2020 August/September Digital Issue

August/September 2020 | bxjmag.com

2020 NATIONAL DIRECTORY

OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

COVID-19:

WHAT BUSINESS IS DOING ABOUT IT Agribusiness Picking Up Speed While Food Processing Expansion Clicks Up Global & U. S. Seaports: State of Economic Flux The Manufacturing Trifecta The New Forestry Momentum

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Register today at www.iedconline.org/VirtualDallas.

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020

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ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Alan Reyes-Guerra areyes@bxjmag.com

FEATURES COVID-19 REPORT: The economic fallout from COVID-19—and what business is doing about it

As a global pandemic rages on with continuing uncertainty, projections for a positive, beneficial outcome are a moving target.

205-862-5175

EDITORIAL

By David Hodes

CONTRIBUTORS

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David Hodes CREATIVE DIRECTOR

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: Agri-technology picking up speed while food processing expansion clicks up More and better methodologies for seed genetics, growing, harvesting and processing crops are being used now—or are poised to come out of the labs soon

Clint Cabiness clint@dialedinmediagroup.com 205-613-5910

By David Hodes

EDITORIAL OFFICE King Publishing, Inc. 1000 Stafford Court

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Birmingham, Alabama 35242

INNOVATION AND STRATEGIES: Global and U.S. seaports struggling in a state of economic flux Pandemic affecting all routes and ports for now— but port updates and developments continue

By David Hodes

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205-862-5175 or

Manufacturing struggles with COVID today, but new and significant high-tech advances being put in place now will soon become commonplace

By David Hodes

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT: The manufacturing trifecta: Better design methods, streamlined production, reduced costs

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ECONOMIC SPOTLIGHT: The new forestry momentum New plans for fire control, new technologies for monitoring conditions are creating better economic opportunities

By David Hodes

EXPANSION O P P O R T U N I T I E S 24 MARYLAND: Home of Innovators 29 KENTUCKY: The Bluegrass State is

The Right Place to Grow Your Business

34 TENNESSEE: Great Brands Deserve

36 LOUISIANA: Custom Workforce

for Expanding 39 ALBERTA, CANADA: More Open Than Ever.

the Great State of Tennessee

42 2020 National Directory of Economic Developers bxjmag.com

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COVID-19 REPORT

The economic fallout from COVID-19—and what business is doing about it B Y: D AV ID HO D ES

As a global pandemic rages on with continuing uncertainty, projections for a positive, beneficial outcome are a moving target.

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very day now, there is another forum of people in politics, in business, in healthcare, and in societal or media analysis talking about the COVID-19 pandemic and what to do about it. .....................................................................................................

Though the source of the novel virus has been generally agreed on as a city and/or market in China—but disagreements still arise—real difficulties exist about what the virus is made of, how quickly it infects, and how it works within the human body.

All of these difficulties become part of a focused discussion that soon gets disrupted when more facts are discovered, which then refocuses the discussion around what to do to address new facts, with goals of saving lives, ending the pandemic and rebuilding the world’s economy.

From small business managers to big corporate industry titans, Americans want quick solutions that completely solve problems. That’s how proper business development works in this country and in many other countries around the world.

We now know that can’t happen. It’s going to take time for the healthcare infrastructure that this country relies on for precisely this pivotal moment attempts to pioneer a new vaccine.

AMERICAN INDUSTRY TO THE RESCUE American industry has kicked in to help even as their core business declines.

One example is General Motors (GM), announcing in July that their total vehicle sales in the second quarter of 2020 were down 34 percent, delivering just 492,489 units, with full-sized pickup truck sales a highlight of that sales picture.

Meanwhile, GM launched a new partnership with Ventec Life Systems under contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to produce 30,000 ventilators by the end of August. Ventilators are critical devices for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The Ventec ventilator is a multi-function system of five devices—a critical care Ventilator, 6 L/min equivalent oxygen concentrator, touch button cough assist, hospital grade suction, and a high-performance nebulizer—all in one lightweight and mobile respiratory system.

The first ventilators produced by the GM/Ventec partnership were delivered to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and to Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago in April, 2020.

Another shipment of GM-produced ventilators was delivered by United Parcel Service (UPS) to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the Gary/Chicago International Airport for distribution to other locations, also in April, 2020.

OTHER BUSINESSES HAVE ACTUALLY THRIVED BECAUSE OF COVID.

Final component assenbly of ventilator

One example is Amazon, which hired 175,000 workers to manage a surge in online shopping, according to The Economist, an international business and economics publication.

Another thriving industry is alcohol, with sales up 25.4 percent in the third week of June, 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, according to the Republic National Distributing Company, the second largest alcohol distributor in the U.S. Edison Trends, a business analysis company, found that food delivery sales increased by 51 percent since early March, with Door Dash holding the total market share lead (45 percent), followed by Uber Eats (28 percent) then Grub Hub (17 percent).

Even marijuana sales were boosted by the pandemic, declared “essential” in the 33 states and Washington, D.C. where medical marijuana is legal, serving a national patient base of 4.3 million. It’s on track to rise 40 percent this year, to $15 billion in sales by December, 2020, according to trade publication Marijuana Business. bxjmag.com

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COVID-19 REPORT

PANDEMIC ECONOMY

A GM official demonstrating their ventilators

Delivery of GM-manufactured ventilators to hospital

THE HARD ECONOMIC REALITY

A LOOK AHEAD

But there were downsides to the overall employment picture as well.

For example, professional and business services added 306,000 jobs in June, but employment is 1.8 million below its February level. Also in June, employment rose in temporary help services (up 149,000), services to buildings and dwellings (up 53,000), and accounting and bookkeeping services (up 18,000). But employment declined in computer systems design and related services (down 20,000).

Employment was also down in food services and drinking places by 3.1 million since February, with restaurants and bars taking serious financial hits, and some restaurant chains going bankrupt (including Brio Italian Mediterranean, Bravo Fresh Italian, Le Pain Quotidien, Sweet Tomatoes and Bamboo Sushi).

The revenue hit that the states have taken offers an even bleaker look.

Ronald Alt, the senior manager for research with the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) reported that, once April-July revenues are considered, the FTA estimates a net loss of $91 billion.

State revenues in states such as Louisiana dropped by 43 percent in April 2020 compared to April 2019, The Economist reported; California’s income tax receipts were down by 85 percent.

Statistics from Harvard University found that while spending has rebounded over May and June, especially for low-income households, spending among high-income households remains considerably lower than pre-COVID-19 levels (down 17 percent) and appears to be connected to perceived health risks.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that the economy will grow rapidly during the third quarter of this year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at a 12.4 percent annual rate in the second half of 2020 and to recover to its prepandemic level by the middle of 2022.

Unemployment rate is projected to peak at over 14 percent in the third quarter of this year and then fall quickly as output increases in the second half of 2020 and throughout 2021. In June of 2020, the unemployment rate had already fallen to 11.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Employment also increased over the month in miscellaneous durable goods manufacturing (up 26,000) and machinery (up 18,000). Within the nondurable goods component, the largest job gain occurred in plastics and rubber products (up 22,000).

The overall unemployment rate is forecast to decrease to 5.9 percent by the end of 2024.

CBO projects the interest rate on 10-year Treasury notes will gradually rise from an average of 0.9 percent in 2020 to 1.6 percent by 2024, and that output is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2.1 percent over the 2025–2030 period.

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THE UNCERTAINTY FACTOR The CBO report indicates that some uncertainty exists from the nature of the pandemic and the behavioral and policy responses intended to contain its spread.

The report cites several important epidemiological characteristics of the COVID-19 that remain unclear: its transmissibility and lethality, the immunity on people who have recovered from it, and other factors that will affect the pace of economic recovery. “A further contributor to the overall uncertainty is that

Showing a hospital nurse how to operate a GM manfactured ventilator.

the speed and intensity of the recent downturn have greatly increased the difficulty of recording and compiling reliable economic data,” according to the CBO report.

A report released in April by Deloitte, an international business consulting firm, states that the COVID-19 pandemic is changing or has already changed “our collective calculus of uncertainty because there is no reference case for the COVID-19 crisis in living memory. But from our vantage point, the COVID-19 pandemic is more global in scope, more profoundly impactful and far-reaching, and more complex than any other crisis that today’s decision-makers have experienced or contemplated.”

To address this uncertainty, the report states that CEOs must step up. “Exceptional circumstances, such as those of COVID-19, require a blend of courage, clarity, and humility. The biggest enemies of good decision-making in times of deep crisis are neither uncertainty nor ambiguity; they are, rather, over-confidence, procrastination, and incomplete or biased data.”

SO WHAT NOW? According to a report by McKinsey and Company, a business management consulting firm, there are four key trends for the private sector that may continue to shift over the next 18-24 months: 1. Customer sentiments and preferences have shifted online due to the pandemic, and may continue to shift; 2. Workplace norms have temporarily become remote, with several tech giants entertaining a permanent shift to an altered workforce; 3. The deployment of massive government stimulus packages and the rise of trade tensions will contribute to regulatory uncertainty that could persist for a few years; and 4. Our knowledge of how to test, trace, and treat the virus

across different public health realities is changing each day with no silver bullet.

It’s clear that ways of doing business in this country and indeed, around the world, have changed and may become permanent. The World Bank Group’s “Global Economic Prospects” study confirms that efforts to avoid viral contamination may linger long after the pandemic dissipates. “This could lead to changes in the structure of production on a much larger scale than those which past recessions have triggered,” the study stated. “Certain restrictions, and adjustments in consumer behavior, to reduce the risk of infection may prove highly persistent. For example, the experience with widespread remote working may permanently change the nature of workplaces.”

Addressing the changing nature of employees in every business should be a top priority going forward, according to an article by McKinsey and Company about organization practice. Organizations should focus on safety and security, relationships, culture, and purpose, the article stated.

The article went on to say that leaders should continue to meet the need for safety and security of employees by demonstrating compassionate leadership. “They should exhibit deliberate calm and bounded optimism; strike the right balance between realism about the challenges ahead and confidence that the organization will find its way through the crisis; invest in developing of employee-to-employee relationships; cultivate inclusion and psychological safety; and take a personalized approach to fostering culture and enabling change in this new world, such as driving new mindsets and behaviors like adapting to a new virtual-working model at scale.” X

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INDUSTRY

OUTLOOK

Agri-technology picking up speed while food processing expansion clicks up B Y: D AV ID HO D ES

More and better methodologies for seed genetics, growing, harvesting and processing crops are being used now—or are poised to come out of the labs soon

W

hat is happening in technology serving agribusiness planting, harvesting, processing and distributing right now promises to advance the agricultural industry by leaps and bounds. ...............................................................................................

Drones monitor crops; farms can work entirely hydroponically, with complete crop systems stacked up vertically in reclaimed warehouses in urban areas; new water and pest mitigation technologies are helping create more and better row crops every year; and more connected analytics compiled and organized from terabytes of data are making food processing more efficient.

Food processing employment/business development The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a workforce of over 43,000 in food processing as of the earliest data available (2017), making an average of about 6 |

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is a life science business campus accelerating new therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and other innovations to patients by co-locating genomic R&D, workforce training, startups and established bioscience enterprises.

Find a building site along the double helix park on the 152-acre biotech campus Lease premier lab and office space with flexibility for growth Access leading-edge research talent, sequencing team and a skilled life sciences workforce

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INDUSTRY

OUTLOOK

AGRIBUSINESS & FOOD PROCESSING

$27,000 per year.

Top paying food processing jobs are in dairy product manufacturing ($37,000).

The largest percentage of workers are in animal slaughtering and processing (14,230).

California has the most food processing employees, and Arkansas has the greatest concentration of food processing jobs and locations.

Employment has remained relatively steady over the last few years, with some food processors taking hits from COVID-19, plus other issues related to immigration and workforce availability According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the food processing industry, which accounts for the second largest industry group of the agriculture industry (food services is first), continues its expansion movements.

One example is Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. (AWG), planning to expand by constructing a new facility in Hernando, Mississippi. The project will bring over $300 million in investment and 79 new jobs to Mississippi, and is expected to be operational by Spring, 2023.

Another expansion announced in June is the Prime Beverage Group, a contract beverage manufacturer, which will invest $68 million to establish their first manufacturing facility in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that is expected to be a full-service state-of-the-art production facility. The 300,000 square foot facility will include a warehouse plus a new production line method for filling up to 1,500 cans per minute.

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Also in June, General Advanced Foods in Lubbock, Texas, a food processor of tortilla and corn flour, announced a $87.1 million renovation plan for its current facility, to include an expansion into a new corn milling plant located at the Lubbock Rail Port. This project will create 125 new jobs.

Ag-tech developments Developing and applying better agriculture technology is a relatively new issue with agribusiness. But it’s a concept whose time has come.

Take the case of the $64.7 billion specialty crops industry, defined by the USDA as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.

It made up one-third of U.S. crop receipts and one-sixth of receipts for all U.S. agricultural products in 2017.

Some of these specialty crops are labor-intensive to plant, harvest, and/or process. For example, harvest for many specialty crops requires workers to accurately distinguish ripe and unripe fruits and vegetables and gently pick, sort, or package the fruit or vegetable by hand without damage.

That will change. The USDA report indicates that the long-term decline in the supply of farm labor in the U.S. has encouraged producers to select less labor intensive crops, invest in labor-saving technologies, and develop strategies to increase labor productivity.

The government has adjusted to this decline, creating Title VII (Research, Extension and Related Matters) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which includes a request in Section

7610 to review programs of the USDA that affect the production and processing of specialty crops.

The secretary of the USDA (currently Sonny Perdue) will work with that Act to develop and implement a strategy to accelerate the development and use of automation or mechanization in the production or processing of specialty crops. But there’s more.

From 2008 to 2018, the USDA created a fund of $287.7 million for 213 projects to develop and enhance the use of automation or mechanization in specialty crop production and processing, many of which have been implemented.

These projects covered a broad range of technologies, including job aid/machinery automation, machine learning/ data analysis, mechanical harvesting/processing, precision agriculture, remote sensing/drones, and sensors.

One of the projects was for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which was given $5,161,495 for the project “Managing Irrigation and Nutrients with Distributed Sensing for Specialty Crops.” The project was designed to achieve between a 40 and 70 percent reduction in irrigation water applications, using sensor-based set-point irrigation control.

For one of the growers that adopted the technology, an average 50 percent reduction in irrigation saved over 43 million gallons of water and $6,500 in pumping costs.

Another USDA financed tech project was about working with grapes, which are one of the largest specialty crops in the United States, with a farmgate value of over $6 billion and an annual production of over 7 million tons on 1 million acres.

This Precision Vineyard Management project using $6.4 million available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), aimed at delivering an innovative, science-driven, and approachable precision viticulture platform to measure and manage sources of vineyard variation.

The USDA reports that outcomes of this project could impact 1 million vineyard acres across the U.S. grape industry.

Another USDA-funded project given $200,000 in the early stage of development for a low-cost alternative to the high labor costs of hand-harvesting of olives. The expected outcome of this project could have significant potential to lower the incidence of fruit damage during mechanized harvest operations, and help California become more competitive in the global olive market.

While this is all great work, it generates more data that needs to be stored, analyzed and utilized.

NIFA has a solution for that as well, launching the Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics and Tools (FACT) initiative in 2017.

Through the FACT initiative, NIFA invested $21 million across Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) programs in FY 2018.

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INDUSTRY

OUTLOOK

AGRIBUSINESS & FOOD PROCESSING

Other USDA-funded work using artificial intelligence and digital agriculture to improve farming resilience is on the horizon.

For example, NIFA recently awarded a $10 million grant to the University of California-Riverside for a project designed to lay the foundation for a long-term shift (10-20 years after the project) to highly-automated mechanized farm management systems (irrigation, nutrient, salinity, pest), while improving currently used technology in the short-term and medium-term (5-10 years after the project).

Evolution of workforce training Workforce training for this new era of ag-tech is one of the messages from David Still, project director for the Still Lab at the California Polytechnical Institute in Pomona, California, and executive director for California State University Agricultural Research Institute (CSU-ARI).

The Still Laboratory focuses on plant improvement through breeding, physiological genetics and genomics. “We are recruiting people with artificial intelligence backgrounds who have never worked with agriculture,” Still says. “If you are an engineering student, or a computer science student, I can guarantee you are not taking any classes in agriculture. We are building teams, so that even if you major in plant science, you can also be working with people in the College of Engineering or Computer Science who can help as a team. And that is where we are today.”

Ag-tech focus: Lettuce Lettuce is one of the largest vegetable crops in the U.S., with nearly 70 percent grown in California and the remaining 30 percent grown in the southwest corner of Arizona.

USDA stats indicate that there were 222,269 acres of lettuce (head, leaf and romaine) planted in 2018, down almost 100,00 acres from 2016, mostly as a result of a long-running drought in California.

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Lettuce is planted by most growers at a distance of about every ten inches apart, but otherwise not very standardized in terms the number of rows.

“Simply by looking how artificial intelligence can help us go into a field and distinguish between a lettuce plant or a weed, and then spray or mechanically clip off that weed and leave just the lettuce, while traveling along at 7 miles per hour, I think it’s just a matter of time before that becomes something we will be seeing more and more in harvest operations,” Still says.

Crop managers, seed companies and breeders are all involved in some aspect of new agriculture technology development. “Because we can sequence very cheaply 1,000 plants, which is what we want to do, and then use our drones and remote sensor technology to see which ones are resistant to the insects or taking up the nitrogen from the soil better, we can detect that, and match that up with our sequencing data,” he says. “Then we can use those results to advance the very best selections and sell that seed. With those ideas, and other gene technologies, we can reduce a ten year breeding cycle to a three to five year cycle.”

On the crop management side, he says that farmers now are using I-pads to schedule irrigation, for example.

But there are other plans being developed. “The farmer can put remote sensors in the field to manage micro-climates,” he says. “Now you can take a drone out there, and you can see a hot spot out in your field. Using your drone’s spectral imaging, you can see plants that are getting yellow, which may mean that there is a virus out there or insects out there. Then you can go out in the field and remove those plants.”

That’s a good thing for the environment because now the grower doesn’t have to spray the entire field to treat the virus or the insect. “We are close to widely employing that sort of technology, and there are some people are already doing it.” X

SIDEBAR Companies on Huntsville’s

HudsonAlpha campus combating COVID-19

Cutting Edge

While the world continues its fight against novel coronavirus, researchers and private industry have banded together in order to slow the spread of the virus and develop new tests and treatments for COVID-19.

Now, more than ever, it is evident that collaboration is necessary to overcome current challenges and nowhere is as uniquely qualified to help foster these collaborations than Huntsville’s HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies residing on HudsonAlpha’s biotech campus have increased laboratory testing capacity, launched point-of-care testing diagnostics, advanced early stage antibody treatments for immune response, provided researchers with critical reagents for COVID-19 projects and researched personal protective equipment sterilization methods for the reuse of PPE equipment.

Much of this progress can be attributed to the HudsonAlpha ecosystem that promotes collaboration on solving some of the world’s most challenging problems.

Diatherix-Eurofins, a diagnostic testing laboratory, released it’s COVID-19 panel in mid-March and immediately began working with physicians and hospitals to test symptomatic patients. Since launching, Diatherix has increased its testing capacity by more than 50% by adding to their workforce and expanding into and repurposing lab and office space at HudsonAlpha. Diatherix-Eurofins recently Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for it’s COVID-19 panel and have provided diagnostic test results to more than 70,000 people nationwide.

We appreciate that HudsonAlpha removed many obstacles that have allowed Diatherix to scale up capacity for large volumes of COVID-19 testing, said Jen Cart, CEO of Diatherix Eurofins. Their swift accommodation of our needs demonstrated the incredible support and true purpose of the HudsonAlpha’s mission for collaboration and connectivity.

HudsonAlpha has additionally rolled out an FDA Advisory panel to help companies navigate the EUA and approval process for COVID-19 related devices, diagnostics and therapies. A one-of-its-kind advisory panel of associate company executives is working with companies across the state that need guidance and direction on navigating the regulatory pathways for approval.

HudsonAlpha has utilized its purchasing power to procure PPE, reagents and critical cleaning supplies for employees, the associate companies and community first-responders. The Institute acquired more than 7,000 disposable face masks and made

them immediately available to companies on campus.

When lack of high demand equipment threatened the procurement of reagents, HudsonAlpha stepped in to work with all the companies and labs on campus to overcome the barriers of a strained supply chain.

HudsonAlpha has advocated for the associate companies throughout this crisis and as local, state and federal policies are updated, many within the Institute work working daily with the associate companies on funding options, best practices on workplace safety and on return-to-work planning.

More than 10 companies are working on COVID-19 related projects at HudsonAlpha 

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Acclinate Genetics is working with clinical trial sponsors to ensure diverse representation in therapeutic testing.

CFD Research’s Computational Medicine and Biology team is working on various aspects of COVID-19 respiratory viral infection, transmission, protection and treatment.

Diatherix-Eurofins a diagnostic testing laboratory, is providing testing for COVID-19.

Discovery Life Sciences is continuing to support the advancement of COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccine development by providing expert biospecimen solutions, genomic, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and flow cytometry services. iCubate is providing Alabama hospitals and health care organizations the recently launched “iC-COVID19 Assay”, which enables large cities and small towns the ability to offer an on-site, localized coronavirus test. iRepertoire has developed a technology that could collect the antibodies from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and produce them in large quantities.

Microarrays is manufacturing Covid 19 diagnostic products.

Prozone Water Products is researching and developing a device for PPE sanitation for healthcare providers.

TransOMIC Technologies is currently supplying reagents and test kits for COVID-19 research.

To learn more about COVID-19 efforts on the HudsonAlpha campus, visit hudsonalpha.org/ hudsonalpha-updates-on-covid-19. bxjmag.com

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INNOVATIONS & STRATEGIES

PORTS

Global and U.S. seaports struggling in a state of economic flux B Y: DAV ID HO D ES

Pandemic affecting all routes and ports for now— but port updates and developments continue

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hipping and other logistics involved in the infrastructure of transportation, distribution and delivery are holding steady for now, but struggling as the economy looks to regain its footing amid a raging COVID-19 pandemic. ....................................................................................................

Seaports have always been one of the nation’s vital economic engines and employment generators, which means far-reaching economic fallout from any operations glitch—especially a global one such as the pandemic.

All indications before March, 2020, pointed to a sort of business as usual industry, with a few bright spots to highlight.

bxjmag.com

Aerial view of the Port of Los Angeles’ side of the San Pedro Bay Port Complex.

(Courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles)

FACTS AND FIGURES Facts and figures from 2020 are not available yet, for the most part.

But in 2018, seaport cargo activity employed 31 million people in the United States, representing an increase of 7.5 million jobs since 2014, according to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

Cargo activities at U.S. seaports accounted for 26 percent of the U.S. economy, generating nearly $5.4 trillion in total economic activity and more than $378 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2018.

Economic growth from 2014 to 2019 in federal, state and local tax revenues generated by port-sector and importer/ exporter revenues rose nearly 18 percent, from $321.1 billion to $378.1 billion, as reported by Martin Associates, a transportation consulting firm doing economic studies for the AAPA. During this same period, the total economic value that U.S. coastal ports provided in terms of revenue to businesses, personal income and economic output by exporters and importers rose 17 percent from $4.6 trillion to $5.4 trillion, accounting for nearly 26 percent of the nation’s $20.5 trillion economy in 2018.

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INNOVATIONS & STRATEGIES

PORTS

C

M

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CM

MY

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CMY

Cargo containers at the Port of Los Angeles (Courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles)

Most of the five busiest ports in the country in 2018—the Port of Los Angeles, handling 9.46 million container units (TEU) a year; the Port of Long Beach, with 8.09 million TEUs; the Port of New York and New Jersey, with 7.2 million TEUs; the Port of Savannah, with 4.35 million TEUs; and the Seaport Alliance (the ports of both Seattle and Tacoma), with 3.47 million TEUs—are seeking or planning updates related to either larger vessels making port or better port management tools.

For example, as part of its 2050 master plan, the Port of New York and New Jersey, which includes cargo container facilities, automobile terminals, dry and liquid bulk cargo operations, cruise terminals and ferry landings, is mapping out the next generation of land-use and infrastructure development projects.

As spelled out in a press release, the primary objectives of the master plan are to provide opportunities for growth through stakeholder engagement; improve the port’s commercial value by investigating opportunities to maximize lease revenue; continue to serve as an economic engine for the region; and to promote safe, resilient and environmentally sustainable operations in partnership with its tenants.

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Another example is the Port of Savannah, in Savannah, Georgia, which is now the country’s biggest agricultural product exporter.

The port has two, class-one railroads (the CSX and Norfolk Southern) and is working on a $128 million project that will link two rail yards, and add rail lift capacity to about one million containers each year.

Port of Savannah management is also working on a $3 billion plan to double containerized cargo capacity by 8 million TEUs by the end of this year.

Port Tampa Bay, which handled 105,663 TEUs in 2019, a 21 percent increase from 2018, has a 2030 master plan, and recently received almost $19.8 million in an infrastructure innovations federal grant to build a new 1,300-foot berth and a 30-acre container yard, increasing both the container capacity by 60 percent and the number of deep draft container vessels the port can receive.

THE CHINA FACTOR On July 6, 2019, the U.S. added levies on $34 billion of imports from China, followed by $16 billion more on August 23. China

K

... get there from here.

Location

Less than 3 miles to I-95, the main interstate of the U.S. East Coast.

Location

150m+ square feet of developed warehouse space within 30 minutes of the Port of Baltimore.

Location Access to 2/3 of the U.S. population within 24 hours. marylandports.com | 1.800.638.7519 |

bxjmag.com | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 | BXJ Governor Larry Hogan MDOT Secretary Gregory Slater MDOT MPA Acting Executive Director David Thomas

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INNOVATIONS & STRATEGIES

PORTS

(Above) The Moin Container Terminal is equipped with 29 electric container cranes and six Super-Post Panamax gantry cranes the terminal will be capable of handling container ships of up to 8,500 TEUs, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year (Right) The Moín Container Terminal is built on an artificial island off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, and has been operational since February, 2019,.

retaliated with tariffs on $50 billion of U.S. goods, including American cars, as well as agricultural and food products. The dispute is ongoing.

Walter Kemmsies is the managing director, economist and chief strategist for the commercial real estate services company Jones, Lang and LaSalle (JLL). He works in the JLL Ports, Airports and Global Infrastructure Group.

Kemmsies says that shippers and ports will have to quickly reorganize and manage activities in response to tariff issues with China. “To reduce exposure to risks of tariffs, shipping companies will move their operations to western parts of Asia, Central America, Columbia and a little bit to the Middle East,” he says.

“Those importers who moved to the western parts of Asia are increasingly putting their products on ships that go to the U.S. through the Suez Canal, as opposed to trans-Pacific to west coast, or trans pacific through the Panama Canal to the east coast. That is happening as we speak.”

West coast ports are very congested now, he says, not necessarily because of just the activity at the ports but because more people are moving into the urban areas like Los Angeles and Oakland.

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Other changes include exporting of paper scraps, which were typically a payload picked up by Chinese ships after unloading in Los Angeles that then headed to the Oakland port before returning to their port of origin. Those payloads are not accepted by Chinese ships anymore, he says, creating revenue issues for the Oakland port.

Oakland quickly identified new markets west of China that would be interested in these paper scrap exports, such as Vietnam.

Three weeks ago, the ocean carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE)—which is the merger of the three Japanese shipping companies Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and K Line—restructured their services so that now, Oakland is connected as far west as Saudi Arabia for the first time ever. “So Oakland is showing the rest of the west coast ports what you have to do,” Kimmsies says.

He says that what he suspects is that shipments that go to the west coast will probably be coming from India or Vietnam.

But shipments going to the east coast, including those with goods bound for the Midwest, coming from Vietnam and India will go through the Suez Canal to the east coast.

THE 2020 COVID QUOTIENT The British International Trade Association reported that maritime intelligence company eeSea showed a total of 302 of 2,693 global shipping containers sailings, or 11 percent, were cancelled in May, 2020, on all the main line trades because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Far East to Europe westbound experienced a 14 percent drop in sailings, or 18 of 127 sailings, cancelled in April.

The U.S. Coast Guard has released a series of Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIB) related to COVID-19, including information about port readiness to receive any medical waste from any vessel calling at their port, that has any contaminated waste as a result of COVID-19 treatments.

Other “unique operating conditions” the MSIB noted included challenges regarding cruise ships mooring at facilities not approved for passenger operations, and facility and vessel crew interactions.

E-COMMERCE IDEAS E-commerce is making the boxes dwell at ports longer, Kimmsies says.

“Most ports give you 7 days, including the time needed to clear customs,” he says. “Beyond 7 days, you incur charges.”

With e-commerce, a merchant can predict how much is going to be sold.

“But predicting where you are going to sell is a whole different matter,” Kimmsies says. “So the question becomes where can you store the cargo?

What you try to do is keep the product as close to point of origin as possible until the last second, until you know where it’s going to be sold.”

In the Port of Savannah, he says, they wanted to help the e-commerce businesses. So port officials bought 160 acres on the inland side of the port for the ecommerce businesses that require longer dwell times. “This enables

them to store their shipments off the operating part of the container terminal, and the ports do not have to charge those businesses larger dwell fees,” he says. “That is the kind of thinking we are looking for here—expand the footprint and help the changing nature of retail.”

NEW PORT TECH Kimmsies says that there is a push towards automation and using

non-fossil fuel burning equipment, such as electrified cranes for example.

The systems for operating terminals are also becoming increasingly more complex, which is helping operations management. “What I like about automation is that instead of having to decide before the ship arrives where to put the cargo and what stack to put it in, with today’s systems, right up until the time that the crane touches the

QuonsetHI_Layout 4/12/2018

OUR CONNECTIONS LAND • SEA

RAIL • AIR

PROPEL YOUR SUCCESS

• Centrally located in the Southern New England business region

• 29 sites available for ground lease ranging from 1 to 43 acres

• Majority of sites • Home to the Port of Davisville, ranked pre-permitted and as one of the pre-engineered for Top Ten auto various uses importers in NORTH KINGSTOWN, North America RHODE ISLAND • Lodging, golf course, beaches, marinas, • Over 200 companies, banquet facilities, Centrally located in thepeople 11,800 employing Overpath, 200 and companies, bike retail Southern New England employing 11,800 people across 3,200 acres all on site business region across 3,200 acres

Home to the Port of Davisville, ranked as one of the Top Ten auto importers in North America The Port of Davisville broke its annual auto imports record in 2018 for the 9th time in 10 years.

The Port of Davisville has been instrumental in the development of the offshore wind industry, including the first wind farm in the United States.

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PORTS

(Above) The vessel BBS Fiji unloads two new mobile harbor cranes at the Georgia Ports Authority’s Ocean Terminal, Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Savannah, GA (Courtesy Stephen B. MortonGeorgia Ports Authority) (Left) Two new mobile harbor cranes will allow the Georgia Ports Authority to grow container handling services at the Savannah Port Ocean Terminal. (Stephen B. MortonGeorgia Ports Authority)

WHAT’S NEXT? box in the ship, you can decide whether or not you want to change it from either truck to train, or train to truck.”

One example of new technology used in ports comes from the Port of Los Angeles, which introduced in October, 2019, two pre-commercial battery-electric top handlers that will be tested at the Everport Container Terminal.

The top handlers are off-road vehicles with an overhead boom for loading containers weighing up to 75,000 pounds onto trucks and trains, unloading them, and stacking them on terminals between pickups and deliveries.

These zero-emission top handlers run on a one-megawatt battery designed to operate for up to 18 hours between charges. Each top handler has a data logger for tracking hours of operation, charging frequency, energy usage and other performance indicators. The top handlers are a key component of the port’s $7.7 million Everport Advanced Cargo Handling Demonstration Project, according to a press release.

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There are even bigger, more intriguing port ideas being implemented and discussed, such as the creation of offshore artificial islands to handle the largest container ships.

APM Terminals, which builds and manages port and terminal facilities, and also offers cargo, storage, warehousing, container conversion, track and trace, weighing, and handling services for cargo transportation, built a billion dollar, 800,000 square meter container terminal on an artificial island made from sand from the seabed in Moin, Costa Rica.

The Moín Container Terminal (MCT), operated by APM Terminals, just completed its first year of operations on February 28, and serviced more than 1,100 ships, and around 1.2 million TEUs. Other artificial island seaports include the Port of Singapore and the Port of Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, Indonesia.

To create one of these artificial island ports, important considerations need to be given to tidal range where the island is intended that could cause it to be inundated; studies about wave heights; and determinations of the strength of the island’s foundation. X

Quonset Business Park: Small State, Big Impact.

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ince its creation in 2005, Quonset Development Corporation has created an environment for businesses to succeed.

Once home to a naval base, the park has been transformed into the leading engine of economic development in Rhode Island that supports over 200 companies and 12,000 jobs. The Park has been a leader in job creation and economic growth in the state, attracting over $2 billion in private investment. The Park is also home to 17% of the manufacturing jobs in Rhode Island.

So what is it about Quonset that creates a climate for success?

Growth Mindset: The remaining available land at Quonset can accommodate up to 3.6 million square feet of new construction, and we make it easy to make you our newest company. Our site readiness program makes pre-permitted and pre-engineered parcels available that allow businesses to get shovels in the ground within 90 days of site control.

World Class Infrastructure: Quonset’ greatest strength has always been in the variety of facilities and world-class infrastructure available to companies.

Our industrial spaces have the capacity to support large, high-tech, operations like Electric Boat and Toray Plastics while the Commerce Park section accommodates some of the state’s most successful corporations like Ocean State Job Lot. Our state-of-the-art Flex Industrial Campus gives new and expanding companies room to grow in a move-in ready and affordable

space, adaptable to the needs of their business. This includes flexible manufacturing, or warehouse space between 10,000 and 40,000 s/f. These are equipped with office spaces, restroom facilities, and high bay space for manufacturing, assembly or warehouse use, with ceilings up to 24 feet.

Quonset also offers modern, customizable, state-of-the-art office space for start-ups, small businesses and professional service companies in the Gateway Office Complex. With the four existing office buildings fully leased, construction of the fifth building is now underway and scheduled to be completed by year’s end.

The Gateway Offices provide companies with affordable rates and the option of flexible shorter-term leases. Each facility includes wireless high-speed Internet, a shared kitchen and break areas (including an outdoor courtyard), a conference room, and an abundance of natural light, and multiple restrooms.

Location: Our location in North Kingstown, Rhode Island places businesses in the heart of the Northeast, giving them broad access to the East Coast’s largest customer markets. Situated halfway between Boston and New York, companies can have a stake in both of the region’s densest population centers. We are also minutes from major highways such as I-95; manage the Port of Davisville, Rhode Island’s only public port, at the Park; and are adjacent to Amtrak’s New England Connector.

Transportation: Quonset’s location places our companies at the heart of major shipping and travel routes in the region.

The onsite Port of Davisville provides public access to a world-class port facility.

The park also affords access to 14 miles of freight rail lines through the Park and both RI Rte. 4 and I-95 highways. With additional proximity to three airports – T.F. Green (RI), Logan International (MA), and Bradley International (CT) and train routes like the MBTA and Amtrak, businesses and employees alike have the options they need to access new markets.

Superb Public Amenities: To attract the best talent, it’s essential to be a place where people want to work. The Park is home to an 18-hole golf course, four public beaches, a bike path, a daycare facility and a free express bus shuttle service that connects us to Providence in partnership with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Our Gateway Plaza also includes shopping options like Dave’s Marketplace grocery store and Kohls. These amenities create an environment for success for our employees and are a benefit to our neighbors, as well.

Cleaner and Greener: Access to the Port of Davisville has made our park a magnet for clean energy development. The park has hosted the construction of some of the nation’s most ambitious wind energy projects, including the nation’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island. We look forward to serving as a hub for the growing industry. Quonset was also recently recognized by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources for our commitment to investments in energy efficiency, and we’re proud that the Quonset Development Corporation’s offices are run 100% on clean energy generated by solar power.

Quonset Business Park is the premium location for businesses of all sizes and stages of development. Our top-notch facilities, centralized location, and institutional support not only gives businesses at Quonset an edge in the competitive Northeastern markets but also the resources they need to grow. For more information about starting your next venture at Quonset, visit us at http://www.quonset.com.

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT

The manufacturing trifecta: Better design methods, streamlined production, reduced costs B Y D AV ID HO D ES

Manufacturing struggles with COVID today, but new and significant high-tech advances being put in place now will soon become commonplace

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anufacturing in general in the U.S. has always been one of the greatest drivers of economic growth across the nation. Today, with the challenges of COVID-19 shutting down plants and reducing output, it’s critical to examine manufacturing facts and figures from last year to get a real sense of the importance of manufacturing to the overall economic health of the U.S. .............................................................................................

According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), in 2019, manufacturers in the United States accounted for 11.39 percent of the total output in the economy, churning out $2.3 trillion in product and employing 8.51 percent of the workforce.

There were an average of 12.8 million manufacturing employees in the United States in 2018, with an average annual compensation of $84,832.

As the country begins to re-open and restart, manufacturing will continue to demonstrate the advantages of significant changes over the last five years, promising to not only streamline the production process and make it more efficient overall, but bring together the resources of the cloud, the internet,

3D printing and robotics in new and vital way.

“Generative design” is the new buzz phrase of manufacturing, and it is yet another disruptive force that the advanced manufacturing industry is embracing.

There are essentially four steps in the process, according to Autodesk, a 3D design, engineering and entertainment software maker: 1. A designer inputs design goals and constraints using a generative design system.

2. The computer uses algorithms and its own logic systems to generate 1,000 of designs, including running performance analysis on each design, using artificial intelligence and data culled from the cloud.

3. Designer sees what the computer has generated, and then modifies as needed. The computer regenerates designs based on that input.

4. Designer than makes the prototype, either by milling or by 3D printing.

This process has already been used to design and build prosthetic limbs, two-story concrete homes, car parts and even entire cars, such as the Strati roadster, an electric two-seater made in just 44 hours and featuring 75 percent 3D printed parts by Local Motors working with Mouser Electronics, a worldwide authorized distributor of semiconductors and electronic components for over 800 industry leading manufacturers.

Mouser introduced the concept of lighter weight customized cars requiring no inventory of parts. A car maker might be able to print out both a roadster and a minivan on the same machine, just by tweaking the software.

Local Motors is also working with AAA Northern California to test its electric, 3D printed AV shuttle, Olli, at GoMentum Station in Contra Costa County, with future plans of deployment near transit stations around northern California.

3D printing, used in conjunction with additive manufacturing (sometimes

the terms are used interchangeably) results in not only the rapid creation of physical parts, but saves on tooling costs since some production molds and dies can be 3D printed; assist with the ability to rapidly check different versions of the same part; demonstrate how well a single part interacts with its environment; and allow the operator or designer to check the tactile feel of different materials and forms.

One of the world’s largest automobile makers, General Motors, has been using additive manufacturing featuring 3D printing for rapid prototyping since 1989, including the development of the mid-engine Corvette, and promises that process will help accelerate development and production of each new model the company introduces from now on.

The company’s Additive Innovation Lab, which opened last year, is a 4,000-square-foot facility inside GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, where GM engineers, designers and other team

members can learn how to operate the 3D printers and software, convert files into physical parts and then process these parts.

A second GM facility, the Additive Industrialization Center, will begin official operations in late 2020 onsite at GM’s Global Technical Center, created to expand GM’s expertise and capability in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. X

Ontario is less than an hour to everything SoCal has to offer including beaches, mountains, theme parks, Downtown LA and Hollywood, desert playgrounds and more. With 182,000 residents and growing, Ontario will nearly double its population over the next 20 years, making it a top destination for shoppers and retailers in Southern California.

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ECONOMIC

SPOTLIGHT

FORESTRY

The new forestry momentum B Y: DAV ID HO D ES

New plans for fire control, new technologies for monitoring conditions are creating better economic opportunities

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he National Forest System sees over 149 million visitors a year, bringing over $10 billion to the U.S. economy and supporting about 143,000 jobs, mostly in gateway and rural communities. .....................................................................................................

Wildfires, always the biggest concern for the U.S. Forestry Agency, burned almost 7.6 million hectares across our nation and destroyed more than 26,000 residences, according to Vicki Christiansen, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, killing more than a hundred people who were trying to flee their burning homes.

In a speech on September 10, 2019, Christiansen said that the fire season in the western United States has grown at least two- and-a-half months longer. “We have seen the frequency, size, and severity of wildfires grow,” she said, citing as the primary drivers climate change, drought, hazardous fuel buildups, and the spread of homes and communities into fire-prone landscapes. In addition to fire prevention programs, she said that other tools include timber sales, mechanical thinning, and targeted grazing.

The forestry service will be using new technologies to help with fire control and suppression operations, including drones and other unmanned aircraft systems

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(UAS) technology in wildfire suppression operations.

An interagency Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FUAS) working group has been chartered to help identify procedures, assess risk and develop policy to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems in wildfire suppression.

Recent unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) deployments include the North Fire in 2016, to gather aerial imagery helpful in managing the North Fire on the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico with a fixed-wing platform and a small quadcopter drone; a UAS system was part of a training event in early 2017 to introduce aerial firefighters to this technology, demonstrate and test launch procedures, test unmanned aircraft systems and visibility, and evaluate draft protocols and procedures for integration of this technology into suppression operations; and a UAS was used to document pre-fire and post-fire effects in key biological areas of the Boundary Fire on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona.

Projects to improve forest conditions boost local economies. For every $1 million spent by the U.S. Forest Service on resource management activities, Christiansen said, 66 jobs were created, with $3 million in local economic benefits.

In June, Sonny Perdue, secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, announced a blueprint for reforms to further provide relief from burdensome regulations, improve customer service, and boost the productivity of the country’s forests and grasslands. There are 3.8 million acres of national grasslands across 12 western states.

Included in Perdue’s proposed blueprint are plans to streamline processes and identify new opportunities to increase America’s energy dominance and reduce reliance on foreign countries for critical minerals; modernize management practices and reduce regulatory burdens to promote active management on forest service lands to support and protect rural communities, critical watersheds, and species habitat; and expedite broadband development on

Forest Service lands to increase internet connectivity in rural America.

For the grasslands, Perdue’s proposal establishes that grazing and support for grazing on the national grasslands is essential for their management within the framework of their governing statutes;

calls for streamlining renewal of range permits and range improvements on the national forests and grasslands; and enhances the flexibility for forest service employees to work with ranching families and communities.

Additionally, in May, the forest service announced it will award $4 million to fund 10 community forest projects across seven states to support the creation, expansion and enhancement of community spaces.

Funding will come in the form of grants to local governments, tribes and qualified nonprofit organizations through its Community Forest Program, and will support working forests through sustainable management and timber and non-timber production.

The Community Forest Program issued its first grants in 2012, and the program has supported 66 community-driven projects across 23 states and territories and permanently conserved over 17,000 acres. X

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OPPORTUNITIES

MARYLAND:

Home of Innovators

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ith a strong focus on education, Maryland has created one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial economies in the world.

High-tech, high-growth sectors, like cybersecurity, life sciences, aerospace and defense, and advanced manufacturing, are thriving in Maryland, thanks to a talented workforce, a critical mass of companies, and a number of top universities, including the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. In addition, more than 50 top federal agencies and research labs are located in Maryland, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ........................................................................

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Maryland has a highly-educated workforce, with more doctoral scientists and engineers in the workforce than anywhere else in the country and one of the highest concentrations of professional and technical workers.

Often called the Home of the Human Genome, Maryland

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boasts more than 500 life sciences companies that are working on everything from cutting-edge medical devices to treatments for cancer, malaria, and, most recently, coronavirus. The state is also known as the Cyber Capital of the World, with a confluence of more than 116,000 IT professionals and many of the world’s top security agencies, like the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

who they are. Shaped and surrounded by water, their community reflects the character and culture of all who live, work and are lured to this place of incomparable beauty.

Discover an authentic Chesapeake lifestyle on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Dorchester County boasts attractive and affordable housing options from waterfront estates to rural developments and city condos, townhouses and apartments.

Local amenities include shops, restaurants, parks, marinas, and public entertainment venues within walking or biking distance.

Cambridge – Dorchester’s County seat – is an authentic seaport community on the shores of the Choptank River. The city’s rich maritime heritage and working waterfront are on display along the shores where watermen, sail makers, ship chandlers and boat captains make their living among the museums, restaurants and attractions.

Its strategic location along the Mid-Atlantic corridor makes Maryland an excellent location to reach one-third of the U.S. population within an overnight drive, and the state has close proximity to key U.S. cities like New York and Boston. In addition, Maryland has an excellent transportation infrastructure, with its Port of Baltimore handling a recordbreaking 43 million tons of cargo in 2019, and the BaltimoreWashington International Thurgood Marshall Airport welcoming more than 27 million passengers each year. And the new Tradepoint Atlantic development has helped draw a number of top retail companies to locate distribution facilities in the Baltimore area, including Amazon, Home Depot and Floor and Décor.

The state continues to retain its AAA bond rating, one of only thirteen states to achieve this highest award.

Maryland is also a center of culture and tourism, with more than 42 million visitors each year enjoying the state’s mountains, beaches and small towns and big cities in between, as well as the famous seafood and Chesapeake Bay.

MARYLAND: DORCHESTER COUNTY, THE HEART OF THE CHESAPEAKE ......................................................................

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Surrounded and shaped by water, is it any wonder the county tag line is “water moves us.” With more than 1,700 miles of shoreline, Dorchester County is a beautiful place to live, work and play. Inspired by our rich maritime history, abundant natural beauty and tranquil waterfront setting, millennials, entrepreneurs and retirees are discovering their authentic Eastern Shore community. Dorchester is ideally situated on the

Pioneer Environmental Research to

At the University of Maryland’s Horn Point Laboratory near Cambridge, marine biologist Stephanie Alexander is raising billions of oysters to help resolve some of the Chesapeake Bay’s most complex problems.

Pioneering coastal research has made UMCES’s flagship facility a magnet for interdisciplinary scientists from around the world. Learn how Dorchester’s higher education leader is building more resilient ecosystems.

ChooseDorchester.org 410.228.0155 DORCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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central Atlantic seaboard, allowing overnight truck access to one-third of the U.S. population. New York, Philadelphia and Richmond are within a 200-mile radius. Their close proximity to Baltimore and Washington – less than 90 miles from each city – attracts large and small businesses and entrepreneurs due to cost advantages, business assets, and unrivaled quality of life.

From endurance athletes and waterfowl sportsmen to boating enthusiasts and history lovers, Dorchester’s unparalleled natural beauty and signature waterfront attracts people who want to live, work and play in the heart of Chesapeake country.

With more than 700 businesses employing 8,800 people, Dorchester has a strong and diversified mix of sectors in the heart of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Historically, manufacturing, food processing, fishing and agriculture were dominant industries. Today, tourism, business services and fulfillment operations have created new economic and employment opportunities. Coupled with a thriving entrepreneurial community, Dorchester is a county on the move. As a federally designated HUBZone, a Dorchester location provides federal contracting opportunities for qualified small businesses located here. The County has two Maryland State designated Enterprise Zones at the Dorchester Regional Technology and Hurlock Industrial parks.

For more information on Dorchester County, please call 410-228-0155 or visit www.choosedorchester.org .

MARYLAND: KENT COUNTY

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Kent County is a scenic peninsula on Maryland’s Upper Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, ideally situated less than a two-hour drive from Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Annapolis, Dover and Northern Virginia. It is home to two designated Main Streets, an Arts & Entertainment District, several worldwide manufacturers, historic Washington College, and one of the largest marina communities in Maryland.

Kent County is Open for Business Kent County is actively providing incentives and workforce development tools to help businesses grow. The County is developing broadband infrastructure and has implemented a 110-mile fiber optic broadband network for high-speed gigabit connectivity. Portions of the County are located within Commerce Zones, an Opportunity Zone, an Enterprise Zone, and a HUBZone. The office of Economic Development works with businesses to identify the tax credits they are entitled to for locating to, and growing within, those designated zones. In addition, the County offers access to programs including the Maryland Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (MD-PACE) Program, the Maryland 28 |

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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MD MEP), and the ExportMD Program.

Business Overview Kent County is home to a wide variety of businesses in industries including manufacturing, health services, education, maritime, aquaculture, agriculture, culinary and professional services. Several of the major employers are world-wide manufacturers and the county is home to several large business parks including the Kent County Business Park at Worton, the Radcliffe Creek Business & Professional Park, and the Interstate 301 Industrial Area. The region has access to a workforce close to 300,000 within a 30-minute drive and the unemployment rate continues to be below the national average. County businesses benefit from county corporate income tax exemption, low personal income tax, and a variety of tax credits making it a profitable place to do business.

Chestertown Business Campus The Chestertown Business Campus is one of the largest economic development projects in the county’s history. The 80-acre site will be home to Dixon Valve & Coupling’s new distribution facility, new corporate headquarters, a new manufacturing facility, and a new facility for the growing YMCA. The site has also been approved for six apartment buildings and commercial speculative space for other businesses to locate in Chestertown. Phase I of the project includes the recently completed 188,000 square foot distribution facility. Phase II includes a 60,0000 square foot headquarters building which was completed in April of 2020. Phase III has commenced with groundbreaking on the manufacturing facility.

A Gigabit County Kent County has completed the backbone implementation of a 110-mile fiber optic backbone throughout the county. The county has entered into a public-private partnership with Kent Fiber Optic Systems to provide public institutions with high-speed reliable internet access. KentFOS’ open access network allows Internet Services Providers the ability to offer 1G service to businesses and residences. The primary goal was to enhance the infrastructure needed to support new and existing businesses and organizations in Kent County, particularly with affordable, robust, and high capacity internet access. By taking this action, the county is expanding the competitive capability of local businesses and organizations, and providing more jobs and opportunities for residents. Additionally, this infrastructure improves the ability to attract new residents and businesses to the County. X For more information on Kent County, visit www. kentcounty.com/business or call 410-810-2169

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KENTUCKY:

The Bluegrass State Is The Right Place To Grow Your Business

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ithin a day’s drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population, Kentucky is located at the center of a 34-state distribution area in the eastern United States, Kentucky’s location advantage facilitates the distribution of goods and materials to a massive industrial and consumer market. Kentucky’s borders are within 600 miles of over 65 percent of the nation’s population, personal income and manufacturing business establishments. That helps when you have to move product, meet with a customer or close a sale. ..........................................................................

Kentucky ranks 2nd in the nation in total air cargo shipments.

That is because Kentucky business is served by not one but two international airports plus three global shipping hubs, giving companies a leg up on getting products, papers and packages into the global stream of commerce. Kentucky is home to the UPS World Port, DHL Americas hub in Northern Kentucky, the Amazon Air global port in Northern Kentucky and several large FedEx ground hubs

throughout the state. Due to this strong presence by the world’s most prestigious logistics companies, products manufactured in Kentucky can get anywhere in the world virtually overnight.

Kentucky is well served by 20 interstates and major highways, major rail networks, barge traffic on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, five commercial airports and dozens of regional airports. Our ideal transportation network can move products easily and efficiently by air, rail, road and water to all points of the globe.

•.Kentucky ranks 1st in the nation for cost of doing business according to CNBC. Kentucky’s innovative and progressive tax incentive programs also provide the flexible financial assistance businesses need when locating, expanding or reinvesting in the state.

•.Among the more significant location factors having a direct influence on bottom line costs is the annual capital that must be committed to utility consumption. Kentucky has the lowest cost of electricity in the industrial sector among states east of the Mississippi River and one of the lowest in the U.S., coming in nearly 20 percent lower than the national average.

•.Kentucky’s drive to encourage business innovation and small business startups is evident by the array of unique and effective programs offered for both entrepreneurs and investors.

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assistance a well as mentoring to help small businesses turn big ideas into reality.

With one of the lowest costs of living rates in the U.S., your dollars go further in Kentucky. The cost of living is more that 10 percent lower that the U.S. average and housing costs alone are up to 30 percent lower.

Kentucky offers a business-friendly attitude. They will listen to you, help identify your needs, and work with you one-onone to devise solutions that will maximize your success while lowering your cost of doing business.

For more information, contact the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development at 800-626-2930 or visit their website at www.ced.ky.gov .

KENTUCKY: PIKEVILLE

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The City of Pikeville, “The City that Moves Mountains” is located in Kentucky’s largest county, Pike County, in the far eastern region.

Pikeville was incorporated in 1824 and covers 22 square miles.

It is one of the few towns in the eastern region to gain residents since 2000. Pikeville serves as a regional center for health, education, retail and services for Pike County and the surrounding Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia areas.

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The Pikeville Cut-Through Project is the second largest earth removal project in United States history. It has been called “the eighth wonder of the world” by the New York Times. Spearheaded by former Pikeville Mayor William C. Hambley, the Cut-Through Project officially began in November 1973 for the purpose of relieving the City of Pikeville of frequent flooding.

The project is a unique engineering feat that provides a shining example of cooperation among agencies on federal, state and local levels. The cut-through was completed in four phases spanning 14 years and costing approximately $80 million. It is a marvel that visitors cannot miss. Visit the newly opened Overlook Events Center at Bob Amos Park to view the entire project.

Located in the heart of Appalachia, Pikeville, and the vast majority of the city are designated Opportunity Zones. Pikeville is a town of roughly 7,000 people that boasts the University of Pikeville with its associated optometry and osteopathic medical schools, the fastest growing campus of the Big Sandy Community and Technical College, and Pikeville Medical Center, a large regional medical facility that employs roughly 3,000 people. In addition to these institutions, the city is home to the corporate offices of Community Trust Bank and is the 10th largest banking community in the state of Kentucky.

Also, the Appalachian Wireless Arena is a 7,000 seat arena located in the heart of the downtown that attracts many nationally touring acts each year.

The City of Pikeville believes by supporting local entrepreneurs and preserving its historic environment, it has created a downtown community that hosts a healthy mix of businesses and activities that are crucial for continued economic development and success. The City has developed economic incentives for downtown businesses and property owners that are administered through the Pikeville Main Street Program.

The Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park is ready for development. With 400 acres of land, utilities are in place and all major infrastructure projects are complete. Pikeville is ready to support your industry needs with a large workforce, university and community and technical college training programs to equip your workers with the skills they need, and a full array of support services including fire, police, ambulance, public works, hospital, trauma center, hotels, restaurants, retail, and much more!

Pikeville’s tenacity and resilience through the years is a testament to the perseverance of its residents. The earliest settlers braved mountainous terrain and nearly absolute isolation. In recent times, these qualities have served residents well as they braved severe floods and economic vacillations in the coal industry. The City of Pikeville and its residents have met these challenges and surmounted them with creativity, fortitude and stamina, and at times, literally moving mountains.

For more information on Pikeville, Kentucky and what it can offer you and your business, visit whypikeville.com or visit pikeville.com

KENTUCKY ENTERPRISE INDUSTRIAL PARK

• The Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park, located in Pikeville, Kentucky, is ready for occupancy • Utilites are in place and all major infrastructure projects are complete • We are ready to support your industry needs with a highly skilled workforce and university and community and technical college training programs to equip your workers with the skills they need • A full array of support services including fire, police, ambulance, public works, hospital, trauma center, hotels, restaurants, retail and more are conveniently located nearby • The City of Pikeville, which includes the Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park, qualifies as an Opportunity Zone, which is a district where investors recieve significant federal tax breaks and deferrals for investing in a variety of economic development projects

www.whypikeville.com | 243 Main Street | Pikeville, Kentucky 41501 | 606.437.5108

EXPANSION

OPPORTUNITIES

KENTUCKY: SOUTH WESTERN KENTUCKY

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Located in the middle of America’s manufacturing and agricultural heartland, South Western Kentucky is home to the most fertile lands and hardest working hands. The region enjoys unparalleled beauty in their rolling hills, fertile fields, and natural waterways and outstanding location being an easy day’s drive from 86% of the country’s population. With easy access to interstate, rail, ship, and plane, you or your company’s products can be anywhere in the world in just a matter of hours.

But, there’s so much more to this region which boasts the home of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 5th Special Forces, and 160th Special Operations houses over 27,000 soldiers and their 59,000 family members along with over 150,000 veterans and retirees in this region. This economic engine is a major source of their available, reliable, and skilled workforce with over 450 soldiers transitioning into our region every month.

Their proud military heritage is only surpassed by their long reputation as the home of the nation’s most fertile lands. Their fields, shaped by glaciers centuries ago and fed by nutrient rich natural waterways, produce nation leading crops like winter wheat, soybeans, corn, burley tobacco, and increasingly alfalfa, canola and hemp. These crops serve as raw materials in some of their most successful industries in food processing, ethanol, and distilleries throughout the region.

This land produces more than record yielding crops with over 61 manufacturers located in the SWK with 21 internationally owned representing 11 unique countries. This region has seen tremendous manufacturing growth in their fertile lands because of their hard-working hands. Industries located in the SWK include agriculture, automotive, advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, and distribution. In 32 |

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total, over 12,000 regional residents come to work daily in manufacturing in the SWK. Businesses, like crops, grow strong and fast in this region. The SWK region is also home to a bustling population of over 100,000 and nearly 500,000 in the six-county labor shed. Locals aren’t surprised that newcomers are flocking to this region as they’re discovering what locals have known all along. The SWK is a less taxing, more relaxing environment for people of all ages and interests.

Boasting the youngest population in the state while being a retiree destination point along the shorelines of their local lakes, the SWK region is home to a diverse, energetic, innovative, and compassionate population. Low cost of living, great housing, safe streets and neighborhoods, outstanding schools, and charming award-winning communities are major contributors to why so many are choosing to live, work, and play in the SWK. Their residents care about one another and it shows as this region consistently ranks amongst the top donors to United Way and hosts the two must successful Rotary Auctions in the world helping to raise money to support education. In fact, local students qualify for the prestigious Rotary Scholars program which provides area qualifying students the opportunity to attend their first two years of college tuition free.

With outstanding education opportunities and access to over 450,000 workers in our labor shed, the SWK is blessed to have an available, reliable, and skilled workforce ready to help the next business locate, grow, and/or expand.

It should be easy to see the SWK is ready to be your new home. They have available land, shovel ready sites, spec buildings, and existing inventory ready for you. So, pack your boxes to come live, work, and play in the SWK. You won’t be disappointed as you experience the region with the most fertile lands and the hardest working hands.

Come grow with them! Visit SouthWesternKY. com X

COME GROW WITH US & REAP THE BENEFITS! SWK BIG FOUR + :

TOBACCO, WINTER WHEAT, SOYBEAN, CORN + HEMP & AGRITECH

OR U.S. CITIES ECONOMIC

$1.8B

TA

$1B

IMPACT

IN AG RECEIPTS

4,700 WORKING IN THE FIELD

#1

CANADA

#1

IN WHEAT PRODUCTION WITH 3,247,000 BUSHELS

#4

80 MILLION BUSHELS OF GRAIN PRODUCED

TOBACCO

SOYBEAN

WINTER WHEAT

IN CORN PRODUCTION WITH 13,957,000 BUSHELS

CORN

IN SOYBEAN PRODUCTION WITH 4,765,000 BUSHELS

Lake $57 MILLION 14 MILLION Superior IN GROSS HEMP PRODUCT SALES

POUNDS OF TOBACCO PRODUCED

Duluth Fargo WE HAVE THE RAW MATERIALS, THE LABOR, AND THE LAND - COME GROW WITH US VT Lake Huron MINNESOTA Montpelier

FOOD

OTA

CHEMICAL

St. Paul

MACHINERY L. Ontario Albany 5,700 PEOPLE

Minneapolis 28,000 PEOPLEWISCONSIN 3,400 PEOPLE

x Falls

ARE EMPLOYED Lake IN THIS SECTOR WITHIN A 60 MINUTE DRIVE TIME

EMPLOYED IN THIS SECTOR WITHIN A 60 MINUTE DRIVE TIME

OVER

ARE IN THIS SECTOR WITHIN A 60 MINUTE DRIVE TIME MICHIGAN

IOWA Davenport Chicago ACCESS TO R&D: Cleveland HCC TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CENTER, A VANDERBILTGary SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & MSU & BREATHITT VETERINARY CENTER ILLINIOS Des Moines OHIO Omaha UK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Ft. Wayne

Lincoln

Peoria

Topeka

NSAS Wichita

Frankfort

KENTUCKY

Springfield

Nashville

Oklahoma City

Worth

TENNESSEE

Fort Smith

ARKANSAS

Birmingham

Little Rock

Shreveport

LOUISIANA

PENNSYLVANIA

ENDLESS AGRI-TECH POSSIBILITIESTrenton Philadelphia HCC TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CENTER, MSU Harrisburg NJ MURRAY STATE ENGINEERING Pittsburgh

MISSISSIPPI Jackson

GOLD

ALABAMA

Atlant Dover

MD

WV

Charleston

DELAW

VA

Richmond

Roanoke

Norfolk

Durham

Raleigh

Asheville NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte Greenville

Memphis

Greenville

Dallas

Knoxville

110 COMPANIES

Newark ARE IN THIS SECTOR WITHIN A 60 MINUTE DRIVE TIME New

Louisville

MISSOURI

M NEW YORK Hartford C

Washington DC

INDIANA Cincinnati

St. Louis

Tulsa

LAHOMA

S

Springfield

Kansas City

Columbus

Indianapolis

Conc

ARE EMPLOYED IN THIS SECTOR WITHIN Buffalo A 60 MINUTE DRIVE TIME

Lansing Madison Michigan L. ErieOVER 970 Waterloo COMPANIESMilwaukee OVER 80 COMPANIES Detroit

ARE IN FOOD MANUFACTURING WITHIN A 60 MINUTE DRIVE TIME

N

Wilmington

S. CAROLINA Atlanta

Columbia

Augusta

Charleston

GEORGIA #COMEGROWWITHUS

Savannah Montgomery South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council

2800 Fort Campbell AlbanyBlvd. | Hopkinsville, Kentucky 42240 270.885.1499 | www.southwesternky.com

Jacksonville

EXPANSION

OPPORTUNITIES

TENNESSEE:

Great Brands Deserve the Great State of Tennessee

T

hey believe in high expectations, low debt, and a pro-business regulatory environment.

Tennessee is proud to be a right-to-work state with no personal income tax on wages. Their state and local tax burdens are among the lowest in the country, and their state budget operates with a healthy surplus rather than a deficit. In other words, you need to be in Tennessee.

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In Tennessee, they make world-class cars, guns and guitars. They make batteries, refrigerators, savory snacks and legendary whiskey. While other states may have given up their manufacturing workforce, Tennessee has never stopped making products used all over the world.

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something special in the global business community.

Tennessee has become recognized for the artisan strength of their workforce and believe so strongly that they’re making groundbreaking investments in education to make that workforce even stronger. It’s no accident that some of the biggest and most respected brands in the world have chosen to call Tennessee home.

Companies, investors, shareholders and executives choose Tennessee for their sound fiscal management and significant new investments in their economic ecosystem. Tennessee’s budgetary discipline has allowed them to make meaningful investments in public education, workforce development, and their International business reach.

For more information, please contact the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development at www. tnedc.com/advantages/business-climate/ or call 615-741-1888 X.

EXPANSION

OPPORTUNITIES

LOUISIANA:

Custom Workforce for Expanding

A

s COVID-19 emerged in 2020, businesses paused expansion plans. Yet Louisiana’s recruitment pipeline stayed full, and soon began yielding impressive results. In July, Louisiana gained State of the Year recognition for best prior-year economic development results in the South. Days later, LED Fast Start® – Louisiana’s custom workforce program for expanding businesses – earned a No. 1 national ranking for the 11th straight year.

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On the heels of that recognition, Gov. John Bel Edwards welcomed SchoolMint to Louisiana. A technology company serving 18,000 schools and 9 million students, SchoolMint joined Edwards to announce its corporate headquarters relocation from Silicon Valley to Lafayette. The hub of a traditional oil and gas economy, Lafayette is now helping Louisiana become one of the fastest-growing software and information technology clusters in the U.S. “The vibrant and growing tech culture here is exciting, and we expect to create hundreds of high-tech jobs over

EXPANSION

OPPORTUNITIES

the next decade,” SchoolMint CEO Bryan MacDonald said.

During the past decade, Louisiana laid the foundation for greater success through strategic investments in higher education, training and partnerships. Over $300 million in project-based software and advanced manufacturing investments are touching every state university and community college.

At the heart of that movement is LED FastStart. When Louisiana attracted the world’s first LEED Platinum frozen foods facility to Delhi, Louisiana, FastStart’s custom training became a global standard for Lamb Weston’s thenparent, Fortune 500 ConAgra.

In Baton Rouge, state leaders funded a $30 million Louisiana Digital Media Center to house LSU’s supercomputing center along with hundreds of jobs and the quality assurance hub of the world’s largest video game developer, EA. Again, LED FastStart established company training standards worldwide.

“Louisiana Economic Development’s FastStart program remains our gold standard for customized workforce development and talent attraction,” said Business Facilities Editor in Chief Jack Rogers. “Nobody is faster at adapting new technologies and the tools needed to recruit and train a skilled workforce in today’s highly competitive market.”

LED FastStart helped Sasol Ltd. grow from 400 employees to over 1,000 at a world-scale $12.9 billion chemical complex in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

“With the pre-employment process that FastStart is able to help us with, we’re able to screen much larger numbers of people much more effectively than we could before,” said Sasol Senior Vice President of U.S. Operations Mike Thomas. “That translates into us saving money and having a more professional workforce in the long run.”

Boeing is developing a Space Launch System for NASA in New Orleans, and benefitting from an aerospace center of excellence at neighboring Nunez Community College.

“FastStart is getting the word out — their advocacy for us has been fantastic,” said Jennifer Boland-Masterson, Boeing’s site director. “As we continue to ramp up this program, we are going to have the resources we need to build this faster and faster.”

Complete recovery from COVID-19 won’t happen right away, but Louisiana’s workforce and economic development strengths are preparing the state for more than mere recovery, and establishing the path for a more resilient, productive economy.

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LOUISIANA: SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA ALLIANCE FOUNDATION

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The SWLA Alliance Foundation is the only 501c3, nonprofit agency in the Southwest Louisiana region devoted solely to its economic development. With the support of its stakeholders, the SWLA Alliance Foundation enhances the economic footprint of the region through strong regional partnerships, workforce development, business recruitment and retention, and entrepreneurship.

They work with existing industry to develop their regional workforce and address future issues.The Alliance professionals meet with business owners and leaders in the community to ascertain current and future needs. Their team conducts BERG (Business Expansion & Retention Group) meetings in conjunction with LED (Louisiana Economic Development). The feedback helps shape the goals and programs of the Alliance.

The Alliance works with educational partners to develop a pipeline of future workers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math). They work closely with McNeese State University and SOWELA Technical Community College and the school systems in the five parishes represented.

They focus efforts through their Quality of Life Task Forces to make this region a better place to live. Their Vice President dedicated to Quality of Life works with numerous coalition and governmental agencies to bring small, but vital improvements to Southwest Louisiana residents.

The Alliance works with Site Selectors and LED to recruit new business to Southwest Louisiana. One strategy is to build a grid of Certified Sites throughout the region to highlight shovel-ready, development-ready sites. Another is to maintain numerous databases to answer industry requests for information and respond to LED or industry inquiries looking to expand into the region.

For more information, please call 337-433-3632 or visit their website at www.allianceswla.org . X

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OPPORTUNITIES

CANADA:

Alberta. More Open Than Ever.

A

lberta has one of Canada’s most thriving economies and is Canada’s most businessfriendly jurisdiction. In Alberta, there is: less red tape, globally connected, dynamic cities and stunning mountain parks, and a young, highly educated workforce. Alberta’s key sectors include Energy/Clean Tech; Petrochemicals; Agriculture; Aviation/Logistics; Technology/ Data; Financial Services; and Tourism.

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Alberta’s corporate tax rate has dropped to 8%. Alberta is perfectly positioned to offer the best business environment for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business builders. Now, with tax rates as globally competitive as you are.

More than $630 million has been invested by private and public sectors in Alberta communications networks in 2019. Telus is

making a $16 billion investment in 5G and fiber optic data networks in Alberta through 2023. SuperNet connects more than 4,200 hospitals, schools, libraries, and government facilities to fiber optic internet speeds. WestGrid is one of Compute Canada’s largest highperformance computer grid, providing access to advanced research computing services for businesses.

The Government of Alberta is committed to pipeline construction and expanding market access for resources. There has been $1.5 billion in equity and $6 billion loan guarantee to ensure completion of Keystone XL while the Canadian Federal Government authorized a $4.5 billion acquisition of Trans Mountain.

Government policy goals include: lowering taxes for job creators; Streamlining government approval processes; revitalizing and sustaining key industries; making Alberta more dynamic, innovative and sustainable; and continued support for the energy sector while advancing economic diversification and innovation.

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OPPORTUNITIES

ALBERTA: CALGARY LEADING THE WAY IN THE AGRIBUSINESS EVOLUTION

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Agriculture has always been big business in Alberta, and as the industry adapts to a changing world, it is set to have an even bigger global impact.

With consumers worldwide increasingly concerned with food security and food safety, Alberta has a well-earned reputation for trusted, high-value agricultural products.

Calgary is emerging as a leading Canadian centre for the development and application of advanced agricultural technologies and practises.

Canada is the fifth largest exporter of agricultural and agri-food products in the world and agriculture products from Alberta are exported to more than 150 countries. In the last 10 years, agriculture and agri-food exports have more than doubled.

The world wants more Canadian food products and Alberta is ready to deliver.

Agriculture has been a vital part of the economy in Western Canada for generations. Calgary benefits from proximity to a strong agricultural base, a cluster of global industry-leading agribusiness companies, a highly skilled workforce, and an integrated transportation network with the capacity to reach 11 million consumers in a day.

“We have experts in all things Agribusiness, including primary production, protein development, ag-tech innovation and food safety and traceability. It is making 40 |

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Calgary a new hot spot for Canadian companies and global food and technology suppliers,” said Mary Moran, President and Chief Executive Officer for Calgary Economic Development.

Calgary is an urban centre surrounded by agricultural land, helping bridge the urban/rural gap and giving company headquarters direct access to large-scale agricultural operations. That is why global firms like Bayer, BASF, Corteva and Nutrien have established hubs in Calgary and others like Grow Safe, Provision Analytics, TELUS, and Farmers Business Network are growing rapidly to address challenges and find solutions for Canadian and global agriculture problems.

An increasingly significant key to the future of the industry are the nearly two dozen universities, colleges, and research institutions in the province. Technology is disrupting every industry and the agriculture sector is no different.

One partnership driving innovation is The Calgary-Olds Smart Agri-Food Corridor. It is a leading smart agri-food corridor in Canada that leverages Calgary’s global corporate presence and distribution hub with Olds College’s Smart Farm applied research and integrated learning. Through the corridor, companies and entrepreneurs have access to a world-class agribusiness environment that supports the development and scaling of new technologies throughout the value chain.

As the world moves rapidly towards digitization, agricultural technology continues to advance and evolve. The industry is being reshaped by technology and innovation in Calgary is no exception. A recent study done by Calgary Economic Development forecasts the agribusiness sector will be the fastest adopter of digital technologies in Alberta.

The sector will increase spending on digital technologies – everything from IoT to GPS – by 23 per cent from 2019 to 2022.

Learn more about opportunities in agribusiness in southern Alberta at https://calgaryeconomicdevelopment. com. X

FOODIE If you’re a robot connoisseur, you’re beeping up the right tree. Calgary has a well-established robotics industry as well as a vibrant agritech sector. And if fine food is more your fare, we have that too: one of the best restaurant scenes in Canada.

Work in Canada’s most adventurous tech city.™ livetechlovelife.com

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NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

ALABAMA Tuscaloosa County Industrial Dev. Auth

Cullman Economic Development Agency

Dale Greer P.O. Box 1009 Cullman, AL 35056 256-739-1891 daleg@cullmaneda.org www.cullmaneda.org ...................................................................

Sissie Browning, Assistant Director P.O. Box 2667 Tuscaloosa, AL 35403 205-349-1414 info@tcida.com www.tcida.com ...................................................................

ARIZONA

Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development

James Lee Sillman Executive Director 625 Adams Aveune Camden, AR 71701 870-836-2210 870-836-8899 (f) director@teamcamden.com www.teamcamden.com ...................................................................

City of Siloam Springs Etowah Economic Alliance

Marilyn Lott 800 Forrest Avenue Suite 220E Gadsden, AL 35901 256-456-9938 mlott@eeaalabama.org www.eeaalabama.org ...................................................................

Gadsden Industrial Development Authority

David Hooks, Executive Director 1 Commerce Square Gadsden, AL 35901 256-543-9423 davidhooks@gadsdenida.org www.gadsdenida.org ...................................................................

Elmore County Economic Development

Cary Cox P.O. Box 117 Wetumka , AL 36092 334-514-5843 cary.cox@elmoreeda.com www.elmoreeda.com ..................................................................

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

Amy Sturdivant 601 Genome Way Huntsville , AL 35806 256-327-9591 asturdivant@hudsonaplpha.org www.hudsonalpha.org ...................................................................

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Arizona Regional Economic Develoment

Mignonne Hollis, Executive Director 750 E. Bartow Drive Suite 16 Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 520-458-6948 hollism@aredf.org www.aredf.org ...................................................................

City of Flagstaff Economic Development

John Saltonstall, AZED Pro Business Retention and Expansion Manager Economic Vitality Division City of Flagstaff 211 W. Aspen Avenue Flagstaff, AZ 86001 Office 928-213-2966 Cell 928-606-9430 jsaltonstall@flagstaffaz.gov ...................................................................

Pinal Alliance for Economic Growth

Patti King, Executive Mgr. 17235 N. 75th Avenue Suite D-145 Glendale, AZ 85308 520-836-8686 pking@pinalalliance.org www.pinalalliance.org ...................................................................

Don Clark Community Development Director P.O. Box 80 Siloam Springs , AR 72761 479-238-0927 dclark@siloamsprings.com whysiloam.com ...................................................................

CALIFORNIA

City of Eastvale

Kimberly Wright Economic Development Manager 12363 Limonite Ave. Suite 910 Eastvale, CA 91752 951-703-4480 kwright@eastvaleca.gov www.eastvaleca.gov ...................................................................

City of Moreno Valley Economic Development

Mike Lee Economic Development Director 14177 Frederick Street Moreno Valley, CA 92553 951-413-3460 edteam@moval.org www.morenovalleybusiness.com ...................................................................

ARKANSAS City of Ontario Economic Development

Chaffee Crossing

Ivy Owen, Executive Director 7020 Taylor Avenue Fort Smith, AR 72916 479-452-4554 479-452-4566 (f) property@chaffeecrossing.com www.chaffeecrossing.com ...................................................................

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Tanya Spiegel Executive Director Ecnomic Development 303 East B Street Ontario, CA 91764 909-395-2081 tspiegel@ontarioca.gov www.ontariothinksbusiness.com ...................................................................

Greater Irvine Chamber

Linda DiMario 36 Executive Park Suite 100 Irvine, CA 92614 949-502-4124 ldimario@irvinechamber.com www.irvinechamber.com ...................................................................

COLORADO

City of Fountain Economic Development Commission

Kimberly A. Bailey Economic Development/ Urban Renewal Director 116 S. Main Street Fountain, CO 80817 719-322-2056 kbailey@fountaincolorado.org www.fountaincolorado.org ...................................................................

Grand Junction Economic Partnership

Robin Brown, Executive Director 122 N. 6th Street Grand Junction, CO 81501 970--245-4332 robin@gjep.org www.gjep.org ...................................................................

DELAWARE

American Municipal Power, Inc.

Alexis A. Fitzsimmons Director of Economic & Business Development 1111 Schrock Rd. Columbus, OH 43229 614-540-0994 afitzsimmons@amppartners.org www.searchampsites.com ...................................................................

FLORIDA City of Kissimmee

Belinda O. Kirkegard, Economic Development Director 101 Church Street Kissimmee FL 34741 407-518-2307 BKirkegard@kissimmee.org www.Kissimmee.org ...................................................................

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City of Sanford

Bob Turk Economic Development Director 300 North Park Ave. Sanford, FL 32771 407-688-5015 bob.turk@sanfordfl.gov www.sanfordfl.gov ...................................................................

City of St. Cloud

David Rodriguez Economic Development & Special Projects Manager 1300 9th Street St. Cloud, FL 34769 (407)957-7234 david.rodriguez@stcloud.org http://www.stcloud.org/5/Planning-Zoning ...................................................................

City of Titusville

Edyie McCall 555 South Washington Avenue Titusville, FL 32796-3584 321-567-3774 Edyie.McCall@titusville.com ...................................................................

NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

Haines City Economic Development Council, Inc.

Cyndi Jantomaso, President Post Office Box 3845 Haines City, FL 33845-3845 863-422-2525 863-206-0007 cyndi@hainescityedc.com www.hainescityedc.com ...................................................................

Hernando County Offfice of Business Development

Valerie M. Pianta Economic Development Director 15800 Flight Path Diver Brooksville, FL 34604 352--540-6400 vpianta@hernandocounty.us www.holmescountyedc.com ...................................................................

Holmes County Development Commission

Joe Rone, Executive Director 106 E Byrd Avenue Bonifay, FL 32425 850-547-6154 jrone@westflorida.coop hcdc1978@gmail.com www.holmescountyedc.com ...................................................................

Elevate Lake Economic Development

Tracy Garcia CEcD, EcDMP Director 20763 US Highway 27 Groveland, FL 34736 352-343-9647 352-801-7498 (f) tgarcia@lakecountyfl.gov elevatelake.com ...................................................................

Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation

J.P. DuBuque President 100 2nd Ave N Ste 130 St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-388-2906 jpdubuque@stpeteedc.com StPeteEDC.com/BurgBiz ...................................................................

Indian River Chamber of Commerce

Helene Caseltine Economic Development Director 1216 21st Street Vero Beach, FL 32960 772-567-3491 directored@indianrivered.com www.indianrivered.com ...................................................................

Osceola County

Christina Morris, CEcD, Economic Development Manager 3 Courthouse Square, 2nd Floor Kissimmee, FL 34741 407-742-4200 407-742-4202 (f) Christina.Morris@osceola.org www.greaterosceola.org ...................................................................

Forward Forsyth

Pasco Economic Development Council

Bill Cronin, President & CEO 16506 Pointe Village Drive Suite 101 Lutz, FL 33558 813-926-0827 813-926-0829 (f) bcronin@pascoedc.com pascoedc.com ...................................................................

James McCoy, President & Ceo P.O. Box 1799 Cumming GA 30028 770-887-6461 770-842-1170 jmccoy@focochamber.org www.forwardforsyth.org ...................................................................

Putnam Development Authority Pinellas County Economic Development

Mike Meidel, CEcD, Director 13805 58th Street North, Suite 1-200 Clearwater, FL 33760 727-464-7332 mmeidel@pinellascounty.org www.pced.org/default.aspx ...................................................................

Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

Christina Paredes, Director, OEV 315 S. Calhoun Street, Suite 450 Tallahassee, FL 32301 850-300-7559 Cparedes@OEVforBusiness.org www.oevforbusiness.org ...................................................................

GEORGIA City of College Park

Artie Jones III Director of Economic Development 3667 Main Street College Park, GA 30337 404-305-2052 404-305-2057 (f) artiejones@collegeparkga.com www.collegeparkga.com/ ...................................................................

City of East Point

Maceo Rogers CECD 1526 East Forrest Avenue Suite 400 East Point, GA 30344 404-270-7057 jmrogers@eastpointcity.org www.eastpointcity.org ...................................................................

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Terry Schwindler Econmical Devleopment Director 117 Putnam Drive, Eaton, GA 31024 706-816-8099 tschwindler@putnamdevelopmentauthority.com www.putnamdevelopmentauthority.com ...................................................................

ILLINOIS

Champaign County Economic Development Corporation

Carly McCroy, Executive Director 1817 S. Neil Street, Suite 100 Champaign, IL 61820 217-359-6261 carly@champaigncountyedc.org www.champaigncountyedc.org ...................................................................

City of Highland Economic Development

Mark Latham 1115 Broadway, P.O. Box 218 Highland, IL 62249-0218 618-654-9891 618-654-4768 (f) mlatham@highlandil.gov www.highlandil.gov ...................................................................

City of Litchfield Ecnomic Development

Shelly Herman, Mayor 120 E. Ryder Street Litchfield, IL 62056 217-324-8146 Sherman@cityoflitchfieldil.com www.litchfieldil-development.com ...................................................................

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NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

INDIANA City of Marshall

Jennifer Bishop Economic Development Director 201 S. Michigan Ave Marshall, IL 62441 217-826-2034 jbishop@marshall-il.com www.marshall-il.com ...................................................................

American Municipal Power, Inc.

Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation

Joann Knight, Executive Director Alexis A. Fitzsimmons 101 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd.

Director of Economic & Business Dodge City, KS 67801 Development 620-227-9501 1111 Schrock Rd. 620-227-2957 (f) Columbus, OH 43229 jknight@dodgedev.org 614-540-0994 www.dodgedev.org afitzsimmons@amppartners.org ................................................................... www.searchampsites.com ...................................................................

City of Vandalia

Amber E. Daulbaugh, Director of Economic Development 431 W. Gallatin St. Vandalia, IL 62471 618-283-1152 618-335-9510 (Mobile) vandaliaed@vandaliaillinois.com www.vandaliaillinois.com ...................................................................

KENTUCKY

Alliance STL | St. Louis Regional Economic Development

Steven S. Johnson. CEO One Metropolitan Square Suite 1300 St. Louis, MO 63102 314-444-1105 sjohnson@alliancestl.com alliancestl.com ...................................................................

Village of Arlington Heights Business & Economic Development

Charles Witherington-Perkins Director of Planning & Community Development 33 S. Arlington Heights Arlington Heights, IL 60005 847-368-5220 cperkins@vah.com www.vah.com ...................................................................

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Jill Fraley Dotson, Executive Economic Development Director 773 Hambley Boulevard Pikeville, KY 41501 606-437-5128 info@whypikeville.com www.whypikeville.com ...................................................................

Greater Topeka Partnership Huntington County Economic Development

Mark Wickersham Executive Driector 8 West Market Street Huntington, IN 46750 260-356-5688 mark@hcued.com www.hcued.com ..................................................................

Molly Howey, CEcD 120 SW 6th Ave. Topeka, KS 66603 785-231-6040 mhowey@gotopeka.com www.gotopeka.com ...................................................................

Miami County Economic Development Auth.

Jim Tidd 1525 W. Hoosier Boulevard Peru, IN 46970 765-689-0159 jtidd@miamicountyeda.com www.miamicountyeda.com ...................................................................

Russell County Eco Devo & CVB

Mike Parsons, Director 331 E. Witchita, Russell, KS 67665 785-483-4000 785-324-0126 rced2@russellks.org www.russellcountyks.org ...................................................................

KANSAS

City of Parsons Economic Development

Jim Zaleski Economic Development Director 112 S. 17th Street Parsons, KS 67357 620-421-7030 jzaleski@parsonsks.com www.growparsons.com ...................................................................

Coffey County Economic Development

Ronda Truelove, Interim Director 110 S. 6th St., Room #5 Burlington KS 66839 620-364-8780 620-364-3608 rtruelove@coffeycountyks.org www.coffeycountyks.org ...................................................................

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South Western Kentucky EDC

Carter Hendricks, Executive Director 2800 Fort Campbell Blvd.

Hopkinsville, KY 42240 270-885-1499 chendricks@southwesternky.com www.southwesternky.com ...................................................................

LOUISIANA

Intersect Illinois

Brent Case Senior Vice President Business Development 230 W. Monroe St. Chicago, IL 60606 312-667-6013 brent.case@intersectillinois.org intersectillinois.org ...................................................................

City of Pikeville

Shawnee Economic Development

Ann Smith-Tate, President CEO 15100 W. 67th Street Suite 202 Shawnee, KS 66217-9344 913-631-6545 asmithtate@shawneekschamber.com www.shawnee-edc.com ...................................................................

Wyandotte Economic Development Council

Greg Kindle, President 727 Minnesota Avenue Kansas City, KS 66101 913-371-3198 gkindle@wyedc.org www.wyedc.org ...................................................................

Louisiana Economic Development

Anya G. Hudnall 1201 N. Third Street Suite 7-210 Baton Rouge, LA 70802 225-342-5396 Anya.hudnal@la.gov www.la.gov ...................................................................

SWLA Economic Development ALLIANCE

George Swift 4310 Ryan Street Lake Charles LA 70605 337-433-3632 gswift@allianceswla.org www.allianceswla.org ...................................................................

St. Mary Parish of Economic Development

Frank Fink, Director 500 Main Street, 5th Floor Courthouse Franklin, LA 70538 337-828-4100 ffink@stmaryparishla.gov www.stmaryparishdevelopmant.com ...................................................................

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NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

MAINE

Town of Richmond Community, Economic, & Business Development

Darryl Sterling, Director 26 Gardiner Street Richmond, ME 04357-0159 207-737-4305 x 331 207-737-4306 (f) director@richmondmaine.com www.richmondmaine.com ...................................................................

MARYLAND

Calvert County Economic Development

Kelly Robertson-Slagle, Director 205 Main Street Prince Frederick, MD 20678 410-535-4583 kelly.slagle@calvertcountymd.gov www.ecalvert.com ...................................................................

Carroll County Economic Development

Paige Sunderland, Director 225 N. Center Street, Ste. 101 Westminster, MD 21157 410-386-2070 psunderland@carrollbiz.org www.carrollbiz.org ...................................................................

Cecil County Economic Development

Chris Moyer, Director 200 Chesapeake Blvd., Ste 2700 Elkton, MD 21921 410-996-8465 cmoyer@ccgov.org www.ccgov.org ...................................................................

Dorchester County Economic Development

Susan Banks, Director 104 Tech Park Drive Cambridge, MD 21613 410-228-0155 sbanks@choosedorchester.org www.choosedorchester.org ...................................................................

MISSOURI Kent County Economic Development

Jamie L. Williams, CEcD, Director 400 High Street, 3rd Floor Chestertown MD 21620 410-810-2168 jlwilliams@kentgov.org https://www.kentcounty.com/ business ...................................................................

Maryland Department of Commerce

Tom Riford 100 Community Place Crownsville, MD 21032 877-634-6361 www.maryland.gov ...................................................................

Montgomery County Economic Development

Kristin O’Keefe 1801 Rockville Pike, Ste. 320 Rockville, MD 20852 240-641-6703 kristin@thinkmoco.com www.thinkmoco.com ...................................................................

Alliance STL | St. Louis Regional Economic Development

Steven S. Johnson, CEO One Metropolitan Square Suite 1300 St. Louis, MO 63102 314-444-1105 sjohnson@alliancestl.com alliancestl.com ...................................................................

Taney County Partnership

Jonas Arjes Executive Director 269 State Highway 248 Branson, MO 65616 417-334-4084 jarjes@taneycountypartnership.com www.taneycountypartnership.com ...................................................................

NEVADA

City of Henderson Economic Development

Development Corporation

The Right Place, Inc.

Andria Romkema 125 Ottawa Avenue, Suite 450 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 616-771-0563 romkemaa@rightplace.org www.Rightplace.org ...................................................................

Gloucester County Department of Economic Development

Tom Bianco, Director 115 Bud Blvd.

West Deptford, NJ 8096 856-384-6930 tbianco@co.gloucester.nj.us www.co.gloucester.nj.us/e/ed/ default.asp ...................................................................

NEW YORK

Ken Chapa, Acting Director Alexis A. Fitzsimmons, Director of City Hall Annex Economic & Business Development 280 Water Street MSC 512 1111 Schrock Rd. P.O. Box 95050 Columbus, OH 43229 Henderson, NV 89009-5050 614-540-0994 702-267-1650 afitzsimmons@amppartners.org 702-267-1651 (f) www.searchampsites.com ................................................................... Ken.Chapa@cityofhenderson.com www.hendersonnow.com Michigan Economic ...................................................................

Doug Kulper, SVP Business Marketing & Communication Director 300 North Washington Square Lansing, MI 48913 www.michiganadvantage.org ...................................................................

Sheldon Mudd, Executive Director 1500 College Pkwy McMullen Hall #103 Elko, NV 89801 775-738-2100 775-738-7978(f) smudd@nnrda.com www.nnrda.com ...................................................................

NEW JERSEY

MICHIGAN

American Municipal Power, Inc.

Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority

Las Vegas Global Ecnomic Alliance

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Craig Clark, Executive Director CrossRoads Center 6087 State Route 19N Suite 100 Belmont, NY 14813 585-268-7445 585-268-7473 (f) clarkcr@alleganyco.com www.acida.org ...................................................................

The Agency-Broome County IDA/LDC

Perry Ursem Vice President, Business Retention + Expansion 6720 via Austi Parkway Suite #330 Las Vegas, NV 89119 702-791-0000 www.Ivgea.org ...................................................................

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Allegany County Industrial Development Agency

Stacey Duncan, Deputy Director of Community & Economic Development Five South College Drive Suite 201 Binghamton, NY 13905 607-584-9000 607-584-9009 (f) smd@theagency-ny.com www.theagency-ny.com ...................................................................

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NORTH CAROLINA

NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

NORTH DAKOTA

PENNSYLVANIA

TENNESSEE Blount Partnership

Beaufort County Economic Development

Martyn Johnson, Director 705 Page Road Washington, NC 27889 252-946-3970 252-946-0849 (f) martyn.johnson@beaufortedc.com ok-duncan.com ..................................................................

Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC

Nathan Schneider CEcD-Vice President 1640 Burnt Boat Dr. Bismark, ND 58503 701-223-5660 nschneider@bmcedc.com www.bismarckmandan.com .................................................................

OHIO

Harnett County Economic Development

Debbie Taylor, Marketing & Business Recruitment Manager 200 Alexander Dr. or PO Box 1270 Lillington, NC 27546 910-814-6891 919-814-8298 (f) dhtaylor@harnett.org www.harnettedc.org ...................................................................

North Carolina Global Transpark

John W. Rouse Executive Director 2780 Jetport Road Kinston, NC 28504 252-775-6183 252-522-1765 (f) jwrouse@ncdot.gov www.ncgtp.com .................................................................

Bryan Daniels CEcD, CCE, IOM President and CEO Alexis A. Fitzsimmons, Director of 201 S. Washington Street Economic & Business Development St. Maryville, TN 37804 1111 Schrock Rd. 865-983-2247 Columbus, OH 43229 865-984-1386 614-540-0994 bdaniels@blountpartnership.com afitzsimmons@amppartners.org www.blountchamber.com www.searchampsites.com ................................................................... ...................................................................

American Municipal Power, Inc.

American Municipal Power, Inc.

RHODE ISLAND

City of Cranston

Lawrence DiBoni, Director of Economic Development 869 Park Avenue Cranston, RI 2910 401-461-1000 401-780-3179 (f) ldiboni@cranstonri.org www.cranstonri.com ...................................................................

Alexis A. Fitzsimmons, Director of Economic & Business Development 1111 Schrock Rd. Columbus, OH 43229 City of Warwick 614-540-0994 Department of Tourism, afitzsimmons@amppartners.org Culture, and Development www.searchampsites.com ................................................................... Karen Jedson, Economic Dev. Director 3275 Pos t Road OKLAHOMA Warwick, RI 2886 401-921-9712 401-732-7662 Karen.Jedson@warwickri.com movetowarwickri.com ..................................................................

Bartlesville Development

Authority

Jared Patton, Vice President 201 SW Keeler Bartlesville, OK 74003 918-337-8086 918-337-0216 (f) jpatton@bdaok.org www.bdaok.org ...................................................................

Quonset Development Corporation

Steven J. King, Managing Director 95 Cripe Street North Kingstown, RI 2852 401-295-0044 sking@quonset.com www.quonset.com ...................................................................

SOUTH CAROLINA

Stanly County Economic Development Commission

Candice Boyd Lowder, Director 704-986-3682 704-986-3685 (f) clowder@stanlyedc.com 1000 North First Street, Suite 11 Albemarle, NC 28001 www.stanlyedc.com ...................................................................

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Ponca City Development Authority

David Myers, Executive Director 102 S. Fifth Street Suite 3 Ponca City, OK 74601 580-765-7070 580-765-7070 (f) dmyers@goponca.com www.goponca.com ...................................................................

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Lexington County Economic Development

J. Michael Eades Department Director 212 South Lake Drive Lexington, SC 29072 803-359-8000 meades@lex-co.com www.lexingtoncountyusa.sc.gov ...................................................................

Bristol Tennessee Essential Services

April Eads Business Development Manager 2470 Volunteer Parkway Bristol, TN 37620 423-793-5532 423-793-5545 (f) aeads@btes.net www.btes.net/index.php/economic-development ...................................................................

City of Lebanon

Sarah Haston Economic Development Director 200 North Castle Heights Ave. Lebanon, TN 37087 615-443-2839 EXT. 2120 Sarah.Haston@lebanontn.org www.lebanontn.org ...................................................................

NETWORKS – Sullivan Partnership

Clay Walker PO Box 747 Blountville, TN 37617 (423) 279-7681 cwalker@networkstn.com www.networkstn.com ...................................................................

TEXAS

Cedar Hill Economic Development Corp

Andy Buffington Marketing and Research Manager 285 Uptown Boulevard, Bldg. 100 Cedar Hill, TX 75104 972-291-5132 andy.buffington@cedarhilltx.com www.cedarhilledc.com ...................................................................

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City of Development Corporation of El Campo

Carolyn Gibson Executive Director 707 Fahrenthold El Campo, TX 77437 979-543-6727 979-320-7727 (f) cgibson@elcampoeco.org www.elcampoeco.org ...................................................................

NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

LCRA

Mark Willis Economic Development Manager 3700 Lake Austin Blvd.

Austin, TX 78703 512-578-3291 mark.willis@lcra.org www.lcra.org/economic-development/pages/default.aspx ...................................................................

Laredo Economic Development

Olivia Varela, President & CEO P.O. Box 2682 Laredo, TX 78044 956-722-0563 ovarela@laredoedc.org www.laredoedc.org ...................................................................

TexAmericas Center

Meredith Mischler Customer Eng. Specialist 107 Chapel Lane New Boston, TX 75570 903-223-9841 meredith.mischler@texamericascenter.com www.texamericascenter.com ...................................................................

Mansfield Economic Development Corporation City of Fort Worth

Robert Sturns, Director 1150 S. Freeway Fort Worth, TX 76104 817-392-2663 Robert.Sturns@fortworthtexas.gov ...................................................................

City of Leander

Evan Milliorn Economic Development Director 201 N Brushy Leander, TX 78641 512-528-2852 emilliorn@leandertx.gov www.leanderbusiness.com ...................................................................

Conroe Economic Development Council

Danielle Scheiner, Executive Director 505 West Davis Conroe, TX 77301 936-538-7118 scheiner@conroeedc.org www.conroeedc.org ...................................................................

DeSoto Economic Development

Joe Newman, CEO 211 E. Pleasant Run Road DeSoto, TX 75115 Ph: 972-230-9611 jnewman@dedc.org www.dedc.org ...................................................................

McKinney Economic Development Corporation

Peter Tokar III, President/CEO 5900 S. Lake Forest Drive McKinney, TX 75070 972-435-6953 ptokar@mckinneyedc.com www.uniquemckinney.com ...................................................................

Odessa Economic Development Corporation

Wesley Burnett 700 N. Grant Ave. Odessa, TX 79761 432-333-7880 wburnett@odessaecodev.com www.odessatx.com ...................................................................

Gainesville Economic Development Corp

Audrey Schroyer 311 S. Weaver Street Gainsville, TX 76240 940-665-5241 aschroyer@cogtx.org www.gainesvilleedc.com ...................................................................

Jacksboro Economic Development Corporation

Lynda Pack Executive Director P.O. Box 610 Jacksboro, TX 76458 940-567-3151 lyndapack@jacksboroedc.com www.jacksboroedc.com ..................................................................

Richard Nevins, Director 301 S. Main Street Mansfield, TX 76063 817-728-3653 richard.nevins@mansfield-texas.com www.mansfield-texas.com ...................................................................

Marble Falls EDC

Christian Fletcher 801 Fourth Street Marble Falls, TX 78654 830-798-7079 cfletcher@marblefallseconomy.com www.marblefallseconomy.com ...................................................................

Mount Pleasant EDC

Nathan Tafoya, Executive Director 1604 N. Jefferson Ave. Mount Pleasant, TX 75455 903-572-6602 nathan@mpedc.org www.mpedc.org ...................................................................

New Braunfels EDC

Chester Jenke 390 S. Seguin Avenue New Braunfels, TX 78130 830-608-2811 holly@innewbraunfels.com www.newbraunfelsedc.com ...................................................................

Pflugerville Community Development

Matt Lara 3801 Helios Way Suite 130 Pflugerville, TX 78660 512-990-3725 mattl@pfdevelopment.com www.pfevelopment.com ..................................................................

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Whitesboro Economic Development Corp.

Lynda Anderson Director P.O. Box 340 or 111 W. Main Whitesboro, TX 76273 930-564-3311 landerson@whitesborotexas.com www.whitesborotexas.com ...................................................................

UTAH

Eagle Mountain Economic Development

Aaron Sanborn City Administrator 1650 E. Stagecoach Run Eagle Mountain, UT 84005 801-789-6621 asanborn@emcity.org www.eaglemountaincity.com ...................................................................

VIRGINA

Alexandria Economic Development Partnership

Adrianne Griffith Marketing & Communications 625 North Washington St. Suite 400 Alexandria, VA 22314 703-739-3820 730-739-1384 (f) griffith@alexecon.org www.growALX.com ...................................................................

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NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF

ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS

WASHINGTON Mingo County Redevelopment Authority

American Municipal Power, Inc.

Alexis A. Fitzsimmons, Director of Economic & Business Development City of Lakewood Economic 1111 Schrock Rd. Development Columbus, OH 43229 Becky Newton, 614-540-0994 Manager afitzsimmons@amppartners.org 6000 Main Street SW www.searchampsites.com Lakewood, WA 98499 ...................................................................

877-421-9126 bnewton@cityoflakewood.us www.buildyourbetterhere.com ...................................................................

Arlington Economic Development

Victor L. Hoskins, AED Director 1100 N Glebe Rd Suite 1500 Arlington, VA 22201 703-228-0808 703-228-0805 (f) vhoskins@arlingtonva.us www.arlingtoneconomicdevelopment.com ...................................................................

Bedford County Office of Economic Development

Traci Blido Economic Development Director 122 E. Main St. Suite 202 Bedford, VA 24523 540-587-5670 540-586-0406 (f) tblido@bedfordcountyva.gov www.bedfordeconomicdevelopment.com ...................................................................

City of Maple Valley

Tim Morgan Economic Development Manager P.O. Box 320 Maple Valley, WA 98038 425-413-8800 tim.morgan@maplevalleywa.gov www.maplevalleywa.gov ..................................................................

Try-City Development Council

Carl Adrian President & CEO 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd #A Kennewich, WA 99336 509-735-1000 cadrian@tridec.org www.tridec.org ..................................................................

WEST VIRGINIA

American Municipal |Power, Inc. County of Gloucester

Sherry A. Spring Director of Economic Development 6467 Main Street Gloucester, VA 23061 804-693-1414 sspring@gloucesterva.info www.glocesterva.info ..................................................................

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Leasha Johnson, Executive Director 1657 East Fourth Avenue Williamson, WV 25661 304-235-0042 304-235-0043 (f) ljohnson.mcra@suddenlinkmail.com www.developmingo.com ...................................................................

WISCONSIN

New North, Inc

Barb LaMue, Executive Director 600 N. Adams Street Green Bay, WI 54115 920-336-3860 barb.lamue@thenewnorth.com www.thenewnorth.com ...................................................................

Portage County Business Council, Inc. PCB

Todd Kuckkahn, Executive Director 5501 Vern Holmes Drive Stevens Point, WI 54482 715-344-1940 715-344-1940 (f) tkuckkah@portagecountybiz.com www.portagecountyconnects.com ...................................................................

WYOMING

Cheyenne LEADS

Randy Bruns, Chief Executive Officer One Depot Square 121 W. 15th St. Suite 304 Cheyenne, WY 82001 307-638-6000 rbruns@cheyenneleads.org cheyenneleads.org ...................................................................

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Sandy Trudel Director of Eocnomic Development Main Floor, 410 9th Street Brandon, Manitoba, Canada R7A 6A2 204-729-2131 s.trudel@brandon.ca www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com ...................................................................

City of Mississauga Economic Development

Celia Coculuzzi Mississauga City Hall 300 City Centre Drive, 3rd Floor Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1 Canada 800-456-2181 905-896-5931 celia.coculuzzi@mississauga.ca www.TheFuturelsUnlimited.ca ...................................................................

City of Guelph

Kurtis Wells 1 Carden Street Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 3A1 519--822-1260 ext. 2079 kurtis.wells@guelph.ca www.guelph.ca/business ...................................................................

County of Elgin

Alan Smith, General Manager, Economic Development 450 Sunset Drive St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada N5R 5V1 asmith@elgin.ca www.elgin-county.on.ca ...................................................................

CANADA

Alexis A. Fitzsimmons, Director of Economic & Town of Ajax Business Development Don Terry 1111 Schrock Rd. Manager, Economic Development Columbus, OH 43229 & Tourism 614-540-0994 65 Harwood Avenue South Ajax, Ontario, Canada L1S 2H9 afitzsimmons@amppartners.org 905-619-2529 ext. 3252 www.searchampsites.com ................................................................... don.terry@ajax.ca www.ajaxfirstforbusiness.com ...................................................................

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City of Brandon

Vaughan Economic and Cultural Development

Dennis Cutajar Vaughan City Hall, Level 200 2141 Major Mackenzie Drive Vaughan, Ontario, Canada L6A 1T1 905-832-8526 ext. 8274 dennis.cutajar@vaughan.ca www.vaughan.ca ...................................................................

ADVERTISER & EDIT INDEX Advertiser

AD Edit

Alabama

Advertiser

AD Edit

Maryland

HudsonAlpha

7

11

California City of Ontario Greater Irvine

21 49

Dorchester County Kent County Port of Baltimore

26 28

17

19

Rhode Island Quonset Business Park

Florida Indian River County

27 25 15

Tennessee

9

Blount County

Kentucky

35

Pikeville

31

30

Washington

South Western KY

33

32

City of Lakewood

23

Alberta, Canada

Louisiana Southwest LA Alliance Port of South Louisiana

37 BC

38

Calgary

41

40

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949.660.9112 • irvinechambereconomicdevelopment.com

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