Michael Randle, Author at Southern Business & Development

AJC confirms move to Midtown

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution will relocate from the suburbs to a new office overlooking Midtown’s Peachtree Street.

The newspaper confirmed yesterday it will lease 21,000 square feet at Promenade Central, a 12-story building owned by Cousins Properties Inc. Workers should occupy the space by the end of the year.

Atlanta Business Chronicle reported last July the AJC was eyeing a move back to the city center, with Midtown a likely target. The newspaper currently has offices in Sandy Springs.

The move comes as the AJC says it looks to hire 100 more workers in the coming years and grow its digital subscriber base to 500,000 by the end of 2026.

AJC Publisher and President Andrew Morse, who joined the paper last year from CNN, said in a recent letter the newspaper is ramping up its coverage on topics including the revitalization of Downtown.

“For us, this isn’t just about changing our address,” Morse said in a Feb. 27 article. “It is about fundamentally transforming what the AJC is.” Atlanta Business Chronicle

Viewpoint: Caps and Wizards moving to Virginia isn’t ‘regionalism.’ It’s gaslighting.

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

The Greater Washington region faces several big, well-acknowledged challenges toward delivering inclusive prosperity for its residents. These include, among others, a growing affordable housing crisis, the precarious fiscal condition of its public transit system and stubborn racial and geographic inequities.

Because these issues affect the whole of the Washington region, we and our colleagues at Brookings Metro have always believed that our state and local officials must act in more coordinated and collaborative ways that respond to the complex, large-scale, interjurisdictional nature of these challenges. A prime example was the agreement in 2018 among D.C., Maryland, and Virginia officials to establish WMATA’s first dedicated capital funding source, an outcome that the Greater Washington Partnership, a relatively new-at-the-time business leadership alliance, helped forge. Leaders across state and county lines working together to invest in physical and human infrastructure that benefits everyone is what effective “regionalism” looks like to us.

Washington Business Journal

Will this offer from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin win over arena detractors in the state Senate?

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is reportedly floating a grand gesture to appease perhaps the most formidable opponent of his plan to build a new arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals in Alexandria.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Republican and his staff are privately offering $322 million in tunnel toll relief in Hampton Roads — 3½ times the $92 million that Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, put in for toll relief in the budget the state Senate adopted last week.

Lucas has roundly opposed the arena plan, dubbing it “the Glenn Dome,” and saying it is overly generous to Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Wizards and Caps. She has also said she believes the arena deal — which includes $1.4 billion in state bonds — “places too much risk” on the commonwealth.

Washington Business Journal

Toyota Alabama kicks off production on new engine line after $222 million project

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Toyota Alabama announced today that it has started production on its i-FORCE 2.4-liter turbo engine line at its Huntsville engine plant, culminating a $222 million investment project launched in 2022.

Toyota Alabama said the new engine line will provide powertrains for the all-new Tacoma pickup and reinforces its commitment to diversified powertrains that align with customer demand.

“The completion of the i-FORCE 2.4-liter turbo engine line marks a significant milestone for Toyota Alabama and further supports job stability for our 2,000 employees,” said Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama.

“Now, with Tacoma offering a hybrid option, every line at our plant includes engines for hybrid vehicles,” he added. “It’s our team and their skills that have paved the way for this plant to play a critical role in Toyota’s efficient and electrified future.”

Ellen McNair, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said the new engine line’s production launch is the latest in a long line of milestones for the Toyota engine plant, which opened in Huntsville in 2003.

“Toyota Alabama has an extensive track record of success, and we’re proud of the workforce in Huntsville that has helped make all of that possible,” McNair said.

“In addition, Toyota is a great community supporter and a crown jewel in Huntsville’s dynamic economy.”

RECORD PRODUCTION

The i-FORCE 2.4-liter turbo engine line marks the Huntsville plant’s sixth building expansion and brings Toyota Alabama’s total investment to $1.5 billion.

In 2023, the plant achieved record production, assembling more than 777,000 engines for Toyota vehicles manufactured in North America.

The Alabama engine plant produces around one-third of Toyota’s engines in the U.S.

The facility produces four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines for popular Toyota vehicles such as the Corolla Cross — produced by Mazda Toyota Manufacturing in Huntsville — as well the Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, Tacoma, Highlander, Sienna and RAV4.

Toyota Alabama is the automaker’s only plant to build four-cylinder, V-6 and twin-turbo engines under one roof.

Toyota said the new line demonstrates its commitment to long-term employment and the success of its operational communities. Last year, Toyota announced two key initiatives in Alabama:

A $49 million solar array, in partnership with Huntsville Utilities and Toyota Tsusho, that will supply more than 70% of Toyota Alabama’s energy needs when completed.
Grants of up to $6.7 million to help prepare Huntsville City Schools’ students for future careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Read about this and other workforce initiatives.

MadeinAlabama.com

South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance reveals 2024 legislative priorities

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance outlined its legislative agenda and priorities for 2024 at the recent SC Manufacturing Day at the Statehouse.

SC Manufacturing Day at the Statehouse was created by SCMA to engage manufacturers from across South Carolina to highlight their work, share the impact they have in their communities, and advocate on behalf of the industry with the state’s elected officials, according to a news release.

Additional activities included a proclamation ceremony with leadership from Lockheed Martin honoring the 50th anniversary of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which is exclusively manufactured in Greenville, and elected officials were invited to experience the Lockheed Martin F-16 Cockpit Simulator Experience that is used to train pilots for national defense missions, the release stated.

SC Biz News

Biopharma storage firm to build $80M campus in North Carolina

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

As North Carolina’s life sciences industry continues to grow, a company led by Raleigh businessmen and specializing in storage solutions is planning a multi-building campus east of the city.

GXP-Storage is developing a campus in Nash County that will serve as its international headquarters. Over the next decade, the company plans to invest $80 million in building out the site and hiring up to nearly 100 employees.

The company is developing a 30-acre campus in Middlesex Corporate Centre, an industrial park owned by Nash County. It is located near U.S. Hwy. 64 about 10 minutes west of Interstate 95 and a little more than 20 minutes from the Raleigh Beltline. Nash County commissioners during a public hearing in October agreed to sell the land and an existing shell building for about $4.6 million.

Triad Business Journal

Belgian company to invest $27M in former Albaad site in Reidsville, create 113 jobs

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

A Belgian maker of hygiene products plans to create 113 jobs and invest nearly $27 million in its first baby-care factory in Reidsville.

Drylock Technologies, which makes private-label absorbent baby, feminine and adult-care hygiene products at nine plants and has 3,750 employees, will move baby-care production from Europe to a 450,000-square-foot facility, according to an announcement from N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper Wednesday morning.

It is using the former Albaad site at 1900 Barnes St., according to Rockingham County Economic Development Director Leigh Cockram.

Triad Business Journal

Food manufacturer Häns Kissle opens Gaston County facility that’ll employ 200-plus workers

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

Food manufacturer Häns Kissle Co. has opened its $42.25 million operation at Apple Creek Corporate Center in Gaston County.

The Massachusetts-based company, which is a subsidiary of Japan-based Mitsui & Co., held a ribbon-cutting event for the facility today. It plans to employ more than 200 workers at the building, which is around 100,000 square feet. Häns Kissle broke ground on the project in 2022. The facility represents one of the largest investments at Gaston County’s Apple Creek Corporate Center.

Häns Kissle makes salads and prepared foods that are sold in grocery stories. The company operates a 112,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Massachusetts, according to its website. The new operation at Apple Creek give the manufacturer a significant presence in the Southeast and represents a major undertaking for the company, CEO Ricardo Alvarez said.

Charlotte Business Journal

Toyota supplier to open North Carolina facility with 133 jobs

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

A company that produces a key component of vehicle batteries that will be made at the Toyota (NYSE: TM) plant under construction in Randolph County is setting up nearby with a $60 million investment that will create 133 jobs.

The company is Fujihatsu & Toyotsu Battery Components, North Carolina LLC, a joint venture created by Fujihatsu Tech America and Toyota Tsusho America to make prismatic aluminum cell cases and cell covers with discharge values.

It is 60% owned by the U.S. subsidiary of Fuji Springs, formed in 1959 in Japan to make springs but which transitioned to cases and covers for batteries. Toyota Tsusho America Inc., the subsidiary of a Toyota company that handles trading, procurement and administrative work for the massive conglomerate, owns 40% of the new company.

Charlotte Business Journal

Rock Hill misses out on $200M project from Japanese pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin

Posted on March 6, 2024October 25, 2024 by Michael Randle

A Japanese life sciences company has selected a North Carolina city for its new pharmaceutical manufacturing complex — a $200 million investment that could create more than 100 high-paying jobs.

Kyowa Kirin North America — a subsidiary of Tokyo-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company Kyowa Kirin Group — will make the large investment in Sanford on 75 acres within Helix Innovation Park at the Brickyard, a new industrial park by local development group Helix Ventures that covers 895 acres in the northern part of Lee County along U.S. Highway 15-501.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee approved roughly $2 million worth of incentives to lure the project during a meeting today. Earlier this month, Sanford City Council and the Lee County Board of Commissioners approved an incentives package of $3.86 million and roughly $4.7 million, respectively. The company was referred to as “Project Biobloom” before being revealed today.

Charlotte Business Journal