SLC to Japan, Non-Stop

Delta Airlines starts its ongoing non-stop flights from Salt Lake City International Airport to Narita Japan next Wednesday June 3 2009. Don't miss out on your opportunity to participate in this historic journey. There are still seats available. Go to www.delta.com now to book your flight today. And look for next week's Economic Review article covering this important Economic Development success for Utah.

Feature Story

5th Annual Consultants Survey Provides Valuable Look at Site Selection Factors

Area Development Online, the site and facility planning Website, annually surveys site consultants about the top factors that influence site selection. EDCUtah's economic developers are always interested in the survey because site consultants are so important to Utah economic development efforts (the majority of high-level, high-paying company relocations that have come to Utah have originated through site consultants).

What Are Their Clients' Site Selection Priorities?
The consultants participating in the survey were asked to rate site selection and quality-of-life factors according to their importance for their clients. State and local incentives were said to be the number-one priority of their clients, with 96.1 percent of the respondents rating this factor as either "very important" or "important" (up from 90.9 percent last year), according to the survey, which was conducted during the summer of 2008.

EDCUtah president and CEO Jeff Edwards says companies interested in relocating or expanding do expect to be courted by local, regional and state economic development organizations and it is often the combined cooperation of such entities -- plus the incentives -- that seal the deal. "When other factors are equal, incentives can be the tie breaker; however, we have found that if incentives are the primary deal maker, the project is probably not commercially viable and may not be successful. Utah is extremely competitive in the incentives game, but we are looking for long-term projects that will tap our labor force, make an investment in the state and take advantage of all of Utah's amenities, rather than just chasing financial incentives," he adds. "Utah is almost never the highest bidder, but if the state is on the short list it has a high chance of winning the project."

The consultants responding to the survey further ranked state and local incentives, highway accessibility and availability of skilled labor as the three most important factors in driving a site selection project. Edwards says Utah stacks up well in all three of these areas and a whole lot more: "Our young, skilled labor force, excellent transportation corridors and powerful incentive programs only scratch the surface of what Utah has to offer. Add to the mix our pro-business environment, excellent quality of life and responsible government and you have an overall environment that is without equal anywhere. We can be competitive in every high value recruitment project and we don't have to mortgage the state's future to do it."

Diverse Economy and Expansion Plans
The three industries with the most expansion projects worked by site consultants in the past year were warehouse/distribution (47 percent), food/beverage manufacturing (38 percent) and financial services (26 percent). Recruitment projects coming into Utah continue to be much more diverse, thanks in part to the state's diverse economy. "Utah is more recession-proof than many other states, and consequently we are working a more diverse set of expansion and relocation projects than other states," Edwards says.

Despite the economic downturn, 32 percent of the consultants surveyed said their clients plan to open facilities in the next year, while 56 percent of the consultants said their clients planned to open new facilities in the next two years, which maps with EDCUtah's experience.

"Clearly, a lot of companies are looking around, kicking the tires and doing their due diligence, yet they have stopped short of making any serious moves because of the economy," Edwards says. "They are looking and planning, so that when the economy turns around they will be ready to take action."

EDCUtah's project load might be a harbinger of future economic growth for the state. Edwards says the project load hasn't diminished at all, despite the economy. In fact, the organization has seen an overall increase in projects and an increase in the number of mature projects.

Re-Shoring
In another interesting point from the survey, 71 percent of the consultants said their clients have slowed the process of "off shoring" facilities in the past year, while 35 percent said their clients have relocated previously off-shored facilities back to the U.S.

"I call it 're-shoring,'" says Edwards. "For whatever reason -- unsatisfactory work quality, threats to intellectual property or poor customer experiences -- we are definitely seeing businesses looking at the state that are interested in re-shoring, which bodes especially well for rural Utah, due to our competitive wages and accessible workforce."

Todd Brightwell, EDCUtah's vice president of business development, says the survey's results about location studies sheds light on the economic development deficiencies faced by many communities. The surveyed consultants ranked labor availability (39 percent), incentive closing funds (37 percent) and pre-qualified sites (37 percent) as the top three areas where communities are deficient.

"Utah is positioned well in all three areas," says Brightwell. "Our labor availability is excellent, with one of the youngest, most well educated workforces in the nation. Our SURE Sites program puts us out in front in terms of pre-qualified sites -- we have over 100 pre-qualified sites in our database, with specific details for each site in terms of available infrastructure, transportation corridors, buildings -- it's all there and readily accessible from the Internet. What's more, our incentive program is one of the best thought out, best functioning programs in existence."

While Area Development Online's annual survey provides a high-level view of site selection from the perspective of site consultants, Brightwell says EDCUtah continues to work hard in build personal relationships with the site consultants, to gather their perspective, educate them about the state and let them experience all of the amenities that make Utah such a great place to do business.

In the News

Utah wind farm nearing completion
Construction on Utah's largest wind farm is inching toward completion. (Salt Lake Tribune) (Deseret News)

Love Mayor Godfrey or hate him, he gets credit for energizing Ogden
A sleek gondola glides through the air past climbers on a gigantic refrigerated ice tower and then floats onto the verdant campus of Weber State University, where students and visitors disembark or continue the ride up rugged Malans Peak that dominates this town's eastern flank. That still-unrealized vision of Ogden is pretty heady stuff. But maybe it's not out of place if you're billing your city as the new "outdoor recreation capital of the world." (Salt Lake Tribune)

2009 International Trade and Business Conference: Global trade helps economy, experts say
Buying foreign products is being blamed for some of America's economic woes. But heavy hitters visiting Utah for a conference on international trade say tearing down barriers to global trade is the answer, not the problem. (Deseret News) (Park Record) (Clipper Today) Video: Governor Huntsman Receives "Internationalist of the Year" Award (Utah Pulse) Video: Thomas J. Donahue - President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce - delivers the keynote (Utah Pulse)

$2M for engineering may bolster Utah economy
The $2 million in one-time funds the statewide engineering initiative received to promote engineering at the higher education level could help bring Utah's economy out of its current slump. (Deseret News)

Layton looks for new businesses at Las Vegas Conference
The possible addition of Nordstroms, Sunflower and a reshaping of the Layton Hills Mall may be a few changes coming the city's way. Mayor Steve Curtis, along with Community Development Director Bill Wright and City Economic Specialist Ben Hart, returned this week from a four-day International Council Shopping Centers conference held in Las Vegas. (Standard-Examiner)

Provo school ready for Chinese immersion
Gov. Jon Huntsman's appointment as ambassador to China has the potential of creating new avenues of business and job opportunities for Utah. A new program in Utah schools is ready to fill that new potential market with hundreds of fluent Chinese speakers -- but it will take a while because most of them are still 6 years old. (Daily Herald)

Utah tourism reps put out big welcome mat
National surveys say that many Americans are thinking twice about taking summer vacations, apprehensive about what the future holds -- if the recession hasn't hit them hard already. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Huntsman family makes $3M donation to USU
Utah State University officials say the Huntsman family will fund two $1.5 million presidential chairs at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Small Businessman: Emerging Utah Solar to Benefit from Cap and Trade
This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Congress has been debating the American Clean Energy and Security Act. How are the national focus on renewable energy, the economic downturn and the possibility of a national greenhouse gas cap and trade system affecting the emerging solar power industry? (KCPW)

Investment deals grew in '08 for Utah firms
Investors from around the country as well as in Utah invested in Utah businesses more frequently in 2008 than in 2007, according to a report released Thursday. (Deseret News)

New development director is in W.V.
City manager Wayne Pyle has chosen his deputy city manager to head West Valley's community and economic development department. (Deseret News)

West Valley offers incentive of $7.2M for marketplace
Plans for an international marketplace to complement the Utah Cultural Celebration Center could be economically infeasible, according to city employees and a consultant paid to study the ethnic food market. (Deseret News)

Provo-Orem ranked best college town for job growth
If you're a student at one of Utah Valley's universities with dreams of moving away after graduation, you might want to think again. (Daily Herald)

Low bids allow UDOT to pursue more road projects
Unexpectedly low bids from road builders have allowed the state of Utah to add nine projects to its list of recipients for federal stimulus dollars. (Salt Lake Tribune)

UTA chugging away on FrontLines 2015
The TRAX line to Salt Lake City International Airport is about 15 percent complete, according to Utah Transit Authority general manager John Inglish. (Deseret News)

Farmington solicits for its first hotel
City officials eager to attract a hotel to the community are willing to take the risk of setting a precedent to make a local project happen later this year. (Standard-Examiner)

Boyer and Ivory 'giants' in Salt Lake City
Ellis Ivory and Roger Boyer produced thriving businesses that left a legacy on Utah development despite wars and changing economic times, and they stood proudly Thursday night to receive awards honoring their commitment and hard work. (Deseret News)

WinCo Foods coming to Utah
Touting itself at the "supermarket low-price leader," Boise-based WinCo Foods is moving into the state. WinCo is planning to build three stores in the state, including one in West Valley City. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Calendar

May 27
EDCUtah Board meeting (Sheraton Salt Lake City)

May 17-20
ICSC (Las Vegas)

May 18-21
SAMPE (Baltimore)

May 18-21
BIO (Atlanta)

June 3
"Future of Fuels" Lunch with Leo Science Lecture, noon to 1:30 pm at the Salt Lake City Public Library Main Branch, 210 East 400 South - 4th floor. To register or more details, visit www.theleonardo.org/lunch or call 801-531-9800.

June 11
Quarterly Investor Update Meeting and Reception, 4-6 p.m. {Details here}

June 16
New Investor Orientation (EDCUtah)

June 17
Executive Committee Meeting (EDCUtah)

July 20
OIA Thought Leader (TBD)

July 21-24
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market (SL Convention Center)

August 10-13
AUVSI (Washington, D.C.)

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The EDCUTAH Economic Review is a weekly publication of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. It is distributed to EDCUTAH partners and selected other government and civic organizations interested in Utah's economic development.

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