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Nike, Belz reach accord on Raleigh site
Memphis to be the new home of Nucor's Special Bar Quality Products steel mill
ServiceMaster relocates world headquarters to Memphis:
Memphis’ Fourth Fortune 500 Headquarters
Nike, Belz reach accord on Raleigh site
Plans for new distribution center for shoe giant
By Amos Maki | Commercial Appeal
| March, 2007
Nike Inc. said Friday that it has reached an agreement with Belz Enterprises to buy a 125-acre site in Raleigh for a 1 million-square-foot distribution center.
The $107 million facility will house employees from both Nike's existing Winchester Road facility in Memphis as well employees from a second distribution center based in Wilsonville, Ore.
"Nike is pleased to increase its investment in the Memphis community with this state-of-the-art facility," said Nick Athanasakos, vice president of Nike Supply Chain. "This distribution center will be great for our employees, retail customers and consumers while expediting our time to market."
Belz officials said the new Nike warehouse -- located inside Northridge Industrial Park, a 550-acre property at Frayser Boulevard and New Allen Road -- strengthens the city's global reputation as a distribution and logistics hub.
"Equally important, this project will provide further economic opportunity to the Frayser area in North Memphis that vitally needs additional jobs and commerce," said Ron Belz, president and COO of Belz.
Belz officials also said Nike's roots would run deeper in the community because the sneaker and apparel giant is buying the land rather than renting space as it does now.
Nike was seriously considering two sites in DeSoto County for the new distribution center, but selected the Belz site instead.
The new project will make Memphis the No. 2 Nike city in the United States after the company's home base in Beaverton, Ore.
Nike said the new facility would produce "cost efficiencies" of more than $200 million while reducing shipping times and increasing service capabilities.
In total, the project would create 244 jobs, plus the retention of Nike's existing job base. The median wage with benefits would be about $44,500, above Shelby County's median income of $35,237, including benefits.
Last month, the Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board approved a payment-in-lieu-of-tax freeze that will save Nike $21 million.
The IDB essentially tacked on five years of additional tax freezes to bring the project to Memphis. Because Nike has already enjoyed two years of freezes, its total remaining PILOT term would be 13 years.
Nike already has 250 full-time employees at its 980,000-square-foot Winchester Road facility, where thousands of pairs of shoes are shipped daily. It has 100 additional employees at a facility on Shelby Drive.
Mark Herbison, senior vice president for economic development at the Memphis Regional Chamber, said the project would also bring additional business growth to North Memphis.
"Over the past few months our whole economic development team has been working diligently to secure this project for North Memphis," Herbison said. "We think this project will bring continued, sustained growth for years to come."
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Memphis to be the new home of Nucor's Special Bar Quality Products steel mill
October, 2006
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it has chosen Memphis, Tennessee as the new location for its “Special Bar Quality Products” steel mill. The new Memphis steel mill will bring approximately 225 new jobs to Memphis and the facility is expected to cost approximately $230 million.
“We are pleased to have Nucor, one of the most productive steel plants in the world, locate in Memphis,” said John Moore, President and CEO of the Memphis Regional Chamber. “With Nucor’s expansion, we believe the plant will attract parts and component manufacturing to Memphis and Shelby County.”
The Memphis Nucor facility will have an estimated annual capacity of 850,000 tons, and will produce high quality carbon and alloy round cornered squares from 2.25” to 9” for the automotive, heavy equipment and service center markets.
“This growth project provides Nucor with an exciting opportunity to capitalize on a significantly better cost structure compared to our key competitors in the ‘special bar quality’ market,” said Daniel R. DiMicco, Nucor’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Memphis facility will complement our existing SBQ mills in Nebraska and South Carolina very well.”
Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber called Nucor a true innovator in the steel industry. “Business schools across the country study Nucor’s
philosophy of customer-focused quality,” said Kisber. “Nucor is a company which values
strategic thinking and they’ve found Memphis and Shelby County a good environment to
build on that philosophy.”
Nucor will be located in Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park. The project will include the purchase of 140 additional acres and include an $8 million investment in new buildings. Construction will take approximately 15 months.
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ServiceMaster relocates world headquarters to Memphis
Memphis’ Fourth Fortune 500 Headquarters
October, 2006
ServiceMaster (NYSE: SVM) announced today that it has chosen to relocate its world headquarters to Memphis, TN. The Fortune 500 company’s headquarters is currently based in Downer’s Grove, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, with all of its divisions based in Memphis. The headquarter relocation will create approximately 500 new jobs in Memphis with an annual median wage of $67,300.
“There is a momentum in Memphis that has been developing for some time now, and having ServiceMaster relocate its headquarters here is another example of our diverse business environment,” said John Moore, President and CEO of the Memphis Regional Chamber. “We are proud to have a professional organization such as ServiceMaster call Memphis home.”
ServiceMaster will be the fourth Fortune 500 headquarters to locate in Memphis. It is the second Fortune 500 company to relocate its world headquarters to Memphis in just over a year – International Paper announced its relocation in August 2005. In addition to ServiceMaster and International Paper, ThyssenKrupp, Nucor Steel, Liquid Container and Riviana Foods, Inc. have all recently chosen to locate in Memphis.
“We are committed to building even closer working relationships between our functional and operational teams. It makes sense to have those teams housed at our Memphis campus, where we have the largest investment and concentration of employees and operations,” said J. Patrick Spainhour, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Memphis is a thriving and business-friendly city that will offer us ample opportunity to grow the company. We look forward to expanding our role as a leading corporate citizen in the community.”
Memphis is North America’s distribution center and is home to the world’s busiest air cargo airport. It serves more metro markets overnight by truck than any other city in the central U.S. Memphis also is served by five of the U.S.’s 6 long-haul Class I rail systems and is the fourth largest inland port in the U.S. Memphis also offers an affordable lifestyle with the cost of living nine percent below the national average.
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