DHL is constructing the $35-million Kowloon South Service Centre in Hong Kong. The facility will house relocated administrative offices and will increase ground-handling capacity by approximately 20 percent. DHL will also open the $210-million Central Asia SuperHub at Hong Kong International Airport by the second quarter of 2007 for a ground handling capacity of 45,000 shipments per day, as well as boosting air express cargo handling capabilities.
Ford Motor Co. has selected Dallas-based Trammell Crow to provide comprehensive real estate management for Ford's facilities in the United States and Canada. Totaling 30 million sf, the contract includes brokerage, transaction management, lease administration, facility management, and construction project management for Ford's North American portfolio. Ford is headquartered in Dearborn, Mich.
Bodine Aluminum has awarded MC Industrial Inc. the $11.2-million contract to expand Bodine's engine casting plant in Jackson, Tenn. by 78,200 sf. The project is the third phase of Bodine's Jackson expansion and will add 65,000 sf to the main plant, 5,700 sf to the administration building, and 7,500 sf to the utility building. Completion is expected in October of 2006. Bodine is a subsidiary of Toyota; MC Industrial is an independent McCarthy company.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has selected Gilbane Development Company to develop and leaseback a new headquarters building and renovate several existing facilities in the Houston area. The new 130,000-sf, five-story headquarters will be developed on a 16-acre site in western Houston. The project will also include a 14,000-sf stand-alone laboratory and 575-vehicle parking garage at the site.
International tire manufacturer Bridgestone America Holding has selected Birmingham-based Doster Construction Co. to construct a 127,365-sf expansion of its Bridgestone Metalpha plant in Clarksville, Tenn. The project architect is Gresham, Smith & Partners of Nashville. The Clarksville plant, which primarily manufactures steel cord, will house $31 million in new equipment for a total project cost of $45 million.
Hanil USA, a subsidiary of TI Automotive, will develop a manufacturing and assembly plant in an existing 10,000-sf facility in Tallassee, Ala. Hanil will initiate construction immediately on a $2.3 million renovation and expansion of the building that will add 6,500 sf. The plant will initially employ thirty workers assembling plastic and steel tube components for Hyundai's plant in Montgomery, Ala. TI Automotive is based in England with its U.S. headquarters in Warren, Mich.
Korean auto parts manufacturer Mando Corp. is expanding its 150,000-sf Opelika, Ala., facility to 325,000 sf. The project contractor is Jacksonville, Fla.-base Pattillo Construction Company, the contractor who built the original facility in 2004. Slated for completion in spring 2006, the expansion will create 170 new jobs.
Ae Group ag, a German maker of automotive and aerospace die-casting parts, will invest $15 million to construct its North American headquarters and manufacturing plant in LaGrange, Ga. The 200,000-sf facility will feature a robotics and automation intensive high-pressure aluminum die casting line and a machining line. Construction on the facility will begin in August 2005 with the plant becoming operational in early 2006. Ae Group ag plans to invest a total of $50 million in the Georgia plant over the next five years.
Holset Turbochargers, a subsidiary of Cummins Inc ., is planning to construct a new manufacturing plant in Charleston, S.C. Construction on the $13-million facility is slated to begin in May 2005, with turbocharger production to begin in the third quarter of 2006. Located 14 miles from Holset's existing plant in Charleston, the new 110,000-sf facility will increase Holset's production capacity by 200,000 units annually.
South Korea-based Hyundai celebrated the opening of its $1.1-billion automotive manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Ala., in May of 2005. Sited on over 1,700 acres, the 2 million-sf facility will produce the Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles. The plant will employ approximately 2,000 workers and will produce up to 300,000 vehicles annually at full capacity. The facility is the first Hyundai manufacturing plant in the United States. Hyundai is also planning to construct a $117-million research and technical center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Honda Motor Co . broke ground on May 11, 2005 on a 250,000-sf manufacturing facility in Tallapoosa, Ga. The $100-million plant will produce 300,000 automatic transmissions annnually beginning in fall 2006 and will employ 400 workers.
MetroTech Chemicals Inc. is expanding operations in Charlotte, N.C. Currently located in 17,000 sf, MetroTech plans to renovate its existing facility and construct an additional 20,000 sf of warehouse, production, office, and mezzanine space. Construction will begin in early spring 2005 and reach completion in August 2005. The project architect is Laughing Dog Studio Architecture, with the Charlotte office of Choate Construction Co. as general contractor.
Mercedes-Benz U.S. International began construction in February 2005 on a $22.5 million service parts warehouse sited on 44 acres in Vance, Ala. Designed by Designform Inc., the 518,000-sf facility will be constructed by Cooper Construction.
Glendale, Wisc.-based Johnson Controls will build a new $26.5 million manufacturing plant in Lucenec, Slovakia. The facility will begin producing automotive seating products in mid-2006 and will employ approximately 340 workers by 2007. The plant will supply Kia Motors Corp., a company that is also constructing a facility in the area.
Honda Motor Co . is planning to construct a 250,000-sf automatic transmission assembly plant in Tallapoosa, Ga. Production will begin at the $100-million facility in fall 2006. The plant will produce 300,000 transmissions annually for the Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs manufactured at Honda's Lincoln, Ala., facility.
