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FEATURE STORY

Industry Events and Trade Shows Crucial to EDCUTAH Marketing Efforts

In pursuit of our mission to create quality jobs and increase capital investment in the state, EDCUTAH annually hosts or participates in a schedule of industry shows and events. Three of the events, BIO 2006, SAMPE and CoreNet, are crucial to our marketing efforts in the cluster industries targeted by the Governor's Office of Economic Development. Today's issue of the Economic Review highlights this year's events and our objectives for each.

"What's Up Down South?" Economic Summit
January had EDCUTAH in St. George, where we helped sponsor the "What's Up Down South?" economic summit, produced by the Washington County Economic Development Council. EDCUTAH co-sponsors the event because we feel it important to support southern Utah's economic development efforts, and to maintain and strengthen our relationships with the communities and people involved in southern Utah's growth. The evening before the summit we hosted an open house, bringing people together to create awareness about EDCUTAH, develop and strengthen relationships, and establish a dialogue about the economic development needs and concerns in the region.

Winter Site Selector Event
In February EDCUTAH hosted a Site Selector event at Deer Valley, bringing a number of site selectors to Utah for a weekend of meetings, tours and activities, allowing them to experience our quality of life, and to develop and strengthen our relationships with them. This is an event EDCUTAH holds twice yearly, with the objective being to help these "people of influence" view Utah as a positive, business-friendly location. (We have found that experiencing Utah helps dispel many of the myths and misconceptions site selectors and key business decision-makers may have about the state.) During the event, we also conducted focus groups to get their opinions and perceptions about doing business in Utah.

Big Business Technology Exposition
EDCUTAH exhibited at the Big Business Technology Exposition in Utah County in March. Our objective at the show was to create business community awareness of who we are and what we do. (We also use this as an opportunity to recruit investors and discuss potential expansion needs.)

April Shows
In April and May we'll have booths at the Utah League of Cities and Towns Spring Convention in St. George, the BIO 2006 show in Chicago, and the CoreNet Spring Global Summit in Philadelphia.

Utah League of Cities and Towns Spring Convention
Through our booth at the Utah League of Cities and Towns Spring Convention, we hope to achieve three objectives: (1) create awareness about EDCUTAH among Utah's elected officials; (2) recruit municipalities to join our organization as investors; and (3) listen to and discuss the economic development needs and interests of communities throughout the state.

BIO 2006
EDCUTAH has produced a 20x30 booth for the BIO 2006 show next week in Chicago to highlight Utah's vibrant Life Sciences industry and some of the state's successful companies. (Click here for more details.) Exhibitors for the Utah Pavilion include the University of Utah Technology Commercialization Office; Utah State University; Huntsman Cancer Institute; LineaGen; Daw Tech; Clinical Genetics Institute at Intermountain Health Care; Prolexys Pharmaceuticals; Sorenson Genomics; Utah Life Sciences Association; EDCUTAH; and the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED). Booth sponsors include Ballard Spahr; EDCUTAH; the State of Utah; IHC; Oracle Corp.; vSpring; University of Utah; Utah State University; and Zions Bank.

Our BIO 2006 objectives include: (1) creating a national presence for Utah's Lifes Science industry; (2) positioning Utah as a destination for research teams, investors and biotechnology partners; and (3) showcase the high quality work being done here. The Utah Pavilion provides an excellent, low-cost way for Utah organizations to participate in BIO 2006 and seek out business opportunities.

CoreNet Spring Global Summit
EDCUTAH's booth at the CoreNet Spring Global Summit provides an excellent opportunity to showcase Utah as a prime location for companies considering expansion or relocation. Site selectors, the majority of CoreNet's attendees, are one of our key audiences and the gatekeepers to most of the companies in expansion/relocation mode. We have two main objectives for this show: (1) create awareness about what Utah has to offer; and (2) develop and strengthen our relationships with the site selector audience-when they have expansion/relocation clients, we want them to feel comfortable in calling us.

May Shows
In May EDCUTAH is participating in the SAMPE 2006 show in Long Beach, Calif., the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Business-to-Business Expo and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Spring Convention.

SAMPE 2006
The SAMPE 2006 show is a prime opportunity to promote Utah as a leader in advanced composite materials. The Utah booth, co-sponsored by GOED and EDCUTAH, includes ATK Space Systems, Adam Aircraft, HyPerComp Engineering, GOODE Ski Technologies, Contour Composites, University of Utah, Kemp Development and the Ogden-Weber ATC. Objectives for the show include: (1) promoting Utah as a leader in advanced composite materials; (2) promoting our expertise across the supply chain; (3) creating opportunities for Utah companies; and (4) recruiting companies that could fill critical gaps in the supply chain.

Business to Business Expo
During the same week as the SAMPE show, EDCUTAH is exhibiting at the Salt Lake Chamber Business to Business Expo, where we hope to increase business community awareness regarding EDCUTAH and the services we provide, recruit private investors, and listen to and discuss the expansion needs of the business community.

International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Spring Convention
Later in May, EDCUTAH (along with approximately 20 statewide municipalities) is exhibiting at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Spring Convention, a show with as many as 40,000 attendees and where most of the major retail development deals are discussed and negotiated. Our main objectives for the ICSC convention are to create a powerful, unified, presence for Utah as a destination for retail, and provide participating municipalities with a low-cost opportunity to leverage the Utah message and promote retail opportunities in their communities. One of the key elements of our efforts at this show involves distribution of the Utah Retail Property Book, in which participating cities are able to promote specific retail opportunities and availability within their communities.

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market
In August EDCUTAH will participate with the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau in the annual Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, as Utah is becoming a center for outdoor product manufacturing. Our objectives are to promote Utah as a place for outdoor products companies to expand or relocate, and to create relationships with the companies attending and exhibiting at the show. The outdoor products and recreation segment is another part of the cluster strategy.

Utah League of Cities and Towns Fall Convention
In September EDCUTAH will be part of the Utah League of Cities and Towns Fall Convention in Salt Lake City. Here again we hope to create awareness about EDCUTAH among Utah's elected officials, recruit municipal investors, and create a forum to hear and discuss the economic development needs and interests of Utah's municipalities.

Fall Site Selector Event
Fall is a great time to host another Site Selector event, which we expect to occur in late September. Details are still in process, however, we expect a full weekend of activities, tours and focus groups where we hope to develop and strengthen our relationships with participating site selectors.

CoreNet Fall Global Summit
EDCUTAH wraps up its show year in November with the CoreNet Fall Global Summit, where we plan to capitalize on the large attendance of site selectors, showcasing Utah as a prime location for companies considering expansion or relocation.

EDCUTAH is very interested in adding partners for its 2007 show schedule. If your company or municipality would like to participate in an event, please contact Kim Lofgreen at EDCUTAH.

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