I am participating in Area Development’s Consultant Forum at the Louisville Seelbach Hotel the next few days. If you are unfamiliar with such events, basically the sponsor brings in 10–12 consultants and economic development pros pay to hear them make presentations and then have the opportunity to network with them during receptions, meals, roundtables, etc.
Here are few tidbits from this mornings sessions:
- when compared with global competitors, the US is extremely competitive with everyone until income tax is figured in then we are completely out of the equation (Matt Jackson, Cushman & Wakefield);
- China spends $8 BILLION a year on port improvements; the US has spent $25 billion since 1945 (Tim Feemster, Grubb & Ellis);
- As gas prices increase again, expect to see more focus on smaller, regional distribution centers (Feemster);
- Stimulus Package—”It does not stimulate as advertised. It is more social development than economic development” (Jim Rounds, SVP & Sr. Economist, Elliott D. Pollack & Co.);
I’ll post more from the afternoon sessions shortly.
Our first KentuckyUnited event this past weekend was a huge success. KentuckyUnited is the statewide marketing cooperative to promote the Commonwealth for business development.
The first event sponsored by KentuckyUnited was a consultant event held in conjunction with Area Development’s Consultants Forum. We brought in several of the consultants and their guests a few days early to learn more about Kentucky.
All of our consultants previously had very little, if any, exposure to the state so we got the opportunity to make a great first impression. For NWKF, that meant we also got valuable, extensive one-on-one time with each consultant.
This first event was a huge success. As someone who long argued for such a partnership, it was very rewarding to see so many people’s hard work and vision become a successful reality.
Especially interesting session this afternoon with Greg Lubar from Jones Lang LaSalle on Foreign Direct Investment in the US. Greg recently handled Project Polar Bear which was Volkswagen and their now announced $1 Billion facility in Chattanooga.
internationals are often overwhelmed by the amount of information available on communities and states;
Confidentiality is especially important to international projects. When their is a breach, it is usually an elected official;
International companies expected an integrated solution. They want one point of contact who will filter information back and forth;
Internationals are much more risk adverse than US companies;
Internationals do not want the state to filter their sites for them so they may not start with more general requirements than they actually need.
