Delaware-based multinational DuPont is consolidating its seven Richmond-area warehouse and logistics centers into a new 800,000-sf two-building complex. The $30 million Chesterfield county relocation will is near DuPont's Spruance manufacturing plant.
Nextec Applications, a "smart-textile" manufacturer, has raised $10 million to build their first international plant in Singapore. The new facility should reach completion by the end of the year 2001, with plans to build additional plants in Europe and Japan. Nextec's breathable, water-repellent, windproof fabrics remain flexible and soft even in cold weather, and are used in the apparel, medical, and industrial protective clothing industries.
Unifi-Sans Technical Fibers intends to open a $25 million, 236,000-sf facility in Stoneville to manufacture high-tenacity nylon yarns. Unifi-Sans Technical Fibers is a joint venture of South Africa-based Sans Fibers and Unifi Inc. of Greensboro, N.C.
Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company Alkermes, Inc., has leased 91,000-sf in Chelsea at Brickyard Square Biotech Park to house its subsidiary, Advanced Inhalation Research. The space features 28-foot high ceilings conducive to manufacturing. Alkermes will invest more than $25 million in the structure.
Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. is considering sites in Georgia, Tennessee, or Alabama for a plant manufacturing 4.7-liter V8 gasoline engines. To be completed by 2004, the plant will produce 100,000 to 150,000 new engines per year and cost approximately $266 million.
Cohu Inc. plans to relocate its plant and headquarters from Kearny Mesa, Calif., to a 20-acre site in Poway in 2001. The new $21.3 million, 338,00-sf facility will consolidate the operations of Cohu's manufacturing subsidiary, Delta Design, under one roof, and also accommodate administrative offices, and approximately 900 employees. Cohu manufactures test equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductors.
BioReliance opened a new $24 million, $58,000-sf facility in late September 2000 to provide large-scale, viral gene therapy and drug manufacturing services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The company will provide bulk manufacturing of the human smallpox vaccine for OraVax, a Cambridge, Mass., biopharmaceutical firm that was recently awarded a $343 million contract for the vaccine by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services has retained HarleyEllis for the design of a new $80-million North American headquarters in Auburn Hills. A 360,000-sf complex is planned for 24 acres adjacent to the company’s existing headquarters. The five-floor building will house 1,500 employees and will include a five-level parking deck and atrium, cafeteria with patio seating, 200-seat auditorium, and training and conference center. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2000, with completion in 2002. Walbridge Aldinger of Auburn Hills is the construction manager.
Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG, designer and manufacturer of systems for internal combustion engines, has selected Albert Kahn Associates Inc. (AKA) of Detroit to provide programming and schematic design for a new technical center. The 100,000-sf, multi-story Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Technical Center will house office, prototype assemply, lab, and testing areas. It will be constructed in three phases at a 12.5-acre site in Auburn Hills.
Reinhold Industries has awarded the design of their new corporate headquarters to Ware & Malcomb Architects of Irvine, Calif. Four existing buildings will be demolished to make way for the new 50,000-sf office/manufacturing/warehouse building. Ware & Malcomb will design both the shell and tenant improvement for the new building. Two existing buildings will be re-skinned and a 9,000-sf addition will convert two existing buildings into one. Reinhold Industries manufactures composite plastics for use as airplane, jet plane, and missile parts.
The National Fire and Protection Agency (NFPA) has partnered with Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to build a set of Consensus Codes--a new set of codes for the built environment. Their goal is to provide safety officials with a new consistent and compatible set of codes by the year 2003. As part of the Consensus Code project NFPA also plans to devise a NFPA Building Code.
Flint Ink completed the 88,605-sf renovation and expansion of its corporate world headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., in April 2000. The majority of the center's expansion is contained within a three-story office addition. Interior additions include a new two-story lobby and entry plaza, a high-bay testing lab and loading dock. HarleyEllis acted as both architect and engineer for the project. Walbridge Aldinger served as general contractor and construction manager. Great Lakes Mechanical provided HVAC mechanical services.
Toshiba will partner with SanDisk of Silicon Valley to invest $700 million in an expansion at the Dominion Semiconductor plant in Manassas for a new company, Flash-Vision, that plans to manufacture a new memory chip there.
KLA-Tencor Corp., based in San Jose, Calif., will expand with a six-building, 720,000-sf campus at the Cayetano Business Park in North Livermore. The campus will house offices, an engineering division, and an advanced manufacturing complex with clean-rooms. The first building is scheduled for completion in June 2001. The 120,000-sf structure will accommodate approximately 400 employees. KLA, a semiconductor tool manufacturer, will retain its headquarters in San Jose.
Cisco Systems, based in San Jose, Calif., has plans to manufacture fiber-optic gear in Salem, N.H. Cisco will convert 674,000 sf of manufacturing and office space to a facility for testing, assembling, and distributing equipment for use in high-speed telecommunications networks.
