| Arizona Sun Corridor: Open for Business |
Looking to expand?
Optimize and leverage your business opportunities in one of 10 U.S. markets expected to see most of the nation’s growth in the next 35 years.
The Arizona Sun Corridor, comprised of the greater Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma regions, offers your business:
- A geographic proximity to major markets and suppliers
- A favorable tax climate
- A uniquely distinctive quality of life
- An affordable cost structure to accelerate company profits
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Industry Strengths
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| Arizona vs. other Mountain West states: |
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Industry Strengths in the Corridor |
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Aerospace, Homeland Security and Defense |
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- Arizona is one of the largest aerospace markets and one of the nation’s fastest growing aerospace centers in the United States.
- Ranked as one of the top five winners of Department of Defense contracts, Arizona is also regularly among the top 10 states in aerospace exports, and Business Facilities magazine has named Tucson No. 6 on its list of the top 10 metro areas for aerospace/defense manufacturing.
- Arizona offers two targeted incentives of great value to aerospace and defense companies: the Military Reuse Zone program and a unique Foreign Trade Zone program with Property Tax reclassification benefits.
- Raytheon, Bombardier, B/E Aerospace, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman are just a few of the major industry players who operate in Arizona.
- Arizona’s climate and weather allows year-round testing of systems and equipment at multiple locations throughout the Sun Corridor.
- The Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station offer a multipurpose test environment for aerospace and defense companies, with thousands of square miles of controlled airspace for a wide variety of testing conditions and requirements.
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| Bioscience |
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- Arizona’s core research strengths include bioengineering, cancer research, pathogen genomics, and neurosciences. (Source: Arizona Department of Commerce, Flinn Foundation)
- Employment in Arizona‘s bioscience industry increased 23% compared to 8% nationally from 2002-2007 (Source: Flinn Foundation), and Sun Corridor companies include Ventana Medical Systems (a member of the Roche group) and sanofi-aventis.
- Flagstaff is ten times more specialized in medical device manufacturing than the rest of the nation, and is home to W.L. Gore, Machine Solutions, and Prent Corporation.
- The Sun Corridor has several world-class centers of innovation including Barrow Neurological Institute, Abraxis Bioscience, Critical Path Institute, International Genomics Consortium, Mayo Clinic, as well as the Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies.
- The BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona is a bioresearch collaborative of scientists from five disciplines – agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, basic science and engineering – who solve complex biological problems.
- The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University is focused on preventing and curing disease, overcoming the pain and limitations of injury, renewing and sustaining our environment and securing a safer world.
- Arizona’s sophisticated rural communities are home to companies such as Flagstaff’s TGen North, that focus on forensic and epidemiologic research related to pathogens important to biodefense, medicine, and public health.
- Anchoring our center for healthcare excellence are Nobel Prize winner Lee Hartwell’s Center for Sustainable Health; VisonGate’s breakthrough 3D cell imaging; and Patrick Soon-Shiong and Denis Cortese’s commitment to a Health Transformation Institute.
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| Information Technology |
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- A reliable supply of power and water resources, combined with an affordable business environment, make the Sun Corridor a preferred location for information technology companies.
- The region offers California high-tech firms an opportunity for productivity, cost savings and profitability.
- Arizona ranks 4th nationwide for semiconductor employment with nearly 24,000 workers in computer chip manufacturing. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Arizona’s rural communities are ideal settings for data center placement.
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| Renewable Energy |
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- Flagstaff-based Southwest Windpower is recognized around the world as a leader in wind technology, and was awarded “Exporter of the Year” by the Small Business Administration in 2009.
- With an average of 321 days of sun each year, Arizona’s solar energy is enough to power the entire country.
- Suntech, First Solar, SOLON Corporation, Schletter Inc., Global Solar, Kyocera, Prism Solar, SolarCity and Stirling Energy Systems are just a few of the top solar companies with operations in the Arizona Sun Corridor, including APS’ Solar Community Power initiative.
- The University of Arizona has solar research and technology development expertise in AZRise and world-renowned optics/photonics programs; the world’s first school of sustainability is at Arizona State University.
- TUV Rheinland has joined forces with Arizona State University to create the world’s most advanced solar testing and certification facility in Greater Phoenix.
- In Yuma County, NextLight Solar and BrightSource Power will invest over $1 billion in 2010 to construct utility-scale power plants that will generate 350 megawatts each.
- Arizona is committed to nurturing renewable energy and solar through a 15% renewable energy standard by 2025, of which 30% must come from distributed generation projects—among the most aggressive carve-out requirements in the country.
- Recognized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as the No. 1 state for potential solar capacity, Arizona has a bright future as the nation’s dominant market for solar demand.
- Arizona’s new Renewable Energy Tax Incentive Program provides $350 million in incentives to attract the expansion of renewable-energy firms to expand their operations in the state. Learn more about it here.
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| Transportation & Logistics/Company Headquarters |
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- Arizona’s core communities are within a one-day driving distance to additional California markets such as New Mexico, Utah and Mexico.
- A secure infrastructure, mild weather and ideal location make the Sun Corridor one of the safest regions for avoiding losses from natural catastrophes.
- Arizona’s Sun Corridor is at the ideal crossroads for east-west, coast-to-coast highway access via I-10, I-40, I-95 and I-8; Mexico access via I-95, I-8 and I-19; Union Pacific and BNSF rail capabilities across the US as well as south to Mexico; and multiple direct flights to other major US megapolitan areas.
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