Audubon County

E-Synchronist2010 Leading Employer Report

“Business Connections” Initiative

November/December 2010For Audubon County Economic Development

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What is “Business Connections”

A Business Contact Program DescribedThrough Four (E’s)

Engaging – builds relationships face-to-face

Educational – informs community leadership

Effective – gets beyond “surface” issues

Electronic - analyzes and measures data

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Why Do We Do This?

Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) – SAVING jobs helps CREATE jobs

– Approx. 80% of all new jobs come from existing employers

Business Recruitment Identify Complementary Industries and

Companies Testimonials – emphasize our strengths Positioning – overcome our shortcomings

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Who is Involved? Staff

Michael Cooley, Midwest Partnership Economic Development Coordinator

Margee Shaffer and Sarah Gomez – coordinated on arranging schedules and setting meetings

ACED Board Five individuals attended visits, took notes, asked

follow-up questions

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Timeline November 2010

Letters Sent to Employers Explaining Process Story of Project Reported by Local Media to

Inform Public

November-December 2010 Employer Visits Data Entry

January 2011 (and beyond) Present Findings Perform Follow-up and Set Action Steps

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Makeup of Employers 16 Employers, Mostly Primary Sector,

Determined to Provide a “Significant” Economic Impact to Area

Total employees: Approx. 483 FTE equiv.

Company with fewest employees: 4 employees

Company with most employees: 114 employees

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Makeup of Employers (cont.) Audubon companies = 11

Non-Audubon based companies = 5

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• Business Sector Mix– Advanced Manufacturing– Agriculture/Forestry/Minerals– Building & Construction

– Durable Goods Producer– Government– Health Care– Retail Related Operation

Expansion Plans (next 3 years)2010 52.9% of CEO/Mgrs interviewed indicated

expansion plans

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Planned Expansions

2010 Est. dollar investment: $31.6 million Est. new jobs: 56 (12% increase) Est. new square footage: 83,000

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Status of Key Product/Service

Where is the company’s primary product/service in its life cycle?

Declining = 19%

Maturing = 31%

Growing = 44%

Emerging = 6%

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Greatest Achievement (examples)

Added new services Completed a new addition Recruited quality staff Investment in automation to increase

competitiveness Constant increase in sales the past three

years

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Workforce Challenges

2010 69% of companies reported having recruiting

problems 31% say it is a community problem, 69% say

industry

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Workforce Evaluation (Scale of 7)

2010

Productivity (5.25) Quality (4.69) Stability (4.38) Availability (3.56)

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Quality of Life/Community Services:

Highest Rated2) Fire Protection3) Ambulance/Paramedic4) Police Protection5) K-12 Schools6) Health Care

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Lowest Rated2) City/County Streets &

Roads3) Traffic Control4) Childcare Services5) Property Tax

Assessment6) Air Cargo

Quality of Life/Community Services:

Observations

Employers report low satisfaction with local telephone/internet service, as well as city/county streets and roads.

High number of employers say their primary product/service is in the maturing or declining stage of its life cycle (50%).

Viable aviation and public transit options are absent in Audubon County.

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Assistance Follow-Ups:

Have already identified 47 follow-up issues Specific issues (examples)

○ Need financing for expansion○ Need faster and more reliable internet

service○ Need help with exporting products

General issues (examples)○ Road Repairs○ Create more child care options

Need to categorize, prioritize, and assign

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Future Information (examples)

Legislation

Community strengths, weaknesses, and barriers

Exporting

Research & Development

Follow-up

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Thank You!2010 Leading Employer Report

“Business Connections” Initiative

November/December 2010For Audubon County Economic Development

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