April 5, 2007

  

A Publication of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah

FEATURE

Seven Companies with Operations
in Utah Named ‘Best in Class’


Seven companies with operations in Utah, including Salt Lake City based Questar Corporation, have been named among BusinessWeek’s “50 Best Performing Companies.” The rankings represent BusinessWeek’s selection of the “best in class” from each of the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500.

UPS, another EDCUtah member, is ranked 33rd overall, while EDCUtah recruits, Nucor (No. 4), Goldman Sachs (No. 9), Varian Medical Systems (No. 14), Allegheny Technologies (No. 26) and Oracle (No. 27), were also listed.

“Utah continues to attract and retain the best of the best,” says Jeff Edwards, president and CEO of EDCUtah. “Companies driven by a desire for excellence recognize not only Utah’s great location, unique beauty and unparalleled quality of life, but also the unmatched quality of our workforce.”

Questar Corporation CEO and Chairman of the Board, Keith Rattie, credits his employees for the company’s success. “I’ve now had the privilege to serve with Questar for the past five years. Simply put, this is the finest organization I’ve ever worked with,” says Rattie. “Our people keep the gas flowing when it’s minus 30 degrees in the winter or 110 degrees in the summer. They find and fix problems everyday – problems that the public never has to hear about.”

This year’s 50 best performing companies are “rewriting the rules in their industries,” according to BusinessWeek. In achieving this distinction, these companies are deemed “the agitators, the pioneers and game-changers that are leading the way in the 21st Century.”

R&O Construction Recognized
for Safe Construction


Last week at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Utah convention in Salt Lake City, R&O Construction was presented with the "Achievement of Safety Excellence" award. The award recognizes companies who achieve safety statistics 25% below the national average, and zero loss time (man hours worked without lost time incidents). Cesar Calvillo, R&O Construction's safety director, accepted the award.

Safety is a top priority at R&O Construction, and the company maintains one of the lowest Experience Modification Rating (EMR) in the industry. The EMR indicates the safety rating given to a company by Worker's Compensation. R& O's .57 is far below the national average which is 1.0.

Ragula Bhaskar Joins GOED Board


Ragula Bhaskar, the president and CEO of FatPipe Networks, is the newest member of the GOED Executive Board. As one of the 2006 recipients of Connect Magazine’s “25 People Who Most Influenced Business in Utah,” GOED Executive Director Jason Perry says “Bhaskar’s unique experience will add to the economic expertise on the GOED Board."

Bhaskar co-founded FatPipe with Sanchaita Datta, his wife and the chief technical officer of the company, in 1990. Since then, FatPipe has been recognized by many sources as one of the fastest growing private companies in the state and in the nation. Inc. 500 ranked it as the 189th fastest growing private company in the U.S. in 2004, and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 ranked it as the 381st fastest growing company in North America in 2006. FatPipe’s unique technology provides businesses and government entities access to highly redundant, reliable and high-speed Internet/wider area networks (WANs) and is used to support mission critical applications.

Real Estate Report: Industrial Market 'Unhealthy', Downtown Class 'A' Space Near Zero, Urban is 'Cool'


Source: Commerce CRG's latest real estate report

Industrial Highlights

  1. The market could be regarded as "unhealthy" because no new buildings have been built except in the big box market. In Q1 there was a decrease in vacancy when compared with the 4th quarter of 2006. Every segment had a decline and the big box sector had the largest drop. This has been a normal trend for the last three years.

  2. When clients want space, their choices are in the extremes: Either what is called "slush and mud" (run down) or "Taj Mahal" (overly expensive and too ornate for client needs). Current clients aren't really interested in either. Thus, when vacancy is at 4% of the market, it really means zero.

Office Highlights

  1. Salt Lake County hasn't seen such low vacancies since 2000. Less than one-tenth of all downtown office space is vacant, almost exclusively in class B & C.

  2. With downtown class A vacancies at nearly zero, agents are looking at the sublease market or simply waiting for new space to come online.

  3. Relief is in sight by summer when the Walker Center opens after its remodel and is expected to be re-classified as Class A office space. Why is Class A space in such demand? The growth of large and stable firms (example: law firms). Also, Salt Lake City is "coming of age" and rising to a new level of sophistication. Urban is "cool" and more housing is available. People are moving downtown for cultural reasons as well as gas & transportation savings. Utah is on the "hit list" for companies looking at Salt Lake City for branch offices or relocations.

  4. The good news: In all of Salt Lake County, 1.5 million square feet of class A office space, almost all of it in the suburbs, will come online this year. A total 45% of it is already pre-leased.

  5. Salt Lake's Class A office lease rates are on a par with similar cities that we compete with, such as Denver and Phoenix.

CALENDAR

April 11:

EDCUTAH Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House

April 12-13:

Utah League of Cities and Towns Conference (St. George)

April 29-May 2:

CoreNet (Denver)

May 6-9:

BIO 2007, Boston

June 20:

EDCUTAH Golf Tournament

EDCUTAH PARTNERS


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IN THE NEWS

Economic Development Headlines

Rossignol eager to show off Utah

- To commemorate the company's 100th birthday, Rossignol Ski Co. is showing off its new North American home in Utah. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah business index slips

- Utahs overall business conditions slipped for a second month in March but nonetheless remained "healthy," according to a gauge produced by Creighton University. The Utah Business Conditions Index, based on a supply of managers and business leaders, fell to 58.5 last month, down from 64.4 in February and 86.8 in January. (Morning News)    

Technology Industry is Hot Again in Utah

- Six years ago, being a Utah-based technology company was an uphill battle, with hundreds of companies moving out of the state and hundreds more executives following, according to Richard Nelson, president and CEO of the Utah Technology Council. Today, Utah ranks No. 12th in the nation in transforming itself from an "old industrial economic model" to an economy centered in the creation and retention of high value-added, high-wage jobs, according to a 2007 Kauffman Foundation report.
(Morning News)

Planners Back Beaver Resort Project

- It's big. It's plush. It's divisive. And it's one step closer to being built. The Beaver County Planning Commission has voted to recommend approval of a development agreement for the proposed Mount Holly Club, which plans to plop hundreds of multimillion-dollar homes, along with an 18-hole golf course, on thousands of acres at a now-defunct ski resort in southwestern Utah. (SL Tribune here and here)

Utah Businesses Worry About Employee Pool

- Finding qualified employees is the No. 1 concern of Utah business leaders, according to a new survey by Dan Jones & Associates. The survey, commissioned by Zions Bank for its Utah Quarterly Economic Forecast, included 320 respondents in high-ranking positions at businesses statewide in January and February. (Morning News)

Canadian Company Buys SLC Ad Agency as Entry to U.S. Market

- Rare Method Interactive Corp., the second fastest-growing company in Alberta, Canada, will set up its U.S. base in Utah following its acquisition of Salt Lake City-based Blain Olsen White Gurr Advertising (BOWG), marking its entrance into the United States advertising market. (The Enterprise)

County Looks Westward for Development Opportunities

- In recent years, county economic development planners have focused their efforts primarily on Tooele Valley. That's about to change, however, as county leaders launch a new initiative to promote business development to the west and south of the valley. (Tooele Transcript Bulletin)

New On-Site, Online Auction Firm Launches Operations in Sandy

- Bidco, an online and onsite membership based auction services company selling everything from ATVs to computers, is preparing to open its first warehouse/showroom in Sandy next month. (The Enterprise)

Nation's Largest Harley Dealership Rising in Lindon

- One of the largest Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealerships in the Intermountain West is being built in Lindon and will feature 1,000 new motorcycles. (The Enterprise)

River Project Spawns Worries

- Michael Moyal and Balwinder Singh Johal are in a pinch. In early November, they bought the Ogden River Inn, a run-down motel - it was known as a flop house for drug dealers - and its long-vacant restaurant building perched above the Ogden River. (SL Tribune)

Justice Building Targeted for Lien

- A federal agency plans to place a lien on Ogden's new Justice Court building as a backup to a $2 million loan for the city's new high-adventure recreation center. But Dwight Peterson, director of the Utah office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said HUD has begun doing the same thing in cities and towns across the country. (SL Tribune)

RSL: Controversial Stadium Goes Forward

- After negotiating for more than a year to win public funding, Real Salt Lake was expected last week to begin preparing its 29-acre site in Sandy for a soccer stadium. (SL Tribune here and here)

Senator Bob Bennett and Utah Rural Development Council To Host Rural Business Conference In Logan

- Senator Bob Bennett, in conjunction with the Utah Rural Development Council, will host the Sixth Annual Rural Business Conference this year at Utah State University in Logan on May 30 and 31. (Bennett) 

Main St. to Get European Touch

- Downtown Main Street is one step closer to becoming a bit more European. (Clipper Today)

Redevelopment Worries Sugar House

- Sugar House fans on Tuesday begged the Salt Lake City Council to save their eclectic neighborhood from a development they worry will bring a dulling down of a vibrant community. (Morning News) (KCPW) (SL Tribune)

California Developer Eyeing North Main Street for Commercial Project

-  A California developer purchased about 30 acres of land on the west side of Tooele's Main Street near 950 North recently for a major commercial development that could include a big-box anchor tenant. (Tooele Transcript Bulletin)

Legislators Plan China Trade Visit

- Not to be outdone by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Utah's legislators are planning their own trip to China. Lawmakers approved a nine-day trip to the Liaoning Province to meet with government and business leaders. House Majority Leader Dave Clark and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble will lead the 12-person delegation. (SL Tribune) 

Taxpayers to Foot Bill for Legislative Trip to China

- Legislative leaders are rushing to organize a trip to China in May or June. They say the visit will foster trade and government relations, and yesterday the Legislative Management Committee assigned Republican majority leaders from the House and Senate to lead the delegation. (KCPW) (SL Tribune)

Technology Council’s First Year a Success

- If the state’s top technology leaders are to be believed, Utah has the greatest technology sector in the nation. (Utah Business Magazine)