Economic Briefing Newsletter - Metro Atlanta Chamber

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TECHNOLOGY INTERNAP EXPANDS DATA CENTER Digital data in all its forms is growing by leaps and bounds, and so are demands for the services businesses use to effectively manage their expanding data needs. Internap Network Services Corporation, a global, publicly-traded company headquartered in metro Atlanta that provides a wide range of IT infrastructure services, is in the process of more than tripling the size of its state-of-the-art data center in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Internap’s Atlanta data center expansion will increase the total data center footprint in the company-owned facility located at 250 Williams Street to 42,000 net-sellable square feet when fully deployed, the first phase of which is expected to be available in Q3 2012. To accommodate the data center expansion, Internap has relocated its headquarters from the downtown site to the Perimeter business district. TECH FIRMS EXPAND HQ’S IN SANDY SRPINGS AirWatch plans to create another 400 jobs as it occupies more than 100,000 square feet at 1155 Perimeter Center West in Sandy Springs (Fulton County) after relocating from West Midtown. As a global leader and innovator of enterprise-grade mobile security, mobile device management, mobile application management and mobile content management solutions, AirWatch helps to deploy, secure, monitor and manage an enterprise’s entire fleet of Android, Apple iOS, Apple Mac OS X, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone devices. Dell SecureWorks is expanding its global headquarters by creating another 200 jobs and growing its space approximately 50 percent to 115,000 square feet at Concourse Corporate Center One in Sandy Springs (Fulton County). Acquired by Dell in 2011, Atlanta-based Dell SecureWorks focuses exclusively on security services to protect thousands of customers around the world. Dell SecureWorks provides world-class IT security services to help organizations of all sizes protect their IT assets, comply with regulations and reduce security costs. MOST-WATCHED T.V. NETWORK IN THE U.S. CHOOSES ATLANTA Mass media company, CBS Corp., plans to create 101 jobs at a new IT and software center in Sandy Springs (Fulton County). The office will support the corporation’s operations with IT services. “We are very pleased to welcome this CBS office to Atlanta. The company’s selection of our city over other competing cities speaks directly to the abundant pool of IT talent that Atlanta offers and to the vibrant growth of our technology community,” said Hans Gant, Senior Vice President of Economic Development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. CBS creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The company owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content. Its media and entertainment operations include cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, outdoor advertising and interactive media. PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION CENTER OPENS ON GEORGIA TECH CAMPUS Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, headquartered in Peachtree City, Ga., expanded its metro Atlanta presence with a new R&D center, located in Midtown Atlanta (Fulton County) within Georgia Tech’s Technology Square campus. The Panasonic Automotive Innovation Center is an incubator for next-generation automotive infotainment technologies. The approximate 100 jobs, including software engineers, systems engineers, electrical engineers and support staff, will work on advancing automotive navigation and entertainment systems. The company is partnering with Georgia Tech for local engineering talent, specifically through the university’s co-op program – the largest optional co-op program in the U.S., with about 2,700 students participating each year. “We are excited about the opportunity to tap into the engineering talent of one of the fastest growing high-technology areas in the nation,” said Tom Gebhardt, President of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America. “Our goal is to develop a strong partnership with the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) as well as the University’s Division of Professional Practice for employing co-ops. We feel both partnerships will provide Panasonic Automotive a continuing advantage in our development of the next generation of in-vehicle multimedia infotainment systems.” The Center expects to employ approximately 15 Georgia Tech co-op students each year. Panasonic Automotive chose Midtown not only for Georgia Tech but also for other proximity reasons. The Center will benefit from being in the same building as other R&D operations at the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a startup accelerator that helps technology entrepreneurs in Georgia launch and build successful companies. And, Midtown is just 50 miles from its Peachtree City headquarters. Other R&D centers in metro Atlanta that have created jobs in the last few years include Newell Rubbermaid, SANY, Novelis, Exide Technologies and Samsung. MID-YEAR 2012 ECONOMIC BRIEFING | 6
GLOBAL COMMERCE 19 FOREIGN FIRMS SELECT ATLANTA Thus far in 2012, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and its economic development partners recruited 19 companies with a foreign parent to locate or expand a facility in metro Atlanta, projected to create over 1,000 jobs. The top countries creating jobs were Switzerland and Germany. The top foreign companies creating jobs were India’s Infosys (250 jobs), Australia’s CHEP USA (173 jobs), Japan’s Panasonic (100 jobs) and Sweden’s Elekta (100 jobs). The State of Georgia has over 3,600 internationally-owned facilities which represent 60 countries and employ more than 194,000 Georgians, of which 2,800 facilities and over 132,000 employees are in metro Atlanta. MAC & U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SIGN EXPORT PROMOTION MOU The Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Global Commerce team has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. This enhanced partnership is a concerted effort to increase global business for our local companies and boost exports from metro Atlanta. Through the Export Promotion Partner Initiative, Global Commerce now offers an extensive supply of market research and export tools available through the ITA. These resources and tools are designed to prepare and assist companies to successfully enter new international markets and/or expand in current international markets. For more information, contact Ric Hubler, director, global business growth at 404-586-8455 or rhubler@macoc.com FTZ BENEFITS IMPORTERS The 250-acre Georgia Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) located next to the Atlanta airport helps companies compete globally by reducing operating costs associated with international trade. Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) are federally designated sectors of land that, while located within the United States, are considered to be outside U.S. Customs Territory. Goods can be imported into the FTZ without the payment of U.S. Customs duties. Once the goods are removed, payment is made, often at a lower rate. Select industrial parks and individual company sites in metro Atlanta have FTZ subzone status, allowing such import benefits. www.georgiaftz.com NEW INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL NOW OPEN Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport now has 12 additional international gates, with the grand opening of the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal. The 1.2 million-square-foot terminal connects with the existing international concourse, which has 28 gates. Atlanta-bound passengers no longer have to recheck baggage and international-bound passengers now check in at the new facility. “The opening of the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal heralds a new era of international opportunity for Atlanta, strengthening the city’s position as a global gateway for the United States and as a preferred destination for business and tourism,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. Approximately 1,000 jobs are projected to operate the new terminal and 3,000 jobs were created during the planning, design and construction, which began four years ago. Since 1996, the year of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, international passenger volume has exploded by 222 percent. Last year was a record-breaking year as 9.86 million international passengers traveled through Atlanta. By 2015, that number is projected to grow another 30 percent to 13 million as forecasted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Atlanta’s Global Gateway (Concourse F) opened May 16, 2012 ATLANTA WELCOMES INDIA Atlanta’s business connections with India have expanded this year with two major events. In January, the Government of India opened its first consulate office in Georgia to serve the Southeast region. The consulate creates 20 jobs under the leadership of Consul General Ajit Kumar. The team will connect trade and investment opportunities and provide consular, visa and passport services. “The Indian Consulate is a vital addition to Atlanta’s consular corps and community of trade commissions and bi-national chambers of commerce, which already represents more than 70 other countries and is a key component of Georgia’s diversity and international success,” said Gov. Nathan Deal. In June, Atlanta welcomed a delegation of Indian companies to the USA-India Business Summit (UIBS) held at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. UIBS is the largest conference in the Southeast USA that promotes business and investment between USA and India in key industries including Life Sciences, Health IT, Logistics and Technology. “The USA India Business Summit is an integral part of the strategy to promote Atlanta at the intersection of a key growth market for us – India,” said Jorge Fernandez, vice president of global commerce for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “This summit provides a significant platform for dialogue and discussion to identify opportunities for both sides, showcasing Atlanta’s strengths as an ideal place to locate an international business and identifying opportunities for our companies in India.” Georgia is home to over 40 Indian-owned companies including Novelis, Infosys, Tata and Wipro. MID-YEAR 2012 ECONOMIC BRIEFING |7 Photo courtesy of of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
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