Dive Brief:
- South Korea-based LG Electronics has selected Clarksville, TN, as the location for its new 829,000-square-foot, $250 million washing machine factory, according to CoStar Group. The Clarksville plant, expected to open in 2019, will be the company's first production facility in the U.S.
- LG Home Appliance and Air Solutions Co. President Dan Song said Tennessee's business climate, workforce skills and its location for distribution logistics led the company to pick the state over seven other potential locations.
- LG is receiving various incentives from the state in return for infrastructure improvements, workforce training and a commitment to recruit U.S. veterans. The company said it could add capacity in the future for the manufacturing of additional appliances at the 310-acre site.
Dive Insight:
Just last month, LG broke ground on its 350,000-square-foot, $300 million North American headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. The company already has offices in Englewood Cliffs, but officials said the new facility will be a $26 billion boon for the region and, by the time it opens in 2019, will have created 2,000 construction positions and 1,000 permanent jobs. The new headquarters will be LEED Gold-certified and designed to maintain views of the Palisades, a scenic line of cliffs along the Hudson River.
The Southeast has scored some manufacturing wins in the past few months. including the $1.8 billion Novo Nordisk diabetes active pharmaceutical ingredient facility in Clayton, NC. Texas-based Fluor Corp. won the $1.2 billion construction contract back in December. The 830,000-square-foot plant should be complete in 2020 and will generate 3,200 jobs — 2,500 construction and 700 full-time.
According to Dodge Data & Analytics' 2017 Dodge Construction Outlook, manufacturing starts should increase by 7%, or 62 million square feet, this year. Chief Economist Robert Murray said global demand for U.S. exports will drive the sector this year.
