With Airbus Industrie’s recent announcement to expand in Mobile, Ala. serving as a backdrop, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Global Corporate Services will present and discuss the impact of the expansion and how Airbus suppliers can capitalize on the addition at the prestigious Aviation Forum 2012, titled “Aerospace Supply Chains - Globalization & Innovation” in Hamburg, Germany.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s commercial real estate advisors Robert Hess and Tim Walden will headline a workshop titled “Airbus in Mobile, Alabama: Global but Local!” Airbus currently has an engineering center at Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, which specializes in cabin and cargo areas across the company’s entire product line. The aerospace giant’s presence is set to increase dramatically with a new $600 million assembly plant for the A320 aircraft family, which also marks its first U.S. manufacturing facility.
The addition creates a host of opportunities for suppliers to establish a presence in the area to work closely and efficiently with Airbus. Neal Wade, chairman of the Aerospace Alliance that covers Florida to Louisiana, estimated that the Airbus supplier base, including second- and third-tier suppliers, could stretch up to 300 miles from Mobile. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Global Corporate Services professionals are uniquely qualified to help identify locations for new supplier operations that are cost-effective, strategically positioned in the value chain and flexible for changing business needs.
“This is indeed a critical time for both Airbus and its suppliers and our discussion will fully explore its impact in both the global and local sense,” said Mr. Hess, executive managing director in Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s Global Corporate Services practice. He has completed more than 250 corporate location strategy and site selection assignments globally in his 25-year career.
“Our workshop’s title -‘Finding the Right Location: Four Dimensions of Successful Foreign Direct Investment’ - is focused on location-strategy best practices and key decision factors that will make Airbus and its suppliers successful in the region,” said Mr. Hess. “Airbus’ decision to expand in Mobile points squarely to the globalization of this industry, and the local economic impact that investment into the U.S. will have on the region. We are very pleased to have been selected by Aviation Forum 2012 - the world’s premier event in its field.”
The conference and exhibition is expected to draw 500 professionals from around the world to Congress Center Hamburg on November 27-28. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank will also be an exhibitor at the event.
Mr. Hess, a member of the world renowned Site Selectors Guild, has led the strategic placement of more than 40 million square feet of real estate and helped secure over $1 billion of incentives. His assignments have ranged across Europe, Asia and Mexico.
Mr. Walden, a managing director with the firm’s Global Corporate Services practice, has more than 18 years of experience advising large global manufactures on corporate real estate strategy. He has advised on over 50 million square feet of office, technical and industrial facilities.
“Airbus’s commitment speaks to competitive dynamics in the industry and the importance of diversifying the manufacturing footprint,” said Mr. Walden. “For great long-term success, best practices aerospace companies, like Airbus, are paying close attention to location decisions that balance strategic, operations and financial factors. Central to the supply chain discussion is how to develop location strategies that optimize the value chain, drive innovation and provide flexibility for adapting to business change.”
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Global Corporate Services is listed among the 2012 Global Outsourcing 100® by The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals® (IAOP®), in recognition of the valued expertise that the team provides as advisor to outsourcing clients worldwide. NGKF’s professionals comprehend the nuances of local markets, incentives offered by municipalities and how to maximize market conditions for the best business location strategy.
About Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
A part of BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP), Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is one of the largest commercial real estate service firms in the U.S. It brings together the strategic consultative approach to creating value for clients and leading position in the New York market that are hallmarks of Newmark; the complementary strengths of Grubb & Ellis in leasing and management, investment sales, valuation and capital markets services; and BGC’s financial strength, proprietary technology, expertise in global capital markets and deep relationships with many of the world’s leading financial institutions.
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, together with its affiliates and London-based partner Knight Frank, employs more than 11,000 professionals, operating from more than 300 offices in established and emerging property markets on five continents. This major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of tenants, owners, investors and developers worldwide.