May 23, 2006

  

A Publication of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah

CEO Jeff Edwards

PRESIDENT'S  

MESSAGE

Utah's Leadership in the Composites Industry Showcased at SAMPE


One of Utah's best-kept secrets is its role as a leader in the composites and advanced materials industry, at least to those outside of this cluster. In order to bring this fact more to light, EDCUTAH and GOED recently sponsored a booth at the annual SAMPE trade show, allowing the state and nine partner organizations to showcase the breadth of Utah's role in this critical and ever-emerging industry. Today's feature discusses the takeaways from the show and the benefits we'll soon appreciate.

Today's Economic Review also includes links to many of the ED-related news stories from the past week. As always, if you have comments, suggestions or topics you'd like to see in the Economic Review, please contact us by clicking the "Comments" button on the bottom of this page.

Enjoy!

Jeff Edwards
Jeff Edwards
President and CEO

FEATURE STORY

Utah Showcases Composites Industry Leadership at SAMPE Symposium

EDCUTAH rounded out its spring show schedule with a booth at the SAMPE symposium May 2-4, in Long Beach, CA. Sponsored by the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), the symposium showcased the latest technology, applications and materials for the advanced manufacturing marketplace.

Jeff Edwards, Kim Lofgreen, Dave Scott, and Jim Hatch gather at Utah's booth at the SAMPE Symposium.

Utah is one of the nation's leading composite manufacturing states, and with an estimated 5,000 attendees and 231 exhibitors, SAMPE provided an excellent backdrop for Utah to showcase its position as a pioneer and world-class leader in the development of technologies in the advanced composite materials industry, according to Dr. Greg Jones, state science advisor and director of the Clusters Initiative in the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "Utah's composites industry has now come together and is taking the step forward to demonstrate its international leadership."

Jones says Utah offers an ideal environment for composite-related business. Utah has developed a complete infrastructure supporting the advanced composites industry, including raw materials, engineering capability, an excellent workforce, manufacturing capability, sales experts, machine design, manufacturing support and general support.

"Here in Utah we have amazing capabilities that represent almost every element of the supply-chain in the field of advanced composites. This provides us a golden opportunity to grow an industry that will provide thousands of high-wage, sustainable jobs over the next couple of years," Jones says. "From R&D to engineering to production, Utah is uniquely positioned with its depth of companies and expertise as a leading center in today's world composites markets."

Jeff Edwards, president and CEO of EDCUTAH, says Utah enjoys excellent synergy amongst its composites companies, and the future of the composites industry looks bright as government and industry demand continues to grow.

Utah companies have always been highly innovative in their use of composites, says Edwards. From the pioneering work of Hercules Powder Company, which developed the first facility in Utah to produce carbon fiber (now one of the three largest manufacturers of carbon fiber in the U.S.), to ATK Thiokol's use of carbon fiber for rocket motors and other aerospace parts, to Adam Aircraft's use of composite materials for its line of very light jets, to high performance carbon fiber snow skis, water skis and ski poles manufactured by GOODE Ski Technologies, tremendous breakthroughs in the advanced composites industry have and continue to occur here-and these are but a few of the host Utah companies involved in the composites industry.

"Utah companies and higher educational institutions are dedicated to the growth and development of this industry," Edwards says. "As the state builds upon its position as the leader in the composites industry, more companies in this growing technology sector will choose Utah as the ideal place for expansion or relocation, creating new capital investment and quality jobs for Utah residents."

Exhibitors represented at Utah's SAMPE booth included:

Popular "Technology @ Breakfast" Schedules Event for Friday, May 26
 

The governments' initiatives in defense and homeland security are providing many new and exciting opportunities for business growth in the state of Utah. Mission workload expansion at both Hill Air Force Base and Dugway Proving Ground are bringing the possibility of new contracts for services in the hundreds of millions of dollars to Utah companies of all types. The Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) will be sponsoring a Tech@Breakfast panel on Friday, May 26th at the Wells Fargo Building 23rd Floor Event Center. Panelists will include both large and small Utah defense contractors as well as representatives from military installations. Specific attention will be directed at opportunities for small and medium size Utah companies.

(Read more) (Click here to register)
 

Glass manufacturer Viracon breaks ground near St. George.

Viracon Breaks Ground for New Plant


Viracon, the industry's leading architectural glass fabricator, officially began construction of its new St. George facility Tuesday with a groundbreaking ceremony. (Spectrum)
 

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IN THE NEWS

Economic Development Headlines

3 Financial Incentives Get Approval

- The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board approved three financial incentives on Friday. (Morning News) (SL Tribune)

Little Cities Look for Big Businesses

- In the fight between a little fish and a big fish, the big fish usually wins. In the pond of commercial development, often the big city wins. For little cities bordering bigger ones, getting commercial development -- and the sales tax revenue it brings -- can be difficult. (Daily Herald)

Development Board is Changing Some Policies

- The Governor's Office of Economic Development will alter some policies and procedures to ensure that the GOED board has plenty of information before voting on whether to give companies state funds for expansions or relocations. (Morning News)

Woods Cross Retail Sales See Giant Jump

- Woods Cross merchants should be smiling broadly, these days. Retail sales, there, have increased a whopping 51 percent over the past five years. Figures released recently by Commerce CRG, which has offices in Clearfield, show retail sales there jumped 51.1 percent between 2000 and 2005. (Clipper)

Utah Doing Great: The State Faces Few Economic Risks, New Workforce Report Says

- Utah's economy is about as good as it gets. With 47,900 new jobs created in the 12 months ended April 30, and April's unemployment rate at 3.5 percent, Utah faces few economic risks, according to a report released Tuesday by the state Department of Workforce Services. (Morning News) (SL Tribune) (Daily Herald)

Davis County Nearing 'Full Employment'

- At 3.4 percent, the unemployment situation in Davis County has declined to the point that, reported Mark Knold, senior economist for the Department of Workforce Services, it's close to what would be considered "full employment." (Clipper)

Rural Utah Left Behind in Tech Surge

- Is everything possible being done to grow the technology industry in rural Utah? Maybe not, said members of the Governor's Office of Economic Development board during its monthly meeting on Friday. (Utah Business Magazine)

Huntsman Considers Leading a Trade Mission to Israel

- Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday he is considering leading a trade mission to Israel, after being invited by Israel's ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon. (Morning News) (SL Tribune)

Ogden Hosts Utah Tourism Leaders

- The city's ongoing efforts to become an international travel destination provide a fitting introduction to a gathering of Utah tourism industry officials in Ogden. (Standard-Examiner)  (Morning News here and here)

$800,000 Lured Door Company

- A cliché that coaches like to use when their teams win is "our players wanted it more" than the other team. The same thing might be said about Tooele's Redevelopment Agency (RDA) doing all the right things to entice Conestoga Wood Specialties, Inc. to build a manufacturing plant at Utah Industrial Depot (UID). (Transcript)

Ex-councilman to Woo New Businesses

- After working part time for four years as an elected city councilman, Doug Redmond will soon be back working full time for Tooele as its economic development specialist. (Transcript)

Developer Plans Specialty Stores to Join 300 West Corridor

- Shoppers are flocking to the big-box stores that have settled along the 300 West corridor between downtown Salt Lake City and 2100 South. (SL Tribune)

Asian-Owned Firms Growing Fast in Utah

- As president of the Utah Asian Chamber of Commerce, Eunice Jones isn't surprised to hear the number of Asian-owned businesses in the state is growing fast. (Morning News) (SL Tribune)

Young Urges Universities, Businesses to Collaborate

- University of Utah President Michael Young on Wednesday called on universities and the business community to collaborate on advancing devices and technology "out in the marketplace where they really do transform and change people's lives." (Morning News)

Number of Oil, Gas Permits in Utah Soars

- The number of new oil and natural gas well permits issued in Utah is soaring. For the first three months of 2006, the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining handed out 513 permits, a 72 percent increase over 298 applications granted in the first quarter of 2005. (Morning News)

Revving-Up Rural Economies

- Rural Utah communities are often overlooked when it comes to economic development. Insufficient power and gas service, lack of airport access and even lagging education levels are big deterrents for business. (KPCW Radio)

Utah's Tech Industry: Help Wanted

- Utah's technology leaders highlighted the difficulty of hiring qualified and experienced high-tech workers in an economy that is expanding rapidly in a Utah Business roundtable discussion Tuesday. Utah's tech industry grew more than 7 percent last year, and the demand for workers has become acute with the state's unemployment rate sitting at a low 3.5 percent. (Utah Business Magazine)

Utah Resorts Smash Skier Visits Record for Third Consecutive Year

- Utah's ski industry is celebrating its third consecutive record-breaking year for skier visits. With at least two weekends of skiing remaining at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, the current estimate places Utah skier days at 4,045,030 during the 2005-06 winter season. (Utah Business Magazine) (Morning News) (Daily Herald) (SL Tribune)

Utah's Top 104 Venture Entrepreneurs Chosen by vSpring

- Salt Lake-based vSpring Capital recently announced its 2006 list of the vSpring Capital Top 100 Venture Entrepreneurs, also known as the v100. (Morning News)
 

CALENDAR

May 21-24: ICSC Spring Convention (Las Vegas)

May 24:  Zions Bank International Trade and Business Conference, Salt Lake City Grand America Hotel (Click here for information/registration)

May 25:  Salt Lake Chamber 'Business After Hours'

June 8:  EDCUTAH Quarterly Update (click here to RSVP)

June 23: Non-Profit Organization Volunteer Fair at the Gateway

August 9:  EDCUTAH Annual Meeting