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Regional Economic Growth
and Vitality
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Attracting
and Growing Businesses of the Future
This initiative’s goal is to create, attract, retain and expand
businesses that add vitality to the entire St. Louis region.
As the RCGA economic development arm, the Greater St. Louis Economic
Development Council and the economic development staff at the RCGA
provide services that will help the RCGA and the region fulfill
this vital goal.
Above:
Jan Newton Vice Chairman Greater St. Louis Economic Development
President Southwestern Bell–Missouri
Campaign for a Greater St. Louis
Created by the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council and
the RCGA, the original Campaign for a Greater St. Louis raised $12
million in commitments from more than 200 investors to support programs
and initiatives to improve St. Louis’ regional business development.
The ultimate goal was to create 100,000 net new jobs by the end
of the year 2000; create strong “deal-making” capacities; and assume
marketing responsibilities for the area’s “products.” The RCGA’s
programs together with the efforts of our regional partners helped
to create more than 115,500 net new jobs putting the region over
its goal at the end of 2000. The first six years have been ones
of progress and positive growth. We now have the opportunity to
build upon this success—to sustain this momentum. The new $15 million,
five-year campaign continues to pursue economic development in the
traditional sense with an emphasis on creating 35,000 high-quality,
high-paying jobs in distinctive industry clusters such as plant/life
sciences, information technologies and advanced manufacturing.
Greater St. Louis Economic Development Network
Product development and marketing is most effective when teamwork
is the standard. The Greater St. Louis Economic Development Network
is a collaborative group of more than 100 regional economic development
professionals representing state, county and local jurisdictions,
working toward the common goal of greater economic growth for metropolitan
St. Louis. This collaborative effort has established an effective
process whereby the RCGA is positioned as a “one-stop shop” for
business development in the St. Louis region.
Business Development Retain and Expand Existing Businesses
The first priority is to nurture what is already thriving. The number
one mission of the RCGA’s economic development continues to be retaining
the region’s existing businesses and helping them expand. Existing
companies are vital to the region, because an estimated two-thirds
of the new jobs created in the region will result from the growth
of existing companies.
Attract New Businesses
Economic development must also continue to focus its efforts on
attracting new or relocated jobs into the St. Louis region. In these
cases, the RCGA acts as a “neutral civic broker” to assemble competitive
economic development packages for prospects on behalf of the entire
region.
A sampling of business attraction successes and existing business
expansions in 2001 include:
- International
headquarters of Junior Chamber International relocation
from Coral Gables, Fla., and the creation of 40 new jobs
- International
headquarters of Hardee’s Food Systems, Inc. relocation
from Anaheim, Calif. and North Carolina creating 35 new
jobs and $1.8 million capital investment
- Edward
Jones $74 million, 94,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art
data center to support the company’s financial services
worldwide operations creating 30 new jobs
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Magellan Behavioral Science $47 million expansion of its
national technology administrative and customer care center
resulting in the retention of 800 existing jobs and the
creation of 504 new jobs
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AFNI Insurance Solutions Group regional office creating
50 new jobs and $300,000 capital investment
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FedEx Ground $20.5 million, 162,000-square-foot facility
creating 70 new jobs
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Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., 450,000-square-foot distribution
center creating 120 new jobs and $3 million capital investment
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Wyeth BioPharma $20 million expansion creating 80 new
jobs and $150 million expansion creating 100 new jobs
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Target Marketing
and National Media Relations
The RCGA works to provide the St. Louis region nationally and internationally
to companies in a position to invest in the region. A focused marketing
campaign targets those industries and operations for which the St.
Louis region provides business-operating advantages. The RCGA also
focuses its marketing efforts on the distinctive industry clusters
including plant/life science, advanced manufacturing, information
technologies, and distribution/transportation. Through a variety
of marketing tactics, the RCGA is helping to generate excitement
and interest in business opportunities in the St. Louis region.
Above:
(Left to right): David Darnell, president Central Banking Group
for Bank of America and RCGA board vice chair for economic development;
Jay Fitzsimmons, president and CEO of GKN Aerospace Services–St.
Louis; Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr; Evans Richardson, staff director,
state and local Government Affairs The Boeing Company; and Dick
Fleming, president and CEO of the RCGA, were all involved in bringing
GKN Aerospace Services–St. Louis to the region. Jay Fitzsimmons
addressed the initial 2001 Campaign for a Greater St. Louis Investor
Council Meeting in early May.
Components of the comprehensive marketing effort include research,
direct mail, trade shows, targeted national and local advertising,
marketing events and one-on-one meetings. In a major recruitment
effort, the economic development staff conducts more than 12 proactive
business trips to several target geographic regions across the U.S.
and overseas to meet one-on-one with prospects and consultants.
As an example, the RCGA travels to cities such as Atlanta, Chicago
and Dallas, to host prospects and site location consultants in conjunction
with St. Louis’ world-known professional sports teams.
Each year, the RCGA hosts the Gateway Site Selection Conference
in an effort to provide prospects and site location consultants
a low-pressure look at the advantages of operating a business and
living in the St. Louis region. Participants meet in St. Louis for
a three-day blitz of the region including a helicopter tour and
regional economic briefing. The site selection conference also typically
includes a dinner with St. Louis area business executives at a St.
Louis cultural venue such as the Saint Louis Art Museum, and it
concludes with a Cardinals baseball game.
An additional component to the national marketing tactics is exhibiting
at industry trade shows within the distinctive industry clusters.
A new multi-paneled banner exhibit and collateral brochures customized
to the specific industry cluster reinforces the advantages of operating
a business in the St. Louis region. In 2001, the RCGA staff and
members of the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Network partnered
to successfully exhibit at the Black Enterprise/Bank of America
Entrepreneurs Conference, The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
International Exhibition, Supply Chain Expo (targeting distribution
and transportation segments) and BIO 2001 (targeting plant and life
sciences segments.)
The RCGA also takes on a rigorous national media relations program
to increase St. Louis’ visibility to the national and international
press. Not only does such attention strengthen our position within
our own community, it gives us the opportunity to send our message
to business leaders through a dynamic, targeted national and international
media relations program.
Just as the RCGA focuses its marketing efforts on distinct industry
clusters, cultivates editorial opportunities with trade publications
in the distinct industry clusters and meets one-on-one with editors
in New York and Chicago on an annual basis to cultivate relationships
and pitch story ideas. The St. Louis region was recognized in several
national publications in 2001 including:
- Nikkei
Business Daily, the Wall Street Journal of Japan,
published two stories about the growth of plant and life
sciences in the St. Louis.
- “BioBelt:
The Center for Plant and Life Science” was featured in
Fortune magazine’s special section “Biotechnology
Innovative Companies Shaping the 21st Century.”
- The
Wall Street Journal highlighted the St. Louis region’s
plant and life science initiatives pointing out St. Louis’
strengths including Monsanto, the Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center, Washington University’s research capability,
and the RCGA’s focus on this industry cluster.
- The
St. Louis region was the centerpiece of the “Missouri
Spotlight” feature story on plant and life sciences in
Site Selection magazine.
- Neal
Peirce, the Washington Post’s nationally-syndicated urban
affairs columnist wrote a piece on the region’s plant
and life science efforts entitled, “BioBelt St. Louis
– Could It Be True?”
- “St.
Louis Heart of the BioBelt” received significant coverage
surrounding the BIO 2001 International Conference receiving
mentions in more than 20 business and scientific Web sites
and highlights in the Boston Herald, The Atlanta
Journal Constitution, and the San Diego Union Tribune.
- Business
Week magazine featured an insert spotlighting Missouri
in its annual “Investment Outlook” magazine. The St. Louis
region and the plant and life science cluster development
initiative received significant copy in the story. The
insert also carried a full-page, four-color BioBelt ad.
- FacilityCity,
a top source for corporate site selectors ranked St. Louis
as the 10th most wired city in the nation ahead of high-tech
powerhouses such as Boston, Denver, Salt Lake City and
Seattle.
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