Launching a new plant or office site means slashing your way through a jungle of regulations, real estate deals, labor laws and other seemingly forbidding, unmarked territory.
Overlook one or two key factors, and your project could plunge off an unforeseen cliff into a bottomless abyss.
Since the journey to your ultimate destination can take you through treacherous terrain, you shouldn't go it alone. You need an experienced guide.
| "We want to help them all the way from their first interest to choosing a final site in the state."
-- Dennis Chastain, manager of economic development,
Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia |
Who might this guru be? A dark-suited consultant? Your friendly neighborhood real estate agent? A tribal chieftain? Try the economic development professionals of utilities around the globe.
Utilities are to the harried executive what first class airline seats are to the weary corporate traveler.
Relax. Put your feet up. Spread out on those leather seats. Let someone else take care of all the harassing details.
"We'll drive them around, fly them on a corporate plane or use a helicopter, depending on what their needs are," said Dennis Chastain, manager of economic development for Oglethorpe Power Corp. of Georgia. "We want to help them all the way from their first interest to choosing a final site in the state."
That means executives can spend their time on what's important.
"They can just focus on their plant location and their decision-making process and they don't have to worry about the logistics and all of that," said Donna Buchheit, manager-economic development for Allentown, Pa.,-based PP&L, Inc.
And for cost-conscious executives worried about the fee, put away your calculator. It's all free.
Of course, utilities hope you'll choose their service area for your new plant or office, but they know there's no guarantee.
Information exchange
It can be a challenge to get the information you need for your site decision. Fortunately, utilities are an oasis, preventing information overload while giving you everything you need.
"We're information brokers," said Maureen Sharkey, research manager with PECO Energy in Philadelphia, Pa. "We package a lot of demographic information, quality of life and utility information. We can also be very specific in labor cost analysis."
Dennis Hall, economic development manager for Nebraska Public Power District, said companies' top requests are for information on properties, communities, energy costs and labor.
"We try to develop materials that quantify that for them as precisely as we can," he said.
Mississippi Power Co. offers clients access to the Mississippi Resource Center, which features visual databases loaded with information on topics including the state's communities and industrial properties.
But utilities can go far beyond cranking out statistics-laden reports. They can put the information in perspective.
Nebraska Public Power District, for example, publishes industry-specific data that compares a hypothetical company's operating costs in Nebraska to the cost in competing states.
Real Estate at Your Fingertips
Although utilities provide site selection services across the board, they have particular expertise in real estate.
Many utility Web sites include color photos of sites and buildings, along with detailed information on properties.
| "We tried to identify the promising sites for a manufacturing facility. We've been here a long time. We're doing some homework for you."
-- Geoff Duda, manager, economic development, Columbia Gas of Ohio |
PP&L offers an online database (www.ppl-inc.com/econdev/availabl.html) with more than 800 listings in central eastern Pennsylvania that include site and floor plans.
Columbia Gas of Ohio's Web database (www.columbiagasohio.com) includes a list of the Top 25 Sites in the state.
"We tried to identify the promising sites for a manufacturing facility," said Geoff Duda, manager of economic development. "We've been here a long time. We're doing some homework for you."
Alliant Energy's Web site (www.alliantenergy.com/ yourenergy/econdev/index.html) features hundreds of sites and buildings in the company's four-state service area and is regularly updated.
"If I make changes, within 15 minutes it's going to show up," said Leah Call, economic development program specialist for the Madison, Wis.,-based utility.
Central and South West Corp. lists available property (www.csw.com/Products_Services/default.htm), but also offers the Building Blocks program, a streamlined process enabling communities to erect a facility in 120 days.
"They have everything in place and they're just waiting for the company to sign the contract," said Clay Hathaway, business development program manager for the Dallas, Texas,-based utility.
East Kentucky Power assists local development authorities in financing the construction of speculative industrial buildings to ensure that a ready supply is available for expanding companies.
"Most industries' time frame is short, so they'll be looking for available buildings first," said Jim Coleman, manager of industrial development. "We've had several good industries locate because buildings have been available."
A Streamlined Approach
Simplicity can be a tremendous asset in the midst of a complex site search. Enter utilities.
PP&L, for one, offers a single point of contact for companies seeking to expand in Pennsylvania.
"We handle all of the prospects' needs, from soup to nuts," said Buchheit.
| Let Utilities Navigate the Real Estate Wilderness
Critical to your search for a new company home is the right location, location, location. Whether it's a 10,000 square foot shell building or an infrastructure- intensive 100,000 square foot facility, utilities can help you plug in to the property you need.
Utilities carry huge inventories of available industrial properties and update them regularly. Whether found in books, on Internet sites or on laptop computer programs, these listings can include site plans, details on infrastructure and color photographs.
A call to a utility's economic development department could take most of the work out of your legwork. |
This at-your-service attitude also drives relationships with business prospects at Entergy Arkansas.
"We have used our corporate jet to fly around the state from city to city when they only have one day to make four or five stops, or we do the driving, whatever is necessary," said Mike Maulden, director of economic development.
Friends in High Places
Utilities don't stop once the information is delivered and the tour is finished. When a company makes plans to locate, utility executives can become an instant advocate with city councils, state agencies and just about anyone else.
Kirkley Thomas, manager of economic development for Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp., said his utility's close ties to state agencies and communities are important in its efforts to help companies locate in the state.
"We work very closely with the local communities so we could assist them with any zoning issues," Thomas said. "That's where having a relationship with the communities makes a difference."
PacifiCorp, based in Portland, Ore., tells expanding companies to "start with us."
"PacifiCorp has spent most of this century building relationships in more than 500 communities," said Kathy Hoffman, community and economic development manager. "We can introduce you to the people, the places and the resources you need to make more informed decisions."
In addition to networking with state and local governments, utilities can also help your company connect with the people who keep your business alive -- suppliers and customers.
New York State Electric & Gas Corp. even offers an export service called MarcoPolo, which is designed to help its customers expand their customer base internationally.
Top Secret
A critical part of utilities' services is what they won't do: talk.
"Confidentiality is a prime consideration," said Aaron Ridenour, manager of marketing for Decatur, Ill.,-based Soyland Power Cooperative.
This commitment is echoed by Kurt Brautigam, manager of external communications for Mississippi Power Co.
"We're your confidential liaison," he said.
Sweetening the Deal
Utilities can help you find the right site. But many also offer discounted rates to help make their territory the right location.
North Carolina Electric Membership Corp. offers a contracted incentive rate for expanding and new companies that meet a threshold of power use.
| In the Know
"It's not what you know, it's who you know," according to the familiar cliché.
Utilities know the "whats" and the "who's."
Whether it's data on a local labor market or information on environmental regulations, utility economic development experts can give expanding and relocating companies a full report.
And if they don't have the information on hand, they know someone who does. That's where the "who" comes in.
Utilities partner with cities, counties, private organizations and state agencies to help attract businesses to their service territories. So although they may not have the most recent report on the number of metal fabrication workers in northeastern North Dakota, it's probably only a phone call away. |
"Most companies don't like to deal in unknowns, so anything that will give them some future comfort, given today's world, is a step up," said Bud Cohoon, manager of economic development.
New York State Electric & Gas offers a negotiated rate to help make its region attractive.
"We'll make sure our electric and gas costs are competitive with where the company is looking," said Chris Wood, manager-economic development.
Beyond Borders
Utilities' work to assist relocating and expanding companies doesn't stop at the U.S. border. The global economy and deregulation have made Canada's Ontario Power Generation a player in providing services to companies on the move.
In addition to being part of a vast network of business and government officials throughout the province, the utility offers information on buildings, real estate, infrastructure and demographics at sitesontario.com.
"This is a database that gives global exposure," said Ahmed Mayeenuddin, program manager-economic development.
The Motivator
There's no free lunch, goes the cliché. So why would utilities go to all this work to help your business?
| "We'll make sure our electric and
gas costs are competitive with where the company is looking."
-- Chris Wood, manager, economic development, New York State Electric & Gas |
It's simple. Utilities live and die on the success of their customers. If you shut down, so does a major piece of their business. If you expand, so do they.
"To make the company successful is critical for us," said Mayeenuddin. "It's very, very important that the customer is competitive."
An Oasis
Like a jungle explorer whacking his way through the brush, it's easy for busy executives to get mired in the mountain of details, data and "to-do's" that stand between them and the right site.
But with the expertise of utilities as part of your search, you've improved the odds of finding that elusive destination -- your new company home.
When Businesses Talk, Utilities Listen
Whether it's across the street, or across the sea, expanding companies can expect action when they ask utilities for assistance or information.
When German candy manufacturer HARIBO decided to open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, PP&L, Inc. was there.
"We spent a lot of time with the company at their headquarters in Germany," said Donna Buchheit, manager-economic development.
HARIBO of America, Inc. is building a 110,000 square foot plant in Hazleton, Pa., that will employ 200. The site will also serve as the company's American operations center.
In Illinois, Soyland Power Cooperative helped Americana Building Products link up with technical experts so the company could open a new specialized painting division at its Salem facility. The company previously outsourced the service.
Now it not only performs the painting in-house, it also provides the service for other businesses.
"We hooked them up to really assist them in evaluating the differences ... of each (industrial method)," said Aaron Ridenour, manager of marketing.
The utility also advertised a building that was a perfect fit for U.S. Soy, which converted a former popcorn plant into a soy processing facility in Mattoon. The 16,000 square foot facility was renovated at a cost of over $1 million.
"As a result of our efforts it was purchased," Ridenour said.
In Georgia, Oglethorpe Power Corp. helped an online travel company find just the right location. World Marketing Services wanted to open a teleservice center in a rural area with a nearby university in order to take advantage of the college labor force.
"We showed them, say, 10 different communities around the state," said Dennis Chastain, manager of economic development.
Last year, the company settled on Americus, Ga., where it set up shop in an existing 50,000 square foot building. It employs approximately 100.
In the past 12 months, Nebraska Public Power District has helped numerous companies, including Valmont Industries, find the right location. Valmont is building a $30 million, state-of-the-art irrigation equipment manufacturing plant in McCook, Neb. The plant will begin operations this fall and is expected to eventually employ 275.
Valmont considered sites in five Midwestern states, and used the utility's Web site (www.nppd.com) to narrow its search.
-- Roy Harryman |
Roy Harryman is the managing editor of Expansion Management Magazine.
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