Business Facilities - October 2008 - (Page 10)

COVER STORY By Bill Trüb For the third consecutive year, we’ve asked a select panel of industry experts to provide some need-to-know information about how, when, and why to relocate. Eric Stavriotis Vice President of Strategic Consulting Jones Lang LaSalle Chicago, IL Make your own clusters. When considering relocating your office facility, it is always tempting to locate near an existing cluster of skilled labor and suppliers serving your industry, and to tap those resources when building your business. Although that often is the best choice, it may make more sense for your firm to locate in an area where you have the ability to create your own cluster. Through partnerships with colleges, junior colleges and, in some instances, high schools, businesses get an opportunity to train and tap into the next-generation labor market by helping to set courses and curriculum; providing internships; establishing public/private campuses with call centers and R&D facilities; and providing professorial access to company research. 10 OCTOBER 2008 When approached correctly, these partnerships will create a strong bond between the local community and your company. Incentives should be the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. State and municipal incentives should not be the driving force in any corporate relocation decision. While incentives can have a strong initial financial impact on a company’s bottom line, corporate leadership should base location decisions on factors that will have a much larger impact on the company’s success over the long term. Incentives can play an important role in location decisions, especially if they further the company’s overall goals. While one firm’s strategy may be served by taking advantage of research grants or job training assistance, another may place a higher value on expediting the permit process or gaining assistance with infrastructure, land, building acquisitions, or roads and sewer costs. The right incentive package can tip the scales to one location over another when all other factors are equal. In almost all cases, however, incentives should be the icing, not the cake. Don’t take process water or wastewater for granted. Among the considerations often overlooked by companies in the relocation process is their water source. Particularly for industrial and manufacturing firms, a top concern should be how to access process water and dispose of wastewater. Questions that should be asked include: • Does the community have the capacity to handle the kind and amount of wastewater you’re going to expel? • Will you be asked to pre-treat the wastewater before disposing of it? • How is your process water coming into the plant and can you get enough for your needs? A full understanding of how process water will be attained and wastewater disposed of will save companies millions in the long run. Don’t forget about examining forecast data. It is becoming increasingly more important for companies to take a strong look not only at the static data

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Business Facilities - October 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Metro Spotlight: Phoenix, AZ Essential Relocation Tips Metro Spotlight: Fayette County, GA Corporate Moves: Kentucky Austria: Hungry for International Trade Foreign Trade Zones: Global Expansion at Reduced Cost New York is Banking on High-Tech Growth Metro Spotlight: Cuba, MO The Garden State is Growing it's City Centers Information Technology: No Signs of a Slowdown Advertiser Index Inside LiveExchange

Business Facilities - October 2008

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