BIRMINGHAM, AL— (March 20, 2006) Trade & Industry Development, the premier source of information on site selection and corporate growth strategies, announces its first-annual Corporate Investment and Community Impact (CiCi) Awards. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was one of 15 recipients to receive the Community Impact award on behalf of its contributions to Cheyenne, WY. The awards are presented in two separate categories: “Corporate Investment  and “Community Impact, each with 15 recipients.
 
The Corporate Investment and Community Impact (CiCi) Awards were created to reward companies that are making a difference by investing, locating and building relationships in communities throughout North America, as well as the economic development agencies that have facilitated their decisions. This dual recognition is an industry first. The recipients of these prestigious awards are recognized for their creation of new jobs, retention of current jobs and generation of economic growth.   
 
The companies chosen for the Corporate Investment award made a lasting impact on the community through capital investment and job creation in a particular location. The following are the 15 recipients for this category:

Chrysler Group- Belvidere, IL
DaimlerChrysler- Sterling Heights, MI
DaimlerChrysler- Fenton, MO
EADS- Mobile, AL
Freescale Semiconductor- Austin, TX
Goldman Sachs- New York, NY
Holcim Cement- Ste. Genevieve County, MO
IBM- Albany, NY
Intel- Chandler, NY
Kronospan Gmbh- Oxford, AL
MedImmune- Frederick, MD
Micron Technologies, Inc.- Manassas, VA
SeverCorr- Lowndes County, MS
Shintech- Iberville Parish, LA
Toyota- Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
  
The companies chosen for the Community Impact awards have made transactions that will result in short- and long-term community improvements. Their investments will better position these areas for a prosperous economy. Following are the 15 recipients of this category:
 
Advance Food Company- Enid ,OK
American Honda Motor Company- Troy, OH
Contender Boats- Baxley, GA
Hilmar Cheese Company- Dalhart, TX
James Hardie Building Products- Pulaski, VA
KraftMaid Cabinetry-  West Jordan, UT
LSP Automotive Systems Ltd- Union City, SC
Medtronic- Mounds View, MN
NASA Shared Services- Stennis Space Center, MS
Northrop Grumman Technical Call Center- Lebanon, VA
Severstal North America, Inc.- Dearborn, MI
Steelscape, Inc.- Shreveport, LA
Tyson Foods- Sherman, TX
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.- Cheyenne, WY
Yorktowne Cabinetry, Inc.- Danville, VA

The 30 recipients for the Corporate Investment and Community Impact Awards, created 18,623 new jobs, retained 29,248 existing jobs and are projected to make investments of $16.764 billion dollars. The economic benefits will increase as the collaboration continues between these companies and the communities with which they are partnering.
 
Trade & Industry Development’s editorial staff consulted numerous industry experts, academics, journalists, site-selection consultants and economic developers to establish the criteria for the award. The editorial staff also called upon its extensive database of communities and economic developers to contribute their most significant site-selection transactions for 2005. Trade & and Industry Development received more than 500 submissions for these awards throughout North America.
 
Details on the investment and contributions of recipients of the awards will be announced in Trade & Industry Development’s March/April 2006 issue. Please visit http://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/ for more information on Trade & Industry Development and http://www.tradeandindustrydev.com/issues/article.asp?ID=139 for more information on the Community Impact award.
 
Source: Trade & Industry Development, March 20, 2006