$500 million |
Data Center |
3. |
Becton Dickinson |
Columbus |
E |
200 |
$125 million |
Medical Devices |
4. |
i2c |
Omaha |
N |
300 |
$30 million |
Financial Services |
5. |
Ingredion |
South Sioux City |
E |
40 |
$84.2 million |
Food Processing |
6. |
BuilderTrend |
Omaha |
E |
300 |
$8.6 million |
Construction Software |
7. |
Rattlesnake Creek Wind Farm |
Allen |
N |
12 |
$470 million |
Wind Energy |
8. |
LDI Omaha Box Co. |
Papillion |
E |
20 |
$45 million |
Box Manufacturing |
9. |
Sholes Wind Energy Center (Nextra) |
Wayne |
N |
10 |
$250 million |
Wind Energy
|
10. |
Wholestone Foods |
Fremont |
E |
500 |
$180 million |
Food Processing |
-
2018 Top Projects: Rhode Island
Population: 1.06 million
|
Company |
City |
N/E |
Job Creation |
Investment |
Industry |
1. |
Electric Boat Corp.* |
North Kingstown |
E |
1,309 million |
$792.1 |
Shipbuilding |
2. |
Immunex Rhode Island Corp. |
Kent |
E |
146 |
$164.1 million |
Pharmaceuticals |
3. |
Infinity Meat Solutions, LLC |
North Kingstown |
N |
702 |
110.2 million |
Food Packaging |
4. |
iXblue Defense Systems, Inc. |
Lincoln |
N |
22 |
$2.9 million |
Defense |
5. |
Rubius Therapeutics, Inc. |
Smithfield |
N |
154 |
$188 million |
Biopharmaceuticals |
*Project of the Year |
-
2019 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Billion Dollar(s) Projects Of The Year (2018)
Project |
Location |
Jobs |
Investment |
Mazda/Toyota |
Huntsville, AL |
4,000 |
$1.6 billion |
Nikola Motor Co. |
Coolidge, AZ |
2,062 |
$1 billion |
Bigelow Aerospace |
North Las Vegas, NV |
30 |
$6.6 billion |
FedEx |
Memphis, TN |
0 |
$1 billion |
Formosa Plastics |
Point Comfort, TX |
340 |
$5 billion |
Cheniere Energy |
Corpus Christi, TX |
430 |
$3 billion |
Lyondell-Basell |
Channelview, TX |
160 |
$2.4 billion |
Covestro |
Baytown, TX |
75 |
$1.72 billion |
Micron Technology |
Manassas, VA |
1,100 |
$3 billion |
Dealing with Data
Though not on the same colossal scale as Amazon’s flurry of fulfillment centers, fellow market-capitalization giant
Facebook is doing its economic investment part by building more and more data centers. One is a $750 million, 100-job
facility slated for the Rocket City of Huntsville, Alabama. Another is an expansion in Papillion, Nebraska, where six
data hall buildings will total 2.6 million square feet and a hundred more people will go to work. And the social media
company appropriately chose the Georgia city of Social Circle for another 100-job, $750 million data center. It’s one of
a number of recent data center developments in and around Atlanta.
Google has lots of data center capacity, too, but is adding to it by expanding its South Carolina data center outside
Charleston. It’s a $600 million investment. The Design LLC data center to be located in Henderson, Nevada, is a
Google-subsidiary development. Other data center projects beyond Facebook and Google include one in Indiana, the Digital
Crossroads of America Data Center planned by Indiana NAP in Hammond. And Nevada is welcoming MECP1 in Reno.
Diverse Manufacturing Jobs
Needless to say, manufacturing projects have always been a feather-in-the-cap for states lucky enough to land them,
given that they tend to produce relatively stable, decent-paying jobs. The Shovel Award top project lists include a fair
number of 2018 manufacturing wins, including a number of massive projects in terms of four-figure job totals.
In Kansas, for example, Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita is planning to hire 1,400 more employees over the next few years
to support commercial and defense programs. The company already had announced a thousand new jobs the year before, but
the business keeps building, according to the announcement from the company’s president and CEO, Tom Gentile:
“The aerospace market is growing as never before, and for us that means we continue to need even more highly skilled people.” The aerospace business is good for Wichita and for Kansas as a whole — another
of its headlines was a 400-job expansion at aviation parts supplier Orizon Aerostructures in Olathe.
To the west, the expansion of Merit Medical in Salt Lake County is a half-billion-dollar deal that promises 1,010 jobs
in the state of Utah. Merit makes disposable medical devices that are used in intervention, diagnostic, and therapeutic
medical procedures. Other medical-device-makers expanding include Becton Dickinson in Columbus, Nebraska, which will add
200 jobs, and Stryker in Portage, Michigan, with plans to add 260 jobs. And
biopharma company Regeneron is investing
more than $800 million in Renssalear, New York, where it will employ 1,500.
Meanwhile, Ford made big headlines with an interesting site choice for 2,500 of its employees involved in electric and
autonomous vehicles: the Michigan Central train station in the Corktown area of Detroit.
“It will be the proving ground where Ford and our partners design and test the
services and solutions for the way people are going to live and get around tomorrow,” said Ford President and CEO Jim
Hackett.
Tennessee’s strong automotive sector also drove a few significant manufacturing projects last year. Belgian bus-maker
Van Hool announced a plant in Morristown, with at least 600 on the payroll to begin with and as many as twice that in
the next several years. Japanese supplier Denso, in the community of Athens, is expanding with more than 300 new jobs.
And truck-maker Oshkosh Corp. is taking over a John Deere facility in Jefferson City, with plans to add more than 300
jobs.
South Carolina also has a strong automotive sector, and that’s reflected in its 460-job expansion project from supplier
Draexlmaier Automotive of America, near the BMW assembly plant.
A nearly $800 million expansion at Electric Boat Corp. in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, helped make the state a
recipient of its premiere Shovel award. The 1,300-job project will allow the company to annually produce three
Virginia-class submarines.
In North Carolina, a total of more than a thousand new jobs will result from a pair of food-processing operations:
Mountaire Farms and House of Raeford Farms, both in the business of poultry. And several food processing expansions are
also on Nebraska’s top projects list: Wholestone Foods, Michael Foods, and Ingredion are all expanding in the
state.
Kentucky manufactures many things, perhaps none more beloved than bourbon. Two distilleries made the state’s top
projects list for expansion plans. Jim Beam announced an infrastructure investment of $585 million, while Maker’s Mark
pledged to invest more than $460 million, and Independent Stave Co. is adding jobs and pumping investment into the
business of making wood barrels to age the bourbon. Virtually all of Kentucky’s big 2018 projects were in manufacturing,
and they provided a showcase of the state’s diversity. Three different companies are investing and creating new jobs in
aluminum manufacturing, and steelmaker Nucor is making a $650 million investment as well.
Mississippi also displayed its diversity in manufacturing and related sectors. Two big projects involve poultry
processing: Pearl River Foods is adding 450 workers in Carthage, and Peco Foods will hire 300 at a facility where frozen
chicken products will be handled. Two announcements were in the automotive sector, including a $170 million retooling at
the Toyota assembly plant in Jackson, where an additional 400 workers will be needed to roll more next-generation
Corollas off the line.
Big-Dollar Deals
Only a handful of 2018 projects entered 10-figure dollar territory. Not surprisingly, a lot of them involved
petrochemicals, a sector where it’s tough to do much that’s substantial for less than a billion dollars. Also not
surprisingly, the billion-dollar petrochemical activity was centered in Texas.
In the Lone Star State, Formosa Plastics pledged $5 billion on an expansion intended to broaden the company’s line of
plastic resins and get into low-density polyethylene resins. It’s a pricey project with a good-sized employee count,
adding about 340 to the payroll. Another 430 jobs are part of a $3 billion Cheniere Energy project in Corpus Christi
involving liquefied natural gas production. In Channelview, LyondellBasell broke ground on what will become the largest
propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol plant ever built. It’s a $2.4 billion project, and by the time it’s done, 160
jobs will be added. Another chemical-related expansion was announced in Baytown, where German manufacturer Covestro is
pumping $1.7 billion into its operation to boost production of a key chemical found in polyurethane foam.
Automotive and semiconductor operations also often top the billion-dollar mark. That’s the case with the $1.6 billion
being spent by the Mazda/Toyota joint venture in Alabama.
Mazda/Toyota’s Huntsville plant will create some 4,000 jobs
. But Alabama’s automotive news goes beyond the Mazda/Toyota joint venture. Mercedes-Benz new Bibb County
facility is part of its overall Alabama operation, and Hyundai is investing nearly $400 million in an expansion in
Montgomery.
The decision by Nikola Motor Co. to build hydrogen-electric trucks in Coolidge, Arizona, also represents a $1 billion
investment and the creation of 2,100 jobs. Additionally, having a shovel-ready site helped seal the deal
according to a statement from Nikola Motor Co. CEO Trevor Milton: “Coolidge had a shovel-ready 430-acre piece of
property with the infrastructure already in place that will shave years off our construction time…
We have customers like Anheuser-Busch and US Xpress who are ready for their trucks, and with
this move, we’ll be able to deliver much faster.”
Finally, with all of the automotive-related projects,
Micron Technology is facing increased demand for its computer
chips which are used in the advanced technology found in today’s vehicles. In response to this, it is expanding in
Manassas, Virginia, at a cost of $3 billion and will create 1,100 jobs.