By David Holthaus
dholthaus@enquirer.com
The goal would be ambitious even in the best of economic times. In the worst of times, it appears virtually insurmountable: Create 200,000 jobs in little more than a decade.
Yet that's what local business and community leaders say they're committed to accomplishing. The goal isn't just aggressive, they say, it's essential to transforming the region into one of the nation's leading metropolitan areas.
The job-growth objective is a cornerstone of the Agenda 360 communitywide plan for growth. Unveiled in February, Agenda 360 was the product of two years of community meetings led by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. From more than two dozen meetings involving 1,500 people, organizers identified goals to guide their efforts and those of other organizations around the region through 2020. To measure progress, three simple but lofty goals were laid out, the most audacious being the plan to create 200,000 jobs by 2020.
"We wanted to aspire to not just an incremental increase, but to a quantum increase," said Myrita Craig, executive director of Agenda 360. "Love it or hate it, that's what it is."
Achieving the goal would transform the workforce in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. The addition of 200,000 net jobs in little more than a decade would require a rapid acceleration of the historical rate at which jobs have been created here. In the decade from 1998 to 2008, before the recession hit with full force, 64,000 jobs were added in the 15-county metropolitan area, according to government figures. More here.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
County's downturn could have upside in luring biotech firms
By Jeff Ostrowski Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
As Palm Beach County works to build a biotech hub, labs run by Scripps Florida and Max Planck Florida are the main attraction for CEOs looking for a place to call home.
But those two research institutes aren't the only draw. Palm Beach County also can boast of being a cheap place to do business, at least compared with other biotech hubs.
The Boyd Co., a location consulting firm in Princeton, N.J., calculated the costs of running a biotech business in 35 metro areas in the U.S. and Canada.
It found annual costs ranged from $18.8 million in New York to $12.6 million in Sioux Falls, S.D. Palm Beach County ranked 23rd, at $14.1 million, just behind Vancouver, B.C., and just ahead of Cincinnati. Boyd's estimates are based on the bill to operate a 60,000-square-foot facility with 150 workers, including scientists.
"In the corporate relocation field, costs are ruling the process," said Jon Boyd, head of The Boyd Co. "Palm Beach County shows very well."
Palm Beach County as a cheap place to operate a company?
That's a novel notion, especially after the costs of living and doing business in Palm Beach County inflated during the real estate boom.
But those costs have deflated during the bust. That means economic boosters once again can tout factors such as the lack of a state income tax and home prices that are cheaper than in the Northeast and California.
"I was pleasantly surprised," Mike Jones, president of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, said of the study. "With the downturn in the economy, the reduction in housing prices, the reduction in rents across the board, we're looked upon more favorably."
But do costs really matter in the biotech world, where pricey areas such as San Francisco, Boston and San Diego are the bustling hubs that cheaper rivals hope to emulate? Maybe, maybe not.
When the leaders of Envoy Therapeutics decided to locate their start-up company in Jupiter, costs were a secondary concern, said Chief Executive Brad Margus. Envoy was drawn mainly by the brainpower already setting up shop at Scripps Florida and Max Planck Florida in Jupiter.
"By far the most important thing is the people," Margus said. "Can you find the junior-level scientists in the area that can work in your labs?"
He noted that San Francisco and Boston have remained biotech hubs despite their stratospheric costs. That's because those areas offer a wealth of scientists, lab space and investors, all of which are crucial to upstart science firms.
While it doesn't hurt that Palm Beach County is cheaper than competing biotech centers, it's far from the only concern for biotech CEOs.
"You can recruit somebody here and tell them there's no state income tax," Margus said. "But is that really the deciding factor in where you go? No."
But Boyd said his discussions with executives lead him to believe that costs are taking center stage.
"The trend is to smaller, more manageable, less costly markets," Boyd said.
If that trend holds, it could be good news for Palm Beach County.
The region's biotech market already has been buoyed by the arrival of Scripps Florida and Max Planck Florida in Jupiter and the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie, Boyd said.
Those labs came because they were offered tax dollars that totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, economic boosters aim to attract for-profit companies that won't demand public handouts.
"You're early on the curve, but you primed the pump," Boyd said. "In many of these other locations, it took a few decades to get where you've gotten in a few years. You seized the moment. These were trophy projects."
As Palm Beach County works to build a biotech hub, labs run by Scripps Florida and Max Planck Florida are the main attraction for CEOs looking for a place to call home.
But those two research institutes aren't the only draw. Palm Beach County also can boast of being a cheap place to do business, at least compared with other biotech hubs.
The Boyd Co., a location consulting firm in Princeton, N.J., calculated the costs of running a biotech business in 35 metro areas in the U.S. and Canada.
It found annual costs ranged from $18.8 million in New York to $12.6 million in Sioux Falls, S.D. Palm Beach County ranked 23rd, at $14.1 million, just behind Vancouver, B.C., and just ahead of Cincinnati. Boyd's estimates are based on the bill to operate a 60,000-square-foot facility with 150 workers, including scientists.
"In the corporate relocation field, costs are ruling the process," said Jon Boyd, head of The Boyd Co. "Palm Beach County shows very well."
Palm Beach County as a cheap place to operate a company?
That's a novel notion, especially after the costs of living and doing business in Palm Beach County inflated during the real estate boom.
But those costs have deflated during the bust. That means economic boosters once again can tout factors such as the lack of a state income tax and home prices that are cheaper than in the Northeast and California.
"I was pleasantly surprised," Mike Jones, president of the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, said of the study. "With the downturn in the economy, the reduction in housing prices, the reduction in rents across the board, we're looked upon more favorably."
But do costs really matter in the biotech world, where pricey areas such as San Francisco, Boston and San Diego are the bustling hubs that cheaper rivals hope to emulate? Maybe, maybe not.
When the leaders of Envoy Therapeutics decided to locate their start-up company in Jupiter, costs were a secondary concern, said Chief Executive Brad Margus. Envoy was drawn mainly by the brainpower already setting up shop at Scripps Florida and Max Planck Florida in Jupiter.
"By far the most important thing is the people," Margus said. "Can you find the junior-level scientists in the area that can work in your labs?"
He noted that San Francisco and Boston have remained biotech hubs despite their stratospheric costs. That's because those areas offer a wealth of scientists, lab space and investors, all of which are crucial to upstart science firms.
While it doesn't hurt that Palm Beach County is cheaper than competing biotech centers, it's far from the only concern for biotech CEOs.
"You can recruit somebody here and tell them there's no state income tax," Margus said. "But is that really the deciding factor in where you go? No."
But Boyd said his discussions with executives lead him to believe that costs are taking center stage.
"The trend is to smaller, more manageable, less costly markets," Boyd said.
If that trend holds, it could be good news for Palm Beach County.
The region's biotech market already has been buoyed by the arrival of Scripps Florida and Max Planck Florida in Jupiter and the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Port St. Lucie, Boyd said.
Those labs came because they were offered tax dollars that totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, economic boosters aim to attract for-profit companies that won't demand public handouts.
"You're early on the curve, but you primed the pump," Boyd said. "In many of these other locations, it took a few decades to get where you've gotten in a few years. You seized the moment. These were trophy projects."
Friday, November 27, 2009
Branding Campaign Tries To Improve Image Of "Made In China"
Posted by Barry Silverstein, brandchannel
The Chinese government is finally acknowledging that the phrase "Made in China" has regained many of its one-time negative connotations. Many Chinese brands have earned their poor perception: Consumers in the US and elsewhere have heard alarming reports of Chinese-made products scandalized by poor quality and deadly oversights. These have included everyday products like pet food, toys, and milk. and the bad publicity has done nothing but damage to the country's image.
So China has launched a new television ad campaign. Seen first in Asia, the campaign is now airing in the US, and features products with the "Made in China" label -- with an international twist. Each "Made in China" example highlights Chinese manufacturers' collaboration with other countries. For example, MP3 players are shown with the phrase, "Made in China with software from Silicon Valley." Clothing carries the label "Made in China with French designers."
According to China Daily, the campaign is intended to demonstrate that "Chinese companies work with overseas firms to produce quality products." The campaign was developed by ad agency DDB's Chinese affiliate, under the direction of China's Ministry of Commerce.
With a lot of ground to make up, some critics are already saying the new campaign may be less than effective. "Wouldn't it have been better if they had touted the millions of things being devised and made in China?" asks one blogger. The Telegraph's Shanghai correspondent, Malcolm Moore, adds, "Does it make you feel better about Chinese quality? Not really." Or at least not yet.
Ironically, the campaign was ready to launch in 2008, but it was delayed due to the recent tainted milk scandal that caused the deaths of at least six children and sickened 300,000.
The Chinese government is finally acknowledging that the phrase "Made in China" has regained many of its one-time negative connotations. Many Chinese brands have earned their poor perception: Consumers in the US and elsewhere have heard alarming reports of Chinese-made products scandalized by poor quality and deadly oversights. These have included everyday products like pet food, toys, and milk. and the bad publicity has done nothing but damage to the country's image.
So China has launched a new television ad campaign. Seen first in Asia, the campaign is now airing in the US, and features products with the "Made in China" label -- with an international twist. Each "Made in China" example highlights Chinese manufacturers' collaboration with other countries. For example, MP3 players are shown with the phrase, "Made in China with software from Silicon Valley." Clothing carries the label "Made in China with French designers."
According to China Daily, the campaign is intended to demonstrate that "Chinese companies work with overseas firms to produce quality products." The campaign was developed by ad agency DDB's Chinese affiliate, under the direction of China's Ministry of Commerce.
With a lot of ground to make up, some critics are already saying the new campaign may be less than effective. "Wouldn't it have been better if they had touted the millions of things being devised and made in China?" asks one blogger. The Telegraph's Shanghai correspondent, Malcolm Moore, adds, "Does it make you feel better about Chinese quality? Not really." Or at least not yet.
Ironically, the campaign was ready to launch in 2008, but it was delayed due to the recent tainted milk scandal that caused the deaths of at least six children and sickened 300,000.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Consultant: Wichita has 2 drawbacks
BY DAN VOORHIS
The Wichita Eagle
A consultant said Tuesday that Wichita has at least two major drawbacks in recruiting business: lack of a ready site, and a stigma stemming from recent aviation industry strikes.
Site Selection Group of Dallas was hired by the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition to write a study showing how Wichita can diversify its economy.
The $70,000 study will examine how well Wichita competes against similar cities, which industries it should target for recruitment, which gaps Wichita has, and how to better market the city.
The study will be released on Jan. 18.
The firm has completed the first phase of the study, looking at how six other communities have moved from shrinking industries to diversified collections of growing ones. They are Huntsville, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Greensboro, N.C.; Omaha; Clarksville, Tenn.; and Tulsa.
The communities first recognized the threat to their main industry, said Site Selection Group senior vice president David Brandon.
Then they built a decades-long economic development effort supported by the community's top leadership. And they raised significant, mostly private, dollars to fund the diversification effort.
Brandon said the Wichita area has a great deal going for it and was close to landing a major solar-power manufacturing plant.
But the city suffers from not having a large industrial site ready for construction and from a stigma brought on by recent union strikes in the aircraft industry.
"You have to figure out how to bring unions into the tent and create a partnership," he said.
The Wichita Eagle
A consultant said Tuesday that Wichita has at least two major drawbacks in recruiting business: lack of a ready site, and a stigma stemming from recent aviation industry strikes.
Site Selection Group of Dallas was hired by the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition to write a study showing how Wichita can diversify its economy.
The $70,000 study will examine how well Wichita competes against similar cities, which industries it should target for recruitment, which gaps Wichita has, and how to better market the city.
The study will be released on Jan. 18.
The firm has completed the first phase of the study, looking at how six other communities have moved from shrinking industries to diversified collections of growing ones. They are Huntsville, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Greensboro, N.C.; Omaha; Clarksville, Tenn.; and Tulsa.
The communities first recognized the threat to their main industry, said Site Selection Group senior vice president David Brandon.
Then they built a decades-long economic development effort supported by the community's top leadership. And they raised significant, mostly private, dollars to fund the diversification effort.
Brandon said the Wichita area has a great deal going for it and was close to landing a major solar-power manufacturing plant.
But the city suffers from not having a large industrial site ready for construction and from a stigma brought on by recent union strikes in the aircraft industry.
"You have to figure out how to bring unions into the tent and create a partnership," he said.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Greensburg Web site aims at developers, business prospects
By Bob Stiles
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, November 23, 2009
Steve Gifford used to send information by compact disc to prospective developers or business owners who were considering relocating in Greensburg.
That won't be the case anymore, at least not as a first step.
Gifford, Greensburg Community Development Corp. executive director, will refer them to a Web site that's being started as part of the new Think Greensburg campaign that was started this month by his group.
The Internet site, thinkgreensburg.com, will formally go online Wednesday.
"With the Web site, they can go immediately, share it with their (business) partners and access it when they want," Gifford said.
The Web site is being done in two phases. The first involves such information as housing, tourism and economic data. Suggestions about what businesses may succeed in the city will be included.
The second phase will involve more detailed information available for downloading — requests for proposals, site-development plans and potential business-opportunity sites.
In addition, the Web site will show residents what is going on in the city.
The creation of the Internet site and related advertising is being paid through a $36,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, Gifford said. More here.
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, November 23, 2009
Steve Gifford used to send information by compact disc to prospective developers or business owners who were considering relocating in Greensburg.
That won't be the case anymore, at least not as a first step.
Gifford, Greensburg Community Development Corp. executive director, will refer them to a Web site that's being started as part of the new Think Greensburg campaign that was started this month by his group.
The Internet site, thinkgreensburg.com, will formally go online Wednesday.
"With the Web site, they can go immediately, share it with their (business) partners and access it when they want," Gifford said.
The Web site is being done in two phases. The first involves such information as housing, tourism and economic data. Suggestions about what businesses may succeed in the city will be included.
The second phase will involve more detailed information available for downloading — requests for proposals, site-development plans and potential business-opportunity sites.
In addition, the Web site will show residents what is going on in the city.
The creation of the Internet site and related advertising is being paid through a $36,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, Gifford said. More here.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Energize-ECI made Dallas trip
E. Roy Budd, executive director of Energize-ECI Inc. announced the regional economic development partnership, along with ECI member area economic development officials, planned and participated in a business development sales trip to Dallas, Texas, Nov. 11-12.
Among those on the trip were Terry Murphy, vice president Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance; Bill Bradley, executive director Jay County Development Corporation; and Budd.
"The purpose of the Dallas trip was to familiarize a new group of site selection consultants about the many competitive advantages offered to new business investment, expansion and consolidation in East Central Indiana," Budd said. "We want to be top-of-mind when business investment projects are given the green light to active status. Right now, the economy has forced many business projects to be put on hold. I think we proved our case that East Central Indiana has much to offer for new business investment -- and is worthy of serious consideration."
Among those on the trip were Terry Murphy, vice president Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance; Bill Bradley, executive director Jay County Development Corporation; and Budd.
"The purpose of the Dallas trip was to familiarize a new group of site selection consultants about the many competitive advantages offered to new business investment, expansion and consolidation in East Central Indiana," Budd said. "We want to be top-of-mind when business investment projects are given the green light to active status. Right now, the economy has forced many business projects to be put on hold. I think we proved our case that East Central Indiana has much to offer for new business investment -- and is worthy of serious consideration."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Solar energy industry brings a ray of hope to the Rust Belt
Areas hard-hit by the U.S. automakers' slump are pitching themselves to green technology firms. Workers and machines that used to crank out cars are now making parts for solar and wind power plants.
By Todd Woody
At a recent solar energy conference in Anaheim, economic development officials from Ohio talked up a state that seemed far removed from the solar panels and high-tech devices that dominated the convention floor.
Ohio, long known for its smokestack auto plants and metal-bending factories, would be an ideal place for green technology companies to set up shop, they said.
"People don't traditionally think of Ohio when they think of solar," said Lisa Patt-McDaniel, director of Ohio's economic development agency. But in fact, the Rust Belt goes well with the Green Belt, she said.
In years past, Sunbelt governors recruited Midwestern businesses to set up shop in their states, dangling tax breaks and the lure of a union-free workforce.
Now the tables have turned as solar start-ups, wind turbine companies and electric carmakers from California and the Southwest migrate to the nation's industrial heartland. They're looking to tap its manufacturing might and legions of skilled workers, hit hard by the near-collapse of the United States auto industry and eager for work.
For all of green tech's futuristic sheen, solar power plants and wind farms are made of much of the same stuff as automobiles: machine-stamped steel, glass and gearboxes.
That has renewable energy companies hitting the highway for Detroit and Northeastern industrial states, driven in part by the federal stimulus package's incentives and buy-American mandates.
Irvine's Fisker Automotive, for instance, will manufacture its next plug-in electric hybrid car at a defunct General Motors assembly plant in Wilmington, Del.
And Stirling Energy Systems, which is building two massive solar power plants in Southern California, has signed deals with two automotive companies to make components for its giant solar dishes.
Stirling's 40-by-38-foot SunCatcher resembles a mirrored satellite dish. The SunCatcher's mirrors focus the sun on a Stirling engine that sits on an arm that extends from the center of the dish. The heat causes hydrogen gas in the engine to expand, which drives pistons that generate electricity.
"The back of the mirror facet is a piece of stamped metal, and if you raise the hood of your car, what you see is a stamped metal frame," said Ian Simington, chief executive of the solar division of NTR, the Irish company that owns Stirling Energy Systems, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Nobody stamps metal better than automotive manufacturers. So in a sense the choice to go to high-volume suppliers in the greater Detroit area was an easy one for us."
Stirling signed an agreement with Tower Automotive to manufacture the dishes' structural components and assemble the mirror facets. The Livonia, Mich., company makes vehicle body parts and other components for the major carmakers but has seen auto orders slow with the downturn.
Jim Bernard, Tower's vice president of North American sales and program management, said the company had been looking to diversify its operations.
"The market that we thought would fit us was alternative energy," he said. "Utility-scale alternative energy projects have some of the exact same requirements that our automotive customers do."
That means Tower can use its existing machinery, with some modifications, and workforce to make SunCatcher components. In turn, Stirling avoids the capital costs of setting up its own factories and gets to tap Tower's manufacturing know-how to bring down its costs, which will be a key competitive advantage in the race to deploy new solar technologies.
"They have the practices beaten into them since Henry Ford, but more because of Japanese competition, to be able to do several things simultaneously -- improve the features of the product, take cost out and improve quality," Simington said.
He said his company has spent $30 million to $40 million in the Detroit area over the last year and hired 40 to 50 people from the automotive industry. Stirling has also outsourced the manufacturing of specialized tools to companies in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.
About 25,000 SunCatchers will roll off the assembly line annually once production ramps up.
It's still something of a buyer's market these days, said Jeff Collins, Stirling's vice president of global supply chain and an auto industry veteran.
"I hate to say this, particularly as a guy who still owns a house in Detroit, but the downturn in the automotive market corresponded exactly with our requirements," he said. "We're not adding our own factories to scale up; we're just adding a second shift on the assembly line."
That available manufacturing muscle attracted Skyline Solar, a Silicon Valley solar power plant builder. In October, the start-up announced a deal with a Troy, Mich., subsidiary of automotive giant Magna International to make the long metal arrays that hold its photovoltaic panels.
"Renewable energy trends and forecast data suggest significant growth potential for this market. We expect to participate in this growth potential," Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst said in an e-mail.
Back at Ohio's booth at the solar conference, Patt-McDaniel said Michigan was her biggest competitor for solar manufacturing projects.
Her state secured one of the biggest solar companies, First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., to produce photovoltaic modules in Ohio. Patt-McDaniel said wind turbines are already made in Ohio, and Rolls-Royce recently announced it would consolidate its fuel cell operations in the Buckeye State.
"We're open to anything and everything," she said.
business@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
By Todd Woody
At a recent solar energy conference in Anaheim, economic development officials from Ohio talked up a state that seemed far removed from the solar panels and high-tech devices that dominated the convention floor.
Ohio, long known for its smokestack auto plants and metal-bending factories, would be an ideal place for green technology companies to set up shop, they said.
"People don't traditionally think of Ohio when they think of solar," said Lisa Patt-McDaniel, director of Ohio's economic development agency. But in fact, the Rust Belt goes well with the Green Belt, she said.
In years past, Sunbelt governors recruited Midwestern businesses to set up shop in their states, dangling tax breaks and the lure of a union-free workforce.
Now the tables have turned as solar start-ups, wind turbine companies and electric carmakers from California and the Southwest migrate to the nation's industrial heartland. They're looking to tap its manufacturing might and legions of skilled workers, hit hard by the near-collapse of the United States auto industry and eager for work.
For all of green tech's futuristic sheen, solar power plants and wind farms are made of much of the same stuff as automobiles: machine-stamped steel, glass and gearboxes.
That has renewable energy companies hitting the highway for Detroit and Northeastern industrial states, driven in part by the federal stimulus package's incentives and buy-American mandates.
Irvine's Fisker Automotive, for instance, will manufacture its next plug-in electric hybrid car at a defunct General Motors assembly plant in Wilmington, Del.
And Stirling Energy Systems, which is building two massive solar power plants in Southern California, has signed deals with two automotive companies to make components for its giant solar dishes.
Stirling's 40-by-38-foot SunCatcher resembles a mirrored satellite dish. The SunCatcher's mirrors focus the sun on a Stirling engine that sits on an arm that extends from the center of the dish. The heat causes hydrogen gas in the engine to expand, which drives pistons that generate electricity.
"The back of the mirror facet is a piece of stamped metal, and if you raise the hood of your car, what you see is a stamped metal frame," said Ian Simington, chief executive of the solar division of NTR, the Irish company that owns Stirling Energy Systems, based in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Nobody stamps metal better than automotive manufacturers. So in a sense the choice to go to high-volume suppliers in the greater Detroit area was an easy one for us."
Stirling signed an agreement with Tower Automotive to manufacture the dishes' structural components and assemble the mirror facets. The Livonia, Mich., company makes vehicle body parts and other components for the major carmakers but has seen auto orders slow with the downturn.
Jim Bernard, Tower's vice president of North American sales and program management, said the company had been looking to diversify its operations.
"The market that we thought would fit us was alternative energy," he said. "Utility-scale alternative energy projects have some of the exact same requirements that our automotive customers do."
That means Tower can use its existing machinery, with some modifications, and workforce to make SunCatcher components. In turn, Stirling avoids the capital costs of setting up its own factories and gets to tap Tower's manufacturing know-how to bring down its costs, which will be a key competitive advantage in the race to deploy new solar technologies.
"They have the practices beaten into them since Henry Ford, but more because of Japanese competition, to be able to do several things simultaneously -- improve the features of the product, take cost out and improve quality," Simington said.
He said his company has spent $30 million to $40 million in the Detroit area over the last year and hired 40 to 50 people from the automotive industry. Stirling has also outsourced the manufacturing of specialized tools to companies in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.
About 25,000 SunCatchers will roll off the assembly line annually once production ramps up.
It's still something of a buyer's market these days, said Jeff Collins, Stirling's vice president of global supply chain and an auto industry veteran.
"I hate to say this, particularly as a guy who still owns a house in Detroit, but the downturn in the automotive market corresponded exactly with our requirements," he said. "We're not adding our own factories to scale up; we're just adding a second shift on the assembly line."
That available manufacturing muscle attracted Skyline Solar, a Silicon Valley solar power plant builder. In October, the start-up announced a deal with a Troy, Mich., subsidiary of automotive giant Magna International to make the long metal arrays that hold its photovoltaic panels.
"Renewable energy trends and forecast data suggest significant growth potential for this market. We expect to participate in this growth potential," Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst said in an e-mail.
Back at Ohio's booth at the solar conference, Patt-McDaniel said Michigan was her biggest competitor for solar manufacturing projects.
Her state secured one of the biggest solar companies, First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., to produce photovoltaic modules in Ohio. Patt-McDaniel said wind turbines are already made in Ohio, and Rolls-Royce recently announced it would consolidate its fuel cell operations in the Buckeye State.
"We're open to anything and everything," she said.
business@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Plano to offer Pizza Hut $2.5 million deal to relocate from Addison
By THEODORE KIM and KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS / The Dallas Morning News
Plano is preparing to offer its largest economic package ever to lure Pizza Hut's corporate headquarters from Addison.
The package, drawn up during months of secret talks, includes grants and tax breaks totaling about $2.5 million. Plano's City Council will discuss the package Monday.
Officials say the multimillion-dollar deal is worth the cost for this city, which is struggling financially. Pizza Hut's impact, they say, could extend beyond the jobs it brings.
"It's not a done deal, but we're excited to be this close," Plano Mayor Phil Dyer said.
Should the company proceed, it would move at least 450 employees into a new $15 million office at Legacy Business Park in northwest Plano, according to the agreement. The yet-to-be-built structure would house nearly as much space as three football fields.
Pizza Hut officials could not be reached for comment. But a spokesman said earlier this week that the firm could come to Plano.
Addison Mayor Joe Chow said he was hopeful that the company, which moved to its current site along the Dallas North Tollway from Wichita, Kan., in 1995, would stay.
"It costs a lot to relocate," Chow said. "I don't believe that Plano is going to offer that much."
Pizza Hut would receive $2.1 million in cash as well as tax abatements through 2021, according to a copy of the incentives. More here.
Plano is preparing to offer its largest economic package ever to lure Pizza Hut's corporate headquarters from Addison.
The package, drawn up during months of secret talks, includes grants and tax breaks totaling about $2.5 million. Plano's City Council will discuss the package Monday.
Officials say the multimillion-dollar deal is worth the cost for this city, which is struggling financially. Pizza Hut's impact, they say, could extend beyond the jobs it brings.
"It's not a done deal, but we're excited to be this close," Plano Mayor Phil Dyer said.
Should the company proceed, it would move at least 450 employees into a new $15 million office at Legacy Business Park in northwest Plano, according to the agreement. The yet-to-be-built structure would house nearly as much space as three football fields.
Pizza Hut officials could not be reached for comment. But a spokesman said earlier this week that the firm could come to Plano.
Addison Mayor Joe Chow said he was hopeful that the company, which moved to its current site along the Dallas North Tollway from Wichita, Kan., in 1995, would stay.
"It costs a lot to relocate," Chow said. "I don't believe that Plano is going to offer that much."
Pizza Hut would receive $2.1 million in cash as well as tax abatements through 2021, according to a copy of the incentives. More here.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Area counties form marketing coalition to showcase economic development opportunities
Author: Mary Carr Mayle
With budget restrictions curtailing the state's ability to market economic development opportunities, four area counties have formed Savannah Gateway.
The coalition of Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty officials will tout the counties' attributes to site-selection firms and developers nationwide.
"The fact is, the state simply doesn't have the money to market like we used to," said state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah.
"The greater-Savannah area has so much to offer, it only makes sense to launch a collective marketing effort," said Stephens, chairman of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
Lynn Pitts, senior vice president of Savannah Economic Development Authority, initially invited similar authorities in Effingham, Bryan and Liberty to join an informal conversation on how they could attract more attention to the area.
To that end, the group, with financial help from community sponsors, hosted a reception last month in Atlanta for commercial real estate brokers, developers and site-selection firms from throughout the Southeast to showcase all that coastal Georgia has to offer.
"It was a very successful meeting, one that produced a lot of bang for the buck," Stephens said.
Joan Herron, president of Herron Consulting in Atlanta, attended the reception with company director Bob Price.
"It was a great way to showcase what the area has to offer and allow a lot of people to make contact with the various communities," she said. "Taking a regional focus is definitely a step in the right direction. It allows you to make the most of your marketing budget while making it easier for companies to find you."
The group has a Web site and a brochure. The next step, Stephens said, will be to attend trade shows as a group and to market the area collectively on a global scale.
Economic development consultant Craig Lesser is working with SEDA to help with international marketing. To the extent that it fits with what SEDA has asked him to do, he plans to also market Savannah Gateway.
"Clearly, there will be some overlap," said Lesser, a former state economic development commissioner. "This is a very effective tool."
Lesser's successor, Georgia Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart, agreed.
"Savannah Gateway is really a brilliant move for that section of the state," he said. "Combining resources to present all that a region has to offer is definitely an idea whose time has come."
With budget restrictions curtailing the state's ability to market economic development opportunities, four area counties have formed Savannah Gateway.
The coalition of Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty officials will tout the counties' attributes to site-selection firms and developers nationwide.
"The fact is, the state simply doesn't have the money to market like we used to," said state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah.
"The greater-Savannah area has so much to offer, it only makes sense to launch a collective marketing effort," said Stephens, chairman of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
Lynn Pitts, senior vice president of Savannah Economic Development Authority, initially invited similar authorities in Effingham, Bryan and Liberty to join an informal conversation on how they could attract more attention to the area.
To that end, the group, with financial help from community sponsors, hosted a reception last month in Atlanta for commercial real estate brokers, developers and site-selection firms from throughout the Southeast to showcase all that coastal Georgia has to offer.
"It was a very successful meeting, one that produced a lot of bang for the buck," Stephens said.
Joan Herron, president of Herron Consulting in Atlanta, attended the reception with company director Bob Price.
"It was a great way to showcase what the area has to offer and allow a lot of people to make contact with the various communities," she said. "Taking a regional focus is definitely a step in the right direction. It allows you to make the most of your marketing budget while making it easier for companies to find you."
The group has a Web site and a brochure. The next step, Stephens said, will be to attend trade shows as a group and to market the area collectively on a global scale.
Economic development consultant Craig Lesser is working with SEDA to help with international marketing. To the extent that it fits with what SEDA has asked him to do, he plans to also market Savannah Gateway.
"Clearly, there will be some overlap," said Lesser, a former state economic development commissioner. "This is a very effective tool."
Lesser's successor, Georgia Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart, agreed.
"Savannah Gateway is really a brilliant move for that section of the state," he said. "Combining resources to present all that a region has to offer is definitely an idea whose time has come."
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Just how did Panama City woo Coast WET?
MATT DIXON / News Herald Writer
PANAMA CITY — With thousands of economic development groups vying for relatively few companies that seek to relocate each year, getting to first place in the business recruitment game is no easy feat.
The moment Panama City took the lead in the race to secure Coast WET was a fairly well defined one, said Janet Watermeier, executive director of the Bay County economic development alliance.
After some thought, she was able to pinpoint the moment she knew Panama City had pulled ahead in the race to secure the hundreds of jobs that might come if they were able to snag the water-efficient toilet parts manufacturer.
“We still have not won,” the economic development maven qualified. “But the moment I knew we were in first place was when we received approval for the governor’s closing fund package on Sept. 1.”
That package offered $500,000 of discretionary revenue to Coast, which used the money to defray a portion of the estimated $600,000 it would cost them to relocate from Southern California. More here.
PANAMA CITY — With thousands of economic development groups vying for relatively few companies that seek to relocate each year, getting to first place in the business recruitment game is no easy feat.
The moment Panama City took the lead in the race to secure Coast WET was a fairly well defined one, said Janet Watermeier, executive director of the Bay County economic development alliance.
After some thought, she was able to pinpoint the moment she knew Panama City had pulled ahead in the race to secure the hundreds of jobs that might come if they were able to snag the water-efficient toilet parts manufacturer.
“We still have not won,” the economic development maven qualified. “But the moment I knew we were in first place was when we received approval for the governor’s closing fund package on Sept. 1.”
That package offered $500,000 of discretionary revenue to Coast, which used the money to defray a portion of the estimated $600,000 it would cost them to relocate from Southern California. More here.
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