November 8, 2005

A Publication of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, edcUTAH.org

 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

 Interest in Utah is Booming
First, I trust you found the first edition of EDCUTAH’s Economic Review useful and informative. Our objective is to make this weekly electronic newsletter your main source of updated economic development issues in the news and facing the state of Utah. If you have comments or topics you’d like to see, please send your comments by clicking the “Comments” button on the bottom of this page.

In today’s edition, we look at why the interest level in Utah is currently so high. The feature story outlines EDCUTAH’s recent activity and project load, considerably up from previous years. Regardless of its cause, this trend bodes extremely well for each region of the state.

In addition, we’ve collected a few ED-relevant articles you may be interested in reading, a calendar of events and the informative, if not entertaining ‘Spotlight,’ this week featuring yours truly.
Enjoy!

FEATURE STORY

Banner Year for EDCUTAH


Fiscal year 2005 proved to be a boomer for EDCUTAH and the state, with a 274% increase in new jobs created through economic development efforts, as compared to 2004 results.

A total of 4,190 new jobs were created during EDCUTAH’s fiscal year 2005, which ended in July, as compared to 1,530 new jobs created in 2004. Activity for fiscal year 2006 is off to a dynamic start as well, with 1,189 new jobs created year-to-date, four announcements, three pending announcements and 24 site visits. EDCUTAH is currently courting 52 hot and 50 warm projects.

Recent EDCUTAH wins included the relocation of Rossignol’s North American headquarters from Vermont to Park City. That relocation will bring 100 jobs to the Park City office and another 30 jobs at Rossignol’s 100,000 sq. ft. distribution facility in the Salt Lake Valley.

In August, Utah-based Varian Medical Systems, a manufacturer of digital x-ray equipment, completed its 70,000 sq. ft. expansion, with an additional 250 high tech jobs created.

In October KraftMaid Cabinetry broke ground on its $106 million, 840,000 sq. manufacturing facilities in West Jordan. Four KraftMaid supplier relocations are in progress as well, which will add additional jobs in packaging, building materials, and glass manufacturing.

Next Thursday, a private technical college will break ground for  its satellite Utah campus, which will include the relocation of 100 professors and requires a 120,000 sq. ft. build to suit in South Jordan.

EDCUTAH is tracking 65 hot national projects.

EDCUTAH isn’t entirely focused on out-of-state companies looking to relocate, however. Keeping businesses and jobs in Utah captures a large part of our efforts. For example, EDCUTAH worked closely with government leaders and Honeyville Grain in Box Elder County to find a new site for the company and keep its 35 jobs from moving to Idaho.

Yellow Freight was another win for retention. EDCUTAH worked closely with Salt Lake City officials to expedite permitting as Yellow Freight purchased USF and kept its operations local. The activity retained 80 jobs while adding another 170.

The expansion of a medical manufacturing company in Weber County could add more than a 1,000 jobs, provided the remaining hurdles can be overcome.

It hasn’t all been wins for EDCUTAH, however. There have been a few losses along the way, including a distribution company that took its 100 jobs south to Las Vegas, citing “cultural issues,” and an IT company with 500 jobs that cancelled its relocation last January. Then there was the call center operation that dropped Utah due to a lack of incentives for $8-$10/hr jobs.

Nonetheless, the new EDTIF Incentive (HB11) and the Industrial Assistance Fund have greatly enhanced Utah’s competitiveness. In September, EDCUTAH completed a contract with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, under which EDCUTAH assumes all business recruiting for the state.

Statewide economic development is gaining strength, supported by the incentives, contract, and improved communication between EDCUTAH and public entities. The volume of quality projects is expected to remain high with Utah’s increased competitiveness and the expanding investment in statewide economic development.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Name: Jeff Edwards

Occupation/Company:  President & CEO, EDCUtah

Education:  Bachelor of Arts, University of Utah. Major: Chemistry; Minor: Secondary Education

Growing up:  Salt Lake area, Olympus High School

Family:  Married with 4 children, ranging in age from 16 – 26; 1 at Salt Lake Community College, 1 at Utah State University, 1 serving LDS mission in Mexico, 1 at East High School in Salt Lake City.

Hobbies: Seriously addicted to photography; enjoy working in home darkroom and now digital prints. Just finished showing my black & white work at Oasis Café and before that at Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake City.

Motivations/ambitions:  I enjoy bringing people of diverse backgrounds together, learning from them and trying to find connections between them that lead to greater things.

Why economic development is important:  Good economic development serves as an accelerator for statewide business growth, both from the “outside in” and the “inside out.”

Hottest economic development issues you see:  Finding the high paying jobs that will stimulate long term growth in Utah’s economy, and sustainable employment for the next generation of Utahns.

Improvements in economic development you’d like to see:  Communities working together to improve Utah’s economy: a rising tide floats all boats.

Most embarrassing moment:  Leaving my 8-month pregnant wife in a rest stop in eastern Utah at the end of a cross-country car trip.

Proudest moment:  The third day of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, when we all realized that all of our preparation was really going to come together and it was going to be really cool for the whole world to see the games be successful in Utah, after the tragedy of 9/11 just 6 months before.

Favorite book:  Biography of John Adams by David McCullough. Powerful glimpse into another time and remarkable men and women that started our country.

Favorite mentor:  Mary Neiman, English teacher at Olympus High School, who taught me the value of the well-written English sentence.

A small insight into my psyche:  My management style is benevolent dictatorship.

IN THE NEWS

Business Headlines from the Past Week

Business Conditions Remain Healthy

- Utah's business conditions slipped a bit in October but remained "healthy," says a D-News/AP story, covering the monthly Business Conditions Index report by Creighton University in Nebraska. Utah’s Business Conditions Index for October was 56.5, down from 66.5 in September. (D-News) or (See the Creighton report here)

Visa Problems Hamper Recruitment of Qualified Employees

- Utah isn’t immune to convoluted immigration process, which threatens America’s competitive edge. (D-News)

Novell Slashes 600 Jobs, 200 in Provo

- Novell Inc. laid off about 200 workers in Provo last Wednesday as part of an overall restructuring the company believes will save it more than $110 million annually. (D-News), (KSL)

State Receives $87M from DOI

- Utah receives more than $87.4 million as part of its share of federal revenues collected by Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service. (Oil Online), (Denver Business Journal)

Proposed Retail Project Would be the Largest

- “Largest retail destination in the Intermountain West...” If built, the Gateway-like project south of Point of the Mountain could bring 3,000 jobs. (D-News), (SL Trib), (Press Release)

CEOs Cite Benefits of Locating in Utah

- Utah CEOs cite entrepreneurial atmosphere, high ethics, diverse foreign language experience, and a vast, talented workforce as key reasons to locate their technology companies here. (prnewswire)

A Dollop of Dollars for Tourism Campaigns

- Twenty promotional campaigns around the state, from Logan in the north to Wayne County in the south, will share $790,023 in state funding to try to attract more out-of-state tourists. (SL Trib)

Utah Near Bottom for Dollars Spent by Travelers

- Utah ranked 36th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of dollars spent by travelers, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Travel Industry Association of America. (SL Trib), (KUTV)

Ag Money for Utah

- Utah to Receive Windfall of Fed Cash for Ag Projects
(SL Trib)

Legacy Parkway

- Time is now: Lane Beattie in SL Trib op-ed. (more)
- Approve Compromise: Duane Cardall in KSL editorial. (more)

Development Boom Causes Concrete Shortage

- For a booming state, there is not enough concrete to go around. (KUTV)

‘Daybreak on Steroids’

- Massive Expansion in West Salt Lake County (more)

Fitness Chain to Open Center in S. Jordan

- Life Time Fitness Inc. on Friday announced plans to open its first center in Utah. (press release)

Sallie Mae Receives Utah Industrial Bank Approval

- “Sallie Mae” (SLM Corporation) Secures Utah Industrial Bank Charter (prnewswire)

Davis County Firms Among Utah’s 100 Fastest Growing

- Davis County-based businesses were numbered among “Utah’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies” at 11th annual banquet. Ranking as Utah’s fastest-growing company was The LoveSac Corp., while natural gas-focused energy company, Questar, was named the state’s top revenue growth company. (more)

Utah increasingly dependent on foreign oil

- Utah oil production increased to 14.8 million barrels in 2004, from 13.1 million barrels in 2003, but that’s not enough to meet demand, according to the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research. (D-News)

CALENDAR

Nov. 7-9

EDCUTAH Rural Tour #2

Nov. 10

Project Blue Groundbreaking Ceremony (South Jordan)--for private technical college satellite campus

Nov. 16

EDCUTAH New Investor Orientation (EDCU Offices)

Nov. 17

EDCUTAH Board of Trustees Meeting

Dec. 15

EDCUTAH Holiday Open House (EDCUTAH Offices)

Feb. 10-12

EDCUTAH Site Consultant Event (Park City)

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