The Regional Growth Partnership recently hosted a delegation of prominent site consultants to promote the Toledo/Northwest Ohio region as a top location for business investment.
Ten site consultants from across North America made their way to the Toledo region for a three-day event to learn more about the area’s assets. This event, described in the industry as a “FAM (familiarization) Tour,” marked the 11th time the RGP played host to this annual gathering of consultants.
“Site consultants are key targets because they are often engaged by companies looking to expand operations. It is critical that the RGP identify and build relationships with these decision makers"
– Dean Monske, President & CEO, Regional Growth Partnership
The RGP branded and marketed the event as an opportunity for consultants to gather the critical information they deem important, and have it presented by the people they want to hear from – private sector businesses.
These consultants came to the region from all across the country, representing such regions as Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta and Columbus. During the visit, they heard executives at some of the region’s largest companies explain why they chose to invest and do business in Northwest Ohio. Some of the corporate presentations and tours included: CSX, Norfolk Southern, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, PBF Energy, Foundation Steel, Ohio Logistics, Reichle Klein Group and NAI Harmon. In addition, representatives from some of the area’s leading higher educational institutions presented on career tech training, workforce development and engineering programs.
And has become tradition, a special highlight for some of the consultants was a helicopter tour over select Northwest Ohio construction-ready sites and spec buildings.
“This was a great opportunity for me to see the assets of this community and what’s the potential our company might have here. When you’re looking at supply chain, it’s about the intersection of these different modes of transportation – access to waterways, access to railways, access to roadways – it’s all super critical to moving product. And with such accessibility to water and power … we are seeing opportunity for us to look at some data center projects.”
– Gregg Healy, Executive Vice President, Savills
Some other significant topics addressed during the event included:
-
- Northwest Ohio Energy/Power Development Opportunities
- Infrastructure & Talent
- Water tour of cargo/logistics operations at the Port of Toledo spanning the Maumee River
The event ended with some fun and relaxation near the Lake Erie Islands.
“This was a great opportunity for Northwest Ohio to make a strong, face-to-face sales pitch to key decision makers who took the time to visit our backyard,” said Gary Thompson, the RGP’s Executive Vice President. “The idea that this region was able to attract some of the top national site consultants for several days is pretty impressive.”
Besides the FAM Tour, the RGP employs other strategies in reaching these key consultants, most notably, direct, face-to-face meetings in targeted cities across the country and digital communication educating and promoting the assets and development opportunities in Northwest Ohio.
The Regional Growth Partnership is the lead economic development organization serving 17 counties in Northwest Ohio. As a private nonprofit development corporation, the RGP is dedicated to fostering regional, national and international business investment opportunities across the region. The RGP serves as Northwest Ohio’s network partner for JobsOhio. Visit www.rgp.org for more information.