Southern Business and Development Magazine_Summer 2025 by Southern Business and Development Magazine

WHERE INNOVATION MEETS CONNECTIVITY

With access to vast infrastructure, next-generation talent from more than 25 institutions of higher learning and close proximity to two major metros, Polk County’s Central Florida Innovation District ready to drive the future of innovation and technology.

MILLION PEOPLE WITHIN 100 MILES 11.1+

POST-SECONDARY AWARDS ANNUALLY 95K+ WITHIN THE REGION

3,000+

ACRES WITHIN THE DISTRICT

INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING 25+ WITHIN 50 MILES

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A CITY WHERE HISTORY INSPIRES TODAY’S PROGRESS, AND A NEW GENERATION IS WRITING TOMORROW’S STORY. In 2022, the Montgomery Chamber celebrated a record breaking year with unprecedented economic growth, new investment and world-wide interest in Montgomery.

• 23 Announced Projects

• $1.7B in Capital Investment DRIVING ECONOMIC

AT T H E C E N T E R O F I T A L L

Chatham County, located in the center of North Carolina within the Research Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions; offers robust business opportunities, including 1,350 acres at the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing site (CAM), where Wolfspeed is located, and 360 shovel-ready acres at Triangle Innovation Point (TIP) West, adjacent to VinFast. Apex Gateway Park is currently under development with +/- 1,042,100 square feet of Industrial space, including

2 new shell buildings available by early 2025 Pittsboro’s Chatham Park will provide over 20 million square feet of commercial space and 22,000 residential units, including Disney's Asteria community, while Mosaic at Chatham Park will be a premier entertainment and lifestyle destination.

Business Friendly Environment: Skilled workforce and strong momentum.

Strategic Location: in Central North Carolina

Sustainability Focus: Eco-friendly developments like Chatham Park and Wolfspeed drive smart, sustainable growth

Growing Workforce: 40,000+ annual graduates, and 8,000 exiting military from Fort Liberty Quality of Life: Where people dream of living.

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Located in Henry County, Virginia, the Patriot Centre Industrial Park offers two state-of-the-art shell buildings with quick access to U.S. 220 and key interstate corridors. Designed for flexibility, these facilities are ideal for manufacturers and advanced industries. The park is fully equipped with municipal water and sewer, natural gas, an on-site substation, and high-speed fiber—delivering the infrastructure and scalability businesses need to grow.

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A large regional workforce with comprehensive development, education, and apprenticeships keeps industry ahead.

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36 Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame

The third installment of SB&D’s look at those who have taken the South to incredible heights over the last 70 years

SouthBound

16 DEPARTMENTS

Editor Michael Randle rates economic development events in 2025 on a Freak-O-Meter scale

Around the South

Top stories from the last quarter relative to business and economic development

Relocations & Expansions

All of the significant new starts, expansions and relocations announced in the South in the last quarter

Southern Auto Corridor

News from the South’s auto industry

Ten Top Deals

The ten largest employment and ten largest investment deals announced in the last quarter

On the Cover

From top to bottom:

Block 1: Jim Rogers; Brenda Lathan; Sue McGowan

Block 2: John Correnti; Nancy Windham; Jerry Gordon

Block 3: Hugh McColl; Bill Baxter; Dave Porter; Neal Baremore

SOUTHBOUND

By Michael Randle, EDITOR

Welcome to the freakiest economic development year we have ever seen in the South

Editor’s note: This section titled “SouthBound” is usually reserved for a short opinion piece or humorous story written by me. But since our series of the “Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame” runs so long and has taken the place of the last three covers with three more to go, we have used the SouthBound space for one of our regular features.

On October 8, 2025, I sent out the pre-release (partial) of the following report on project activity to all 13 heads of state economic development agencies in the South. I received some political blow back. I have been doing this so long; it is not like I did not expect it, especially in this political environment. Let it be known that prior to this year — and the year is not over yet — the two worst years of the SB&D 100 in 33 years of its history were in 2021 and 2009. I had to look it up because I did not know.

President Joe Biden, a democrat, was the president in 2021 (the worst SB&D year yet) and President George W. Bush (red) and President Barack Obama (blue) were the presidents when the 2009 SB&D 100 was published; the second-worst Southern economic development deal count year in 33 years.

As professional journalists for more than five decades, all we do is look at the data and then comment on it.

The following report is not a political statement and even more, the report is not complete as of yet. The final 2025 SB&D 100 report comes out in February of 2026.

Again, we just count this stuff up. Please understand there are no political implications in this data, there never have been and there never will be.

Iam not really sure what to make of the first three quarters of 2025 regarding our coverage of economic development activity in the third largest economy in the world, the American South. In fact, I am not sure where to even start because there are so many departures from the norm — and we know the “norm” because we have had the same rules and methodologies in place with our annual SB&D 100 for 33 years now — and so far, 2025 can be best described as “freaky.” And most of it is not freakin’ good. Yet, there are still some good things happening.

But that is up for interpretation. I am not an economist. I am an economic development journalist. We just look at the data, that’s all.

Let’s start with this introduction before getting into more detail about the matter, shall we?

We have set up a “Freak-O-Meter” level of 1 to 10 for each economic category covered in this article based on how “freaked out” we have been by the numbers relative to our beloved South’s economy that we have collected so far this year.

The rules of this report

If we are not freaked out at all by these data points and events in 2025, that earns a score of say, 1 to 4. Somewhat freaked out and you will see a score of between 5 and 8. Totally freakin’freaked-out — good or bad — by this data earns a score of 9 to 10+.

You will understand this process by reading on. Remember, “freaked out” can be positive, negative or have neutral connotations, according to A.I. You are about to read about all three definitions in different forms.

Methodology

Southern Business & Development has been tracking projects meeting or exceeding the same thresholds set in 1993. The thresholds are all publicly announced corporate investments meeting or exceeding 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment. Back then, after some math work, we determined that the average job generating project announced in the South in 1993 (first year of the SB&D 100) was around 200 jobs (204 to be exact). So, we simply counted projects that were higher than the average job deal seen 33 years ago in the South.

As for the $30 million and higher investment threshold, that was an easy call. Thirty-million dollars was the threshold for a local economic developer to borrow the state plane in the recruitment process of a prospect back in 1993. Cute, huh?

Southern Business & Development (ISSN 1067-8751) is a registered trademark TM. Founded in 1992 and published quarterly by MCR Publishing, Inc. Affiliated Websites include www.SouthernBusiness.com and www.SB-D.com. Office address: 8086 Westchester Place, Montgomery, AL 36117. To subscribe, email stacy@ sb-d.com. Annual subscription: $25. Single edition delivery by three-day mail: $10. Information contained in SB&D and on its websites is gathered from reliable sources, however, the accuracy of this information is not guaranteed. All rights reserved. Permission must be granted by SB&D for reprint rights, in whole or in part. Copyright 1992-2025. Southern Business & Development TM 1997. Southern Auto Corridor and Southern Automotive Corridor TM 2003.

Fred Chevalier Partner (Retired)

Bill Hines Managing Partner Jones Walker LLP

Tommy Kurtz Managing Director Avident Advisors

SOUTHBOUND

Category: Deals announced in the South January 1-September 30, 2025

Project counts are on course for what could be the worst year ever in SB&D 100 history, which goes back to data collected in calendar year 1993. This includes all years during the Great Recession (2007-2009 and 2010 was no picnic), the recession of 2001, as well as the two years (2020, 2021) of COVID-19. Yes, we are freaked out that big deal counts are this low nine months into 2025 and that they are being compared to those years.

As of the end of the third quarter, there have been 311 publicly announced (by a corporate representative or state agency) manufacturing and service projects in the 13 Southern states and the District of Columbia, meeting or exceeding 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment so far in 2025.

Those are extremely low project numbers to date this year. Historically, we have only seen those numbers while in a recession, a year after a recession, at war or during a pandemic.

The freaky thing about all of these numbers is the U.S. is not technically in a recession. Well, you could have fooled us, because if we are not, by definition, in a recession (at least three straight quarters of negative GDP), we sure are in the “Great Southern Economic Development Recession of 2025.”

DEALSANNOUNCED IN THESOUTHIN2025

FREAK-O-METER SCORE: 10+

Comment: Again, these low numbers have never been seen in 33 years except during recessions and a pandemic. What is really freakin’ scary is this year might not total the projects meeting our four-decade-old thresholds captured in any of the Great Recession years. However, we will add that September was the best month of the year and let’s hope that momentum continues. In fact, September can be compared to a “normal if not very good month” compared to previous years, with nearly a third of all deals so far in 2025 being announced in September by a company representative or a Southern state agency.

It is going to be interesting to see if this year settles around the two worst years ever — 2021 (COVID) and 2009 (Great Recession) — or somehow at least reaches the 400-deal mark, which you can see in the “Best Years” and “Worst Years” charts.

*Through September 30, 2025

Projects meeting or exceeding 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment.

Source: SB&D, Southern state economic development agencies, other media sources.

SB&D’s coverage area includes: AL, AR, D.C., FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX and VA.

The two worst years saw 364 projects meeting our thresholds (2021) and 367 (2009). The numbers from 2002 weren’t exactly our shining moment either (9/11, Afghanistan war and in 2003, the invasion of Iraq).

Category: A dearth of projects coming from the South’s two largest job and investment industries

After three quarters of 2025 in the books, we have witnessed an almost total collapse of projects coming from the South’s two most reliable industry sector job generators — financial services and automotive.

When the automotive and financial services industries decide to essentially write the year off in the same year, the South goes south in project counts. Not one year in 33 years have we seen numbers — or lack thereof — like these in captured projects from the Southern Automotive Corridor except in the domestic automotive bailout of 2008 and 2009. Yup, this is one freaky year.

Most years, automotive accounts for anywhere from 75 to 100 projects on average and has each year for a long time. The best year ever was in 2015 when 111 automotive projects of 200 jobs or more were announced.

The EV and battery years from 2021 to 2023 were pretty good, too. As for 2015, we can only guess that those results were from pent-up demand as well as from automakers repatriating assembly plants after the Great Recession due to demand.

SB&D 100’s Worst Years

In short, automotive has accounted for around a fifth of all large deals meeting or exceeding our thresholds on average each year since 1993. Automotive is the South’s “Big Kahuna,” and I predicted it in 1993, or so said one Southern economic development legend, J. Mac Holladay.

“Michael C. Randle sees things 15 to 20 years before we do and we are pretty damn smart. His prediction that the Southern Automotive Corridor would take down Detroit was laughable when he wrote it in his media properties in 1993. He was right!” — J. Mac Holladay, CEO, Market Street Services

(Hey, I own this joint so don’t freak out by me tooting my own freakin’ horn when I get the chance.)

Who is hurting in this automotive downturn?

It should be noted that the rural South is home to more automotive suppliers than urban or ex-urban combined. There are hardly any run-of-the-mill, bread-and-butter supplier deals out there so far in 2025 — EV or combustible. You know the ones, a $65 million, 200-job stamping project? A nice car seat or tool-and-die deal. Those have been no-shows in the first three quarters of 2025 for the most part.

Then again, most in the EV and battery-run developments from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2021 to 2023 landed in rural locales in the Southern Automotive Corridor. So, while several of those projects have been delayed, infrastructure is already in place, giving the rural South what we still believe is a bright future in automotive.

In the first three quarters of 2025, we have counted 27 automotive projects of 200 jobs and/or $30 million or more in investment. The average nine-month total over the last 33 years is 63.5 automotive projects. That is freaky!

Financial services are always on the sidelines in a tough economy

The financial services industry is performing even worse than automotive, which is typical of a recession. But, again, we are not in recession.

I think so far, some of the economists that predicted doom and gloom regarding the tariffs were a little off. Then again, we may just not yet be to the point where tariffs restrict trade dramatically and prices go up even more.

I mean, can you believe we have counted just 13 big financial services deals to date in 2025? That boggles the mind and you can look directly at two huge financial services states as the source of the financial deal meltdown — Florida and Texas.

Then again, Florida and Texas are two states where getting complete deal information is almost impossible. Of all the states, those two state economic development agencies have been in flux for years now. Chalk that up to mega-markets being able to do their own thing without state intervention.

Many times, we can get better data from the locals in places like Dallas-Fort Worth, Tampa Bay, Houston and Miami than what those two states offer up to media like SB&D.

Thirteen deals in three quarters of this year come from financials, and that includes a range of projects coming from banks, insurance and mortgage firms, fin-tech and bit coin. These are the worst freaking numbers coming from financials ever, except in 2009 when there were five deals meeting our thresholds for the entire year. That’s right; five projects at the height of the Great Recession from financials.

F I NANCIALSERVICES& AUTOMOTIVEDEALSIN2025

FREAK-O-METER SCORE: 8+

Comment: If you want to blame two industry sectors for the so-far-to-date slow deal year, put it on the automotive and the financial sectors. And it is not even close. Even in the Great Recession, there was some activity from financials and automotive, sans 2009.

Category: Job creation so far in 2025

We don’t typically run the same chart twice in a single issue, whether it be found in the print product of SB&D, or the website SB-D.com (which has been live in various forms since 1998. SB-D.com will be retired next year and replaced by SouthernBusiness.com). But it is important to note the lack of job generation in the U.S. right now. I will leave it up to the economists to tackle that one.

Job Creation

(Based on +25,000 jobs Sept-Dec)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, SB&D

Around SOUTH

Layoffs in the U.S. are at their highest levels since the COVID year of 2020

The year 2025 is no longer a “no-hire, no-fire” year. We now have a clearer picture of job creation and layoffs for the first nine months of 2025 (see chart). We also have confirmed project counts announced in the South since January that show economic development projects are lagging behind significantly as well (see SouthBound column this issue).

Even without a jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for September as a result of the Federal government shutdown, we were already in the negative by about 60 percent compared to job creation the first nine months of 2024.

At the end of the third quarter, the BLS reported 598,000 jobs created. Take the average job gains from the June to August quarter and we can assume the unreported job report would have been around 25,000 jobs gained in September. ADP, however, estimated that payrolls among private employers in the U.S. declined by 32,000 jobs in September.

Disregarding the ADP report, and using our estimated September job gains of 25,000, that tally shows that the U.S. has gained only 623,000 jobs for the first three quarters of 2025 compared to 1,384,000 jobs gained in 2024 during the same period.

Layoffs after three quarters

On the layoff front, employers across the U.S. have cut nearly 1 million jobs in calendar 2025 through September, the largest number of layoffs since 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an October report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the first nine months of 2020 saw 2 million layoffs nationwide. We are halfway there in 2025 with three months to go.

And on top of that, mass layoffs of U.S. federal employees are “imminent” during the government shutdown. That is according to the White House. The Trump administration has already cut 300,000 civil service jobs as of the end of the third quarter.

$1.72B

Since 2014, there has been $1,721,547,678 in industrial capital investment within Lee and Sumter Counties.

8,643 JOBS

Using the 3.4x multiplier effect, more than 8,500 jobs have been created from 2,542 direct industrial jobs.

Phone: 803.418.0700

Email: info@thelinksc.com

Web: www.TheLINKsc.com

Lee & Sumter, SC

Around SOUTH

“Huntsville is the perfect choice for U.S. Space Command headquarters,” said Ellen McNair, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. Shown here is a rendering of what the new permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command might look like on Redstone Arsenal.

Alabama defense sector enters a new era of strategic growth

When it comes to national defense, Alabama is not just keeping pace, it’s accelerating the trajectory. With the announcement that the U.S. Space Command will be based at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, the state enters a new frontier of strategic importance.

The decision, made official in the summer quarter by the Trump Administration, caps a multi-year campaign to recognize Alabama’s aerospace and defense capability, positioning Redstone as the nucleus of space-based military operations.

Around 1,400 new Space Command jobs are expected

to transition to Huntsville over the next five years.

Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal already hosts the Army Materiel Command, Missile Defense Agency, the Army Space and Missile Defense Command and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In addition, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and other defense companies have a major presence in Huntsville.

Ellen McNair, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said about the announcement, “The region offers a rare combination of mission-critical infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce and a deep legacy of innovation in aerospace and defense.

The South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center is the Southeast’s only business park dedicated to serving the robust needs of the automotive and aerospace industries. As Global Home of the Lockheed Martin F-16 and home to South Carolina’s world-class automotive proving ground, the International Transportation Innovation Center, there’s good reason why it’s all systems go at SCTAC.

Airbus celebrates 10 years; delivers 100th A220 aircraft from its complex in Mobile, Ala. Alabama’s aerospace industry reached new heights as Airbus announced in the summer the delivery of the 100th A220 aircraft produced at its U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, marking a major milestone for the site and for the state’s thriving aviation sector. In September, the European commercial aircraft maker celebrated 10 years of production in Mobile.

Airbus launched A220 manufacturing at the Alabama facility in 2019 and opened a dedicated final assembly line for the aircraft at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley the next year, following a significant investment project.

Five deep-water ports in Louisiana launch a unified marketing strategy

The five deep-water ports of the Lower Mississippi River — Port of Greater Baton Rouge; Port of South Louisiana; Port of New Orleans; St. Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District; and Louisiana Gateway Port — have entered into a landmark agreement to develop a collaborative marketing plan. This partnership aims to present the ports as a single, strong system aimed at increasing international trade, driving economic growth, attracting new business along with foreign direct investment and supporting Louisiana’s long-term economic development goals.

Five deep-water ports in Louisiana will launch a unified marketing strategy. Pictured here is one of them — the Port of New Orleans.

Around SOUTH THE

In the summer quarter, JetZero’s president and COO Dan Da Silva outlined some timelines for what will amount to a $5 billion complex like those seen in Charleston (Boeing) and Mobile (Airbus), two of only a handful of final airliner assembly markets in the country including Seattle (Boeing).

GETTING THE BIG QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND THE LITTLE THINGS RIGHT

That’s Law Elevated

JetZero is on the fasttrack for massive nextgeneration airliner plant in Greensboro, N.C.

Greensboro is a few steps closer to becoming one of the South’s largest aviation cluster markets.

Da Silva announced some key developments at a Greensboro Chamber of

Commerce event late in the summer quarter:

• Ground is expected to be broken on the site adjacent to the Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) by the second quarter of 2026.

• At the event, Da Silva said, “The power infrastructure to Duke Energy to water to the land prep and everything that goes into putting a factory like that together” (is underway).

• The first employees to be hired will be administrative and engineering.

• The next step will focus on composite R&D, followed by building the elements of the airplane, which is scheduled for 2027.

JetZero’s next generation airliner will have better lift and less drag, which will allow the aircraft to burn 50 percent less fuel per passenger than any other airliner produced today.

Da Silva also said JetZero will be employing more than the 14,500 workers. Those employees will be housed in the massive factory and its headquarters adjacent to it.

Raleigh-Cary metro ranks No. 1 for job opportunities

The North Carolina Research Triangle economy, unlike many large Southern metros, is doing well according to reports. The Raleigh-Cary metro has been named No. 1 by a San Francisco-based report done by Checkr. The

report analyzed all the important metrics, such as labor force, open jobs, income per capita and wage growth.

Duke Energy considers merger of its Carolina utilities

Charlotte-based Duke Energy says it will move to combine electric utility subsidiaries in North Carolina and South Carolina into one entity. The merger could save customers in Duke territories in both states more than $1 billion in the first 10 years.

Major business groups in South Carolina to merge in 2026

The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce are forming a new organization — called South

l 19,000+ production workers within 60-minute drive

l 1.5 miles to Interstate 95

l Strategically located between Columbia and Charleston MSAs

l Park neighbors: Westinghouse, Cummings, Latitude Corp, 84 Lumber

Around SOUTH

STAYING POWER.

Our story is best told through the success of our members. Since 1988, South Carolina Power Team has been championing great stories through industry recruitment and by offering highly reliable power through South Carolina’s electric cooperatives. As an essential economic development partner, we continue to commit resources and incentives to help businesses thrive in South Carolina, and we play an essential role in the creation of job and career opportunities for those we serve.

QTS DATA CENTER

$1B investment

Establishing operations in York County

Served by York Electric Cooperative FN AMERICA

$33M investment 176 new jobs

Expanding operations in Pickens County

Served by Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative

ENGINEERED FOAM PACKAGING

$15M investment 53 new jobs

Establishing operations in Lee County

Served by Black River Electric Cooperative

LATITUDE CORP

$29M ivestment 200 new jobs

Establishing operations in Claredon County

Served by Santee Electric Cooperative

Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce — formally combining entities, resources and leadership effective January 1.

According to SC Biz, “Combining SCMA and the SC Chamber offers a unique opportunity to speak with one strong voice for manufacturing and commerce in South Carolina — strengthening advocacy and programming that benefit all of us in the Palmetto State,” said Grant Burns, who will serve as chair of the organization, and is also executive vice president and general counsel of AFL, a fiber optics manufacturer in Duncan.

Texas will benefit the most from Apple’s newly announced $600 billion investment in the U.S. California-based Apple Inc. announced its new American Manufacturing Program in early August. Existing chip plants and other suppliers in Texas, like those in Austin, Sherman and Fort Worth, are expected to get a big piece of Apple’s investment pie.

Nearly $4.4 billion in Texas clean energy investments canceled in first half of 2025 Due to federal policy changes, Texas companies canceled over $4 billion in publicly announced solar and battery projects in the first six months of this year, according to the Rhodium Group. Rhodium also stated that nationwide, for the first time, canceled investments have exceeded new investments in the sector nationwide.

ExxonMobil may delay or cancel its largescale Baytown, Texas,

hydrogen project

Houston-based ExxonMobil is considering canceling its blue hydrogen project due to changes in the 45V hydrogen tax credit under the “Big, Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump. The legislation imposed a shorter 2028 deadline for projects to begin construction to receive the tax credits.

Houston leads nation in clean energy job growth Oil-company-headquarter-rich Houston led the nation in clean energy jobs in 2024. “Space City’s” job growth in clean energy grew by 20.7 percent in 2024.

Houston’s August unemployment rate reaches 8-year high As layoffs continue to mount Southern-wide and nation-wide, Houston’s energy sector has been hit hard, losing over 30,000 jobs in one month this summer. According to the Greater Houston Partnership, the unemployment rate in “Bayou City” rose .5 percent, bringing the overall rate up to 5 percent. The last time Houston’s unemployment rate was 5 percent was in 2017.

Several Chinese projects eyeing the South

According to sources, some unnamed Chinese officials are eyeing several large projects in the South, with sources in North Carolina telling SB&D they are also working a few. The last time the South saw this many potential Chinese projects was in the fall of 2015, when SB&D’s cover story was titled, “Here Come the Chinese; Chinese Investments Represent the Fastest Growing FDI Source.” J

WHY CHOOSE CHESTER?

MAJOR INVESTMENTS

Relocations EXPANSIONS&

Owens Corning to place manufacturing facility in Prattville, Ala.

Building products leader

Owens Corning is constructing a new shingle manufacturing center in Prattville, located just north of Montgomery. The plant will have a production capacity of 6 million squares of laminate shingles per year and is expected to house 100 workers. The undisclosed investment is the largest single initial capital investment in Prattville’s history.

Alabama

Meta to add $700 million more to Alabama data center project

Meta plans an expansion of its data center project in Montgomery, Ala. The expansion will bring its Alabama capital region investment to $1.5 billion. Meta first announced an $800 million investment in April 2024.

Georgia-Pacific to invest $800 million in Alabama River cellulose mill

Georgia-Pacific announced that it plans to invest $800 million to modernize, expand and streamline the production capabilities of the company’s Alabama River Cellulose mill, making the Monroe County facility the largest softwood pulp mill in the U.S.

California-based Glaukos breaks ground in Huntsville on $80 million plant

California-based Glaukos, a pharma that specializes in eye diseases, broke ground on a

new 200,000-square-foot facility in Huntsville, Ala. The deal is expected to generate 150 new jobs.

PDW opens high-tech drone factory in Alabama, eyes 500 jobs

Performance Drone Works (PDW), a fast-rising force in next-generation unmanned aircraft systems, officially opened Drone Factory 01 in August — a 90,000-squarefoot manufacturing facility in Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal that vastly expands the company’s production capacity and positions it to meet growing demand from U.S. and allied defense forces. The project, an investment of $81 million, is expected to create 500 new jobs.

Arkansas

Google breaks ground on largest investment deal in Arkansas history

California-based Google broke ground on October 2 on its $4 billion data center in West Memphis. The project will focus on Google’s cloud and A.I. infrastructure.

Nidec Motor to expand in Arkansas

Nidec Motor Corporation is expanding its existing facility in Mena, Ark. The manufacturer of electric motors is investing $19 million and adding 35 new jobs.

CANTEX to locate in Nashville, Ark.

The manufacturer of electrical conduit and fittings will

invest $120 million in the deal that will generate 110 jobs.

Amazon to establish operations in Little Rock

Amazon is locating a logistics operation in Little Rock. The new 930,000-squarefoot facility will house 1,000 workers.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms expanding in rural Arkansas

Poultry processor WayneSanderson Farms has expanded its facilities in Danville, Ark., with a new feed mill. The $43 million project will increase feed production to more than 8,500 tons per week.

Big deal from Welspun in Little Rock

Welspun Tubular is investing $150 million in a new pipe mill in the capital city of Little Rock, Ark. The company will establish a new kind of submersible pipe at the plant. Three hundred new jobs will be created.

Florida

Big A.I. project lands in South Florida

California-based workflow automation firm ServiceNow is bringing 850 jobs to West Palm Beach. The company uses artificial intelligence to automate workflows for businesses and will use its A.I. Institute office in Palm Beach County as its regional headquarters.

Merrill Steel locates new manufacturing facility in Osceola, Ark.

Merrill Steel, a leading steel fabrication company, has chosen Osceola in Mississippi County, Ark., as the location for its fourth manufacturing facility in the U.S. The new facility, which will be taking over the former Denso Manufacturing site, represents an investment of more than $32 million, and will create 108 new jobs over three years.

Israeli medical manufacturer to open HQ in Manatee County

Ossio, a manufacturer of metal-free implants, is opening its new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Manatee County, south of St. Petersburg, Fla. The deal is expected to result in 100 new jobs.

Playboy to relocate HQ from Los Angeles to Miami Beach

The iconic Playboy brand is relocating its global headquarters from LA to Miami Beach. The company will locate at the top of a luxury office building and the facility will include studios, a restaurant and an exclusive Playboy Club. About 150 jobs are expected to be created.

Chromalloy opens $30 million plant in Tampa Bay

Aerospace giant Chromalloy cut the ribbon on its new $30 million Belac Coatings plant in Oldsmar, Fla. The project will create 250 jobs.

Comcast is expanding in Palm Beach

Global media and commu-

nications firm Comcast is generating 200 jobs in West Palm Beach. The company is investing nearly $6 million in the deal.

Swiss software firm to establish new innovation hub in Orlando

Temenos, a software firm that sells its product to the financial services industry, is setting up shop in Orlando. The project will generate 50 jobs.

Big aerospace deal in Jacksonville

Otto Aviation plans to build a new 850,000-square-foot manufacturing operation at Cecil Airport to assemble the company’s Phantom 3500 jet.

The $430 million project is expected to produce almost 400 jobs.

New HQ capture for Miami

The Swiss-based pharmaceutical firm, Galderma, is establishing its new U.S. headquarters in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. The deal will generate 150 new jobs.

Florida biotech invests $100 million

Transpire Bio, a clinical-stage

bio-pharmaceutical company, is investing $100 million with a new facility in Pembroke Pines. The project will create 200 jobs.

Georgia

Ammo manufacturer creating jobs in Georgia

Underwood Ammo, which makes ammunition for handguns and rifles, announced it will invest $41 million in a new facility in Effingham, Ga. The project will generate 120 new jobs.

Metal recycling plant comes to life in Augusta metro Richmond County, Ga., celebrated the opening of Aurubis’ multi-metal recycling plant in late summer. The plant will turn cooper, tin, nickel and other metals into other products.

EnergyTek investing $275 million in rural Georgia

A company that makes electricity infrastructure for utility scale customers is locating a plant in Moultrie, Ga. EnergyTek will invest $275 million to establish a new facility in Colquitt County that will house 1,300 workers.

Billion-dollar investment made in Northwest Florida

Williams International announced in early summer that it is locating a $1 billion, 1 million-square-foot facility in Okaloosa County, Fla. It is the largest investment by value in Florida Panhandle history. The manufacturer of turbine engines for aviation conducted a long site search before choosing Okaloosa County, Fort Walton and the Shoal River Industrial Park.

From Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office: “Numerous state, regional, and local partners worked together to facilitate this major economic development success story for Northwest Florida.

In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $3.2 million through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to expand manufacturing in Okaloosa County.

“FloridaCommerce partnered with several state and local organizations including CareerSource Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest, Space Florida, Okaloosa County, and Triumph Gulf Coast on this major economic development win for Florida.”

Relocations EXPANSIONS&

Gov. Kemp: Korean magnet facility to create more than 500 jobs in Columbus, Ga.

Governor Brian Kemp announced this past summer that JS Link America Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of JS Link, intends to invest about $223 million to establish a new rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Columbus. The new facility will create more than 520 new jobs in Muscogee County, Ga.

“JS Link America strengthens Georgia’s role in securing the U.S. supply chain in industries such as aerospace, mobility and energy,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “We are excited for the continued growth of manufacturing in West Georgia, and congratulations to ColumbusMuscogee County on this opportunity.”

Founded originally in 2000, JS Link is a Korean bio technology company that specializes in research and development. The company has expanded its business to include the production of permanent magnets, which are a critical component in a number of industries including automobiles, wind turbines, elevators, home appliances, the medical industry, robotics, Urban Air Mobility (UAM), data centers and consumer electronics, as well as defense systems.

Belgian manufacturer to create 200 jobs in Gordon County

Governor Brian Kemp announced in August that Stow Group, an industrial storage and automation solution company, will invest $36 million to establish a new manufacturing facility and create approximately 200 new jobs in Gordon County Ga.

PBS Aerospace establishes HQ in metro Atlanta

PBS, a manufacturer of small turbojet engines, is investing about $20 million to establish its North American headquarters, manufacturing and R&D operations in Roswell, Ga. The deal will create at least 95 jobs.

TOTO opens luxury toilet plant in Georgia

Japan-based TOTO, one of the largest plumbing manufacturers in the world, has opened its $224 million factory in Morrow, Ga. Interestingly, no jobs were reported in the deal, as hundreds of robots have been installed.

Pilgrim’s to build new prepared foods facility, creating 630 jobs in Walker County, Ga.

Pilgrim’s, one of the world’s leading food companies, will invest $400 million to expand its footprint in Georgia. The company will build a new, multi-phase prepared foods facility in LaFayette, Walker County, supporting more than 630 new jobs at full capacity.

Kentucky

Nice deal in rural Barren County Union Coating & Chemical announced it will establish

is first operation in the U.S. with a new plant in Barren County. The Egyptian manufacturer will invest $12 million and create 60 new jobs.

Gov. Beshear highlights 10-day economic summer quarter win streak with over $6.3 billion invested and more than 1,000 jobs In August, Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted an economic winning streak for Kentucky, with more than $6.3 billion in new investment and over 1,000 full-time jobs announced by four companies in less than two weeks.

“There isn’t anything political about a good job or a strong economy, and Kentucky is seeing incredible success as we prioritize what’s right and create more opportunity than ever before for our people,” said Gov. Beshear.

“With iconic companies like Ford, GE Appliances, General Matter and Apple choosing to invest here, we’re showing the world that our commonwealth is the best place to do business. The best thing is we’re providing more good-paying jobs for Kentuckians so their families can live better lives.”

Over two weeks in August, Gov. Beshear highlighted major investments by Ford, GE Appliances, General Matter and Apple.

A.I.-powered Vsimple relocating HQ from Indiana to Louisville Automated workflow firm Vsimple is investing $5 million and relocating its headquarters to Louisville, a growing innovation market in the South. The deal will create 200 jobs.

Uranium enrichment company picks Paducah General Matter will invest $1.5 billion in Paducah, Ky., for uranium enrichment at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The plant will produce fuel used in next-generation nuclear energy. The project will create 140 jobs.

GE Appliances investing big in Kentucky

GE Appliances, a Haier company, announced a new $3 billion investment in its U.S. manufacturing operations over the next five years, highlighted by the company’s $490 million project at Louisville’s Appliance Park announced earlier this year.

Biotech firm to invest $40 million in Frankfort

Meridian Biotech is establishing a new plant in Frankfort that will convert distillery byproducts into multifunctional alternative proteins. The deal includes a $40 million investment and will create up to 35 high-tech, well-paying jobs.

Louisiana

Big defense deal in rural Louisiana

Radiance Technologies, a defense contractor, will build a new 40,000-square-foot facility in Lincoln Parish that will house microchip packaging and research and development, as well as 150 workers. The company is investing $370 million.

B-52 maintenance facility adding jobs in Northwest Louisiana

VRC Metal Systems, a MRO, will build a maintenance facility for B-52 aircraft at the Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, La. The company will hire 21 workers.

Meta’s giant data center in Northeast Louisiana gets power green light

The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) has given its approval for Entergy’s plan to provide power for Meta’s new A.I. data center at the former Franklin Farms megasite in Richland Parish. Entergy will build three power plants; two of the

HealthTrackRx set to create 230 jobs in Louisville, Ky.

Infectious disease lab

HealthTrackRx has opened its new operation in Louisville. The facility, located at the UPS Healthcare Labport, will serve as a national hub for rapid infectious disease diagnostic testing. The project will include a $45 million investment and 230 full-time jobs.

three combined-cycle natural gas generating energy plants, will power the A.I.based data center.

Hood Container announces $118.9 million modernization project at historic paper mill in St. Francisville

Hood Container Corporation, a family-owned packaging and paper company, announced it will invest $118.9 million to modernize its legacy paper mill in West Feliciana Parish. The company is expected to retain 295 current positions with an

Drone manufacturing plant set for Lafayette, La.

DMR Technologies announced at this issue’s deadline that it will establish its first full-scale U.S. manufacturing facility in Lafayette Parish. There it will assemble the Field Ranger X50 unmanned aerial systems for the U.S. agricultural market. (X50 refers to the drone’s 50-liter tank capacity). DMR expects to hire about 500 in the deal over the course of 10 years.

Relocations EXPANSIONS&

AVAIO Digital to locate $6 billion data center campus in Rankin County, Miss.

AVAIO Digital, a Connecticut-based developer and operator of sustainable data centers, has announced a new $6 billion data center campus at the East Metropolitan Center Business and Industrial Park in Brandon.

AVAIO Digital’s new data center campus will be named AVAIO Digital Taurus and will provide new workforce development opportunities in the state while also providing a variety of jobs for the Greater Jackson area’s workforce. These include at least 60 direct, high-tech jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs ranging from construction to other related industries.

estimated salary more than 30 percent above the parish average. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 819 indirect new jobs.

New $100 million project in Houma

Neuro.io, powered by global neurotechnology company MindMaze, announced its plans to establish a $100 million innovation campus in Terrebonne Parish. Known as BrainHUB, the facility will be the company’s first U.S. operation, and will focus on advancing large-scale A.I. applications and brain technology.

The company is expected to create more than 1,100 direct new jobs across A.I. engineering, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in an additional 1,686 indirect new jobs, for a total of 2,786 potential new jobs in the Bayou Region.

Mississippi

Florida-based Jabil plans new facility in Marshall County

Jabil, a St. Pete-based healthcare firm and manufacturer of medical devices, has announced a nice project in Marshall County, near Mem-

Walmart plans $300 million project in the Charlotte, N.C., region

Walmart is taking a 1.3 million-square-foot spec building at the Kings Mountain Corporate Center in Gaston County, N.C., which will support its e-commerce business. The deal will create 300 jobs.

phis’ significant medical device cluster. The $70 million project will initially create around 24 jobs.

Packaging maker expanding in Mississippi Paper and packaging manufacturer Smurfit Westrock is expanding its corrugated operations in Saltillo, Miss. The company is investing nearly $20 million in the deal.

Canadian chemical manufacturer to set up shop in Mississippi Canada-based chemical manufacturer Mancuso Chemicals is locating in Pachuta, Miss. The $5.5 million project will create 17 jobs in Clarke County.

Big wood products deal in rural Mississippi Hood Industries is expanding its sawmill operations in Wayne County, Miss. The new mill, adjacent to the company’s existing mill, represents an investment of $245 million.

Howard Industries investing $236 million in Clarke, Jones and Simpson counties in Mississippi Electrical distribution transformer and technology products manufacturer Howard Industries is expanding op-

erations across its Mississippi facilities in Clarke, Jones and Simpson counties. The project is a $236.95 million investment and will create a total of 450 jobs.

Howard Industries’ expansions will enable the company to meet U.S. Dept. of Energy’s new requirements for electrical transformers while addressing the growing demand for power from sectors such as data centers, electric vehicles and other industry.

North Carolina

Citigroup adding jobs in Charlotte Banking giant Citigroup has signed a new lease at the big Ballantyne office park south of Charlotte. The $16 million project will create over 500 jobs.

Update on Durhambased Wolfspeed’s giant plant in Chatham County In a new filing in late August, semiconductor supplier Wolfspeed disclosed how it plans to emerge from Chapter 11 filing. In June, the company had around 3,400 employees, down from 5,000 in June 2024, after multiple layoffs affecting both its main campus in Durham and the new Chatham County materials facility.

Founded in 1987 under the name of Cree, Wolfspeed today produces a distinctive semiconductor material called silicon carbide. The substance is used in electric vehicles, charging stations and renewable energy storage units.

In late August, Wolfspeed CEO Robert Feurle said the company expects to emerge from bankruptcy this year “with a much stronger financial structure.”

Whoa! Big pharma project announced in the Research Triangle

In the late summer quarter, Johnson & Johnson announced it will invest $2 billion at the Fujifilm Re search Triangle plant in Hol ly Springs, N.C. The project will create 120 jobs.

Nucor started operations at its new $350 million mill in Lexington, N.C. So far, 139 people out of the 200 announced for the facility have been hired.

Gov. Stein announces 515 new jobs in Western North Carolina

Governor Josh Stein announced in August that Eco King Solutions, LLC, a new subsidiary of a major manufacturer, plans to create 515 jobs in Graham County. The company will invest $80.5 million in Robbinsville to establish its first North American facility to produce disposable, biodegradable paper tableware.

Oklahoma Electric motor manufacturer to expand in Oklahoma

Fine Organic Industries to invest $135 million in Union County Specialty additives manufacturer Fine Organic Industries is establishing operations in Jonesville, S.C. The $135 million project will create 60 jobs.

Charles River Laboratories expands Charleston County operations

Charles River Laboratories International, a leading global drug discovery, development, testing and manufacturing solutions provider, announced it is expanding its operations in Charleston County. The company is investing $13 million in its microbial solutions facility.

Oklahoma shatters record with almost $14 billion in new capital investment

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce announced in the summer that the state has set a record for new capital investment, with a 2025 year-to-date total of more than $13.7 billion. This surpasses the previous record, set in 2023, of approximately $8 billion.

Textile manufacturer picks North Carolina

LG Textile, a premium apparel maker, will locate a cut-and-sew operation in Clinton, N.C. The project will create 200 jobs.

Breeze Airlines to hire 200 at RDI

Startup Breeze Airlines is expanding at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The airline carrier to tropical destinations will hire 200 in the expansion. Canadian manufacturer to add 300 jobs in Charlotte

AVL USA, a producer of enclosures for industrial power generators, announced it will add 300 workers at its facilities in the Queen City in 2026.

Nucor starts operations in Davidson County, N.C. Charlotte-based steelmaker

The Pump & Motor Works, a maker of large electric motors and pumps, is expanding its operations in Okmulgee, Okla. The $2.8 million deal will create 18 jobs.

MRO expands in rural Oklahoma

Premium Aerospace, a company that specializes in maintenance, repair and overhaul, is expanding its facilities in Burns Flat, Okla. The investment of $65 million will create 200 jobs.

South Carolina

Eaton expanding in Charleston County Eaton, an intelligent power management company, announced it is expanding its aerospace operations in Charleston County, S.C. The company’s $46 million investment will create more than 50 jobs.

Manufacturing facility will house 70 new workers

Texas-based ATI Inc., a global aerospace and defense leader, celebrated its growth in South Carolina with a new operation in Chesterfield County. At full production capacity, the facility will operate with a workforce of nearly 70 newly created jobs. The company recently announced long-term agreements with Airbus and Boeing for materials produced at this facility.

Materials science manufacturer investing $60 million in South Carolina

Arclin, a materials science company, announced it is expanding its operations in Dillon County. The company’s more than $60 million investment will create over 30 new jobs.

“Oklahoma’s turnaround started in 2019, and now our state’s economic future is brighter than ever,” said Gov. Stitt. “Top-tier companies around the world see what’s happening in our state, and they are lining up to reinvest and do business in Oklahoma. We’ve cut taxes and red tape, created business courts, and now we’re seeing the hard work pay off with almost $14 billion in new capital investment.”

The announcement follows Google’s commitment to invest $9 billion in Oklahoma over the next two years, including the construction of a new data center in Stillwater. The record total also reflects the contributions of more than 200 existing companies across Oklahoma that are partnering with the state through the Oklahoma Innovation Expansion Program (OIEP) or the Business Expansion Incentive Program (BEIP).

Relocations EXPANSIONS& Texas

Eli Lilly and Company announces another multibillion plant in the U.S.; this one in Houston

Rolls-Royce Solutions expands in Aiken, S.C.

Rolls-Royce Solutions America Inc., a provider of offhighway engines and complete power generation systems, announced it is expanding its MTU engine manufacturing operations in Aiken County. The company’s $75 million investment will create 60 new jobs.

Tennessee

Nuclear technology company to invest nearly

$1.7 billion in Oak Ridge Oklo Inc., an advanced nuclear technology company, will create more than 800 new jobs with its announcement of an advanced fuel center and nuclear fuel recycling facility. The company is investing $1.6 billion in the project.

Hitachi Energy to expand manufacturing operations in Crockett County

Hitachi Energy officials announced in August that the company is expanding manufacturing operations in Alamo, Tenn. Hitachi Energy will invest an initial $97 million and create 100 new jobs through the project with plans for future growth. The additional investment in Alamo will allow the company to expand its manufacturing presence, increasing its total capacity for transformer components such as high-voltage direct current bushings across the globe.

Vibrant Health Products selects Tennessee for its first U.S. manufacturing operations

Vibrant Health Products will create 394 new jobs and invest $48.5 million over the next five years in Fayette County in the former Kellogg’s Eggo facility, which closed in 2024. The company will begin operations with bread production for its U.S. customers with plans to expand its manufacturing capacity for additional products as the project progresses.

Little Leaf Farms selects Manchester, Tenn., for first Tennessee location

Little Leaf Farms will create 318 new jobs over five years and invest nearly $75 million at the Manchester Industrial Park in Coffee County. The company’s operations will be state-of-the art with new growing and manufacturing facilities that have the capacity to produce and distribute packaged leafy greens throughout the Midwest and Southeast U.S.

After a similar announcement in the summer in Virginia, Eli Lilly announced it will invest $6.5 billion to build a 236-acre manufacturing facility in Generation Park in Houston. The plant will produce active pharmaceutical ingredients, components in Lilly’s medicines. The project is expected to create 4,000 jobs. Houston was chosen (as was Virginia, in Lilly’s deal parade that is expected to total a couple of more comparable projects this year) from 300 competing U.S. locations. The new San Jacinto College Center for Biotechnology was mentioned as a factor in the deal.

Satellite manufacturer E-Space to put HQ, thousands of jobs at Arlington, Texas airport French satellite manufacturing company E-Space is moving forward with plans to put its North American headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Arlington. The company plans to make and deploy a network of low Earth orbit satellites. The company announced it is creating 2,000 jobs in the deal.

Samsung’s Taylor, Texas plant in a rush to open in Austin metro

The rush to bring advanced A.I. chips to the U.S. market can be found in Williamson County, Texas, where South Korea-based Samsung is finishing up its plant representing an investment of tens of billions. Originally

a $17 billion deal, Samsung has announced it will invest up to $44 billion in Central Texas at its plants in Austin and adjacent Taylor, Texas. In the late summer quarter, the state of Texas gave the massive Korean conglomerate another $250 million in incentives. The giant plant is expected to begin production in 2026.

Another big aerospace deal in Richardson Collins Aerospace, a supplier for defense and aerospace contractors, is expanding its facilities in Richardson, Texas. The expansion will include the renovation of the company’s research and manufacturing operations. The $57 million project will create 570 new positions.

Wistron, one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, announced a big deal at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport Fort Worth has won out over El Paso, Nashville and Freemont, Calif., for Wistron’s $761 million A.I. supercomputer factory. The project will create 800 jobs. The company is a Nvidia partner.

Three Houston LNG companies to greenlight Gulf Coast LNG export facilities by the end of the year

In a report from the Business Journals, Houston-based Sempra Infrastructure, Commonwealth LNG and Texas LNG are expected to start up their projects this year.

Aluminum recovery firm will establish operations in Titus County, Texas Aluminz Corporation plans to develop the nation’s first

Oh, what a great deal for Unicoi County, Tenn.! Unicoi County, its town and main industrial park devastated by Hurricane Helene a year ago, has landed its first big deal since. Gov. Bill Lee and economic development commissioner Stuart McWhorter announced in late summer that BWXT will expand its operations in Unicoi, located in the major manufacturing region of the Northeast Tennessee Valley. BWXT, a nuclear power-related business that has created fuel for U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, is investing $120 million and adding about 200 jobs in the project. The BWXT subsidiary, Nuclear Fuel Services, has operated in Erwin, Tenn., since the 1950s. Way to go Unicoi County!

zero-landfill aluminum facility in Mount Pleasant, Texas. The project is expected to create 130 jobs.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI to occupy $3 billion data center in rural Texas

Sam Altman’s OpenAI has announced a new data center in Milam County, Texas. No word on jobs.

New data center campus planned for Jarrell, Texas Spending to build a data center campus north of Austin is set at $850 million. The project, developed by Power Infrastructure Partners and Savannah Prominent, will focus on A.I. and high-performance computing and is designed to be shovel-ready. The project will create 400 construction jobs.

Big deal in NOVA; Alexandria and Fairfax Systems Planning & Analysis (SPA), a government contractor based in Alexandria, Va., plans to invest $47 million to increase its presence in Fairfax County as well as its home base of Alexandria. Founded in 1972, the company provides data and analytics services designed to address national security challenges facing the United States and its allies. The announcement calls for 1,200 new jobs in both Northern Virginia locales.

Relocations EXPANSIONS&

Company founded in 1750 chooses Martinsville-Henry County, Va., for Tin Ridge

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that Nathan Trotter, the largest supplier and recycler of tin and tin alloy products in North America, will invest approximately $65 million to construct Tin Ridge, a first-of-its-kind metal production and processing facility in Henry County. The company selected a strategic 44-acre site north of Martinsville for the 115,000-square-foot tin processing facility, which will significantly increase American tin supply and recycling capabilities. At full capacity, Tin Ridge is expected to create an estimated 118 new jobs in the Commonwealth.

“Nathan Trotter’s investment in Henry County is a powerful example of how Virginia is leading the way in advanced manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Juan Pablo Segura. “By bringing the nation’s first large-scale tin processing facility to the Commonwealth, this project ensures the future of American manufacturing is powered by Virginia workers. We are proud to welcome such a historic and forward-looking company to the Commonwealth.”

Taiwanese tech giant picks Katy for $85 million plant

Inventec, an electronics manufacturer, has announced a manufacturing operation in Katy, Texas. The $55 million project will create more than 500 jobs (in 10 years).

Apple announces $500 million project to buy rare earth magnets from Fort Worth plant Apple has struck a $500 million deal to buy rare earth magnets from Las Vegasbased MP Materials. Under the deal, rare earth magnets will be developed from 100 percent recycled materials at MP's flagship manufacturing plant in Hillwood's AllianceTexas development. Magnet shipments are slated to begin in 2027 and will support "hundreds of millions of Apple devices," MP said.

Virginia

Google investing $9 billion across Virginia Google announced in the summer quarter it will invest $9 billion in Virginia through the end of 2026. The project will include a new data center in Chesterfield County, Va., and expansion of its existing centers in Loudoun and Prince William Counties. Part of the investment is to shape the future through A.I. and quantum computing.

Hitachi Energy announces big project in South Boston, Va.

Hitachi Energy is investing $457 million to expand its power transformer production plant in South Boston. Over 800 jobs are expected to be created.

The U.S. government has declared tin a critical mineral due to its role in solder used in circuit boards and electronics components for countless commercial and government applications, including critical defense systems, smartphones, flat panel displays, electric vehicles, batteries,

To address the nation’s dependence on tin imports, Nathan Trotter will develop and operate the nation’s first plant capable of refining noteworthy volumes of both tin concentrate and scrap tin in support of the U.S. economy and defense industrial base. The cutting-edge facility has also been designed to utilize the most advanced and

Eli Lilly and Company announce major investment in Virginia Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company, the most valuable drug company in the world with an $842 billion market capitalization, has announced it will invest $5 billion in a state-of-theart manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Va., which is in the Richmond metropolitan area.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin said, “Lilly is one of the world’s great innovators, and I want to thank them for this significant commitment to Virginia. This new facility in Goochland County will create 650 great jobs, along with 1,800 construction jobs, and deliver some of the most advanced medicines in Lilly’s portfolio.”

Fulfillment company sets up shop in Pittsylvania County MerryGoRound, a North Carolina-based fulfillment company specializing in apparel and collectibles, will invest $10 million to establish operations in Pittsylvania County. The company will utilize a 400,000-square-foot facility to support its growing live commerce division, creating 203 new jobs. Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina and Puerto Rico for the project.

Cailabs relocates U.S. HQ to Arlington County Cailabs US Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the French company Cailabs SAS specializing in the design and manufacturing of advanced laser-light products, will invest $300,000 to relocate their U.S. headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Arlington County. J

SouthernAutoCorridor

Georgia

Hyundai announces expansion of Metaplant that ICE raided in September Mere weeks after an immigration operation at Hyundai’s largest North American plant in the Savannah, Ga., metro, officials with the South Korean automaker announced a major expansion of the massive complex.

The raid created headlines around the world as President Trump’s immigration crackdown continued, this time at one of the largest single investments made in the U.S. in the last decade.

The latest announcement included Hyundai’s additional investment of $2.7 billion to expand its Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) and 3,000 additional jobs. This expansion is in addition to the billions already spent on the unfinished facilities that already ring Southeast Georgia with supplier operations.

This latest expansion (200,000 more units by 2028) by the Koreans in Georgia seems to be an effort to go the route of BMW’s plant in Upstate South Carolina, where in any given year, 60 to 70 percent of luxury SUVs assembled there are exported. That plant was announced in 1992, and Mercedes-Benz followed with its plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala., a year later. Mercedes exports about the same number of cars as BMW each year to locales all over the world.

Hyundai supplier expanding in Georgia

Sewon America, which operates several facilities in the Southern Automotive Corridor, is investing $50 million to add 100,000 square feet to its plant in Rincon, Ga. The announcement will create 100 jobs.

Automaker Stellantis investing in new Georgia distribution center Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) is investing $41 million in a Mopar Parts distribution center in Forsyth, Ga. The company is building a new 442,000-square-foot facility that will house 90 union jobs.

Rivian picks Atlanta for its new East Coast HQ Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian has named Atlanta the site of its East Coast headquarters. Rivian is in the process of constructing its massive, 9 million-squarefoot plant near Social Circle after a delay in construction of several months. Rivian announced it would restart its megasite construction after it secured a $6.6 billion loan from the US Department of Energy in late 2024. The manufacturer plans to officially break ground on the site in 2026, and hopes to roll the first vehicles off the assembly line in 2028.

Kentucky

Ford announces $2 billion commitment to secure 2,200 jobs in Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined Ford Motor’s CEO Jim Farley,

other company executives and local officials to announce a monumental investment by one of Kentucky’s largest employers — a nearly $2 billion commitment that will introduce an innovative manufacturing process at the Louisville Assembly Plant to serve as the platform for an all-new, yet to be unveiled, electric mid-size pickup truck.

The project is the third-largest economic development project in Kentucky’s history, as four of the five largest private-sector investments have now been announced during the Beshear Administration. The new low-cost, scalable EV platform is expected to be completed by Q2 2027. Ford’s presence in Kentucky dates back to 1913 when the Model T first rolled off the production line in Louisville. In the 112 years since, the company has grown its presence in the commonwealth to employ nearly 12,000 people in addition to nearly 6,000 retirees.

Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems to expand in Simpson County, Ky.

Auto supplier Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems announced a $17 million expansion of its Simpson County facility that will create 76 new full-time jobs.

Louisiana

South Korean defense and automotive player selects Louisiana

South Korea-based SNT Mo-

tiv and SNT Energy are investing $59 million to establish the companies’ first U.S. consolidated facility at the former Trinity Marine building in West Baton Rouge Parish. The announcement accounts for the generation of 275 jobs.

North Carolina

Automotive supplier to invest $51 million in rural North Carolina

TMG & Haartz Solutions is establishing a new footprint in Bostic, N.C. The $51 million announcement will create 125 jobs.

Japanese auto supplier is building in Charlotte

Asahi Kasei is investing in a new coating facility in Charlotte to supply Toyota Tsusho America with lithium-ion battery separators for Toyota’s battery plant in Randolph County, N.C.

South Carolina

Scout Motors injecting more money into South Carolina EV plant

According to Carbuzz.com, Scout Motors is investing even more than its initial $2 billion into its assembly plant under construction in

Blythewood, S.C. The Scout brand was originally the first true four-wheel SUV made by International Harvester. This new version will see the assembly of the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck. Scott Keogh, formerly the head of VW of America, said that another $300 million is being invested in the 1,600-acre complex that will include a large supplier park. The automaker is shooting for 4,000 jobs at some point with an expected production date in 2027.

ZF Chassis expanding in automotive-rich Spartanburg County

ZF Chassis Systems, a major automotive supplier, is expanding its plant in Spartanburg County, home to BMW’s largest plant. The expansion is significant, as the company is adding nearly 500,000 square feet of space. The deal will create 30 jobs.

Groundbreaking held for new Isuzu plant in South Carolina

On October 1, 2025, Isuzu North America held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new 1 million-squarefoot production facility in Piedmont, S.C. The facility

Scout Motors will add another $300 million to its $2 billion assembly plant in Blythewood, S.C.

represents a $280 million investment and will assemble medium-duty trucks, including the N-Series Gas, N-Series Electric and F-Series trucks. The plant is expected to go online in 2028, when it will house 700 workers according to press releases.

Tennessee

Uh, oh! Ford Motors extends production date of its Memphis area plant Ford officials in the summer quarter announced that full production at its BlueOval City plant near Memphis and Jackson, Tenn., will be delayed again. The battery plant and full assembly facility for the F-150 pickup truck model has already

been delayed once. It should be noted that both foreign and domestic automakers are losing billions as a direct result of President Trump’s tariffs. Ford CEO Jim Farley said at the delay announcement that the West Tennessee campus is a “linchpin” for the automaker’s future plans.

MAHLE GmbH investing $10 million in Morristown Germany-based automotive supplier MAHLE GmbH is expanding its factory in Hamblen County to produce electric compressors used on fuel cell electric vehicles. The company will add 50 jobs to the 750 that are housed there now. J

Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi plan an auto industry partnership

The three deep South states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi are joining forces on a new partnership to bolster and promote the automotive industry. The new partnership also brings together the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia and Mississippi State University, along with Southern Company and its three subsidiaries — Alabama Power, Georgia Power and Mississippi Power. The tri-state partnership will be called the Mississippi-Alabama-Georgia Network for Evolving Transportation, or MAGNET.

By Michael Randle

Volume 3

Editor’s note: The following individuals are being named to the Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame based on SB&D owner Michael Randle’s travels throughout the American South since the late 1980s to today. The sidebar stories of individuals who earned their way into this volume are written by Randle, the Hall of Famer’s current employer, or penned by the Hall of Famer.

Randle has visited or met about 86 percent of the following people elected in Volume III of the Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame. The results are partly defined by these individuals and their role in turning projects and their overall effect on economic and community development in their territories in South, as well as the impressions they have left or continue to leave on the American South’s overall economy.

The involvement and capture of larger projects were given special emphasis. Also included in our selections are each individual’s involvement in volunteering in a variety of causes, as well as the length of their careers; even their personalities were taken into account by SB&D. The humorous stories of Randle’s are true, but some could be embellished a bit.

Through his travels, SB&D’s Michael Randle has met with many current and former governors in the South. Pictured here, former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear gets to do the talking.

Ted Abernathy

Economic Leadership, LLC (N.C.); Southern Growth Policies Board; Research Triangle Partnership; Economic Leadership, LLC (N.C.)

Barry Albrecht

Killeen, Texas Chamber; Strategic Location Services; Amarillo EDC; Lawton Fort Sill Chamber; Oklahoma EDC

Sherry Alexander

MidAmerica Industrial Park (Mayes County, Okla.)

Reuben Neal Baremore

SWEPCO/AEP; Louisiana Industrial Development Association; Texas Economic Development Council

Tom Bartels

Alabama Municipal Electric Authority

Eric Basinger SWEPCO/AEP

I’ve known Eric for many years. Just an outstanding practitioner wherever he has worked. The only place we have not been able to sit down together is where he is currently — Shreveport.

Eric Basinger was preceded by the late Neal Baremore of SWEPCO (which became AEP), who died 15 years ago, but I remember him well, even though I only met Neal once around 1997 or so.

The first time I set eyes on Neal was in the parking lot of a casino in Bossier or Shreveport, La. That is where we met to do some windshield tours of the area he served working for SWEPCO at the time. Back then, Shreveport had a GM plant, so we went by there.

As I walked up to him in the lot, Neal graciously asked me, “You don’t mind if I remain in the car, do you Michael?”

Me: “Of course not, Neal.”

So, I get in the car and there is this giant oxygen tank between us on the front seat. I settled in, while Neal adjusted the oxygen tubes in his nostrils (Neal received a double lung transplant at UAB in Birmingham shortly after I met with him).

You know what Neal said to me when I sat in the car, all the while looking down at his tank? “Mike, you don’t smoke do you?”

Margaret Tompkins Bass SCE&G; SCANA

Now, everyone in South Carolina remembers this lady if they were around in the 1990s and early 2000s. I must have stayed in that Marriott Hotel, or whatever it is now, on Main Street in Columbia two dozen times; once for an entire week. It’s the same building that housed SCANA’s headquarters.

Down the street, at 1201 Main, was the headquarters for the South Carolina Department of Commerce, SC Power Team (ol’ Ralph Thomas, Fred Gassaway and now, James Chavez), several law firms and maybe a dozen more economic development groups. Talk about a one-stop shop for advertising sales! I would walk out of there sometimes with $75,000 in booked advertising in just eight hours in a single day. Then they would all take me out to dinner. Media pays sometimes.

On one of those trips, I walked in to meet Margaret because SCANA at the time was my largest account. Whatever creative promotional thingie I came up with, Margaret bought it.

So, one day, I walk into her cubicle and she is signing about 30 checks, all over $1 million each. One, she pointed out, was for $4 million. They were being written out to cities in South Carolina that SCANA served.

She got busy with something and asked me to take the checks up to another floor and deliver them to a security guard once I stepped out of the elevator. It was the first time in my life that I held about $50 million in my hands.

Bill Baxter

Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development

Full of energy, like a thinly built cross-country runner (which he was), Bill Baxter remains one of my favorite Tennessee Commissioners along with

Pictured above: Ted Abernathy and Gray Swoope; Neal Baremore; Eric Basinger; Margaret Tompkins Bass

Matt Kisber, and until recently, I knew them all well. I may be forgetting one or two. Some greats worked at TDECD, such as John Bradley of TVA and the Memphis Chamber, and Mark Herbison of Tipton County, Tenn., and the Memphis Chamber.

As for Baxter in the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, his career was on a roll, appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 2001-2006. Bill was a graduate of Duke University cum laude and the University of Tennessee Law School.

So, I had already been in that TDECD floor No. 11 in downtown Nashville on Rosa Parks (probably the most “government-looking” concrete skyscraper of all time) a dozen times when I first met Baxter, who was from Northeast Tennessee (Bill passed away a little over a year ago).

We exchanged greetings and he sits down in his chair behind his desk in the same corner office I had been in so many times before.

I look around, and there is no place for me to sit. There were no chairs, except for his, in the room. So, we start talking and I am standing, awkwardly, until someone pulled up a chair for me to sit and chat with Bill.

Without knowing him but for a minute, I said, “Man, what’s the deal? No chairs?” Paraphrasing, Baxter said, “Mike, no chairs in my office means, ‘make your point, make it now and then make it happen.’ ”

I responded, “Does that mean me? Make my point and get out?” Bill said, “No, we give out a chair or two to people who we like that visit us. From what I have heard, Ned Ray (Ned Ray McWherter, governor of Tennessee, 1987-1995) really liked you and took you under his wing in one of his last years in office. Is that true?”

I said to Bill, “I guess. Gov. McWherter was the first governor who ever called me or even noticed that I was promoting the South with my new magazine as the best place to live, work and operate

a business in the world. I always say, “If it isn’t a Southern deal it’s a bad deal” (a statement said to me by Gov. McWherter in 1993).

Baxter and I remained friends for quite a while, or until he moved back home to run the family gas business.

As Baxter referenced, Gov. McWherter called me one day in 1993 and said, “Mike, I want you to get to know Tennessee.” I said, “Governor, we have some folks who can do that.” Perturbed, he snorted, “Mike, I don’t think you understand what I am saying to you. I want you personally to get to know Tennessee.”

So, Gov. McWherter’s office faxed me 95 places to visit including addresses and phone numbers and he fully expected me to visit all 95 (Tennessee has 95 counties) over a six-week span 15.83 counties a week, or a little over three counties a day.

What Gov. McWherter really wanted, however, was to help market rural counties in the Volunteer State. Ned Ray was the rural governor; specifically, the rural road governor, as he referred to roads not well traveled as “farm to market” until the end of his last term.

Some of the rural roads built in Tennessee during his leadership had curbs! It should be noted that the phrase “farm to market,” according to A.I., was invented in the South in 1930, the year Ned Ray was born. Texas still has roads named after “Farm to Market,” such as FM 168, the longest at about 150 miles. That road is in the Texas Panhandle.

Again, Gov. McWherter’s goal was to assist in the marketing of the state’s rural counties. So, in the fall of ’93, he gave me the rest of TDECD’s marketing money for the year. It was $70,000, so you bet I was more than willing to visit every county in the state over a six-week span.

But what Ned Ray wanted was pure genius. He said, “Mike, take this money to offset the cost of rural counties in the state so they can participate in a Tennessee special section with an adver-

tisement at 75 percent off. I don’t want to give it to them for free. I want them to have some skin in the game. (At the time a full page was $3,800 in SB&D). So all counties, rural or not, got a full page in a national magazine in that Tennessee supplement for 950 bucks.

So, with the $70,000, I would walk into the various county economic development offices from Lauderdale, Obion and Tipton Counties in the Delta to Washington, Hamblen and Sullivan Counties in the mountains of Northeast Tennessee.

I would start off by saying, “Gov. McWherter told me to come visit you. He didn’t ask me. He explained that ‘Every rural county has a story to tell.’ His concern is that most rural counties don’t have the funds to tell their story. So, he has already paid 75 percent of the cost of your ad in this Tennessee section.”

Well, it got to the point where every place I went, they would show me their county. . .industrial parks, employers, etc. I even visited a rabbit slaughtering factory in Winchester, Tenn. (and the “secret” Nissan drive-train plant).

At the Winchester rabbit factory, the company had a monopoly on state trooper hats in the U.S., which, I learned, were made of rabbit fur; or specifically, fur from imported Belgian rabbits. I walked into the rabbit pen and there were about a dozen workers running around catching rabbits to slaughter for hats.

It was my first true, vast economic development experience, and I learned that you can’t really know economic development if you don’t see it, touch it, feel it, in person and first-hand.

It took me exactly six weeks to visit every county, personally. Seventy-eight out of 95 counties advertised in that section, which ballooned the page count to 96 pages. Yes, it amounted to a state section of 96 pages. We also did a 96-pager for Alabama that offered the same discount. We had to write our asses off and hire additional artists just to design most of the full-page ads because only

a few of the most rural counties had one to submit. Some didn’t even have a logo and we did that for them, too, for a small charge. Dyersburg, Tenn.’s logo today? We designed it.

The only place I got stood up in those six weeks was my appointment with the dude in Crockett County, Tenn.

On that week’s trip, I visited Dyersburg (Sami Dietrich, and later, the late Allen Hester), Jackson (Kyle Spurgeon), Trenton, Union City and other places in West Tennessee; I even had time to visit the Shiloh Battlefield in Hardin County on the way up.

Throughout my travels over 30 years, I always found the time to visit a Civil War battlefield. Walking those fields would always make the hair on my arms stand up.

I will never forget those times in the early 1990s with Gov. McWherter, and later that same decade with Commissioner Bill Baxter and Gov. Don Sundquist, who succeeded Gov. McWherter. Good times in Tennessee!

Phillis Belcher

Greene County, Ala. IDA

Mike Berry Hillwood, AllianceTexas; Perot Field Fort Worth

John Bevington

LG&E and KU Entergy; Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development; PPL Energy

Shane Bolding

Yates Construction

Jerry Bologna

Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) President & CEO

Susan Bourgeois

Louisiana Economic Development

It has been so far, so good with this relatively new team. Louisiana is capturing some unique projects that they have not landed in quite some time.

Beth Bowman

Irving-Las Colinas; Texas Chamber

A real deal maker, as Irving has been one of the hottest majors in the South since Beth has been there.

Robin N. Boyd

Newport News, Va. EDA

Del Boyette

Boyette Strategic Advisors; Deloitte; KPMG; Georgia Department of Economic Development; Arkansas Economic Development Commission

Beth Braswell

Sterling Economic Development

Consultants; PCG Companies; Henry County, Va. Office of Commerce

I have known Beth Braswell for decades and back in the day, she used to write for Southern Business & Development. She and George Harben, who made Volume II of this hall of fame, seemed to always be working with the great Wayne Sterling, one of the “godfathers of economic development in the South.” Beth and George helped Wayne become great. That is why both are now in the Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame. You don’t have to be the boss. We know who you are behind the scenes.

Tracy Brick

Marion, Ark. Economic Development

Kay Brockwell

Marion, Ark. Economic Development

David Britt

Spartanburg County, S.C. council member

Phyliss Brunning

Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development

Like her cohort Mandy Lambert, Phyliss keeps things running in Frankfort.

Sharon Butts

South Western Kentucky EDC

Sharon and Carter Hendricks (also in this listing) are a great deal-making team.

CONTINUED

Pictured above: Bill Baxter; Beth Bowman; Beth Braswell; John Correnti

Carl Campbell

Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority

Eric Canada

Blane Canada

Lucia Cape

Huntsville Madison Chamber

Bruce Carpenter

Corbin County, Ky. EDA

Home of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, located on the “Florida Short Route” in rural Corbin County, Ky. I’ve been there.

Flave Carpenter, Sr

AP&L; Entergy Arkansas

Flave Carpenter, Jr.

AP&L; Entergy Arkansas

Watts Carr

North Carolina Department of Commerce

All of the folks in this Hall of Fame listing from the North Carolina Department of Commerce were always so professional and consistent. Several are still there. North Carolina Commerce has been, year in and year out, an outstanding group of professional economic developers.

Helene Caseltine

Indian River Chamber of Commerce

John Chaffee

Pitt County, N.C. Development Commission; North Carolina’s Eastern Region; NC East Alliance

Dennis L. Chastain

Georgia Electric Membership Corporation

Fred Chevalier

Jones Walker

Ed Christian

Burr & Forman (Birmingham, Ala.)

Jim Clinton

Louisiana Central; Southern Growth Policies Board

Tony Copeland

North Carolina Department of Commerce

Bob Cordes

Gulf Power Company; FP&L

Glenn Cornell

NationsBank; Bank of America

Glenn Cornell was a huge player in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was one of the finest and smartest men I had ever gotten to know. And he was one hell of a banker.

John Correnti

Nucor; Big River Steel; Severstal; SeverCorr

A couple of months after Katrina, I found myself in a large pickup with Joe Max Higgins (former CEO of the Columbus, Miss.-based Golden Triangle Development LINK) and steel magnate John Correnti. We were driving up to one of TVA’s first certified megasites. It was September 2005, one month after Katrina.

Correnti was about to break ground on SeverCorr’s new steel mill near Columbus, Miss., a joint venture between Russian steel giant Severstal and SteelCorr.

So, Joe Max told me to sit in the front (he was driving) and Mr. Correnti sat in the back. Well, John was mad about a lot of things that day. His road was not finished to the site and other stuff was missing and his Russian partners wanted to break ground in October, which they did.

Correnti was using every curse word imaginable (steel guys are even worse than folks like me who grew up in a baseball dugout) as we drove up to the site and they were not directed at me. They were directed at Joe Max.

So, we are driving and Correnti is yelling from the backseat, “Joe Max, I want my %#&damn road.” John was kicking the seat in front of him, which was my seat, and basically pitching a fit he was so mad.

I don’t know the details about all of it,

Pictured above: Sharon Allred Decker; Jason El Koubi; Corey Faucheaux; Gerald Gordon

but it was a day I will never forget. John Correnti got his %#&damn road as fast as it could be built. That I knew. The plant is still making steel in Columbus after a couple or three different owners, or at least names.

William P. Cotter, Jr.

Cotter Consulting and Development; Hancock County, Miss. Development Commission; Stennis International Airport (Miss.)

Mark Crosswhite Alabama Power

John Crutchfield Killeen, Texas Chamber

Leigh Davis Alabama Power

Matt Davison

Atmos Energy Mississippi

Joey Deason

Madison County, Miss.; Golden Triangle Development Link; Mississippi Development Authority

Sharon Allred Decker

North Carolina Department of Commerce

Sami Dietrich Dyersburg/Dyer County, Tenn. Chamber of Commerce

During that six-week Tennessee section that was ordered up by the aforementioned Gov. Ned Ray McWherter, I met Sami Dietrich. Sami was a spitfire in economic development when not that many women were in the business in 1993 or ’94. I will never forget her spunk.

Peggy Doty

Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance

Jason El Koubi

Virginia Economic Development Partnership; Louisiana Economic Development

Jason learned from Stephen Moret when they headed up Louisiana Economic Development (LED). They are two incredibly smart men.

As a retired partner of Jones Walker’s Corporate Practice Group, Fred Chevalier’s distinguished career reflects his deep commitment to advancing economic development across Louisiana and beyond. Throughout his tenure, Fred became widely recognized for his sophisticated counsel on public finance and economic development projects, providing strategic advice on complex financings and innovative incentive packages. His work often focused on foreign direct investment, site selection, tax increment financing, special tax districts, PILOT agreements, tax credits and cooperative endeavor agreements — all tools that accelerate economic growth and revitalization.

Fred’s reputation for excellence is reflected in his representation of both public entities and private enterprises in landmark economic development initiatives. With experience advising international petrochemical and steel companies, along with major mixed-use real estate developers, Fred played an instrumental role in shaping transformative projects that generated jobs and strengthened local economies.

Fred played a pivotal role in developing Louisiana’s first cooperative endeavor agreement (CEA) in the mid-1970s, establishing the state’s legal framework for economic development incentives. Before this innovation, Louisiana lacked a mechanism for transformative deals. Fred’s vision in crafting the CEA enabled the state to attract investment and foster growth, laying the foundation for incentive strategies vital to Louisiana’s economic landscape today.

Fred served as bond counsel to the State of Louisiana, its agencies, and numerous statewide issuers of tax-exempt bonds. He provided pivotal legislative advice on public finance measures adopted by Congress and the Louisiana State Legislature — including the Louisiana Community Development Authority Act, the federal Gulf Opportunity Zone legislation and key economic development statutes. As a trusted adviser on state debt and fiscal policy, he frequently consulted for state administrations, contributing to sound public financial management.

Fred’s experience has been sought by industry peers and policymakers alike. He regularly participated as a speaker and panelist at national and regional conferences, offering insights at events hosted by organizations such as The Bond Buyer, National Chamber of Commerce, OCO Global and the Governor’s Economic Development Conference. His leadership extended to advisory roles with the Louisiana State Bar Association, municipal associations, and various chambers of commerce.

Fred’s public service includes pivotal roles as assistant attorney general for public finance, chief of the Public Finance Section and assistant state treasurer for Louisiana, where he oversaw state investments and offered legal guidance to key treasury and bond commission offices. His legacy is one of visionary leadership and enduring impact in the field of economic development.

Fred L. Chevalier Jones Walker LLP

Jim Fain

North Carolina Department of Commerce

Corey Faucheux

St. Charles Parish, La. EDC

Jim Flanagan

DeSoto County, Miss. EDC

Jim Fram

Community Growth Strategies; Greater Hot Springs Chamber; Tulsa Regional Chamber; Bartlesville Development Corporation

A true professional, that’s Fram.

Roxann Fry

LG&E KU; Greater Louisville Inc.; Tennessee Valley Authority; Nashville Chamber; Knoxville Chamber

Danny Games

Entergy Arkansas

Hans Gant

Batson-Cook; Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; Hampton Roads, Va. EDA; Columbus, Ga. Chamber of Commerce

David Ginn

Charleston Regional Development Alliance

Dr. Gerald Gordon

Fairfax County, Va. EDA (writeup?)

Dr. Jerry Gordon is one of the “Godfathers of Economic Development in the South,” along with Wayne Sterling, Harry Martin, Neal Wade, Jack Roddey, Jim Rogers, Mark Heath, Greg Wingfield, I could go on and on.

Joan K. Goodrich

City of Treasure Island, Fla.; GSD Southeast Consulting; BDB of Martin County, Fla.; Delray Beach CRA; Coral Springs, Fla. EDF

William “Bill” Gottshall

Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence; Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, Lott Leadership Institute

William R. Greene, II

Gadsden-Etowah County, Ala. IDA

Denny Griffin

Franklin-Simpson County, Ky. Industrial Authority

Albert “Al” Guarnieri

Parker Poe Consulting

Mickey Harbin

BellSouth; AT&T

Phil Hardwick

Author; Hardwick & Associates; Mississippi Valley Gas (Atmos); City of Jackson, Miss.; John C. Stennis Institute of Government; Mississippi State University

Tom Harned

Logan County, Ky. Economic Alliance; Virginia Economic Development Association; Virginia Industrial Development Authority Institute.

Harned is somewhat of a legend today. I followed his career in Virginia and Kentucky and met with him in both states. He recently retired.

George Haygood

Santee Cooper; St. Lucie County, Fla. Economic Development

George had a great job at Santee Cooper, which was purchased after the utility essentially went away, or at least dug itself deeply in debt after the catastrophic failure of its joint nuclear project, V.C. Summer, in 2017.

The project’s leading contractor, Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy in 2017, a critical factor in the utilities’ decision to abandon construction of the plant. SCANA was the other partner in what folks called “Nukegate,” and it essentially failed, too. SCANA was purchased later by Richmond-based Dominion Energy.

That is not the story I want to tell about George Haygood, though.

On a trip to see George and others when he was the head honcho in St Lucie County, Fla., I flew in to Fort Lauderdale because I had appointments down there before driving up north to see George and others.

Pictured above: Al Guarnieri; Tom Harned; Ambassador from Broward County, Fla.; Victor Hoskins

I liked to fly to Fort Lauderdale in the mid-1990s. I still do. I mean, that airport is the perfect picture of “Old Florida,” you know what I mean? Giant flamingo, gator, whale, palm tree and beachcomber murals are all over that airport.

Back then, the Jai Alai Fronton in Dania Beach was still operating, right next to John Lloyd State Park, which was later renamed for civil rights activists Dr. Von D. Mizell and Eula Johnson.

There was a Motel 6 (it wasn’t $6 then, if I recall) located right next door to the Jai Alai Fronton (granite court where players sling a pelota with a cesta) and I loved to stay there. It was clean and cheap. I could walk to see French, Spanish and Americans play the fastest game on earth — Jai Alai. . .and you could bet on those guys.

Well, one morning at the Motel 6, I got up early for appointments. That Motel 6 was also next door to the old John Lloyd State Park. Most Motel 6s back then were of the “motor court” variety.

So, fired up and ready to sell, I opened my room door, walked about 12 feet to my car, which was sandwiched between two other cars. I turned to open the door and a large spider monkey was in my way, walking straight for me. I leaned on the rental car door and let him walk by.

The monkey kind of touched my hand, like a low five, and kept walking on to the sidewalk to the pool gate. He jumped over the gate and walked down the steps into the pool. Now, wild monkeys were not common in Florida back then like they are now. I was stunned.

I got in my car and headed out to my South Florida appointments, including Miami’s Beacon Council, the Fort Lauderdale group and others. I came back for my bags to go north and see Haygood and there were probably 10 monkeys swinging on the dumpster. They were on the top, in and around the dumpster, dancing and singing.

CONTINUED

William H. Hines Managing Partner Jones Walker LLP

Passionate about economic and cultural development in New Orleans, across Louisiana and throughout the Gulf South, Bill has been a legal, business and civic leader for more than 35 years. Since 2006, he has led Jones Walker through a period of significant growth. During this time, the firm’s client base has expanded to include leading regional, national and international corporations, banks and financial institutions, emerging enterprises, family-owned businesses, professional sports teams, and state and local governments.

In addition to his work as primary ambassador for Jones Walker, Bill is deeply connected to the business, cultural, civic and charitable communities in the region. Among his numerous leadership roles, he has served as founding chairman of the board of Greater New Orleans, Inc., and as chairman of the boards of the MetroVision Economic Development Partnership, The Idea Village, the Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans, and the Louisiana Committee of 100 For Economic Development. He also has held board and leadership positions with the New Orleans Business Council, the World Trade Center of New Orleans, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation (including serving as co-chair of the NCAA 2003 Final Four Host Committee), and the civic taskforce that persuaded the NBA Hornets (now Pelicans) to relocate to New Orleans.

Bill regularly supports a broad range of charitable, cultural and educational institutions. He has served as chairman of the boards of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the Council for a Better Louisiana, the New Orleans Arts Council, the United Way for Greater New Orleans, the New Orleans Region Community Advisory Board of Teach for America, WYES-TV 12, and Son of a Saint, and in board positions for the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, the Bayou District Foundation, the Louisiana State Museum Foundation, the Ochsner Health System Board, Pan-American Life Insurance Group, and the Tulane University President’s Council, among other institutions.

In recognition of his service and contributions to Gulf Coast economic development, Bill was chosen by NOLA Media Group for its New Orleans Tricentennial “300 for 300” list as one of the 300 people who made New Orleans a better place over the past 300 years. He was also recognized as one of 45 New Orleans CityBusiness 2025 Driving Forces, which honors business leaders who have made significant impacts on the New Orleans community and its economic development and continue to pave the way for the region’s success.

So, the next year I went back and I was so stoked to see the monkeys again. It became a goal of mine, to see “my monkeys” at least once a year. I pulled up and there they were at the Motel 6 dumpster having a good old time.

I found out later that the wild monkeys in the early 1990s were blood relatives of monkeys used in the 1932 filming of Tarzan the Ape Man starring Johnny Weissmuller. The movie was made at John Lloyd State Park. As for George Haygood, he passed away years ago.

Bob Harvey

Greater Houston Partnership

Charles Hays

Research Triangle Regional Partnership

Joanna Helms

Apex, N.C. Economic Development; Wayne County, N.C. Development Alliance

Carter Hendricks

South Western Kentucky EDC

Susie Heird Shoals, Ala. EDA

Mario Hernandez

Greater SATX Regional Economic Partnership; Windcrest, Texas EDC

Jacob Hickman

Terracon Consultants; Duke Energy; Upstate SC Alliance

Loren Hill

Carolina Core; Piedmont Triad Partnership; High Point, N.C. EDC

Brian Hilson

Bibb County, Ala. IDA; HuntsvilleMadison Chamber; FloridaWest EDA; Birmingham Business Alliance

Bill Hines

Jones Walker

David Hooks

Gadsden-Etowah County, Ala. IDA

Don Hopper

Calhoun County, Ala. Economic Development Council

Victor Hoskins

Fairfax County, Va. EDA; Arlington, Va. Economic Development; Deputy Mayor, Washington, D.C.

Victor Hoskins. . .no one could have picked a better person to follow Jerry Gordon. If you count the last three decades, one would be hard pressed to find a county that has generated more hightech service jobs than Fairfax County.

Frank Howell

Delta Council, Miss.

David Hutchison

Butler County Economic Development; Alabama Development Office; Alabama Department of Commerce

Kevin Jackson

Shoals, Ala. EDA; Cullman, Ala. EDA,

Vicki Jaramillo

Orlando International Airport

Dianne Jones

Site Selection Consultant, JLL (North Carolina)

I have never met Diane, but she received several nominations, one coming from a member of the Roddey family. If you know the Roddeys in this business, then you know Dianne is well qualified to make this HOF.

Heather Simmons Jones

MRB Group; Greenwood, S.C. Economic Development

Barry Jurs

Santee Cooper; Berkeley County, S.C. Economic Development

Steve Kean

Greater Houston Partnership

Herb Kelleher

Southwest Airlines

Florence G. Kingston

Newport News, Va. EDA

Ron Kitchens

Wichita Falls, Texas Chamber; Birmingham Business Alliance; Southwest Michigan First

Pictured above: Vicki Jaramillo; Ron Kitchens; Brenda Lathan; Nelson Lindsay

Tommy Kurtz

Avident Advisors

Brad Lacy

Conway Development Corp

Gov. Jeff Landry

Governor of Louisiana

Brenda Lathan Golden Triangle Development LINK; VisionFirst Advisors

Brenda has an interesting economic development practitioner history of working for Joe Max Higgins in Columbus, Miss., as well as Gray Swoope, CEO, VisionFirst Advisors. Both Joe Max and Gray have worked in Arkansas and Mississippi.

Now that Gray has gone to the private sector and Joe Max is formerly of the Golden Triangle Development LINK, it looks like Brenda has outlasted them all!

Bill Lavers

Harrison County, Miss. Development Commission (HCDC); Development Corporation of Snyder, Texas

Buck Layne Searcy, Ark. Chamber

Melinda Lemmon Cartersville-Bartow DED

Andy Levine

Development Counsellors International (New York, N.Y.)

Nelson Lindsay Parker Poe Consulting

Tom Long Temple, Texas EDC; Great SATX; CPS Energy; Charleston, S.C. Chamber

Glenn Loope

Alleghany Highlands, Va. EDA; Virginia Tobacco Revitalization Commission

Jill Loope

Roanoke County, Va. EDD

J.D. Lowery

Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas

Tommy J. Kurtz

Managing Director

Avident Advisors, an affiliate of Jones Walker LLP

With more than three decades of leadership in economic development across the Gulf Coast, Tommy Kurtz is a trusted advisor to corporations, government bodies and publicprivate partnerships on site selection, expansion, relocation and strategic growth. As Managing Director of Avident Advisors, the site selection and economic development arm of Jones Walker LLP, Tommy blends experience from private, nonprofit and public sectors — demonstrating success in both Louisiana and Texas.

Tommy has facilitated transformative outcomes, including the creation of more than 12,000 new direct jobs, the retention of over 21,000 jobs, and the attraction of $40 billion in new capital investment. His career highlights include directing business attraction, marketing, strategic planning, and site development as Vice President of Business and Strategic Development for the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation (CCREDC). While at CCREDC, Tommy’s leadership was pivotal to several landmark projects:

• A $10 billion ethylene manufacturing facility (Exxon-Sabic JV)

• A $2 billion electric arc furnace steel manufacturing project (Steel Dynamics)

• The Tesla Lithium Refining project, which selected a site identified and developed by Tommy years earlier

From 2008 to 2013, Tommy served as Executive Director of the Business Expansion and Retention Group at Louisiana Economic Development (LED), where he coordinated over $26 billion in new investment and facilitated 3,000 new direct jobs through high-impact manufacturing and headquarter projects across the state. Key projects under his tenure included:

• Folgers Coffee consolidation project in New Orleans

• Sasol ethane cracker project in Lake Charles

• Globalstar HQs relocation in Covington

• Gardner Denver Thomas project in Monroe

In addition to his roles with LED and CCREDC, Tommy has held senior positions with the Ascension Economic Development Corporation, Greater New Orleans, Inc., Entergy, and the City of New Orleans, earning recognition from industry publications and organizations.

Most recently, Tommy completed a strategic plan with Dr. Ed Bee of Taimerica for Entergy New Orleans to attract import distribution centers tied to Port NOLA’s new container terminal. He is currently working on multiple green energy and steel projects exploring the Southern and Midwestern U.S. for potential new plants.

Tommy’s commitment is reflected in his service on boards such as the Texas Economic Development Council, LIDEA-now LEAD (as past chairman), and other civic organizations. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), holds a Master of Public Administration from LSU, a Bachelor’s in economics from Boston College, and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

David Luckie

Griffin-Spalding Development Authority

John Lummas

Upstate SC Alliance; Anderson, S.C. Chamber; Tri-County Technical College

Laura Lynde

Site Selection Magazine

Sean Malott

Central Florida Economic Development Council

Along with Hall of Famer Jim Degennaro, the Central Florida Development Council, based in Polk County, Fla., has now had three Hall of Famers. All of them (including Bill McDermott listed here) are or were outstanding economic developers.

Bill Martin

Greater Osceola, Fla. Partnership for Economic Prosperity; Quad Cities Chamber, Iowa; Harlingen, Texas EDC; Cumberland County, N.C., Business Council

Misti Whitfield Martin Cherokee Office of Economic Development

Gary Matthews

Tishomingo County, Miss. Development Foundation

Michael Maulden Entergy Arkansas

Mike McCain

Gadsden-Etowah County, Ala. IDA

Hugh McColl

NationsBank; Bank of America

A true generational leader, not only in the Carolinas, but Southern-wide, shoot, worldwide!

Charles McCrary

Alabama Power

Bill McDermott

Central Florida Economic Development Council

Sue McGowan

Paragould, Ark., Regional Chamber

Sue was a trip. We toured Paragould one day and she gave me a belly laugh. We went to a few industries there in Northeast Arkansas. But she also pointed out her new, sparkling, county-owned, senior living facility. That was a first for me. Sue told me, “We don’t want them to leave Paragould when they retire from some of the manufacturers I have brought in here. We prefer that they stay here at our senior living center. We also have a county-owned cemetery, so, we are ‘full-circle’ here in Paragould.”

Betty McIntosh Cushman & Wakefield; KMPG

Sid McMillan JESCO

Sid recently retired. He was such a major player not only at his job, but helping lead the Southern Economic Development Council as well. Sid is simply a great guy.

Michael Meek

Greater New Braunfels Chamber

Probably the most underrated chamber guy and economic developer in the entire South.

Mike Meidel

Pinellas County Economic Development

Paul Meloun

Gadsden-Etowah County, Ala. IDA

Lisa Miller

Energy Southeast; Alabama Municipal Electric Authority

Mickey Milligan BellSouth; AT&T; Mississippi Development Authority

Sanders Mitchell

MidAmerica Industrial Park (Mayes County, Okla.)

I have not met the current administration of MidAmerica Industrial Park (even though I have tried). MidAmerica is a former World War II munitions complex of 16,000 acres located between the towns of Pryor and Chouteau, Okla.

Pictured above: Jill and Glenn Loope; J.D. Lowery; John Lummus; Sean Malott

In 1960, Oklahoma’s federal delegation, along with state leaders, made the decision to form a public trust, the Oklahoma Ordnance Works Authority to establish a 9,000-or-so-acre industrial park out of the munitions site. The first tenant of the new MidAmerica Industrial Park was Utah Tool Company. It set up shop there in 1962.

Today, MidAmerica is one of the largest industrial parks in the country. For decades it was run by Sanders Mitchell, who I found to be a really interesting guy, along with his marketing director, a name I have forgotten.

Sanders was more like the “king of MidAmerica” as opposed to the “administrator.” He had his own great gig going and retired in 2012. The main street in the park is named “Sanders Mitchell Street.”

In about 1998, I was invited to the park by Sanders (my first visit was on my dime) because then Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin (1995-2007) wanted to meet me, as she was set to make a presentation there. Fallin later served two terms as governor of Oklahoma between 2011 and 2019.

Mary and I both made presentations at some gathering at the large industrial property. Later, she drove off with a state trooper and Sanders put me up in a state park lodge perched high on a hill overlooking the park. I was the only resident for one night in that big spooky place.

If I recall, the lodge had several bedrooms, a huge central room and I found myself alone in this massive lodge. I would be picked up the next day for an extensive tour of the park with Sanders and said marketing director.

Being in the lodge, by myself, reminded me of the movie The Shining, made in 1980, starring Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance), Shelley Duvall (Wendy) and son Danny (“red rum”). The story was from a Stephen King novel and the Jack Torrance character took the winter administrator’s job at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado in hopes of curing his writer’s block.

Bill Murphy President & CEO

Ardmore Development Authority

William “Bill” Murphy has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing economic growth across the South, leaving a lasting impact in multiple communities. As President & CEO of the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce, Ardmore Development Authority, Ardmore Tourism Authority, and the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Murphy leads a team driving business recruitment, expansion and tourism development in Ardmore, Okla.

Murphy’s career reflects a distinguished record of leadership in Georgia, Oklahoma and beyond. While serving as Vice President of Economic Development in Columbus, Ga., he helped facilitate a major Pratt & Whitney expansion of its engine repair facility — an investment that strengthened the region’s advanced manufacturing base.

Later, in Tulsa, he played a pivotal role in recruiting Milo’s Tea Company, marking the brand’s first production facility outside its Alabama headquarters, a project that brought new jobs and diversified the local economy. Today in Ardmore, his leadership continues to generate transformative opportunities for businesses and residents alike.

Murphy’s professional influence extends to the regional and national levels. A former board member of the Southern Economic Development Council, he has contributed to shaping strategies that strengthen communities across the South. He also serves on the International Economic Development Council’s AEDO Advisory Committee and Review Board, guiding best practices in the profession.

A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP), and Institute for Organization Management (IOM) graduate, Murphy’s career exemplifies service, innovation, and impact — hallmarks worthy of recognition in the Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame.

Believe me, after a one-night stay at that eerie lodge, all alone, my writer’s block, if I had one, was indeed “cured” almost 30 years ago at a one-night stand at MidAmerica Industrial Park.

Bobby Morgan

Atmos Energy Mississippi

Crystal Morphis

Creative Economic Development

Consulting; Sanford Holshouser Economic Development Consulting; Surry County, N.C. EDP

Jeff “Judge” Moseley

Texas Association of Business; Greater Houston Partnership; Texas Governor’s Office

I met Jeff “Judge” Moseley (I assume Jeff was a former judge) in Austin when he ran economic development for, I believe, Rick Perry’s first term. The Judge really liked me and used my eternal line, “If it is not a Southern deal, it’s a bad deal.”

Harry Moser

Reshoring Initiative; Charmilles Technology Corporation

A data hound, just like me.

Sam C. Moses

Parker Poe Consulting

Marvin Moss

Laurens County, S.C. Development Corporation; City of Clinton, S.C.

Marvin has a soft heart for animals and is probably the nicest man I have met in almost 30 years of constant travel from El Paso to Richmond and everywhere in between.

Bill Murphy

Ardmore, Okla. Development Authority

Jeremy Nails

Morgan County, Ala. EDA

Frank Newman

Alliance Consulting Engineers; South Carolina Department of Commerce

Frank now works for our long-time advertiser and SEDR supporter, Deepal

Eliatamby, at his company, Alliance Consulting Engineers, which is also located in the 1201 Main Street building in Columbia.

Deepal has done an amazing job with his outstanding company since he arrived in Columbia, S.C., on a Greyhound Bus over four decades ago. Born and raised in the island nation of Sri Lanka, Deepal got on an airplane by himself at the age of 17, got to New York, and then took his first and last Greyhound Bus trip to Columbia, S.C. After working his way up the corporate ladder at his previous company for 14 years, Deepal started Alliance Consulting Engineers in 2004. “I was going through a Midlife Crisis,” he said. “Some of my colleagues who were also going through a Midlife Crisis got a new sports car or a new spouse. I could not afford either one of those. So, I started an engineering consulting firm. We have completed over 2,600 projects in seven states totaling over $47 billion that created over 36,000 jobs in the past 21 years.”

Here is one about Frank Newman and it is a good one!

Mark Sanford was elected governor of South Carolina and served from 2003 to 2011. An outstanding writer of ours, Trisha Ostrowski, lived in Columbia back then. Trisha previously worked for the South Carolina Department of Commerce in the marketing department.

She and others in the state said I needed to visit Columbia (see previous Margaret Tompkins Bass story) and they convinced the interim Chief of Staff or Secretary Scott somebody to invite me. I forgot his last name, but I do remember he was a banker. Scott called and asked if I could visit. I did, on my dime.

Well, on the same day I arrived at the 1201 Main Street building, U.S. Senator Strom Thurman’s funeral procession (yep, big funeral parade with the oxcart/ hearse, flagged coffin, whatever, and horses, the whole bit like something out of the Middle Ages) ran right through town on Main Street. It was January 15, 2003. And yes, I was again at the 1201 Main Street building in Columbia.

Pictured above: Hugh McColl; Sue McGowan; Betty McIntosh; Sid McMillan

As Scott the banker (interim secretary) and I were looking down on Strom’s funeral procession, he asked me for some help on what was essentially an uprising. He knew that I had already invested enough of my time to meet just about every local economic developer in the state. In fact, in 2003, most locals were supporting our journalism with advertisements. Many still do.

Yup, the economic development natives were restless on the same day that Gov. Mark Sanford took his oath of office a day or two before I got there, or the same week as Strom’s funeral. If I recall, Strom’s funeral was on a Thursday and Sanford was sworn in that Tuesday. Yes, it was a big week in “Cola Town” aka “Soda City.”

You see, Mark Sanford (“Appalachian Trail Mark,” look it up) wasn’t just frugal. Mark Sanford was cheap. I mean, the dude wore a frayed sport coat when he took the oath. He told his kids to drink water with their Happy Meals. “No, you can’t have a Sprite!” That was the way Sanford said he would govern, including how he would practice economic development, as in zero incentives. Huh?

In fact, he told everyone in the Palmetto State that he was going to “govern with my Walmart smock on,” even though his wife, Jenny Sanford, was rich as Midas. She was the granddaughter of the founder of the power tool maker Skil Corp.

Back to Mark Sanford’s alleged stinginess. Look, the guy proudly drove a 1983 Honda as governor, even though they essentially lived on a plantation and had a pricey place on Sullivan’s Island.

I mean, was that a Tea Party thing?

Well, the “Walmart smock” statement freaked out the entire economic development community from the Upstate to the Pee Dee to the Low Country to the glowing Savannah River Site. I fielded call after call from the locals and simply said to all, “Good luck with that strategy, dudes and dudettes. Alabama, Geor-

gia and North Carolina are going to eat your lunch!”

So, as I am discussing the situation with “Scott the banker,” in walks Frank Newman, the big deal maker himself from SC DOC, all Wayne Sterling-trainedand-bred! You know the type, golf cleats attached to the bottom of your industrial park boots just in case the groundbreaking runs late?

Frank opens the door and tells me and “Scott the banker” this — Frank: “Well, I am gone.” Scott the banker: “Okay, Frank, good luck!” Confused, I said, “You going to lunch, Frank? I’ll take you out to lunch, if this Gothic Strom Thurman funeral will hurry up and end.” Frank: “No, Randle, I am gawwwwn,” he said as he slammed the door. Frank quit SC DOC right there and then!

I didn’t see Frank until a few years later. All I know is he is still fishing, whether it is on the lakes around the Midlands, down in the Low Country or in the Bahamas. Frank is also still working for Deepal Eliatamby, founder and president of Alliance Consulting Engineers.

Sanford did one good thing. He took his Walmart smock off for one big deal. Near the end of his last term, SC Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor, Jack Ellenberg and the outgoing governor captured one hell of a 787 airliner plant in Boeing in the fall or late summer of 2009. From what I heard, the total value of that incentive package topped $900 million with $270 million provided upfront by the state.

I bet Mark and Jenny’s kids got their Sprite after that one.

Jeff Noel

Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development

As Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Jeff Noel has done a marvelous job, even during the Great Economic Development Recession of 2025. Last time we saw leadership like this in Kentucky was from former Secretary Larry Hays.

Pictured above: Crystal Morphis; Jeff “Judge” Moseley; Sam Moses; Frank Newman

Keith Norden

Team Volusia (Fla.); Tampa Hillsborough EDC; Tampa Committee of 100; Hampton Roads EDA

Ken Novak

Alabama Power

Clint O’Neal

Arkansas Economic Development Commission

Duane O’Neil

Great Jackson Partnership (Miss.); Denison, Texas Chamber

Katherine O’Neill

OneSpartanburg,Inc.; The Palladian Group

Keith Patridge and “Nancy”

McAllen, Texas EDC

I visited Keith Patridge way back, probably around 1995. I got off the plane, dressed in a suit, and by the time I walked 100 yards to my rental car, the entire suit was soaked in sweat. I have never been to a hotter place in the South than when I landed in McAllen, Texas. Midland South Carolina in August would be a solid second.

After meeting with Keith and his marketing director, Nancy (I don’t recall her last name), I set off from the border north to Corpus Christi and San Antonio to sell more advertisements and learn about South Texas.

I was warned by Keith that Kenedy County, just north of Hidalgo and Cameron Counties on the border, was as desolate as a county can be. There was some kind of big game preserve in that county, but I did not see any lions or tigers.

Well, Keith was right, as Kenedy County is third-least populous county in Texas and fourth-least populous in the United States. Well, that fact just made me want to see it that much more.

Keith warned me to get gas before I hit Kenedy County. And there it was, the “Last Chance for Gas” sign, so I pull in. The gas station wasn’t more than a trailer and some old gas pumps that you

had to crank. No credit card taken at the pump there in about 1995. It was cash or no gas.

Over on the side of the trailer were a couple of large, boiling cauldrons. I thought, “Hmm, I wonder what they are boiling over there and why such large vats,” as I shooed a few pigs out of the way.

So, I walk into the trailer and a Latino family greets me. I asked the dad, “Whatcha boiling out there.” He understood the word “boiling.” He said “pieles de cerdo.” I didn’t know what that was, but he led me to an old popcorn machine that lacked the plastic glass. He picks up a large, paper grocery bag and shows me the largest pork rind I had ever seen. I thought to myself, well, if I have a flat in Kenedy County, I could use that pork skin as a spare tire it was so big.

I buy the gas and the pork skin (singular) and with great anticipation, I place the bag on the passenger seat. Now, I love well-seasoned pork skins, especially when driving. So, I reach in the bag and pull out the giant pork skin. The back of it still had pig hair on it!

Lisa Payne

LG&E and KU Energy

Barbie Peek

Port of Huntsville

Jeff Peoples Alabama Power

Ross Perot Jr. Hillwood, AllianceTexas; Perot Field Fort Worth

Jeff Pipkin

Russellville, Ark. Chamber; Arkansas Valley Alliance

Robert Pittman

Janus Institute for Community & Economic Development; Lockwood Greene Engineers, International Development Research Council

Scott Poag

Yates Construction

Pictured above: Jeff Noel; Clint O’Neal; Katherine O’Neill; Keith Patridge

Bob Portman

Southern Industrial Constructors

Dave

Porter

Williamson County, Texas EDP; Orlando Economic Partnership; Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce

Dave is an outstanding economic developer and one of the most creative thinkers in the business. Leading the way in places like Austin and Orlando will do that to you. He has taken his creative ideas to Williamson County in the Austin metro today. Williamson is probably the hottest county in the country in big deals from 2023 to today.

Samsung Electronics is building a large semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas, which is located in Williamson County. The facility is a major investment of at least $17 billion, with plans to expand to $45 billion and is designed to manufacture next-generation chips for technologies like A.I. and high-performance computing.

Michael E. Porter Economist; author; businessman; Harvard Business School and professor at Harvard.

Michael Porter was the inventor of the “cluster theory” in economic development. The Michigan-born, Harvard-educated economist had a gig in the early 2000s where he would sell and implement his cluster theory to state economic development agencies here in the South for $400,000 or so.

So, he came down South and I believe the first state he sold the cluster theory to was Louisiana. Next thing I know, Louisiana Economic Development (I believe just prior to Michael Olivier becoming Secretary of LED; 2004-2008) suddenly had 14 different “directors” one for each industry sector.

There was a “director” for aerospace, oil and gas, petrochemicals (you would think those two could be paired under one “director”); automotive, agribusiness, digital, financial services. . .I could go on-and-on. Yes, 14 directors.

So, if I am correct, because it was 25 years ago, Olivier became Secretary of LED and asked me, “Randle, what am I supposed to do with all these directors?” If the cluster plan was confusing to me, you know it was confusing to prospects.

I told Olivier, “Way too many chefs in your kitchen, Olivier! You’ve got some work to do to straighten that out. You know, getting someone from Harvard to teach us economic development here in the South is like getting someone from Wyoming to teach us surfing.”

Sam Powers

City of Asheville, N.C. Economic Development; Transylvania County, N.C. Economic Alliance; AdvantageWest, N.C.

Diane Reid

Chatham County, N.C. EDC

Diane helped lay the groundwork for Michael Smith in Chatham County, located in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. And, ta-da, they landed Wolfspeed’s semiconductor plant.

Isabelle Rodriguez Renault

St. Johns Chamber

David Rhoades

North Carolina Department of Commerce

Craig J. Richard

Tampa Hillsborough EDC

Steve Rieck

Nassau County, Fla. EDB; Clayton County, Ga. Chamber; Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism

Austin Rouse

North Carolina Department of Commerce

Sarah Carabias Rush

Greater SATX Regional Economic Partnership

Gregg Robinson

Florence County, S.C.; Greenwood S.C. Partnership; Orangeburg County, S.C. Development Commission

Pictured above: Dave Porter; Michael Porter; Diane Reid; Steve Rieck

Thom Robinson

Tullahoma, Tenn. Area EDC; Morristown, Tenn. Area Chamber, Southwest Louisiana Economic Alliance

Thom has had one of the longest careers I have ever known. I think he got his CED when he was 18.

Jack Roddey

Duke Energy/Duke Power

Jack Roddey, Jim Rogers and Richard Wiley (all legends from Duke) should be added to the “Godfathers of Economic Development in the South” list. Unfortunately, for some reason, I never met a single one of the three.

Jim Rogers

Duke Energy/Duke Power

A guest commentary from Jim Rogers:

This email was personally sent to me, and as you can see near the end of the message, Jim thought Jack Roddey had passed. Note his correction. It appears that the first volume of the Hall of Fame brought those two together, which is simply outstanding!

Here is the email from Jim Rogers in May that he sent me after the first volume of the “Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame” was published and delivered.

“Michael, good morning. We have never met: guess it was two ships passing in the night.

“My claim to fame is that I was Director of Economic Development for Duke Energy, South Carolina before I retired from Duke in 2006. Richard Wiley was my counterpart in NC. I put ‘Director’ in caps because everyone seems to be “director” of something these days.

“Looking at your (Volume 1) Hall of Fame, the person missing is Jack Roddey, economic development, at Duke Energy for many, many years. I didn’t give him a title because darned if I ever knew. He was just economic development at Duke Power then Duke Energy.

“I worked for Jack, never officially, just worked. He knew governors and kings

and even good guys like your friend Bob Goforth. Can you say ‘BMW,’ the key company to what is now going on in the South? That was Jack Roddey.

“Did you know that Duke bought the site for BMW and held it until SC could come up with the money for it? That was Jack Roddey. He was a quiet and unassuming man, a good guy. Don’t even know when he retired. Sad to say he’s gone now but his son Steven Roddey is still around (Central SC in Columbia). My suggestion: Jack Roddey should headline your hall of fame. Many there owe a lot to Jack. “Liked your editorial this issue, what a disaster is going on in Washington these days!”

-Jim Rogers, P.E. Creek & Rogers Global Consulting, LLC

Jim’s addendum: “Michael, I stand happily corrected. Jack Roddey is still with us and is his ‘Jack Roddey’ self at age 95! As a result of his nomination, I had a wonderful, long phone chat with him yesterday! It has been years since we had spoken. He lives in Rock Hill, S.C., just south of Charlotte, N.C.”

Mike Rosa

Dallas Chamber of Commerce

I haven’t gotten the chance to meet Mike. Maybe I will. Like Thom Robinson, he has been working at the Dallas Chamber forever.

Jonathan Sangster

Georgia Power; The Jonathan Project

Carlton Schwab Texas EDC

Jim Searcy

Economic Development Association of Alabama

Dr. Megan Selman

Russellville, Ark. Chamber; Arkansas Valley Alliance

Kent Sharp

Sherman, Texas EDC; Shamrock, Texas EDC; Development Corporation of Abilene, Texas; Gainesville, Texas EDC; Big Spring, Texas EDC

Pictured above: John Barker, Jr. with Jack Roddey; Jim Rogers; Jim Searcy; Beth Shockney

Rachel Shields

Louisiana Economic Development

Beth Shockney

Limestone County EDA

Limestone County, Ala., has been hot as a firecracker for almost a decade now. It started with a TVA certified megasite right on I-65 that was available, then it wasn’t, then it was. (Maybe the nextdoor farm?) Being adjacent to Huntsville-Madison County, Ala., is the real deal. Now, if the Space Command is a real deal, then off in space North Alabama goes again.

Mark Simmons

Parker Poe Consulting

Greg Sims

Greenville, Texas Economic Development; Texas Economic Development Council; Garland, Texas EDP

Kelly Smallridge

Business Development Board of Palm Beach

Allen Smith

OneSpartanburg, Inc.

Carter Smith

OneSpartanburg, Inc.

Deborah McGill Smith

EGS Commercial Real Estate; Prattville Area Chamber

Jan Smith

AEP (Oklahoma)

Julie Snyder

Richardson Chamber of Commerce

Bill Sproull

Richardson, Texas EDP; Bill Sproull & Associates; Greater Dallas Chamber

Steve Stout

Athens-McMinn, Tenn. ECD

Stout contributed as well to the book, You Might Be a Southern Economic Developer If. . .

l You might be a Southern economic developer if you don’t call for a wetlands

assessment because you know that renting a backhoe is cheaper.

(If you would like to receive a copy of You Might Be a Southern Economic Developer If. . .” then send me $10 in the mail to 8086 Westchester Place, Montgomery, Ala., 36117, and we will send you one).

Wes Stucky

Ardmore, Okla. Development Authority

Ron Starner

Site Selection Magazine

David Stewart

MidAmerica Industrial Park (Mayes County, Okla.)

Elizabeth Suarez

McAllen, Texas EDC; McAllen Chamber; City of McAllen Aviation

Bob Swindell

Fort Lauderdale Alliance; Harbor Board of Commissioners

Frank Tamberino

Pensacola, Fla. Chamber (now FloridaWest); Harrison-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce

Audrey Temple

St. James Parish Economic Development

Pete Tesch

EDC of St Lucie County; Ocala-Marion County, Fla. EDC; Peterson Hill Partners

Becky Thompson

Arkansas Economic Development Commission

Becky has practiced for as long as I have published, it seems.

Clarke Thompson

South Carolina Department of Commerce

Clarke Thompson and Frank Newman are characters and longtime fixtures in economic development in the Palmetto State. Clarke is the deal maker for South Carolina Department of Commerce and Frank Newman was the deal maker at SC DOC before Clarke. And Jack

Pictured above: Mark Simmons; Clarke Thompson; Anthony Topazi; Wayne Vardaman

Bob Swindell

President & CEO

Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance

Bob Swindell was named President and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Broward County’s official public/private economic development partnership, in 2009. He joined the Alliance as the Senior Vice President of Business Development in 2003. Bob and his team market and promote Broward County as a highly desirable business location to attract high skill/high wage jobs in targeted industries, diversifying the local economy. The Alliance assists local, national and international companies already doing business in the area, or prospective companies considering a move to Greater Fort Lauderdale, which is made up of 31 municipalities within Broward County.

A lifelong Broward resident, he has served in several business and community leadership roles. Prior to becoming an economic developer through his position with the Alliance, Bob was President of Champion Manufacturing for 18 years; a Pompano Beach- and Fort Lauderdale-based industrial supply company serving the Southeastern United States. This business background has provided him with invaluable perspective and understanding of the local business community.

A lifelong community servant, in 1992, during the impact of Hurricane Andrew, Bob chaired the local Board of the American Red Cross for two years. In 2018 Bob was honored by the Broward County Public Schools by being inducted into the Broward Schools Alumni Hall of Fame. He serves on several professional and community Boards including the United Way of Broward County Executive Board, The NSU Broward Levan Center of Innovation, Winterfest, NSU Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, CareerSource Broward, City of Fort Lauderdale Marine Advisory Board and is a past-Chairman of the FEDC (Florida Economic Development Council). He has also served on the Board of Directors for the former Enterprise Florida. He is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Florida Class XXXI (31).

Two years ago, Bob was presented with the Golden Anchor Award for lifetime achievement by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida. He has been honored by local chambers of commerce for his leadership and was recognized as an Ultimate CEO by the South Florida Business Journal. In 2016, Bob was honored by the Florida Economic Development Council as Florida’s economic development professional of the year. In 2013 Florida Governor Rick Scott presented Bob with the Governor’s Business Ambassador Award.

Ellenberg was the big deal maker between them if I have the timing right.

Trip Tollison Savannah, Ga. EDA

I wonder how Trip is handling the Hyundai arrests? Bless his heart. A total disaster.

Norris Tolson North Carolina Department of Commerce

Anthony Topazi Alabama Power

I will tell you a touching story about Anthony Topazi, who died in 2018. We published a special section in the winter issue of 2018 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Alabama landing the prestigious Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in 1993.

I called my buddy Steve Sewell at the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama to ask who I should for sure interview for the Mercedes section, given limited print space. Steve told me to give Anthony Topazi a ring.

So I called him at home since he was retired. At the time, Anthony was waging a long and courageous battle with ALS. His wife Patsy answered the phone and she remembered me.

I asked for Anthony after some chitchat and she laughed and said, “Michael, I will go get him. He is playing with some of the grandchildren outside.”

So, I asked Anthony about the Mercedes deal, how it went down and what was his role in recruiting the German automaker. His memory was spot on, however, he was having trouble talking. I kept asking questions and Anthony kept answering them, but was clearly frustrated in his inability to speak correctly.

Then Anthony started crying, right there, while we were on the phone. I didn’t know what to do, so I just said, “It is going to be alright, Anthony. It is

going to be okay.” He stopped crying.

He wasn’t crying for any other reason than he was irked that his speech had essentially escaped him. But I heard clearly and documented every word. I even wrote a sidebar on him for the Mercedes promo.

Five months later, in July, Anthony Joseph Topazi passed away at age 68. The South lost a good one that day.

Gary Troutman

Greater Hot Springs, Ark. Chamber; Hot Springs Metro Partnership

Tom Troxler

Rankin First (Miss.)

Bob Turk

City of Sanford, Fla.

Ted Turner

Turner Enterprises; CNN; TBS; Turner Advertising; Atlanta Braves; Atlanta Hawks; philanthropist

I don’t really know Ted Turner. But I met him twice, once at a party in Birmingham and once at a Braves game, where he had his dip and spit cup and I had mine.

His second wife (before Jane Fonda) was Jane Shirley Smith from Mountain Brook, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham, where I grew up. I knew one of their kids somehow and got invited to a party and Jane and Ted Turner were there. I never got to talk to him, even though both of us have been accused of being the “Mouth of the South” over the years.

Yet, if anyone doesn’t agree that Ted Turner greatly assisted in bringing the South to the forefront of the world, they are dead wrong.

Wayne Vardaman

Selma and Dallas County EDA

Anna Vega

Tampa Hillsborough EDC

Jennifer Wakefield

Greater Richmond Partnership

Peter J. Tesch Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County

It was January 2014 when Pete Tesch took on the presidency of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County (Florida). The unemployment rate was 8.6 percent, the largest city in the county had lost 53 percent of its property values during the Great Recession (which was still ongoing locally), prominent economic development projects had imploded, and the EDC itself was at a critical crossroads.

Almost a dozen years later, in September 2025, as Pete was preparing to step back into an advisory role with the EDC, the picture could not be more different. The unemployment rate is in line with national trends, property values in the county have tripled from $23.8 billion in 2014 to $74.4 billion in 2025, and 24,267 jobs were added between January 2014 and December 2024, in what had previously been a predominantly residential and agricultural community.

A recent third-party study by the Economic Strategy Center found that 64 of the EDC-assisted projects tracked since 2017 created or retained 21,721 jobs, generating job income within the county of $1.2 billion annually and economic output of $4.3 billion, 17.2 percent of the county’s total annual economic output.

“While the stars certainly aligned along the way, and significant support and investment by the county, the municipalities of Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce, Florida Power & Light Company, the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority and private investors in the EDC made an enormous impact. Navigation along the path for much of the economic development success over the past 12 years was charted and championed by Pete Tesch,” said Robert Barfield, the 2026-2028 chair of the EDC board of directors.

“Pete is going to be a very hard act to follow, but luckily he will still be available to us as an advisor,” said Wes McCurry, who will assume the EDC presidency as of January 1. “Just a few years ago, our business development approach had to start with explaining where St. Lucie County was the map, now site selectors and brokers know our story and, more importantly, our assets and capabilities. Pete and the EDC team did that.”

Prior to joining the EDC, Pete was president of Peterson Hill Partners, LLC, an economic development consultation and site selection company. He served as president and CEO of Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Corporation from 1997 to 2012 and was selected as the 2012 Eunice Sullivan Economic Development Professional of the Year by the Florida Economic Development Council for his outstanding commitment, talent and skill sets in economic development, both at the local and state level. Pete was named an Economic Development Rock Star in 2023 by Southern Business & Development and as one of Florida’s 500 most influential business leaders by Florida Trend in 2024.

Scott Waller

Mississippi Economic Council

Alvah Ward

North Carolina Department of Commerce

Richard Wiley

Duke Energy/Duke Power

Nancy Windham

Texas Forest Country; Frisco, Texas

EDC; Southern Economic Development Council; Southern Industrial Development Council

Nancy has been SB&D’s friend, colleague, even staff member and family of sorts, and her career is a remarkable one. She supports just about everything we do and we support her as well. Nancy is just a wonderful lady, mother and grandmother.

She is currently the CEO of the Texas Forest Country Partnership and has

been an advocate of economic development in the South — specifically its rural regions and rural East Texas — for decades. She truly made her mark as the President of the Southern Economic Development Council in the 1990s and that is when we first began working with her.

Our thanks to Nancy for being a friend, an outstanding developer and one of our favorite Hall of Famers of all time.

Forrest Wright Shoals, Ala. EDA

William “Bill” Yates, Jr.

The Yates Companies (Miss.)

William Yates, III

The Yates Companies (Miss.)

Mark Young Greater Jonesboro Chamber

Pictured above: Scott Waller; Nancy Windham

Nelson Lindsay Site Selection Consultant

Mark Simmons Site Selection Consultant

Al Guarnieri Attorney

Sam Moses Attorney

FREAK-O-METER SCORE: 5

Comment: The issue is something we have been talking about for years now. As a result of the lowest rate of child births in U.S. history, so many Baby Boomers aging out of the workforce, combined with massive cuts in every way an immigrant can enter and work in this country legally, as well as millions of workers being deported, the labor left in this country is simply non-existent.

So, we are not surprised job generation is slowing. There is hardly anyone out there that needs a job since we are essentially at full employment. However, keep reading about layoffs that are occurring this year.

Category: Layoffs are adding up

This is a subject that is not being covered much, except from some of the high-brow business media outlets and think tanks. But CBS News on October 2, 2025 (right at our deadline) published a headline that read, “Layoffs across the U.S. this year are at their highest level since 2020, new data shows.”

Through September, or the timeframe of this entire report, employers across the U.S. have cut nearly 950,000 jobs, the largest number of layoffs since 2020, according to a report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

In the CBS piece, Aimee Picchi wrote, “Jobs cuts could surpass 1 million in 2025, the group forecast.” I find that a somewhat flawed statement, in that with 950,000 layoffs already at the three-quarter mark, that is an average loss of over 105,000 jobs per month, permanent and temporary. If that continues, the U.S. will easily surpass the 1 million mark in layoffs by January 1, 2026.

During the 2020 COVID year, we all remember the businesses that shuttered across the nation. By the end of the third quarter of 2020, there were 2 million layoffs in the U.S.

However, some of that data is sketchy as the Bureau of Labor Statistics was caught in the crossfire of what was the definition of a “permanent” layoff and what was a “temporary” layoff. “Temporary” layoffs soared to more than 16 million at the height of the pandemic. However, we know, most of those jobs came back and quickly.

And let’s not forget that federal jobs losses are not included in

SOUTHBOUND

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

private industry layoffs. To date, it is estimated that federal job losses under DOGE this year are anywhere from 325,000 to 350,000. However, this administration has threatened to cut more federal workers during the government shutdown, calling them “mass layoffs.”

Yet, the headline by CBS News that “Layoffs across the U.S. this year are at their highest level since 2020, new data shows,” is frightening. I mean, just to be compared to COVID years in regards to layoffs is more than a concern.

LAYOFFS

FREAK-O-METER SCORE: 2

Comment: So, with hardly any new jobs being created, layoffs spiking and deals cratering, this looks like a recipe for disaster. Yet again, it is not as bad as the numbers indicate. New job creation is a misnomer when the labor shed is bare. A spike in layoffs can be handled for a while.

But when President Trump’s tariffs were first mentioned early this year and before being implemented, we expected mass layoffs to occur. So, we are not “freaked out” by that statistic. It was expected, even though the doomers and gloomers were only about half right. Again, so far.

Category: What industries are hanging on or even thriving in the Great Southern Economic Development Recession of 2025?

In category No. 2 earlier in this article, we provided solid data that the South’s two largest industries, automotive and financial services, have tanked. That is okay for now. But if it continues into 2026, we will have a real problem.

SOUTHBOUND

LEFT: Google announced in August 2025 that it will invest $9 billion over the next two years to expand its existing data center in Pryor, Okla., and build a new one in Stillwater. The Pryor expansion focuses on cloud and A.I. infrastructure, increasing capacity at a campus Google has operated since 2011 (shown here).

BELOW: In a major announcement that helped establish the automotive industry in the Southern U.S., Mercedes-Benz selected Tuscaloosa County as the site for its first passenger vehicle manufacturing facility in North America. To land Project Rosewood, as it was codenamed, Alabama had to beat out 30 states in a hectic seven-month courtship in 1993.

*Non-aerospace defense projects

Source: SB&D, January 1 to September 30, 2025 projects announced meeting or exceeding 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment.

But some new industries at the top this year, like data centers, A.I., metals, aerospace and pharmaceuticals, are actually propping up this freaky economy, at least enough to keep us out of recession. In fact, some of those sectors’ numbers are at or near record highs over four decades.

So, while we will place the woeful numbers of automotive and financials in with these industry sectors’ deals so far meeting or exceeding our thresholds of 200 jobs and/or $30 million, we can clearly see a massive change in industry sector deal counts that make this year so freakin’ weird. Weird as in a changing of the guard? Our experience and intuition says it is too early to tell.

As you can see, the data center industry is dominating project activity through the first three quarters of 2025. That has never happened. In fact, in 2019, just five data centers made our list.

The problem is, and it goes back to the lack of job generation, data centers are great construction job drivers, but poor permanent job creators. The LNG and petrochemical industries are similar in that regard. With some of the biggest deals, 10,000 construction jobs are announced over time and 100 permanent ones.

10 Industry Sectors

Source: SB&D, January 1 to September 30 (average), calendar years 1993-2024; projects announced meeting or exceeding 200 jobs and/or $30 million in investment.

Aerospace has had its best year so far since 2016, when 55 big deals were rung up in that year’s SB&D 100. But this year is not done yet. With three more months left to count, aerospace and aviation projects meeting our thresholds might set the all-time record since 1993.

Let’s just say that aerospace is having as great a year as automotive is not.

Now compare what a “normal” SB&D 100 “big board” over the last four decades looks like to the list of industry sectors above.

We have averaged out a typical year over the last 33 years and we did it by shedding any data on apparel, cut-and-sews and textiles, which were still going strong in 1993 (the first year of the SB&D 100) through 1998. That industry is gone and to date it is never coming back except in some high-end, boutique cutand-sew forms. Also gone, for the most part, are those pesky, low-wage call centers.

THRIVINGINDUSTRIES IN THESOUTHIN2025

FREAK-O-METER SCORE: 7+

Comment: Out with the norm, in with the freaks, both good and bad. Data center announcements are most likely to lead the deal parade in the South for 2025? Really?

Well, they were coming on strong in 2023 and 2024 in traditional places like Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and NOVA (Northern Virginia, data center central). Then, some of those places didn’t want them anymore.

So, naturally, we now have huge data centers being built in the tiniest of hamlets, and many in some of the South’s smallest states.

And in some cases, two traditional power plants have to be built next to the data centers to power them. That is why you are seeing massive data centers building away from urban areas, once the dream location for these massive succubi (think the cartoon, South Park) of water and energy.

My intuition of 45 years of covering economic development thinks this run, the A.I. run, might turn out bad in the short term, or possibly at the end, maybe even in the middle.

Is it a bubble? Like the dot-com bubble of the 1990s? Then again, my intuition has been wrong before because I did not call

the dot-com bubble when I had the chance.

For one, a lot of these data centers are being fast-tracked from the state contacts directly to the utilities. There is nothing wrong with that other than possibly a slight lack of transparency.

Another negative to me: A lot of these data centers don’t even bother with applying for incentives. What does that tell you? It tells you they are establishing these behemoths as fast as they can. My question is, why? Is the demand truly there? I don’t know.

At least we knew why the EV train of $250 billion in the Southern Auto Corridor from 2021 to 2023 had a real reason to fasttrack; the deadlines from the Biden’s administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. It had a reasonable deadline, or a sunset.

Conclusion

The fact that September was the best month of the year in projects meeting our thresholds is encouraging. Maybe it sets the tone for the rest of the year and into 2026.

Again, though, the numbers are what they are. There is still time to salvage what is obviously a difficult year and I believe everyone will agree that few know completely the rules of this economy.

For hypothetical examples:

Is this lawsuit or the thousands before it part of the equation in deciding whether my company should invest and add capacity or not?

Will the tariffs change, because they seem to change every time the wind blows?

Is my workforce going to be here tomorrow, or is ICE going to take a good number of them away?

I have known John Bradley, TVA, Memphis Chamber, for a long time. At the first SEDR@WaterColor in January of 2014, John said this so eloquently to the group.

(Now, he was not talking about tariffs or lawsuits or ICE raids. He was talking about TVA’s incredibly successful certified megasites program. But the concern over “uncertainty” of large sites for industries directly relates to today’s economy.)

Bradley said, “We are really trying to advance sites to make sure these site selection consultants and companies that are looking in those areas are comfortable with the risk mitigation. In other words, they know what the risks are; they are comfortable that the risks have been identified and that they can deal with them.

“I mean the scariest thing about someone buying a site or investing in added capacity is what they don’t know.”

There lies the problem so far in 2025. We don’t know what’s next.

And that freaks me out. J

TEN TOP DEALS

The American South’s 10 largest new or expanded manufacturing and selected non-manufacturing job announcements

TOP JOB AND INVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE IN THE SUMMER 2025 QUARTER

1. Eli Lilly

3. E-Space

5. Systems PA 1,200 $47

6. Neuro.io 1,100 $100 million N Houma, La.

7. Amazon 1,000 N/A N Little Rock, Ark. Logistics

8. ServiceNow

9. Wistron

10.

2. Amazon N/A $10 billion N Charlotte-Richmond, Va.

3. Google N/A $9 billion N Chesterfield, Loudoun, Prince William, Va.

4. AVAIO Digital N/A $6 billion N Brandon, Miss.

7. OpenAI N/A

8. Johnson & Johnson

N Goochland County, Va.

N Milam County, Texas

$2 billion N Holly Springs, N.C.

9. Ford Motor Company 0 $2 billion E Louisville, Ky. Automotive

10. Oklo Inc.

$1.7 billion N Oak Ridge, Tenn. Nuclear

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority Commission

CONGRATULATES

VICTOR HOSKINS

Southern Economic Development

Hall of Fame 2025

Celebrating a lifetime of economic development leadership, from Los Angeles to the Mid-Atlantic, Victor is leaving an enduring mark on the Greater Washington community. He currently drives the growth of Virginia’s largest economy, with his team at FCEDA securing more than $3 billion in capital investment. His transformational achievements to date include shaping The Wharf, City Center, and Union Market in Washington, D.C., and delivering Amazon HQ2 in Arlington. A visionary leader, a lasting legacy.

Victor Hoskins, President & CEO Fairfax County Economic Development Authority