{"id":13603,"date":"2012-09-11T14:08:20","date_gmt":"2012-09-11T18:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2012\/09\/edc-warren-county-2012-annual-meeting.html"},"modified":"2017-11-08T11:12:10","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T16:12:10","slug":"edc-warren-county-2012-annual-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2012\/09\/edc-warren-county-2012-annual-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"EDC Warren County 2012 Annual Meeting Hears Deloitte Site Selection Professional"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EDC Warren County President Vicki Pratt Gerbino provided highlights of her first year with EDC, including the business plan competition for a building site.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By Peter Miller<\/p>\n

Approximately 200 business and community leaders gathered at the Great Escape Lodge on May 12 to get a behind-the scenes perspective on how the competion for business investment really works today.<\/p>\n

\nFeatured speaker was Darin Buelow, principal and national practice leader at Deloitte Consulting, who has spent two decades helping organizations in their efforts to effectively deploy people, facilities and equipment – selecting sites for new investment.\n<\/div>\n

The event got underway as WNYT\/13 News Anchor Jim Kambrich welcomed the dignitaries and introduced Michael Borgos, chair of EDC’s Board of Directors. Borgos explained that substantial changes have been made in the EDC organization over the past year. The board now operates through focused, task-oriented working committees that include some of the most experienced and talented EDC investors in the region. These committees are already having considerable success at spreading the word that Warren County is a great place to invest.<\/p>\n

Borgos repeated a theme that is becoming more common throughout Tech Valley lately: “All of us act as economic developers, and we must reach out to our individual spheres of influence to promote economic development in our region, in the form of recruitment, retention and expansion.” He explained that EDC is a public-private partnership that works to make things happen – to position this region to be ready to meet the needs of employers looking to expand or relocate here. He described the missions and activities of each of the EDC committees in support of this goal. And he emphasized that these committees are intentionally open to anyone with interest and expertise in any of the committee areas.<\/p>\n

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\n\"pg5-edc-darin\n<\/div>\n
Site selection expert, Darin Buelow of Deloitte Consulting, explained the critical elements involved in competing for investment dollars.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Omar Usmani, executive partner of Aeon Nexus Corporation, spoke, noting that it has been two years since he moved his organization from Northern Virginia to Glens Falls, NY. That big move started with one meeting with EDC, Usmani explained. “There were no jobs here in our IT field before we came to town,” he added, “and I’d like to commend Vicki Pratt Gerbino for her individual contributions to EDC in the past year, but more importantly, for her idea of collaboration with all the counties in our region, and for her conviction that a rising tide raises all boats.” Usmani has donated first-floor space on Glen Street for the combined offices of EDC and Washington County LDC.<\/p>\n

Vicki Pratt Gerbino has now been president of EDC Warren County for one year, and she provided a snapshot of the past twelve months, launching many projects, including: a new customer contact program; a new co-location, open-for-business program; a partner advertising initiative; local and national outreach programs. “Economic development is a team sport,” Gerbino said, “and I am part of a great team,” including outstanding business leaders and dedicated elected officials, an energetic, committed board, and an extremely capable staff.<\/p>\n

“Through our new customer contact program, EDC has met with 60 decision-makers at our larger employers to understand their challenges and to develop solutions that will impact their profitability and employment opportunities. We have 13 active projects in the pipeline right now,” she said, “and I want to get them closed.” EDC has added a national outreach and marketing component that includes face-to-face meetings with corporate real estate executives and site selection consultants.<\/p>\n

“We’ve partnered with Washington County LDC to advertise available commercial and industrial sites; we’ve partnered with the Center for Economic Growth, with National Grid, and with the New York State Economic Development Council to promote our region in national forums,” Gerbino said.<\/p>\n

“Our most recent big announcement is the business plan competition. We have shovel-ready land out at the Queensbury Business Park, and the EDC and the Hudson River LDC have put together a business plan competition to give that land away. We are all about collaboration. Both the Post Star and Glens Falls Business Journal have highlighted our collaborative efforts with Washington County. Tori Riley and I put our heads together and submitted a grant application to the state, and we were awarded a grant to support out co-location and to launch a five-county economic development loan fund. We’re expanding our ability to help businesses on both sides of that county line. I’ve been here 12 months, but truly, I’ve only just begun. There’s so much that we can do in this great community.”<\/p>\n

With increasing frequency, businesses of all sizes are reaching out to hire professionals to help them find the best fit for new brick and mortar investments. Keynote speaker, Darin Buelow is one of those site selection professionals. Vicki Gerbino explained that the site selector’s job is to eliminate communities from the search as quickly as possible. And the job of the EDC professional is to remain on that list as it gets shorter.<\/p>\n

“I’d like to pull back the curtain today and tell you how site selection works,” said Buelow. “What is site selection, and why is it important to Warren County? More companies are becoming location-aware. Location is important: it drives shareholder value; it has a direct and material impact on operating costs, on revenues, on risks, and on shareholder expectations. Companies are thinking through how their geographic deployment is going to impact their corporate objectives.”<\/p>\n

There are three basic company types that might require a new site: the low-cost resource seekers; the market seekers; and the talent seekers. As our country faces a shortage of STEM talent – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – the talent and innovation seekers are becoming more prominent. “Every location search that we handle has a talent dimension,” said Buelow. “We spend a lot of time and money collecting HR and talent data in evaluating locations.”<\/p>\n

Which of those three items does Warren County offer? Buelow said there are some places in the world today where you can find two or even all three of these advantages. China and India are among them. The United States is another – and is still a low-cost place to do business.<\/p>\n

There is a Talent Paradox in the US. Despite high – eight to ten percent – unemployment, manufacturers are screaming for talent. They cannot find enough skilled workers. With an aging skilled workforce and fewer young people learning the skills needed by manufacturers, there will be a significant shortfall of talent in ten years. “I am of the opinion that you have a talent pool here that’s an advantage,” he said.<\/p>\n

There is some “re-shoring” of manufacturing in America – bringing jobs back from overses, according to Buelow. That is an opportunity for our region. There are also many companies that have their back office operations in the wrong place. That’s another opportunity for Warren County. “The financial services industry is in wholesale rationalization and cost-cutting mode,” said Buelow. “The largest financial center in the world is rife with companies that are asking, ‘Why do we have our contact center in mid-town.’ You have a proximity to that market segment – another opportunity.”<\/p>\n

“Every few years, Deloitte does a global manufacturing competitiveness survey, and we ask hundreds of CEOs what’s important to them. Year after year, talent-driven innovation is number one. That’s important for you with your engineering talent,” he said.<\/p>\n

Relationships matter, too, according to Buelow, because often decisions come down to a judgment call. “So the relationship we’re developing with Vicki and your leadership team here could help you down the road. You can’t only look at labor arbitrage, you can’t only look at taxes, you can’t only care about incentives. It’s all of those things and more,” said Buelow.<\/p>\n

During the discovery phase the consultant determines what’s most important to the client’s business. They weight and score the many variables before they gather any information about specific sites. Then they do a desktop analysis, where site elimination begins. A handful of qualified sites emerge from this process. And that’s the first time those sites will find out about the search – after most have been eliminated. It’s important to overcome some of these issues that get you eliminated before you even know about it. Some are controllable; some are not.<\/p>\n

The validation phase involves spending a few days in three to five communities, speaking to employers. The negotiation phase follows with only two or three locations. Six major categories form the basis for the manufacturing decision: access and logistics; risk and permitting; HR\/talent; real estate and utilities; cost; and incentives. Buelow said, “Take a close, honest look at this list and determine where your strengths and weaknesses are.”<\/p>\n

In response to a question, Buelow said, “If the Empire Zone program is discontinued in New York State, I think you will see a significant slowdown in industrial development activity.”<\/p>\n

To learn more about how EDC Warren County can help your small business, or to get involved in this dynamic organization, call Vicki Pratt Gerbino at 761-6007, or visit the website: www.edcwc.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDC Warren County President Vicki Pratt Gerbino provided highlights of her first year with EDC, including the business plan competition for a building site. 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