U.S. Midwest to See More than $1.4 Billion in First-Quarter Industrial Manufacturing Project Starts

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking $1.45 billion in planned first-quarter 20202 Industrial Manufacturing project starts in the U.S. Midwest market region, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Activity in Minnesota and Iowa represents the majority of spending.

Click on the image at right for a breakdown by state of planned first-quarter 2020 Industrial Manufacturing project starts in the Midwest.

Like other U.S. regions, data centers are big business in the Midwest, accounting for more than half the planned spending. Among the data center projects on the table is Google parent company Alphabet Incorporated's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California) grassroot facility in Becker, Minnesota, between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. The facility will be constructed on a 315-acre site, and the project entails constructing a 375,000-square-foot data center with 300 megawatts of power to increase space and demand for Google services. The project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) also is getting in on the region's data center action with the Phase II expansion of its facility in West Des Moines, Iowa. The 256,000-square-foot addition is part of a larger plan that could lead to up to $2.5 billion in spending and 1.7 square feet of data center space. The Weitz Company Incorporated (Des Moines, Iowa) is the general contractor on the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Accompanying the rise in data centers is a rise in e-commerce, and the leader in the field, Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington), plans to begin construction on a grassroot distribution center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in the upcoming quarter. The four-story building will have a total area of 2.56 million square feet, including 47,000 square feet of office space. Kimley-Horn and Associates (Saint Paul, Minnesota) is the engineer on the project, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Thanks in part to increasing online sales, bricks and mortar stores also are increasing their distribution footprint. Among such retailers is Northern Tool + Equipment (Burnsville, Minnesota), which is constructing a grassroot distribution center in Ankeny, Iowa. The facility is being built on a 66-acre site and will include a 600,000-square-foot building with supporting equipment to enable the company to serve more than 100 retail stores and online customers. The facility will be expandable by 350,000 square feet. The project is expected to be completed in fourth-quarter 2020. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

While the automotive sector's footprint in the Midwest isn't as large as that of the Great Lakes or Southeast regions, a few auto parts projects are set to begin in the region in the upcoming quarter. Among these is Minimizer LLC's (Blooming Prairie, Minnesota) plans to construct a grassroot manufacturing plant for truck accessories in Owatonna, Minnesota. The 96,000-square-foot building will house equipment to produce plastic truck fenders, tool boxes, seats, floor mats and other accessories. The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Gwinner, North Dakota, Bobcat Company (West Fargo, North Dakota) will expand its skid-steer loader and utility vehicle manufacturing plant by installing a new powder-coat paint line in a 30,000-square-foot building addition. The $17 million project is expected to kick off early in the quarter and be completed in the summer. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.