One of those values, teamwork, was paramount to Gateway's decision to build a major manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City.

"We saw a great deal of teamwork between the state government entities in Utah during the whole process of attracting our company. Another great attribute was the work ethic of the people. We have a hard-working Midwestern work ethic here in South Dakota, and Salt Lake City offered the same kind of people who will put in an honest day's work for an honest day's wage," said Lund.

Gateway's new site will include a 260,000 square foot plant for the manufacture of computer hardware. It is expected to employ 500 workers initially, with plans to eventually grow to 1,300.

Portland, Ore.,-based Wholesome and Hearty Foods Inc. cites Utah's excellent transportation infrastructure as a reason for its most recent expansion into the state.

"We looked at a number of factors, and one of the most important was proximity to national distribution networks, especially rail and highway," said Jim Linford, the company's vice president. "With I-80 going east-west and I-15 leading to the southwest, it gave Utah a distinct advantage over Portland."

Wholesome and Hearty Foods is moving into an existing 120,000 square foot food processing facility in Clearfield, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City. The plant will be used to produce Garden Burgers for both retail and the food service industry. The company expects to initially employ 125, but the number could grow since the facility has room available for two additional production lines.

"We also benefited from the assistance offered by the EDC of Utah," said Linford. "We took advantage of the database they have which offered a competitive analysis of the different states. In two weeks time, they presented an analysis of Utah versus Portland, and there were substantial savings involved."