February 2009
Message from the President
The Oklahoma Business Roundtable continues to support a variety of key projects that help enhance Oklahoma’s overall economic development. These include activities and marketing events focused on business recruitment, expansion and business start-up and entrepreneurship. In most cases, the Roundtable collaborates with primary sponsoring organizations such as the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Governor’s Economic Development Team, Chambers of Commerce and other key partners.
As always, we invite your participation in any of these Roundtable projects and events. .
Just contact us at the Roundtable office.
EDGE Board Requests “Research Priorities” from Roundtable Members
Dr. Paul Risser, Executive Director of the EDGE (Economic Development Generating Excellence), has asked for input on “research priorities” from Business Roundtable member companies. The EDGE Program is expected to complete another multimillion dollar round of funding to qualified technology projects later this year.
Current target sectors include aerospace, agriculture, biotechnology, energy, information technology/telecommunications and weather science. Your recommendations concerning research interests and business sector priorities will be invaluable to the Policy Board as it makes fund allocation decisions.
Several Roundtable members have already arranged for a briefing with Dr. Risser. Please let us know if we can arrange a meeting for you, your research staff or technology experts.
Business Recruitment
Dallas Marketing Event
Dallas continues to be a hub for global site and real estate consultants – who oversee new and expanded facility location searches in our region of the country. Each year, the Roundtable joins with the Governor’s Economic Development Team, Commerce Department and several other partners to host a sales and networking reception at the Oklahoma-owned Hotel ZaZa in Dallas. Last month’s event drew a crowd of over 70 business executives.
Other Recent Events:
Wind Energy Suppliers
Oklahoma recruiters participated in the American Wind Energy Association’s recent supply chain conference. The event attracted 850 executives from a diverse range of industries, including foundries, tooling companies, gearbox manufacturers, railroads and other transportation providers, electronics manufacturers and metal fabricators, as well as state economic development officers. 40 company leads were developed.
Weather Industry Recruitment
A joint University of Oklahoma, Norman and State of Oklahoma business recruitment team participated in the annual American Meteorological Society conference in Phoenix January 12th thru 14th. The goal: attract additional research and manufacturing from weather-related industry to Oklahoma. The delegation sponsored an Opening Reception for over 500 global executives.
Next Recruitment Events
March 8-11 - Orlando, FL - CFO Rising – Annual conference of 300 senior level financial officers, representing target companies for Oklahoma.
March 16-19 - Marseilles, France - European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC) – Europe’ s primary conference for manufacturers and suppliers of wind energy products – many with potential facility projects targeted for North America.
March 31-April 1 - Washington DC - FAA Aviation Forecast Conference – Major government and industry conference featuring all primary aerospace companies and suppliers, including Boeing.
Start-up/Entrepreneurship
First-Ever Statewide Entrepreneurship Conference
The Business Roundtable, along with ODOC, is a sponsor of “Innovation Interactive – The Entrepreneurs Conference”, February 23-24, 2009 at the Embassy Suites in Norman.
The conference will offer entrepreneurs, investors, and companies, a broad range of networking opportunities, informational workshops, and presentations.
Commerce Secretary Natalie Shirley says the goal of the conference is to bring together those interested in starting or growing a business and the service providers that can help them succeed.
Discussions will focus on an array of topics including: trends and tips for maneuvering a fluctuating economy; networking opportunities; strategy for both long range and daily business planning; tools and resources for starting or growing your business; direct access to professional and technical experts; and insight into the needs and challenges of entrepreneurs.
Setting the stage for the conference is keynote speaker Scott Klososky, one of America’s top internet entrepreneurs and a highly sought-after speaker who will share stories from his experiences building successful dot.com companies from conception to execution.
Oklahoma to host 2009 FIRST robotics competition
For the second year in a row, Oklahoma City will host the Oklahoma Regional FIRST Robotics Competition at the Cox Convention Center on Feb. 26-28, 2009. This season, $268,000 in grant money has been given by The State Department of Education, Boeing and NASA to the teams participating in this year’s competition.
The Business Roundtable is a major sponsor of this growing program that focuses on science and math education and career development .
The competition will include 52 teams comprised of 15 to 25 high school and CareerTech students, who work with professional mentors to build remote-controlled robots from a common set of basic parts. Each team will convene during the February regional to compete in high-intensity events over three days that blend the exhilaration of athletic competition with engineering to create a one-of-a-kind sport for the mind.
The grant program was created as part of Oklahoma’s ongoing Creativity Project because it assists in recruiting and nurturing students in the growing STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). er entrepreneurs, investors, and.
Corporate Site Selection Survey – 2009
A 2009 survey by Area Development Magazine ranks the top five site selection factors. These are:
- Highway Accessibility
- Labor Costs
- Construction and Occupation Costs
- Tax Incentives
- Energy Costs and Availability
One of the nation’s top site consultants, Gary Yates of Jones Lang LaSalle, gave the following overview:
“Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The bad news is that planned new facilities and planned expansions are down for this year. The good news is that both planned new facilities and planned expansions are reportedly higher for next year. While many of the respondents say the economy has affected growth plans, 62 percent have new facilities planned in one to four years (and that’s up from 51 percent in 2007, 54 percent in 2006, and 55 percent in 2005). In the world of economic development and site selection consulting, this translates to a lot of due diligence work now…but with delayed gratification.
It is clear that cost savings will be driving all near-future site selections. Four of the top-five site selection factors are directly related to cost. The number-one factor, highway accessibility, could arguably be a cost component. Tax exemptions have shot from tenth place to fourth, despite 50 percent of respondents saying tax incentives have fallen short. This is an opportunity for communities…in this time of high unemployment, job creation opportunities should be viewed as a win for the community, and the tax breaks to the new companies are a win for them. In 2009, expect many companies to be shopping for reduced cost locations in preparation for an optimistic economic market.”
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