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Momentum News
A publication by Momentum West
August 2015
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| Contact Us |
Applied Technology Center
2322 Alpine Rd. Suite 7
Eau Claire, WI 54703
Phone: 715-874-4673
Fax: 715-874-4683
E-mail:
[email protected]
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| Executive Directors Corner |
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Greetings everyone!
Hope everyone's summer is going well. Hard to believe we're nearing September and the start of another school year.
In discussions with numerous members of the education sector, economic development organizations, and others tied to regional economic development, we've realized that there is no comprehensive strategy in place to identify regional needs, formulate strategies to address these needs, and determine the party's best suited to tackle these issues, whether collaboratively or individually. We will be hosting a SWOT session with the Regional Planning Commission, Workforce Development, moderated by the UW Extension in Early September with leaders from area EDC's, educational institutions, chambers and other organizations in hopes of developing a regional strategy that allows us to efficiently and impactfully tackle what is going to be one of our greatest challenges over the next ten years.
Some great news on the talent development front: UW Stout has 24 students enrolled in the new Mechanical Engineering degree program. This is the first of the engineering degree programs the three UW System schools got board of regent approval to move forward with. Being that this program offering could not be promoted until the late April approval, this number is validation of the interest in the region and a sign of what the programs will mean to producing local talent in a much needed area.
Also in the talent arena, Momentum West was successful in its attempt to garner an Otto Bremer Grant to develop a regional strategy to tackle the talent development, attraction and retention issues. Work on this initiative has just begun, and there will be plenty to pass on as we move forward.
A quick note on the website: please send us any information on upcoming business related events for our calendar. There is no cost for this. We're happy to pass this information on to our list of over 2,200 recipients. Also, as we strive to make the website a comprehensive portal to the region, let us know of any resources or links that are not included. We've gotten some good ideas over the past month and are always looking for improvement.
I had planned on sharing the overview of the Site Selectors Guild Advisory Tour, as we referred to as the FAM Tour, with the list of sponsors and participants in advance of releasing in a newsletter. Slight change of course, you will find this information after the committee reports. This information is of value to all our partners, so please peruse it at your leisure. It will help us improve our efforts moving forward and has already had an impact on numerous initiatives such as website development and our approach to marketing the region.
On a final note, Momentum West, beginning in April, has begun to invest in social media as a way to engage our region and those outside. Momentum West is now on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Facebook is our way of engaging with you the county and stakeholders in the region while keeping you up to date with important information and events. Our LinkedIn page is a showcase of our services and projects we coordinate with our partners. Finally, our Twitter page is used for live tweeting at popular events such as International Economic Development Council (IEDC) conferences and county events. We hope that you visit our various social media pages to keep up to date on projects and event in the Momentum region.
Thanks,
Steve
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Committee Updates
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Economic Development Committee:
As mentioned earlier the committee is putting together details of the SWOT session designed to be the catalyst toward developing a regional economic development strategy. Several new sites are going through the Gold Shovel Process and marketing will begin soon on these sites.
Tradeshow/Outreach Committee:
We are working with several other county EDC's on putting together an evening with numerous Twin Cities site selectors/brokers this fall. Also, we are discussing a smaller version of the FAM Tour for late spring/early summer.
Our first show, other than the September WEDA Fall Conference, will be a corporate asset manager's seminar in late September. Other approaching shows will be the MAEDC in December and the Site Selectors Guild conference in February.
NWITA:
Outreach continues on assessing the needs of manufacturers needs in the region in regard to exporting. You may receive a brief survey over the next few weeks. We are planning a roundtable discussion with region manufacturers involved in international trade as well as those desiring to become involved. Once we get further into our conversations we'll lock in more definitive plans for a gathering. We'll model the organizations path on the needs uncovered in the outreach and roundtable, as well as a survey if necessary.
Marketing Committee:
Work continues on the development of data for the website as well as other items noted in the Advisory Tour summary. Changes are being made to the Business Resources and Regional Organizations and Association. Let me know if there are additions that need to be made to these pages, as we very well might be missing things.
Talent Attraction Committee:
Work continues on several initiatives within the region involving internship programs, work with the STEM Collaborative, and an effort to address the talent challenges on a regional level. There is much activity in underway in this area.
Fundraising Committee:
We did see a reduction in state funding of 50%. With that said, in order to maintain the momentum we've accelerated to we need stakeholder support. If you are a present investor, thank you for your support of regional economic development. If you are not a current investor, please consider an investment in Momentum West as the continuing work of the organization is important to the economic growth of the region. The impact we can make in the region goes beyond the items mentioned in this and the previous newsletters, but without investments from businesses and industries within the area we are limited to what impact we can make. An investment in Momentum West is an investment in the overall economy of our region, whether it be time or financially, and we appreciate your support.
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Site Selectors Guild Feedback Summary
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Following is a summary of the feedback we received from the Site Selectors Guild members following the Advisory Tour in June:
Marketing:
- We should sit down and figure out, "what are we good at/what do we want to be" and develop a plan to build on this.
- We can't win the race to the bottom, but we can focus on creativity, innovation, tech and higher education collaboration with business, and market that. Suggested making the world aware what we're the best at, have the fundamentals for that from what they saw, with education and precision manufacturing leading the way.
- The name Momentum West doesn't help people figure out where or who we are.
- Mentioned international footprint as a marketing point.
- Focus on specialized companies when marketing can be useful. There might only be a handful of good sites for very specialized industries in the world.
- Market things we've done in private/education collaborations
- Emphasize education!
- The labor force. It's all about labor force.
- Website - What are you going after (branding), what's well suited for here, and explain why.
- Website data should be easily downloadable
- Use visual cues, a lot of pictures of different parts of the region, and where they are, to fight perception and give people an idea what the region's like
- Website should have very clear contact info.
- Website doesn't need to have everything, but it should be clear how to get to other info (like state programs, real estate, etc.).
- 70% of site selectors' start with an internet search; need to be in the top 3 for relevant search for website. Work on SEO.
- Website - make it easy to find you, need good maps and location resources, especially for overseas folks who may not be familiar with US geography.
- Website - focus on local content and local studies.
- Website - ability to select a language, or translate to metric system, very useful for international prospects
- Mentioned we should grab the advanced manufacturing moniker and make it ours, lot of places claim it, we're one of the few regions that truly can.
Manufacturing/Industry:
- What is the one word that sums up manufacturing in the region? Precision? Quality?
- Very impressed with our craft skills base, diversity of tooling, computers and tech industry.
- Strength in a diverse and recession resistant industrial base.
Infrastructure:
- Utilities playing an engaged role in development is a major competitive advantage in US and region vs. global.
- Energy not as cheap as on the Gulf or in the South - moderate cost here.
- Selection process starts with logistics, then particular infrastructure needs (e.g., rail, water, waste water, etc.).
Incentives:
- Preferred incentives are "pay as you go", more palatable to local taxpayers than big one-timers.
- Incentives should focus on tax breaks for something we didn't have before in the region. Focus on impact.
- While many site selectors don't even look for incentives, you need to be ready for anything just to compete.
- Mentioned regulatory environment only lets us make a TIF in village or city, but site selectors don't care exactly where they locate. Frame things regionally.
- Use no tax on machinery as a marketing point.
- Mentioned that in terms of development and incentives, a utility can sometimes do what government can't.
- Watch out for the burden of your tax structure. Sometimes places give huge incentives because it's the only way they can offset the major tax burden.
- Mentioned incentives are a zero sum game, but sometimes you need them to compete.
- Incentives should accomplish 3 things: company feels the love, feels like it got a good deal, and helps make the financials work.
- Preferred incentives are training. Great for an area because even if the company leaves, you've got the trained labor force.
Education/Talent:
- Very concerned with education, especially deterioration of apprenticeship and K-12 with state cuts.
- State cuts to education are playing nationally as bad press gives the appearance of an attack on education for political purposes.
- Great skills base to transfer a company from early stage to high volume output production.
- When you bring talent in, can you keep them? Twin Cities helps.
- As a region (and state) we must, and have been, focusing on talent.
- Site selection emphasis on "can I find talent at the right cost".
- Note where you can truly recruit talent from.
- Good focus on high quality education and skills development.
- Make sure labor force has the skills needed to be marketable.
- Develop high skill and quality education as our brand.
Region:
- Twin Cities are a huge asset - remember labor and economy doesn't end at the border.
- Access to a global airport a huge asset, MSP, suggested this can get you through a first screening in many cases.
- Great regional geography, lot of cool small communities.
- Region hits a lot of their important site points - rail, interstate, water, and good availability of sites
- A lot of small to medium sized business engines are an advantage, well-positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities.
- Businesses/site selectors ultimately choose where they have a quality of life connection. One guild member remarked they could live here, a question they ask themselves during site evaluation.
- Mentioned we didn't spend enough time in the local cities, wanted more time in downtowns to get a sense for how our culture and location is for attracting young workers who want to mostly live relatively urban.
- Did like what they saw in the urban areas and feel progress is being made to attract the younger generation of workers.
Challenges:
- Considered the area "moderately high cost" overall.
- Concerned about a tight labor market.
- Ability to have sites with feeds from multiple substations (power) could be useful. Dual feed is important to data warehousing, etc.
- Noticed a shortage of buildings in the 40-60k sq.ft. range. Should have 3-5 at any given time. Spec is alright as long as it's highly flexible, flexibility is absolutely the key.
- A drawback for the region is that to locate here, many businesses would need a logistical advantage - location and energy are the biggest costs, so they would already need to have a competitive advantage in logistics.
WEDC:
- Political and overall status of a State EDC (WEDC) determines how they advise customers. Many have too much turnover due to politics.
- WEDC is doing better than it was previously, real economic development is happening now - still a long ways to go.
Other Pluses:
- Very impressed with good quality industrial land.
- Liked the office tech parks, mentioned several specifically.
- Liked the high level of private sector/education collaboration in the whole region.
- Liked our land development control - but recommended being very careful how development occurs (like around the new bridge) because uncontrolled development can easily impact quality of life.
- Liked the orchestration of the tour, how we split them up and kept things on time, "quite impressive", mentioned many regions couldn't pull that off. Also, good beer!
- People were very knowledgeable about their communities and on board with site selectors needs.
- One Guild member said he'd have no hesitation to doing business here.
Misc. Advice:
- Mentioned we absolutely need a regional economic development organization. Work on a bigger face and footprint in market.
- In general, if we highlight a focus, it is assumed we've organized as a community around it, better be able to show it.
- Be able to back up the targets you've focused on, and you'll get the looks (from site selectors).
- Look at re-shoring opportunities because we're a high skill area.
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Industrial sand company enters into Green Tier program
By Central Office July 21, 2015
MENOMONIE, Wis. -- Fairmount Santrol-Wisconsin Industrial Sand Company, a Wisconsin industrial sand company, was formally entered into the state's innovative environmental Green Tier program today at a celebration at the company's Menomonie facility.
Fairmount's facilities in Hager City, Maiden Rock and Menomonie joined Green Tier, a program that encourages businesses to voluntarily move beyond regulatory compliance in order to promote superior environmental performance. Fairmount Santrol is participating in Tier 1 of the program, which is designed to encourage new goal setting and innovation.
"We are pleased to have Fairmount Santrol participate in Green Tier," said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp. "This sustainability-minded company demonstrates how solutions that are good for the environment can also be good for the economy."
In her congratulatory message to Fairmount, Stepp noted the company's diligent efforts to embrace environmental opportunities make it a leader in the nonmetallic mining industry.
Fairmount Santrol helped organize the state's sand mining industry by co-founding the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association. With a commitment to superior environmental performance, the association set a membership requirement of enrollment in Green Tier.
As part of its acceptance into Green Tier, Fairmount Santrol has implemented an Environmental Management System, a "plan-do-check-act" tool that helps the company understand its environmental impacts. An EMS sets benchmarks to measure environmental improvements and allows Fairmount Santrol to monitor its performance with indicators such as energy conservation and water use.
"Fairmount Santrol is committed to exceeding expectations and going beyond compliance," said Aaron Scott, Fairmont's regional mine manager. "Our culture is unique. This approach to every aspect of our operation has allowed us to work together to achieve positive things for our business, the communities we operate and our other stakeholders. We are excited to be honored by the DNR in this way."
Scott noted that Fairmount Santrol makes environmental stewardship a fundamental element of the way it operates, including:
- reducing its carbon footprint by installing more energy efficient electric motors, automated equipment and lighting;
- building a LEED gold-certified building in Menomonie and installing a solar panel array to reduce dependence on other sources of electricity;
- reducing its transportation carbon footprint by using more rail transportation;
- achieving the goal of zero waste to landfills at all three Wisconsin facilities by incorporating programs that reduce incoming materials, reuse resources and increase recycling, composting and waste-to-energy incineration;
- proactively addressing its water footprint by reducing overall consumption and recycling water through a closed-loop process in all its Wisconsin facilities, by measuring water inputs, outputs and use; and
- restoring its mining sites by planting trees, shrubs and native grasses and by managing invasive; and species; the company also works closely with conservation organizations to enhance biodiversity and environmental education programs for the communities where it operates.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Roberta Walls, DNR, 608-785-9272; John Stoffel, DNR, (715) 684-2914 x121
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FaBcap - A food finance & business Accelerator
Capitalizing growing food and beverage companies
FaBcap is designed for growing Wisconsin-based food and beverage industry companies with 5-200 employees. We will select 10 growing companies to participate in the one-year FaBcap program. Targeted companies should be food, beverage, ingredients, equipment, packaging products, manufacturing and technologies. We anticipate these companies will be on the front edge of market demands.
We would greatly appreciate if you would forward this application to businesses that you believe fit this description and encourage them to apply to the FaBcap Program using the link below.
WHAT DOES THE ONE-YEAR
FaBcap
PROGRAM INCLUDE FOR THE SELECTED 10 CAPPERS?
- 1.5-Day Program Kick-Off Conference and evening Reception October 13-14, followed by three company "What's Working" tours, October 15.
- One-year, one-on-one personal and Certified Financial and Business Coaching from Brad Rostowfske, FaB Wisconsin Director of Innovation & Finance; approximately 50 hours
- One-year one-on-one "Issue" Coaching from industry experts; addressing Capper issues as needed
- Four quarterly facilitated FaBcapper cohort meetings at area food companies
- FaBcap Closing Ceremony & Capper Pitches
- A prepared company packaging for use in future financial requests
- $10,000 Cash Seeding Award for each Capper
FaBcap is offered by FaB Wisconsin in collaboration with UW-Extension Food Finance Institute, in partnership with WEDC, and with our presenting sponsor - JPMorgan Chase Foundation, and program sponsors - Chortek and Reinhart Boerner Van Duren.
Any questions about the program should be directed to:
BRAD ROSTOWFSKE
Director of Innovation & Finance
p:
414.287.4135
m:
262.689.1545
756 N. Milwaukee St., Suite 400 | Milwaukee, WI 53202
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For the latest Momentum West news, visit us on
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Momentum West Investment
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Thanks to all who invested in Momentum West! Together we will continue to create a sustainable and innovative economy for our region's citizens.
Business and Industry
Agstar
Associated Bank*
AT&T
Banbury Place
Bauman Associates, LTD
Bauer Built
BMO Harris Bank
Bremer Bank
Cedar Corp
Charter Bank
Citizens Bank - Hudson
Core Products
Dairyland Power Cooperative
Derrick Construction
Durand Builders
Eckberg Lammers*
Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery
Fairmount Santrol
First American Bank*
First National Community Bank
Great Northern Corp*
Haselwander*
Landmark Company
Manpower
Market and Johnson*
Mayo Clinic Health System
Northwestern Bank
OEM Fabricators
RDC National
Reality Works
Royal Credit Union
Ruder Ware
Sacred Heart Hospital
Schaeffer Manufacturing
Security Financial Bank
Spectrum Industries
Uline, Inc.
Valley Cartage*
Weld, Riley, Prenn & Ricci
Wipfli, Ulrich, Bertelson, LLP
Wisconsin Business Development
Xcel Energy
Regional EDC
Chippewa County EDC
Dunn County EDC
Eau Claire Area EDC
Polk County EDC
Rusk County EDC
County
Barron County
Eau Claire County
Municipal
Ladysmith Community Industrial Development
West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
Education
Chippewa Valley Technical College
UW- Eau Claire
UW- River Falls
UW- Stout
WITC
Reciprocal
Amery Area Economic Development Corporation
Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce
Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce
Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce
Menomonie Chamber of Commerce
*denotes pledge for investment
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Gold Shovel Ready Sites
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The Gold Shovel Ready Site database for developers on www.MomentumWest.org allows you to quickly and easily find sites in our 10-county region of Western Wisconsin that have:
- Identified property owners and clearly states sales price
- Zoning in place or planned
- Maps showing public and private utilities and capacities
- Information showing transportation networks
- Identified any known site restrictions that may hinder development (Geological, environmental, easements, etc.)
- Area statistics and demographic data
The sites listed below are currently verified as Gold Shovel Ready:
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| Upcoming Events |
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September 10, 2015 - Hudson Independent Business Association (HIBA) Business Breakfast
Time: 7:30am - 9:30am
Location: UWRF Hudson Center, 2501 Hanley Road, Suite 200
Speaker Marina Onken,associate professor, College of Business and Economics at UW-River Falls, will be speaking on the "Lean Startup Movement" and what it means for your business.
Onken's specialization is in strategic management. She was recently the academic advisor for SoPOD, a student team that won the Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament and reached the semi-finals of the International Business Model Composition in Provo, Utah, a competition that uses lean startup methodology. Onken is also on the board of directors for the Hudson Grocery Cooperative.
Check in and continental breakfast is from 7:30 to 8 a.m., with the program from at 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The breakfast is provided by Fresh and Natural Foods. HIBA is an extension of the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau.
RSVP to Dawn Marquart at First American Bank at (715) 381-8330, or email her at
[email protected]. This program is paid for by HIBA in their continuing effort to promote and educate the need to support locally owned and independent businesses. Seating is limited so RSVP By Sept. 4
September 17, 2015 - Lunch and Learn Workshop - Protecting your Business Investment
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Location: Dunn County Government Center
800 Wilson Ave, Room 58
Menomonie, WI 54751
Keynote Speaker: Keith B. Daniels Jr and Michael J. Sir from Principal Financial Group
$25 per person includes lunch and workshop materials
Contact DCEDC 715-232-4009
To register or for more information
September 23, 2015 - Train programs scheduled in Hudson and River Falls
With a passenger train from St. Paul to Eau Claire now in the Minnesota Department of Transportation's 20 year transportation plan, two public programs on the plan will be held on Wednesday, September 23 in Hudson and River Falls.
"It's time to bring the train to Hudson-River Falls," says Dan Kodesh, Co-Chair of the St. Croix Valley Rail Group, a citizens group sponsoring the programs. "The purpose of the programs is both to learn more about the plan, but also to generate local support for bringing the train to Hudson-River Falls," he notes.
Speakers will include Dave Christianson, a professional planner on transportation, and Scott Rogers, governmental affairs and workforce director for the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce.
The program will be held from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the River Falls Public Library, and then be repeated in Hudson. Organizers are looking for a room large enough for the anticipated audience.
The St. Croix Valley Rail Group is a volunteer citizens group that also supports the work of other organizations and leaders, including Momentum West, on bringing passenger rail to western and central Wisconsin. People who would like to help publicize the program should email William Draves at [email protected]
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If you would like your upcoming event to be included in the Momentum West newsletter, please send information to
[email protected]
prior to the 15th of each month
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| About Momentum West |
Momentum West is a Regional Economic Development Organization that serves 10 counties: Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, and St. Croix. Our mission is to develop partnerships and leverage resources in West Wisconsin to market the region and grow the economy.
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