NORTH CAROLINA

Nearly as many jobs are promised in Greensboro by Boom Supersonic, which is gearing up to make supersonic airliners that go by the name Overture. The company boasts more than 130 orders for Overture aircraft already, and beyond the ability to fly twice as fast as the average commercial airliner, the Overture runs on sustainable aviation fuel, so there’s yet another environmental angle. The company’s Greensboro investment is about half a billion dollars.

North Carolina has covered most of the bases with its recent economic news — with another sector being retailing. Macy’s intends to create 2,800 distribution jobs in China Grove, with an investment of more than half a billion dollars in an automated fulfillment center, earning the project one of our NonManufacturing Project of the Year awards.

The pharmaceuticals sector shows up big-time, too. Eli Lilly and Co. has promised to spend nearly a billion dollars and hire nearly 600 people at a brandnew manufacturing facility in Concord that will make injectable products and devices. The company cited local manufacturing technology experience and the proximity of science-focused universities among its decision points.

Also, in pharmaceuticals, BestCo is expanding in Mooresville. The company makes over-the-counter drugs and supplements and has promised a $177 million investment that’ll create nearly 400 jobs. Another life sciences win is the $188 million FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific facility in Research Triangle Park that will make cell culture media and create about a hundred jobs.

The state’s success spreads to food processing. SOPAKCO, which specializes in shelf-stable combat rations for the military (among other customers), plans 440 jobs in Laurinburg, while Believer Meats will make what’s known as cultivated meat in Wilson at the world’s largest facility of its type. The state’s other major announcements are in the fields of steel, specialty chemicals, and nuclear power.

And the Gold Goes To...

Automotive manufacturing is nothing new in Ohio, where Chevy, Honda, Ford and Acura models roll off assembly lines in large numbers. So, it’s hardly surprising that the state would take home a Gold Shovel Award with the help of lots of automotive announcements related to EVs. The biggest new deal involves Honda and LG Energy Solution partnering to make lithium-ion batteries for Honda EVs. It’s an investment of more than $4 billion with a job count that could exceed 2,500.

The need for EV batteries is also driving the creation of nearly 1,200 jobs in Sidney, where SEMCORP Advanced Materials Group is investing nearly a billion dollars. The factory will make separator film, a component in EV batteries. Ford, meanwhile, is spending a billion and a half dollars at its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake. The plan would add 1,800 jobs making electric commercial vehicles.

Ohio boasts two of the Projects of the Year this time around. One is truly a megadeal — a $20 billion, 3,000 job semiconductor plant announced by Intel Corp. is recognized as a Manufacturing Project of the Year. That Intel plant is still under construction but its spot on the map is fast becoming a hot property — already, other tech companies are planning their own nearby projects. And the $150 million Medpace Inc. expansion in Cincinnati is recognized as a Non-Manufacturing Project of the Year. The clinical contract research organization offers development services in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors and plans to add 1,500 jobs.

Arizona takes home a Gold Shovel Award that also owes a lot to semiconductor and EV developments. In Queen Creek, LG Energy Solution announced a $1.4 billion investment to create its first U.S. cylindrical EV battery plant, where production is to begin in 2025. And, as if that 1,500 job project wasn’t enough, the company followed up this spring by upping its

Gold Shovel Winner

COMPANYCITY/COUNTY N/E # JOBSINV. AMT. INDUSTRY

Arizona

Gold Shovel Winner

# JOBSINV. AMT. INDUSTRY

TSMC PhoenixN2,500$28 billion Semiconductors/ Chips

LG Energy Solution Queen CreekN1,500$1.4 billionAutomotive/Battery

American Battery Factory TucsonN1,000$1.2 billionAutomotive/Battery

Nestle USA GlendaleN350$675 millionBeverages

Procter & Gamble CoolidgeN500$500 millionConsumer Products

XNRGY MesaN900$300 millionHVAC Systems

KPCT Advanced Chemicals Casa GrandeN65$200 million Semiconductors/ Chips

Chang Chun Arizona Casa GrandeN300$300 million Semiconductors/ Chips

Nucor KingmanE140$100 millionSteel Production

Corning GilbertN250$100 millionFiber Optic Cable

FrameTec Camp VerdeN180$40 million Building Products/ Hdqtrs.

Sendoso PhoenixN1,000$40 million Tech/Software Hdqtrs.

(pop. 7.36 million) States with populations 6+ to 10 million Manufacturing Project of the Year