Economy & Economic Development  May 11, 2007

More prospects knock on NoCo’s door

Northern Colorado’s two main economic development agencies are both reporting soaring interest from prospective employers shopping for expansion or relocation space.

At the same time, officials at Upstate Colorado Economic Development, based in Greeley, and Loveland-based Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. say they are working more cooperatively than ever before.

“An office of this size will typically process 10 to 12 site visits in the course of a year,” Upstate President Larry Burkhardt said. “Just in the past six weeks we’ve had seven of them, and at least three of those are companies that have come back for repeat visits.”

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While the numbers recorded at NCEDC are not quite as dramatic, they do show that the region is more prominently on the site-selection map than ever before.

Through April, the agency hosted 10 visitations from company delegations or consultants representing prospective employers.

“We’re already at 75 percent of last year’s total,” NCEDC Vice President Jacob Castillo said. “We’re getting more qualified interest, late-stage interest, from these companies. There are a couple that have been out here more than a few times.”

Why the sudden bubble of interest in Northern Colorado from outside the region?

In part, it’s because of a relatively new relationship between the two regional agencies and the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., a group that has become the biggest source of referrals for Upstate Colorado and that has a growing influence on NCEDC’s fortunes, as well.

A recent and notable case in point is the arrival of Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the Danish manufacturer of wind turbines that leads the world in that industry, to a site just east of Windsor at the Great Western Industrial Park.

Vestas executives have said the collaboration among the economic development groups in Denver and in Northern Colorado was a key in the company’s decision-making process.

Steering prospects northward

As industrial sites in the Denver metro region fill, especially those that feature rail service – a critical ingredient of all three recent Great Western arrivals – the state’s northern tier has emerged as an increasingly important resource for the Denver-based agency.

“The big advantage for us is that we have more options to show companies,´ said Tom Clark, executive vice president of Metro Denver EDC. “The more options you can put in front of your customer, the more likely they’ll stay with you and not stray elsewhere.”

Some of the biggest success stories in the past several years have been told on the Weld side of the county line, with Vestas, glass-bottle manufacturer Owens-Illinois Inc. and ethanol producer Front Range Energy Inc. all choosing Great Western sites being marketed by Denver-based Broe Cos.

The three represent nearly 60 so-called “primary” jobs, those paying wages well above the regional median and that spur the economy with spin-off employment.

Larimer County, and Fort Collins in particular, has enjoyed a resurgence in its high-tech economy during the past year, with NCEDC active in the efforts to retain chip-maker Intel Corp. and digital mapping company Technigraphics Inc. The group was also instrumental in luring Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to a southeast Fort Collins site near Intel’s new home.

Important partnerships

“The growth that we’ve seen, not just in our organization but those with whom we partner, has been phenomenal,” Castillo said. “Our relationship with Upstate is closer now than it’s ever been. The partnerships have been a long time in the making, and now we’re starting to see the fruits of our labor in making this work.”

Castillo and Burkhardt both said that as the number of inquiries rises, so, too, does the quality of the prospects. Both groups report fewer “tire-kickers” and a greater number of prospects who make repeat visits.

Sectors represented among the companies showing interest in Northern Colorado run the economic gamut.

“We still seem to be attractive to customer service and back-office businesses,” Castillo said, referring to that sector covered by the broader “call center” label. “But we’ve also been dealing with several biotechnology companies and some significant clean-energy companies, as well. And it’s not just for research, but for manufacturing.”

Officials at both agencies said announcements of new deals were in the offing within the next few weeks. Burkhardt said he would announce the first week of June a new user for the long-vacant Flextronics Inc. building in Longmont, an industrial site that fronts the east side of Interstate 25 in southern Weld County.

Large-scale printing company Advance Direct Inc., formerly of Boulder, recently closed on the building and will bring 100 jobs to the site.

Castillo said the region’s profile had risen among site-selection consultants from throughout the nation.

“I think more and more, this region is being recognized by other metro areas around the country as a place where a company can do quality research, have a quality work force, and have a quality lifestyle,” Castillo said. “The clients we’re seeing are also wanting to see collaboration and partnership. They know now that they’re going to get a team effort.”

Northern Colorado’s two main economic development agencies are both reporting soaring interest from prospective employers shopping for expansion or relocation space.

At the same time, officials at Upstate Colorado Economic Development, based in Greeley, and Loveland-based Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. say they are working more cooperatively than ever before.

“An office of this size will typically process 10 to 12 site visits in the course of a year,” Upstate President Larry Burkhardt said. “Just in the past six weeks we’ve had seven of them, and at least three of those are companies that have come back for repeat visits.”

While the numbers…

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