Novo Nordisk multibillion-dollar expansion in North Carolina appears imminent

Posted on by Michael Randle

A multibillion-dollar expansion in Johnston County appears to be imminent for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and it could be North Carolina’s largest capital investment announcement of the year.

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), manufacturer of the in-demand weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, has been issued more than a dozen building permits in Johnston County in recent months. This follows the Danish pharmaceutical company spending millions of dollars to acquire more than 175 acres near its local facility in Clayton throughout 2023.

While the company is tight-lipped about an expansion, a spokesperson said there will be a “public announcement” about Novo Nordisk’s plans in the near future.

Triangle Business Journal

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Durham now headquarters for billion-dollar company

Posted on by Michael Randle

Tax software company Avalara now calls Durham its headquarters as it continues to grow its presence in the North Carolina city.

The company, which has thousands of employees around the world and previously listed Seattle as its headquarters, recently updated its LinkedIn page to reflect the change.

In a statement to the Triangle Business Journal, a company spokesperson said Durham “is now our headquarters location and does not change the way Avalara works as a global business.”

For now, the change appears to be mostly symbolic. But the company has been expanding Durham.

Earlier this year, company officials said the plan was to add 100 positions to its Durham operation, which already numbered around 480 workers. The company recently leased most of the fourth floor of the 88,000-square-foot building that fronts South Mangum Street adjacent to Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Right now, the company has three of the building’s four floors, and hopes to eventually take over the entire structure.

The headquarters designation is a big one for Durham and the Triangle as a whole. Regional and state officials are trying to attract more large companies to the area. And having a large company such as Avalara call Durham home will likely bring added benefits, such philanthropic work.

Triangle Business Journal

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Boom celebrates superfactory in N.C. with talk of another one, or two

Posted on by Michael Randle

The completion of the factory for building Boom Supersonic’s first supersonic commercial jetliner factory marks just the start of a likely expansion that will double and perhaps even triple its footprint at Piedmont Triad International Airport, its founder and chief executive said at a ceremony marking the occasion Monday morning.

CEO Blake Scholl said the company expects to build 33 of the jets a year but already plans to expand with another building housing a second manufacturing line to assemble that many a year, and perhaps a third. It is already working on a second and third version of the aircraft, larger than the first.

The additional facilities would take place on the 62-acre campus on the northwestern edge of PTI’s vast grounds, Scholl told media representatives after the ceremony. Scholl likened the 180,000-square-foot building that’s now completed to a Lego block that the company can repeat as needed. Chris Taylor, Boom’s vice president of manufacturing, told TBJ later than while there is enough land on that tract to accommodate a third building, the design work thus far place two on the site, with a third that would likely be built on other land at PTI. Scholl had noted in his remarks that future Superfactory blocks might need to be a bit larger to allow for larger models of the Overture.

Triad Business Journal

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Why Prologis is investing in batteries across Texas

Posted on by Michael Randle

Prologis Inc., an industrial real estate heavyweight with annual revenue of more than $8 billion, recently achieved a significant energy milestone in Texas.

The company turned on its first battery storage unit in the state near a warehouse it owns in Arlington — the first of several battery projects the company is pursuing.

More and more companies such as Prologis (NYSE: PLD) are investing in battery storage because they see a market in Texas to build up energy reserves that can help during peak times of energy use.

The first 10-megawatt project was unveiled June 10 next to the company’s logistics warehouse space 3651 Allen Ave. It has the capability to supply 5,200 households with energy for two hours during peak times of energy use identified by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, according to Prologis.

Dallas Business Journal

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Construction giant Hensel Phelps helms multimillion-dollar project at Apple’s new North Austin campus

Posted on by Michael Randle

Construction on one of the largest economic development projects in the region is continuing under the supervision of the area’s top commercial construction company.

Colorado-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co. is listed in documents filed with the city of Austin and the state as general contractor on an estimated $400 million worth of work at Apple Inc.‘s new campus at 6900 W. Parmer Lane, and it also has its name plastered on the half-dozen cranes that have risen at the site. The company ranks No. 1 on the Austin Business Journal’s latest list of commercial builders with $1.03 billion in 2023 construction billings.

The ongoing work at the new campus involves construction of the following: a 200,000-square-foot, four-story building; a 300,000-square-foot building with multiple stories; a 370,000-square-foot building with five stories; and a 1.2 million-square-foot parking garage. The total cost of the work is estimated in the documents at upwards of $400 million, with all of it expected to be completed by June next year. It’s important to note that TDLR filings are preliminary and are subject to change.

Austin Business Journal

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Korea’s business relationship with Georgia ‘matured.’ Then it evolved

Posted on by Michael Randle

If you were to take a tour of Georgia’s largest factories, you’d notice that many share a common symbol flying overhead: a South Korean flag.

Known as the Taegeukgi, the flag has become commonplace across the Peach State as Korean businesses erect gigantic manufacturing facilities and hire thousands of workers. Hyundai Motor Group, Hanwha Qcells and SK Group have become household names in some corners of the state, employing the equivalent of small towns.

But that wasn’t always the case. It took decades of investment and recruitment before Korea emerged as one of Georgia’s most valuable international partners — one that remains top of mind for state leaders.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

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Gallatin, Tenn.’s new economic development leader promises ‘selective’ recruiting

Posted on by Michael Randle

One of the fastest-growing cities in Tennessee has a new economic development chief.

The board of the Gallatin Economic Development Agency promoted Rosemary Bates to executive director, a decision shared first with the Business Journal on Monday.

She ascends to that role as Gallatin, the county seat of Sumner County, continues to experience surging growth. In the last decade, Italian gunmaker Beretta moved its U.S. manufacturing to Gallatin, and Gap Inc. alone has announced 1,100 jobs. Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: META), formerly known as Facebook, is spending well more than $1 billion opening several data centers. The U.S. Census Bureau says Gallatin has added 20,000 residents since 2010, and its population has grown 13% since 2020, topping 50,000.

Bates has worked with the agency for almost a decade, previously serving as assistant director. She initially joined the city government in 2007, as special projects director in the mayor’s office.

Bates had been interim executive director of the Gallatin Economic Development Agency since March, following the retirement of 12-year veteran James Fenton.

Growth in Sumner County, and in Gallatin in particular, has sparked a backlash from the majority of county commissioners — who have revoked funding for economic development and sought to clamp down on residential growth in particular.

Nashville Business Journal

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Gov. Landry Signs Bill Transforming the State’s Approach to Economic Development and ‘Positioning Louisiana to Win’

Posted on by Michael Randle

BATON ROUGE, La. – Surrounded by legislators, economic development leaders and business stakeholders from around the state, Governor Jeff Landry signed legislation that fulfills his commitment to overhaul the state’s approach to economic development and revitalize business investment and job creation throughout the state.

SB 494, known as the “Positioning Louisiana to Win” bill, modernizes the organizational structure of Louisiana Economic Development so it can better attract new business and more effectively support the businesses already invested in our state.

The bill signing coincided with LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois’ announcement of her senior leadership team, which adds extensive private sector, economic development and change management experience at a pivotal moment in the agency’s history.

“Today we are taking the first big step toward restoring Louisiana’s position as the economic powerhouse of the South,” Governor Landry said. “We have always had the most skilled and dedicated workers, the richest natural resources and the best location for national and international commerce in the country. Now, with the signing of this bill and the leadership of Secretary Bourgeois, we can finally take full advantage of all the things that make Louisiana so special and give our workers and their families the future they deserve.”

Louisiana Economic Development

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Scaled down and offering financial help for the area, a solar farm project tries again in Louisiana

Posted on by Michael Randle

For more than two years, a New York renewable energy company has been working to build a large solar farm in rural western St. James Parish — is now poised for a final vote from parish officials after dialing back its earlier plans amid public opposition.

D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments has plans to sell 360 megawatts of solar power to Entergy Louisiana, which is trying to meet the renewable power demands of its industrial customers in the region. 

In mid-2022, opposition to a bigger version of DESRI’s plans helped trigger a parish-wide moratorium on utility-scale solar projects and the creation of a new ordinance.

Now, DESRI is back with a solar farm that is 40% smaller than the earlier plan, with land buffers larger than what the new parish rules require to cut down on visual and sound impacts. The solar panels would be designed to withstand winds of 139 mph and to “stow” themselves to minimize hail strikes, the company says.

NOLA.com

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Hyundai Alabama’s new CEO on child labor, union activity: ‘We know right from wrong’

Posted on by Michael Randle

There’s no other way to say it – the new CEO of Hyundai’s Montgomery auto manufacturing plant took on the job at an interesting time.

No sooner did Chris Susock take a seat behind the desk at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) when the company saw two immediate challenges – one of the most aggressive union drives in Alabama history, and a potential landmark lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Labor over child workers in the automaker’s supply chain.

Back in February, the United Auto Workers announced that more than 30 percent of the employees at Hyundai’s Montgomery auto plant had signed union cards.

While most of the state’s attention has focused on a union vote last month at Tuscaloosa County’s Mercedes-Benz plant, the effort at Hyundai is still the farthest the union has gotten there.

Then in May, the Labor Department filed suit against Hyundai, an Alabama automotive supply plant and a temporary agency to “surrender profits” related to child labor in the state.

AL.com

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