If you're helping a manufacturing company land their next U.S. facility, this episode is packed with practical insight.

Brian Devlin of ARCO Design/Build joins Susan Donkers to explain how an integrated design-build approach removes risk from site selection—especially when speed, complexity, or growth are at stake. From cleanrooms to packaging facilities, from site plans to regulatory approvals, the real design challenge often lives inside the building.

In this episode:

--> What companies are really trying to solve (hint: it’s not just square footage). Why inside-the-box planning is just as critical as what’s on the map.

--> What global firms overlook about U.S. permitting, utilities, and timelines.

--> How a “land and expand” mindset reduces long-term costs and disruptions.

--> What design-build firms see early that others don’t—and how that helps prevent surprises.

--> Lessons from projects in Raleigh and Little Rock, and how local conditions affect national planning.

--> Why economic developers and design-build teams are stronger when aligned from day one.

With 47 offices and projects across every U.S. state, ARCO brings national experience with local intelligence—and Brian explains why that matters more than ever. For site selectors, end-users, or EDOs, this episode offers sharp, strategic advice on doing it right the first time.

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Mike Grella (ex-Amazon, now Active Infrastructure) joins Strata to reveal what most communities get wrong about data centers. We go deep on power access, permitting pitfalls, and what it really takes to be ready for billion-dollar infrastructure projects. From Welcome Wagons to nuclear power, this is a must-listen for any region trying to win the next hyperscaler investment.

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Ever wonder who’s really behind the labor market data shaping corporate investment decisions? This episode takes you inside two pivotal conferences—C2ER and SelectUSA—through the eyes of Strata's team. We unpack how economic researchers drive decisions behind the scenes, how FDI flows through U.S. communities, and why data storytelling matters more than ever.

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Kim Gerlt of Missouri Partnership shares how Missouri is positioning itself as a strategic landing zone for major business investments. 

We discuss her work overseeing business recruitment and building capacity while promoting the state’s strengths in infrastructure, water access, workforce training, and collaboration.

The conversation dives into the state's recent wins: an $800 million meat processing facility from American Foods Group, a $1 billion Google data center, and Meta's $800 million investment in Kansas City. Kim explains how Missouri’s central location allows companies to reach 50% of the U.S. within one day’s drive, making it an attractive site for food production and logistics.

She talks about the "Raise the Bar" initiative: a comprehensive effort that includes hands-on training, mock site visits, and site evaluations to ensure Missouri’s communities are prepared for site selection projects. The state’s focus on readying both mega (1,000+ acre) and premier (200+ acre) sites has led to strong interest from global investors, even before formal marketing begins.

Other highlights include Missouri One Start’s role in workforce readiness and the development of NGA West in St. Louis, which positions Missouri as a tech-forward hub in geospatial intelligence. Kim closes with a heartfelt reflection on why she’s committed to growing opportunity in her home state.

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In the inaugural episode of The Ribbon Cut, co-hosts Susan Donkers and Charles Houser sit down to explore the long, often invisible process behind site selection and economic development. They share the behind the scenes on global investment decisions and infrastructure strategy, revealing how “ribbon cut” moments often come after years of unseen effort.

Charles talks about his path from long-distance telecom entrepreneurship to co-founding Green Cloud Technologies, an early cloud infrastructure company that grew to become the fastest-growing business in South Carolina by 2016. He highlights the evolution of the industry, from dial-up internet to the rise of data centers and how demand for digital infrastructure has reshaped development needs.

Susan shares her equally winding path, from studying construction management to working on military data centers post-9/11, to joining a global architecture and engineering firm, and ultimately pivoting into site selection through a chance encounter at a Greenville networking event. She reveals how her work at Global Location Strategies aimed not only to support client deals but also to improve the transparency and speed of the site selection process through technology.

Together, they discuss the fragmented nature of the site selection industry, the need for standardization, and the enormous role local and regional economic developers play, often behind the scenes. They also talk about the creation of Strata Platforms and its mission to help underserved regions become more competitive by leveraging technology to speed up deal-making.

The episode wraps with a nod to their home in Greenville, SC, offering visitors travel tips, and a reflection on why they chose the podcast name “The Ribbon Cut”, a tribute to the celebration that marks the end of years of collaboration, persistence, and progress.

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