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Target Sector ReportI. INTRODUCTION The Leak-Goforth Company with offices in Jacksonville, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina was hired by Gerogetown County in November 2002 to conduct an assessment of Georgetown County’s strengths and weaknesses from the economic development perspective leading to the development of a target industry and marketing report. Bob Leak and Bob Goforth, principals of the firm, visited Georgetown County on several occasions to gather data and information to determine which businesses and industries the Georgetown County Economic Development Commission (EDC) should target for recruitment to the County. The target determinations are developed based on a number of key factors as follows:
The consultants conducted personal interviews with numerous public and private opinion leaders. We studied the Georgetown County Economic Development Marketing Plan prepared by Semaphore, Inc., in December, 2000. We studied the Georgetown County ESP 20/20 Update (Economic Strategic Plan). We discussed the EDC’s goals and strategies for 2002/2003 with County staff and members of the Commission’s Board of Directors. We investigated the County’s available sites, buildings and infrastructure and we discussed the capabilities of the County’s workforce and training with the South Carolina Employment Security Commission and the Occupational Training and Development Organization serving Georgetown County. We gathered data about the new industry training program of the Horry/Georgetown Technical College. We received detailed information about the exciting Arcadia East Plantation proposed development and discussed with the developer’s representative how the project fits into Georgetown County’s future economic development plans. We evaluated the County’s liveability as a place where business managers would want to live with their families. All in all we believe we have gained valuable insights into what Georgetown County is all about and we believe the recommendations we are making in this report are doable and affordable and will give the County a better chance at increasing jobs and capital investment. II. STENGTHS/WEAKNESSESS ASSESSMENT For an assessment
of the County the consultants relied somewhat on the results of the three focus
groups surveyed by the Semaphore organization in late 2000. The focus group included the County
EDC, community leaders in industry, education and community affairs and the
Economic Development Alliance. Based on the results of the responses by these groups and reinforced by
our own discussions with community leaders we believe the following strengths
and weaknesses accurately depict Georgetown county’s potential as a location
for economic development projects. Strengths are positive factors to market and build on. Weaknesses are negative factors to mitigate or otherwise improve upon.
The interview process also identified what the leadership wanted to see happen in Georgetown as the result of a successful business/industry targeting effort and a successful marketing campaign. The leadership vision for the foreseeable future is as follows:
Port of Georgetown is a highly marketable feature as very few places in the Southeast have a deep water port serving the community. The existence of a port is critical to certain types of business and we believe the EDC should reinvigorate its effort to find those port dependant targets and market directly to them. The Arcadia East Plantation development will provide a combination of a top quality of living and recreational environment with a large (213 ac) state of the art corporate park environment. This will play a major part in Georgetown County’s economic future. Georgetown County’s geographic location between Myrtle Beach and Charleston provides an interesting opportunity for service organizations to be able to work both metro areas from one location in Georgetown County. The service sector of the economy continues to lead all the other sectors in new job creation and should be considered a major target for the EDC. Available reasonably priced sites and buildings in Georgetown County presently gives the EDC some attractive "product"ť to sell thereby giving Georgetown County a competitive advantage over those counties with little or no product available. Lower costs of doing business in Georgetown County including utility costs, wage rates, taxes, etc., is considered a strength especially when comparing Georgetown County’s overall cost with the nearby metro areas of Myrtle Beach and Charleston. We believe the strengths of Georgetown County far outweigh the weaknesses from an economic development point of view. III. TARGET BUSINESS/INDUSTRIES This section presents a strategy for business and industrial development in Georgetown County consisting of three components:
Types of Targets Types of business and industry recommended for the County are based on some combination of the following factors:
Sectors which experienced the greatest growth in terms of announced new and expanded facilities in the US between 1999-2001 include:
Transportation equipment, including motor vehicles, equipment and parts led all others with 2,189 announced new and expanded facilities in the three year period according to industry data compiled by Whittaker Associates, Inc. (See Table 1) other industries with 1,000 or more announced new and expanded facilities included fabricated metal products, machinery, plastics and rubber products, chemicals, food products and computers and electronics. The average new jobs by industry varied from 77 to 254. Needs for new and additional space ranged from 68,000 to 126,000 square feet. Georgetown County will be most appealing to firms requiring 50-200 employees and with space requirements of 40,000 - 125,000 square feet. Location Criteria Various locations in the County have unique strengths which should be capitalized on for target marketing purposes. (See map 1 in Appendix). The following considerations should be used to develop the County’s marketing plan.
Public and Private Action Needed Certain issues should be addressed by action of appropriate organizations to enhance economic development success in the County. We believe the following actions will help remove some negative perceptions.
Recommended Industrial Targets The following targets are recommended for Georgetown County based on the following selection criteria:
ANDREWS AREA This new 500 acre Georgetown County
Business Park with the attractive 40,000 sq.ft. shell industrial building is
definitely a marketable strength, as is the local supply of steel wire by
Georgetown Steel. The
concentration in this location of good metalworking skills (according to the
Employment Security Commission) suggests that the following targets be
developed for this area.
Note: The NAICS code is the new North American Industrial Classification System. Type in NAICS on your browser to see a complete listing. Marketing Strategy We recommend that a pamphlet be developed which features the infrastructure available in the Andrews area for auto parts manufacturing and other steel wire using businesses. Cost data including land and building prices, electric rates (3 cents/kwh), available metalworking skills in 30 mile radius, metalworking wage rates and fringe benefit practices, should all be included in the pamphlet. EDC should concentrate on auto parts companies and should order 50 names and addresses of auto parts companies from Whittaker Associates of Holland, Michigan (616) 786-2255. The companies should be determined to be in a fast growth mode and outgrowing their existing facilities. This information can be determined with a thorough data search by Whittaker and costs approximately $40 per name. When the names have been obtained a personal letter with a copy of the pamphlet should be sent to the personal attention of the contact name. A follow-up telephone call should be made within 1-2 weeks after mailing. Direct mail and pamphlets should also be sent to the principal site selection consultants (see updated list in Appendix). PENNYROYAL ROAD CORRIDOR The consultants are impressed with the Pennyroyal Road Corridor from US 17 to US 17A and US521. The availability of large acreages water and sewer services and the proximity of the four units Winyah Electric Plant and the Sampit River as a receiving stream for treated effluent makes this corridor an ideal location for more light process industries similar to 3V Inc. We suggest the EDC designate the Pennyroyal Road corridor a "Process Industry Corridor"ť and market it to those types of companies. Rail availability may be important to many process industries so the EDC should develop a plan with the CSX Railroad extending the rail to serve sites on the North side of Pennyroyal Road. The following targets should be developed for this Process Industry Corridor.
Marketing Strategy These chemical industry growth targets should be recruited by listing the advantages to light chemical/pharmaceutical manufacturing in the Process Industry Corridor. Play on the low cost of production in this location. These industries are heavily electrical energy dependent and the Santee Cooper power rates will be a significant attraction. Obtain 50 names of companies in these NAICS code industries from Whitaker Associates for a target mailing and telephone follow up. Attendance by EDC staff at a pharmaceutical industry conference could also produce some good contacts. Also send to site consultants. PORT AREA
The Port of Georgetown is a very valuable asset to the economic development strategy of Georgetown County. We have learned there is a nine acre site on deep water at the port. There are also bargeable sites in the area of the port. We believe the port is an advantage for certain companies in the wood products industries and chemical industries locating in the Process Industry Corridor and these should be targeted using the port as a major strength. Electric energy is also important to this industry. The following industries have exhibited strong growth in recent years and are predicted to grow significantly in the future.
Marketing Strategy Produce a pamphlet describing the Georgetown Port, the size and type vessels it can accommodate and the type of commodities now moving through the Port. Describe site opportunities on deep water and barge sites. Discuss the familiarity Georgetown has with the forest industry, skilled workforce, support businesses, low cost reliable power, etc. Obtain 50 names from Whittaker Associates that are fast growing companies in the wood products industry. Direct mail the pamphlets with cover letter and follow-up telephone calls as described above. Also send to site consultants AIRPORT AREA We recommend that Georgetown County obtain the surplus airport property that was created with a runway closure and make the property available as industrial or business sites (Map 2 in Appendix). We suggest that consideration be given to constructing a shell "flex"ť building on one of the airport sites that would appeal to service companies which could provide services to Charleston and Mytrle Beach from a location in Georgetown. These companies frequently use their own aircraft in their marketing activities and a location at the airport would accommodate that interest. The building should have six or eight 5,000 sq.ft. leasable sections each designed for offices in front and a warehouse/shop in the rear with a roll up truck door. One of the building sections would make an ideal location for an entrepreneurial development center that could be operated under and entrepreneurial program of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce if such a program is instituted. This site development could be named the Georgetown Service Industry Center and it should be managed by the EDC. Industry types that should be targeted for this area include the following:
Marketing Strategy Tombstone Advertisements should be placed in the Georgetown, Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Columbia newspapers (we recommend a 3x3 inch ad inserted in the middle of the stock quotation page on Saturday). The ad should promote the "Georgetown Service Industry Center"ť and point out the population within 75 miles that can be serviced from a Georgetown location. If an entrepreneurial program is started in one of the sections of the building this should be marketed locally by the Chamber of Commerce to attract potential small business people to the Center. ARCADIA EAST PLANTATION As noted earlier one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. economy is the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Sector of the economy. The Corporate Park at Arcadia East Plantation will provide a very desirable location for these businesses. Georgetown County is within the realm of the travel destinations of Myrtle Beach and Charleston. Marketing for the Corporate Park should include the many companies that support the tourism industry. The targets for this Corporate Park should include the following businesses:
Marketing Strategy When the Corporate Park is ready at Arcadia East Plantation a joint marketing strategy between the EDC, the Chamber of Commerce and Arcadia East should be arranged so the Corporate Park is given widespread exposure. The effort underway by the EDC to capture executive’s names and corporate affiliations of visitors to the resorts in the area should be continued (be sure to have someone at the Georgetown airport give the EDC the tail numbers and owners name of private aircraft stopping in Georgetown). The persons should receive a brochure on the Corporate Park and the residential and hotel development with follow-up telephone calls. We recommend advertisements in magazines of airlines serving Mytrle Beach and Charleston airports. We also suggest advertising in AOPA the Aircraft owners and Pilots Association magazine for a Corporate Park like Arcadia East. Also, back lighted color photographs of the property in airport terminals like Atlanta are effective in obtaining leads. OTHER OPPORTUNITIES The buildings which have become available in the County in addition to the shell building are attractive facilities and should be appealing to numerous projects looking in the Southeast. The 31,620 sq.ft. Insteel Wire Products building should be marketed to metalworking companies that might be users of Georgetown Steel wire products. Perhaps Georgetown Steel could suggest some specific customers of theirs that the EDC could recruit. The Eagle Electric building is limited in its appeal to most manufacturers due to low ceiling heights. We believe the building could be of interest to back office customer service companies or call centers. We suggest the EDC contact James Beatty of Omaha, NE (402) 572-9292 with details regarding the Eagle Electric building. Jim Beatty is one of the leading back office location consultants in the U.S. INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA 1998-2008 Projections of employment growth made by the South Carolina Employment Security Commission (SCESC) show the companies that should grow significantly during the decade under consideration as well as those with negative growth projections. We are showing the sectors with significant positive growth as a guide to the types of activities that could produce jobs in Georgetown County. (See list in Appendix) For a complete list including those sectors projected to lose employment, go to www.sces.org. IV. CONCLUSIONS The consultants realize there are numerous businesses and industries that are not on our recommended target lists that may have an interest in locating facilitates in Georgetown County. Of course when these companies present themselves they should be recruited as vigorously as possible if they are desirable companies. Our target lists provide specific types of business and industry we believe the EDC should concentrate on with a vigorous marketing effort. We recommend that specific company names be obtained from Whitaker & Associates because, even through expensive, the names will have been developed based on extensive research exclusive to the EDC’s request. The companies Whitaker will provide will be growing companies with a need to find expansion space. We believe these are the best leads that can be obtained for a target marketing effort. The cost is very reasonable compared to cold calling the North and Midwestern United States as a means of developing leads. We wish the EDC and Georgetown County good luck and happy hunting! TABLE 1 LEADING INDUSTRIES IN NUMBER OF ANNOUNCED NEW AND EXPANDED FACILITIES IN THE U.S., 1999-2001
Abbreviations NAICS North American Industry Classification System SF Square Feet Source: Whitaker Associates, Inc.
TABLE 2 1999-2001 Top 3-Digit NAICS Code New and Expanded Facility Analysis for the Southeast
Table 3 Selected Industry/Business Growth Projections in South Carolina 1998-2008
Source: S.C. Employment Security Commission |
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