Latest News

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Since the late 1980s, the global corporate facility projects database maintained and populated by Conway Data has tracked project locations and expansions by companies of every stripe in every U.S. state. But only within the past decade did we add to our columns of data a category tracking investing companies by country of ultimate beneficial owner. Now that a critical mass of projects has been tracked, this fall we analyzed the 1,686 U.S. projects we’ve tracked since 2015 that have had at least a share of involvement by a foreign-based firm (i.e. joint ventures count). The Top 10s below represent th...

New chicken restaurant expanding to Springfield

Wednesday, August 05, 2020

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is coming to Springfield, according to Alex Dietz, the economic development coordinator for Clark County. “I think it’s great for the community,” Dietz said. “I think we should definitely all be super excited for them entering the market.” The construction area for the restaurant is located at the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue and Albemarle Road behind a shopping center that Dietz said previously housed Soap Box Cleaning Center and Just Smokes. Read full article.

Springfield agrees to work with regional developer on plans for old Kroger site

Tuesday, August 04, 2020

The City of Springfield has agreed to begin working with a regional developer to design a plan for the former Kroger building on South Limestone Street and possibly the whole south side. City commissioners voted to allow the city manager to execute a letter of intent with Dillin LLC to aid in the redevelopment of the former Kroger location, which closed in March. Read full article.

2020 Gold & Silver Shovel Awards Recognize State and Local Economic Development Efforts

Monday, August 03, 2020

Clearly, 2020 is not taking shape the way that anyone expected it would as America watched the ball drop and rang in the new year. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted just about everything, from health to lifestyles to the state of the economy. Amid today’s gloomy headlines, it’s worth taking a look back at the economic development headlines of 2019 — the expansions and new developments that inspired our annual Shovel Awards. These honors are based on information provided by state economic development officials and the information was current at the time it was provided. It goes without saying that som...

Where Ohio ranks among best states for business

Friday, July 31, 2020

Ohio is one of the best states for business, according to Chief Executive magazine. The Buckeye State ranked No. 9 on the magazine's annual ranking of Best & Worst States for Business. Chief Executive praised Ohio for its "demonstrated (value) through the continuous groundbreakings and expansions," citing projects like CoverMyMeds' Columbus area expansion and Total Quality Logistics second headquarters project in Clermont. Read full article.

Department of Energy driving automotive innovation

Thursday, July 30, 2020

For as long as I can remember, I had a fascination with cars and the automotive industry. My father was a service manager at a Ford Motor Company dealership. One of my first “jobs” was putting the shiny hubcaps back on a finished car with my brother for 25 cents apiece. Years later, as a staff member on Capitol Hill, I worked on automotive safety issues and eventually followed in my father’s footsteps, working for Ford. In my time at Ford, I worked on projects ranging from hydrogen cars and hybrids to autonomous vehicles, while also working a rotation on th...

Ohio Adapts TechCred Program to Economy Changed by Virus

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With record-high unemployment rates brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the state is modifying its TechCred program to help train Ohioans. When the TechCred program was announced in September, it only was available to people who were employed. The modified program will allow those who are not working to earn technology-focused credentials, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said during a press briefing. Read full article.

An Open Letter to OEDA’s Members and Ohio’s Economic Development Community

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Dear Members, Partners, and Colleagues: OEDA has been listening and learning as the issues around systemic racism have been brought to the forefront and captured the nation’s attention. It is devastating that the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd—and, sadly, the indisputable video evidence of their killings—became the catalysts for our country to collectively pay attention and admit that systemic racism exists. What is also indisputable is that the time for change is now. Read full article.

A Top TED Speaker on the Most Important Leadership Skill Right Now

Monday, July 27, 2020

Shortly after George Floyd’s death, I contributed an article to Entrepreneur that told the story of what happened when I responded individually to 170 emails from members of my list. I had asked them how I could best show up for them during this tumultuous time. Based on how many of these folks took this opportunity not to ask for certain content, but to simply share their thoughts, I came to understand that what they most wanted was to feel heard. Read full article.

How Businesses Can Leverage the Power of TikTok

Friday, July 24, 2020

If you want your own business to grow and prosper as the world reopens and a new sense of normalcy settles in, getting to know TikTok is a good first step. The video-sharing platform has emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the leading social media companies in the world, and one of the most business friendly for entrepreneurs who know how to make it work. TikTok is particularly custom-made for personal-brand building, and many entrepreneurs are using it in just that way. By way of example, in a scant three and a half months, one top TikTok chef has amassed an army of more tha...

9 Ways to Lead Your Team Into an Unknowable Future

Thursday, July 23, 2020

The workplace is changed. As parts of the world begin to loosen coronavirus-related restrictions, organizations are emerging from COVID-induced hibernation. These transitions back to work are gradual. Uncertainty will remain for months as threats of renewed waves of coronavirus persist. We are anticipating a new normal — but what we need is a new now. The radical change of these times demands empathic leadership to keep teams engaged, cohesive and forward-focused. Leaders must demonstrate a spirit of purpose and optimism to reinforce the idea that an uncertain future has the potential to be a better future. Here are nine steps for leading your team into an unknowabl...

6 Phrases You Won’t Hear Successful People Say

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Your thoughts and the things you say to yourself and others are more powerful than you know. These phrases define how you think, how you act and how others perceive you. What you might think is a flippant, non-committal remark could frame your entire day and career without you even realizing. Here are six phrases that will undermine your success, that you won’t catch successful people using. Read full article.

Forbes Under 30 Leaders Find Innovative Solution Addressing Systemic Issue Of Access To Capital For Small Businesses

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a catastrophic toll on America’s small businesses. Those with small cash reserves are owed nearly $1 trillion by suppliers, and according to a recent survey by Goldman Sachs, 85% of small business owners say their personal finances have been hurt due to the crisis, while 64% say their cash reserves will last less than three months. When the government rolled out the first round of Paycheck Protection Program funding on April 3, the $349 billion in emergency relief ran out in less than two weeks, and the program was widely criticized, as much of the money went to the best-connecte...

A Guide To Investor Pitch Decks For Startup Fundraising

Monday, July 20, 2020

Startups frequently prepare a “pitch deck” to present their company to prospective angel or venture capital investors. The pitch deck typically consists of 15-20 slides in a PowerPoint presentation and is intended to showcase the company’s products, technology, and team to the investors. Raising capital from investors is difficult and time consuming. Therefore, it’s crucial that a startup creates a great investor pitch deck by articulating a compelling and interesting story. Read full article.

8 Signs You Have Validated Your Startup App Idea

Friday, July 17, 2020

If you have been gearing up to launch your startup app for quite some time, chances are you have given a lot of thoughts to the viability, validation, and potential of your idea, especially when it means the difference between success and failure. Quantifying and qualifying your validation milestones will help you create a roadmap and benchmark by which you can evaluate your path while reducing your uncertainty, hesitation and doubt. Here are 8 of the most common signs indicating whether you have validated your startup app idea. Read full article.

Springfield Is the Ideal Location for Companies Looking to Diversify their Manufacturing & Supply Chains

Friday, July 17, 2020

The importance of manufacturing products in the United States is becoming clearer than ever as international travel and trade has been restricted by COVID-19. These risks are even more apparent as China has grown to become the largest exporter of intermediate goods in the world. Even if companies are assembling products within the U.S. or Europe, many of the supplies they need to do so come from China. When China virtually shut down to address COVID-19, this led to a cut off of crucial supplies and companies ranging from Apple to Ohio toy manufacturers scrambling to find new suppliers o...

Will COVID-19 Kill Globalization? What You Need to Know

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Recent trade battles with China, Mexico, Canada, and Europe have reduced trade flows. Now, with the outbreak of COVID-19 severely impacting international commerce, many argue that globalization will soon be dead. Globalization is not dying. Rather, it’s evolving, and existing trends are accelerating. American companies and workers would be wise to prepare for what’s ahead. Read full article.

Frontline Care, Pioneering Innovation

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Rock Health — the first venture fund dedicated to digital health — is a fitting prism for viewing the current and future world of digital health technologies, and how they’re navigating their own paths through the multinational life sciences and medical device ecosystem. As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, they navigated a path to immediate action — and job creation. Read full article.

Car Makers Turn on a Dime to Manufacture Healthcare Solutions

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

When the going gets tough, North American automotive companies don’t roll as many new vehicles off the line. They do, however, roll up their sleeves. Here we look at just a few of the pivots companies have made to address urgent COVID-19 needs and impacts. Their model behavior and speed demonstrate why North American manufacturing ingenuity continues to attract substantial investments for new vehicle models to come. Read full article.

Successfully Returning to the Workplace Post-COVID

Monday, July 13, 2020

With the easing of restrictions surrounding the Covid-19 outbreak, organizations are starting to bring employees back into the workplace. A successful re-entry program will ensure the safety of company personnel and the public, obviate charges of discrimination and invasion of privacy, and avoid actions that inadvertently violate federal, state, and local employment laws. Employers should set a positive tone to motivate their personnel in a difficult environment. Read full article.

COVID-19 and Site Selection in the Near and Long Term

Friday, July 10, 2020

Companies and communities are attempting to navigate through the current crisis, but as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, how will corporate location strategy be affected in the near and long term? Recessionary Forces The level of damage to the economy will depend on the spread of the virus, the healthcare response to the virus, and the effectiveness of the government stimulus and aid programs. This was clearly exemplified in the analysis and research completed by McKinsey & Company in “Safeguarding our lives and our livelihoods: The imperative of our time.” The accompanying graphic contains the group’s projection of the recovery and what w...

Proactive Management of Incentives Deals

Thursday, July 09, 2020

If you or your clients have incentives contracts, now is the time to examine your incentive agreements to understand the potential risks if your company is unable to perform key obligations. The first step in any crisis is to determine exactly what the problem is. Review your incentive agreements to confirm with specificity your obligations. Second, closely review the language of your agreements to determine if any of your obligations can be delayed due to a “force majeure” provision, a “market conditions” provision, or a similar provision. Third, as soon as the crisis begins to abate, and perhaps sooner in certai...

First Person: Handling Plant Shutdowns and Re-Openings During the Pandemic

Wednesday, July 08, 2020

AD: The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused some manufacturing plants to temporarily suspend — wholly or in part — their operations because of employees suffering illness. What — and who — is involved in coordinating the suspension of operations? Vetter: To my knowledge, I don’t believe that we have seen this type of activity happening within our food and consumer products clients’ operations. In fact, what we are experiencing is a ramp up in production on their existing lines. Lines that had some, or even significant amounts of idle time in their production schedule prior to COVID-19, have now been replaced with increase...

Stick the Landing: How to Help Optimize Workplace Reentry

Tuesday, July 07, 2020

We are at a pivotal point in time, surrounded by growing uncertainty. Yet we know one thing for certain: The way we work will change following this pandemic. That includes everything from the ways we interact with one another, to the tasks we take on, and the physical environment we work in. Organizations carefully planning their safe return to the workplace will find key allies in corporate real estate experts who specialize in office location, planning, layout, and design. The workplace structure will need to be reimagined as employees cautiously return to the office and employers prioritize their safety and well-being...

OH: Coronavirus: Springfield to use $1.8M federal transit grant for operating expenses, maintenance

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

May 15--The City of Springfield, Ohio has been awarded a grant to help with public transportation costs amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The $1.8 million grant award was announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration. The grant award is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act approved by congress and signed by President Donald Trump in March. Read full article.

Coronavirus: Clark State working on reopening plan for fall

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Clark State Community College is working on a phased reopening plan to welcome back students, faculty and staff in the fall. “The safety and security of students and employees is at the forefront of everything we do,” said Clark State Community College President Jo Alice Blondin. “I remain optimistic that Clark State students, faculty and staff will be able to meet together in the fall in some face-to-face settings, with an emphasis on the safety and well-being of everyone.” Read full article.

Our Focus is Talent: JobsOhio Invests $1.5M in Northwest Ohio Talent Pipeline Development

Monday, June 22, 2020

In early 2020, JobsOhio announced its 2019 results, as well as a Go Forward Strategy, which introduced an increased focus on its Talent Expansion Services and production initiative aimed at growing in-demand degrees in the state by up to 50%. In March, we made a $1.5 million investment to seed manufacturing talent production. Working with Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), JobsOhio’s economic development partner in northwest Ohio, we engaged with 30 manufacturing businesses in the region to map critical skills, identify employer needs, and assess the education landscape and capacity to fill those job requirements. With that research, RGP and JobsOhio determined that there ar...

JobsOhio, Peoples Bank and First Federal/Home Savings Bank Partner to Provide Lending Support for Ohio Small Businesses

Friday, June 19, 2020

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, JobsOhio, Peoples Bank and First Federal/Home Savings Bank announced a partnership to support existing small business clients with maintaining operations and payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. JobsOhio has committed up to $50 million to assist Peoples Bank and recently merged First Federal Bank and Home Savings Bank – with providing lending support to companies negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic. "JobsOhio's partnership with Peoples Bank, First Federal and Home Savings Bank will support efforts to sustain Ohio small businesses as they confront unprecedented challenges from COVID-19's impact on our economy," said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and chief executive officer...

Ohio AgriBuisiness not quite business as usual

Thursday, June 18, 2020

On April 27, Governor Mike DeWine announced a gradual plan for reopening Ohio’s economy after six weeks of a mandatory stay-at-home order that expires on May 1. The Responsible Restart Ohio plan has three phases: On May 1, medical procedures that do not require an overnight stay can proceed On May 4, manufacturing, distribution, and construction businesses may reopen, provided they can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees On May 4, general office environments may reopen, provided they can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees On May 12, consumer, retail and services, may reopen, provided they can meet mandatory safety requirement...

Which businesses will be the first to reopen in Ohio?

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Which businesses will be the first to open in Ohio? It's complicated, Gov. Mike DeWine said. The governor vaguely discussed which businesses will be permitted to reopen in the first phase of the state's plan to jump-start the economy. Reopening the state will be a slow process with multiple phases – one that Gov. Mike DeWine hopes to begin May 1. Hospitals will be among the first to reopen, the governor said. While hospitals and health care offices may not have necessarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many have ceased performing elective procedures. Read full article.

US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Save Small Business Fund

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

To extend a helping hand to small businesses suffering from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation – in partnership with Vistaprint and a coalition of supporting companies, foundations, and philanthropic donors – is working to provide financial relief through the “Save Small Business Fund”. The “Save Small Business Fund” is a grant-making initiative to offer $5,000 grants that provide short-term relief for employers across the United States. These one-time supplemental cash grants are for businesses that have between 3-20 employees and operate in an economically vulnerable community (you can search eligibility by zip code here). I know your busines...

FCC Commissioners Sharply Disagree on U.S. Broadband Report

Monday, June 15, 2020

A Federal Communications Commission report Friday indicated that the U.S. is making progress on closing the digital divide, but FCC commissioners don’t agree on how much progress has been made. The 2020 Broadband Deployment Report showed that very high-speed broadband service (250 Mbps/25 Mbps) can be accessed by roughly 85 percent of citizens — a number that has gone up by 47 percent since 2017. The report attributes this and other gains to the $80 billion invested in broadband infrastructure in 2018, a significant increase in fiber-to-the-home projects in 2019 and the advent of 5G technology. Read full article.

Smart Facilities and Industrial IOT in the Era of 5G

Friday, June 12, 2020

For manufacturing and distribution facilities, the introduction of 5G — the next generation of cellular wireless — could be a game-changer down the line. Consider: 5G will hasten the rise of the smart factory/warehouse, where tracking and distribution will improve exponentially, thanks to industrial IOT sensors. Monitoring will happen continuously in real time as the 5G network takes a triple approach to improving mobility — speed (ultra-fast data rates), interactivity (ultra-low lag with no buffering), and connectivity (more capacity, devices, and data). Read full article.

A Disciplined Road Map for Industrial Site Selection

Thursday, June 11, 2020

It’s almost always good news when an industrial manufacturer needs to find a new plant site. It means business is growing, new markets are emerging, and financials are healthy. However, this is the point of time in the business cycle when decisions about next steps need to be made carefully. Unfortunately, this is when many businesses get tripped up. Plant owners and managers may agree on the need for new production lines, more distribution capacity, new automation processes, and more staff. But this is also when additional rigor is most urgently needed to analyze the best-case business scenarios for that nex...

8 Ways the Crisis Will Forever Change the Future Workforce

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

This year's public health crisis has reoriented our relationships with each other, the media, technology and the work we do. Humanity has never experienced such a swift and universal shift. Friends are hosting live parties on Instagram. Teachers are uploading lessons to YouTube for the first time. Doctors are utilizing FaceTime or Google Duo for telemedicine services with patients. Read full article.

5 Ways Restaurant Owners Can Prepare for Reopening

Tuesday, June 09, 2020

In early May, many states began loosening restrictions on business operations. In California, for example, Governor Newsom announced that bookstores, music stores, toy stores, florists and some other retailers could reopen for pickup service. While restaurants were not a part of this first wave of reopenings, if all goes well, we could see them open their doors for seating in the next few weeks. Many eateries are operating on pickup or delivery service at the moment, but in order to truly reopen, restaurant managers will need to figure out how to handle a crowd of customers in a time of continued caution and social distancing. It’s no easy task, but in anticipatio...

3 Fundamentals for Building a Resilient Supply Chain

Monday, June 08, 2020

The global health crisis has exposed widespread vulnerabilities in supply chains. Although toilet paper shortages have become the most talked-about issue, long-term demand and supply shock ripples caused by this crisis will likely be felt for much longer as production delays at impacted sites, material shortages and scarcity of logistics come to light. It’s no surprise that many companies have relied on old habits to navigate out of the crisis. But solely relying on comfortable tools like spreadsheets, emails and conference calls can add undue delay to a team’s ability to resolve issues at a time when speed is critically important. Organizations have to accept that "crisis mode" is going t...

How Is the Pandemic Affecting Location Decisions in the Food & Beverage Industry?

Friday, June 05, 2020

I've been fortunate to have some great conversations with economic developers over the past few weeks, with many questions on the pandemic's impact on site location decisions for the food and beverage Industry. While nothing is certain, I've read and attached links to some important insights which I would like to share with those who currently or plan to target this industry. Be very aware that: Disruption of reliable demand and labor shortages have resulted in huge supply chain inefficiencies, leaving too much food in the wrong places. New facility locations that process products that heavily rely on predictable supply chain will n...

Workforce Reductions, Incentives Compliance, and Adjusting to the “New Normal”

Thursday, June 04, 2020

Companies are primarily concerned with maintaining operations while also keeping their workforce’s good health a top priority. For some of our larger clients, those with a workforce of more than 1,000, it’s simply not possible to maintain operations and keep their workforce safe. As a result, these companies are temporarily halting operations and furloughing or laying off employees. Our corporate clients with fewer than 1,000 workers are able to significantly reduce their operations and implement new policies to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Examples include requiring the use of masks and maintaining a safe distance from other people within th...

Potential Shifts in the Workforce Due to COVID-19

Wednesday, June 03, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is already causing shifts in the economy and workforce. Other than the obvious loss of employment, some of which will hopefully be temporary, another significant shift in the workforce involves employees in the professional services sector and others forced to work remotely from home. Although companies allowing employees to work remotely was already a growing trend in the United States, the question will be whether this trend continues after COVID-19 is under control. And, if the trend does continue, which is likely, consideration for incentives for home-based or remote employees will also have to be considered fro...

Ensuring Business Continuity While Focusing on Accelerating Automation

Tuesday, June 02, 2020

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I think that the outlook is positive in the near- and long term for corporate site location projects. The current environment is teaching us that the need to ensure business continuity in the face of exceptional risks will be driving many supply chain location decisions in the future. More localized supply chains will be a way for companies to increase resilience and minimize disruptions as the probability for exceptional events of a global impact increases. This will generate increased activity from corporations seeking to re-shore, move, or establish new operations closer to their markets...

Resiliency of Supply Chains & Post-Pandemic Opportunities for FDI

Monday, June 01, 2020

Disruption of supply chains and the prospects of reshoring to the U.S. are not unique to the spread of the coronavirus and related pandemic. As is well-documented, the development of global supply chains over time has provided cost-competitiveness to many companies. However, as we have witnessed rising offshore wages and operating costs, increased lead times, a lack of consistency in product quality, and a move toward more protectionist trade policies, many of our clients have for some time been assessing these mounting global supply chain risks vis-à-vis any cost-competitiveness that they once produced. The COVID-19 disruption will accelerate these analyse...

“Future-Proofing” Corporate Location Decisions in Uncertain Times

Friday, May 29, 2020

Site selection has traditionally focused on analyzing and comparing markets based on their current — and sometimes historical — capacity to support a corporate end user’s organizational objectives. More recently, a fundamental shift is under way where clients are challenging their consultants and candidate communities to also provide assessments of future market conditions, particularly surrounding talent. This forward-looking approach mitigates risk around the final location decision and aims to ensure that the selected market will align with the company’s long-term location and people strategy. Clients are increasingly requiring a site selection analysis that solves for their future workforce needs an...

COVID-19 Will Remake How We Work and Live

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Generally speaking, everyone resists change. Especially sudden change. But Covid-19 changed all that. Friday rolled around and we were told to grab-your-stuff and go home and no one knew when we would be back. You hear people say, “When things go back to normal…” Well, will things really go back to normal? We’ve learned new techniques, new ways to do things differently when working together digitally. Perhaps we will not return to the old ways. Read full article.

COVID-19 and Site Selection in the Near and Long Term

Friday, July 10, 2020

COVID-19 and Site Selection in the Near and Long Term

Friday, July 10, 2020

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