A new plant for Hershey Kisses and other chocolate products, a major upgrade in Austin for an online marketer and Chinese investment in Kentucky and Virginia top the week’s site selection and job creation news:
In Pennsylvania, famed chocolate maker Hershey Co. has opened a new manufacturing plant, part of a $300 million expansion. About 700 employees will transition from the original Hershey plant at nearby East Chocolate Avenue into the new facility in West Hershey.
In Texas, online marketing firm Yodle has consolidated its Austin operations into 100,000 square feet of leased space. The company plans to hire more than 350 additional employees to add to its 375-person Austin workforce over the next five years.
General Biofuels Georgia will construct a wood pellet manufacturing plant in Sandersville investing $60 million and creating 35 jobs. The plant will manufacture industrial-grade wood pellets for sale to a major European utility under a long-term contract. Capacity of the plant will be approximately 440,000 tons per year. Start of production is scheduled for the first quarter of 2014.
In Minnesota, Tata Consultancy Services has opened a facility in the Minneapolis area. The 50,000-square-foot facility will house roughly 300 TCS employees and serve as a hub for delivering technology services to customers in the region. The company provides IT, consulting and business services.
In Kentucky, a producer of coal equipment processing machinery will invest approximately $10 million on a new 67,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in Lexington. Birtley, a subsidiary of China-based Shandong Borun Industrial Processing Equipment, plans to create jobs for up to 50 employees.
And in Virginia, a Chinese contract furniture manufacturer is setting up offices and assembly operations in Danville. Contract assembly company GOK International is investing $12.5 million in the project, which is expected to employ 300 workers within three years.
