National Site Consultants Get Educated on Northwest Ohio TOLEDO, Ohio – September 18, 2007
The Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) recently hosted a national site consultant event to showcase and promote the strengths and assets for businesses in northwest Ohio.
The event was intended to provide valuable information about the local market to site consultants, who are often regarded as key decision makers in corporate expansion projects.
Don Bain Jr., a principal with the Staubach Company who attended the event, said he discovered some new things about the Toledo area and complimented the regional collaboration.
“The most lasting, significant and important bit of information learned was the competitive advantage that you have created by truly teaming the public and private sectors with the RGP and Port Authority to create deal-making synergies that are very difficult to find in the marketplace,” Bain said. “Many locations have land and incentives, but very few bring it all together in a one-stop shop to win business.”
Regional partners from the public and private sectors helped in developing an information-packed agenda that included such topics as workforce and training, logistics, telecommunications, energy and incentives. The consultants were also treated to a Mud Hens game at Fifth Third Field as well as a post-game hotdog at Tony Packo’s.
“Toledo is one of those cities that will really surprise you if you haven’t visited in a few years,” said Tim Smith, a business development manager with the Austin Company, who also participated in the event. “The No. 1 thing that impresses me about Toledo is the quality of the people and their desire to help you. Toledo is a city on the move and a great place to live and locate a business.”
With site consultants being a major focus of its strategic plan, the RGP will continue such outreach efforts, including direct visits to consultants in regional markets.
“This type of initiative is very important to the regional economic development efforts of northwest Ohio,” said Scott Libbe, executive vice president, Rudolph/Libbe Inc. It is critical, Libbe added, to take advantage of every opportunity to educate professional site consultants about the benefits of doing business in this region.
Libbe, who is also an RGP board member, was part of a lunch group with site consultants that included University of Toledo President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs, who highlighted the benefits and opportunities through the UT and former MUO merger. In addition, Paul Toth from the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, shared some of the agency’s unique financing opportunities.
The Regional Growth Partnership is a private nonprofit development corporation dedicated to fostering local, national and international economic growth opportunities for northwest Ohio.