"The site is designed to give background information and statistics about Utah. For instance, under major Utah employers it just lists big companies by number of employees so that people can get an idea of their size," says Michael Allred, director of information services.
Currently, the DCED is creating business-to-business links through the web.
"We want the website to be like a yellow or white pages," he says. "We are particularly focusing on rural areas so that companies there have a means to link to businesses elsewhere." In addition, the DCED is creating a video and CD-ROM to be used in conjunction with other business that are trying to recruit employees.
The Idaho Department of Commerce's website (www.idoc.state.id.us) offers a colorful array of options starting with its homepage entitled "Paint Your Own Vibrant Picture of Idaho." Here its artist palette and paint wells at the bottom of the page offer various selections: New, Quick Glance, Business Information, Visitors See & Do, Idaho States, Exports, Community Information, and Commerce Contacts.
Cliff Long, the Idaho DOC's economic development specialist, comments that the website is "always a work in progress." The agency brought the website on line in April 1996 as another means to distribute information about the state. Graphics have been developed that break up the material into components.
I-MEDIA
Iowa Department of Economic Development,200 E. Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309
Contact: Ken Adrain, Information Technology Manager (515) 242-4789, fax (515) 242-4749, Web URL:http://www.smart. state.ia.us
Capital Investment: $250,000
Employees: I-Media integrated into job functions of 6-7 people
Researchers: One person responsible for data collection from communities.
Special Features: I-Media, the Iowa Multimedia Economic Development Information Access System, is a Notebook PC-based system that carries the multimedia presentation database, including a 50-state, graphic-comparison feature. Includes a fax-back system also attached to the Web page, as well as a Web page "Global Business Positioning System" linking to available site and building information.
Special Amenities: Presentation theater and video conferencing facility with 34-inch monitors and largescreen, and access to the fiberoptic Iowa Communic
ations Network.
Access to Offsite Databases: In-house databases,plus Internet.
Access to Property Databases: In-house database
Info on taxes: Yes
Info on utility rates: Yes
Site and Building databases updated: Continuously
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"If someone is interested in energy or taxes, they can click straight to that," he says.
At this time, the site does not offer land and building inventory information. It does, however, provide a community profile data base that is searchable with local information.
The state of Nebraska offers a detailed website (www.ded.state.ne.us/) that includes the full gamut of information on programs and services, and economic development news. Part of its homepage is a WWW Registry Project and Nebraska Link. Here browsers can obtain information by city and colleges and universities.
The Greater Chamber of Omaha offers its own website (www.accesomaha.com), which has been up and running for one year. The site is broken into eight sectors.
"The information is text based and not geared toward marketing," says Cheryl Straub, vice president of business resources for the chamber. "But it does provide good information such as tax incentives and includes an extensive section on transportation, utilities, communications and the labor market."
Very little of the site provides specific information that must be updated frequently.
"Instead, we prefer people to come to us so that we can present them with the full picture of our community and the full ranges of options," she says.
Mississippi Resource Center
Landmark Center, Suite 255, 175 E. Capitol St., Jackson, MS 39201
Contact: Don Moore, (601) 352-0506, fax (601) 352-8491, Web URL: http://www.mrconline.org
Capital Investment: About $1.1 million since 1993
Employees: 6
Special Features: Broadcast quality video camera for customized video production. Customized non-linear edit suite with output options on videotape or CD-ROM, Portable multimedia presentation software provided to the state's economic developers for desktop and notebook systems. The package includes the review of communities, available buildings and sites, and community videos. Intranet access for Mississippi's economic developers (data,graphics, queries, etc.) Forty seat presentation auditorium.
Special Amenities: Corporate planes
Access to Offsite Databases: The Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development and the Mississippi Resource Center collaboratively share in the acquisition and compilation of data to support the developers in the state. The data is shared through bulletin board and internet access.
Access to Property Databases: In-house databases.
Info on taxes: Yes
Info on utility rates: Packaged by the utilities per project.
Site and Building databases updated: Weekly.
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The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce has attracted prospects to look at Oklahoma City through its website (www.okcchamber.com). The site, which includes colorful graphics depicting a lush city and bird in flight, provides a host of information.
Besides categories available from the homepage, surfers can scroll down to announcements of expansions by company name, SIC code, number of employees,
type of expansion and expansion date. Searches can be specific as the building or site square footage, building ceiling height, type of construction, floor specifications, electrical power, loading facilities, price, proximity of development acreage, and proximity of rail and transportation facilities. Vacancy rates, land prices, average rental rates, and average sales prices for both industrial and office space are provided, as are labor availability details and descriptions of industry sectors.
The Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development's website (www.mdbusiness.state.md.us/) gives a comprehensive look at every aspect of the state. Its homepage opens with a box in which the browser can enter keywords to search. Or one can link to data pages on the state.
"We provide a whole range of information for corporations looking to expand," says Aaron Rosenberg, its webmaster. "It is a work in progress. We are always fine tuning the site and adding information."
One helpful feature is detailed information about industries that have clustered in Maryland. One can even click on business names and be hotlinked to their websites.
Tennessee Economic Development Center
BellSouth, 333 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37201
Contact: Gary Davis, (615) 214-3035, fax (615) 214-8849, Web URL: http://www.tnedc.org
Capital Investment: $500,000 for building facilities and about $600,000 for multimedia presentation sy
stem.
Employees: 10
Researchers: One full-time and two part-time researchers, as well as access to State staff.
Special Features: Four technologies of two-way interactive video, computerized multimedia content, Internet and satellite downlink. RealAudio server allows broadcast of recorded speeches and seminars. Economic Impact Analysis Tool software, along with demographic and profile information on all 95 counties.
Special Amenities: Main briefing room with three 40-inch video monitors for multimedia presentations, a 51- seat multimedia theater and four rooms equipped for multi-point, two-way interactive video conferencing. Catering on site. Underground parking
Access to Offsite Databases: State Occupational Information System, Manufacturers Directory and Exporters Directory. Economic and Community Development.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: Yes.
Site and Building databases updated: Daily
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The agency generates leads through its MDBusiness-Business Opportunities Form. Here the user must register with a User name and Password before entering this function. After that, searchers can obtain information, including calendars of events, enterprise zones, and business incubators.
Last year, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) gave this state its first major marketing presence on the World Wide Web (www.cerc.com). With 160 pages, the site includes a "tour" of Connecticut's business locations, an overview of the state's top industrial and commercial sites, and links with other organizations central to the state's economic development effort.
Included is general information on Connecticut, real estate services, business programs and services, and information about CERC. Business Programs and Services provides information on community development, state agencies and incentives. The Real Estate Server takes one to a SiteFinder, a computer database of available commercial and industrial properties developed by Connecticut realtors and the CERC.
"The website is being enhanced even further with plans to establish internet access to the SiteFinder by the end of the year," says Tom Bradley, CERC marketing director. At that time a selection of properties from the database will be featured after the browser completes and submits a Site Search Form. For now, however, only a summary of properties is available.
Surfing the site will also give readers information on companies that have moved to Connecticut, are thriving there, upcoming trade missions, the development of foreign connections, export programs and assistance, Connecticut facts and statistics and enterprise zones.
Utilicorp United
10700 E. 350 Highway Box 11739 Kansas City, MO 64138
Contact: Lisa Franklin, Director of Marketing Research for Economic Development, (800) 465-6553, fax (815) 737-7921, Web URL: http://www.locationone.com
Capital Investment: Undisclosed.
Employees: 8 economic development professionals responsible for updating their portion of the Location One Information System (LOIS), plus one director of research.
Special Features: LOIS is a laptop PC-based system, used by Utilicorp representatives in the eight states to provide virtual tours of available sites as well as provide detailed reports and comparisons of key economic factors in communities served by the utility. The internet provides access for information such as the eight state property database, state profiles, community profiles, an eight-state business directory and a 50-state business climate comparison. Utilicorp's economic development experts are available to assist in data interpretation and exploring additional resources.
Special Amenities: A large-screen presentation center in Utilicorp's Kansas City Creative Energy Center.
Access to Offsite Databases: No.
Access to Property Databases: In-house database.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: Yes.
Site and Building databases updated: Weekly.
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Utility Websites
While some economic development agency websites are becoming more sophisticated, utility sites lead the pack as far as high-end graphics, hotlinks and detailed information are concerned. American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric utilities servicing parts of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, offers economic development information on its website (www.aep.com). The utility goes a step further, however, by offering a proprietary software program which helps customers tract or organize important site selection data.
Called ProCure, this system provides quick and easy access to data which customers can print out or view as a video. "The system was first built for our own use. But we found it to be an excellent marketing tool for our customers," says Wilson Davis, AEP manager of economic development in Roanoke, VA.
Since the program is installed into customers' computers, there is no link to AEP. The company is continuously fine tuning the program.
The cost of ProCure varies.
"It does require a Windows 95 operating environment, although we have an older version that operates on Windows 3.1" says Charles Prior of AEP's Columbus, Ohio economic development office. "The Windows 95 version, however, is for multimedia use and offers great flexibility whereby users can define their interests and assign fields."
MID-RANGE FACILITIES
AdvantageWest - North Carolina
Box 1258, Arden, NC 28704
Contact: Dale B. Carroll, President and CEO, (704)687-7234, fax (704) 687-7552, Web URL: http://www.awnc.org
Capital Investment: Cost included system design, hardware and software furnished to communities, and maintenance of databases.
Employees: Ten, including director of information and research.
Special Features: The multimedia database presentation system of the Western North Carolina Economic Development Information Network (EDIN)
Special Amenities: EDIN's central file server is located at the AdvantageWest office, adjacent to Ashenville Regional Airport, where they maintain a presentation room with 60-inch TV monitor.
Access to Offsite Databases: Via Internet.
Access to Property Databases: EDIN's In-house database.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: Yes.
Site and Building databases updated: Continuously.
The Carolinas Partnership
112 South Tryon St., Suite 900, Charlotte, NC 28284
Contact: Nicola Deakin, Director of Research, (704) 347-8942, fax (704) 347-8981, Web URL: http://www. charlotteregion.com
Capital Investment: Over five years, including database and computers and software supplied to all users, approximately $1/2 million.
Employees: 13, two of whom are part-time.
Researchers: 2
Special Features: CD-Rom Database/presentation system updated via Internet by 15 Charlotte-region counties: three in South Carolina and
12 in North Carolina. Building and site information, demographic and economic data, graphic county comparisons ranging from tax rates to water rates, all available across the network.
Special Amenities: Multimedia presentation facilities at main office and also at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Frankfort, Germany (office opened Sept. 97) and Hickory Regional Airport.
Access to Offsite Databases: Internet.
Access to Property Databases: In-house databases.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: Yes.
Site and Building databases updated: Updated monthly.
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Carolina Power and Light's (CP&L) internet site (www.cplc.com) gives web surfers a comprehensive look at this utility, its rates and services in North and South Carolina. "It also provides information on economic development," says David Rumbarger, vice president of economic development at CP&L.
CP&L's homepage now allows one to click onto a site called "Locating Your Company Here," which gives information about the Carolinas, details on utility rates, value-added programs and services, and hotlinks to North and South Carolina state websites.
"It also provides an available industrial buildings database and property contacts," he says. Here browsers fill in criteria based on square footage, ceiling height or the closest city. The interactive system then sorts for the appropriate information.
Soon to be expanded, the site will allow executives to enter their own company infor-mation, and do a return analysis that will provide information such as the impact tax assessments or utility rates will have on a project.
CP&L has found the web site to be a useful tool. Over the last year the web has resulted in four projects locating to the utility's service area. "These have been industrial back office and research and development projects," he reveals.
PacifiCorp, which serves Wyoming, Oregon and Utah, has recently added site specific information provided by local service areas to its website
(www.pacificorp.com). Here websurfers click onto the site's economic development icon, one of the states served by PacifiCorp, then available real estate sites.
"This allows one to see what is available," says Carolyn Sanco, economic development specialist for PacifiCorp. Since PacifiCorp started this extended service in September, only 10 sites are hotlinked.
Sierra Pacific Power's homepage (www.sierrapacific.com) centers around the quality of life and business climate of Northern Nevada, and provides a wide variety of information to businesses that might be considering a relocation.
"We want to make it easy for companies that are looking at our area," said Chris Barrett, economic development manager for Sierra Pacific.
The site contains information such as demographics, employment and labor, business and community resources, education and government. The site also allows the web user to compare locations. Laramie, Wyo., advertises three industrial parks, including its Laramie River Business Park here. Included is a photo of the park and remaining available parcels and site specifics.
Each community is responsible for updating its sites. "Some of it is done by realtors," she says.
Sanco sees the site as a terrific public relations tool for the utility and its service territory.
"It offers us and our customers another resource by which to market economic development," she says. But like most EDC executives, Sanco doesn't see the website as an end-all.
"It's another tool for marketing," she says.
There are also several national websites that can provide you with information on locations across the U.S. One of these sites (http://www.expandman.com) is run by this magazine. Another is SelecTown (http://www.selectown.com), which contains a database of thousands of communities and facilities. This site provides detailed economic development information, such as a market access map, work force statistics, demographics and business climate information based on search criteria that you select.
Nebraska Department of Economic Development
Box 94666, Lincoln, NE 68509-4666
Contact: Mary Simmons, (800) 426-6505, fax (402) 471-3778, Web URL: http://www.ded.state.ne.us
Capital Investment: About $5,000 for original file server and software, subsequent work delegated among employees.
Employees: Five people in state div
isions responsible for their areas of the Web site.
Special Features: Available Industrial Buildings in Nebraska and Available Industrial Sites in Nebraska are Web links, including other features such as the entire Nebraska Statistical Handbook.
Special Amenities: None.
Access to Offsite Databases: Internet.
Access to Property Databases: In-house database.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: Yes.
Site and Building databases updated: Periodically.
PSI Energy
Economic Development, Marketing Section
1000 E. Main St., Plainfield, IN 46168
Contact: Mike Heaton or Scott Fulford, (317) 838-1642, fax (317) 838-1950, Web URL: http://www.cinergy.com/indiana/partners
Capital Investment: Approximately $10,000 for design of Web site, and subsequent development performed by corporate web master.
Employees: 15 people in Economic Development, one researcher on the Web site.
Special Features: Queriable site and building database with over 500 sites and
300 buildings, including aerial photographs. The site also contains over 110 community resumes, 11 industry reports, The Indiana Advantage, The Cinergy Advantage, industry maps, links to community Web sites and Indiana demographics, and additional data. Coming next, an international trade section containing trade leads, industry trade reports, and the quarterly Indiana Export report.
Special Amenities: User-friendly.
Access to Offsite Databases: No.
Access to Property Databases: In-house database.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: Yes.
Site and Building databases updated: Continually
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Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership
111 Franklin Plaza, Suite 333, Roanoke, VA 24011
Contact: Elizabeth Doughty, (540) 343-1550, fax (540) 344-6096, Web URL: http://www.roanoake.org
Capital Investment: About $30,000 for design of program, coding, 1,000 disks.
Employees: 6
Researchers: 2
Special Features: Data compression technology allows the Partnership to have buildings and
sites, along with some graphics, plus demographic and economic information and comparisons of Roanoke Valley with some 250 other communities --on a single floppy disk. Building and site information is not queriable; needs manual search, but other features are interactive. Prospects can view the information laptop, print it out or take a disk along.
Special Amenities: None.
Access to Offsite Databases: Internet.
Access to Property Databases: In-house database.
Info on taxes: Yes.
Info on utility rates: No.
Site and Building databases updated: Every six months.
South Carolina Department of Commerce
Box 927
Columbia, SC 29201
Contact: Joe Roddey, (803) 737-0400, fax (803) 737-0418, Web URL: http://www.state.sc.us/commerce
Capital Investment: Unavailable.
Employees: Support for multimedia presentation system varies according to need for assistance from project managers and GIS and research specialists.
Special Features: Geographic Information System, a comprehensive 30-databases collection of up to date site criteria, including available buildings, labor profiles, water/sewer and roads. A web site listing of past yearÕs capital investments, expansions, startups, international investments and export data.
Special Amenities: Global video teleconferencing capabilities, Multimedia presentation center.
Access to Offsite Databases: Full internet capabilities, Ties into all state agency databases and the State
library system.
Access to Property Databases: In-house database.
Info on taxes: No.
Info on utility rates: No.
Site and Building databases updated: Daily or as needed.
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