MORRIS PLAINS, N.J.—Pfizer Inc. plans to spend $400 million over the
next five years to expand its world headquarters in Morris Plains.
Company and local officials are discussing a project that would add
900,000 square feet to the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare campus, which
could add 1,300 jobs.
MOUNT CRAWFORD, Va.—Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is investing $55 million to
locate a regional distribution center in Rockingham County, creating
1,000 new jobs. The 1.2 million-square-foot facility is projected to
begin construction next spring, with planned service to stores by spring
of 2005.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.—Verizon Wireless has leased a 160,000-square-foot
building for a call center that will open in October 2003 and employ
more than 1,000 people. Total investment in the project by all partners
totals $24 million.
RESTON, Va.—Information technology firm Unisys Corp. is consolidating
its federal government division into a leased 275,000-square-foot
facility in Fairfax County. The move could create up to 900 jobs over
the next three years. Unisys is also planning a two-year expansion and
intends to lease an additional 145,000 square feet of office space in
northern Virginia.
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—GTECH Holdings Corp. is moving its corporate
headquarters from West Greenwich, R.I., to downtown Providence in a deal
that will bring 700 jobs to the area. GTECH plans to build a $65
million, 265,000-square-foot office building for its worldwide
headquarters that will open within two years. In addition, GTECH plans
to build a $20 million manufacturing plant that will employ about 200 at
the West Warwick Industrial Park.
MISSION, Texas—Wireless service provider T-Mobile USA Inc. is leasing a
75,000-square-foot call center in the Rio Grande Valley. The center,
which will create 680 jobs, will be operational this summer.
JUNCOS, Puerto Rico—Amgen has announced plans to invest $800 million
over the next 3 to 5 years to build a new biotech center. The project is
expected to create around 600 new jobs over the next four years.
INDIANAPOLIS—Roche Diagnostics Corp. will invest more than $135 million
and create approximately 600 new jobs at its Indianapolis campus on the
northeast side of the city over the next 10 years. The company has added
108,000 square feet to its manufacturing center and expects to expand
its other operations over the next decade.
ST. LOUIS—Boeing Co. is moving its Future Combat Systems program to St.
Louis, bringing as many as 500 new jobs by the end of 2004. The
53,000-square-feet will house jobs filled by employees transferring from
California and other locations and some will be filled by new hires in
St. Louis.
COLUMBUS, Miss.—American Eurocopter Corp. is expanding its employee base
for the first building phase of its assembly plant in Lowndes County.
The U.S. subsidiary of European Aeronautics, Defense and Space of
France, the company has increased the number of workers initially needed
to build the $10 million, 100,000-square-foot plant to 125. The company
will eventually bring 500 assembly jobs to the area.
ORLANDO, Fla.—CuraScript Pharmacy Inc. has started construction on its
new 80,000-square-foot international headquarters, replacing its
previous Orlando offices. The biotech pharmacy company plans to spend
approximately $18 million and add 460 employees to the area over the
next four years. The new facility is scheduled for completion in
December 2004.
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala.—South Korea-based automotive supplier Samlip
Industrial Co. Ltd. is opening a $53 million manufacturing plant that
will employ some 400 in Alexander City. Construction on the
130,000-square-foot facility will begin in August, with a targeted
opening of September 2004.
OPELIKA, Ala.—A South Korea-based auto supplier is opening its first
North American manufacturing plant in Opelika. Mando Corp. will pump $30
million into the community and employ about 150 people at its
159,000-square-foot facility. Construction is expected to begin this
summer, with completion targeted next May.
COLUMBIA, S.C.—CallTech Communications LLC has opened its newest
25,000-square-foot, 300-seat call center in Columbia. CallTech typically
invests approximately $1 million in equipment. CallTech hired about 200
agents to provide customer service and support and plans to double
employment in the next six months.
GREENVILLE, Ala.—A South Korean auto parts producer is building a $70
million plant to supply the Hyundai factory in Montgomery, Ala. Hwashin
produces chassis, drive train and body parts. The 62-acre plant is
expected to employ 400 people.
LACEY, Wash.—Target Corp. has dedicated a 1.5 million-square-foot import
distribution center in Lacey. The center, which will stockpile Target
merchandise and disperse products to regional stores, will cost more
than $61 million to build. The facility will employ 300 to 500 people
depending on the shipping season.
SANFORD, N.C.—Racing to meet demand for a new children’s vaccine, a
division of drugmaker Wyeth says it will expand its manufacturing plant
in Sanford and boost its workforce by 350 this year. Radford, Pa.-based
Wyeth Vaccines is in the midst of spending $125 million consolidating
vaccine production. Part of those costs will include a
115,000-square-foot expansion.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas—Exterior paneling producer Resicon Manufacturing Inc.
has signed a 10-year lease for a 150,000-square-foot former Levi’s
plant. Resicon has made an initial investment of about $1.5 million.
Production began in May with a potential for 300 more hires.
AUSTIN, Texas—The Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLP plant is expanding
its facility and adding 300 jobs. The $500 million upgrade and expansion
will allow the plant to produce nanotechnology chips—1-gigabit memory
chips used in high-end servers. The three-year project will add 40,000
square feet of clean-room space to the existing 660,000-square-foot
plant.
WILSON COUNTY, N.C.—BB&T Corp. is building a $12 million loan-processing
facility in eastern North Carolina that will create 300 jobs over the
next three years. Winston-Salem, N.C.-based BB&T plans to build a
100,000-square-foot building in Wilson County. The project will be ready
by early 2004 and fully operational later that year.
CHESAPEAKE, Va.—Hudd Distribution, a subsidiary of Copenhagen,
Denmark-based Maersk Logistics, is expanding its 225,000-square-foot
distribution facility in Chesapeake’s Gateway Commerce Park. Through a
$14 million investment, the company will create 260 new jobs. Hudd
Distribution will purchase 25 acres for the 80,000-square-foot addition.
JACKSON, Tenn.—Toyota subsidiary Bodine Aluminum Inc. plans to build an
engine block factory on a 200-acre site that will begin production in
late 2005. The $124 million plant will generate 200 jobs. Toyota
estimates its total investment in the project at $373 million over the
next 20 years.
ATHENS, Ala.—Steelcase Inc., an office furniture manufacturer, is
planning a $2.3 million renovation of its Athens plant. Company
officials say the plant’s productivity and state incentives were
determining factors in keeping the plant open and updated. The project
is scheduled for completion in December and will create 200 jobs.
LUMBERTON, N.C.—Toolmaker Q.E.P. Co. Inc. plans to open a manufacturing
plant in Lumberton, creating approximately 220 jobs. The city offered
the company a $5 million, 250,000-square-foot facility as part of an
inducement package to move to the area. The company has not revealed
which of its existing operations will be moved to the new site.
HORSE CAVE, Ky.—Nationwide manufacturer of salad dressing and dips, T.
Marzetti Co. is building a 220,000-square-foot food-processing facility.
The facility will employ about 190 workers and could be in operation as
early as 2004, but no firm date for opening has been established.
Alpharetta, Ga.—E*Trade Group Inc. plans to add at least 1,900 workers
to support its web-based investment business. It opened in Alpharetta,
20 miles north of Atlanta, with 300 employees in April 1999, and planned
to hire another 700 in the first half of this year. The project includes
a 450,000-square-foot expansion.
LaVergne, Tenn.—Hewlett-Packard Co. will relocate several of its
manufacturing, distribution and returns processing activities to
LaVergne, a suburb of Nashville, bringing 1,500 technology-related jobs
by 2001. The company selected Mid-South Logistec Center to serve as its
newest North American manufacturing and distribution hub for selected
products.
Scranton, Pa.—Corning Inc. plans to create 1,000 new jobs with the
opening of its new fiber-optic equipment manufacturing plant outside
Scranton. The company will spend about $50 million to renovate and open
the 115,000-square-foot telecommunications plant.
Sandy City, Utah—Online brokerage firm DLJdirect plans to open a
facility in Sandy City, located approximately 15 miles south of Salt
Lake City, to serve as an investor service center. The company will
immediately hire and train 350 to 400 employees, and plans to grow to
1,000 employees at the Utah location. DLJdirect is headquartered in
Jersey City, N.J., with offices worldwide.
Gresham, Ore.—Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. (FMI)
will expand production of flash memory for mobile products at its
manufacturing facility in Gresham, approximately 10 miles east of
Portland. The company plans to invest $0 million over the next two years
and add 300 employees to the Gresham facility over the next three years.
Fujitsu Limited is a provider of Internet-based information technology
solutions for the global marketplace; FMI designs, manufactures and
markets advanced semiconductors and electronic devices.
Chattanooga, Tenn.—Covenant Transport will expand its HQ, located off
Interstate 24 in Lookout Valley, by adding more than 100,000 square feet
and hiring an additional 600 employees. The $10 million addition is
scheduled for completion by December, with new employees being added
through 2005.
Manassas, Va.—Through a $700 million investment, Toshiba Corp. and
SanDisk Corp. have agreed to create a new semiconductor company,
FlashVision LLC, to produce advanced flash memory at Dominion
Semiconductor in Manassas, approximately 35 miles southwest of
Arlington. The project will result in 600 new jobs for the state.
Spring Valley, Ill.—Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will locate its new 1.2
million-square-foot distribution center in Spring Valley, Ill., 50 miles
northeast of Peoria, and will employ approximately 600 people when fully
operational.
White Plains, N.Y.—Metromedia Fiber Network, a provider of
high-bandwidth optical Internet infrastructure, will create 566 new
high-tech telecommunications jobs by expanding its HQ to a renovated
corporate facility.
Morgantown, W. Va.—TeleTech Holdings Inc., a provider of customer
interaction management solutions, will create as many as 500 jobs at a
new customer interaction center in Mountaineer Mall. The Morgantown
center is TeleTech’s second in West Virginia.
Scott County, Va.—Tempur-Pedic Inc. will create 265 jobs when it opens
its first domestic manufacturing plant. The $14 million facility will
manufacture mattresses, pillows, lumbar supports and seat cushions made
from a temperature-sensitive polyurethane foam. Tempur-Pedic is
headquartered in Lexington, Ky.
Martinsville, Va.—National Catalog Corp. (NCC) will hire 250 customer
service representatives when it opens a $3 million inbound call center.
NCC is a Web-enabled call center that utilizes the Internet for inbound
calls, and contracts for order taking. A division of Distribution
Associates, NCC is based in Greenwich, Conn.
Indianapolis, Ind.—Virtual Financial Services Inc. (VIFI), a provider of
Internet banking capability and real-time VISA and MasterCard processing
for community banks and credit unions, will join the high-tech tenant
mix at Indianapolis’ Woodland Corporate Park later this year. Duke-Weeks
Realty Corp. began construction in February of a 90,000-square-foot
project scheduled for completion in October. VIFI considered relocating
to St. Louis before making its selection. The company will create 244
new high-tech jobs in Indianapolis over the next three years, and plans
to add an additional 240 jobs after 2002, during phase two.
Palestine, Texas—BlueCross BlueShield of Texas plans to hire
approximately 200 workers for a new 55,000-square-foot claims data entry
facility in Palestine, approximately 90 miles southeast of Dallas,
scheduled to open in early summer 2000. The facility will be a key
component of the company’s Blue Chip claims imaging system.
Radcliff, Ky.—Later this year, Assurance Packaging and Manufacturing
plans to locate its first expansion project in Radcliff, approximately
30 miles south of Louisville, when it acquires the city’s
40,000-square-foot spec building, located on nine acres in the Radcliff
Industrial Park. The facility will employ 200, with a projected
investment of $1.5 million. The company, based in Lexington, Ala.,
produces returnable packaging and racking systems for the glass and
automotive industries.
White Plains, N.Y.—Greenwich Technology Partners Inc. will invest $9
million to relocate and expand its corporate HQ, and will add 179 new
jobs over the next three years. Its present work force consists of 72
employees who will relocate from Stamford, Conn., and 42 employees in
its Manhattan branch office. The company is a provider of infrastructure
architecture.
Prince George County, Va.—Perdue Farms, a producer of poultry, plans to
hire up to 175 employees at a new distribution center in southeast
Virginia. The 125,000-square-foot project represents a $25 million
investment for the company.
Harrison County, W.Va.—Merrick Engineering Inc. plans to hire at least
150 employees over the next three years for a plastics manufacturing
facility the company will open this year in northern West Virginia. The
100,000-square-foot facility represents a $5 million investment. The
company is one of the largest manufacturers of plastic hangers and
closet accessories in the United States.
Grand Forks, N.D.—Amazon.com began hiring 150 people in late 1999 for
its new customer service center. The acquisition of an existing
business, called Tool Crib, helped to create Amazon.com Home
Improvement, which features a large selection of tools and equipment,
and hard-to-find home-improvement products and brands.
Fort Myers, Fla.—CallTech Communications LLC, a provider of high
quality customer support services, plans to hire 150 people at a
25,000-square-foot facility that opened in early 2000. The company,
based in Columbus, Ohio, provides customer service and technical support
for AOL/CompuServe, Universal Studios, Priceline.com and BellSouth.
Denton, N.C.—Mickey Truck Bodies Inc., global manufacturer of
all-aluminum truck bodies and trailers, will build a new
125,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Denton, 45 miles south of
Greensboro. The company will invest approximately $6.5 million in the
facility, due to be operational by mid-2001 and expected to employ 150
people in its first year. The company is based in High Point, N.C., with
locations in six U.S. cities.
Morrilton, Ark.—Telex Communications Inc., a designer, manufacturer and
marketer of audio, wireless and multimedia communications products,
plans to bring more than 140 new jobs to Morrilton, 40 miles north of
Little Rock, when it opens in the Arrow Automotive building. The city
lost almost 1,100 jobs when two key plants, Arrow Automotive and Levi
Strauss, closed last year.
Buffalo, N.Y.—In December 1999, Reciprocal Inc. began hiring the first
of 138 employees the company needs for its expanding manufacturing
plant. The $2.3 million investment in the facility, which currently
employs 76 people, is supported by a $500,000 grant from the Empire
State Development Board to help support equipment and employee
recruitment costs. Reciprocal is a provider of outsourced sales,
technical support and fulfillment services to the computer industry.
Huguley, Ala.—Norbord Industries, a unit of Nexfor Inc., plans to hire
approximately 130 employees for a new manufacturing plant that will open
by summer 2001. The $125 million project is to be located on a 320-acre
site in Chambers County and will consume 320,000 cords of wood annually.
Norbord is a producer of softwood lumber, medium density fiberboard and
hardwood plywood.
Russellville, Ark.—Goody’s Family Clothing plans to hire an initial 125
people for a $20 million, 234,000-square-foot distribution center in
Russellville, 60 miles northwest of Little Rock, that will open by
spring 2001. The facility is intended to support store expansions that
will occur throughout the southwestern and midwestern United States.
