Business in Utah - 2009

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TOP REASONS

Utah is The Place for Business

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UTAH Inside America’s Most Dynamic Economy

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Economic Opportunity in the Beehive State REGION

BY REGION

You feel a range of emotions when diagnosed with a medical problem.

Strangely, peace can be one of them.

4 t’s natural to feel uneasy when you have

clots, and Primary Children’s established its

medical issues. But if you’re being treated

fetal heart program. Dixie Regional uses lap

by skilled caregivers with proven technology,

banding weight loss technology, Utah Valley

you can also feel at peace. For example,

treats heart issues with electrophysiology, and

LDS Hospital fights lung cancer with its

Intermountain Medical Center fights brain

ulstrasound capabilities, McKay-Dee uses

tumors with its gamma knife. All so peace

an anticoagulation team to prevent blood

can replace uneasiness in medical treatment.

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REASONS TO DO BUSINESS IN UTAH

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BUSINESS IN UTAH IS

ECONOMICALLY VIBRANT Utah Still a Stable Place to do Business

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By Mark Dayton

COMPANIES RELOCATING TO UTAH WON’T REGRET DECISION. Just

ask Procter & Gamble, Sephora and the Amer Sports outdoor equipment companies Atomic, Salomon, Suunto and Bonfire. These are among the A-listers that have recently established operations in the Beehive State, and they’re the first to say they’re happy they made the move.

So what is it that makes Utah so attractive? For Forbes magazine, it is a number of things that put Utah at number two on its 2008 list of “The Best States for Business.” And CNBC echoes the praise, ranking Utah number three among its 2008 “America’s Top States for Business.” Their combined judging criteria include:

PROCTER & GAMBLE GROUND BREAKING, BOX ELDER COUNTY

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

Workforce Business costs Regulatory environment Economic climate Growth prospects Population Gross state product Education Quality of life Technology and innovation Transportation Business friendliness Access to capital Some of the world’s most prominent companies apparently agree, as Utah has won them over in their search for new headquarters or expansions. “The fact that Utah has been able to recruit Cephalon, Sephora, eBay, Oracle, Disney, Goldman Sachs, Hershey—some of the biggest, most recognized names in the world—says a lot,” says Jason Perry, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for Utah (GOED). “These companies make very sound business decisions for very sound business reasons.”

NO GAMBLE FOR P&G Procter & Gamble performed extreme due diligence before deciding on its move to Utah. When the international giant behind mega-brands like Tide, Pampers, Pringles, Folgers and Crest began its site search to build a new manufacturing facility for its Bounty and Charmin paper products, it started by hiring a third-party research company.

“Procter & Gamble was interesting because we found out later they were ‘secret shopping’ even before we knew who they were,” says Perry. “They had key leadership personnel going into our universities, walking our streets, interviewing potential job applicants— trying to see what quality of life was like, what the workforce was like. They didn’t take their search lightly.”

According to Matthew Donthnier, human resources and public relations manager for P&G Utah, Utah was in the final running with two other sites. When it came time to decide where to invest more than $300 million in building a new 1 million-square-foot facility and distribution center, Donthnier says it

PROCTER & GAMBLE’S 1 MILLION SQUARE-FOOT-FACILITY IN BOX ELDER COUNTY

came down to a few critical issues.

“Really three things drove our decision. One was the geographic location. Northern Utah, from a supply chain standpoint, is a good long-term fit for us. Also, the partnership and support of the state and local officials—from the Governor to GOED and their contracted recruiting partner the Economic Development Corporation of Utah [EDCUtah] to the county commissioners in Box Elder County—everyone offered support at all levels. Finally, the third piece that pushed Utah clearly over the top was Utah’s workforce and culture.”

He goes on to explain about the workforce, “Utah has a very highly educated workforce, and the general culture puts a lot of focus on family and integrity. Those values aligned perfectly with our company’s principles and values. In fact, the company uses the phrase ‘Do the right thing often.’ Culturally, the phrase ‘Choose the right’ is common in Utah. As we uncovered that, we saw a good fit between the company and the state of Utah.”

Donthnier also makes a point of praising the local officials in Box Elder County who helped coordinate the details. “They were able to overcome some of the challenges with getting water and power to the site, working across all levels of state and local government.”

With the help of Governor Jon Huntsman and other local officials, P&G broke ground on 750 acres near Bear River City in late 2007.

The facility, which is just over an hour north of Salt Lake City, will be in full operation by early 2010. The plant and distribution center are designed to meet the needs of P&G customers west of the Rockies and will reduce distribution costs, as the Western region has previously been served out of the Midwest.

Donthnier is pleased with the

progress of the facility and looks forward to a long relationship with Utah. “When we build a facility, we’re committed for the long-term,” says Donthnier. “Our plant in Cincinnati has been in operation for 39 years; another plant has been in operation for 65 years. So we talk in terms of generations at P&G.” SEPHORA LIKES UTAH’S COMPLEXION Like Procter & Gamble, Sephora was looking for a Western U.S. location when it put Utah on its list of potential sites. As part of Parisbased LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Sephora is considered one of the world’s leaders in cosmetics, with more than 515 retail stores in 14 countries and a famously successful online business. Experiencing rapid growth during the past few years, the company urgently needed an additional distribution center.

“We had been servicing Sephora.com customers and retail stores as far away as Hawaii, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, everything out of our distribution center in Maryland,” says Martin

Flaherty, Sephora vice president of logistics. “Once we determined that the growth of the company was on a fast track, we realized we would not have the capacity to keep pace with our fast-growing business.”

Flaherty says the company looked at 14 geographical sites within the U.S. before finally settling on Salt Lake City. “By the end, it was down to a competition between Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. It was a matter of transportation economics for us.

With Salt Lake City at the crossroads of the West, it has a great highway system, close proximity to an international airport, and it brought us closer to our Western markets.”

The clincher, however, was the support Sephora received from Utah’s state and local government.

“As we were looking at the various sites, the one thing that persuaded us to set down roots in Salt Lake City was the work of the Governor’s Office, Salt Lake City Mayor Becker’s office and EDCUtah. They had done something the other locales did not—they promised they would work energetically with us to make sure

“The fact that Utah has been able to recruit Cephalon, Sephora, eBay, Oracle, Disney, Goldman Sachs, Hershey—some of the biggest, most recognized names in the world—says a lot. These companies make very sound business decisions for very sound business reasons.”

Jason Perry EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR UTAH

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the building was permitted, plugged into the electric grid, and made functional as fast as humanly possible. That promise convinced us.”

Flaherty continues, “What I’m about to tell you is phenomenal.

In my world, this is unheard of. We went from an empty shell to a fully functioning distribution center in 20 weeks. It was really important to the Sephora business.”

In July 2008, Flaherty joined Governor Huntsman, Mayor Becker and others at a ribbon cutting for Sephora’s 312,000-square-foot facility.

The building, a new facility constructed by Buzz Oates Companies, has an additional 40,000 square feet available that Flaherty expects the company will be utilizing soon, if business continues at its current pace.

Sephora has hired more than 120 associates and by the end of 2009, that number should grow to 500.

Flaherty is pleased with Sephora’s decision to establish its new distribution center in Utah. “We looked at demographics. There is a good labor pool of folks in Salt Lake, with a reputation for a very strong work ethic. We also looked at the relative cost of doing business in Salt Lake.

Taxes and utilities are competitive.

We also looked at quality of life factors—outdoor lifestyle, lots of state and national parks. And importantly, the facility is located in Salt Lake City, which we think is a wonderful, beautiful and vibrant city.”

AMER SPORTS CHILLS IN OGDEN Just 35 minutes north of Salt Lake City’s vibrant urban center is Ogden,

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

one of Utah’s larger historic cities that is experiencing a renaissance. Proud to be part of the city’s brilliant future is Amer Sports, the international sports equipment maker of Wilson, Precor, Salomon, Atomic, Suunto, Bonfire, Mavic and Arc’teryx brands.

Amer Sports wanted to bring its previously scattered outdoor brands together into one location, and the initial site search included Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Park City, and as an add-on, Ogden.

Ogden won out for several reasons, including the proximity to ski resorts, support from state and local government, cost of doing business, cost of living and lifestyle.

Mike Dowse, president and general manager for Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Americas, also says discussions with other Utah-based outdoor manufacturers helped influence their decision. “Some of our competitors would attend dinners hosted for us, and they would extol the benefits of living in Utah. Since then, we’ve tried to do the same. Our feeling is competition makes us all better. It also creates a larger pool for talent.”

Now that Amer Sports has been settled in Ogden for more than a year, Dowse speaks excitedly about his division’s headquarters in the city’s historic downtown district.

“We’re on 20th Street and Lincoln, in the old American Can Factory, built in 1914. We wanted to be in an older building—that was one of our stated objectives—both for the environmental benefit of recycling an old building, and also because it’s

just plain cool. This thing had been boarded up since ’88 and when we found it, the pigeons were living here.

It was fun. We worked with Luna Studio Design and they did a great job on the renovation. They’ve since won a lot of awards for the project.”

It’s not just the old building that the Amer Sports team has found “cool” about life in Ogden.

The access to winter and summer recreation keeps Dowse’s adrenaline-junkie employees satisfied.

And Amer Sports has gotten involved in Ogden’s rejuvenation.

“We donated 20 bike racks for the city and bought a small fleet of bicycles for our employees, which they can ride along the Ogden River trails that have been recently restored. They also ride the bikes to the Salomon Center, which the city gave us naming rights for as part of our incentive. It’s a high adventure 160,000 square-foot recreation center with an indoor climbing wall, indoor surf machine, indoor sky diving machine, 60,000 square-foot Gold’s Gym, bowling alley, arcade and restaurants. It’s just five or six blocks from us, and our employees often ride over there.”

“What I’m about to tell you is phenomenal. In my world this is unheard of.

We went from an empty shell to a fully functioning distribution center in 20 weeks.”

Martin Flaherty SEPHORA, VICE PRESIDENT OF LOGISTICS

SALOMON CENTER, OGDEN

STICKING AROUND FOR MORE It’s not just newcomers to Utah that have found the state’s economy, workforce and lifestyle so alluring.

Many companies that made the move to Utah several years ago are finding the state is fertile ground for continued growth. Goldman Sachs, a New York-based leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, opened a Salt

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Lake City office in 2001 with about 100 employees. The office has since grown to 500 employees and the company expects that number to reach about 700 in 2009.

David Lang, managing director for Goldman Sachs, attributes much of the company’s operational success in Utah to the local workforce. “The fact that we’re able to recruit some very talented people is ultimately compelling. They are highly skilled people, and the multiple language capabilities here are unique.”

Lang goes on to explain 46 percent of the employees in the Salt Lake City office speak foreign languages, including French, Italian, Chinese, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and more. This is largely due to people who have served two-year missions for the LDS Church in foreign countries and have added that fluency to their professional skillsets.

Utah’s time zone geography is also advantageous to Goldman Sachs. “As we embark on a strategy using our ‘follow the sun’ model,

from a time zone perspective, Salt Lake City is interesting to us. As we get later into the New York day, that becomes the heart of the Salt Lake City day, and we are able to leverage those time zone advantages. Employees here support businesses all around the world—in New York, Brazil, Europe and Asia,” explains Lang.

Finally, Lang surmises Utah’s lifestyle has also played a role. “The lifestyle and the talented workforce wanting to stay in the region—along with quality of work we are able to provide—I think it adds to the attractiveness, and it points to the low attrition we have here.”

Seeing the success of companies like Goldman Sachs is a sweet reward to Governor’s Office of Economic Development and its contracted recruiting partner EDCUtah. The firm has been contracted by GOED to supply relocation assistance with companies across the globe to communicate the benefits of doing business in Utah. GOED and EDCUtah work in tandem with other public and private groups to recruit and support

companies’ growth in the State.

“We’ve built a great partnership between all of our organizations,” says GOED Executive Director Jason Perry. “GOED provides the leadership and EDCUtah’s role is to do the out of state recruiting and to respond to business inquires. GOED manages the highly successful incentive program that companies from around the globe find attractive.The cities and counties form the third critical part of the recruiting partnership. They provide the potential sites, infrastructure and permitting support.”

P&G’s Donthnier describes the common experience of those companies who choose Utah as a new home. “The reasons P&G choose Utah as the site for our first new manufacturing operation in 30 years is because it is a friendly state, and very cooperative at all levels of government and in the private sector.”

Any company seriously looking for a new site should include Utah on it’s short list because they will like what they find here.

From their new digs in the renoMIKE DOWSE, PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER, vated American Can Factory, Mike Dowse, president and general AMER SPORTS manager of Amer Sports Winter & Outdoor Americas, clearly feels at home. Anything but a Utah native, Dowse has seen the world during his 16-plus years at Amer Sports, the European-based worldwide sports equipment leader. But from a business and lifestyle standpoint, he says the company is thrilled to make Ogden, Utah, the new headquarters.

Business Utah: What was the company’s impetus for the move?

MIKE DOWSE: Our U.S. offices had been scattered – Suunto in Carlsbad, Calif., Atomic in Amherst, N.H., and Salomon and Bonfire in Portland, Ore. In May 2006, we decided to integrate all four brands into one location.

Revving Up Utah’s Winter Sports

Business Utah: Which cities were on the short list?

MIKE DOWSE: We looked at Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Park City. Then the state of Utah asked us to put Ogden on the list, as well.

Business Utah: What tipped the scale toward Ogden, Utah?

MIKE DOWSE: “It was the Three M’s.” The mountains – we’re just 20 minutes from Snowbasin and Powder Mountain. The Mayor Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey has a real vision of what Ogden can be, and we think it’s a great opportunity to be on the front end of that. Finally, the mon-

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“The lifestyle and the talented workforce wanting to stay in the region—along with quality of work we are able to provide—I think it adds to the attractiveness, and it points to the low attrition we have here.”

David Lang MANAGING DIRECTOR, GOLDMAN SACHS

ey – our employees can afford to buy homes 20 of our employees are first-time homebuyers; and Ogden’s a very affordable town to do business in. The state also helped us offset moving costs.”

Business Utah: What have been the advantages of doing business in Utah?

MIKE DOWSE: The biggest win has been for our employees. Everyone came here prepared to ski and enjoy the mountains, but the summer has been just as great with all hiking, biking and kayaking. Plus, the quality of the people we were able to recruit – we did a job fair and had over 500 people show up. This was when unemployment was 2.8 percent in Ogden. Another thing that’s been nice is Delta started a direct flight from Salt Lake City to Paris. We probably do 400-500 trips between here and Europe per year. To have an international airport that’s just 35 minutes from our office is huge.

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BUSINESS IN UTAH IS

RIPE FOR GROWTH Plentiful Resources Give Businesses a Boost

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By Mark Dayton

Utah’s entrepreneurial community has been recognized in recent years as one of the country’s most productive and vibrant, even in the midst of challenging global economic turmoil. And while it may appear to have suddenly burst onto the national scene, the foundation of this innovation machine has been many years in the making. As they say, deep roots make strong branches.

Today Utah enjoys a deep, experienced and increasingly broad entrepreneurial community that covers the gamut of essential success factors, from research, commercialization, funding, services and executive management to mergers and acquisitions that keep successful enterprises on as mature citizens of the state’s economy in the future.

“It wasn’t always that way,” says Gary Crocker, chairman of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and managing director of Crocker Ventures, llc. “In the early days of entrepreneurial ventures in this state, there were some very creative deployments of unconventional capital.” These included funds provided by a residential real estate company and a women’s lingerie manufacturer.

“When we started our company, venture capital simply didn’t exist in the local marketplace,” says Crocker. “These early pioneering activities allowed for the creation of the VC-worthy infrastructure we enjoy today.”

Today’s mature Utah-based venture businesses trace their adolescence to early medical device entrepreneurs who blazed trails that others would follow and improve. Later, technology innovators like Novell and WordPerfect made their own marks in expanding the state’s entrepreneurial prowess.

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

TWO PATHS In life sciences, Utah enjoys strong positions in both medical devices and diagnostics. One early medical device success was Research Medical, the inventor and supplier of innovative new open heart surgery catheter and canula systems that made this crucial surgery faster and safer, with fewer adverse side effects. In particular, the introduction of a retrograde cardioplesia canula device allowed the heart to be cooled and nourished during long surgeries, limiting potential postoperative heart tissue damage.

Headed by Crocker, the company assembled a world-class management group that included former Sorenson executives who had moved to Abbott Labs with the sale of the business. This team helped bolster a growing core of expertise that was attracted to these leadingedge development projects in Utah.

During the next 14 years, the company grew to more than 400 employees, went public and was traded on the NASDAQ, and made the Forbes top 200 fastest growing companies list.

In 1999 Baxter Medical acquired the company for $240 million. Nearly a decade later, the group—now a division of Edwards Laboratories— still operates in the state as a key contributor to the corporation’s overall success.

“This pocket of skill is hard to duplicate,” says Crocker, referring to Utah’s core of human talent.

“Acquiring companies don’t move people out when they are sold—they don’t want to lose that.”

On the diagnostics/pharma side of the equation, an early success came in the form of innovative transdermal drug delivery products developed by Theratec. Founded in 1985 with one employee, founder and CEO Dinesh Patel—the company leveraged founders’ seed money—including capital from Patel and Crocker—into large contracts with Japanese companies that put the venture on a fast growth path.

Strategic corporate investments allowed the company to continue its fast expansion, going public in 1992 and selling to Watson Pharmaceuticals in 1999 in a

transaction valued at $350 million.

“A key factor in our success was the unique relationship Utah companies can have with University of Utah experts,” said Patel.

“They allow brilliant professorslike Dr. William Higuci, one of our founders—to get involved in commercial companies.”

These early successes spawned what has become a thriving life sciences community in the state, with companies like Myriad Genetics, LineaGen and Allocure continuing to build Utah’s leadership position.

“We are now seeing rapid growth in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine in Utah,” says Patel. “The Utah Population Database is a unique asset in the personalized medicine space, which is deeply rooted in DNA research.”

HIGH GROWTH HIGH TECH In high tech, early pioneers like Novell and WordPerfect laid the foundation for many innovative startups and spin-offs that leveraged a world-class core of engineering talent fueled by these successes and by universities that focused on educating for high tech jobs.

“The most important thing for us was to find really talented people,” say Josh Coates, founder of Mozy and Berkley Data Systems, a hosted backup solution supplier in Lindon, Utah. Founded by Coates (a transplanted serial entrepreneur from Silicon Valley) in 2004, the company grew geometrically and was sold to EMC in 2007 for $80 million. “This area has brilliant people—and many don’t know how brilliant they are,” says Coates. “That was lucky for me—I felt like I had an unfair advantage coming from the Bay Area.”

One particularly creative application of that engineering talent is in video technology employed

by Sorenson Communications.

“Think of us as the phone company for the deaf,” says Pat Nola, president and CEO. As the largest communications services provider for the deaf in the world, Sorenson uses innovative video technology to provide deaf persons with the ability to communicate in their native language: sign language. “Through this technology we connect the deaf to the hearing world in a functional, equivalent way,” says Nola.

He is quick to point out that a successful service goes well beyond mere video technology. “We use the technology to deploy the solution, but we need a large number of deaf interpreters to make it work.” A deaf person will call on a video phone to a Sorenson center, sign their message to the interpreter, who will then translate and speak the message in real time to the hearing person on the other end of the phone— and vice-versa. “We have all the elements in Utah,” says Nola. “The technology base from our strong universities, cooperative programs that encourage and subsidize development of interpreter education programs and curriculum, and a

government and political system that listens to the needs of businesses and will help grow jobs. And the workforce includes a breadth of experienced people that are positive, energetic and well educated that helps working with the deaf.”

As the largest private equity deal in the state’s history, Nola points out one additional feature of Utah’s attractiveness to entrepreneurs.

“There is a migration path for funding—from very small VC to larger scale capital. Our deal helped attract more eyes to Utah for private equity companies, and they have

made subsequent investments in the state. That gives assurances to growing companies that there will be sufficient capital for them to sustain their growth needs.”

Many successful mature companies who have grown up and stayed in the state also point to these common threads as defining features of their success and longevity— names such as Altiris, 1-800 CONTACTS, LanDesk, Overstock. com, Omniture and ContentWatch.

Utah’s successful track record of entrepreneurship covers the spectrum of company types and sizes, including enterprises in the state’s rural communities. Recognizing the

NOVELL, PROVO, UTAH

“A key factor in our success was the unique relationship Utah companies can have with University of Utah experts. They allow brilliant professors–like Dr. William Higuci, one of our founders—to get involved in commercial companies.”

Dinesh Patel FOUNDER AND CEO, THERATEC

VIDEO PHONE FOR THE DEAF

BY SORENSON COMMUNICATIONS

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need to foster growth in less populous areas, the state legislature created the Rural Fast Track Program in 2007.

Initially, $2.4 million was set aside for grants to be placed with companies in communities that otherwise might not fully participate in the entrepreneurial growth other parts of the state were experiencing. To date the program has committed $1 million to 20 projects that have created more than 75 new jobs.

The program includes grants— not loans—in two areas: job creation and business expansion. Qualifying grants for job creation pay small businesses grants on a sliding scale based on salary level: $1,000 for each job created that pays at

least 110 percent of county average salary; $1,250 for 115 percent and $1,500 for 125 percent. Grants are paid after jobs have been maintained for at least one year.

The business expansion portion of the program provides grants of up to $50,000 for expenses tied directly to expanding a current business.

Businesses must be licensed, have been in operation at least two years, have at least two employees and be based in a rural Utah county.

“We call it fast track, because the concept is to expedite this process through reduced paperwork, simplified requirements and fast turnaround,” says Derek Miller, managing director for Corporate Recruitment

GARY CROCKER, CHAIRMAN MERRIMACK PHARMACENTICALS AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CROCKER VENTURES, LLC

Building Utah’s Life Science Community There is an old adage that says: “Failure is the best worst thing that can happen to you.” In the case of Utah’s life sciences industry, failure appears to have been one of the early catalysts in spawning what is now a leading center for entrepreneurship not only in this industry, but in high tech and many others throughout the state.

According to Gary Crocker, a key player in the evolution of the state’s life science industry and currently chairman of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and managing director of Crocker Ventures, LLC Utah’s entrepreneurial prowess can trace its roots back to the 1950’s when three enterprising young entrepreneurs—Dell Ballard, the late Jim Sorenson and Vic Cartwright decided to start a pharmaceutical company to take advantage of the skyrocketing demand for new drugs.

“The initial pharmaceutical venture ended in failure,” says Crocker.

“But this proved to be a pivotal genesis event in the life sciences industry in the state.” Rather than give up, the three founders realized there was a shorter path to success that avoided the longer regulatory approval cycles, high risk and uncertainty of pharmaceutical development. They segued

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into the medical device field where they invented and marketed some of the first disposable plastic medical devices in the world—with phenomenal results.

Dell Ballard started Deseret Medical which he grew and sold to Warner Lambert, following which he founded Ballard Medical, now a division of Kendall Laboratories Ltd. Jim Sorenson’s company, Sorenson Research, disposable plastic catheters and surgical masks, was sold to Abbott Labs after a phenomenal 14 years run, with Crocker filling the investment banking function in negotiating the Abbott transaction after 18 months of courting numerous suitors.

The mushroom effect had begun—a critical mass in the Utah medical device infrastructure was now in place. Utah Medical spun out from Sorenson, and Merit Medical from that.

Crocker and his team also spun out of Sorenson to found Research Medical heart bypass catheter systems, which operated for 13 years until Crocker’s sale to Baxter International. Subsequently, he played a key role in the growth of ARUP and as a co-founder of Theratech with Dinesh Patel. From there the list of successful startups in Utah—particularly in the medical de-

and Incentives for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

“Most applications can be turned around in days to a couple of weeks rather than weeks to months that is more typical of these types of programs.”

While Utah’s current entrepreneurs are standing on some very tall shoulders, they are advancing the legacy in their own right. “We have a lifestyle and culture that is young, ambitious and amenable to taking risks,” says Crocker. “Because of that, we have done disproportionately well vs. more conservative areas in other parts of the country.” From all indications, Utah’s entrepreneurial legacy is in very good hands.”

“The most important thing for us was to find really talented people. This area has brilliant people—and many don’t know how brilliant they are. That was lucky for me—I felt like I had an unfair advantage coming from the Bay Area.”

vice segment—grows quickly and accelerates over time.

“Many life sciences companies currently operating in Utah can trace their genealogy back to these early enterprises,” says Crocker.

These early successes did three things for the state. First, they spawned a new cadre of “serial entrepreneurs” from among a growing bench of local entrepreneurs with successful organically-grown companies under their belts.

Secondly, they founded a strong working relationship between the state’s research centers and the commercial world. Crocker’s Research Medical, for example, had several product development collaborations with both the University of Utah and LDS Hospital heart surgeons, including innovative thought leaders like Dr.

William Gay and Dr. Don Doty. Indeed, many of the state’s most important life science innovations were conceived and perfected within the university and research hospital system and coupled to the business world through effective legislative programs that encouraged and expedited technology transfer.

Third, they catalyzed the development of a service infrastructure equal to the demanding professionalism of these growing successful enterprises.

This included not only legal and accounting expertise, but marketing, management and engineering as well.

“The result was a symbiotic relationship between organically grown entrepreneurs and world class infrastructure and management talent,” says Crocker. “Utah now enjoys a formidable position in diagnostics, medical devices and technology as a result.”

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BUSINESS IN UTAH HAS

A DRIVEN, DYNAMIC WORKFORCE Make the Most of Human Capital

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By Janine S. Creager

When the life science company Cephalon decided to relocate one of its manufacturing facilities, the Pennsylvania-based company had multiple options in the U.S. here and abroad. But company officials looked no further than the firm’s present branch in Salt Lake City, in large measure because of the workforce pool available to them.

“There is a strong life science talent in the state to draw on,” says Sheryl Williams, vice president of Public Affairs. “We haven’t had any issues in that regard. When you align yourselves where the talent pool is large enough, then you have a ready workforce. We’re very pleased with the economic incentives from the state to build our business and employ people in the state of Utah. We’re very happy with our presence there. It is a business-friendly environment.”

Cephalon is just one of myriad companies that have found Utah’s

USTAR FACILITIES UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT U OF U AND USU

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workforce ideal to meet their needs.

But the benefit goes both ways.

Not only will Cephalon be able to expand its manufacturing facilities, and thereby increase its productivity and profitability, Williams estimates that the state of Utah stands to receive much as well, from 60 new jobs within the company to $18 million worth of construction and equipment to get the facility up and running and an estimated $70 million in a rippling economic effect to the region and state.

This driven, dynamic workforce, which helped facilitate the expansion of Cephalon, is calling out to other companies to establish offices, or expand existing businesses, in the state.

FINDING AND CULTIVATING TALENT Utah’s workforce involves more than just the people themselves. The equation is a successful combination of talent, culture, and education.

Richard Nelson, president and CEO of the Utah Technology Council, looks to Governor Jon Huntsman and other state officials, as being at the forefront of this effort.

“Utah has a young and dynamic population that has access to the colleges and universities which provide strong high-tech and trade opportunities, and an outstanding governor that is making the state’s workforce a priority in his administration,” says Nelson. “Continuing to grow this workforce is a very complex issue, and it’s going to take the best in the public and private sectors

to align our significant resources to really move the needle forward.”

A major component of that forward motion is addressing what Nelson terms the “K through 12 pipeline,” ensuring that the next generation of Utah’s workforce have all the tools and resources necessary to meet the challenges and take advantage of opportunities that will come to them. It’s not just about providing companies with the workforce they need for today; the state is actively looking beyond tomorrow.

This alliance between education and business was one of the factors that brought Cephalon to the state in the first place. “One of the benefits of purchasing Amesta in 2000 was that they already had a strong relationship with the University of Utah,” says Williams.

As state officials work to provide more opportunities for youth before they even reach college level, the workforce of the state will be bettereducated and more prepared for job opportunities in the future.

USTAR AND INNOVATION USTAR, or Utah Science Technology and Research, is a 30 year and $700 million state-funded initiative bringing “world-class innovation teams and research facilities” to Utah. This collaboration between high-tech companies in the state and University of Utah and Utah State University research teams results in an exchange of information that benefits all participants. In addition, because of the ever-changing technology in many fields, the Osher

AMPAC CRYSTALLIZER

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH WASATCH FLUIDICS

Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Utah provides continuing training and education for workers over the age of 50, whose formal education may have ended years ago.

But all the initiatives and programs cannot accomplish much without raw talent. Once again, Utah has what it takes. From its historical beginnings, when early settlers brought life to a desert landscape, Utah’s culture and tradition has fostered and nurtured a strong and dedicated work ethic, which exists to this day.

“Truly, the entrepreneurial workforce is a competitive advantage.

There are not many states that have a like workforce. You can’t import that, even after many years,” says Nelson. “We have a surprisingly strong ability to align significant resources and their organizations.

To that you add the entrepreneurial talent, you add a state that doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure baggage and challenges, and end up with a dynamic, driven workforce that is fueling our high-growth economy especially in high-tech and life science companies.”

For the past few years, the state has used programs such as USTAR, which is supporting innovative business incubation/workforce development projects including the Bio Inovations Gateway, to help fill open positions within the high-tech industry. Another such effort, the Utah Engineering Recruitment Initiative, focused primarily on the need for qualified workers within engineering fields. But as Jason Perry, Executive

Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) says, that emphasis has changed.

“Engineers are important. We also need people in our workforce with skills in many areas. We are missing an opportunity if we just focus on engineers.”

WORKING FOR YOU When it comes to selling Utah to potential employees and employers, the state has only to point to recent awards and rankings: it was ranked second for the Best State for Business by Forbes; ranked third for Best State for Business by CNBC; and ranked first for the most Dynamic Economy in the United States by the Kaufmann Foundation.

These rankings were not just arbitrary in nature. They were based on solid economic figures: a 4.5 percent

employment growth ending May 2007; the formation of 54,000 new jobs in the state during 2007, 1.25 million total employment and 4,500 new jobs created on average each month during this 12-month period.

For outside companies still holding misconceptions about the state, experts say the economy is mature enough to deal with challenges of larger corporations. “Because we have a great economy, there are opportunities for advancement that we have not had before,” says Jason Perry.

“People wonder about the culture here in Utah. That’s a natural one for people who don’t know what a great state we have. These concerns are not relevant anymore; they are considered advantages.”

Getting the word out about the state’s status and debunking any lingering myths, is a number one priority for the state. With a new Website, www.business.utah.gov, officials are hoping to bring greater attention to what the state has to offer.

Through the Department of Workforce Services Website, www.jobs. utah.gov and a GOED website www. utahworksforyou.com, we provide a portal into realtime job opportunities in Utah,” says Clark Caras, marketing director for GOED. The Websites are a virtual meeting place for Utah companies

“When you align yourselves where the talent pool is large enough, then you have a ready workforce. We’re very pleased with the economic incentives from the state to build our business and employ people in the state of Utah. We’re very happy with our presence there. It is a business-friendly environment.”

Sheryl Williams VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, CEPHALON

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and individuals looking for positions within the state. Active job seekers can use the online job board to browse through more than 26,000 openings posted by 150-plus participating companies. The more passive looker can create a profile and then request to be contacted when positions become available which match specific criteria such as skills, education and/or location.

A referral link also allows in-state residents to refer neighbors and friends to the information on the GOED site.

“Right now, we’re driving people to the Websites, that’s the main focus,” says Caras. We are averaging about 5,000 visitors a day to the sites. Through that, we know that there are at least 5,000 people

who have typed in a search for a job in Utah. We’re adding every day to the partnerships we’re developing.”

GOED Executive Director Jason Perry sees the current effort as a start.

“I envision that we create a system within the state of Utah whereby we collectively use our strengths and interests to find the best talent and find the best opportunities for companies in such a way that we leverage the money and human resources departments and go out for a larger pool of people,” he says. By bringing the demand and supply together, if one company ends up not hiring a particular person for a particular position, for instance, that individual’s resume and information can then be passed along to another company.

“We want the talent to be circu-

lated and to be shared with other companies,” he says.

While the Websites are a powerful resource, it is meant as a tool to meet a current need, not as a permanent fixture. “We’re not the solution,” says Caras. “We’re trying to provide real time job applicants for Utah companies to tap into. We actually hope that we can take our Website down, that they put us out of the recruitment business.

But it is a need right now.” For the time being, the GOED Website, along with all other efforts to shine the spotlight a little bit brighter on the state, will certainly continue.

“We’re pleased but in no way finished,” says Jason Perry. “This is only a start. There are opportunities here in the state of Utah waiting for you.”

CARINE CLARK, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, SYMANTEC

Exuding Passion for Utah’s Workforce Carine Clark understands well the need for a dedicated and talented workforce. In her position as senior vice president of marketing at Symantec, which creates and markets software security products, Clark supervises a team of more than 500 people from her Utah County office. But it’s not just the work ethic of her colleagues that is important to her; it is her own personal level of commitment that drives her each day.

Clark has 20 years of experience building successful software companies, including executive positions at Altiris and Novell. When it comes to how she thinks about her work, however, she has been able to maintain an impressive balance and perspective.

“I tell everyone that everything I do is to give a better life for my family,” she says. The first thing she did when hired at Symantec was to place a photograph of her family on her desk. “If you know that, you ‘get’ me,” she adds. “Even though at Symantec we have some really amazing (security) products to keep the bad guys away, it’s still just work.

I don’t enjoy being with people who all they enjoy is work. I want my folks

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to have passion, dreams, visions and goals about what they want to do.”

Clark traveled around the globe growing up, spending most of her formative years in Germany. The first time she ever came to Utah was to attend college.

“I fell in love with the lifestyle, I fell in love with the people, I fell in love with the community,” she recalls. “People underestimate the depth and breadth of talent in Utah.

I have an easier time getting people to come and work for me right now.

One of my goals is to leave a legacy of talent and success. I’m not always going to be here. I stay because I want to be here, because I adore my team, my boss and know that I can make a difference.”

Companies who hire Utah workers will find lots of stable, productive workers who can make a business operation successful.

“Truly, the entrepreneurial workforce is a competitive advantage. There are not many states that have a like workforce. You can’t import that, even after many years. We have a surprisingly strong ability to align significant resources and their organizations. To that you add the entrepreneurial talent, you add a state that doesn’t have a lot of infrastructure baggage and challenges, and end up with a dynamic, driven workforce that is fueling our high-growth economy especially in high-tech and life science companies.”

Richard Nelson PRESIDENT AND CEO, UTAH TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

INNOVATION

Greg Easton President and CEO Easton Technical Products Salt Lake City, Utah Constant innovation and unwavering commitment represents the hallmark of Easton’s success that spans three generations.

An innovation-focused mindset drives the development of Easton products and leads to breakthroughs such as the world’s first ergonomic snowshoe, introduced just this past year. Easton Snowshoes patented features divert stress from ankles, knees, and hips while the contoured frame adds form and function. These advancements in design earned the Easton Backcountry Snowshoes Outside Magazine’s “2009 Gear of the Year” award.

Greg Easton, pictured here, continues to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather. Doug Easton, pictured with son Jim (inset), started Easton in 1922 making custom-crafted bows and arrows. Eighty-five years later, you’ll find Easton products in numerous markets, but archery is still at the core. In fact, Easton introduced the innovative X10 arrow for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and since that time, every individual and team champion has won with the X10.

Constant innovation and unwavering commitment. Holland & Hart is proud to serve ground-breaking clients such as Easton Technical Products because we, like them, constantly strive to provide innovative solutions for our clients. Visit our website to learn more about Holland & Hart.

Contact: Greg Lindley (801) 799-5829, 60 E. South Temple, Suite 2000, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

www.hollandhart.com WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV

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SALT LAKE CITY ASPEN BILLINGS BOISE BOULDER CARSON CITY CHEYENNE COLORADO SPRINGS DENVER DENVER TECH CENTER JACKSON HOLE LAS VEGAS RENO SANTA FE WASHINGTON D.C.

BUSINESS IN UTAH HAS

A FLOURISHING KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY Entrepreneurs Take Flight in Utah

4

By Jeff Vanek

THERE IS MUCH TALK ABOUT in today’s knowledge economy; businesses and services that are based upon products created from research and development. In Utah, the knowledge economy isn’t taken for granted or left to chance. With a population of only 2.7 million, the state boasts nine public colleges and universities and 11 private higher education institutions. In coordinated programs among the state, private industry and universities, Utah is becoming a powerhouse of research, development and commercialization.

According to the latest data available from the Association of University Technology Managers, the University of Utah spun out more companies based on its research than any other university in the United States, except for MIT. What makes this even more impressive is that the University did this with only a third of the research dollars MIT receives, making the University of Utah number one in the nation when it comes to efficiency in its research commercialization efforts.

The level of excellence in research being achieved by Utah universities is perhaps best exemplified by Dr. Mario Capecchi, distinguished professor of Biology and of Human Genetics at the University of Utah and winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Such great research represents but one of the pieces that can be found in Utah’s efforts to build a flourishing knowledge economy.

USTAR One very important piece of Utah’s efforts in building a knowledge economy is the 30 year, $700 million Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative, known as USTAR. USTAR was formed by the State Legislature in 2006 with the intent to create and commercialize new, innovative technologies from the research at the state’s two major public universities: the University of Utah and Utah State University. In doing so, USTAR focuses in those areas that are each university’s strengths: energy, biomedical innovation, imaging technologies, nanotechnolog, digital media and brain medicine. In addition to recruit-

ing researchers, USTAR will be building a major research facility at each University. Through USTAR efforts, some of the best researchers in these fields have been hired and are now forming teams and even companies based on their research.

“Although many states have research commercialization efforts, Utah’s commercialization is one of a kind,” says Ted McAleer, executive director of USTAR. “We have integrated its programs with each other, making sure that each supports the other. In addition, we have the right people in place,” he says. “The USTAR staff of directors, located around the state, all have 15 to 25 years of industry experience commercializing technology with large and small companies.”

“Evaluation of technologies for commercialization potential is critical to the success of USTAR,” McAleer adds. “First, we make sure the technology is based on an existing university strength. Second, the innovation focus area needs to have vast commercialization potential. Third, we want to make sure the areas we address have strategic or global markets. And fourth, we want to leverage existing state industry strengths in conjunction with the focus area,” he says.

To encourage and promote commercialized research, three program areas have been created under the USTAR initiative. The first involves recruiting the best and brightest researchers to the universities in the areas of research focus. To that end, world-class researchers have been recruited and hired. The second, is the building of special interdisciplinary research buildings at both the University of Utah and Utah State University. The third, an outreach effort called the Technology Outreach Innovation Program, is tapping into research at the state’s other public colleges and universities.

universities: early stage funding. The program provides grants to fund the development and transition of technologies developed at Utah’s colleges and universities from the lab to the market. Their purpose is to encourage the creation of companies and jobs in the state that are based on research from both its public and private institutions.

“Most states have a USTAR-type model on the university side of economic development for research, but they still have a funding gap,” says Nicole Toomey Davis, director of the Centers of Excellence. “When it comes to research from the university, the research often has a ways to go before it can be commercialized.

It is often at a stage that is too difficult to be evaluated by an angel or other private investors and is still too early for venture capital. That gap in readiness for traditional funding is often fatal when it comes to commercialization of technology. The Centers of Excellence fills that particular gap. A little money at just the right time can be very powerful.”

Several very promising companies are currently being funded with Centers of Excellence money, with technologies that range from advanced composite material to data storage solutions to a nanoglobular drug delivery system. The research behind these companies and many others which have been granted

CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE The Centers of Excellence which is part of the Governor’s office of Economic Development (GOED), provides another very important piece of Utah’s economic development pie when it comes to commercialization o of research at the Beehive State’s e DR. TAMI GOETZ, UTAH STATE SCIENCE ADVISOR

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funds, originated from both private and public universities in the state.

WIRED FOR LIFE SCIENCE SUCCESS The Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) is an innovative state-level Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative that provides workforce development support to Utah’s life science industry. It is anticipated that the needs for a robust and diverse “pipeline” of talent will grow as USTAR continues to mature and supports the creation of companies in Utah. The WIRED initiative is funded by a $5.16 million grant from the US Department of Labor and the Employment and Training Administration.

The initial success of the WIRED initiative results from close collaboration between key leaders in industry, public- and higher education, government, philanthropic and community groups. Industry plays a key, integrative role in defining the current and future needs of the life science industry.

The WIRED initiative develops and implements programs and activities focused on outreach, recruitment, training and education. Outreach and recruitment target the “K-grey” audience, recognizing that if the program must have a broad impact for Utah to meet the future needs for a scienceand technology-literate workforce. The WIRED initiative has launched several outreach programs for K-12 students that engage students in learning how STEM applies to many of their own interests—sports and fitness, cooking, digital media or gardening.

The education and training programs supported by WIRED break the boundaries of traditional education programs. Their dual focus of bringing conceptual and applied knowledge to students means that graduates of these programs are “workplace-ready” both for both existing life science companies and those that result from USTAR’s efforts.

Innovative WIRED programs include, among others: BioInnovation Gateway (BiG) and InnovaBioTM, life science incubators that provide unique training opportunities for students in an entrepreneurial environment.

The BiG gives a fresh look to the business incubator model by provid-

ing equipped lab facilities to start-up companies that are eager to take advantage of enthusiastic high school and undergraduate interns that are looking to gain training for life science employment. This internship opportunity is innovative in that it gives student interns a glimpse into the entrepreneurial world of the life sciences.

The InnovaBioTM project, building from of a successful program at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC, a WIRED partner), is adapted from the contract research organization (CRO) business model. Life start-up companies can contract projects to InnovaBioTM and the interns in the program work as teams to conduct the research. The intern teams are supervised by the full-time InnovaBioTM research directors.

“The WIRED initiative is creating the crossroads where economic and workforce development partner with education and training to provide excellent job opportunities for Utahns, while meeting the talent needs of the life science industry,” says Dr. Tami Goetz, Utah State Science Advisor and lead for the WIRED initiative. “A primary strength of the WIRED initiative is that it looks at what Utah is doing well, and builds on those successes. At the same time, the partners in the initiative are looking to the future to ensure that we do not miss any evolving needs for the industry.”

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Behind the University of Utah’s impressive success at starting businesses based on its technologies is an equally impressive effort aimed to commercialize research and development. The USTAR program efforts at the University include work in fossil energy, imaging technology, IT networks, nanotechnology and biosensors, biomedical devices, brain studies and diagnostic imaging. Teams and companies have been formed in these key areas and the University is building facilities to house these efforts.

Whereas most major universities have a Technology Transfer Office, the University of Utah has created a Technology Commercialization Office (TCO). The difference is more than simply a name. Brian Cummings, director, U of U Technology Commercialization Office explained

it this way. “We’re really focused on driving economic development based on the great research coming out of the university. We want to create great companies that are based on that research. Unlike most technology transfer offices which report to a vice president of Research, the Technology Commercialization Office reports directly to the dean of the School of Business who is also the vice president for the Office of Technology Venture Development. We have set up the office like a service business. We are tied in with the business school and all of its associated resources. Our success has stemmed from that alignment.”

One effort that has proved very successful has been the creation of a program called Venture Bench. Venture Bench provides a full suite of services needed to get a company started, “from nuts to bolts,” according to Cummings. “This allows business to focus on product development.”

The TCO also has several very active funding programs for helping with funding for new businesses, including the start of a special seed venture capital fund called Kickstart.

The Kickstart fund will soon be providing early seed funding to new companies.

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY The state’s second major university, Utah State University in Logan, is also actively aligning key research activities around commercialization in conjunction with USTAR and other programs. Ned Weinshenker, vice president for Strategic Ventures and Economic Development, oversees the USTAR programs, the Innovation Campus (a research business park), and the TCO at Utah State University.

His position was created specifically to bring into focus the commercialization efforts at Utah State University.

In relation to these activities and his position at the University, Weinshenker commented that, “The University has made a definite commitment to commercialization. We are in relative infancy, but are growing very rapidly. It’s a reflection of the University’s commitment to development and commercialization that this position was created in order to bring these pieces together.”

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY GEMINI LIFE SCIENCE LAB

“Most states have a USTAR type model on the university side of economic development for research, but they still have a funding gap…That gap in readiness for traditional funding is often fatal when it comes to commercialization of technology. The Centers of Excellence fills that particular gap. A little money at just the right time can be very powerful.”

Nicole Toomey Davis DIRECTOR, GOED CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

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USTAR projects at Utah State include research underway at the University’s Center of Advanced Nutrition, the Energy Lab, and the Center for Active Sensing and Imaging. Approval for a Center of Synthetic Bio-manufacturing was recently given. The University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) continues to produce a great deal of research as well and is launching a USTAR team focused on space weather.

Understanding that great research also requires great facilities.

The University is building several at its innovation campus, a research business park, to accommodate those physical needs, the University has also partnered with Grow Utah Ventures and opened a business incubator called the eStation on its Innovation Campus. Grow Utah Ventures helps early stage companies obtain needed financial resources.

The eStation provides space and resources for new companies. These resources range from mentoring, to phone lines, to office machines.

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Brigham Young University (BYU), in Provo, is one of the largest private universities in the United States. Although its primary focus is on teaching, some of the most impressive technologies that Utah universities have to offer are being developed at BYU. Although not a part of the state’s USTAR efforts, due to it being a private institution, BYU still produces a very respectable amount of research that is being commercialized. Mike Alder, director of BYU Technology Transfer Office (TTO), put it this way, “We seldom have people knock on our door and say we would like to commercialize your technology. We have to go out and find people to license it, but I could spend an hour telling you about just our unlicensed technology and you would probably be drooling by the time I was finished—it’s that exciting.”

Several companies have been started based on technology developed at BYU, often with Centers of Excellence funding playing a key part. Although playing somewhat of a different role in the State’s efforts regarding research commercialization,

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it nevertheless plays a very important role. Examples of the kinds of research and commercialization coming from BYU include technology that addresses carbon emissions from coal plants. Others include new composite materials that are stronger and lighter; a test that helps to determine if a pregnant woman is susceptible to pre-term birth has been developed; and a new long-term data storage technology that solves data degrada-

tion problems with compact disks.

Because BYU is a private university, it tends to do more research for corporations and industry. “Most institutions’ research is federally funded around 95 percent or more. We tend to be around 80 percent federally funded and 20 percent commercially funded in our research. It makes us much more business friendly when it comes to doing research for industry,” according to

Leon “Priz” Przybyla, Associate Director of the TTO. The right pieces are in place to position Utah as a leader in the knowledge economy, be it great research, physical space, funding, or business resources. But, what really sets Utah apart are the people behind each piece, whether it is a Nobel Prize winning researcher, or talent with real industry knowhow, they can be found in Utah.

you could form strong alliances with people in your own university. Back East there are many universities within a small area and you may not have such a strong alliance with someone in your own university; it may be with someone at another university. There was a strong desire to pull people together here that I don’t think existed at Harvard.

Additionally, I wanted to work on more long-range projects. Many of the more difficult and most exciting questions take quite a long time to develop, more than a year or two to get underway. The length of time needed to address those long-term questions is difficult in an environment where people want short-term gratification, where you are continually being asked, “What’s new?” I know that what I wanted to do was going to take a long time and I didn’t think that would be available at Harvard. I thought it would be easily obtainable at the University of Utah.

have built an excellent reputation here. In regards to genetics, I think we’re as good as any university in the country. We have retained that reputation and it has helped us to bring in people that would enjoy working together. That is a strong part of both our university and of our department.

DR. MARIO CAPECCHI, 2007 NOBEL LAUREATE

Breaking the Boundaries of Science BU: Tell me about the Nobel Prize you won and why the work you did is so important.

CAPECCHI: The prize was given for developing technology that enables us to alter genes. What we developed in the lab was the ability to change genes and thereby make inferences about what happens when we do. It helps us to better understand the biology of humans. This is very important for studying many diseases in humans, like cancer.

Our patients were mice. We chose mice because they are mammals that in terms of their makeup (heart rate, body temperature, etc) are very much like humans. In fact, at the genetic level, humans and mice are about 99 percent the same.

Whatever we are learning in mice is directly applicable to humans.

BU: What was it that brought you to Utah?

CAPECCHI: There were several factors. One of them being that we were building a new department at the time and that is always exciting in terms of participating in the decisions of who will be a part of the department. We were going after a young faculty that would enjoy working together and working synergistically.

Secondly, it was an opportunity to participate in a situation where

BU: Do you think the environment you described still exists here at the University?

CAPECCHI: Certainly. I think we

BU: You have said that nothing would delight you more than to spawn another Nobel Prize from the University and that you believe that the capability exist for this. Why do you think this is so?

CAPECCHI: Because we are going after young people that have vision and who work hard. It takes a lot of hard work. We have people who are enthusiastic and who have vision for the future. These are the kinds of people who are likely to make the big breakthroughs. So yes, I would be delighted to have others, not even necessarily from our own lab, but from other departments, win the Nobel Prize.

BU: What has kept you in Utah?

CAPECCHI: It’s a good environment in Utah. The state is physically beautiful.

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JEREMY NIELSON, UTAH FUND OF FUNDS

AN EXPANDING WORLD OF FINANCE Take Advantage of Abundant Lending Options

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By Mark Dayton

WHEN JOEL PETERSON AND JORDAN CLEMENTS decided to team up

in 1995 to create a private equity fund, they sensed the timing and opportunity were right to build something significant. The question was, where should they locate?

The team scoured the country, from San Francisco – where Jordan worked – to Dallas, to various locations in the East, and ultimately settled on Salt Lake City, Utah.

“At the time, we picked Salt Lake City for two overriding reasons,” said Clements, managing partner and founder of Peterson Partners, one of Utah’s leading private equity firms. “First, there was an abundant supply of talented entrepreneurs that we felt would give us many options for funding. Secondly, the state was undercapitalized, and we felt there was a great opportunity to supply needed capital and business experience and make a contribution to the state.”

Since that time, entrepreneurial growth in the state has mushroomed.

Peterson Partners alone has closed five private equity rounds totaling more than $400 million. “We were right on both counts,” says Clements. “Utah has a deep bench of entrepreneurs, and our efforts, combined with many others, have developed quite a significant supply of equity capital – segmented nicely between early stage VC and more mature funding sources.”

Today, there are a number of highly credible private equity funds in the state, in addition to numerous angel and VC equity sources. Those VC sources, originally anchored by Wasatch Ventures (now Epic Ventures), UV Partners and vSpring Capital, have now expanded to include a strong cadre of firms with a broad set of skills and resources.

Key to that expansion has been Utah’s highly successful Fund of Funds – funding appropriated by the State Legislature to be invested in select venture capital firms who then invest in entrepreneurial businesses. Originally funded in 2003 at $100 million, the program has been so successful that an additional $200 million was appropriated in the 2008 legislative session.

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“The Utah Fund of Funds has been very successful in attracting capital and increasing the amount of money and the number of groups that are interested in investing,” said Jeremy Nielson, managing director for the Utah Fund of Funds. To date, the Utah Fund of Funds (FoF) has invested in more than 20 investment firms of the more than 250 who have shown interest in participation. That equates to 60 percent of the available firms who have shown interest, verses approximately 15 percent for many other states’ programs.

FoF participating firms have invested $127 million in 25 Utah companies since the program’s inception, and their syndicates have invested an additional $238 million, creating more than 1,000 new highpaying jobs. Participant firms now

represent more than $4.5 billion in investment portfolio resources.

While increasingly known for the number and quality of high tech deals, Utah has produced a number of notable successes in other business areas as a result of a robust investing environment.

Continuing the trend, Headwaters, Inc. parlayed a technology for converting fly ash into clean burning fuel to build a nearly $2 billion international enterprise supported by the state’s robust investment infrastructure. Other successes include 3Form architectural panels, home-delivered fresh organic produce supplier Winder Farms and early investment in Jet Blue and its Utah-based service center.

Also helping companies migrate from small-and-growing to largeand-prospering are banks and other financial institutions who work closely with equity sources to ensure uninterrupted success. Key players such as Zions Bank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and Key Bank have been joined by technology specialist Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), who recently opened a Salt Lake City-based office. While not a newcomer to doing business in Utah, SVB has committed full-time lending resources to the state.

“The business ecosystem is really

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZIONS BANK

BUSINESS IN UTAH ENJOYS

JORDAN CLEMENTS, MANAGING PARTNER & FOUNDER, PETERSON PARTNERS

Financing Entrepreneurship in Utah gelling to make Utah a good place for business – from government to the university system, to the service providers to funding sources,” said Ron Sherman, senior relationship manager for Silicon Valley Bank. “The bank has always felt good about the Utah market, and our business has continued to increase, so it makes good sense – economically and otherwise – for us to locate here.”

Some of Utah’s most notable business successes have benefited from the availability of sophisticated financing capabilities provided

by SVB and the other Utah-based banks, including Sonic Innovations, Omniture, LanDesk and Altiris.

Many small businesses in Utah have thrived despite the nationwide economic slowdown, buoyed by the availability of expansion capital as reflected in SBA loan growth. Utah’s credit unions have played a leading role in this expansion, with several among the top 20 institutions in the country for quantity of SBA loans placed – with Mountain America Credit Union holding the top spot nationwide for five years running.

The state’s credit unions have realized double digit growth for eight of the last nine years.

“While these loans are typically small, they will get a small business on its feet and up and going,” says Brent Lawrence, senior vice president of public relations and product development, Mountain America Credit Union. “Credit unions have been very successful at developing and offering products that have been valuable to Utah’s small business owners and entrepreneurs.”

Also of note is the fact that the Salt Lake Region SBA office has seen record numbers of loans placed since 2004.

Businesses moving to or growing up in the state find they need look no further than Utah’s own backyard for the complete breadth and depth of financing their companies will need to grow, stay and prosper in this idyllic economic haven.

Jordan Clements and Peterson Partners have played a key role in catalyzing a strong, diverse and expanding world of finance in the state of Utah. Originally founded in 1985 as the state’s first private equity fund, Peterson Partners has closed five equity rounds for more than $400 million and funded numerous successful businesses – both in the state and elsewhere.

That spark more than 20 years ago helped ignite a rapid expansion of capital sources increasingly recognized as rivaling other top centers for growth and capital formation, spanning angel funds, venture capital funding, private equity and bank financing.

The broad availability of capital has also produced an important benefit fundamental to growing business success that is not necessarily measured in dollars and cents. “Capital and people go hand-in-hand,” says Clements. “Without appropriate capitalization, you can’t attract the best and brightest to lead your ventures.”

Clements believes that the availability of equity capital during the past 15 years has attracted highly talented leaders to come to Utah. “The quality of people we have leading our companies is remarkable. It compares favorably to any other companies in our portfolio nationwide. We’ve attracted people from all over the country with sterling pedigrees – they’ve been anxious to move to Utah.”

Through his years of funding ventures in the state, Clements has found Utah to be a great place to do business. “Besides the depth of entrepreneurial talent, there is a strong academic base through our universities with top-notch programs in key specialties. The quality of life is terrific. And low tax rates have been very helpful as well.”

Another important component of a successful venture is the quality of professional services available.

“We have an incredible infrastructure of service providers in Utah,” says Clements. “We use lawyers, tax advi-

sors, accounting firms, financial advisors, etc. all over the country and find the professionals in Utah are every bit as good as their counterparts on the coasts. They charge less and provide a comparable product.”

So, what does the future hold for a state that has seen such notable growth and success on the financial front? “While the credit meltdown has been detrimental to every state in the country, we and other equity investment firms will continue to invest,” says Clements. “As valuations come down because of the absence of debt, it will provide additional opportunities, and Utah is well positioned to be a leader as that occurs.”

That continued leadership role will help shine the spotlight on a state that has quickly emerged to play a significant role in business growth and success. In reflecting on this journey, Clements notes that some questioned his judgment in moving to out-of-the-way Utah. Time has proven those fears to be unfounded.

“The perception of Utah as a backwater has not been our experience.”

“Utah has a deep bench of entrepreneurs, and our efforts, combined with many others, have developed quite a significant supply of equity capital – segmented nicely between early stage VC and more mature funding sources.”

Jordan Clements MANAGING PARTNER & FOUNDER, PETERSON PARTNERS

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BUSINESS IN UTAH ENJOYS

HEIGHTENED QUALITY OF LIFE From Business Opportunities to Outdoor Activities, Utah’s Got it All

6

By Mark Dayton

THE OLD ADAGE “It’s a great place to visit…but I wouldn’t want to live there” seems a bit awkward for a growing number of Utahns whose initial visits to the state changed their statement to, “…so let’s look into it more seriously,” and culminated in, “…so why didn’t we do this a long time ago.”

Long noted for its astonishing natural splendor, Utah has steadily and quietly developed across-the-board world class amenities that have become adage busters for a large and growing group of visitors who now call Utah home.

“It’s not uncommon for people to relocate after they have come to Utah to ski, hike, or mountain bike,” says Leigh von der Esch, managing director,

UTAH LIQUOR LAWS UPDATED The Utah Legislature and Governor Hunstman have worked very closely together to update and normalize Utah’s sometimes confusing liquor laws.

In 2009 people visiting or doing business in the state will be able to conveniently order mixed drinks or wine when dining at a restaurant with a liquor license. They will also be able to access bars or other similar establishments without having to obtain a “membership” as in years past. Memberships are no longer required, only a valid identification if someone does not appear to be clearly of age to drink.

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Utah Office of Tourism. “I have two good friends who came out to mountain bike – one from Dallas, the other from DC – who found it faster to drive from the mountains of Park City to the Salt Lake International Airport than to grind through bumper-to-bumper traffic going to Dulles or DFW Airports.”

Like many others, these transplants have exchanged back deck views of the expressway for early morning views of mountains and moose.

“It’s wonderful and magical,” says von der Esch, who notes her friends really do regularly see moose behind their houses, “but it’s not the only reason – and usually not even the most compelling reason – that people are flocking to Utah.” Beyond moose and mountains, Utah offers what von der Esch refers to as “the complete package” of climate, business/economy, lifestyle and culture, health/healthcare, arts, sports and recreation that add up to a compelling mosaic.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER Much more than the subject of small talk, Utah’s climate and weather add to the state’s diversity and appeal.

With four distinct seasons, ultra low humidity average summertime relative humidity is in the 30s and 237 average days of sunshine annually, Mother Nature provides idyllic conditions for year-round activities. Utah’s topography spans 11,000 – 13,500 foot alpine peaks in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains in the north – with

average annual snowfall of more than 500 inches and over ten feet on the ground through the winter – to 2,200 foot high “Dixie” in the South which sports a year-round climate akin to Las Vegas.

“With this diversity of climate and topography, there are times of the year when you can literally ski Utah’s Greatest Snow on Earth® in the morning and golf or climb red rock in the afternoon,” says von der Esch.

IT’S THE ECONOMY Utah’s economy has been among the top in the nation in terms of overall growth, job creation and real estate appreciation. In the face of an increasingly challenging national economic environment Utah has shown remarkable strength and stability, and is expected to continue to outperform most other state economies for the foreseeable future.

LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE Utah’s lifestyle is often characterized as one of “relaxed intensity.” While Utahns are among the top achievers nationwide, they value an open, interactive lifestyle at a slightly slower pace. “People often comment on the overall friendliness of our people and the cleanliness of our communities,” says von der Esch. “The lifestyle is very easy to take – not as harried as other areas.”

The culture is also shaped by a deep set of ideals that value strong ethics, hard work, entrepreneurial energy, education and giving back to the community. “Utah’s deep value system makes it a stable, vibrant and inviting place to live,” says internationally acclaimed entertainer Donny Osmond. (see sidebar). “We are a diverse community with many shared values and ideals. It’s a fun place to live and a great place to raise families.”

Education is a strong and growing priority, from local school boards to state legislature. Utah students consistently perform better than students in other states. For example, in 2007 Utah public school students achieved a pass rate of 19.5 percent on advanced placement tests compared to a national pass rate of 15.2 percent, according to the 2007 AP Annual report to the nation.

WWW.UTAH.TRAVEL / 1-800-200-1160

HIKING IN THE UINTA MOUNTAINS

riety of opera companies, regional orchestras or outdoor festivals of all genres.

Sports fans will find plenty to cheer about with two professional sports franchises – Utah Jazz basketball and Real soccer – league hockey, baseball and arena football clubs and college athletics that are consistently ranked among the top in the nation.

Recreation in Utah is legendary and virtually endless in its possibilities – from skiing to world class mountain biking, hiking, climbing, canyoneering, boating or running an Olympic bobsled course, the best in the world is readily available from virtually any locale.

Utah also enjoys one of the country’s safest environments. The state’s violent crime rate of 234.8 per 100,000 people ranks far below the national average of 466.9 per 100,000 people, according to the 2007 Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Rate Reports.

ARTS, SPORTS AND RECREATION Utah’s breadth of world-class opportunities is mirrored in the variety of top notch arts, sports and recreation venues that abound in the state. From the internationally acclaimed Sundance Film Festival, to the Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City, to Salt Lake City’s Capital Theatre Broadway tour productions or magnificent outdoor red rock-staged extravaganzas in the Tuacahn Amphitheatre the possibilities are nearly endless. Music lovers can choose from the famous Utah Symphony Orchestra to a va-

GREAT PLACE TO BE “Utah really is a great place to visit, but it’s an even better place to live,” says von der Esch. “I should know – I left a state I loved back East to live in Utah. Now that state is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to leave here.”

“With this diversity of climate and topography, there are times of the year when you can literally ski Utah’s Greatest Snow on Earth in the morning and golf or climb red rock in the afternoon.”

Leigh von der Esch MANAGING DIRECTOR, GOED, UTAH OFFICE OF TOURISM BIKING MOAB

DONNY OSMOND, ENTERTAINER

Living it Up in Utah “For nearly 50 years, I’ve had the good fortune of entertaining international audiences all around the world,” says Donny Osmond. “But those opportunities come at a price; performing in a different city every night is draining. At the end of a tour, it’s nice to come back home to the mountains of Utah.”

Though he has lived in various cities throughout the country, Utah has always been home-base for Osmond. “Utah is where my roots run deep,” says Osmond. “I was born in Ogden; I met my wife in Provo; we’ve even lived in St. George.”

Of all the places Osmond could call home, he has chosen Utah as his place of refuge. “When I go on the road, I know that my family is safe, happy and actively involved in great schools, communities and neighborhoods. They have opportunities for higher education, work and recreational activities. That’s why I live in Utah.”

The Osmonds are particularly fond of Utah’s unique, highly ac-

cessible “dual focus” environment, which seamlessly provides worldclass urban and wilderness experiences side by side. The Osmond children have also received first rate educational experiences in the school system, which are the state’s highest economic priority. After school, they are literally minutes from clear mountain streams, ponds and waterfalls. “My family is extremely active in outdoor sports; we rock climb, mountain bike, snowboard and even bobsled!” says Osmond.

Osmond especially appreciates the state’s open, friendly culture and strong value system, which encourages cooperation and service as well as high standards of excellence and participation in a broad range of activities and programs. “My family and I have a great relationship with our neighbors; it’s a tight-knit community that looks after each other – like a family,” says Osmond. “As a matter of fact, the neighborhood kids all call me ‘Uncle Donny.’”

Like Osmond, more and more people are discovering the unique “best of both worlds” that Utah can offer. “After traveling the world so many times during my career in show business, it’s nice to come home to a place that provides so much to enjoy.”

UTAH SHAKESPEAREAN FESTIVAL WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV

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BUSINESS IN UTAH HAS

STELLAR HEALTH CARE Utah Shines in Nationwide Comparison

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By Marie Mischel

IF UTAH’S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM RECEIVED A REPORT CARD, it would be full of gold stars for patient care, customer satisfaction and cost effectiveness. The Beehive State is ranked at the top for offering high quality health care at a lower cost than elsewhere in the United States.

This isn’t just talk from local officials. The 2006 Dartmouth Atlas Report conducted by Dartmouth Medical School concluded that “Medicare could have realized substantial savings – $40 billion or nearly one third of what it spent for their care over the four years of the study – if all U.S. hospitals practice at the high quality/low-cost standard set by the Salt Lake region.”

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In 2007, the Commonwealth Fund found that Utah ranked in the top five for nine of the health care indicators that were studied. Two of those rankings were at number one: for healthy lives and avoidable hospital use and costs.

This year, the Verispan research firm and Modern Healthcare magazine ranked Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare second in the nation in a study of more than 550 integrated health care systems. Intermountain Healthcare has been ranked first or second in nine of the last 10 years.

Recognitions of such caliber extends to the state’s educational institutions. For instance, according to National Institutes of Health Support rankings, the University of Utah’s College of Pharmacy is second, the College of Nursing 37th and the School of Medicine 43rd in the nation.

Prestigious recognition of Utah’s health care system has been consistent for many years. For example, for the past 15 years, at least one specialty facility of the University of Utah Hospital has appeared in the annual Best Hospitals list compiled in U.S. News & World Report.

And it’s not just the giants in the field who receive national awards.

For instance, St. Mark’s Center for the Surgical Treatment of Obesity was named a Center of Excellence in 2007 by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, and it’s the only

hospital in Utah to be designated a Blue Distinction Care for Bariatric Surgery by the BlueCross BlueShield Association.

While Utah’s medical institutions garner praise, so do individuals within the system. Among the most recent accolades: in April, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences elected Mary C. Beckerle, Ph.D., Huntsman Cancer Institute executive director and distinguished professor of biology at the University of Utah, as a member.

Utah’s residents tend to think highly of the health care system, too. The 2007 Utah Department of Health’s “Performance Report for Utah Commercial HMOs and Medicaid and CHIP Health Plans” revealed that the state’s Medicaid health plans and CHIP HMOs ranked above national average for many consumer satisfaction measurements.

HOW IT’S DONE “Utah has always been a leader in health data analysis,” says Dr. Keely Cofrin Allen, director of the Office of Health Care Statistics for the Utah Department of Health. “We were one of the first states in the country to be reporting on health plan quality and our HMO performance reports go back to the mid-1990s. That’s one of Utah’s strengths and I see that when I go out to national conventions. Utah is recognized across the country in health information.”

Having that data “creates an environment of transparency,” she says. “I can tell you from having sat in meetings with some of the key players in these projects, there really is a culture of cooperation out here. A culture of quality, a culture of ‘let’s find out what works and keep doing that. Let’s continue to try to be better.’ There really is a focus on it out here in Utah that may not be present in other states.”

Greg Poulson, senior vice president, Intermountain Healthcare, agrees. “The people that provide health care in our state – doctors, hospitals and so forth – tend to be more value-oriented than in many other parts of the country,” he says.

In addition, he credits a “public responsibility attitude” among health care providers to keep the prices of individual services low. Doctors in Utah tend to practice conservative health care, he says, opting to avoid unnecessary procedures. “We are trying to find ways collectively to provide care that is of meaningful benefit and not provide care that is not particularly beneficial.”

MAKING IT BETTER Utah is among the top three states in the category of highest quality health care for the lowest cost in the United States, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“We also have the lowest individual health insurance premiums in the nation, and the lowest couple premiums in the nation,” says Kelly Atkinson, director of the Utah Health Insurance Association. He added that, if the statistics are adjusted to take into consideration the fact that Utah families have one more child than the national average, the Beehive State has the lowest family coverage premiums as well.

But even though Utah has the lowest health care costs per capita in the country, “I don’t know anybody here who is saying ‘Wow, we don’t spend very much here for health care, do we?’” Poulson says.

“It’s still a huge impact on business, it’s an impact on individuals, it’s an impact on government and there’s still an enormous challenge to be more cost-effective than we are.”

“Right now, without change, we

just see a continuing buildup of rising health coverage costs,” says Natalie Gochnour, Salt Lake Chamber COO. Many business owners have seen health care costs becoming their second largest expense, behind payroll, she added. “The business leaders I work with say, ‘Every time I turn around I have to pay more.’”

As a result, the Chamber’s leadership made health care reform its top public policy priority. In April, the Chamber reached an agreement with Humana to offer insurance discounts to Chamber members with between two and 99 employees. A handful of chamber members already have signed up for the coverage; Gochnour believes more will join during the fall enrollment period.

“But the most important part of that program is the minute Humana enters the market and offers a discount to small businesses that are members of the Chamber, what happens is then every other policy competes against that price,” she says. “It’s our belief that we’ve improved the competitive nature of the market by working with Humana.”

Chamber leaders also are working with the bi-cameral Health System Reform Task Force that was formed by the Legislature.

During the task force’s first few

months, it “focused on coming up with ideas,” says Utah Speaker of the House David Clark, (R-Santa Clara), co-chair of the task force.

After a summer hiatus, “now we are ready to take those ideas and turn them into action.”

Governor Jon Huntsman, too, has joined the effort through the Initiative on the Uninsured, which is separate from but working in conjunction with the task force to create a more efficient and cost-effective health care system in the state.

“The fundamental underpinning of all of this reform is to get the individual much more involved in how they purchase their health insurance and their health care by giving them greater say in how they spend their money,” says John Nielsen, advisor to the Governor on the health system reform. “The predicate upon which all of that rests is that you’ve got to give the consumer enough information so that they can make the necessary decisions.”

The Office of Consumer Health Services, created in May under the aegis of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, is charged with creating an Internet exchange “that will act as an information source for the consumer that will contain whatever information is necessary for them to be fully informed as to how they spend their health care dollars,

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HOSPITAL

“We were one of the first states in the country to be reporting on health plan quality and our HMO performance reports go back to the mid-1990s.

That’s one of Utah’s strengths and I see that when I go out to national conventions.

Utah is recognized across the country in health information.”

Dr. Keely Cofrin Allen DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF HEALTH CARE STATISTICS, UTAH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

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both in terms of their insurance and ultimately which providers that they choose to obtain their health care from,” Nielsen says.

To this end, Governor Huntsman and the Legislature have passed several new health care bills which will provide the opportunity for previously uninsured sole proprietors and employees of small Utah businesses to obtain cost effective health insurance coverage through a new health insurance exchange.

By selecting an approved plan from the exchange an individual or family will be able to choose from various policies and coverages which are appropriate and cost effective for them. The policies will also be portable if the employee changes jobs.

In addition to the exchange, the Governor is emphasizing a public

information campaign to let people know about the Utah Premium Partnership for Health Insurance and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. “The Governor wants to make sure that we have an active outreach program that’s going to try to identify eligible individuals for those state programs,” Nielsen says.

Also on the Governor’s wish list is a program that would require students in a state-financed college or university to have insurance, and an interim program that would make affordable coverage available for catastrophic health incidents, Nielsen says. All these programs “dovetail with what the Legislature is doing.

We see it as very nice partnership.”

Utah legislators originally had considered a health care exchange similar to that in Massachusetts, but

discarded the idea primarily because the Beehive State doesn’t mandate that residents have health insurance.

“Unless you have that sort of a mandate the exchange concept doesn’t work very well,” Nielsen says.

“Right now, it’s the hope of the task force that we can develop sufficient market-based kinds of incentives so that we don’t have to go to the more onerous alternative of an individual mandate. In other words, we want to try to encourage people to get insurance by providing plans that are affordable, by doing outreach to underserved populations, by enrolling individuals who are otherwise eligible for the state-subsidized health care systems like CHIP or UPP program before we go to this more strident kind of approach, which is the individual mandate.”

DR. MARK H. SKOLNICK, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, MYRIAD GENETICS, INC.

Taking Personal Health Care to the Next Level The Human Genome Project. Rapid DNA sequencing. Targeted therapies. These and other advances in the field of personalized medicine today parallel the breakthroughs that occurred in personal computing in the 1980s, says Mark H. Skolnick.

Skolnick is in a unique position to make the comparison. He earned a doctoral degree in genetics from Stanford University in 1975, when personal computers were the stuff of science fiction. Eleven years later, he and his colleagues published research that

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led to the Human Genome Project.

Now chief scientific officer at the Salt Lake-based Myriad Genetics, Skolnick directs the company’s molecular diagnosis division; Myriad also has a pharmaceutical division.

In fiscal year 2008, the company’s revenues from both diagnostic products and molecular diagnostics were up 53 percent from 2007.

Myriad’s location in Utah allows it to have a close collaboration with the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah, as well as draw

upon the state’s high-quality workers, Skolnick says. “Utah has been a very favorable environment for us.

We work with the other members of the community and create something that is of value to the world.”

The modern era of drug development is just unfolding, Skolnick says.

“We’re understanding more about how the drugs we’re making work, and understanding that diseases also are being pulled apart into subcategories that are molecular and not symptomatic.”

In the future, specific tests on a person’s underlying genotype or expressed genes will reveal not just the disease they have, but also the pathway the disease has taken, Skolnick says.

There are distinct molecular different pathways to all diseases, so once the disease’s molecular pathways are understood, doctors will be able to prescribe a drug created specifically for each pathway, Skolnick says. “There will end up being many more drugs, each of which addresses a smaller market and has a higher success rate. That’s the idea of personalized medicine.”

“The fundamental underpinning of all of this reform is to get the individual much more involved in how they purchase their health insurance and their health care by giving them greater say in how they spend their money,” John Nielsen ADVISOR TO THE GOVERNOR ON THE HEALTH SYSTEM REFORM

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BUSINESS IN UTAH IS

THE STAR OF THE STAGE Lights, Camera, Action!

By Sarah Ryther-Francom

8 EVEN IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO UTAH, CHANCES ARE YOU’VE SEEN THE BEEHIVE STATE ON THE BIG SCREEN. Utah made its film debut in the

1920s, when movies like “The Covered Wagon” and “The Deadwood Coach” were filmed in the state’s pristine southern desert. In the 1940s and 1950s, director John Ford and actor John Wayne made the state legendary, with films like “Stagecoach,” “Rio Grande” and “The Searchers” establishing Utah as the iconic backdrop for Western genre. Today, Utah has been the stage to nearly 1,000 movies, including “Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World’s End,” “Mission Impossible II,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Back to the Future III”, to name a few. Much adored television series were also filmed in the state, including “Touched By An Angel” and “Everwood.”

And Utah continues to be leading in film production, with the wildly popular “High School Musical” I, II and III filmed at Utah’s own East High School. Beginning as a small budget picture and costing only $4.5 million to film, the original “High School Musical” generated $2.6 million in direct Utah spending. The movie received national acclaim and popularity to say the least, putting the Beehive State center stage for millions of viewers and film makers to see. “‘High School Musical’ certainly created worldwide awareness of what’s going on in the state of Utah in terms of motion picture making,” says Marshall Moore, director of the Utah Film Commission. “As a film that millions of people have seen, it put the state out into the mainstream.”

Beyond establishing the state as a Saltywood, “High School Musical” I and II alone brought in $8 million and created 180 jobs in Utah. And compared to the original “High School Musical,” hot-off-the-set “High School Musical III: Senior Year” had a budget of $33 million and is projected to have spent $13.3 million in the state as it graduated from the small screen to the big screen. “‘The High School Musical’ franchise has been a great boost for Utah,” Moore says. “Just to be able to say that it’s made in the state of Utah has shown what the state has to offer.”

MONEY TALKS Though Utah has been an unforgettable backdrop in numerous films,

LOCKHEED MARTIN INDUSTRIAL SHOOT IN CASTLE DALE, UTAH

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

the state did experience a filming dry spell. In the mid-1990s, Utah was one of the nation’s top five states for onsite filming. But the lights began to dim in 2000 when Canada started offering financial incentives to production teams, luring film makers right out of the Beehive State. “Canada, with their labor tax credit and the dollar exchange rate, was doing very well taking production out of the U.S.,” says Moore. “But some states starting thinking, ‘Maybe there’s a way we can bring some productions back to the U.S.’ Louisiana was the first to offer incentives, but other states caught on.” Utah was one of them.

In 2004, the Utah Film Commission proposed that the state of Utah begin offering financial incentives to film makers. The Utah Legislature supported the idea and passed the Motion Picture Incentive Fund (MPIF), an incentive program that grants funds to productions filming in Utah.

Since then, the state’s film industry has exploded. In 2006-07, more than 40 feature films were filmed in the state, generating approximately $99 million for Utah’s economy. And the picture’s only gotten better. After realizing the film industry’s great economic impact to the state, Governor Jon Huntsman encouraged the Utah Legislature to add more bang to the incentive program. During the 2008 legislative season, the legislature approved a $1.5 million increase to the MPIF, bringing the total appropriation for 2009 to $5.5 million. “It’s really about economic development,” Moore says. “Millions of dollars come into the state in a very short amount of time. And, production companies hire as many locals as they can.”

Summed up, MPIF is a win-win for the state and film makers.

But the MPIF funds aren’t just handed out to anyone wanting to film a movie in Utah’s red deserts, snowy mountains or energetic high schools. “There’s an application process that the production companies go through that includes the submission of a script and a review of the film maker’s background and history of film makings,” Moore says.

To examine each application, the UFC established the Motion Picture Advisory Committee (MPAC). MPAC

WWW.FILM.UTAH.GOV M.UTAH.GOV / 1-8 1-800-453-8824 ON THE SET OF “WAITING FOR FOREVER” IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

studies each script, ensuring that the content is viable and will be a worthwhile investment for the state.

The application is then sent to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) for final approval. Once GOED gives the official sign off, the production company can start filming. When filming is wrapped up, incentives are paid out based on how much the company spent while in Utah. Each production company selected is given a tax credit of 20 percent for every dollar spent in the Beehive State. The company must spend a minimum of $1 million to qualify.

Moore calls the MPIF a movieand money-generating machine, saying that it played an integral role in attracting High School Musical and other films to Utah. “‘High School Musical III: Senior Year’ came to Utah because of a one-time allocation of $1.5 million from the Utah State Legislature to keep the production here,” he says. “An improvement to the MPIF fund took place this year when an additional $7.5 million was added to the motion picture incentive program which will allow productions like these and even larger ones to consistently come and benefit our film industry and the state.”

During 2007, the MPIF fund was used on more than 10 films. “Last year the industry generated $54 million in motion picture production.

And incentive films generated about $49 million—all for a $4 million dollar output from the state,” Moore says.

And according to the Motion Picture Association of Utah (MPAU), for every dollar paid out of the MPIF fund, nearly $15 comes back to Utah’s economy. Not a bad deal.

THE RIGHT STUFF Though Utah has experienced a booming film industry in recent years, the state is only one of more than 40 states offering similar incentives to production teams. Yet despite the heavy competition, production teams keep finding themselves back in the Beehive State, wrapping up another movie. So what makes the state of Utah stand above the rest? Moore says that it’s a combination of the state’s unique film-friendly traits.

What once brought film mak-

ers to Utah—the majestic desert landscape—is no longer the state’s main attraction although still a significant one. “Production has been established here for years, since the golden days of John Wayne and John Ford in southern Utah, mainly because of the majesty of the locations here in the state, but what’s maintained the state’s popularity is different than what it used to be,” Moore says. Utah’s film-ready infrastructure has played a leading role in attracting film makers to the state.

Most notably is the fact that Utah has a collection of professionally-trained production crews. “When a production comes to a state to film, they don’t want to bring their crew with them, they want to bring a few key people and then hire the rest locally.

So we’re able to do that with our local industry, which includes every possible member of a film crew—we have it all here in Utah, including two equipment rental houses as well.”

Salt Lake City’s central location in the western U.S. is also key to the state’s filming popularity. “A lot of productions come to Salt Lake City because they can base out of here and shoot in Salt Lake or at locations within an hour of the city. And the proximity of Salt Lake to Los Angeles makes it appealing as well, because it’s only a quick flight to L.A.,” Moore says, adding that the state’s vast terrain is also key to attracting production teams. “Many come here because there are so many landscapes,” he says. “And they still film

“Production has been established here for years, since the golden days of John Wayne and John Ford in southern Utah, mainly because of the majesty of the locations here in the state, but what’s maintained the state’s popularity is different than what it used to be…When a production comes to a state to film, they don’t want to bring their crew with them, they want to bring a few key people and then hire the rest locally. So we’re able to do that with our local industry, which includes every possible member of a film crew—we have it all here in Utah.”

Marshall Moore DIRECTOR, GOED’S UTAH FILM COMMISSION

GOVERNOR JON HUNTSMAN AND FAMILY WITH THE CAST OF “HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL III”

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in southern Utah; lots of productions have been in St. George and Moab.” From wooded forests to snowcapped peaks to sandy shores to red rock mountains, Utah’s landscape can create just about any backdrop a movie needs.

THE BIG PICTURE As Utah’s film industry has a storied claim-to-fame, Moore says he hopes to see the Beehive State become a main stage for even more films. Fundamental to that, he says, is expanding the MPIF fund with the new higher incentive. “There was a necessity for us to improve our incentive program so we can attract large, feature film productions

and another television series to the state,” he says. “We’re looking forward to the future now that the new incentive program is in place.”

Many of Utah’s government leaders agree with Moore, saying that the MPIF fund needed a boost. In an address to the Utah Film Commission, Governor Huntsman said that improving the state’s film incentive program was a priority. “Imagine the impact of a $100 million major movie,” said Huntsman. “If we want to be the premier film destination in the U.S., we needed a premier Motion Picture Incentive program…Now our incentives are more competitive which will encourage the Utah production of all sizes of films.

Utah is doing well with the smaller

independent films but it is the larger studio films that Utah will gain with the Motion Picture Incentive change.”

Moore says that Utah’s filmfriendly reputation is growing and that the state is ready for more filming action. “The TV series “Touched by an Angel” helped bring attention to the state, because the 225 episodes of the network TV series that were filmed here opened the door to a lot of people coming to the state. And the Olympics really brought a lot of attention, too. The Olympics helped dispel myths about Utah and really helped take concerns away. More and more people are coming here and realizing, ‘Wow, Utah’s got a lot to offer.’ And it’s true; we’ve got so much to offer.”

“If we want to be the premier film destination in the U.S., we needed a premier Motion Picture Incentive Program…

Now our incentives are competitive which will encourage the Utah production of all sizes of films.”

Governor Jon Huntsman

BILL BORDEN, PRODUCER

Helping Utah Take the Leading Role Bill Borden, producer of films including “Mission Impossible III” and “High School Musical,” says that Utah is one of his favorite places to film. He shares his thoughts on what makes the Beehive State a one-of-a-kind stage for today’s film industry.

BU: What was your first experience filming in Utah?

BORDEN: In 1991, I filmed “A Midnight Clear” in Park City. It was great filming in Utah because the crew had so much experience. There were full crews, so we basically didn’t have to bring anyone. And over the years, I’ve used those same crew members. People I worked with 15 years ago still work with me.

BU: How has Utah’s film industry changed since your first experience?

BORDEN: The crews are even more experienced and there are so many more people to work with. When I first started filming in Utah, there was one, maybe two crews, so I worried about who I was going to use. Now you could film probably two or three or four movies in Utah at once.

BU: Why is Utah a good place to film?

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BORDEN: Utah is unique because Salt Lake City can look like any city and then 20 minutes away, you have the mountains and you have snow.

For making movies, you can do a lot of different things just in Salt Lake City and then around obviously the whole state you have a wide variety of locations which can represent almost anything. Salt Lake City is also very close to Los Angeles, so if there’s anything you need that Salt Lake doesn’t have, it’s really easy to get to L.A.—it’s only a day’s drive

away or a 90 minute flight. And as a producer, I can get back and forth really easily, which is really a major advantage.

BU: Do you think Utah will become a top state for filming?

BORDEN: I think Utah’s already a top state in the filming industry. It’s got some of the best crews in the country. The equipment houses are first class. The people are honest and hard working.

BILL BORDEN (LEFT) WITH THE CAST FROM “THE AMERICAN MALL”

Where industry & opportunity meet every day

Tooele County, Utah For businesses looking to expand or relocate in the western U.S., Tooele County, Utah offers the strategic ideal. Just 35 minutes west of Salt Lake City, we’re smack dab in the middle between the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Coast, Canada and Mexico. In addition to being centrally located with superb Interstate, rail and airport service, Tooele County contains Utah Enterprise Zones, with competitive land prices and wage rates, and an educated and eager workforce that will take your company to

the top. We have lots of land for companies in need of a large footprint, and our permitting process is convenient and fast.

Our quality of life is extraordinary with picturesque valleys, mountains and the Great Salt Lake. We’re also home for the world-famous Miller Motorsports Park, and Utah’s renowned ski resorts are less than an hour away. For businesses searching for the strategic ideal, the choice is Tooele County, Utah—where industry and opportunity meet every day.

For more information

435.843.3179

Tooele County Economic Development 47 S. Main St., Tooele, UT 84074 www.tooeleeconomicdevelopment.com ncline@co.tooele.ut.us.

Aerial view of Tooele City, Utah Industrial Depot WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV 53 and the Oquirrh Mountains

BRIAN HEAD SKI RESORT

BUSINESS IN UTAH MEANS

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD Explore Utah’s Jaw-dropping Outdoor Splendors

9

By Heather Stewart

ATHLETES SPEED AROUND THE CURVES of Salt Lake Valley’s Olympic

Speedskating Oval at a breathtaking pace with thrilled spectators cheering at the sight. A short ride up Park City, the renowned Sundance Film Festival draws celebrities, reporters and audiences from around the world.

Meanwhile, national park visitors gasp at southern Utah’s famed red-rock formations, which rival any other natural setting in the world for aweinspiring beauty.

More than 20 million people pour into Utah every year seeking adventure, cultural enrichment and the chance to discover something new about the world—not including the millions of Utah residents who take “staycations” in their own state annually.

GRAND STAIRCASE , ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

With the average overnight visitor spending $101 each day in Utah— for a total of more than $7 billion each year—tourism is a super fuel for Utah’s economy.

“The indirect spending that is generated by the traveler cuts across all industries,” says Leigh von der Esch, managing director of GOED’s Utah Office of Tourism. Tourists pocketbooks also contribute to state tax revenues, which enhances the quality of life for all Utahns.

TELLING THE WORLD It’s this quality of life that state leaders tapped into when launching an aggressive marketing campaign to strengthen Utah’s brand among tourists and bring additional visitors to the state. Using the aspirational tagline “Life Elevated,” the Office of Tourism has attempted to convey the breadth of experiences offered in the state.

“Visitors marvel at the firstclass symphony and opera that we have,” says von der Esch. “Between culinary tourism, arts and cultural opportunities for the entire family, and of course our multiple outdoor recreation offerings, Utah really has something for everyone.”

The marketing campaign has targeted specific demographic groups within the states and countries that send the most tourists to Utah. “We’re essentially fishing where the fish are,” explains Tracie Cayford, deputy director of the Utah Office of Tourism.

The campaign has deployed television ads on cable outlets like Discovery and the Travel Channel, print ads in National Geographic Adventure and Sunset magazines, among others, and interactive marketing on travel Websites and even YouTube.

The return on these efforts has been remarkable. “Our marketing effectiveness research has shown that for every dollar spent, we got more than $11 to $17 back in tax revenue, depending on the season,” Cayford says.

In fact, the state has tied the Office of Tourism’s marketing budget directly to growth in specific tax revenue streams. The legislation created a Tourism Marketing Performance Fund, which tied increased funding to increased visitors.

This funding strategy was launched in 2005, and the state’s economy has already seen a significant boost. In 2007, for example, traveler spending generated $617 million in state and local taxes—a 29 percent increase over the previous year.

“The results of our new brand have been outstanding,” von der Esch says. “We find the visitors feel the brand resonates with them, they find ‘life elevated’... they get it.”

And through an innovative approach—a cooperative marketing fund—unique tourist attractions and events have the opportunity to promote themselves with state marketing funds. A full 20 percent of the Office of Tourism marketing budget

WWW.UTAH.TRAVEL / 1-800-200-1160 WASATCH MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE

“We also have some of the best golf venues—truly world-class. Then there are our miles and miles of walking trails running through some of the most beautiful areas of the state. People are surprised with the state parks that are around the state.

Visitors marvel at the arts from the performer to the painter.”

is devoted to the cooperative marketing fund, which grants funding in a 50/50 match to nonprofit groups and destination marketing organizations that work to bring out-of-state visitors to Utah.

MATCHLESS DESTINATION Utah has long been famed for The Greatest Snow on Earth®— the state’s ski resorts are worldrenowned and top-ranked in such publications as Ski magazine, which placed Utah’s Deer Valley in the top spot, two years running.

The 2002 Olympic Winter Games shined a brilliant spotlight on Utah’s winter recreation opportunities, and the international audience certainly took notice. “The 2002 Olympics really spread the message about our venues, our terrain, our accessibility and The Greatest Snow on Earth®.

And all through the recent Torino, Italy Olympics, the newscasters kept referring back to the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. So it really is the gift that keeps on giving,” says von der Esch.

“We’ve had five record-breaking ski seasons in a row,” adds Cayford.

But winter sports are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Utah destinations.

“We also have some of the best golf venues—truly world-class,” says von der Esch. “Then there are our miles and miles of walking trails running through some of the most beautiful areas of the state. People are surprised with the state parks that are around the state. Visitors marvel at the arts from the performer to the painter. And did I mention the wildlife and bird-watching opportunities?”

With everything the state has to offer, it’s no surprise that visitors set their sights on Utah. The state is often called “the crossroads of the West” because all roads—and air routes—bring travelers and goods across its borders.

Nearly 24 million vehicles cross a Utah border on Interstate highways each year, while more than 22 million people arrive at the Salt Lake City International Airport annually.

“We only have to get them here once,” says Cayford. With the buzz generated by the Olympics and the

Leigh von der Esch state’s thorough marketing strategy, attracting new and repeat visitors to Utah is not a difficult task.

“We’ve been able to elevate Utah’s stature on the international scene,” says Cayford.

And with five national parks, seven national monuments, 43 state parks and a full spate of cultural and educational offerings, Cayford says, “Tourism will always be a strong economic engine in Utah.”

MANAGING DIRECTOR, GOED, UTAH OFFICE OF TOURISM

JERRY C. ATKIN, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, SKYWEST AIRLINES

Propelling Utah’s Tourism Industry BU: What does the phrase “Life Elevated” mean to you?

ATKIN: It clearly speaks to a higher standard of living, which is what we’ve got here in Utah. Life is better here: the air is clearer, the vistas are grander—and it’s all more accessible than pretty much anywhere else.

Headquartered in sunny St. George, Utah, SkyWest Airlines operates more than 1,600 flights each day for United Express, Delta Connection and Midwest Connect. Under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Jerry C. Atkin, the company has grown from annual revenues of less than $1 million to more than $1 billion. Atkin shares his thoughts about how Utah’s strong tourism industry positively impacts businesses in the state.

BU: What impact does tourism have on Utah’s economy?

ATKIN: Tourism is an important aspect of the state economy.

Bringing people to Utah destinations where they stay at hotels, eat at restaurants, and play at our resorts and parks—not to mention how they get here on an airplane—generate meaningful revenue and bolster the economy.

BU: How have efforts by the Office of Tourism to market Utah affected your business?

ATKIN: We provide air service to some fantastic Utah destinations: St. George, the gateway to Zion National Park and a real golf

mecca; Cedar City, home of the Utah Shakespearean Festival; and of course Salt Lake City, which provides outstanding access to Utah’s world-class ski resorts known for The Greatest Snow on Earth®.

So making people aware of all we have to offer here in Utah and getting them to partake of its splendor helps SkyWest—and our major airline partners—because we can take them where they want to go.

BU: What is your favorite Utah vacation?

ATKIN: I have two favorite Utah vacations. Lake Powell offers unique natural beauty and great sport.

My family comes together there each year for some outdoor fun.

Another favorite of mine is riding my motorcycle on Utah’s quiet, two-lane back roads spanning the state’s countryside, where I can enjoy everything nature has to offer.

From the red rocks of St. George to Ogden’s Powder Mountain, there really isn’t another place like it.

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BUSINESS IN UTAH GETS

DRIVING INDUSTRY MOMENTUM Business in Utah is Extracting Competitive Excellence

10

By Kimball Thomson

IN A HYPER-COMPETITIVE GLOBAL ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE IN CONSTANT FLUX, UTAH HAS DEVELOPED AN ABIDING TRADITION AS THE SOURCE OF TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION. Researchers and entrepreneurs in the

Beehive State have laid much of the essential groundwork for such wideranging industries and phenomena as computer networking, graphics, word processing, human genetics and personalized medicine/health care.

To sustain and accelerate innovation and sustainable competitive economic advantages in the state, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) collaborated with top Utah business and research leaders to create the Utah Economic Clusters Initiative in 2005.

“We created the Clusters program with the vision of making Utah the global best in class in a number of strategic, targeted industry areas that maximize competitive advantage and return on investment for the state and its entrepreneurial economy,” says Gary Harter, managing director of GOED’s Utah Economic Clusters Initiative. “In its first several years, the program’s progress in forging alignment and driving industry momentum has been truly exceptional.”

UTAH’S LEAD INDUSTRY CLUSTERS Utah’s Economic Clusters program is designed to create impetus and support structures for industries of the greatest competitive strength and potential for success within the state.

There are currently seven targeted industries in the Clusters Program: • Life Sciences, with a primary emphasis on personalized and predictive health care areas such as genetics, biomarker development, pharmaceutical research and clinical services, drug delivery and advanced neuroscience; medical devices and other health care products; cellular research (for nutrition and infectious diseases); environmental and agricultural technology and remediation; and microbe biotechnology • Software Development

and Information Technology, including computer systems management and security; Web services and software as a service; wireless technologies; high-performance computing applications, such as imaging, simulations, modeling and algorithm development; and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and imaging; and digital media, games and entertainment development.

• Energy and Natural Resources, with a focus on energy independence; mining and mineral technology; natural gas; wind, solar and other green/ alternative energies; and geothermal energy

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• Aviation and Aerospace, including advanced materials and composites; propulsion systems; and communications and avionics systems • Defense and Homeland Security, especially autonomous systems; aircraft and missile maintenance; smart sensors, chemical and biological detection systems; and human performance technology such as exoskeletons • Financial Services, such as the state’s global-leading industrial banks industry and other services in the state’s increasingly sophisticated finance sector • Outdoor Products and Recreation, for which Utah has become a global center and test bed for skiing and snowboarding equipment and recreation; mountain biking; and online sales and services In addition to these established clusters, Utah’s entrepreneurial economy is undergirded by a set of competitive accelerators, including advanced manufacturing; nanotechnology; logistics and distribution centers and services that draw upon the state’s central location in the Western U.S.; technology network infrastructure; and family-centric products.

ENGAGING WITH INDUSTRY “We constantly ask ourselves, ‘What is the proper role for state government in business?’” says Harter. “The answer to our question changes from one industry or situation to another, but there is one constant—we take our lead from industry.”

In the current environment, industry leaders in Utah have been calling for elevated collaboration between the state’s private and public sectors.

“Industry wants us to be an integral partner,” says Harter. “We are committed to working closely with businesses and investors to support our compelling core industries, to get the word out about them and supply them with a ready supply of talent.”

The Clusters program is finely attuned to the need for a workforce skilled in relevant disciplines, espe-

cially the science and technology disciplines at the core of Utah’s competitive advantage.

GOED’s clusters program works closely with a variety of other innovative Utah government economic development programs to sustain and accelerate the state’s most promising industries.

“Through the state’s economic development programs, Utah entrepreneurial companies have access to an extremely rich mix of resources to support their growth and maturation,” says Harter.

PROGRAMS WITH INDUSTRY IN MIND The Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR; www.InnovationUtah.com) initiative was created and funded by the Utah Legislature to help attract and support world-class researchers with a strong record of commercialization to the Beehive State’s institutions of higher learning. The program focuses its efforts on drawing in marquis researchers in the areas of Utah’s economic clusters – in particular life sciences including personalized health care, nutrition, energy, information technology and software.

The state’s highly successful Centers of Excellence (www. business.utah.gov) program

provides funding and other support to commercialize the research generated in the state.

The Utah Legislature created the Utah Fund of Funds program (www. utahfof.com); see the finance and cover features in this issue) to supply the state’s growth companies with access to a diverse supply of capital investment sources, the life blood of entrepreneurial growth. The program also works to help these companies expand their networks of investors and other key influencers.

In 2007, GOED was awarded a $5

million federal Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant, which will be devoted to life sciences-related education and training. The funding was granted in response to an application created

by GOED and the Department of Workforce Services in collaboration with a variety of leading Utah life science executives, companies and researchers.

The current program had its roots in a two-year biotech-oriented science, technology and math (STEM) curriculum offered by Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) for high school juniors and seniors in 2001.

SLCC is currently partnering with Utah Valley University (UVU) to expand the program into a four-year degree, while the Granite Technical high school and SLCC continue to develop a skills-based biotech program that teaches participants to perform quality assurance, process validation and FDA compliance, and to work in clean-room environments.

“The WIRED grant is both a validation of our approach to workforce development and a timely resource for accelerating Utah’s efforts to provide relevant training to meet the diverse needs of the state’s growth companies in the life sciences arena,” says Dr. Tami Goetz, Utah’s State Science Advisor. “Our workforce development

“Industry wants us to be an integral partner. We are committed to working closely with businesses and investors to support our compelling core industries, to get the word out about them and supply them with a ready supply of talent.”

Gary Harter MANAGING DIRECTOR, OF GOED’S UTAH ECONOMIC CLUSTERS INITIATIVE

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program is evolving from the ongoing feedback we’re receiving from industry, which will provide a ready workforce for employers and diverse qualifications and opportunities for graduates of these programs.”

The WIRED grants are currently funding a variety of practical, handson educational and hands-on training programs in collaboration with public and higher education and industry partners, designed to engage, recruit, educate/train and retain a quality life-science workforce. Some current projects include: • The Greenhouse Project, which utilizes greenhouses as living classrooms for a wide range of teaching and professional development in microbiology, chemistry, plant sciences, nutrition, food sciences and other fields of endeavor • The Face of Fitness Program, focused on careers in the materials sciences, outdoor and natural products industries that promote health and enhanced quality of life • The BioInnovation Gateway (BiG), which provides research internships for high school and university science students with life science companies and other research-related organizations • Efforts by the nutrition programs to research and develop high-quality dietary supplements and other natural products, and to identify best practices for establishing safety standards for raw materials used in a broad array of industries Going forward, the Utah Economic Clusters program will continue to grow and evolve with the world-class businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers it serves. “It is a great honor to be involved with people and organizations of such tremendous vision and dynamism,” says Harter. “There is no question in my mind that we are in the early stages of a sustained golden era for Utah, its companies and its citizens.”

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DR. STEPHEN JACOBSEN, PRESIDENT, RYTHEON SARCOS

Charting New Territory in Robotics To visit the basement research and development area of Dr. Stephen Jacobsen’s Raytheon Sarcos facility at the University of Utah’s Research Park is to be transported into a veritable dream factory. Visitors are confronted at every step with history in the making.

Jacobsen has spent his legendary career extending the outer frontiers of innovation and possibility in the robotics arena. His innovations range across a wide spectrum – from the defense industry to medical devices, manufacturing and entertainment. He has led the creation of a bewildering array of creations: the Utah Arm (1986), an extraordinary innovation that remains one of the world’s highest-functioning artificial limbs; the dinosaurs from the inaugural Jurassic Park film; the uncannily human Carnegie Mellon robot; the dancing fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas; many of the world’s smallest yet high-powered micro cameras and sensors, some of which are utilized for surgery in tiny spaces within the human body; and the animated pirates for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction featured at four Disney theme parks.

“I am continually blessed to work with a team that is unlike any other in the world,” says Jacobsen. “We call our process of creation the ‘tunnel of terror,’” says Jacobsen. “It can

be truly unsettling and frightening to delve into new, uncharted territory – but by the same token, there is nothing more stimulating or rewarding.”

Currently, Jacobsen and his team are working on perhaps their most ambitious project ever – an extraordinary exoskeleton often referred to as the realization of the science fiction “Iron Man” technology of cartoon and movie lore (www.raytheon.com/ newsroom/technology/rtn08_exoskeleton/index.html).

“We envision the exoskeleton as a tool that meets the human desire to become superhuman in speed, strength, agility and endurance, while maintaining our human judgment and intentions,” says Jacobsen.

The Raytheon Sarcos exoskeleton is a futuristic wearable robot – a synergistic complex of sensors, actuators and controllers – that functions as a superhuman extension and amplifier of the user’s physical abilities. The exoskeleton enables its wearer to lift 200 pounds or more hundreds of times and carry them over vast distances without tiring.

Jacobsen and his team are currently working to mature and ruggedize the exoskeleton, such as developing a protective shell that can protect wearers from chemical, fire and other environmental hazards so they can safely complete their tasks.

In addition, the team is working

“With the Clusters program and other efforts underway, I believe we are entering an exciting period in which we will capture the phenomenal innovations that get developed here, so they can remain in the state and grow into dynamic products and companies.”

Dr. Stephen Jacobsen on a small “snake” approximately two inches in diameter and four feet wide, an autonomous device that can be equipped to traverse small and/or hazardous spaces, posit or retrieve objects and take photos.

“It is an exciting time to be an inventor here in Utah,” says Jacobsen. “With the Clusters program and other efforts underway, I believe we are entering an exciting period in which we will capture the phenomenal innovations that get developed here, so they can remain in the state and grow into dynamic products and companies.”

© 2008 Ernst & Young LLP. All rights reserved.

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CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

REGIONS TO DO BUSINESS IN UTAH

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222 SOUTH MAIN, SALT LAKE CITY

WASATCH FRONT

SECURE & STABLE

By Janine S. Creager

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele, Weber, Morgan TO SAY THAT THE ECONOMY has

MAJOR CITIES:

Salt Lake City (180,651) Sandy (96,074) West Jordan (102,445) West Valley (122,374) Layton (64,311) Bountiful (43,788) Ogden (82,702) Roy (35,048) Tooele (29,460) REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 840,413 AVERAGE WAGE:

$40,872 (Salt Lake) $35,398 (Davis) $32,633 (Weber) $37,068 (Tooele) $29,894 (Morgan) MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

University of Utah LDS Church Intermountain Healthcare State of Utah Discover Financial Services Wal-Mart Salt Lake City Corp.

Delta Airlines Zions Bank Hill Air Force Base Lagoon Corporation Inc. Lifetime Products Department of Defense Autoliv Convergys Browning

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gone through some difficult times recently is an understatement. But in the midst of it all, Utah’s Wasatch Front continues to foster a stable and secure business climate, building the confidence of seasoned companies and newcomers alike.

A SECURE INVESTMENT Downtown, Salt Lake City’s latest high-rise in over a decade, 222 South Main is turning heads and inspiring confidence. Hamilton Partners, the real estate developer behind the 22-story office building, moved to Utah just six years ago. But being the new kid on the block, so to speak, has not been a problem.

Bruce Bingham is a partner with Hamilton Partners, who made the move with the company from Chicago. He also chairs the Downtown Business Alliance.

One of the most positive aspects for Bingham about doing business in Utah is “the business friendly climate,” he says. “No one is a pushover. We find that as an outsider, we are welcome in this community. They’re willing in this community to look at outsiders.

There is an openness to outsiders, to new ideas.”

As Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development,

Jason Perry notes that, “in spite of the difficult economic times, we continue to announce significant expansion or relocation into the state almost every month. Utah is a secure place to invest and grow a business.”

If businesses are looking for “clarity and consistency,” and knowing exactly what they’re getting into when they come to Utah, says Perry, they’ll find it here.

“We are big enough and complex enough to meet needs of companies, but we’re small enough to get things done quickly,” he says. “The regulatory environment in Utah is very consistent. We don’t change rules on them. The power and utility rates are listed for them upfront so there are no surprises. There are some places where regulations are so difficult, it’s not worth the effort.”

Another benefit, which increases communications between government and business, is having a Governor who knows business and is aware of the unique needs and requirements

DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY

which expanding corporations may have.

“Youon’t get that in other places,” says Perry.

If the capital city is representative of the main body of the state as a whole, then the downtown blocks of Salt Lake City are indeed its heart.

Along with such projects as 222 South Main and the existing Gateway Shopping Center the City Creek Center project is rising. The privately funded, 20-acre mixed-use project will include a walkable urban center.

It will be a community of residences, offices and retail stores. When finished in 2012, the project will be in excess of two-billion dollars and will bring over 9,000 permanent residents and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commerical space to the city center.

As owner of the property, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is overseeing the effort and

CITY CREEK CENTER, SALT LAKE CITY

has a unique interest in the downtown area of Salt Lake City. “The blocks included in the City Creek project are immediately adjacent to the Church’s international headquarters,” explains Dale Bills, communications director for City Creek Reserve, Inc. “Keeping those blocks beautiful and attractive is important. People can feel safe and comfortable. They can gather in the common plazas, in the beauty of the open walkable heart of the city. I think that means that we see it as a safe and attractive place.”

While completion of the full project is still several years away, summer 2009 will see the opening of a new food court located between Eagle Gate Tower and the new Key Bank tower. In addition, the project’s first residential housing unit, Richards Court, will be completed by the first quarter 2010. Reservations for Richards Court began in early 2009.

Beyond the commitment of Macy’s and Nordstrom, tenants for the retail side of City Creek have yet to be announced. What is known, says Bills, is that the retail leasing firm, Taubman Centers Inc, has “experienced a strong interest and enthusiasm.”

Through all the economic ups and downs, he adds, “Downtown Salt Lake City has always had ‘good bones.’ Even though there were some stores closing their doors, the central business district has stayed strong and we wanted to take those good bones and build on them.”

Bingham is also aware of those “broken teeth,” as he refers to them,

empty storefronts along the city’s main thoroughfares. But their presence does not, in and of themselves, signal a cause for concern.

“We look at Utah as being a secure environment…the economy here does not experience the extremes of peaks and valleys,” he says. “We feel a little more comfortable in the whole economic position of the state. It’s going to take time to recover, but it will recover and it continues to show remarkable strength.”

A STABLE WORKFORCE For decades, the place to be for creating, producing and distributing animated films was Southern California. So why would Darin McDaniel believe that his own company, Lumenas Animation Studios, which combines computer-generated animation with stop-action motion and miniature sets, could thrive along the Wasatch Front? The reason for him was clear: the state has a ready and able workforce for current needs.

With world class animation programs offered at local universities, combined with a high quality of living, those needs will be met in the future as well.

“We are very happy with the talent we’ve had,” says McDaniel, president and CEO. “It is really cool that Utah is becoming known as a hot bed for this industry.” Lumenas also has attracted the attention of nationally-known talent, including Golden Globe Award winner, director Colin Brady and other top film mak-

ers, who have left other firms to bring their skills to Lumenas and a growing number of other animation firms making Utah home.

“We’re talking to all the universities in the state and exploring the ways we can expand the relationship so that when the artists graduate they won’t leave the state.” McDaniel further explains that they are also exploring ideas of creating extension programs with the universities that will be taught out of the Lumenas studio.

“There’s an independent spirit here which you can feel it when you come in the studio. The talent pool that Utah has is really amazing and the work ethic that goes with it is outstanding.”

“Utah is one of those places where businesses can find a wellqualified workforce,” says GOED’s Perry. “Utah is seen as a very secure place for workers and for having a well qualified highly productive workforce.

Companies are coming in large measure because of that workforce, they get high productivity out of their workers because they are well-trained.”

“It is natural in tough economic times, for individuals and companies to look for the most secure and stable environment in which to invest their time, effort, and financial resources. Companies looking for just such a location can find it along the Wasatch Front and throughout the State of Utah,” says Jason Perry.

“We are as busy as we have ever been in the business of corporate recruitment,” says Perry. “We are very supportive of the existing businesses that we’re growing and the companies that we’re recruiting.

When economic times change we will be on top of the curve. Businesses that prosper the most when you come out of a recession are the companies that have been looking for new opportunites and ways to capitalize on them. We certainly know that companies are thinking about tomorrow, and we are helping them plan for it. All businesses experience economic cycles. In Utah we are planing for the long term, not just reacting to the present.”

“It is natural in tough economic times, for individuals and companies to look for the most secure and stable environment in which to invest their time, effort, and financial resources. Companies looking for just such a location can find it along the Wasatch Front and throughout the State of Utah.”

Jason Perry EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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MOUNTAINLAND

INNOVATION CENTRAL

By Mark Dayton

TECHNOLOGY PROWESS

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Summit, Utah, Wasatch MAJOR CITIES:

Provo (113,984) Orem (90,857) Pleasant Grove (30,729) Heber (9,715) Park City (8,030) REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 272,251 AVERAGE WAGE:

$33,184 (Summit) $32,620 (Utah) $31,317 (Wasatch) MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

Brigham Young University Wasatch County School District Deer Valley Resort The Canyons Homestead Resort Utah Valley Regional Medical Center Novell Nestles USA Prepared Foods

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counties in Utah as top economic development hot spots in the country based on the number of businesses that have been in business for four or more years and overall employment growth over the four years. ProvoOrem in Utah County ranked 1st among the small metro areas and Utah County itself ranked 3rd among the smallest counties in the nation.

Provo-Orem also ranked #1 in the top 200 largest metros on the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities Index.

And a recent national survey conducted by AllBusienss.com ranked ProvoOrem in the top five overall best metros for women entrepreneurs.

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UTAH’S MOUNTAINLAND REGION

has evolved in a few decade’s time from sleepy towns and local ski resorts to a hotbed of world class innovation, entrepreneuring, technology development, nutraceutical/ natural products and outdoor business leadership. Indeed, mixing business into some of the world’s most spectacular mountain wilderness area has produced extraordinary results, further highlighting the region’s prominent place among those who work hard and play hard.

The region has even spawned a new initiative called Silicon Slopes – punctuating the point that technology, innovation and world class business leadership are thriving in the state’s majestic mountainland region.

Encompassing Summit, Wasatch and Utah counties, the Mountainland region traverses the mountains of Park City to the north and east, the alpine valleys of Heber in the center of the region and the bustling Wasatch Front communities of Utah Valley to the south and west.

These Utah communities have experienced exponential growth and success that has been recognized on a national basis on a variety of fronts.

For example, Expansion Management and National Policy Research Council ranked the State of Utah and several

The early days of technology in the region are rooted in the “twin towers” of Novell and WordPerfect – two early pioneers of today’s worldwide software industry who grew up in the Provo-Orem region of Utah County.

The resounding success of these and other early technology companies spawned a culture and infrastructure of innovation that has grown into one of the country’s most productive hotbeds of technology creation and commercialization.

Many of these early high flyers became attractive buyout targets for larger out-of-state entities and have since moved on to become successful cogs in bigger wheels elsewhere.

However, as the infrastructure and culture have matured, the current trend is for companies to grow, stay and grow some more.

Take Altiris for example. Beginning life as a ground-zero startup in 1998, the company parlayed its innovative computer management software into a $500 million business in just eight years. The company was acquired in 2006 for nearly $1 billion by Silicon Valley-based Symantec, which consolidated three other business units into Altiris and left the Utah operations essentially intact. According to former Altiris CEO Craig Butterfield, “Symantec recognized the quality of the people in Utah, to the extent that several

Altiris executives now fill senior roles for the greater Symantec – in finance and marketing.”

Mozy is another example. Serial entrepreneur Josh Coates left Silicon Valley to found a Web-based data backup company that was acquired

by Boston-based EMC after three years for $80 million. Mozy not only stayed in Utah, but has tripled in size since the acquisition. “There are brilliant people in this state, and often, they don’t know how brilliant they are,” said Coates. “I felt I had an unfair advantage.”

From startup to the world’s leading Web-site analytics company, Omniture is reflective of the region’s growing reputation for innovation and high growth. Founder Josh James is determined to help educate the world on the advantages of starting and growing businesses in Utah through an online community called Silicon Slopes. “We wanted to help the world discover what we’ve discovered about Utah as not only one of the greatest places on earth to work and build a company, but also a place you want to call home,” says James.

And the list goes on: from online community leader Generations Network, the world’s largest database and network of family and genealogical information, to Move Networks – supplier of unique new video streaming technology to major Web-sites and media networks, to industry veterans Intel/Micron’s IM Flash joint venture, a leading supplier of flash memory chips that power millions of mobile devices worldwide – the region’s culture of innovation has become legendary.

This ability is bolstered by well educated people and leading edge technology produced by Brigham Young University (located in Provo), one of the state’s three Ph.D level institutions, which has developed an effective system for transferring promising technology into the marketplace through an incubator process.

BYU-initiated technology is found in everything from guidance systems

PROVO, UTAH COUNTY

for unmanned planes in war zones around the globe to providing instant temperature adjustment in high tech outdoor clothing. BYU grads also provide an important stream of technical talent to the area’s growth companies. In 2008 TechRepublic, a leading technology news organization owned

by CBS Interactive, ranked Brigham Young University’s undergraduate information systems program among the Top Ten in the nation. Additionally, Utah Valley University in neighboring Orem, offers strong degree programs and top-notch talent that help feed the innovation infrastructure.

NATURAL PRODUCTS AND DIRECT MARKETING Not to be outdone by their high tech compadres, the region’s natural products companies have set a few records of their own. Legally defined as dietary supplements but commonly known as natural health products, this industry’s products include vitamins, minerals, supplements, drinks, etc. that are sold around the globe.

According to the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA), Utah is the world’s leading center for dietary supplements manufacture and supply. Roughly 150 companies in Utah (many of the leaders based in the Mountainland’s region) produce natural health products. The operational revenues for these companies are estimated at $6 billion annually.

An extensive chain of support industries accounts for an additional estimated $3 billion in revenues, including packaging, bottling, shipping, lab equipment and services, marketing and legal support, etc. Including the estimated $750 million in revenues generated by these companies hosting their annual worldwide distributor conventions in Utah, the total industry contributes an estimated $10 billion to the state’s economy each year.

With 99 percent of that revenue coming from out of state, the industry is a healthy net exporter to the world.

“Utah is recognized worldwide as the Silicon Valley of natural health

products,” said Loren Israelson, CEO of UNPA. “On a global basis, Utah is where the action is.”

The overall industry is forecast to grow at around 8 percent next year, despite global economic slowdown and coming off five years of close to 15 percent annual growth. Within that record, are several companies who have exhibited unprecedented growth and international expansion.

For example, three Utah County companies account for over $2 billion in international sales today. NuSkin, in Provo is a $1.2 billion direct selling provider of personal care, nutrition and technology products in 47 countries worldwide through a channel of 750,000 active independent distributors. Across town, Tahitian Noni International has grown from first year sales of $6 million in 1996 to over half a billion in annual revenues in more than 70 countries selling over 50 health promoting products. Farther to the north, XanGo started in 2002 with 14 employees in the United States and today operates in more than 20 countries and territories with approximately 700 employees.

Natural health products is also a very green industry. A tour of the area’s many labs and manufacturing facilities reveals an industry that produces almost no effluents or air pollution and very little waste – an important factor in preserving the Mountainland region pristine environmental areas.

As a result of this high level of ac-

tivity, Mountainland communities have been recognized with corresponding national awards. For example, Business Facilities magazine ranked Provo-Orem #5 for drugs and pharmaceuticals among Top Ten medium metropolitan statistical areas.

SKI AND BACKCOUNTRY SPORTS GO CORPORATE Utah’s ski resorts have a long history of high visibility and growing popularity leading up to and including hosting the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Rather than a culminating point, the Olympics served as a launching pad for expansion of an increasing number of organizations who take the business of outdoor sports very seriously.

The ski resort business in the area continues to prove its ability to deliver a top notch product to the industry‘s most discerning customers. More than 7,000 voters and readers of Ski magazine recently selected three Mountainlands ski resorts among the Top 15 best ski resorts in North America. Deer Valley Resort garnered the #1 spot, with Park City Mountain #5 and The Canyons #13.

Recognizing the powerful combination of snow conditions, accessibility, facilities and infrastructure, the United States Ski and Snowboard Association has relocated its national headquarters to Park City, Utah. The USSA is the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboard-

“We wanted to help the world discover what we’ve discovered about Utah as not only one of the greatest places on earth to work and build a company, but also a place you want to call home.”

Josh James FOUNDER, OMNITURE

DEER VALLEY RESORT

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ing, and the parent organization for the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding. The USSA provides athletic programs in six sports including alpine skiing, cross country, disabled alpine and cross country, freestyle, ski jumping and nordic combined, and snowboarding.

Other outdoor sports leaders have realized the strategic and competitive benefits of a Utah location. Rossignol USA moved its corporate headquarters to Park City after surveying a number of different locations. According to Kurt Hoefler, Alpine division manager for Rossignol, Utah

has a number of unique features that provide a significant advantage from a business standpoint. “Utah has a mountain lifestyle. It snows early and stays late,” says Hoefler. “And when you’re not skiing, you are in the mountains climbing, biking, hiking, you can be totally immersed.”

The area provides unique product and professional development benefits that are hard to duplicate. This includes a very large pro community (ski patrol, instructors, professional skiers, etc.) and extensive retail partnerships that collectively help with product testing, development and improvement.

The proximity of the mountains to major population areas is also a major advantage. “I can fly in a new design and have it on the snow for testing the same day – unlike the 2-3 days it used to take when we were headquartered in the east,” says

Hoefler. “Utah is becoming a hot bed for alpine sports. There is no place like it anywhere in the world.”

Other outdoor gear makers and retailers are finding similar advantages, including online leader Backcountry.com, whose Park City location provides a deep pool of experienced outdoor enthusiast talent for industry-best sales and customer support to online shoppers. (Note: other industry-leading outdoor products companies are headquartered in other areas of Utah, including Atomic USA, Salomon (both Amer Sports), Black Diamond and Ogio.

While Utah’s Mountainlands still provide some of the greatest recreation opportunities in the world, these opportunities have been equaled by summits in business and innovation that are increasingly taking their place among the moguls of worldwide industry.

T NG ` AB IVIN EOTHERMA REST ` CEN G O L F L L E A D N N O U I ` RAIL RECE L T E NA NGEL N ESS ` B RIBUSIN B ` FISHLAK R AND LOS A U E H V L N A E C D I IC T N T WIND ` AG E IS AY BETWE PS HUB ` FE TATES LOG U W S F ` L N L A R A E H M T ` R S 0 E E ` I-7 OTH AL ` W NEL USA GE ES ` RASER RESOURCES E N E ` O L Z S B M A E R W IS A E R F N P FOUR H’S RE ENTER NOMIC S ` CIRCLE RMITTING ` IC E T P S A L L A UTAH ` ECO P C F E O O L G L K O C IT A P ERITA R YB A T G ` FAST ENERGY C 5 ` HALFWA IN 1 E P IL IP ` B H A H S A W T E IL U N A N ` RE M IN L B`R OTHERMAL RATION FAR R POTENTIA E E A G N L E S O G E S I ` D G O N IN L O W IO R CHNO ERAT GEST RAL RESOU T WIND GEN E ONES ` LAR T Z N IN A T M W N A T E G N M E A P D M O VE L ` 200 ABUN MA ECEIVING ` LAS VEGAS L GEOTHER R L D E N IL D A A N R C U ` L L S B N ` N EE TA RATIO NESS ENTER OF U OWER GENE ` AGRIBUSIIN C P ` D L N T I A S W M E R T R E S O H R F I OT B`F ONAL S`H NG ` UPS HU HLAKE NATI OS ANGELE IN L S N I I IN F D M N ` R A L E A R P N E IN I P V M CO RAIL N DEN LROAD TER EDEX HUB ` AY BETWEE F C RAIIL I IC ` W F I IF F L C L A A A M P H R N ` E 0 IO H N OTfound ` I-7 CallEtoday to see how your brightest future in Beaver County A GEbe TECHNOL CES Swill R R U U E L O S E S A N E R E R ` ` S S L E ZON FARM ENEWAB MENT IRCLE FOUR ENTERPRISE C ` ` G S IN C IC DEVELOP IC I T T M IT S O M A N R L O E P C P E E L G ` A A ION LOGISTICAL NERATIO RACK LOC E T S G E T T S D A A T IN F S ` W N T G N ESTER HIPPIN GAWAT C AND LAS V IN UTAH ` W L AL ` 200 ME S M M R R N A E E F H E T N W O T O IO E ERAT AY BE IES G 15 ` HALFW L POWER GE T WIND GEN I A S ` M E R G H E R A H T A T U L O ` F E S ONES ITOL OEHDYHUFRXQW\XWDK RUJ AL ` G R POTENTIA GRIBUSINES NERGY CAP A A E L ` E O L D S B ` IN A W N W O T E IO REN ERAT NG ` FIRS S RENE NIN UTAH’’S ER MIN T WIND GEN P F T P A O O W R C A E ` T G E N S E E M C 200 T` OURC ITA NAL FORES NERAL RES ELES ` HER IN IO G T M A N T N A N E S A K D O L A N L U D AB SA R AN ` FISH EEN DENVE AL ` ENEL U OTHERMAL W E IN T G M E R L B E L Y T E A D D W N A F U BL AILRO ` HAL NG ` ENTER ITTIN RCES ` I--70 N PACIFIC R M U R IO O E N S P U E L ` R A S E C L M O AB KL NES R FAR ` FAST TRAC OPMENT ZO CIRCLE FOU L G ` E IN V S P E IC D IP T H S IC S A M L IL P HUB ` ECONO B ` RA

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SOUTHWESTERN

BUSINESS STILL SIZZLING

By Adrianne Krier

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Washington

THE FIVE COUNTIES of southwest-

MAJOR CITIES:

St. George (71,161) Beaver (2,564) Panguitch (1,473) Cedar City (27,823) Kanab (3,769) REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 94,012 AVERAGE WAGE:

$28,804 (Washington) $27,700 (Beaver) $24,064 (Garfield) $25,567 (Iron) $25,050 (Kane) MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

Intermountain Healthcare SkyWest Airlines Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Southern Utah University Circle Four Farms Ruby’s Inn Washington School District

CAPITAL REEF

ern Utah, Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington, whether considered individually or collectively as a region, hold enormous economic promise for the state of Utah. It’s a promise that starts with natural resources such as copper, iron, oil, geothermal, wind, solar and, yes, even uranium.

Jerry Sherratt, Cedar City Mayor, sees his county as the gateway to renewable energy sources—geothermal, wind and solar—for the simple facts of “altitude, days of sun and readily available undeveloped land.”

Rob Adams, Director of the Beaver County’s Economic Development Corporation adds copper from Beaver County to Sherratt’s list and Garfield County’s Justin Fischer emphasizes the uranium mining and milling going on in his county.

Many of these resources contributed to the development of Utah in times past but fell into disfavor when more distant energy sources were plentiful and cheap. Today, however, things have changed, making it cost effective to employ new technologies to coax Mother Earth to yield her energy treasures to those who will be good stewards of her generosity.

In some cases, growth comes quickly due to higher than average

wages paid to willing hands. Thanks to tourism, the newly formed Bryce Canyon City in Garfield County comes to mind. In others, Ticaboo, for instance, reviving an old industry, uranium mining and milling, has revived a sleeping town as well, according to Fischer.

In Beaver County alone, Western Utah Copper Corporation has a new mill in operation, Adams says. Iron is also being mined and there is new interest in the geothermal operations of Blundel, Sulphurdale and a new plant near Minersville. Furthermore, 17,000 acres has been set aside, and are currently being developed for wind generation.

The interest in natural resource development is attracting the attention of many businesses, including startups and those who are planning to expand or relocate. “Many are support businesses, from trucking, to welding, to construction, and all that goes with them,” Adams says.

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BACKBONE

GRILL,

Naturally, families will accompany workers, and will require expanded infrastructure such as child care, according to Kane County’s Erin Robinson, president of the Kanab Chamber of Commerce.

Retail ventures for non-food goods, clothing and home purchases are needed. So are health care and education resources, according to Robinson.

Russ Behrmann, president of the St. George Chamber of Commerce, would like to see more lodging to accommodate tourism as well as businesses that contribute to infrastructure development: roads, airport, schools, etc.

Lecia Langston, regional economist for the Department of Workforce Services in Washington County notes that the county economy has slowed in construction, financial activities, manufacturing and service although health care and social services have maintained their status as top producers.

Behrmann counters “The current slowdown in a blessing because it allows the infrastructure to catch up.”

Many businesses taking hold in

GARFIELD

THE UTAH SHAKESPEAREAN FESTIVAL, CEDAR CITY

southwestern Utah require high-tech capabilities which, until now, were hard to come by. That problem is being solved, according to Sherratt.

“Iron County is on the cusp of becoming the high-tech center of the Western States” thanks to Interlinx, which provides fiber-optic redundancy for high-tech companies.

A business must also be able to get its products to market in a timely, costefficient way by a variety of means.

Transportation is all important.

“Beaver County is a natural crossroads,” Adams says. “It’s located halfway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and halfway between Denver and Los Angeles. “That’s why UPS, FedEx National and USF Reddaway operate in Beaver. Over the road trucking opportunities will always be present in Beaver County,” Adams adds.

For rail-based industries, Milford is the major rail depot and crew change point between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, leading Union Pacific Rail Road to base a large contingent of workers there.

In Washington and Iron counties, tourism and recreation are other mainstays of the economy. As tourism grows, the need for additional lodging and shopping also increases.

The area is also gaining a reputation as a retirement Mecca due to its moderate climate and scenic beauty.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) has provided incentives for several southwest Utah companies:

Beaver: 1. Heritage Plastics PVC pipe plant Iron: 2. Charlotte Pipe Company 3. Palladon Ventures iron mine Kane: 4. Film production Washington County: 5. Viracon, the largest U.S. single source fabricator of glass 6. Orgill, Inc., distributor of home improvement products 7. Wells’ Dairy, manufacturer of Blue Bunny Ice Cream One of the best things about southwestern Utah is the elbow room, and plenty of people want to experience it. Fischer says, “Tourism is the largest sector in the county with a high percentage of European visitors.

Bryce Canyon is still the main draw, but many visitors are exploring more of the county, such as Capitol Reef National Park, slot canyons and other attractions along Scenic Byway 12.

“Beaver is home to ATV enthusiasts, hunters and fishermen,” says Adams. In fact, Beaver is developing a three day recreational biking event for road and mountain bikers for Labor Day Weekend 2009.

From history to thrills, southwestern Utah has “world-class outdoor experiences” to offer, says Behrmann.

“It should be known as Utah’s Palm Springs,” he adds.

Garfield County was originally settled by Mormon pioneers but now includes people from all across the globe, says Fischer. There are historic

sites, artists, gatherings such as the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon, Panguitch Valley Balloon rally, Escalante Canyons Arts Festival, biker rallies and the Quilt Walk festival – and hunting and rock hounding, Fischer adds.

Roxie Sherwin, director, Washington County Convention and Visitor Bureau, lists a few attractions: Tuacahn, Zion National Park, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, biking of all kinds and, of course, golf.

Behrmann says of St. George, “It is unusual for a city of 150,000 to have a performing arts center and several concert venues. The Shakespearean Festival center is very close by in Cedar City.” In addition there is snow skiing and Lake Powell within an hour’s drive north or south. National parks, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and a myriad of educational opportunities abound including Dixie State College in St. George and SUU in Cedar City.

Each year, the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George and the Utah Summer Games in Cedar City bring thousands of competitors to Southern Utah. A unique adventure that is relatively unknown, similar to the Orient Express, is the GrandeLuxe Rail Journey, a nine day trip by train from Santa Fe, N.M. to Yellowstone and back again. The train’s Utah stop is in Cedar City.

Southwestern Utah’s economic potential is not only vast, but rife with opportunities. Those who can sense it will grasp it quickly and hang on to ride out the quickening explosion of growth in every sense of the word.

I-15 INTERSTATE

“Beaver County is a natural crossroads. It’s located halfway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and halfway between Denver and Los Angeles. “That’s why UPS, Fed Ex National and USF Reddaway operate in Beaver.”

Rob Adams DIRECTOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, BEAVER COUNTY

Three southwestern companies are entitled to display the “Utah’s Own” label or their products: 1. Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder (Garfield County) 2. Stampin’ Up (Kanab) 3. Thistle Hill Handmade Goat Milk Soaps (Kane County.)

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ROCKHILL CREAMERY

BEAR RIVER

CONNECTING TO PAST & FUTURE

By Pamela Ostermiller

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Box Elder, Cache, Rich MAJOR CITIES:

IN SOME 350 MILES, the Bear

Brigham City (18,544) Logan (47,965) Smithfield (9,181) Tremonton (6,470)

River drops north out of the Uinta Mountains, crosses the Utah state line fives times, takes a giant u-turn to curve around the northern tip of the Wasatch Front and meanders its way through fields and marshes before finally spilling into the Great Salt Lake. The river’s path offers a fairly thorough tour of the region it encircles, the chilly highlands of Woodruff, to the aquamarine waters of Bear Lake to the bustle of Cache Valley and the orchards of Brigham City. All three counties in the region—Cache, Rich and Box Elder, have broadly different landscapes and economic diversity but they remain connected by their rural roots and the cool waters of the Bear.

REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 85,167 AVERAGE WAGE:

$40,496 (Box Elder) $26,999 (Cache) $22,787 (Rich) MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

Utah State University ATK Launch Systems Icon Main Plant Rich County School District Autoliv Logan Regional Hospital Convergys

CACHE: HAVING IT ALL In a diverse region, Cache County earns top honors, economically speaking. “We are not heavy in one sector,” says Kevin Jensen, economic developer for Logan City, the county seat. “That is one of our strengths.”

While Cache is still relatively rural, a verdant valley where Sandhill cranes gather and fences stitch together a quilt of farmland, the county’s strongest sector is government, due to the presence of Utah State University which is the county’s top employer, employing almost 7,000 workers.

Like a well-rounded student, Cache remains among the top five producers in the state of hay, cattle, wheat, barley and oats, yet is still one of the state’s five metropolitan areas with a strong manufacturing industry that ranges from cheese to medical technologies.

On the edible end, companies such as Gossner Foods, which has produced Swiss cheese in Cache since 1966, continue to grow and expand, as does Schreiber Foods, a $3 billion global enterprise and the world’s largest privately held cheese company with two locations in the valley and more than a dozen worldwide.

Yet the environment is just as conducive to those making cheese on a smaller scale. At the north end

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of the county in Richmond, on a restored historic farm, Jennifer Hines and her husband Pete Schropp along with “the girls,” their six Brown Swiss dairy cows have been making cheese for almost four years at Rockhill Creamery.

“Our business plan has always been to stay small,” Hines says, adding that next year they will reach their goal of producing 12,000 pounds of cheese annually. Former journalists at the local newspaper, Hines says they wanted to work in an industry that was self-sufficient, where they could produce or grow everything they needed to create a product. They also wanted a country lifestyle. “Long before we had this operation, we were in love with cows,” Hines says, making Richmond, home of the biggest Holstein Cow show in the West, the perfect place. “We absolutely love it here.”

Rockhill Creamery is one of “Utah’s Own” companies, a program established by the Utah Department of Agriculture to create a consumer culture of choosing Utah products first.

There is also growth in other areas of manufacturing. An exciting development happening this fall is the opening of an expanded facility of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for manufacture of single-use bioprocess containers (BPCs), says Kirk Jensen. “This first phase 37,000-foot expansion will house manufacturing, a welcome center and research,” he says. “Over a five-year period, 200 employees will be added.” The expansion will supply the increasing

ATK ARES I-X TRAIN LEAVES UTAH

demand for disposable bioprocessing technology, according to the company Web-site.

Also in the midst of an expansion is Inovar, which Jensen says is one of the county’s fastest growing companies. A manufacturer of electronics, the award-winning firm makes some 200 products, including black boxes for cars, similar to those used by airplanes for data retrieval. Assisting these types of companies, Jensen says, is part of the broad plan for Logan City and its neighbors. “Our goal is to increase business recruitment, facilitate expansions and encourage downtown revitalization,” he says.

The overall economy of Cache County is strong and all indicators are positive, from trade to tourism, even including housing, where Logan has seen an increase in home prices. For entrepreneurs, from locals to transplants from around the world, the business opportunities are limitless.

BOX ELDER: ENJOY THE JOURNEY A visitor heading north on I-15 to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, a lively and wild place where coots and grebes caw and ratchet among shoveler ducks and black-necked stilts, will find the drive as serene as the destination. After passing the trudging industry of Ogden, Utah’s north-

ernmost metropolis, all becomes quiet and rural once again. This is the appeal of Box Elder County, a quality that economic developers love to sell as much as possible. But they know something more; beyond the green fields and peach blossoms there’s a lot going on.

“Agriculture is a huge part of our economy,” says Susan Thackeray, Economic Development Director for Box Elder County, “more for the quality of life, for the beauty of the orchards and the farms.” The county is the top producer in the state of cattle, wheat, oats, corn and among the top five of barley and hay. But what people don’t realize, Thackeray says, is that the county has more workers in manufacturing than any other county in the state, per capita.

Companies old and new are breaking ground. ATK remains the county’s largest employer, while Autoliv, a maker of auto safety parts, continues to develop new products. Residents are also anticipating the 2010 opening of the Procter & Gamble paper plant that will start with 300 employees and ramp up to 1,000. The company was lured here after a two-year negotiation by state Corparate Relocation & Incentive Office, a part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

Most in Northern Utah share a positive attitude, drive and enthusi-

asm for making their region grow. At the end of September, planners gathered for the third annual economic summit called “What’s Going Down up North,” held at USU Innovation Campus. For more information about the summit, held each year, visit whatsgoindownupnorth.usu.edu.

Meanwhile, the waterfowl are migrating through and the Northern Harriers are finding their breeding grounds. For birds and people alike, Box Elder is a great place to pass through and even stay.

“We’re a drive-through market,” says Joan Hammer, tourism director of Box Elder County, touting the area as a corridor to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. “Our motto is ‘enjoy the journey.’” Since 2007, hotel revenues are up 40 percent, possibly due to a growing trend in local travel and in heritage travelers, birdwatchers and agritourists, says Hammer.

“We have not all of the sudden reinvented ourselves,” she adds.

“People have now become interested in our rural nature, our culture, our history. We are true to ourselves and that bodes well for us.”

“We are not heavy in one sector. That is one of our strengths.”

Kevin Jensen ECONOMIC DEVELOPER, LOGAN CITY

BEAR RIVER MIGRATORY BIRD REFUGE

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RICH: READY TO GROW With a mere 2,100 residents and 19 cows for every person, Rich County’s rural livelihood is based on agriculture, ranching and tourism, with government supplying one-third of jobs. Yet, the population has grown 25 percent in 15 years and while overall growth is slow, it is steady.

Unemployment is one of the lowest in the state at 2.2 percent.

In Rich County, the biggest tourism draw is Bear Lake, straddling Utah’s northern border with Idaho.

For all types of water recreation and fresh, local raspberry shakes the lake is an important part of the economy.

Though high gas prices can affect long distance travel, the prices do encourage vacatioining at home. The area is so beautiful that many residents chose to stay local and enjoy vacations close to home. “People need their vacations,” says Judy Holbrook, director of the Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

While summer weekends are a paradise in the valley, Holbrook says her organization is trying to attract more visitors mid-week and in fall and winter. Winter enthusiasts can enjoy snowmobiling, downhill skiing, crosscountry skiing and snowboarding. For mid-week, Holbrook says they are working on package deals.

It’s never a bad thing when an area needs something in order to grow and it’s clear what that element is. “We are struggling with some infrastructure issues,” she adds, “We have an increasing demand for camping areas,” Holbrook says. “The county is promoting the addition of a convention center and more motel space.”

Holbrook adds that plans are in the works to address some of these needs—on the Idaho side of the border. On the Utah side, a building moratorium has been lifted and the Garden City Town Council approved its new General Plan to promote new business.

RICH COUNTY RASPBERRIES

Quality of Life & Progress 12

• •Highly-educated Ranked # Best workforce Small Places for Business by Forbes.com

• Bordered by the scenic Forest in •Wasatch-CacheNational Ranked # Safest Community

9

the Nation by Morgan Quitno Press

• Home to Utah State University, •aHighly-educated workforce Carnegie I Research Institution • Bordered by the scenic WasatchCache National Forest

1

• Ranked # Metro City lowest crime rate a •with Homethe to Utah State University, by CQ Press Carnegie I Research Institution

www ww www.loganutah.org w.lo loga ganu nuttah tah.or org g

For more information contact the Economic Development Dept.

255 N. Main, Logan, UT 84321 • (435)716-9015 • (800)236-5157 kjensen@loganutah.org.

WELCOME TO

• UTOPIA fiber optic network • Abundant transportation alternatives • Available, affordable land • Easy access to SLC services, airport, and amenities • Small town atmosphere • Fresh peach pie!

For more information contact the Economic Development Dept.

20 N. Main Street, Brigham City, UT 84302 (435) 734-6603 plarsen@brighamcity.utah.gov

WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV

73

UINTAH BASIN

THIS LAND IS OUR LAND

By Pamela Ostermiller

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Daggett, Duchesne, Uintah MAJOR CITIES:

Vernal (8,403) Duchesne (1,553) Roosevelt (4,852) Manila (298) REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 25,472 AVERAGE WAGE:

$30,031 (Daggett) $39,606 (Duchesne) $42,381 (Uintah)

DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT

MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

Duchesne County School District Uintah Basin Medical Center Halliburton Energy Services Colletts Recreation Services Cash Meat Market Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Ashley Valley Medical Center Jacob Fields Service N.A. National Forest Service

A DRIVE THROUGH the Uintah Ba-

sin, under the watch of King’s Peak, across the maize-colored, antelope speckled plains, through the alfalfa fields and the red cliffs to the fishfilled waters of Flaming Gorge, to the lights of the oil rigs twinkling on the horizon, reveals that the lifestyle and economy of the Uintah Basin is grounded in natural resources. It’s a region of roots, veins and bones, of range cattle, oil wells and dinosaurs.

Duchesne, Daggett and Uintah counties each bring unique bounties and challenges and most importantly, opportunities for business.

BREAKING THE BOOM AND BUST Gary McClellan is a saddle maker from Maeser, a small town just outside Vernal. For 18 years he has worked for Dry Fork Saddle, a company his brother, Brad, started in 1972. The company builds about 900 saddles a year and sell them worldwide for some $2,735 each. “We can’t keep up,” he says, but enjoys the work as much as the success. “I like seeing the finished product. It is satisfying to watch progress every day, to see the end result.”

They are so popular Discovery Channel is doing a “How it’s Made” special on the company.

McClellan can sum up life in Uintah County as well as any economic

developer or county official. “I have a three-minute commute to work, the people are friendly, I don’t lock my doors at night, and you’re 30 to 40 minutes away from anything you want to do, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, the Green River, fishing…I enjoy the recreation.”

Mark Raymond, County Commissioner says the area is growing fast.

“Things are happening here,” he says. “The traditional boom-andbust cycle of the Uintah Basin is past history.” He is talking about oil, of course, the grease of the county’s economic cogs for decades. But that grease, combined with a tradition of tourism and agriculture, has opened opportunities in other industries.

Especially exciting are developments in higher education, on the Utah State University Uintah Basin Regional Campus. Recently, Utah entrepreneur Marc Bingham and his wife, Debbie, donated $15 million to the campus to build the Entrepreneurship and Energy Research

FLAMING GORGE

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BUSINESS BUSIN N E in UTAH NESS H 2009 2009 9

Center. Slated to open in 2009, the building will be a state-of-the-art, high-tech educational facility to train students in engineering, water management, natural resources and environmental policy, to name a few.

In July, the Anadarko Foundation, a nonprofit organization of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, announced a $1.5 million joint gift to the university and the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College. The gift will fund construction of the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Industrial Technology Building, which will offer programs critical to the natural gas and oil industry, but it will also educate locals so that they are able to live and work where they grew up.

“We will have state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and programs in industrial engineering, chemistry and geology,” Raymond says. “We can get our young people to fill the jobs we need.”

Which leads to another so-called problem: more jobs than workers and a lack of housing for the workers already in place. “We have too many high paying jobs that we can’t fill,” says Michael McKee, chairman of the Uintah County Commission.

“Now that is an exciting problem!”

According to the Utah Department of

Workforce Services, unemployment is 2.6 percent. “We are very upbeat.

We have a great county,” says McKee. “But we have shortages.”

Some solutions are in motion. In July, the county approved an 80-acre development complex in Vernal for retail, entertainment and hotels, according to the Uintah Basin Standard. At least three hotels are planned, including Hawthorne Suites, La Quinta and Hyatt’s Summerfield Suites and, according to a developer quoted in the Standard, “Industry representatives from Halliburton and Anadarko have agreed to guarantee 60 percent occupancy of any hotel built on the site for the next three years.”

While Uintah County is supporting an ever-diversifying economy, McKee says the oil and gas sectors remain the strongest and most likely to grow. “They are driving our economy. Of the natural gas produced in Utah, 57 percent comes out of Uintah County,” at a value of $1,160,209,692. McKee underscores the importance of the basin’s natural resources. “Only 15 percent of the county is privately held, which means we have low property taxes.

Seventeen percent is tribal. Our public lands are extremely important for recreation, agriculture and oil.”

Big news came to the Basin in 2008, when the Bureau of Land Management released its Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the Green River Formation, the largest oil shale deposit in the world estimated at 800

billion barrels of recoverable oil. The PEIS identifies the most promising shale areas in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming that will be open to applications for commercial leasing. BLM Director Jim Caswell said in a press release, “The goal of the BLM’s oil shale program is to promote economically viable and environmentally sound production of oil shale on Western lands, where we estimate deposits hold…enough to meet U.S. demand for imported oil at current levels for 110 years.”

For McKee, this is an unfathomable opportunity for the people of Uintah County and beyond. “We could solve the nation’s energy needs. Utah is going to play a major role.”

DUCHESNE: DIG IN Flanked by the Ashley National Forest and covered with a patchwork of farmland, Duchesne County is quiet and rural, but underneath the verdant hills hums an economic engine. The combination of bountiful natural resources and an energetic leadership that uses every tool in the box have kept the county on a growth pattern for years and most sectors show no sign of a slow down. All signs point to encourage growth and development.

The strongest sector continues to be the oil and gas industry. Duchesne is Utah’s largest producer of crude oil at 39 percent of the State’s output. “The durable nature of the industry encourages supportive new businesses which are starting up at breakneck speed,” says Irene Hans-

en, Director of Duchesne County Economic Development. Services related to mining, such as welding, trucking and commercial construction, are feeding off of oil and gas, yet there is growth in other areas as well, such as tourism. Hotels are booked all summer as are the area’s seven resorts, ranches and fishing destinations. In Myton, chic restaurant Hollow Moon is serving up fresh baby greens and gelato to locals and travelers alike.

While “oil and gas may be our bread and butter, agriculture is our backbone,” Hansen says. Duchesne County ranks in the top five producers of cattle, hay and corn.

Hansen, part economic developer, part cheerleader, part fundraiser, is especially excited to see county residents getting their piece of the pie. “When outside companies come into the county, that’s wonderful,” she says. “But when a local sees an opportunity and seizes it and expands, that is even better!”

County residents are better able to capitalize when they have local leaders rooting for them. For example, Duchesne is the second largest user of the Enterprise Zone Tax Credit Program, created in 1988 for job creation and new investment in counties with less than 50,000 residents. Businesses that qualify receive helpful tax credits and in Duchesne, “it has helped a lot,” says Hansen. “It has been extremely well utilized.”

A new program from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development has given one company in Ballard a huge boost. McMullin Heating & Cooling was recently awarded $50,000 from the Rural Fast Track (RFT) program, which provides incentives to help companies in small towns grow and offer additional higher paying jobs. Amber McMullin, secretary for the company, says they will use the money for a new building for inventory and office space, and hire more employees. In the past, “we have had to turn business away,” she says, but not anymore. McMullin is a company that has grown with the oil

“The goal of the BLM’s oil shale program is to promote economically viable and environmentally sound production of oil shale on Western lands, where we estimate deposits hold…enough to meet U.S. demand for imported oil at current levels for 110 years.”

Jim Caswell DIRECTOR, BLM

UINTAH BASIN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENERGY RESEARCH CENTER

WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV

75

NINE MILE PANEL

If the community is lacking in anything, says Hansen, it is more hotels and retail and, as in Uintah County, housing. “There is opportunity here.

We are losing 75 percent of our retail money to other towns. Wal-Mart serves a region, but if they are not in your community, you lose.” Hansen adds that the downtown is full, creating a need for infrastructure. “When you have fast growth, you have to adapt. But we are meeting the challenge.”

industry, providing AC at camp locations, over mine computers and in metal industrial buildings. But the company would not have qualified for the RFT award if it wasn’t for help from local officials.

“We really appreciate Irene,” says McMullin. “She is on the ball.

She made me realize that the RFT is for rural businesses and will help the community.”

DESTINATION: DAGGETT Tucked in Utah’s eastern-most corner with endless opportunities for recreation, less than 1,000 residents and yet not one stoplight, Daggett County is the place to get away. “In the wintertime we are in our own little world,” says Brian Raymond, County Commission Assistant and Director of Economic Development.

Of the 1,186 residences in the area, Raymond estimates that 70 percent

are second homes, enjoyed for one week, two weeks, or months at a time by Daggett part-timers.

“Recreation is why a lot of people are here,” he says, “including full-time locals.” Because the majority of Daggett’s land is owned by the government, most residents work for the government in some capacity−in the field, the school district or local government positions−or work in tourism and travel. This predicament, or opportunity, means that leaders must get creative and use the county’s natural beauty every way they can.

While Daggett showed huge job growth in early 2008, it was due to pipeline construction and some expansion in the travel and tourism industry. The latter is the key to the region’s sustainable economy.

According to the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, Daggett County is working to update the County General Plan including the

Easy to get here.

Hard to leave.

Dutch John area. The Report says that the County “is working with Aspen Rivers, LLC, a team of specialized planners, to evaluate existing plans and improve the implementation ability and create a clearer path to develop a sustainable economy.”

Dutch John is just one region of many that offers potential growth for tourism.

Over the years, economic developers have created festivals, events and races—anything to attract new visitors to its outdoor playground.

In August the county held the fourth Tower Rock 10K Run, an event created to generate revenue which has been a big success; this year there were 71 runners and 200 attendants to the post-run pasta bash.

The First Annual Fall Festival at the Daggett County Park in Manila, featuring entertainment, a dinner, horseshoes and a benefit auction has kicked off a new tradition for the county.

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

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CARBON PLANT

SOUTHEASTERN

NATURE’S BRILLIANCE

By Adrianne Krier

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Carbon, Emery, Grand, San Juan MAJOR CITIES:

Moab (4,868) Blanding (3,185) Price (8,174) Huntington (2,004) REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 25,922 AVERAGE WAGE:

$33,697 (Carbon) $28,078 (San Juan) $39,688 (Emery) $25,725 (Grand)

MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

Carbon County School District Canyon Fuels Company Castleview Hospital College of Eastern Utah Lisbon Valley Mining Co. San Juan School District Energy West Pacificorp Allen Memorial Hospital City Market Grand County

ALTHOUGH SOUTHEASTERN UTAH’S

commercial assets vary from the picturesque and sublime in Grand and San Juan counties to the out-of-sight and underground in Carbon and Emery Counties, their sum total equals a magnificent heritage for the State of Utah. This area is waiting in the wings, ready to be developed in order to take its rightful place on history’s stage.

The four counties, which cover almost a third of Utah, are managed by four very capable economic directors: DeLynn Fielding of Carbon, Mike McCandless of Emery, Ken Davey of Grand and Charlie DeLorme, Director of San Juan County Economic Development and Visitors Services.

Although each has strengths and issues specific to his own county, there are considerations common to all simply because of the proximity of the counties to each other.

Until now living and working in southeastern Utah brought with it a certain amount of isolation which, in turn, prohibited communication – or at least made it difficult and slow.

Fielding speaks of a new project known as BEAR – Business, Expansion and Retention – focusing agencies and governmental policies on local business support. “We hope to create a business climate for new local businesses and an attractive place for

outside businesses to come in,” Fielding says.

To end the isolation, DeLorme touts the laying of $3 million in fiberoptic lines which will provide unlimited bandwidth and redundancy for Moab, Lasal, Monticello and Blanding. The project, expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009, will allow the area to serve tech related or Web-based businesses it is unable to host currently.

In addition to the fiber-optics, six new cell towers are also under construction in the area. These communications advances will bring new opportunity to the 7,000 people living on San Juan County’s Navajo Indian Reservation since vendors will finally be able to accept electronic sales, i.e. credit and debit cards.

Although there has been no public transportation on the reservation, times are quickly changing. By spring of 2009 a native-owned transportation system consisting of 15-passenger

LAKE POWELL

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BUSINESS B BUS INESS S in UTAH 2009

vans will make two trips per day between Grand Junction, Colo. and Flagstaff, Ariz.

McCandless is immersed in the construction of a 25,000 acre buildto-suit industrial park near Green River. The first tenant, uranium mill Mancos Resources, has already signed a letter of intent to lease 600 acres in Mancos Hills, just outside of Green River. The city of Green River is located on Hwy 6 and I-70 near the Union Pacific Railroad and is one of only a few river communities in Utah.

The Green River itself is the largest navigable river in Utah.

McCandless also sees a future for Green River as a regional transportation hub because of its 5,000 foot airport and close proximity (35 minutes) to Carbon County’s 8,313 foot airport, Buck Davis Field.

Both airports can handle turbo props and commuter air service. Another industrial park is being developed right in Green River for tenants who need smaller footprints and 200 acres are currently under development for an oil refinery, which is expected to open before 2009.

SORREL RIVER RANCH LODGE, MOAB

To say Carbon and Emery counties are energy rich is to state the obvious. However, with energy prices causing concern among many consumers, a renewed development interest has sprung up in Utah.

“There is substantial drilling in the Green River area – seven miles north of town – and lots of interest in leasing,” says McCandless. Because of this renewed interest, it is believed that southeastern Utah is on the cusp of a population boom. “We certainly hope so,” McCandless adds. From cattle to uranium and everything in between, Emery County has been in one boom and bust cycle after the other. McCandless continues, “We don’t want to do away with what we’ve got but we’re trying to diversify the Green River economy away from travel and tourism.”

Coal is of particular importance to the western side of southeastern Utah. “Fifty percent of the U.S.’ power and 85 percent of Utah’s power comes from coal,” says Fielding.

Coal and the search for natural gas are bringing other industries to Utah such as machining, hydraulics, motors, switches, services and products useful to the Western Slope of Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada. Power plants, generation and drilling are becoming more important, as is oil shale and the technology needed to make the substance yield its prize.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) provides significant incentives for businesses seeking the opportunity to help develop southeastern Utah. Fielding and McCandless have worked with law makers to establish the Rural Fast Track Program (RFT), a GOED program for the benefit of businesses in their respective counties. Of GOED McCandless says, “It’s a good way to get money into the hands of expanding companies.” He further explains that 20 percent of incentive dollars must go to rural communities annually.

“In one year seven successful applicants have received $350,000 seed money to expand and grow

rural companies that are so important to our communities,” McCandless says. Working hand-in-hand, Carbon and Emery counties receive 80 percent of RFT money set aside for the region. GOED beneficiaries have included: 1. EAO Services, manufacturer of a brake system for underground mines.

2. Dustless Industries, manufacturer of a vacuum cleaner for fireplace and stove ashes, and wet/dry vacuuming.

3. Intermountain Electronics, manufacturer of power switching equipment.

To one degree or another, all of southeastern Utah depends on tourism. Marian DeLay, Executive Director, Moab Area Travel Council says, “Moab is doing well despite the increased cost of gas and other related services associated with tourism amenities. The park visitation is up by over 7 percent…retail sales are up and so are room sales.”

Dinosaurs are the big draw for Carbon County, especially the prehistoric museum at the College of Eastern Utah. As many of 10 previously unknown dinosaurs have been discovered in Carbon County.

Anthropology is another draw.

Many American Indian artifacts have been found in an area known as Range Creek and are currently being studied by the University of Utah. Nine-mile Canyon is the home

of thousands of ancient petroglyphs and pictographs, some of which are available to tourists.

Monument Valley in San Juan County draws about 500,000 visitors per year. Many also visit Canyonland National Park, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges National Monument and Lake Powell.

As interesting as the sights are in southeastern Utah, perhaps the most welcome are clean air, blue skies and plenty of room to spread out.

“In one year, seven successful applicants have received $350,000 seed money to expand and grow rural companies that are so important to our communities.”

Mike McCandless ECONOMIC DIRECTOR, EMERY COUNTY

TAYLOR ORGANIC AND NATURAL BEEF AND PORK

Southeastern Companies qualified to use the Utah’s Own label include: 1. Farmers markets 2. Utah grown cattle 3. Historic Farms such as Dunhams 4. Taylor Organic and Natural Beef and Pork 5. McCandless U-pick Farm and Market

WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV

79

SNOW KITING

CENTRAL

BUSINESS & PLEASURE

By Adrianne Lee Krier

FAST FACTS

COUNTIES:

Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, Wayne MAJOR CITIES:

Richfield (7,119) Nephi (5,231) Delta (3,143) Ephraim (5,165) Loa (506) Circleville (463) REGIONAL CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE: 33,615 AVERAGE WAGE:

$34,370 (Juab) $32,000 (Millard) $21,437 (Piute) $23,712 (Sanpete) $27,908 (Sevier) $24,838 (Wayne) MAJOR EMPLOYERS:

Juab School District Teton Industrial Construction Intermountain Power Service Millard County Dalton Brothers Trucking Piute County School District Snow College Moroni Feed Sevier County School District Canyon Fuels Company Aspen Ranch Federal Government

IS BUSINESS A PLEASURE or is

pleasure a business? When the answer is yes to either of these questions, the best place for such an enterprise may be one of the six counties in Utah’s Central Region: Sevier, Juab, Millard, Sanpete, Piute and Wayne.

Despite the nation’s current economic turbulence, many companies are moving to, or expanding in central Utah because of financially favorable conditions provided at least in part by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) policies.

JUAB COUNTY Byron Woodland, Director of Economic Development for Juab County, cites two prominent examples: FiberTEK and Barnes Bullets.

FiberTEK, according to spokesman Jordan Radman, responded to Utah’s favorable GOED incentive package by moving the whole company from Florida to Nephi in Juab County. “We manufacture fiberglass insulation,” Radman says. “We’re a large energy consumer and Juab County has lower energy costs and a good workforce.”

The company will be operating by June 1, 2009 and will employ up to 100 people, according to Radman.

According to Jessica Brooks, Barnes Bullets PR and advertising

department, located in Utah County for the past 15 years, purchased 30 acres in Mona (Juab County) to build a new facility because dramatic corporate growth has rendered its Lindon location obsolete. She says the new 60,000-square-foot facility, which will open in April of 2009, will have offices, a ballistics lab, manufacturing capabilities and underground shooting ranges.

Barnes Bullets owners Randy and Connie Brooks had other reasons to move the company, which employs 60 people, besides needing a larger facility. “They wanted to live next door to the plant and they wanted a smaller community, one with cows, horses, a rural lifestyle with good people,” Brooks explains.

As for the pleasure side of business, Juab County features unparalleled fishing, boating and water skiing on the Yuba Reservoir, as well as the sand dunes of the Little Sahara Recreation Area. Other must-sees include Topaz Mountain and the Pony Express Trail.

YUBA LAKE STATE PARK

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BUSINESS B BUS INESS in UTAH 2009

SANPETE COUNTY Sanpete County, according to Economic Director Kevin Christensen, draws people from across the nation and the globe for snowmobiling and ATV riding on the Arapeen ATV Trail.

But the biggest draw could be snow kiting, skiing or snowboarding with big kites, which in Sanpete County, is done at the 10,000-foot level.

Christensen notes that job growth in Sanpete County, which is located squarely in the center of the state, runs about 1.5 to 2 percent per year.

Roland Christensen, president of Applied Composite Technology Aerospace, Inc. (ATC), says the Sanpete County location is extremely important to his business because of shipping convenience. He chose the location because of the strong work ethic. Because he knew people needed work, he felt it was an opportunity to give back to the county.

COMPOSITE PROSTHETIC FOOT AT FREEDOM INNOVATIONS

Since 1984 the company has grown to four divisions: Christensen Arms (custom guns), Freedom Innovations (prosthetics), Applied Composite Technology Aerospace, Inc., and Fiberglass Columns, and employs 200.

SEVIER COUNTY Sevier County is bustling with activity according to Malcolm Nash, Economic Development director.

In the spring of 2008, a Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites opened in Richfield. Also, Mountainland Plumbing Supply, headquartered in Utah County, and Holiday Inn Express have new buildings under construction in Richfield, which will open in mid-2009.

“Federal Express has also purchased ground in Richfield’s new industrial park as a staging area for trucks, and construction will begin in early 2009,” says Nash, adding that another Utah-based firm has signed a letter of intent with Richfield City to purchase ground and construct a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in 2009. Three other companies have also purchased ground in the Salina Commercial Center, along with the State of Utah that plans to relocate its current maintenance shops from inside the city to the industrial park.

PIUTE COUNTY Piute County, the northern gateway to the Grand Canyon, plays a significant role in Utah’s tourism, according to Economic Development Director, Mel Terry. Every year, 160,000 people snowmobile or take part in other activities along the 300-mile Piute Trail, and about half of them are repeat visitors. Many of them stay for a while rather than drive straight through the area, which has motivated Terri & Jim Peterson to build South Forty Park, a 75 space RV park in Marysvale. It is expected to open in the summer of 2009.

Also, Terry says Nathan and Martine Marshall’s Rose Ranch Resort in Marysvale caters to groups interested

“People want to live next door to the plant and they wanted a smaller community ––one with cows, horses–– a rural lifestyle with good people.”

Jessica Brooks BARNES BULLETS PR REPRESENTATIVE in horseback riding, ATVs and whitewater rafting on the Sevier River. The ranch features 60 head of horses, meeting places for large groups and bungalows for overnight accommodations.

WAYNE COUNTY A number of new businesses including Allan Procession Machine & Welding, Morrill Drafting, and Tiana Brown Massage Therapy (Teasdale); Castle Rock Coffee & Candy and Prairie Whispers Antiques & Collections (Torrey); Serenity Springs Assisted Living (Loa); Hale Summer Playhouse (Grover); and Old Blue Valley/Historic Giles Townsite (Caineville), have opened shop in Wayne County, according to Michelle Coleman, director of Wayne County Economic Development.

MILLARD COUNTY Millard County is an especially attractive venue for companies interested in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal.

In fact, several projects are currently in the planning stages and will be announced in the near future.

INTERMOUNTAIN POWER PROJECT IN MILLARD COUNTY IS THE LARGEST PLANT IN UTAH.

A rich source of Utah history, Millard County was the seat of Utah’s first state capital (Fillmore), and the location of a Japanese internment camp during WWII, which is remembered at the Topaz Museum.

The winds of change are blowing across the economic landscape of America and the world. More and more companies are looking to the rural but centrally located Central Region of Utah for settlement and revitalization.

And Utah is ready for them.

WWW.BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV

81

UINTAHCOUNTY

W

ith educational offerings blossoming and natural resources abounding, Unitah County has blended the benefits of rural life with progressive energy technology. On behalf of the Unitah Economic Development Special Service District, the following special report provides a glimpse into whatʼs keeping Utah energized: Unitah County.

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

Education

ENERGIZING through EDUCATION When it comes to the Uintah Basin, there is no other place in earth quite like it. Energy and education have formed a unique partnership that continues to pump energy into the economy, enhance the quality of life and provide workforce training.

A UNIQUE GIFT On July 15, 2008 Anadarko Petroleum Corporation gave $1.5 million to UBATC and Utah State as part of a joint gift to help complete the construction of the Uintah Basin Applied Technology College/Utah State University Vernal building project and to fund an engineering position. “This level of support is truly remarkable and will give UBATC the capacity to move forward and provide critical training in the oil and gas industry,” notes UBATC President Paul Hacking.” “With state and federal budgets and available funds on the decline, education is turning more and more to the private sector

and its philanthropy to help close the gaps,” says Robert Behunin, assistant to the president for special projects. “We are very proud of our private and corporate partnerships because without them driving our economy and contributing to higher education, we would not have the stability in industry or education to survive.”

UBATC and USU have weathered many ups and downs in the extractive cycles, and both institutions have great longevity and patterns of growth during their years in the basin. UBATC will celebrate its 45th anniversary in 2009; Utah State is not far behind, providing higher education for more than 35 years.

“This is not a time to speculate on the downturns, in energy or in the economy,” says Hacking. “We are confident that with companies like Anadarko making significant investments in our community, we will enjoy great stability.”

Anadarko also recently contributed a $140 million dollar investment in the Chipeta Natural Gas Processing plant, a venture it shares in part with the Ute Tribe. “The natural gas industry will continue to be a stabilizing factor for our Uintah Basin

economy,” predicts Behunin. “We will continue to assist industry in their efforts to explore, extract and deliver product.”

HIGH IMPACT The Uintah Impact Mitigation Special Service District is fully engaged in moving forward with its primary mission to construct and maintain public facilities, fund strategic planning, and provide for workforce training. Higher education remains the central vehicle central to much of that mission.

“The UBATC and USU are critical components to mitigating the impacts on our area,” says Behunin. “The District is raising money to pay for the new UBATC/USU Vernal Building project and the soon-to-be started Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center.”

When the UBATC moves into its new building it will provide a host of industry-related courses to provide a highly qualified workforce to companies like Anadarko. “The District helps provide scholarship dollars to train those workers and get them placed where they can be productive,” notes Behunin. District officials say it is their mission to

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Education “IT IS GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US—CITIZENS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND INDUSTRY—TO MEET THE CHALLENGES AND SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES,” SAYS COUNTY COMMISSIONER MIKE MCKEE. make sure that the mineral lease royalties that help fund the District are used to help train the company workers. “The UBATC is the key component in making sure that happens,” says Behunin.

On the USU side of things, the Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center is paramount in the development of a sustainable community. Gayle McKeachnie put it best, saying, “the teaching and education component of a university is great and a tremendous boon to an economy and to the quality of life, but a research center will create economic sustainability and bring new resources to the area.”

Marc and Debbie Bingham agree. Fueling the Bingham’s motivation to contribute $15 million dollars to a research center in the basin was the creation of new business opportunities. “The Bingham’s really a have solid vision,” says Behunin. “They want to help the basin create new business and new industry within the context of industry and potential new technologies.” Behunin says that the Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center will be designed with that type of synergy in mind. “With the help of the Vice President for Research Brent Miller and the Vice President for Economic Development and Strategic Ventures, we plan on maximizing our capabilities and opportunities to find solutions to real-life problems and to create technologies that can be commercialized and businesses that can be started right here in the basin.”

“That’s a pretty tall order! And we are not go-

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Rob Behunin left and USU President Stan Albrecht right ing to do it alone, or in isolation,” Behunin says, indicating that the Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center will be the focal point of a variety of solid partnerships. “We will see all kinds of people in this center: our local faculty and researchers, our USTAR people, local industry, government partners and researchers, and we may even have some faculty from our other Utah schools.”

The real strength of the District comes from its alliance with a variety of partners: USU, UBATC, Uintah County, Vernal City, Naples, Ballard and the other special service districts. “What many people don’t realize is that the community is leveraging its ability to raise money from external sources through its extensive partnership network,” says Behunin.

County Commissioner and District Board Member Mike McKee agrees. “The partnerships we have been able to form at the community level have give us a whole new voice as the Uintah Basin. We don’t have as much representation as other communities, but by combining our efforts and sharing resources, we have risen to a whole new level.”

While the District has been focusing on areas related to energy, other components of the local community have been important. Board Member Dennis Long notes that, “the District helped fund a strategic plan for Naples City, and that plan has resulted in better preparation for the city and new opportunities for growth.” In a similar fashion, the District funded a master plan for Ballard City, and a preliminary Downtown Plan for Vernal City.

“It’s all part of mitigating the impacts,” says Board Chair and City Councilmember Sonja Norton, “and I think people should now that what the District does is not coming out their pockets. We are very aggressive in securing external resources.”

Both Paul Hacking and USU President Stan Albrecht do not hesitate to note that without the support of the Uintah Impact Mitigation District, things would be a bit more challenging in the basin. “The District has been a valuable resource in the vision and expansion of our mission in rural Utah,” says Albrecht. Hacking has similar sentiments. “The District is making a huge impact on education and on the community. We are so very grateful for their dedication to community and their leadership.”

GROWING FORWARD Energy and education are forever welded together in the Uintah Basin. “I can’t imagine them ever being separated,” says Behunin. “We need each other if we are going to continue to move forward. While many people see plenty of challenges dealing with non-renewable resources, we feel that we have incredible opportunities to make great strides.”

The opportunities awaiting the Uintah Basin come from a variety of sources. The most prominent and the most visible are the building projects.

The new UBATC/USU Vernal Building features two components: a classroom complex and a technology building. The classroom complex will house

UBATC and USU academic programs, distance education programs and nursing programs, as well as short-term training programs related to industry.

The technology building, named the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Industrial Technology Building, will feature a nationally rated well-control simulation component, petroleum technology, welding, diesel mechanics, truck driving and welding, just to name a few. UBATC officials hope to add other programs in the area of heavy equipment training to help meet growing industry demands.

In mid-November, USU will break ground on the Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center. “We are very close to having all the necessary space defined,” says Behunin. “Once that is done we will align that space with our financial resources and we will move into a designbuild phase.” Projections for the Bingham project include approximately 70,000 square feet with teaching and research space. The building will also house entrepreneurship space that may well include the E-station, which is already present in Logan, Weber and other spots around Utah. The E-station

devotes space designed to help entrepreneurs and small business get going. Start-up businesses can rent space at an affordable rate and have access to the Internet, phones, fax machines, board rooms, meeting rooms and networking space.

The Bingham project is also being energized by the SEED Uintah Basin project, an emerging program that will create opportunities to attract economic development by growing new business.

The SEED Uintah Basin strategic analysis is getting under way now and will be completed by the first quarter of 2009.

Another growth component of the Uintah Basin and component of the Bingham project will be the USTAR initiative (Utah Science, Technology and Research). Under the competent leadership of Al Walker, executive director of the eastern region, and Mark Raymond, associate director, USTAR has made significant strides. According to Walker and Raymond, the eastern region is heavily engaged in supporting important environmental initiatives such as carbon sequestration, production water management and the support of emerging technologies and

industry in oil shale and tar sands development.

Along with these developments, USTAR is supporting infrastructure development to sustain industry and is helping to establish refining capacity to handle unconventional fuel production and heavy crude oil production.

It is USTAR’s hope and anticipation that as industry moves forward with these initiatives there will be new and substantial research and problem solving that could produce new technologies. One of USTAR’s main initiatives is to take new technologies to commercialization, thereby forming new Utah businesses. “The Uintah Basin is a good spot to create new technologies,” says Mark Raymond, “and we would like to keep some of those businesses here in the Uintah Basin.”

“There is no end to what we can accomplish,” says Behunin. “While much of the nation’s economy struggles, we will continue to enjoy the benefits of a pocket economy, and people can rest assured that we will be creating the most effective partnerships and coalitions to arrive at a full measure of long-term stability.”

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Uintah County

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Profiles People Making a Difference: Mark D. Raymond A little more than two years ago, Mark Raymond finished a distinguished 22-year career with Deseret Power. As a human resource manager, Mark had been give broad exposure to many aspects of the energy sector. When the opportunity came for Mark to join USTAR’s Technology Outreach Team, the timing was perfect. Mark was hired as the associate director of the eastern region for USTAR, and works closely with Utah State University Uintah Basin.

“There is a considerable amount of work to do in eastern Utah, and there is no end to the diversity of issues,” explains Raymond. “With the Uintah Basin in a full-blown energy surge, we have opportunities to work with oil and gas companies as well as with alternative fuels groups.”

Raymond is working to keep companies integrated with local leaders. “There are lots of times when companies need to work and meet with local political groups and USTAR can help facilitate those contacts.”

Most recently, Raymond was the catalyst and

Alan Walker Alan Walker grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York. He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in production management.

After serving for 10 years in the U.S. Army stationed in Turkey and Italy, Walker worked for General Electric, Amoco Production and Questar. Major engineering activities included completion and production of sour gas and gascondensate wells in the Overthrust belt and in the planning of Questar’s utility division. Walker currently serves as the executive director of USTAR’s Technology Outreach Program for the Eastern Region, which includes the Uintah Ba-

lead organizer of the Uintah Basin Energy Symposium, which gathered together industry, business and government. “The main focus was to allow industry to tell its story,” says Raymond. “Many people do not realize how essential energy development is to the economy of the region and to the state of Utah.” Symposium attendees learned that several industries have multibillion dollar budgets and business plans that project development for the next 25 years in the state of Utah.

Raymond says he is pleased with the opportunities that USTAR has afforded the Uintah Basin and the state. “There are many good things that have happened with USTAR and many more good things yet to come.” USTAR is an ongo-

ing investment and a process that will produce some immediate return, but the desire is to create long-term sustainability, Raymond says. “Many people are looking for the ‘flash-in-the-pan’ scenario,” he says, “and while we have had some very high-profile, early success, I believe there is much more out there.”

sin. In this most current capacity, his activities include working with oil shale, tar sands, carbon capture and carbon sequestration. Walker’s intimate and personal knowledge of the extraction industry has proven invaluable to USTAR and to the community development efforts in the Uintah Basin.

While his office is situated at the Energy and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah, his commitment to the eastern region of the state is far reaching. Walker spends a great deal of time leading USTAR’s efforts and in the coming year, he will continue to part of the comprehensive community team in the Uintah Basin, assisting local leaders, Utah State University researchers, industries and businesses in the deployment of new technology and in the formation of new partnerships.

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DEVELOPING THE FUTURE AT ANADARKO “Energy development and wildlife can coexist.

We’re producing a lot of energy for our nation in Greater Natural Buttes, and one of the things I enjoy about my work is that I get to be outdoors and see the wildlife in the area,” said Val Cuch, operator for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

“The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining is pleased that a corporate partner such as Anadarko is actively developing natural gas resources in Utah. We have found them to be very responsible and attentive to the needs and interests of state government. We hope to be doing business collaboratively with Anadarko for many years to come,” said John Baza, director of the Utah Division of Gas and 88 Oil, BUSINESS UTAHMining.

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This description from one of Anadarko’s field employees in the Greater Natural Buttes field of northeastern Utah is a reflection of the company’s commitment to produce domestic energy resources vital to the state of Utah and the nation, while preserving the environment Anadarko is one of the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the world and the largest producer of clean-burning natural gas in the state of Utah. In 2007, the company produced more than 90 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Bcfe) in the state. More than 76 Bcfe of those resources were from the Greater Natural Buttes area, where the company plans to grow production by more than 20 percent year over year for the next four years. To accomplish this goal, the company plans to invest more than $2.5 billion in the project over that time period.

“We have identified 7,600 activities and total resources of more than 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent in the Greater Natural Buttes area, and we look forward to continued responsible development of those resources,” said Brad Miller, Anadarko Greater Natural Buttes general manager.

Anadarko also has drilling and production operations further south in the Price area of Utah, where the company produced almost 16 Bcfe in 2007.

A RESPONSIBLE OPERATOR Anadarko’s commitment to responsible energy development was recognized by the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining on two separate occasions in early 2008. The first recognition was given for operations already taking place in a unique area of the Greater Natural Buttes.

Camouflaged against the rugged landscape above the White River, Anadarko consolidated its drilling operations to drill 16 directional wells from a two-tier pad – minimizing surface disturbance and keeping operations nearly invisible to recreational users of the White River below. This unique operation to reach under the river to produce vital energy resources, along with the installation of three 10-acre evaporation and recycling ponds to reduce the need for fresh water, earned Anadarko the 2008 Earth Day Award from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining.

The second highlight from the division came in the form of approval for Anadarko to launch a 10-acre density drilling project on contiguous acreage in the South Canyon and Hatch areas of the Natural Buttes area. Years of research

by Anadarko revealed that spacing the wells 10 acres apart would enable the company to maximize production from the field. To minimize surface impact, Anadarko will utilize directional drilling to drill new wells from previously used pads in the project area.

“Utilization of existing well pads in this area of the field will only have one-tenth the disturbance of building new locations for vertical wells,” explained Miller.

ENSURING DELIVERY TO CONSUMERS Anadarko is also gearing up to maximize its ability to process the increase in natural gas production at its Chipeta gas processing plant, where the company installed a refrigeration unit with an initial processing capacity of 250 million cubic feet of natural gas a day (MMcf/d) in 2007.

The processing capacity of the plant is being expanded by construction of an additional 250 MMcf/d unit, which will use cryogenic technology to cool the natural gas even further than the refrigeration unit – enabling the company to more efficiently and effectively recover and separate natural gas liquids, propane, ethane and butane. This cryogenic unit is expected to be on line in 2009. The plant has the potential to be expanded further in the future to a total capacity of 750 MMcf/d.

“The opportunity to participate in a project like the Greater Natural Buttes comes along once in a lifetime.

Our team is very proud of playing a role in developing new facilities and infrastructure to help provide clean, efficient domestic energy,” said Tim Bates, Anadarko midstream superintendent.

In addition to the Chipeta plant, Anadarko owns four smaller processing facilities and controls a 700-mile Natural Buttes gathering system to help the company ensure natural gas is safely and reliably delivered to American consumers. The Chipeta plant is also the origination point for the Wyoming Interstate Company Kanda Lateral pipeline, which added 400 MMcf/d of

take-away capacity from the field in 2007.

In addition to processing its own natural gas, the company has a midstream services group that handles contracting with third parties to gather and process the production of other operators in the area.

A GOOD NEIGHBOR Anadarko employs a highly skilled work force of approximately 200 employees in the state and utilizes the services of approximately 700 contractors on a daily basis.

Our employees live and work in the local Vernal and Price area communities, so we have a natural commitment to be good neighbors. We actively support community programs ranging from United Way to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and Ashley Valley Food Pantry.

“I enjoy working with the people in the Vernal area community. Our local business partners are experienced, dedicated and reliable. That partnership goes both ways.

Anadarko is a responsible operator that is committed to the communities where we live and work,” said Randy Bayne, Anadarko drilling operations manager.

The company’s presence in the state is also felt directly through capital investments, taxes, royalties and support of local businesses and education. The company paid $80 million in state taxes and royalties in Utah in 2007 and invested more than $580 million in development of Utah energy resources.

“Investment in development of domestic energy resources in the Rockies region is playing an increasingly crucial role in providing Americans with secure energy resources essential to our daily lives,” said Jim Kleckner, Anadarko vice president of operations for the Rockies region. “With the resources we’ve identified and the application of innovative technology, the Greater Natural Buttes area has the potential to continue contributing to the vital stream of domestic energy resources for American consumers for decades.”

BUSINESS B BU BUS US U S IN INE NE SS NE SS U UTAH UT UTA TA H 2009 TA 20 2 00 09 9

89 8 9

UTAH’S BUSINESS LEADERS

Accounting Firms by number of accountants COMPANY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Ernst & Young LLP Tanner LC KPMG LLP Deloitte & Touche HintonBurdick CPAs & Advisors PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Grant Thornton LLP Squire Schmitt, Griffiths, Smith & Co. PC CBIZ-MHM Hawkins, Cloward & Simister Hansen, Barnett & Maxwell Haynie & Company Karren, Hendrix, Stagg, Allen & Company Jones Simkins LLP Wisan, Smith, Racker & Prescott LLP Mantyla McReynolds Jensen & Keddington Gilbert & Stewart Wiggins & Company Child, Van Wagoner & Bradshaw, PLLC Hafen, Buckner, Everett, & Graff PC Robison, Hill & Company James & Co., Business Advisers & CPAs HJ & Associates, LLC

Law Firms by number of attorneys

FULL-TIME CPAS 121 80 77 68 50 46 45 33 32 30 26 23 18 17 17 15 14 12 10 9 8 8 8 7 6

COMPANY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Wells Fargo Bank NW, N.A. Zions First National Bank Chase Bank Key Bank N.A. U.S. Bank Barnes Banking Company Bank of American Fork Bank of Utah State Bank of Southern Utah Magnet Bank Central Bank Far West Bank (acquired by AmericanWest Bank in 2007) First National Bank of Layton First Utah Bank Centennial Bank America West Bank SunFirst Bank Cache Valley Bank Lewiston State Bank Brighton Bank Western Community Bank Home Savings Bank Capital Community Bank Bank of the West

2007 DEPOSITS (THOUSANDS) $17,577,636 $9,397,672 $4,706,575 $2,628,754 $874,711 $699,002 $631,404 $594,084 $468,335 $447,343 $418,172 367,410 $268,855 $260,605 $200,049 $195,526 $174,950 $158,308 $152,626 $136,940 $118,528 $102,347 $89,947 $77,337

COMPANY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Rankings based on 2007 data. DND=Did Not Disclose. For a more extensive list of companies in this category and others see www.utahbusiness.com.

Download the Book of Lists at www.utahbusiness.com. Source: Utah Business magazine’s Book of Lists, 2008. Copyright 2009 by Utah Business Publishers.

BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

EMPLOYEES

The Layton Companies Big-D Corporation Okland Construction Jacobsen Construction Hogan & Associates R & O Construction Wadman Corporation Camco Construction, Inc. Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Co. Ascent Construction Le Grand Johnson Construction Co. Eckman Mitchell Construction Sahara, Inc. Rimrock Construction CCI Mechanical Pentalon Construction ABC Associated Brigham Contractors Inc. Watts Construction Kier Construction Arnell West, Inc. Stacey Enterprises Inc. Sirq, Inc. Menlove Development ABCO Construction Dutson Builders

* Total assets are national figures.

90

113 107 101 80 70 66 64 62 54 53 49 48 46 45 45 43 41 40 32 29 27 27 27 24 24

Commercial Builders by total revenue

Banks by total deposits COMPANY

ATTORNEYS

Parsons Behle & Latimer Kirton & McConkie Ray Quinney & Nebeker PC Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough, PC Stoel Rives LLP Parr Brown Gee & Loveless Workman Nydegger Durham Jones & Pinegar Snow, Christensen & Martineau Snell & Wilmer Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy PC Fabian & Clendenin Holme, Roberts & Owen, LLP Strong & Hanni PC Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP Holland & Hart Callister, Nebeker & McCullough Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson Bennett Tueller Johnson & Deere Cohne, Rappaport & Segal Clyde Snow Sessions & Swenson Howrey, LLP Prince, Yeates & Geldzahler Christensen & Jensen Trask Britt PC

875 552 581 520 274 200 149 75 235 50 150 56 65 43 270 41 350 20 55 40 38 30 12 70 25

2007 REVENUE (MILLIONS) 639 542 486.9 408 176 275 160 143 91 89 82 75 70 63.5 63.1 54.1 53.8 52 48 40 38 24.5 22 20 20

Opportunity in every direction

www.taylorsvilleut.gov

High-Tech/Medical • Intermountain Taylorsville Clinic • ICU Medical • Nelson Laboratories • DataChem Laboratories • Utah Public Health Laboratories

Customer Service • American Express • Convergys

Education • Salt Lake Community College – Taylorsville • The University of Phoenix • ITT Technical Institute • Taylorsville Library

Government Services • Bureau of Criminal IdentiÀcation • Calvin Rampton Government Center • Utah Department of Transportation Headquarters • Utah Department of Workforce Services

Facilities for the Deaf • Sorenson Communications • Robert G. Sanderson Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Recreation • Jordan River Parkway • Valley Regional Softball Park • Taylorsville Recreation Center and Pool

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UTAH’S BUSINESS LEADERS

Top 40 Public Companies by 2007 sales revnue COMPANY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Huntsman Corp.

Zions Bancorporation SkyWest Inc. Questar Headwaters Inc. Nu Skin Enterprises Overstock.com USANA Health Sciences Franklin Covey Extra Space Storage Security National Financial Merit Medical Systems Schiff Nutrition Int’l Myriad Genetics Nutraceutical Int’l iMergent Inc. Sonic Innovations, Inc. Omniture Inc. UCN Utah Medical Products

TICKER SYMBOL

REVENUE (000’S)

HUN ZION SKYW STR HW NUS OSTK USNA FC EXR SNFCA MMSI WNI MYGN NUTR IIG SNCI OMTR UCNN UTMD

$9,650,800 $3,775,878 $3,374,332 $2,726,600 $1,207,844 $1,157,667 $760,161 $423,149 $284,125 $238,866 $209,748 $207,768 $172,656 $157,126 $156,548 $151,617 $122,480 $79,749 $79,482 $28,502

COMPANY 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

TICKER SYMBOL

REVENUE (000’S)

ESCC Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp FVRG ForeverGreen Worldwide Corporation SCOXQ SCO Group Inc. Specialized Health Products International Inc. SHPI APNX Alpine Air Express FXEN FX Energy Inc. DYNT Dynatronics Corp.

CIRT Cirtran PWEB Pacific Webworks Inc. NCEM Nevada Chemicals CMXX Cimetrix Inc. BCST Broadcast International Inc. NXHL Nexia Holdings Inc. BSDM BSD Medical Corp.

PCYG Park City Group Inc. PMEDE Paradigm Medical Industries FNIX Fonix Corp DPAT Dental Patient Care Am GARM RecycleNet Corporation SPCI SportsNuts

$26,219 $22,700 $21,656 $18,924 $18,380 $17,996 $17,837 $12,400 $10,712 $6,555 $6,389 $4,298 $3,232 $2,834 $2,592 $2,195 $1,838 $1,447 $858 $25

Rankings based on 2007 data. DND=Did Not Disclose. For a more extensive list of companies in this category and others see www.utahbusiness.com.

Download the Book of Lists at www.utahbusiness.com. Source: Utah Business magazine’s Book of Lists, 2008. Copyright 2009 by Utah Business Publishers.

Utah’s Top Employers by number of employees COMPANY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Intermountain Healthcare State of Utah Brigham Young University University of Utah Wal-Mart Stores Hill Air Force Base Granite School District Jordan School District Utah State University Davis County School District Kroger Group Cooperative Alpine School District U.S. Postal Service Internal Revenue Service Convergys Salt Lake County ATK Launch Systems Albertsons Zions First National Bank Wells Fargo

EMPLOYEES 20,000 + 20,000 + 15,000 - 19,000 15,000 - 19,000 15,000 - 19,000 10,000 - 14,999 7,000 - 9,999 7,000 - 9,999 7,000 - 9,999 5,000 - 6,999 5,000 - 6,999 5,000 - 6,999 5,000 - 6,999 5,000 - 6,999 5,000 - 6,999 5,000 - 6,999 4,000 - 4,999 4,000 - 4,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999

COMPANY 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Weber County School District Delta Airlines SkyWest Airlines Autoliv ASP (Morton Int’l) Salt Lake School District United Parcel Service Nebo School District Home Depot Salt Lake City Corporation Discover Products Weber State University Teleperformance USA Qwest Corporation Washington School District Salt Lake Community College Utah Valley State College Target Corporation Harmons PacifiCorp Costco Wholesale

EMPLOYEES 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 3,000 - 3,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 2,000 - 2,999 Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services

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BUSINESS in UTAH 2009

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONTACTS (BY COUNTY)

GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

324 S. State St., Suite 500 Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 801-538-8700; 801-538-8888 FAX www.business.utah.gov

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF UTAH

201 S. Main Street #2150 Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 (801) 328-8824 edcu.utah.org Beaver Beaver County Economic Development 330 S. Main P.O. Box 511 Beaver, UT 84713 (435) 438-6482 www.beavercountyutah.org Box Elder Box Elder County Economic Development 1 S. Main Street 3rd floor Brigham City, UT 84302 (435) 734-3397 www.boxelder.org Cache Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce 160 N. Main Street Logan, UT 84321 (435) 752-2161 www.cachechamber.com Carbon Carbon County Future 120 E. Main Street Price, UT 84501 (435) 636-3295 www.carbon-county.com Daggett Daggett County Economic Development P.O. Box 219 Manila, UT 84046 (435) 784-3218 www.daggettcounty.org

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Davis Davis County Economic Development P.O. Box 618 Farmington, UT 84025 (801) 451-3278 www.daviscountyutah.gov

Millard Millard County Economic Development Association 71 S. 200 W. Delta, UT 84624 (435) 864-1407 www.millardcounty-ecdev.com

Summit Summit County Economic Development P.O. Box 1630 Park City, UT 84060 (435) 649-6100 www.parkcityinfo.com

Duchesne Duchesne County Economic Development 50 E. 200 South, P.O. Box 1417 Roosevelt, UT 84066 (435) 722-4598 www.duchesne.net

Morgan Morgan County Economic Development 48 W. Young St., P.O. Box 886 Morgan, UT 84050 (801) 845-4008 www.morgan-county.net

Tooele Tooele County Economic Development 47 S. Main Street Tooele, UT 84074 (435) 843-3160 www.co.tooele.ut.us

Emery Emery County Economic Development 95 E. Main St. #107, P.O. Box 297 Castledale, UT 84513 (435) 381-5576 www.emerycounty.com

Piute Piute County Economic Development 550 N. Main Street, P.O. Box 99 Junction, UT 84740 (435) 577-2949 www.piute.org

Uintah Uintah County Economic Development 134 West Main Street Vernal, UT 84078 (435) 789-1352 ext. 203 www.co.uintah.ut.us

Garfield Garfield County Economic Development 55 South Main Street, P.O. Box 77 Panguich, UT 84759 (435) 676-1157

Rich Bear Lake Regional Commission 69 N. Paradise Pkwy Garden City, Ut 84028 (435) 946-2198 www.richcountyut.org

Utah Utah County Business Development 34 E. 1700 S. OSTC Bldg.

Provo, UT 84601 (801) 420-9109 www.edcutah.org/uc

Grand Grand County Economic Development 125 E. Center Street Moab, UT 84532 (435) 259-1347 www.grandcountyutah.net

Salt Lake Economic Development and Community Resources Division 2001 S. State Street, Ste. S2100 SLC, UT 84190 (801) 468-2221 www.co.slc.ut.us

Iron Iron County Economic Development 10 N. Main Street Cedar City, UT 84720 (435) 586-2770 www.cedarcity.org

San Juan San Juan County Economic Development 117 S. Main Street, P.O. Box 490 Monticello, UT 84535 (435) 587-3235 ext. 4138 www.utahscanyoncountry.com

Juab Juab County Economic Development Agency 160 N. Main Street, Rm. 102 Nephi, UT 84648 (435) 623-3400 www.co.juab.ut.us

Sanpete Sanpete County Economic Development Association 191 N. Main Street, P.O. Box 148 Manti, UT 84642 (435) 835-4321 www.sanpete.com

Kane Kane County Economic Development 76 N Main Kanab, UT 84741 (435) 644 4901 www.kane.utah.gov

Sevier Sevier County Economic Development 250 N. Main Street Richfield, UT 84701 (435) 893-0454 www.sevierutah.net

Wasatch Wasatch County Economic Development 475 N. Main Street Heber City, Utah 84032 (435) 654-3666 www.hebervalleycc.org Washington Washington County Economic Development Council 225 S. 700 E. St. George, Utah 84770 (435) 652-7750 www.dixiebusinessalliance.com Wayne Wayne County Economic Development 18 South Main, P.O. Box 189 Loa, UT 84747 (435) 836-1315 www.waynecountyutah.org Weber Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce 2484 Washington Blvd., Ste. 400 Ogden, UT 84401 (801) 621-8300 ext.3013 www.echamber.cc

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