Siemens Energy Unveils New Manufacturing Plant in Charlotte

By Amalia Otet, Associate Editor

Siemens Energy unveiled its new 450,000-square-foot Gas Turbine production plant in Charlotte, during an official opening ceremony held on Nov. 16, as reported by the Charlotte Observer.

Siemens broke ground on the expansion of its 700-worker steam turbine and generator plant in October 2010 and has invested more than $350 million in the new outfit, making it the most modern gas turbine manufacturing facility in the world, according to company statements. An additional 400 jobs are expected to be created by 2014.

“The Charlotte plant will not only supply the U.S. and other countries that use 60 hertz grids, but will also export our advanced power plant technology around the world,” said Michael Suess, member of the Siemens AG Managing Board and CEO of the company’s Energy Sector, in a press release.”We project that exports from this location will increase to more than $400 million annually. After Berlin, Charlotte is the second key pillar in our international manufacturing network, which we will further strengthen with facilities in Russia and Saudi Arabia.”

In other commercial news, the Charlotte Observer reports important progress on the Ballantyne development, a speculative project kicked off by Bissell Cos. earlier this year.

Ballantyne Corporate Park is a 535-acre master-planned business community providing premier office space to a large number of Fortune 500 and Fortune 700 companies, in addition to LendingTree and ESPN. It currently includes over 3 million square feet of office space, four hotels, a golf course and a golf school.

One of the two Class A buildings that will add a total of 550,000 square feet of office space to Ballantyne Corporate Park will be called Woodward Building, for former UNC Charlotte Chancellor James Woodward and his wife. Both buildings will be built to LEED Silver specifications and will include free structured parking and a center courtyard. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2012. Bissell Development will manage the project, working with architecture firm LS3P Associates and general contractor Rodgers Builders. The investment was estimated at around $100 million.