Sunny trip south woos site experts

Friday, January 09, 2009
By STEVE BYERS
Times Business Writer steve.byers@htimes.com
Riley, state officials hope to lure more plants, jobs

Gov. Bob Riley and state economic development officials are spending the weekend on the Mexican coast.

But this is a business trip.

No, seriously.

The state and four co-sponsors are hosting the Alabama International Business Conference in Puerto Vallarta for 25 site consultants. Those are the real estate professionals who help corporate giants such as ThyssenKrupp (Mobile area), National Steel Car (Shoals area) and Volkswagen (Chattanooga) pick the location for a new plant or office complex or research facility.

The consultants were carefully selected, said Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office. He noted that all 25 have either helped steer projects to Alabama in the past or are representing clients considering the state for a new project.

"When times get tough, we've found that the first thing a lot of companies and states do is cut out marketing and advertising, and we believe that's a big mistake," Neal said. "Especially in this economic environment, we want to stay front and center with site consultants. They really control where these companies go."

The cost of the trip - Wade estimated the price tag at $100,000 - is being underwritten by ADO, Alabama Power, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the PowerSouth Energy Cooperative and the North Alabama Industrial Development Association in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Wade said the co-sponsors make the event a bargain for taxpayers, noting that the state could not justify picking up the entire tab.

Besides Riley and Wade, the state contingent includes Alabama House Speaker Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia; Finance Director Jim Main; and Alabama Industrial Development Training Director Ed Castile.

Guest speakers include Leslie Schweitzer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Dick Morris, a former adviser to President Clinton and now a Fox News contributor.

Wade said Riley will be there for the entire event, which began Wednesday, giving the consultants a chance to interact with the governor in a variety of business and social settings.

"That," he said, "is invaluable."

Asked about the state's economic development pipeline, Wade conceded that "it's not as good as a year ago" but quickly added: "We're still seeing a number of good-size projects. ... We're a finalist for at least one major project."

He declined to elaborate, citing confidentiality agreements.

Wade also stressed that the state continues to "push very hard" for companies in northeast Alabama to land supplier contracts for the VW plant in Chattanooga. Wade led a group of state and regional economic development officials to Germany in the fall for a VW supplier conference, then he and Main returned to Europe last month for follow-up visits.

"We'll be back in Europe this spring as VW identifies who its suppliers will be," he said. "Once that happens, we'll kick into high gear."