AlabamaIt’s almost like a stuck record in Alabama, but it’s playing beautiful music that economic development officials will never tire of hearing. Automotive and aerospace manufacturing continues to drive healthy economic activity, enough for yet another Silver Shovel honor covering the news from 2016. It was not so much a huge win but a combination of good victories, including five automotive projects that together add up to the promise of about 1,400 jobs.
2016 Top Projects: Alabama
Population: 4.88 Million
|
Company | City | N/E | Job Creation | Investment | Industry |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Lear Corp. | Brookwood | E | 535 | $27.7 million | Automotive |
2. | The Boeing Co. | Huntsville | E | 470 | $78 million | Aerospace |
3. | UTC Aerospace Systems | Foley | E | 260 | $20.4 million | Aerospace |
4. | Gerhardi Kunststofftechnik GmbH | Montgomery | N | 235 | $37.9 million | Automotive |
5. | Mollertech | Woodstock | N | 222 | $46.3 million | Automotive |
6. | Car Tech, LLC | Opelika | N | 200 | $71.8 million | Automotive |
7. | Eissmann Automotive North America Inc. | Pell City | E | 200 | $14.5 million | Automotive |
8. | Yulista Management Services, Inc. | Huntsville | E | 200 | $13.5 million | Aviation Services |
9. | Kronospan U.S. LLC | Eastaboga | E | 160 | $362 million | Forest Products |
10. | CAE USA | Dothan | N | 100 | $75 million | Aviation Technologies |
For example, Lear Operations makes seats for the Mercedes plant, and its local employee count will be more than four times bigger once its expansion is up and running in a couple of years. Meanwhile, a German company named Gerhardi Kuntstofftechnik is planning its first North American plant to supply Alabama’s Hyundai plant. Good automotive news keeps building upon itself.
Four more top projects are flying in from the aerospace and aviation technologies industry, led by Boeing’s plans in Huntsville. It’s part of a restructuring of its Strategic Defense & Intelligence System division that will transfer some jobs in and potentially create more, according to company officials. Altogether, the top aviation/aerospace-related projects will add a thousand jobs to the state’s economic picture.
IowaThose who know of Iowa as an agricultural state are certainly not wrong, as evidenced by the list of top 2016 projects that helped land the state in Silver Shovel territory. Four major projects were tied to food processing, led by the announcement that Prestage Foods of Iowa will build a pork processing plant in Eagle Grove and create more than 900 jobs. Ron Prestage, of the family that owns the company, notes that “Iowa is the nation’s leading pork-producing state and currently produces more pigs than it can process.”
2016 Top Projects: Iowa*
Population: 3.13 Million
|
Company | City | N/E | Job Creation | Investment | Industry |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Farmers Energy Cardinal, LLC | Atlantic | N | 49 | $189.9 million | Ethanol Plant |
2. | Templeton Rye Co. | Templeton | E | 27 | $25.9 million | Food/Beverage Processing |
3. | Simply Essential, LLC | Charles City | N | 254 | $29.9 million | Food Processing |
4. | LightEdge Solutions, Inc. | Altoona | E | 6 | $30 million | Information Technology |
5. | Cognizant Solutions | Des Moines | E | 1,014 | $9 million | Technical Services Technology |
6. | Keokuk Mills, LLC | Keokuk | N | 200 | $4.5 million | Steel Castings |
7. | Microsoft Corp. | West Des Moines | E | 57 | $417.7 million | Information Technology |
8. | Prestage Foods of Iowa | Eagle Grove | N | 922 | $239.3 million | Food Processing |
9. | Wells Enterprises, Inc. | LeMars | E | 81 | $40.4 million | Food Processing |
10. | IMT Insurance Co. | West Des Moines | E | 33 | $36.7 million | Financial Services/Insurance |
*Represents a state/local sponsor |
Simply Essentials, meanwhile, announced plans to reopen a poultry facility in Charles City and put more than 250 people to work. And not to neglect the importance of corn to the state’s economy, Farmers Energy Cardinal unveiled plans for a corn ethanol plant in Cass County that would be a nearly $190 million investment.
All that said, there’s much more than agriculture in Iowa, which benefits from a diverse economy featuring a healthy share of manufacturing, biotechnology, and finance and insurance operations. Three of the state’s major 2016 announcements were in technical services and information technology, including a thousand-job project from Cognizant Technology Solutions in Des Moines.
South Carolina A roster of big-dollar and well-balanced projects made 2016 a fine year in South Carolina. Even as automotive giants Mercedes and Volvo work on new or expanded plants that promise significant rewards in the next few years, Michelin is adding to the auto-related excitement with plans for a tire distribution center in Spartanburg County that will add 350 jobs. Also in Spartanburg County, Magna International broke ground for an automotive seating facility that’ll be worth about 480 jobs.
2016 Top Projects: South Carolina
Population: 4.94 Million
|
Company | City | N/E | Job Creation | Investment | Industry |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | China Jushi | Richland County | N | 400 | $300 million | Fiberglass Products |
2. | Teijin Ltd. | Greenwood County | N | 220 | $600 million | Carbon Fiber |
3. | Michelin North America | Spartanburg County | N | 350 | $270 million | Tires |
4. | Robert Bosch LLC | Dorchester County | E | 150 | $175 million | Technology Services |
5. | Blackbaud | Berkeley County | E | 300 | $154 million | Software & Services |
6. | Magna International | Spartanburg County | N | 480 | $29 million | Automotive |
7. | PL Developments | Greenville County | N | 450 | $45 million | Pharmaceuticals |
8. | Ritrama | Spartanburg County | N | 150 | $85 million | Adhesive Materials |
9. | Techtronic Industries | Anderson County | E | 250 | $75 million | Industrial Products |
10. | Tower International | Greenville County | N | 140 | $75 million | Engineered Structural Metals |
Noteworthy, though, is how much activity is outside the hard-driving automotive sector. China Jushi, for example, is creating 400 jobs in the fiberglass arena, joined by 220 more in carbon fiber technology, courtesy of Teijin Ltd. In making the Teijin announcement, Wayne Trotter, the company’s director of government relations, hailed “the diversity of Greenwood’s citizens, the community’s rich history of welcoming foreign investment, and the excellent training opportunities available at Piedmont Technical College.”
South Carolina’s top projects also showcase a growing software and technology presence, plus pharmaceuticals, adhesive materials, and engineered metals. As automotive operations continue to gain strength, so do many other parts of this diverse economy.
UtahAdd a Silver Shovel to Utah’s growing list of business accolades. The state is adding investment and jobs in a variety of highly desirable sectors, with software and information technology leading the way. It’s one of a half-dozen sectors that make up the strategic industry clusters pursued by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, which has had noteworthy success promoting the “Silicon Slopes.”
2016 Top Projects: Utah
Population: 3.05 Million
|
Company | City | N/E | Job Creation | Investment | Industry |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Honeyville, Inc. | Weber County | N | 115 | $23 million | Food Processing |
2. | SoFi | Salt Lake County | N | 400 | $8 million | Software/IT |
3. | Entrata Property | Utah County | N | 191 | $6 million | Software/IT Solutions |
4. | Duncan Aviation | Utah County | N | 700 | $53 million | Aircraft Maintenance/Painting |
5. | UPS | Salt Lake County | N | 195 | $207 million | Logistics/Transportation |
6. | PillPack | Salt Lake County | E | 300 | $32 million | Pharmacy Services |
7. | Connexion Point | Salt Lake County | E | 221 | $9 million | Software/IT |
8. | The White Wave Foods Co. | Salt Lake County | N | 105 | $70 million | Food Processing |
9. | Lucid Software | Salt Lake County | N | 339 | $11 million | Software/IT |
10. | Packsize | Salt Lake County | N | 354 | $9.2 million | Packaging Systems |
SoFi, for example, brings high-tech savvy to the lending arena (also known as financial technology or fintech), and made a 400-job announcement. Hundreds more Salt Lake County jobs were promised by cloud-based web tool provider Lucid Software and the healthcare analytics firm Connexion Point. And Entrata’s property management software is creating nearly 200 more in Utah County.
What else is the state seeking? Aerospace and defense jobs are on the strategic list, and last year’s top projects include a major win there. Energy is an area of interest, along with life sciences, financial services, and outdoor products/recreation.
2017 Gold Shovel Awards: The Winning States
- Illinois
- Georgia
- Arizona
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
2017 Silver Shovel Awards
12+ Million Population Category
- California
- Florida
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
8 to 12 Million Population Category
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
5 to 8 Million Population Category
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Tennessee
3 to 5 Million Population Category
- Alabama
- Iowa
- South Carolina
- Utah
Under 3 Million Population Category
- Kansas
- Nevada
2017 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Billion Dollar(s) Projects Of The Year (2016)
Project | Location | Jobs | Investment |
---|---|---|---|
Shandong Sun Paper | Arkadelphia, AR | 250 | $1B |
Tellurian Investments | Calcasieu Parish, LA | 551 | $11.8Bb |
Venture Global LNG | Plaquemines Parish | 250 | $8.5B |
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles LLC | Sterling Heights, MI | 700 | $1.5B |
Ford Motor Co. Expansion | Livonia, MI | 500 | $1.4B |
Continental Tire | Hinds County, MS | 2,500 | $1.5B |
Royal Dutch Shell | Potter, PA | 600 | $6B |
General Motors | Spring Hill, TN | 1,431 | $1B |
ALSAC St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital |
Memphis, TN | 1,800 | $1B |
Lockheed Martin | Fort Worth, TX | 1,000 | $1.2B |
ExxonMobil | Beaumont, TX | 40 | $1.2B |
Samsung | Austin, TX | 250 | $1B |
2017 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: Large Job-Creating Projects Of The Year (2016)*
Project | Location | Jobs | Investment |
---|---|---|---|
Cognizant Technology Solutions | Des Moines, IA | 1,014 | $9M |
Under Armour | Sparrows, MD | 1,000 | $174M |
Continental Tire | Hinds County, MS | 2,500 | $1.5M |
Topship LLC | Gulfport, MS | 1,000 | $68M |
JPMorgan Chase | Jersey City, NJ | 2,150 | $68.3M |
ALSAC St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital |
Memphis, TN | 1,800 | $1B |
General Motors | Spring Hill, TN | 1,431 | $1B |
GM Financial | Arlington, TX | 1,300 | $35M |
Lockheed Martin | Fort Worth, TX | 1,000 | $1.2B |
McKesson Corp. | Irving, TX | 1,000 | $157M |
ADP | Norfolk, VA | 1,800 | $32.3M |
CIOX Health | Phoenix, AZ | 2,820 | $15M |
Lucid Motors | Casa Grande, AZ | 2,213 | $735M |
Raytheon Missile Systems | Tucson, AZ | 1,975 | $352.3M |
ADP | Tempe, AZ | 1,500 | $33.8M |
Oscar | Tempe, AZ | 1,250 | $5M |
Wells Fargo | Chandler, AZ | 1,200 | $25M |
Farmers Insurance | Phoenix, AZ | 1,188 | $41.3M |
Snapchat | Venice Beach, CA | 1,194 | $32M |
Google, Inc. | Boulder, CO | 1,000 | $150M |
ADP, LLC | Maitland, FL | 1,600 | $28.4M |
NCR | Atlanta, GA | 1,800 | $145M |
Anthem | Atlanta, GA | 1,800 | $20M |
UPS | Atlanta, GA | 1,250 | $400M |
Home Chef | Dekalb, GA | 1,200 | $3.4M |
Sentury Tire | Troup, GA | 1,000 | $150M |
Rivian Automotive | Normal, IL | 1,000 | $175M |
* See e-Commerce Projects of the Year chart for other large job-creating projects. |
2017 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards: E-Commerce* Projects Of The Year (2016)
Project | Location | Jobs | Investment |
---|---|---|---|
Amazon | Aurora, CO | 250 | $27M |
Amazon | Jacksonville, FL | 1,500 | $198M |
Amazon | Jackson County, GA | 500 | N/A** |
Amazon | Edwardsville, Romeoville, Monee, Joliet, IL |
4,500 | $355M |
Amazon | Edgerton & Kansas City | 2,000 | $292.6M |
Amazon | Livonia, MI | 1,000 | $90M |
Amazon | Shakopee, MN | 1,000 | $250M |
Amazon | North Las Vegas, NV | 1,000 | $18M |
Amazon | Carteret & Florence, NJ | 2,000 | N/A** |
Amazon | Charlotte, NC | 1,500 | $50M |
Amazon | Palmer & Pittston, PA | 850 | N/A** |
Amazon | Houston, TX | 1,000 | $136M |
* Projects represent Amazon fulfillment centers **Investment confidential |
MethodologyArea 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 collected information from all 50 states about their top-10 job-creation and investment projects initiated in 2016 (only those projects that actually had monies invested, “broke ground,” began an expansion, started new hiring, etc. were considered). 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, the diversity of industry represented — five states achieving the highest weighted overall scores were awarded Area Development’s 2017 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 2017 Silver Shovels.