Local economic development efforts were somewhat hampered in the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there were still some successes, said Jason Hester, president of the Greater Columbus Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Hester updated the Columbus City Council Tuesday night on the agency’s activities in 2020 and early 2021.
He reminded the council that pre-COVID, the EDC traveled the globe "in search of new, appropriate, well-paying jobs and capital-investment opportunities.” Staff were also reaching out to site selectors or site consultants at different events and attended domestic trade shows in order to meet prospects.
"All of that, of course, came to a grinding halt last year," Hester said. "…We had to pivot to the virtual world. We had to figure out new ways to still get our message of Columbus, Indiana being an ‘unexpected, unforgettable’ place to do business — we had to figure out new ways to get that message in front of prospects."
These new methods included virtual meetings. The EDC was able to meet with 59 site selectors in 2020, with 50 of the meetings being virtual, he said. They were also able to hold virtual prospect meetings with companies in Germany this past June.
The EDC also worked to ramp up its promotional outreach in 2020. These efforts included special "magic mailer" e-mails and custom mailer boxes.
For the latter promotion, the Packaging Corporation of America designed and developed custom Columbus mailer boxes. The boxes were sent out to 150 of the EDC’s "top targets" after being filled with a bevy of Columbus-related items, including engraved YETI tumblers and face masks from the Tony London Company, sunglasses, Blairex Breathe Free Essentials products and special video cards about the Columbus area. The design work and video cards were done by TD Advertising.
Hester estimated that the EDC spent about $34,000 on this particular promotional effort.
"That was something we would not do on a regular basis, but it was certainly a way for us to get ourselves in front of companies and site selectors that we were not able to meet in person," he said.
Hester said that over the last year, the EDC had more than 11,000 "direct and digital impressions," up from about 8,700 the year before.
Projects and prospects
The EDC hosted six active projects for site visits in 2020, which had to be outdoors due to pandemic rules. Prospect visits were down significantly from 2019 due to a lack of in-person opportunities.
However, there were 53 active project inquiries that came to the EDC’s office, Hester said.
"Seventy percent of those are looking for an existing building, of which we do not have many," he said. "We were able to submit on 27 of those. So far this year, we’ve actually already received 23 project opportunities, but unfortunately, we’ve only been able to submit on four of those so far."
In some cases, this is due to a lack of available buildings. Another factor is that some projects have extremely high utility requirements, he said.
The year 2020 also saw a downswing from past three-year averages on investment. From 2017-19, there was a yearly average of $98.1 million in capital investments and 234 new jobs. There was also an average of eight projects per year.
In 2020, there were $27.7 million in announced capital investments and 62 new jobs. The year saw six projects, which were all expansions.
2021 has already seen an uptick in investment, with three projects so far (one attraction and two expansions), with $106.8 million in capital investment announced, and 107 new jobs are expected.
From August of 2010 to present, the EDC has tracked over a billion dollars in capital investment and pledged creation of more than 3,200 jobs, Hester said.
The EDC would’ve hit the billion dollar mark last year if not for the slowdown of the pandemic. However, a recent announcement from Ninth Avenue Foods to build a plant here has pushed the EDC past that milestone.
Ninth Avenue and diversification
Ninth Avenue Foods had an initial site visit in January of 2021 and later had multiple follow-up visits. The California-based beverage production company then announced that it would locate its new Midwest headquarters and production facility in Columbus, a $103.5 million dollar investment. City council approved a tax abatement for the project earlier this year.
On a related note, Hester said that food and beverage manufacturing is "really on the rise" and is being evaluated by the EDC as a potential diversification target, though it has not yet been adopted as an official goal.
In discussing diversification, Hester said that while Columbus area is already strong in certain sectors, including automotive and engine manufacturing, the EDC is looking to "diversify that portfolio while still playing to our strengths."
Their diversification targets include pharmaceutical manufacturing; engineering/R&D services; aerospace and defense component manufacturing; and cybersecurity.
Back to in-person
In addition to new investment and diversification, Hester said that 2021 has also seen a return of some in-person outreach and events.
"Just last week, our region hosted an inbound FAM tour, familiarization tour, by six national-level site selectors," he said. "That was May 13 and 14. One of those VIP guests stayed with us for an extra day for some additional Columbus time."
Another site selector visit is planned for Memorial Day weekend.
Hester will soon attend his first live conference in over a year. The event is a consultant forum, scheduled to be held in Richmond, Virginia at the end of June.
Other upcoming events are either virtual or "still in the air." He also stated that the EDC does not currently have any plans for outbound international travel.
"The conditions would have to greatly improve around the world before we would be able to pursue another FDI trip … as far as during this year," he said.
Other projects
The EDC’s current projects include continuing work on the former Walesboro Airport redevelopment opportunity and "identifying other suitable areas." They also plan to collaborate with local and regional stakeholders, including other counties, on applying for an Indiana READI grant.
In addition, due to having some of its budget still available (in part, due to travel cancellations), the EDC has created a special project fund. The fund encompasses $101,250 for four initiatives.
One $38,250 initiative, aimed at supporting working parents, is funding a pilot project offering transportation and scholarships at Foundation For Youth’s summer youth camp.
"That is to offer a transportation shuttle service, if you will, for employees who work in the Woodside industrial park area, who otherwise might not be able to get their kids to youth camp," Hester said.
He explained that employees who are unsure of what to do with their children in the summer may choose to stop working, so the initiative is aimed at providing access to quality childcare so that parents can continue working.
Other initiatives in the special project fund include attraction and promotional efforts.
