Trade & Industry Development, the leading publication dedicated to site selection and corporate decision-making for businesses, has announced the winners of its 2026 Corporate Investment and Community Impact Awards (CiCi Awards).
Read now: Trade & Industry Development Names Corporate Investment Award Winners
Read Now: Trade & Industry Development Names Community Impact Award Winners
Read the Entire Issue Online and in Digital Form
This is the 20th year the publication has honored economic development projects across the country. Awards are made in two distinct categories:
- Corporate Investment Awards honor projects for the robust capital investment they will bring to the locations in which they are announced.
- Community Impact Awards honor projects that will have a transformational effect on the quality of life in the communities in which they are sited.
Trade & Industry Development’s CiCi Awards honor 31 projects: 15 in the Corporate Investment category and 16 in the Community Impact category. All winning projects were announced in 2025.
The 31 award-winning projects represent more than $110 billion in capital investment and the creation of nearly 19,000 jobs, with countless more indirect positions associated with these initiatives. They are the result of coordinated efforts on the part of economic development corporations (EDCs) and other local and state agencies who together worked with site selectors at the corporate level.
“The winning projects would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of economic development agencies that carefully craft and blend all elements of site selection and project commitment together to build a better future for their communities,” said Trade & Industry Development Publisher Scott Swoger.
Trade & Industry Development received numerous applications for the award this year and considered all the submitted projects carefully to arrive at a final decision.
“All the entries for this year’s CiCi Awards represent bright spots in a mixed U.S. economy,” noted Swoger. “These projects represented the best of American growth across a variety of industries, including data centers, pharmaceutical manufacturing, clean energy, automotive, aerospace and many more.”
The winning projects are those creating raw growth at the macro level, and community-changing opportunities at the micro level. All the projects, from large to small and across various industries, are a boost to state and local wealth and create new opportunities for employment, education and regional growth.
Each of the 31 winners is featured in Trade & Industry Development’s Q2 issue, which is available now online and in digital form.
2026 CiCi Corporate Investment Award Winners
Stargate 1
Abilene, Taylor County, Texas
Investment: $47,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 400
Hut 8
St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
Investment: $10,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 75
Amkor Technology
Peoria, Maricopa County, Arizona
Investment: $7,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 3,000
Korea Zinc
Clarksville, Montgomery County and Gordonsville, Smith County, Tennessee
Investment: $6,600,000,000
Jobs Created: 740
Eli Lilly and Company
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Investment: $6,500,000,000
Jobs Created: 615
Eli Lilly and Company
Huntsville, Limestone County, Alabama
Investment: $6,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 450
Hyundai Motor Group
Donaldsonville, Ascension Parish, Louisiana
Investment: 5,800,000,000
Jobs Created: 1,300
Eli Lilly and Company
Goochland County, Virginia
Investment: 5,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 650
Eli Lilly and Company
Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Investment: $4,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 817
Cronus Chemicals, LLC
Tuscola, Douglas County, Illinois
Investment: $2,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 130
Ford Motor Company
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Investment: $2,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 2,200
Summit Next Gen, LLC
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Investment: 1,600,000,000
Jobs Created: 300
Vulcan Elements
Benson, Johnston County, North Carolina
Investment: $1,000,000,000
Jobs Created: 1,000
Intervet Inc., dba Merck Animal Health
DeSoto, Johnson County, Kansas
Investment: $860,000,000
Jobs Created: 483
GE Appliances
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Investment: $490,000,000
Jobs Created: 800
2026 CiCi Community Impact Award Winners
BWXT Enrichment Operations, LLC; Oklo Inc.; Radiant Industries Inc.,
Oak Ridge, Roane County, Tennessee
Investment: $2,004,736,500
Jobs Created: 1,047
First Quality Tissue
Defiance, Defiance County, Ohio
Investment: $984,000,000
Jobs Created: 407
Eaton
Jonesville, Union County, South Carolina
Investment: $340,000,000
Jobs Created: 700
Tesla, Inc.
Brookshire, Waller County, Texas
Investment: $230,500,000
Jobs Created: 1,500
TS Conductor
Hardeeville, Jasper County, South Carolina
Investment: $134,000,000
Jobs Created: 462
IKO/US Granules
Bismark, St. Francois County, Missouri
Investment: $120,500,000
Jobs Created: 53
Butting, USA
Loxley, Baldwin County, Alabama
Investment: $61,700,000
Jobs Created: 109
Foam Products Corporation; PlastiExports; PolyPipe; Impact Plastics
Erwin, Unicoi County, Tennessee
Investment: $50,700,000
Jobs Created: 290
Silver Hills Bakery
Rossville, Fayette County, Tennessee
Investment: $48,500,000
Jobs Created: 394
City of Pinellas Park and Sports Facilities Companies
Pinellas Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Investment: $26,500,000
Jobs Created: 20
A.D.R. Axles USA, Inc., an affiliate of A.D.R. S.p.A.
Perry, Dallas County, Iowa
Investment: $14,330,000
Jobs Created: 35
Bad Boy Mowers
Monroeville, Monroe County, Alabama
Investment: $10,500,000
Jobs Created: 60
StandardAero
Sharonville, Hamilton County, Ohio
Investment: $8,000,000
Jobs Created: 300
Rockford Brake Manufacturing, Inc.
Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois
Investment: $6,600,000
Jobs Created: 150
Perseus Defense
Buda, Hays County, Texas
Investment: $4,100,000
Jobs Created: 130
WarBird Protection Group, Inc.
Kalkaska, Kalkaska County, Michigan
Investment: $3,000,000
Jobs Created: 110
About Trade & Industry Development
Produced four times a year, Trade & Industry Development (www.tradeandindustrydev.com) is dedicated to site selection in a vertical format. As the only publication of its kind, T&ID reaches more decision makers per industry than any other publication dealing with site selection.
Editorial, both in the magazine, online at TradeAndIndustryDev.com and through targeted newsletters, is geared to executive decision makers with pertinent, useful site selection and business knowledge for their market. T&ID also has extensive digital marketing and integrated marketing capabilities.
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