Top Ten Site Selection Criteria

IRPT 2015 Annual ConferenceApril 29, 2015

Ron StarnerEVP

Conway, Inc.

Top 10 Site Selection Criteria

How the Site Selection Process Works

Areas That Rank the Highest

How to Influence the Process

Conway PR & Marketing (formerly New York-based The PONT Group) specializes in communications and marketing for economic development agencies.

Conway Advisory (formerly Berlin-based Terrain Global), is a leading consulting firm focused exclusively on foreign direct investment. The division assists investment promotion agencies to identify and attract investors and strengthen their capabilities for investment attraction and retention. We also help companies decide where to locate new operations around the world and implement greenfield investment.

Conway Events (formerly London-based Red Hot Locations) is the leading provider of networking events to executives from all fields of corporate and cross-border investment. Our events include the Global Foreign Direct Investment Association Summit, which will be held October 26-28, 2015, in London, United Kingdom. Provide world class FDI training

Site Selection is recognized as the leading publication in corporate real estate, facility planning, location analysis and foreign direct investment.

The Industrial Asset Management Council is the leading association of industrial asset management and corporate real estate executives, their suppliers and service providers, and economic developers.

The Global Foreign Direct Investment Association (GFDI Association) is the first-ever global association devoted entirely to promoting cross-border investment and corporate expansion.

Conway Training has an established reputation as the leading provider of training in the cross-border investment field and are based on global best practices. Our training is fully customizable and is delivered by our in-house experts from across our various divisions

Capabilities

1. Transportation infrastructure2. Ease of permitting and regulatory procedures3. Existing workforce skills4. Land/building prices and supply5. Utility infrastructure6. State and local tax scheme7. Flexibility of incentive programs8. Availability of incentives9. Access to higher education resources10. Legal climate (tort reform)

Source: Site Selection survey of corporate real estate executives, October 2014

Top 10 Site Criteria

Site selectors are looking for reasons to eliminate sites from consideration – the first cut.

It is harder to make the short list than it is to win the actual project.

Most sites are eliminated due to lack of sufficient information (incomplete proposal, missing data).

95 percent of all site research is conducted online.

If a site selector calls you, you have made the short list.

How the Process Works

It is important to show well; don’t bungle the site visit.

Critical to have all key stakeholders on the same page.

Make sure your data is up to date. Site selectors will know and will disqualify your site if you use old data.

Work collaboratively as a region, not independently as separate cities and counties.

Know when to pass on a lead to another community.

How the Process Works

1. Texas 689 facility projects2. Ohio 5823. Illinois 3944. North Carolina 3135. Georgia 3116. Kentucky 2587. Michigan 2308. Pennsylvania 2279. Louisiana 20010. Tennessee 195

Source: Conway New Plant Database; Project criteria: must be $1 million or greater or create 50 new jobs or create 20,000SF or more of new space; must be corporate space.

Top States: 2014

1. Chicago, IL 385 facility projects2. Houston, TX 2653. Cincinnati, OH 1964. Atlanta, GA 1865. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 1536. New York, NY 1207. Columbus, OH 1178. Detroit, MI 1129. Louisville, KY 8610. Kansas City, MO 85

Source: Conway New Plant Database

Top Metros: 2014

Overall Economic Strength Rankings: 2015

1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, VA-DC-MD-WVA2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA3. Austin-Round Rock, TX4. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA5. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA6. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX7. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN8. Sioux Falls, SD9. Salt Lake City, UT10. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

Source: POLICOM.com

Top Metros: 2015

1. Shreveport, LA2. Tulsa, OK3. Springfield, MO4. Chattanooga, TN5. Jackson, MS6. Sioux Falls, SD7. Memphis, TN8. Augusta, GA9. Greensboro, NC10. Columbus, GA

Source: WalletHub, 2015

Best Cities to Start a Business

1. Newark, NJ2. Jersey City, NJ3. Garden Grove, CA4. Yonkers, NY5. Fremont, CA6. Ontario, CA7. Oakland, CA8. Santa Ana, CA9. San Jose, CA10. Anaheim, CA

Source: WalletHub, 2015

Worst Cities to Start a Business

1. Texas2. Georgia3. South Carolina4. North Carolina5. Virginia6. Louisiana7. Tennessee8. Florida9. Ohio10. Alabama

Source: Site Selection survey of corporate real estate executives, October 2014

Best Business Climates

Be proactively engaged with your state EDO.

Work collaboratively with your regional partners.

Build relationships with influential site selectors.

Find out where corporate real estate executives and site selection consultants are meeting, and go there.

Build a comprehensive database of your area’s available buildings and sites.

Develop a strategic marketing plan and invest in it.

How to Influence the Process

A lot of what passes for marketing today are communities fooling themselves. – Ed Burghard, former chief product marketer, Procter & Gamble; former marketing director, JobsOhio

Follow the Five Rules:1) Have a compelling story to tell; and be authentic.2) Craft your story in a way that interests the audience.3) Research and identify your target audience.4) Commit the resources necessary to move the needle positively in your direction.5) Measure your results (ROI).

Marketing 101

Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance:

1) Committed 8 years ago to long-term branding campaign.2) Executed this through a series of in-depth profiles.3) Achieved consistent, measurable results.4) By year-end 2010, Lake Charles was the No. 1 MSA in U.S. in corporate project activity for metro areas under 200,000 in total population.5) By February 2015, Lake Charles had more industrial projects under construction or planned ($85 billion) than any other metro area in the country.

Marketing Case Study

The starting point for Lake Charles, La.:

Hurricane Rita in October 2005 virtually wiped out the coast of Southwest Louisiana.

Lesson:

Don’t wait for disaster to motivate your community to engage in a strategic, long-term approach to economic development.

Marketing Case Study

Contact Information:

Ron StarnerEVP, Conway Inc., Atlanta, GAPhone: 770-325-3425Email: ron.starner@conway.comWeb: www.siteselection.comTwitter: @RonStarner

Thank You