How companies make decisions of where to locate new facilities

1. ©2013GAIN
TARGETED BUSINESS ATTRACTION
The Site Selection Process

2. ©2013GAIN
⠕ Partners - Fred Burkhardt & Greg Fullington
⠕ Comprehensive Economic Development Services
⠕ Business Retention, Expansion, Recruitment and
Marketing
⠕ Exclusive GAINtrax Database:
⠕ Tracks Domestic Corporations
⠕ Covering 40 Specific Business and Industrial Sectors
⠕ 35 Major National/International Site Selection Firms

3. ©2013GAIN
Phase 1 – Project Planning
Phase 2 – Community Screening
Phase 3 – Site Visits
Phase 4 – Final Assessment

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⠕ Company Needs Are Aligned with Business Goals
⠕ Needs Drive The Parameters of the Location Search
⠕ Needs Determine Which Communities Are Chosen.

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⠕ Main Reasons Why a Business May Decide to Seek a
Site:
⠕ Proximity to Its Customers
⠕ Establish a Strategic Presence in a New Market
⠕ Better Labor Force
⠕ Changes/Limitations in Logistics
⠕ Financial Advantages

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Typical
Preliminary Pool
93%
Pool after 1st Cut
6%
Finalists
1%
THREE STAGES OF THE TYPICAL SITE SELECTION PROCESS

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Corporate CEO
5%
Corporate CFO
35%
Corporate COO
25%
Outside Real
Estate Brokers
10%
Site Selectors
25%
65% OF ALL SEARCHES ARE CONDUCTED BY CORPORATE
EXECUTIVES

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Dialogue with
industry peers
Articles in
newspapers &
magazines
Rankings/Surveys Meetings with
economic
development
organizations
Business Travel
50.4%
46.0%
35.6%
28.0% 27.2%
THE FIVE TOP INFLUENCERS OF EXECUTIVE PERCEPTIONS

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Wall Street Journal
Daily/Local Newspapers
The New York Times
Industry & Trade Magazines
The Economist
Bloomberg Business Week
Forbes
USA Today
Financial Times
CFO Magazine
Time

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⠕ Specific critical factors often limit or eliminate
states & communities
⠕ Manufacturing & distribution operations are first
narrowed by the analysis of
⠕ Logistics
⠕ Freight Costs
⠕ Time to Market

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⠕ Proximity to Customers
⠕ Labor Costs
⠕ Labor Skill Levels
⠕ State & Local Business
Climate
⠕ Minimum or Maximum
Size of Community
⠕ Access to Internet
⠕ Proximity to Highways and
Commercial Transportation
⠕ Viability of Industrial Buildings
⠕ Seismic & Climatic factors
⠕ Availability and Reliability
of Utilities
⠕ Security

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⠕ Communities are Cut from the Short List Because:
⠕ They Do Not Meet Project Requirements
⠕ Have Not Communicated that they Can Meet
Project Requirements
⠕ Substandard State of Readiness

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⠕ The Requests for Detailed Information Begins
⠕ Can Be Made Directly and Indirectly
⠕ Through the State or Other Points of Contact.
⠕ Their Decision Process is Now on a Tight Time Frame.
⠕ Little Time Research and Package the Required
Information
⠕ Requires Development of a Package Meeting Basic
Standards
⠕ Individually Customized to Meet the Specific Request

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⠕ Leading employers
⠕ Status of unionization
⠕ Workforce educational level
⠕ Access to continuing
education & training
⠕ Payroll costs
⠕ Average Salaries
⠕ Utilities
(Capacity, Reliability & Cost)
⠕ Access to suppliers
⠕ Presence of competitors
⠕ Quality of life, along the lines
important to the company
⠕ Statutory process
⠕ State & local incentives
⠕ Real Estate Availability
⠕ Relocation Incentives
⠕ Other areas TBD
DATA POINTS NORMALLY REQUIRED FOR
EVALUATION

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⠕ Labor
⠕ Utilities
⠕ Transportation
⠕ Taxes
⠕ Real Estate
⠕ Travel
⠕ Communications
⠕ Availability of Quality Labor
⠕ Quality of Education & Training
⠕ Transportation & Utility
services
⠕ Cost of Living
⠕ Quality of Life
⠕ Leadership Attitudes
⠕ Real Estate Availability
COST FACTORS NON-COST FACTORS

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⠕ IF THE PROSPECT IS AT THIS STAGE, YOU’RE ON THE
SHORT LIST
⠕ Project Teams: Site Consultant, Client Members, State/Local Personnel
⠕ Length of Visit - Usually One Full Day
⠕ May Visit Multiple Area Sites
⠕ Considerations: Community Image, Neighborhoods, Housing & Quality
of Life
⠕ May Meet with Major Employers & Local Elected Leaders
⠕ May Request a Preliminary Incentive Package
⠕ Very Mindful of the Degree of Cooperation and Professionalism
Demonstrated by the Community

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⠕ Real Discussions About Incentives Now Take Place
⠕ A Final Report is Prepared that Includes:
⠕ Refined Operating Cost Pro Forma
⠕ Recommendation of Final Preferred Site

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⠕ Prospect Review and Assessment of:
⠕ Incentives
⠕ Real Estate
⠕ Overall Community
⠕ Review of Final Rankings
⠕ Notification of final location

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Newspapers
& Magazines
Internet
Social Media
Conferences
& Trade
Shows
Financial
Reports
Industry
Trends
Databases
80
%
70
%
60
%
50
%
Community Profile &
Resource Assessment
Community
Demographics
Available Sites &
Buildings
Government Attitude
Taxes & Incentives
Workforce
Characteristics
Company Profile &
Needs Assessment
Access to Market
Access to Raw
Materials
Access to Labor
Special Needs
Cost of Operating
Drill Down produces pools of firms that
match the target profile. GAIN considers an
80% match as a high value target for
recruitment