Arizona

GoDaddy To Build Technology Center in Tempe, AZ With 300 Jobs

Scottsdale, Arizona-based web hosting and domain name provided GoDaddy announced that it will be building a new global technology center in Tempe, AZ.

GoDaddy groundbreaking in Tempe, AZ

GoDaddy groundbreaking in Tempe, AZ (photo – GoDaddy)

Construction of the 150,000-square-foot technology center in the ASU research Park will require GoDaddy to invest $27 million.

In addition to housing the 500 employees at the company’s existing Tempe facility, the new technology center will also create 300 new jobs, and will eventually provide space for 1,300 employees including developers, customer service representatives and engineers.

GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving said their chosen site in the ASU research Park was a sweet spot right in the hub of Arizona’s technology corridor, and would be able to provide space they might need in future.

When GoDaddy first opened the Tempe service center in 2007, they said it was the right fit because of the recruiting opportunities provided by the proximity of Arizona State University.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who was there for the groundbreaking of GoDaddy’s tech center and got her footprints embedded in cement, labeled the company a true success story and said that GoDaddy has announced expansions in each of the 16 years it has operated in the state.

Gov. Brewer added that all the legislative efforts and hard work they have put in is paying off, and they were proud to have been able to assist in helping keep GoDaddy firmly rooted in the state.

Sandra Watson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), said the fact that GoDaddy decided to expand its sizable footprint in Arizona speaks volumes about the state’s favorable tax structure and competitive business environment.

GoDaddy will be getting around $4 million in incentives for job creation and workforce training. The company can claim $1.5 million from the Arizona Competes Fund, in addition to $5,000 per new worker in the form of training grants, and another $9,000 as tax credits for each job created.

GoDaddy has a total of 3,400 employees, out of which 2,600 are spread across 10 locations in Greater Phoenix, including their corporate headquarters in Scottsdale. GoDaddy.com founder and former CEO Bob Parsons was noted for his refusal to allow outsourcing or offshoring of even a single job.

Chief Executive Survey – Best States for Doing Business

Chief Executive Magazine has published its ninth annual survey of CEO opinions regarding the best and worst states for doing business.

Texas Top State for Doing Business

Texas Top State for Doing Business (Photo – state.tx.us)

The top five remain unchanged from last year’s listing, with Texas at the top and Indiana bookending the top five list in fifth place. Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee take the second, third and fourth spots respectively.

The two surprises in the 2013 list are Arizona and Nevada. Arizona jumped up four spots to take the sixth place, while Nevada jumped three rungs to climb up to ninth place.

Virginia and South Carolina were each pushed down one slot to seventh and eighth place rankings, while Georgia was pushed down two slots into the 10th place.

Among all 50 states, the biggest mover on the list was Ohio, whose ranking jumped up 13 places from 35th place last year to 22nd this year.

The list is based on responses from 736 CEOs who graded states they were familiar with on a variety of metrics such as living environment, workforce quality and taxation and regulation.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but 19 out of the top 20 states on the list are states which currently have Republican governors. The only outlier is Colorado, which is in 13th place and has a Democrat in the governor’s mansion.

Progressive states similarly crowd the bottom of the list. California is listed dead last, preceded by New York and Illinois. New Jersey and Massachusetts join these three as the five worst states for doing business, as per the 736 CEOs surveyed by Chief Executive Magazine.

You can see the full list of all 50 states here.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence said in a statement that their fifth ranking nationwide and top ranking as the best state for business in the Midwest was a validation of the work they have put in to make Indiana the country’s top jobs state.

Gov. Pence added that chief executives knew that Indiana was among the few states that actually works for business.

Environmental Achievements in Walmart Global Responsibility Report

Walmart unveiled its 2013 Global Responsibility Report (GRR), which highlights the company’s 2012 accomplishments in terms of environmental, corporate and social responsibility.

Walmart Global Responsibility Report

Walmart Global Responsibility Report (photo – walmart.com)

The 172-page report has a lot of data to wade through, but it’s clear that the environmental achievements and the company’s stated goals for this decade are massive, regardless of whether one thinks Walmart is doing enough.

Highlights from the report’s environmental responsibility section (begins on page 52):-

Walmart installed more than 100 rooftop solar installations last year in different states including California, Arizona and Ohio, in addition to a 1MW wind turbine. In total, Walmart has more than 200 solar installations which combine to make it the largest on-site green power generator in the U.S., with over.

On a global level, the company has more than 280 renewable energy projects operational, which provide more than 1 billion kilowatt hours of renewable electricity per year – enough to power 95,000 American homes.

Currently, 21 percent of their energy needs are fulfilled through renewable sources. The company’s Vision 2020 goals call for huge increase of renewable energy usage to 7 billion kWh per year by 2020 through on-site generation and purchase.

As per a pledge made in 2012, Walmart was to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2012. They wrapped up this pledge a year ahead of schedule, and are on track to reduce their global supply chain GHG emissions by 20 million metric tons by 2015.

They have also committed to reducing Co2 emissions by three million metric tons by 2020, which is the same as taking 625,000 cars off the road.

Walmart’s fleet efficiency has gone up by 10 percent in 2012. They drove 11 million fewer miles last year despite having to deliver 297 million additional cases. If they had not improved fleet efficiency, they would have had to drive an extra 70 million miles.

This efficiency has saved $130 million in fuel costs and reduced Co2 emissions by 103,000 metric tons (equivalent to taking 20,000 cars off the road).

In terms of waste reduction, Walmart reduced plastic bag shopping waste by 38.1 percent in 2012, and partnered with suppliers to reduce packaging by five percent and the overall GHG emissions from packaging by 9.8 percent in U.S. Walmart stores, and by 16 percent in Walmart Canada stores.

Andrea Thomas, Walmart’s senior vice president of sustainability, said their customers should not have to choose between sustainability and affordable process, and promised they would continue to fulfill commitments to operate responsibly while keeping costs low for customers.

Read the full Walmart Global Responsibility Report – Download (pdf)

The Solar Foundation Report on National Solar Jobs Census

The Washington, D.C.-based non-profit The Solar Foundation (TSF) put out its third annual solar jobs census, which shows that the U.S. solar industry now supports 119,016 jobs, which is a 13.2 percent (13,872 jobs) growth in solar jobs in 2012 as compared to 2011.

National Solar Jobs Census

National Solar Jobs Census (photo – thesolarfoundation.org)

Solar jobs are defined by TSF as those where workers spent at least half their time on solar related job functions.

California leads the rankings of the top 10 states with the most solar jobs. The Golden State has a full one-third of all solar jobs in the country, which is four times higher than the 9,800 jobs in Arizona, which is ranked second followed by New Jersey in third place.

These three states also top the rankings for the most solar capacity. Although New York does not figure in the top three states for solar jobs or installed capacity, it does top the list of states providing the most public workforce funding for solar companies, followed by California and Texas.

Andrea Luecke, executive director of TSF, said that this latest data proved that the solar industry has become a dependable job creator, and that employers were confident about further growth in 2013.

As per the census, nearly 45 percent of solar firms will be adding new jobs, while less than four percent will be cutting jobs.

A majority of the jobs (57,177) are in the installation sub-sector. Solar manufacturing jobs actually fell by 8,000 last year, but the number is expected to grow by nine percent this year. Finance, R&D and “other” solar industry jobs accounted for 8,105 jobs. This sub-sector grew at a stunning 46.1 percent.

Gianluca Signorelli, renewable energy finance manager at Rabobank, N.A., said in a statement that the bank’s solar team has grown to manage the increase in demand for solar financing, and this spurt in demand has obviously led to employment growth across all sub-sectors in the solar industry.

Causes of growth listed in the report are reduced component pricing, favorable state legislation and federal tax incentives. The report notes that if costs continue to decrease, the increase in installation demand will require the solar industry to provide employment for 340,000 workers by 2030.

Read the full TSF National Solar Jobs Census 2012 – Download (pdf)

U.S. Launches Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership

During a visit to the Able Engineering plant in Mesa, Arizona, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank unveiled a new manufacturing initiative – the Investing in Manufacturing Communities (IMCP).

Deputy Secretary Blank at Able Eng. plant in Mesa, AZ

Deputy Secretary Blank at Able Eng. plant in Mesa, AZ (photo – commerce.gov)

IMCP is a manufacturing assistance program for communities to make long-term investment for building up infrastructure that will attract manufacturing jobs.

The program will be a multi-agency partnership to leverage the entire federal government’s economic development resources.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank said in a statement that IMCP is designed to “improve the way we use federal resources for economic development initiatives, in order to bring more investment to American communities and make them an attractive place to do business.”

Federal agencies will be working in partnership with the industry and universities, and will select five or six communities where IMCP will be tested as a pilot program.

Each pilot will get $25 million in funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 2014, and more funding as required from other federal agencies. The FY 2014 federal budget request includes a total of $113 million for the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Fund.

The pilots will be awarded in a competitive process which will require participating communities to come up with economic development plans that aim to create an environment that attracts investments. The Dept. of Commerce provided guidelines of what they are looking for in such plans:-

- Business incubators and university research centers targeting specific tech sectors;

- Training programs that prepare workers for targeted industry sectors;

- Public spending on energy efficiency and infrastructure upgrades; and

- Viable plans for export growth.

In advance of the 2014 grants for the pilot programs, Commerce will be providing 25 communities smaller grants of around $200,000 later this year for communities that follow the same model described above. Solicitations for these grants will be issued next month, and the awards will be issued in September.

Inter-agency cooperation for IMCP begins right away, with six to eight “listening sessions” to be scheduled in 2013 to raise awareness of the aforementioned grant opportunities and get input from communities about the 2014 pilot competition.

The Dept. of Commerce will be leading the coordination effort to focus and combine the impact of all federal agency programs dealing with energy efficiency, research and commercialization centers, workforce training, etc.

Macy’s Plans $35M Expansion of Goodyear, AZ Distribution Center

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) announced plans to expand its Goodyear, Arizona distribution center for online orders.

Macy's Fulfillment Center in Goodyear, AZ

Macy’s Fulfillment Center in Goodyear, AZ (photo – ci.goodyear.az.us)

The expansion will require a capital investment of $35 million, and is expected to create 125 new full-time jobs.

The expansion project involves adding 360,000 square feet of space to the existing 600,000-square-foot facility which was opened by Macy’s in 2008.

Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord said she was thrilled by Macy’s selection of Goodyear for the expansion.

“Macy’s has been a great corporate citizen, community partner and major employer these past five years,” added Mayor Lord. “Macy’s is one of our most critical corporate anchors. Their expansion demonstrates Goodyear is continuing to grow and we’re ready for businesses to grow with us.”

The Goodyear fulfillment center for online orders placed on Macys.com is one of three such Macy’s distribution centers. The other two are in Portland, Tennessee and Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Another fulfillment center in Cheshire, Connecticut fulfills orders placed on Bloomingdales.com. Macy’s also has a network of 20 traditional distribution centers for fulfilling orders placed by physical stores.

The online order distribution centers are much more beneficial to the community they are in because of the relatively huge number of jobs created. A lot of manpower is needed to pack and ship the vast number of single item orders, as compared to the easier job of packing and sending a limited number of large orders placed by stores.

The Goodyear fulfillment center already has 500 full time Macy’s associates, and this will go up to 625 will the creation of 125 new jobs. This count does not include seasonal jobs for the holiday season.

Macy’s has an “omni-channel strategy” for the four fulfillment centers mentioned above. These centers are capable of handling orders seamlessly for customers shopping in stores, online and via mobile devices.

“Our online fulfillment centers, as well as the 500 Macy’s stores that will be equipped to fulfill orders by the end of 2013, handle customer orders placed online, as well as ship products to customers who shop in stores that may not stock the specific product they need. Through our omnichannel strategy, we can access the total inventory of our company for every customer,” said R.B. Harrison, Macy’s, Inc.’s chief omnichannel officer.

Apart from this state-of-the-art omnichannel capability, the Macy’s distribution center in Arizona is also known for housing one of the largest solar array installations in the nation on its roof.  The 3.5 megawatt solar energy system provides 70 percent of the building’s energy needs, and offsets an annual 3,500 tons of Co2 emissions.

SEIA Solar Market Insight Report – CA, AZ Top States for Solar Installations

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released its annual U.S. Solar Market Insight Review for 2012, which shows the U.S. installed 3,313 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2012.

SEIA report - California solar installations

SEIA report – California solar installations (photo – seia.org)

At the state level, California became the first state ever to rack up 1,000 MW worth of installations in a single year.

The market size of the U.S. solar industry grew 34 percent from $8.6 billion in 2011 to $11.5 billion in 2012.

As of the end of 2012, there were 7,221 MW of PV and 546 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) online in the U.S.  – enough to power 1.2 million homes.

“There were 16 million solar panels installed in the U.S. last year – more than 2 panels per second of the work day – and every one of these panels was bolted down by a member of the U.S. workforce,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. “We’ve brought more new solar online in 2012 than in the three prior years combined.

Resch noted that this sustained growth is enabling the solar industry to create thousands of good jobs and to provide clean, affordable energy for more families, businesses, utilities, and the military than ever before.

“This growth simply would not have occurred without consistent, long-term policies that have helped to ensure a stable business environment for this country’s 5,600 solar companies – many of them small businesses,” added Resch.

SEIA and GTM Research, which jointly produced this report, expect the growth to continue into 2013 and beyond. For this year, the report forecasts 4,300 MW of new PV installations, up 29 percent over 2012, and 946 MW of concentrating solar power.

At the state level, California became the first state to install over 1,000 MW in one year. Arizona came in as the second largest market, led by large-scale utility installations, while New Jersey experienced growth in the state’s non-residential market.

“One thing is for sure: Arizona has earned its title as our nation’s ‘Solar Capital,’” said AZ Governor Jan Brewer. “Thanks to our pro-business policies, year-round sunshine and highly-trained workforce, Arizona continues to climb as a national and global leader in solar manufacturing and technology.”

The top 10 largest state solar markets in 2012 were:-

Top 10 solar states

Top 10 solar states (photo – seia.org)

1. California – 1,033 MW

2. Arizona – 710 MW

3. New Jersey – 415 MW

4. Nevada – 198 MW

5. North Carolina – 132 MW

6. Massachusetts – 129 MW

7. Hawaii – 109 MW

8. Maryland – 74 MW

9. Texas – 64 MW

10. New York – 60 MW

Read the full Solar Market Insight Report at seia.org.

GM Selects Chandler, AZ for Fourth IT Innovation Center

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) announced that it has selected Chandler, Arizona as the site of its fourth and final Information Technology Innovation Center.

GM IT Innovation Centers

GM IT Innovation Centers (photo – chandleraz.gov)

GM expects to invest $21 million in the new Chandler facility and hire 1,000 high-wage employees over the next five years.

“GM could have chosen to locate this premier facility anywhere in the country, so it is a tremendous credit to our state and everything we have to offer that GM has decided to build right here in Arizona,” said Governor Jan Brewer.

This fourth IT Innovation Center in the Phoenix suburbs joins three others that have already been announced for Austin, Texas; Roswell, Georgia; and Warren, Michigan, as the centerpieces of GM’s strategy to bring high-value IT work in house in support of the business transformation underway.

GM expects to hire more than 4,000 new information technology workers over the next three to five years to staff these four centers.

“Recruiting talented IT professionals is intensely competitive,” said GM Chief Information Officer Randy Mott. “To hire the best and the brightest, we need to create employment opportunities that differentiate our company from the competition – location is one such advantage.”

GM chose the innovation center locations by looking at IT talent-rich areas that also offer a strong community, lower cost of living and a high-tech industry presence.

“Operating four IT Innovation centers geographically dispersed across the U.S. allows us to offer employment opportunities to hundreds of thousands of IT professionals, over 75 percent located within a 500-mile radius of any one of the centers,” added Mott.

Effective April 1, GM will open a temporary center and begin hiring in Phoenix until its permanent building in Chandler is completed. The new Innovation Center in Arizona is expected to be operational by first quarter 2014.

“This is exactly the type of technology employer we need in Chandler and in our state,” said Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny. “The GM Innovation Center is a perfect complement to Chandler’s Price Corridor, and furthers the City’s reputation as a regional hub for innovation and high-tech businesses.”

USAA Announces Expansions With 3500 New Jobs

San Antonio, Texas-based financial services firm United Services Automobile Association (USAA) announced expansion plans in San Antonio and Phoenix, Arizona.

USAA HQ in San Antonio, TX

USAA HQ in San Antonio, TX (photo – usaa.com)

The company will be adding as many as 3,500 net new jobs over the next three years, starting with 1,000 jobs each in San Antonio and Phoenix by 2015.

“Demand has never been stronger for all that USAA offers, and we need to continue to have the best employees in sufficient numbers,” said USAA CEO Joe Robles. “We’re committed to every community where we currently have operations and are expanding first in San Antonio and Phoenix.”

The San Antonio expansion could bring as many as 1,000 new jobs by the end of 2015 to its headquarters community where it already employs more than 16,400 people.

To supplement its main campus, which USAA estimates is at nearly 90 percent capacity, it will occupy additional leased space in the San Antonio area.

“When you consider jobs, local investment and community involvement, USAA is at the top of the list of corporate partners in San Antonio,” Mayor Julián Castro said. “This expansion represents the coming together of USAA’s stellar business performance and San Antonio’s status as one of the top-performing local economies in the nation.”

In Phoenix, USAA plans to break ground next month on construction of a 380,000-square-foot expansion of its existing campus in northern Phoenix. The larger office space is expected to house as many as 1,000 new employees by the end of 2015.

“We have always had a close working relationship with USAA since they moved to Phoenix, and their decision to increase employment is a reflection of that close working relationship,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. “USAA creates great jobs for Phoenix and great work for veterans. We will continue to work relentlessly on bringing high-quality jobs like these to Phoenix.”

USAA also announced that, as per their hiring policy, 25 percent of all the new hires will be military veterans or spouses.

“Providing career opportunities for veterans is more than simply doing what is right,” says USAA chief administrative officer Shon Manasco. “The skills these men and women are able to bring to the table should be valuable to any employer.”

Since 2005, USAA has hired more than 6,000 military veterans and spouses. Overall, USAA has 24,000 employees, of which around 16,400 are located in San Antonio, Texas.

STEALTH Software Selects Arizona for U.S. Headquarters

Dutch software company STEALTH Software announced that it has selected Arizona as the site of its U.S. headquarters.

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer at STEALTH Software announcement

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer at STEALTH Software announcement (photo – AZ Governor’s Office)

STEALTH is expected to create 200 jobs with median wages of $75,000. They will be investing $2 million in the Phoenix area.

“Arizona is thrilled to welcome innovative companies such as STEALTH Software,” said AZ Governor Jan Brewer. “STEALTH Software’s decision to select Arizona for its U.S. headquarters reinforces our state’s ability to compete – and to win – in the global marketplace.”

The company selected Arizona over competitive states such as California, New York and Texas, citing Arizona’s favorable business environment and rich, highly skilled and affordable talent pool.

“STEALTH Software’s innovative solutions truly represent the future of technology, strengthening our state’s critical industries such as healthcare, finance and aerospace &defense, attracting like-minded, cutting-edge companies, and creating quality jobs,” said Sandra Watson, president and CEO, Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). “We’re thrilled STEALTH Software has selected Arizona as its U.S. headquarters, and the Arizona Commerce Authority looks forward to building on this incredible partnership to ensure its long-term success.”

Founded in 2010, STEALTH Software is a privately held company with its product development HQ in Luxemburg and commercial HQ in the Netherlands. They already have an office in Scottsdale, AZ, which might also have helped tilt the site selection decision in Arizona’s favor, and helped them overlook the advantages the tech community has in Silicon Valley, New York and Boston.

STEALTH Software did not ask for incentives, which the Governor could have authorized using the Arizona Competes Fund. They may still qualify for other state incentives including R&D tax credits and job training grants.

The company completed its site selection process in less than a month. STEALTH Software CEO Gerard Warrens credited the ACA for being proactive and convincing them that Arizona was a better location from both a cost effectiveness angle and from a regulatory viewpoint..

“Our potential for growth is greatest in the U.S. market where we are closest to our main customers,” said Warrens. “Our Arizona presence will serve as the country’s center of our information technology excellence.”

The exact location in Arizona has not yet been finalized, but Warrens said they are looking at five cities and the location would be announced next month.

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