Group lures businesses to Lee

By Tim Engstrom • tengstrom@news-press.com • June 26, 2010

Efforts to market Lee County as a prime place to do business have helped to spark a business expansion and a relocation that together will create 160 jobs, the county's economic development chief said Friday.

The companies' identities are still cloaked by confidentiality agreements, but one of the two could be named as early as next week, said Jim Moore, executive director of Lee County's Economic Development Office.

"We will make things happen for a company that wants to be here," Moore said. "We have made it work."

Moore mentioned the companies as part of a midyear update at Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort for about 100 members of the Horizon Council, the local public/private partnership; and the Horizon Foundation, the group's fundraising arm.
Moore recapped the group's "Together We Mean Business" advertising campaign within Southwest Florida that has included traditional media and online social networking, including about $300,000 worth of donated advertising.

The campaign also spotlights the county's incentive fund, which was created in late 2008 with $25 million taken from reserve funds.

"We have had people walk in the door who have had a second home or a vacation home here and they have seen our marketing said, 'I want to talk to you about that,'" Moore said. Donations from businesses to the Horizon Foundation, along with the in-kind donations, have paid for the campaign.

The group raised $338,000 last year and has raised $280,250 of its goal of $375,000 this year.

In six months, the campaign has generated 55 legitimate business prospects, of which about 20 percent - or 11 businesses - are expected to result in expansions or relocations, Moore said.

That would amount to up to 400 jobs, he said.

Doug Gyure, vice president of S4J Manufacturing Services in Cape Coral, said he was impressed by the efforts of the business community and the Economic Development Office.

"The office is certainly working very hard and making things come to fruition," said Gyure, whose company makes parts for medical equipment, such as hospital-grade blood pressure monitors. "We all know that this is a great place to do business and we just have to let everyone else know."

The economic development office is also adding an element in its marketing effort to encourage local business leaders to reach out to peers outside the area, including a website BringThem2Lee.com, and social networking sites.

One especially gratifying lead came from the business networking site LinkedIn, Moore said.

The owner of an information technology company in Cleveland posted a comment on the site asking about the business climate here, which prompted eight positive comments in response.

That business owner is now talking with the office about opportunities, Moore said.
"If it weren't for the folks in the community saying, 'You ought to take a second look at us,' I don't think we would be talking to him," he said.

John Rhodes, senior principal of Moran, Stahl & Boyer, a site selection firm, complimented Lee on the campaign.

"You are really hitting on every element," he said.

Rhodes spoke to the group about the factors that influence companies to relocate here and encouraged all business leaders to think about the area's attributes, including Southwest Florida International Airport.

"You are blessed to have what you have," Rhodes said. "You have tremendous air access for a community your size."

Ryan Goldberg, president of Regions Bank in Lee and Charlotte counties, said he is impressed by the local business development efforts.

"I think they are right on track," Goldberg said. "I think good things are starting happen."