No matter what product a company makes, it needs to get it from Point A to Point B in the most efficient manner possible. And there's arguably no better place to distribute goods from in the country than Nebraska.

The state's interstate system is tremendous, with Interstate 80 connecting the state to east-west destinations and I-29 quickly moving vehicles north and south. The Omaha International Airport is also easy to get in and out of, and flyers out of Omaha are less than an hour away from Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and St. Louis.

Nebraska's central location and transportation network helped bring two Wal-Mart distribution centers to the state last year. Wal-Mart narrowed its search for a site for a new distribution center to Colorado and Nebraska.

After Wal-Mart showed interest in their community, North Platte officials conducted an intense recruitment effort, designing a local incentive package and flying Wal-Mart representatives over potential sites. Wal-Mart ultimately chose to expand in North Platte, and is now working on building an 880,000-square-foot distribution center just south of Interstate 80, where the company will eventually employ 600 people.

The facility will be used to distribute grocery items to all Wal-Mart retail stores within a 250-mile radius of North Platte. Wal-Mart will apply for state tax incentives, Community Development Block Grant funds, job training grant funds, and local community incentives.

The team spirit of the North Platte community convinced Wal-Mart to locate there.

"We feel that our political leaders, our business leaders, and our labor representatives are all committed to seeing our community grow and prosper," said Richard Baier, executive director of the Development Corporation of North Platte.

Transportation was a key element in Chief Ethanol Fuels' decision to remain in the city of Hastings and expand.

"Our central Nebraska location makes Chief Ethanol the western-most producer of ethanol and Distiller Dry Grains," said Roger Burken, plant manager for Chief Ethanol. "In addition to a readily available grain feedstock source, the location gives us ready access to the western oxygenated fuels market and a freight advantage on marketing the by-product. The availability of two major railroads and good paved roads connecting to Interstate 80 allow us vital transportation needs."

Transportation is one of the factors that help make postal service particularly efficient in Omaha, which is the district headquarters for postal service in Nebraska, Kansas, and southwestern Iowa.

Many top business mailers have chosen Omaha for this reason. Not only is Omaha's postal service efficient and reliable, but it's also frequent: the post office delivers mail more than once a day for businesses with large mail volumes.

Location Right for Armored Knights

They say that the three most important factors in real estate are location, location, and location. Nebraska knows this. Several years ago, when a public housing district was demolished in downtown Omaha, the city used the land to develop the North Omaha Business Park and a new housing development.

The development helped retain Armored Knights, an armored car and security service. The company is building a $600,000 headquarters and operational facility in the park, where it will soon add 10 new workers to its payroll.

Richard L. Knight, the owner of Armored Knights, said the business park's location is ideal.

"Downtown is the first place we stop in the morning and the last place we go at night," he said. "In addition, we are already in the area."

Since at least the late 1970s, the city of Hastings has been involved in speculative building projects. In 1999, the city joined the Nebraska Department of Economic Development in a speculative building program, which resulted in a 45,000-square-foot spec building.

The city leased the building to Centennial Plastics, a polyethylene pipe producer. With the success of their first spec building under their belt, the partnership was encouraged to build another 45,000-square-foot spec building. In all, Hastings' spec buildings attracted or retained seven companies, created more than 750 jobs, and secured more than $70 million in investments.