Erie County Economic Development Corporation

2011 Community Report

March, 2012

Dear Community Partners:

2011 marked my first year as Executive Director with the Erie County Economic Development Corporation (ECEDC). I am excited to report that our 2011 action plan was fully implemented and its respective programs and initiatives are already producing positive results.

Additionally we have changed the way we communicate and interact with our many stakeholders by making them part of the extended economic development team and by sharing more information with them. With 2011 now behind us, we want to thank you for your continued support. It is because of your efforts and involvement, that we have achieved these results.

2011 also marked a year of change for Erie County strategically, as we joined the Northeast Ohio economic region under JobsOhio. As one of six JobsOhio network partners across the state, Team NEO will operate the JobsOhio regional office in Northeast Ohio. In addition to Team NEO’s role of marketing the region and attracting new businesses, it will facilitate the development of a regional economic strategy, increase collaboration among the region’s key economic development groups, and assist companies and communities that are seeking support from JobsOhio for growth and job creation.  We are excited to work with our new partner, Team NEO.

This regional shift brings tremendous opportunities to Erie County and the region as a whole. We now have access to a first class network, and partners like Team NEO, Jumpstart, Magnet, Greater Cleveland Partnership, GLIDE and many more to help us achieve our goals of job growth, job retention and job attraction.

Our unemployment has steadily decreased over the last 15 months, and - for the first time - Erie County based businesses have a support platform they can count on. Our newly implemented RISE – Regional Incubator for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship, as well as our business expansion and retention program (BEAR), are designed to serve start-up and existing businesses, address challenges they might face, or create new opportunities in Erie County.

Other initiatives, such as our lead referral initiative, as well as the creation of a countywide economic development task force, were focused around transparency, collaboration and communication.

We now have created a solid foundation for economic development in Erie County and I am confident that our actions will have a sustainable impact on economic growth in Erie County and the region.

While we are nowhere near done, in economic development you never are, I am excited about what we have achieved in this year.  I am also very excited every time I see the natural and man-made assets we have to promote economic development in Erie County and our region.

I am looking forward to continuing to work with you to create business friendly communities in Erie County.

Best regards,

Peter Zaehringer

Executive Director

Erie County Economic Development Corporation

2011 Highlights

• Implemented Regional Incubator for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship – RISE

RISE helps start-up and existing businesses with business plan development, viability analysis, sales and marketing support, employee training and development, access to capital and much more – RISE is located at BGSU Firelands campus in Huron, OH.

• RISE currently serves 24 clients with a total of 127 employees
• RISE clients represent a variety of industries, such as manufacturing, service and retail
• Created 3-year strategic plan for RISE

• Implemented Business Expansion and Retention Program - BEAR

This program is designed to continuously communicate with the business community and capture the businesses’ ideas, plans and concerns and inform them of local, State and Federal programs and incentives. If there is a concern, BEAR will relay the information to the appropriate partner and/or community.

• Since its start in September, BEAR reached out to 68 companies
• Surveyed/visited 18 companies
• Expansion and retention opportunities (estimates):
  • Capital investment potential:      $12 MM
  • Job creation potential:                 235
  • Jobs to be retained:                    185

The following table represents the number of companies contacted, by community:

The Following table represents the number of visitations, by community:

• More Facts:

Among the completed projects in 2011 were Johns Manville, Adrienne’s Gourmet Foods, Kalahari and various others. The totals for these 9 completed projects are:

2011 Completed projects:

• Job creation:                  327
• Job retention:                 33

We currently work with a variety of companies, investors and partners on 33 projects that originated in 2011. These projects vary greatly in capital investment amounts, job creation & retention potential and are still in progress:

In-progress projects (estimates):

• Job creation:                  374
• Job retention:                 800

Our work on these projects is done in conjunction with staff members of Erie Regional Planning, the cities of Sandusky, Huron, Vermilion, Milan and Berlin Heights, and the local townships.

• Hosted Business Roundtable with Senator Brown’s Office
  • Over 100 businesses attended ECEDC’s first workshop at BGSU Firelands
  • Topics included “what the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act means for your business”, “what the new tax relief act means for your business” and informed participants of loan programs with the Small Business Administration, energy efficiency incentives for businesses, how to receive export assistance and increase export sales, and how to sell to the federal government.

• Created Countywide Economic Development Task Force
  • This group consists of various economic development practitioners in Erie County and addresses current development opportunities and shares various other economic development related information. The Task Force typically meets bi-monthly.

• Implemented Lead Referral Initiative
  • Created database to share attraction and retention leads with stakeholders and partners countywide.
  • In 2011 we distributed 27 leads and received 32 responses

• Transition from Toledo to Cleveland Region
  • Worked with Team NEO to ensure smooth transition from Toledo’s economic region to Cleveland’s economic region under JobsOhio’s newly designed economic development regions.
  • Team NEO is already actively supporting projects and initiatives in Erie County.

   

• ECEDC Board Appointments
  • Erie County Chamber of Commerce
  • Lake Erie Shores and Islands
  • Goodwill Industries of Erie, Huron, Ottawa and Sandusky Counties