19th Annual Area Development Gold and Silver Shovel Awards

The pace of outstanding economic news in the past year has been nothing short of breathtaking. Overall, the economy keeps growing at a healthy pace, and economists are coalescing around the conclusion that the mythical “soft landing” has arrived—with inflation tamed, relatively speaking, but with surprisingly low joblessness along with healthy job and gross domestic product growth. The economic-development headlines have been equally rosy. The past year has seen a long list of announcements of new developments and expansions, some promising eye-popping capital expenditures, and new job opportunities, and many more offering the kinds of smaller but welcome investments that also collectively create local booms. Local booms are what Area Development’s Shovel Awards recognize. Each year, we scan the records of project announcements to see which states are epicenters of growth. Those with exceptionally strong activity are honored with Gold and Silver Shovel Awards. Once again, this year, we’ve named a Platinum Award winner to one state with news that’s even beyond Gold-level performance. And, for the first time, we’ve added one more color, a Green Shovel Award, recognizing a healthy concentration of projects that are positive for the health of the planet. As always, these honors are based on information that state economic development officials have shared with us. The details were current at the time they were provided, but as we all know, plans can change, with revisions or delays caused by unforeseen circumstances. Read on for details about the states honored with Shovel Awards and check the related articles for more about some of the busiest areas, such as the automotive sector and earth-friendly initiatives. And now, the envelopes, please…

A Platinum Shovel for South Carolina

Last time it was North Carolina, this time the Platinum Award moves one state to the south, to South Carolina. And what a platinum year the Palmetto State has had—its list of top wins carried a total investment surpassing $7 billion and a promise of more than 8,500 new jobs. Not a bad year’s work! Leading the way and comprising two billion of those dollars and 4,000 of those jobs is one of our Projects of the Year, the Scout Motors electric vehicle plant promised near Blythewood. It’s a U.S.-based operation owned by Volkswagen, and though it’s driving into the brave new world of electric vehicles, it gets its name from the old International Harvester Scout off-road vehicle from the 1960s and ‘70s. Vehicles should be humming off the lines by 2027. The thriving automotive sector is fueling several more of the big deals in South Carolina. For example, the $1.3 billion promised by Albemarle for a lithium hydroxide facility in Chester County—that’s tied to electric vehicle batteries and other lithium-ion power needs. There’s the $810 million AESC electric vehicle battery facility expansion in Florence County worth about 450 new jobs. There’s also e-VAC Magnetics, maker of rare earth permanent magnets that can be part of EVs and other products, spending about half a billion dollars in Sumter County. And there’s another half-billion-dollar promise for a ZF transmission plant in Gray Court, a flex manufacturing facility that can support both internal combustion and e-mobility technologies. But South Carolina also owes its Platinum Shovel to a diversity of other wins, including a billion-dollar project from QTS Data Centers and a $443 million Pallidus semiconductor plant and corporate headquarters facility, both in York County. And Nissin Foods decided that a site in Greenville County has the right recipe for a new $228 million instant ramen noodle plant.

And the Gold Shovels Go To…

As usual, there’s a Gold Shovel Award for each of our five population categories. Among the biggest states, those with at least 12 million residents, Texas brings home the Gold, with a list of top projects worth $21 billion in total investments. Landing on the Projects of the Year list is the plan by ZT Systems to create as many as 1,500 Georgetown jobs at a cloud-computing manufacturing facility. More technology jobs are on the way ina Round Rock, where Toppan Photomasks Inc. announced plans to invest at least $185 million in modernizing its operations there that make a key component in semiconductors. The company has been based there since 2020. Google, meanwhile, announced plans for a $600 million data center in the Dallas area. And Tesla broke ground last year on a $375 million lithium refinery in Robstown. The biggest Texas deal in terms of dollars invested was the proposal by Graphic Packaging International to build a billion-dollar recycled paperboard plant in Waco, which the company touts as supporting its vision of a renewable future.

Next in the Gold Shovel Award line, representing states with populations between 8 million and 12 million, is Georgia. The state boasts big numbers in both investment dollars and jobs created—its biggest deals collectively are worth nearly $13 billion in investment and more than 16,000 jobs. Georgia reports not just one, not two, but three projects with 10-figure price tags, led by a $5 billion Project of the Year from SK On and Hyundai Motor Group. Their plan is an EV battery cell plant in Bartow County potentially worth 3,750 jobs. Add to that the investments made by QCells, a clean energy solutions provider. The company has expanded its Dalton factory and is developing a solar supply chain facility in Cartersville, investments totaling about $2.5 billion. And while you’re adding, plug in $2 billion from LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group for a battery cell manufacturing plant adjacent to Hyundai’s Ellabell manufacturing campus. Nearly a billion more dollars are coming from Anovion Technologies, building a plant to produce synthetic graphite anode materials that also will be part of the EV supplier boom. Georgia’s growth shows plenty of diversity, with investments by window maker Renewal by Anderson, financial services giant Morgan Stanley, Burlington Stores and Gulfstream Aerospace.

The list of Arizona’s biggest projects includes nearly $8 billion in investments that’ll create more than 7,000 jobs. That’s enough to earn a Gold Shovel among states with populations between 5 million and 8 million. A little over half of the investment is a Project of the Year, a new LG Energy Solution battery plant in Queen Creek, which the company has said could be the biggest standalone battery complex in North America. The company has plans to make multiple kinds of batteries—for EVs as well as energy storage systems. Another $2 billion investment is promised by Amkor Technology, planning an advanced semiconductor packaging and test facility that’ll work on behalf of Apple, testing and packaging chips from a nearby chipmaker. Another chip-connected project features Applied Materials Inc. and Arizona State University, launching a shared research, development and prototyping facility at ASU Research Park. Still another is the plan from semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASM International to build a new North American headquarters in Scottsdale. Arizona’s roster of big recent projects is a diverse list that also includes a Google data center, a JA Solar photovoltaic products factory, a Factor ready-to-eat meal production facility and a Rose Acre Farms egg farm that’ll be home to more than 2 million hens and provide work for 150 humans.

Louisiana is the poster child for the new Green Shovel designation, which the state has earned to go alongside its Gold Shovel honoring accomplishments of states with populations between 3 million and 5 million. The state’s biggest projects are nearly all in the category of green, clean, renewable energy, and together they total more than $16 billion in investments. There’s the Project of the Year honoree proposed by DG Fuels LLC that will make low-emission, sustainable biofuel in St. James Parish, providing work for 650 people. Also in the area is another 10-figure project, a facility to produce low-carbon ammonia and hydrogen from St. Charles Clean Fuels. Three more projects exceeding a billion dollars in investment include the SunGas Renewables Inc. plan to produce green methanol in Pineville, the CF Industries proposal for producing low-carbon ammonia in Ascension Parish, and First Solar’s billion-dollar plan to create solar panels in Iberia Parish. Check the related article on planet-friendly projects for more information about Louisiana’s green leadership.

The final Gold Shovel Award, chosen among states with populations of 3 million or less, goes to Kansas. Among its most prominent stories from the past year is the Project of the Year from Walmart, which announced plans to build its own case-ready beef facility in Olathe. The retailer wants its own end-to-end supply chain for Angus beef, and the 600-job plant will make that happen in 2025. The state enjoyed a diversity of announcements in the past year that led to its Gold status. Some, like Walmart’s beef plant, related to its agricultural and food processing leadership, such as the DSM plan for a premix pet food plant in Tonganoxie and the Southwest Plains Dairy project in Syracuse. Camso is investing big-time in its Junction City operations, making agricultural rubber tracks for farm equipment, Koch Fertilizer Dodge City is expanding and manufacturer Marvin will be making glass window and door products in Kansas City (on the Kansas side of the state line). The Kansas aerospace industry is growing, too, with expansion announcements from Orizon Aerostructures and Textron Aviation.

The Silver Shovels States with population of more than 12 million

A highlight of the Silver Shovel earned by Illinois is a $2 billion EV battery project in Manteno, one of our Projects of the Year. Gotion is working on a gigafactory that’ll create 2,600 jobs and is, according to the governor, the state’s most significant new manufacturing investment in decades (its dollar total is more than a third of the overall value of all of Illinois’ biggest projects of the past year). Meanwhile, Walmart is spending more than a billion dollars on a high-tech, automated distribution center in Belvidere for perishables such as eggs, dairy, fresh produce, flowers and frozen food. In the agricultural hotspot of Decatur, Warwick Carbon Solutions is investing a billion dollars in a first-of-its kind power and steam plant. It’ll work with ADM’s carbon capture capabilities to handle most of the carbon dioxide emissions. In DeKalb, Kraft Heinz is investing in one of the continent’s largest consumer packaged goods distribution centers, while US Foods is building in the Chicago suburb of Aurora. Other Illinois wins include projects from CJ Logistics, Target, GE Appliances and CoreWeave.
Silver Shovel winner New York, meanwhile, has a Project of the Year in Fairlife’s new production facility in Webster worth two-thirds of a billion dollars. Fairlife is now a part of Coca-Cola, and it’s bringing its ultra-filtered milk products to more of the Northeast. Another dairy producer adding jobs in New York is HP Hood, expanding capacity at its Batavia facility, and Wells Enterprises is growing in Dunkirk to keep up with ice cream demand. Cummins is pumping nearly a half billion dollars into its Jamestown engine plant that last year produced its 2.5 millionth engine—the company is focused on lower-carbon engines. New York has a diverse range of projects on its list, including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ plan to establish a biomedical research facility in Suffern, Schrödinger Inc.’s life sciences headquarters growth in New York City, the BETA Technologies aerospace expansion at the Plattsburgh International Airport, plus significant projects in both microelectronics and software.

States with population between 8 and 12 million

North Carolina lands a Silver Shovel with a roster of top projects worth nearly $10 billion collectively. Its Project of the Year is a $650 million graphite anode facility in Wilmington from Epsilon Advanced Materials. The company promises that it’ll use green technologies in making its product destined for environmentally friendly EVs. Several other transportation projects are driving jobs and investment in North Carolina, including an $8 billion investment at Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina, Dai Nippon Printing Co.’s advanced manufacturing facility in Linwood making lithium-ion battery pouches, a $220 million Siemens Mobility train manufacturing facility expansion, a Honda Aircraft private jet plant in Greensboro, and projects by alpitronic Americas and Kempower. But other industries make a splash here, too, including various projects in biomanufacturing, financial services, power tools and information technology.

Silver Shovel winner Ohio is known as the birthplace of aviation because of its history with the Wright brothers, so it makes sense its Project of the Year is an aerospace deal located at Dayton International Airport. Joby Aviation is working on an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi, and it’s spending nearly half a billion dollars to build the vehicle in Ohio. The project is among nearly $12 billion in investments on Ohio’s list of the top projects of the past year. A major chunk of that investment total comes from Amazon Web Services, which plans to populate central Ohio with a couple dozen data centers, starting with five near Columbus. The company has already spent $6 billion in Ohio in the past decade and will more than double that investment with its data center plans. Another big data center deal involves Quality Technology Services, investing a billion and a half dollars in New Albany, with four data centers planned. A couple of projects relate to solar power, including First Solar and Illuminate USA. There are projects involving soybean processing (Louis Dreyfus Co.) and tissue paper (Sofidel America Corp.), and more big plans in the automotive, pharmaceuticals, food processing and financial services sectors.

States with population between 5 to 8 million

Next up is Silver Shovel winner Tennessee, with a carload of automotive projects, as is often the case there. Cosma International, Hanon Systems and Magna Seating have major investments in new or expanded manufacturing operations. But boat transportation is afloat, too, with a major expansion project involving powerboat maker Malibu Boats in Lenoir City. Nearly 800 people will come aboard to build Cobalt brand boats. A Project of the Year from Tennessee is the SK Food Group Inc. plan to build a food processing and cold storage distribution facility in Bradley. Some 840 people will work in various food handling capacities, including making sandwiches. Speaking of sandwiches, the iconic In-N-Out Burger chain picked the state for a corporate hub before it even opened its first restaurant there. Other significant projects include plans from 6K Energy Tennessee, Axle Logistics, Enchem America and Vonore Fiber Products. Miele, maker of high-end appliances, picked Opelika, Alabama, as the site of a manufacturing facility focused on ovens, ranges and eventually ventilation hoods for North American markets.
It’s a Project of the Year honoree that helped cement a Silver Shovel for Alabama, about $400 million of the total $2.7 billion in big-project investments there. The state lists a wide range of impressive projects, including an investment at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing to retool for the next generation of the Santa Fe as well as a big investment at Nemak, a maker of auto components. Nucor is building a state-of-the-art transmission tower production plant in Decatur, next to the company’s sheet steel mill, and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. picked Gadsden for a highly automated facility to make non-radiological modules for its microreactors. Wire and cable maker Southwire is expanding in Florence, and there are significant projects in building products, aerospace, medical devices, forestry, solar power and distribution.

Lots of expansions helped Indiana collect a Silver Shovel. The biggest comes from Ford Meter Box Co., pumping more than $250 million into its hometown of Wabash to boost production of its waterworks products. Southwire, mentioned above for its Alabama growth, is also growing in the Indiana community of Bremen, and the South Bend Ethanol facility is expanding and adding production of renewable natural gas following its acquisition by Verbio North America Holdings. Wabash Valley Foods is growing in Dubois so that it can supply egg-based products for the Jimmie Dean brand run by Tyson Foods, among other Indiana expansions. There were some new Hoosier projects of note, too. Liberation Labs picked Richmond for a biomanufacturing facility focused on precision fermentation. To name a few more, protein bar maker 1440 Foods picked a Jeffersonville site, Conco Inc. will build ammunition containers in Scottsburg, and NOVA Chemicals plans a mechanical recycling facility in Connersville.

States with population 3 to 5 million

Nevada takes home a Silver Shovel with the help of more than $5 billion in investments. A Project of the Year is the plan for a battery recycling operation near Reno involving Redwood Materials, founded by a former Tesla executive to deal with the afterlife of decommissioned EV batteries. That’s a deal worth more than a billion dollars, bested only by the $3.6 billion expansion of Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada. Nevada has several noteworthy projects involving food, such as the Juanita’s Foods decision to make canned and frozen traditional Mexican foods in North Las Vegas, Monin Inc.’s expansion of its beverage syrup manufacturing and Bauderer Packaging’s North Las Vegas facility that’ll fill packages of snack foods. The state is also growing jobs in technology and software, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and personal protective equipment, among other sectors.

Silver Shovel winner Utah has had a big year in terms of investments, tallying some $12 billion in promises from a variety of big projects. The vast majority of that total involves one investment in Lehi, a Project of the Year from Texas Instruments. The biggest investment in Utah history, it’s a semiconductor wafer fabrication plant that’ll connect to an existing Texas Instruments fab—the two fabs together will be able to make tens of millions of chips a day. It’s hard to measure up to an $11 billion project like that, but Utah has a healthy list of other growth to be proud of. Lakeshore Learning picked Garland for a massive distribution facility to help get the company’s education materials to kids and teachers. Procter & Gamble is expanding its Box Elder facility that makes products in the company’s paper, baby care and feminine care business lines. Delta Airlines picked its Salt Lake City hub for a pilot training facility. And a number of food companies are locating or expanding in Utah, such as C&J Specialties, Utah Flour Mill and Schreiber Foods, which makes a variety of cheese products and celebrated its 50th anniversary a couple years ago by baking a Guinness World Record-winning two-ton batch of macaroni and cheese.

Arkansas is toasting its Silver Shovel win with coffee products from Westrock Coffee Co. In the biggest deal of the past year there, the company is investing more than $300 million to expand its development, production, packaging and distribution facility in Conway, which focuses on extracts and ready-to-drink products. Also expanding is Sig Sauer, adding more than 600 jobs as it grows its ammunition plant in the Arkansas community of Jacksonville. In the world of aerospace and related products, Dassault Falcon Jet is investing $100 million to expand its production facilities at the airport in Little Rock, while Raytheon and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are building a manufacturing facility in East Camden to produce the Tamir missile for the Iron Dome Weapon System. Assorted other projects include such tasks as paper manufacturing, insurance, refrigerated warehousing and expanded production of Bad Boy Mowers products.

States with population under 3 million

Wide-ranging industries are growing in Silver Shovel winner Mississippi. Some are literally flying high, such as Hush Aerospace, maker of unmanned aerial systems that chose Tupelo to build drones, and Skydweller Aero Inc., which chose Hancock County for flight testing and aircraft modification operations for its solar powered aircraft designed to achieve perpetual flight. Raytheon, meanwhile, is growing its manufacturing center in Forest in order to produce an advanced electronic attack system that disrupts enemy technology, and the company will also make airborne radar programs. An auto-technology expansion in Mississippi is the $209 million investment by PACCAR in Columbus. Its products include many premium trucks, engines and parts. Also in Columbus, APEX Ammunition is expanding to produce more shotgun ammo and hire five dozen more people. Other projects include fishing boat manufacturing, tire and steel wheel assemblies, and wood panels.

And finally, South Dakota also earns a Silver Shovel, led by a multimillion-dollar expansion at the 3M plant in Brookings. The plant makes medical and surgical products and has been around for decades, and the $468 million expansion will add manufacturing space, warehousing and other amenities. Wilson Trailer is expanding and adding jobs, and the state is gaining jobs across a number of agricultural projects, such as High Plains Processing, Norway Pork, Redstone Dairy, SFP and Sonstegard Foods. Expansions are also happening in the manufacturing of everything from engineered trusses to RV skirts to gear for outdoors enthusiasts.

Methodology

Area Development’s annual Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities. We asked for information from all 50 states about their top job-creation and investment projects announced or initiated in 2024. Based on a combination of weighted factors — including the number of new jobs to be created in relation to the state’s population, the combined dollar amount of the company investments, the number of new facilities, and the diversity of industry represented — five states achieving the highest weighted overall scores were awarded Area Development’s Gold Shovels in five population categories: fewer than 3 million, 3+ to 5 million, 5+ to 8 million, 8+ to 12 million, and 12+ million. The runners-up in each of the above population categories were awarded Silver Shovels. This year, just one state was awarded our Platinum Shovel award in recognition of the fact that the state went beyond the Gold standard for job creation and investment. One state also won the Green Shovel award for an overwhelming focus on Clean Tech and Renewable Energy projects.