“This is important because by attending events and meeting face-to-face with these audiences, we continue to be visible and top-of-mind amongst the best site selection consultants nationally and globally,” said Gary Thompson, executive vice president, business development, RGP.

Throughout the third quarter, Thompson attended events in places such as Denver, Quebec City and Detroit, meeting with site selectors, corporate real estate professionals, and market channel partners, many involved with current location searches.

“Our purpose is to strengthen and build new relationships, uncover potential leads and projects, and learn about industry trends and competitive market intelligence,” he said.

At the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) event in Traverse City, Mich., Thompson was joined by the “who’s who” of the automotive/mobility world, with key executives from across the landscape attending. Along with JobsOhio, 10 additional regional partners attended the August event.

Thompson said a major takeaway was the auto industry’s recognition of the challenges, and willingness to address such challenges, related to the mass marketing and production of electric vehicles. The industry, Thompson said, is not monolithic in its thinking, and is committed to an intellectual discussion of best practices to utilize limited minerals in the effort to decarbonize automotive fleets.

A special social event at the conference is the annual RGP Casino Night, attended this year by 350 people (63% of all attendees). Attractive raffle prizes were awarded, all carrying a Northwest Ohio theme.

Potential leads were discovered with follow-up meetings planned.

“In each interaction we have with consultants or corporate real estate executives, we have the opportunity to offer Northwest Ohio as a solution to their or their client’s needs, and those one-on-one conversations often result in a follow-up call or an RFI request,” Thompson said.

In traveling to Denver for the Logistics Development Forum, Thompson joined industry professionals and stakeholders in hearing latest trends in the market. The conference, limited to just 60 attendees, also discussed creative methods to kickstart attraction programs for logistics. Thompson added he was able to meet one-on-one with seven consultants, both for networking and the discussion of possible projects.

The Site Selectors Guild event in Detroit allowed Thompson the opportunity to share information on available industrial properties in Northwest Ohio with more than a dozen site selectors. This led to multiple project discussions with development teams and consultants.

Finally, at the IAMC Forum in Quebec City, Thompson gained a better understanding of the auto supply chain across the U.S/Canadian border, particularly the impact on commerce with the new Gordie Howe bridge. Thompson called attention to several connections he made with industrial developers expressing interest in Ohio.