In October 2020, Astrobotic, the world’s leading lunar logistics service provider, unveiled its new headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Later this year, they will embark on their first mission to the moon. To get the full story on why the out-of-this-world company decided to stay and grow in Pittsburgh, we spoke with John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, and Mark Thomas, President at the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.

Amid COVID-19, there is a lot of uncertainty in corporate site selection, particularly around office projects and whether they will move forward more slowly – or not at all. But today’s episode focuses on a company that did not let the pandemic impact its plans for office expansion. Accenture Federal Services announced plans in June 2020 to open an advanced technology center in St. Louis. To get the full story, we spoke with Molly Ketcham, Managing Director, Strategic Planning & Operations at Accenture Federal Services, and Steve Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alliance STL.

Last week, the Site Selectors Guild released the findings of its latest membership survey titled, “How COVID-19 Is Changing Corporate Location Strategy.” The Project hosts had the chance to sit down with Jay Garner, Chair of the Site Selectors Guild and President of Garner Economics, and Rick Weddle, President & CEO of The Guild, to discuss the key findings. Listen in for insights on what percentage of projects are moving forward, industries with the most project activity and the cities best positioned to win projects, according to the world’s foremost site selection consultants.

With more than 150,000 employees and a market value over $1 trillion, Microsoft is one of the largest and most successful tech companies in the world. Microsoft has been in Costa Rica for over 25 years, with their operation averaging between 50-80 staff members. But, just two years ago, they made a big bet on the country, expanding to over 800 employees. To get the full story behind the decision, we spoke with Ineke Geesink, Country Manager and a native of Costa Rica, and Vanessa Gibson, Director of Investment Climate for CINDA, Costa Rica’s investment attraction agency. 

The current global health crisis is impacting every business and industry – and economic development is no exception. This week on The Project, we interview five economic development leaders from across America about how their organizations are adapting and pivoting to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and help position their communities for recovery. Listen in for insights from Chris Camacho, President and CEO of Greater Phoenix Economic Council; Susan Davenport, Chief Economic Development Officer of Greater Houston Partnership; Tim Giuliani, President and CEO of Orlando Economic Partnership; Cecilia Harry, Chief Economic Development Officer of Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation; and Victor Hoskins, President and CEO of Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, restaurants and bars across North America are limited to takeout and delivery. As app-to-table dining becomes the new norm, we bring you the story of SkipTheDishes, Canada’s largest food delivery network, and its decision to establish new Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg. While the company considered other markets, including Calgary and Toronto, ultimately, its existing presence in Winnipeg went a long way to solidify the decision to stay. To get the full story, we spoke with Kevin Edwards, CEO of SkipTheDishes, and Dayna Spiring, President and CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg.

St. Johns, Michigan is a small community of just under 8,000 people. A half-billion dollar dairy processing plant is being built here by Glanbia, an Irish nutrition group with operations in 32 countries. The project is a joint venture between Glanbia and their partners Dairy Farmers of America, Select Milk Producers and Proliant Dairy Ingredients.

Expected to open in November 2020, the “Midwest Cheese” plant will employ 290 people and process 8 million pounds of milk every day.

For the company perspective, we interview Glanbia’s senior vice president John Dardis. And for a description of the dozen-plus, state and local entities that were involved in this complex project, we interview  Keith Lambert, Vice President of Business Attraction of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP).

Just in time for Thanksgiving, we bring you a particularly tasty episode. City Barbeque is an award-winning barbeque empire that began in a garage in the Columbus Region of Ohio in 1999 and has since expanded rapidly across seven states, with its 50th restaurant opening next year. In June 2019, the company announced plans to expand operations in Dublin, Ohio, creating 35 new jobs and investing nearly $1 million. To get the full story, we spoke with Rick Malir, CEO and co-founder of City Barbeque, and Rachel Ray, economic development administrator for the City of Dublin.

Among fast-growing companies, AML Rightsource is in a category all by itself. Over the past five years, this Cleveland-based company has grown from 35 employees to 950. Their latest expansion took them to Buffalo, New York, where the company will open an 11,000-square-foot office with plans to hire 100 people. True to the company’s fast-moving mentality, the site selection process happened at hyper-speed…in just 10 weeks. To get the full story, we spoke with Frank Ewing, the 38-year-old CEO of AML RightSource, and Alan Rosenhoch, Director of Business Development with Invest Buffalo Niagara.

According to the US-based, Solar Energy Industries Association, solar energy has experienced an average annual growth rate of 50% over the past decade. Jinko Solar, a Chinese company founded just 13 years ago in 2006, has emerged as the largest manufacturer of solar energy panels in the world. Jinko employs 13,500 people and has eight factories around the globe that produced an estimated 30 million panels in 2018. But what they didn’t have was a US manufacturing presence.

That all changed in the past year with Jinko’s decision to build a $50 million manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Florida. For today’s story we interview Jinko Solar’s Jeff Juger, the JAXUSA Partnership’s Aaron Bowman and Florida Power & Light’s Crystal Stiles. The episode includes tales of a rain-drenched economic developer, a flat tire while traveling with the company and a Sunday morning site inspection arranged at the last minute.