A prime example is CertainTeed, an international building materials manufacturer, which is constructing a 150,000 square foot plant in White City in Oregon's Rogue Valley. After years of coming up second on site selector's short lists, regional community and business leaders banded together to vigorously woo corporations to their region.

"White City was selected because of the availability of quality labor, access to transportation, and land and building costs," says Bradford C. Mattson, CertainTeed's executive vice president of Exterior Building Products. "It is our first major investment in Oregon, and one of only a few greenfield start-ups west of the Rocky Mountains in our company's nearly 95 year history."

The Jackson County Urban Renewal Agency committed $2.3 million in infrastructure, environmental equipment and land subsidy funds for the project. WP Natural Gas contributed infrastructure improvements.

CertainTeed isn't the region's only recent win. BOC Gases is building a $25 million plant in Whetstone Industrial Park to produce gases used in the semiconductor industry.

Inaddition, United States Cellular is opening a regional service center in Medford in a building vacated by US West.

Interstate 5 corridor
Movingup Interstate 5 from Medford,the Eugeneand Springfield areas continues to have success attracting industry.

Korean giant Hyundai Semiconductor America, which started production this year at its $1.2 billion plant, is undergoing an expansion by adding two more production lines.

"This fabrication facility will be crucial to meeting the requirements of the U.S. electronics industry," says S.E. Ju, president.

Ju attributes his company's success to its high quality work force.

"More than 80 percent were hired from the local region," he says.

At build-out, the Eugene facility will cost a total of $1.4 billion.

Lee Beyer of the Metro Partnership, which promotes the Eugene/Springfield area, points out that a big draw for Hyundai and other companies locating to the area is its low-cost power, ample water, and ability to treat waste.

Contributing to this work force is Lane Community College, which has developed programs for training high-tech workers for specific industries and for individual companies. The college now offers a major emphasizing software end-user support as part of its existing two-year associate's degree in computer information technology.

Chris Chandler, who represents the Oregon Central Coast Economic Development Association, says companies are discovering the benefits of the central coast region as well.

Titanium Products Inc., is located in the region along with BT Micro, which is a manufacturer of kit airplanes. Other businesses in the area include Park Telecommunications, a consulting agency, and Georgia Pacific.

The area has a 7 percent unemployment rate, and a remarkable 45 percent of its residents are college educated.

Since the early 1990s, manufacturers have been snatching up Salem's industrial sites. Major companies include LSI Logic, Fujitsu, Yamasa Corp. (the world's second largest producer of soy sauce), and, most recently, PPG Industries.

Larry Glassock, president of the Salem Economic Development Corp., points to Oregon's overall low operating costs and access to West Coast and Pacific Rim markets as primary attractions. Topping that, Salem offers an enterprise zone with a three-year tax abatement. The zone is one of 37 in the state.

"The I-5 corridor is a key selling point to this area, as is its close proximity to Portland's International Airport, 45 minutes away," Glassock says.

Unemployment in Salem is 5.4 percent. Many companies take advantage of employee training opportunities at local community colleges.

Central Oregon
"This used to be the type of place you worked all of your life to retire in," says Leanne Parton, co-owner of commercial printer, book manufacturer and direct-mail services provider Parton Press. "Now it's realistic to pursue your profession here."

Executives and owners across Central Oregon's diverse business community consistently cite two major factors in their region's economic success.

Quality of life plays a major role both in attracting new businesses to the area and in helping existing businesses as they grow and expand. And population growth supplies a steady influx of quality workers with a variety of skills, education and experience.

"Without question, the quality of life is the major attraction," says Robert Raimondi, regional director for the Oregon Economic Development Department.