As part of a $500 million nationwide manufacturing investment, Siemens is opening a new $150 million high-tech manufacturing plant in Fort Worth to help power American data centers and critical infrastructure. The plant, which Siemens hopes to accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence, will create more than 700 local jobs.
In addition, Siemens is investing in building two electrical-products manufacturing plants in Grand Prairie and Pomona, California. It will also deploy $220 million in a new rail manufacturing facility in Lexington, North Carolina. These projects bring the overall investment in the U.S. this year to $510 million, which will create 1,700 jobs at Siemens as a result.
“There’s never been a better time to invest in critical electrical infrastructure and green mobility to support the backbone of America’s economy. The hardware and software we offer—produced through our expanded U.S. manufacturing presence—will ensure that growing industries can meet demand while continuing to make progress in decarbonizing operations,” said Roland Busch, president and CEO of Siemens AG. “With this latest step, Siemens is delivering on its $2 billion global investment strategy for 2023 to boost growth, innovation and resilience.”
Production at the new facility in Fort Worth is expected to start in 2024, gearing up for full operations in 2025, and will be built and operated using Siemens advanced manufacturing tools, including digital twin technology and high-tech automation. Siemens expects data center demand to grow by around ten percent annually through 2030.
“With the best business climate and strongest workforce in the nation, Texas offers innovative industry leaders from across the country and around the world the freedom and opportunity to flourish,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “I congratulate Siemens on this significant expansion in Texas, a $150 million investment in high-tech manufacturing that will grow their presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, adding more than 700 new jobs to their current workforce of 3,300 Texans. I look forward to celebrating Siemens’ continued success as we work together to build an even brighter Texas of tomorrow.”
Work Shield Raises $6 Million
Work Shield, a Dallas-based incident management technology company, has raised $6 million from Ballast Point Ventures. Work Shield, the tech solution that partners with employers to manage reporting, investigation, and resolution of workplace harassment and discrimination, will use the proceeds of the growth capital to invest across all functional areas of the business.
“As a former employment and human resources lawyer, I understood firsthand the difficulty of tracking, investigating, and resolving issues of workplace harassment and discrimination incidents,” said Work Shield CEO and Co-Founder Jared Pope. “Given our founding team’s knowledge of the legal process for resolving Title VII issues, we always believed that we could build a more streamlined and efficient process to bring these incidents to resolution on behalf of our clients and their employees. We are excited to bring a sophisticated institutional investor into our company and are eager to get to work with Ballast Point Ventures. We look forward to this next leg of the journey and to continue to deliver the only full-service workplace misconduct and analytics solution that manages incidents end-to-end, from intake through resolution.”
Ballast Point Ventures has over $550 million under management across four funds and seeks to make initial equity investments ranging in size from $5 million to $15 million.
Topgolf Acquires Invited’s Topgolf-style Rival BigShots
Topgolf Callaway Brands has acquired BigShots Golf from Invited, the largest owner and operator of private golf clubs in the U.S., for $29 million. The BigShots portfolio includes four domestic venues, comprised of one owned venue and three franchise venues, as well as certain other development rights for other potential venues.
“This acquisition will benefit all three segments of our business,” CEO of Topgolf Callaway Brands Chip Brewer said. “We are essentially purchasing an additional off-course venue and the royalty stream from three franchise venues, including the option to convert those to Toptracer technology in the near future, as well as further building out and strengthening our future venue pipeline and growing our partnership with an important golf equipment and apparel partner, Invited—all for the price of approximately one Topgolf venue. This deal is a great example of the synergies associated with our portfolio of brands and its leadership position in Modern Golf. It is also just the beginning of what’s possible when two great brands combine their resources and creativity to develop programs that foster growth and further fuel the momentum in our game.”
Along with this transaction, the Company has also entered into a preferred vendor agreement with Invited in which Topgolf Callaway Brands’ products and merchandise will be featured at Invited’s more than 140 golf and country clubs.
BSN Sports Partners with USA Water Polo Team
BSN Sports announced its first partnership with USA Water Polo to provide a new custom apparel offering to the USA Water Polo Olympic Development Program in addition to select outfitting for the USAWP National Team programs.
“Working with USA Water Polo through BSN SPORTS is a thrilling opportunity,” said Jessica Hardy Meichtry, a BSN category manager. “Water polo has always held a special place in my heart, I personally played the sport growing up, have had a front row seat watching their world domination successes at international competitions throughout the years, and I am now excited to contribute to their successes professionally. I believe that the power of sport can transform lives, and this collaboration between USA Water Polo and BSN is a testament to that belief. We are excited to be a part of this partnership and look forward to providing top-of-the-line apparel to help water polo continue to succeed.”
BSN will provide the men’s and women’s USA Water Polo teams with a variety of apparel as they prepare to take the world stage next summer in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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