Welcome to eFYI, your exclusive monthly e-newsletter from Greater Louisville Inc. - The Metro Chamber of Commerce. As one of our valued partners, you can count on eFYI to cover the topics and issues of most interest and benefit to you. Share your comments and ideas with us any time at VFisher@greaterlouisville.com. GLI Named as Top Ten Development Group Louisville in top 100 places for business, careers Three Louisville companies land on Fortune 500 Spring manufacturer to open Louisville plant Louisville among top 10 'underrated' destinations in U.S. New Albany logistics company adding 46 jobs Solectron will add 700 employees to Louisville operation Louisville among Inc. magazine's business hot spots UPS employment rises over 20,000 in Louisville 'Livin It' action sports tour coming to Louisville UofL breaks ground on biosafety lab at Shelby Campus Humana extends headquarters GLI Named as Top Ten Development Group Site Selection magazine, the leading publication for site and location decision makers, has named GLI as one of the Top Ten Development Groups in North America for 2006. To determine the designation, Site Selection publisher Conway Data ranked local economic development groups according to four objective categories: new jobs, new jobs per 10,000 residents, new investment amount and new investment per 10,000 residents. Groups were also evaluated on more subjective attributes such as innovation, leadership, reputation and customer service. Site Selection also released their list of Top Deals of 2006 in North America last week, with the $1 billion expansion of UPS Airlines Worldport at Louisville International Airport being named to the list. Economic development projects making the list excelled in factors such as total capital investment, number of jobs created, regional economic impact and creativity of the deal. The entire Top Groups and Top Deals articles appear in the May edition of Site Selection magazine and can be viewed online at www.siteselection.com. Return to article index Louisville in top 100 places for business, careers Louisville claimed the No. 99 slot in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the top places for business and careers. Forbes ranked 200 cities. The rankings are based on a number of factors, including job and income growth, business and living costs, education of the work force, migration trends and quality-of-life issues such as crime rates. Read more. Return to article index Three Louisville companies land on Fortune 500 Humana Inc., Yum Brands Inc., and Kindred Healthcare Inc. made the Fortune 500 list for 2007. Fortune compiles its annual list of the biggest businesses based on 2006 fiscal and calendar year financial performance, focusing on revenue. Read more. Return to article index Spring manufacturer to open Louisville plant NHK Spring Co. Ltd. will open its 92,000-square-foot, $30 million plant in Jefferson Riverport International. The Yokohama, Japan-based spring manufacturer has hired 66 employees for the plant, which will produce engine springs for the automotive industry. Read more. Return to article index Louisville among top 10 'underrated' destinations in U.S. The travel Web site Shermanstravel.com has included the Derby City in its list of the Top Ten Underrated Destination Cities in the United States. Louisville was included in the list along with Baltimore; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Houston; Kansas City; Minneapolis; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Providence, R.I.; and Sacramento, Calif. Read more. Return to article index New Albany logistics company adding 46 jobs L&D Mail Masters, a direct mail and logistics company, has announced that it will expand its operations in New Albany, Ind. The company will add 46 jobs and a new 71,000-square-foot processing center to help expand its computer-based inventory management and order-fulfillment capabilities. Read more. Return to article index Solectron will add 700 employees to Louisville operation California-based Solectron Corp., which makes and repairs electronic devices, will add 700 employees at its Louisville center over the next year. The company's after-market services center at the Commerce Crossings industrial park already has about 1,300 employees. They repair cellular telephones, computers, printers and other devices. Read more. Return to article index Louisville among Inc. magazine's business hot spots Louisville is among five Kentucky cities that have made Inc. magazine's 2007 list of "Business Boomtowns" -- the hottest cities for entrepreneurs. The index, which ranks 393 U.S. metropolitan areas, puts the focus on job growth, which Inc. said it believes is the best measure of economic vitality. Read more. Return to article index UPS employment rises over 20,000 in Louisville UPS employment in the Louisville area has topped 20,000 for the first time, and the shipping giant expects to add more than 5,000 workers with the completion of a $1 billion expansion of the Worldport air-package hub at Louisville International Airport in November 2010. Read more. Return to article index 'Livin It' action sports tour coming to Louisville The "Livin It" national action sports tour will make a stop at Waterfront Park in Louisville. The tour, which features top BMX bike riders, freestyle motocross riders and skateboarders is presented by PalauFest Productions, the action sports arm of the Luis Palau Association. Read more. Return to article index UofL breaks ground on biosafety lab at Shelby Campus The University of Louisville has begun construction on its regional biosafety lab on its Shelby Campus. Scientists at the $34.6 million research lab will work to develop vaccines and other countermeasures for bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases. The 37,000-square-foot Center for Predictive Medicine is expected to be operating by early 2009. Read more. Return to article index Humana extends headquarters A row of historic buildings on West Main Street, built around 1880 but largely vacant in recent years, has begun a new life as an extension of Humana Inc.'s corporate headquarters. The health insurer bought the buildings last year and began the $20 million project of renovating them for use as an employee dining area, offices, and meeting and conference space. Read more. Return to article index 2007 © Greater Louisville Inc. - The Metro Chamber of Commerce