Winter 2011
Ten Notable Collective Economic Development Efforts in the South
Aiken, S.C.'s Center for Hydrogen Research
Energy independence and energy security are becoming increasingly more important in light of global instability. The Center for Hydrogen Research (CHR) in Aiken, S.C. began an initiative several years ago to promote the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier in both on-road and off-road vehicles and as a source of backup power.
The CHR saw the potential for hydrogen fuel cell forklifts in the manufacturing environment as a way to increase productivity and at the same time develop a basic hydrogen infrastructure. The Center worked with local companies on integrating hydrogen fuel cell forklifts into their operations. A hydrogen fueling station was constructed at Sage Mill Industrial Park to service the CHR’s fleet of hydrogen vehicles with the goal of eventually expanding the infrastructure.
On February 11, 2011 a consortium of companies dedicated the first central hydrogen facility in an industrial park in the United States with the express purpose of supplying hydrogen for its tenants. Bridgestone and the Kimberly-Clark distribution center, managed by GENCO ATC, had both integrated hydrogen fuel cell forklifts into their operations. The collaborative efforts of manufacturers, governmental agencies and an economic development organization is a good example of how working together can accomplish a meaningful goal and meet a national need of energy independence.
Lafayette, La.'s Opportunity Machine
Lafayette, La. is a community known for its forward-thinking business and community leaders. Lafayette’s entrepreneurial spirit is what makes the region unique and a perfect test bed for innovative collaborations. The most recent collaboration is the Opportunity Machine (OM). The OM is a business accelerator and incubator focused on developing technology-intensive companies in the region. The OM is creating a technology ecosystem in Lafayette, centered on its members, which spreads throughout the community via education sessions, mentoring and coaching opportunities and community events.
The OM was created by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, the University of Louisiana and the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce as a single vehicle to bring together all of Lafayette’s technological resources and infrastructure for new business development. By working together these entities have launched the OM and other world-class initiatives that impact all areas of Lafayette -- from the education and arts communities to industry to government -- including the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (a collaboration between LEDA, UL Lafayette and the State of Louisiana) and Lafayette’s municipally-owned fiber optic network.
Southern Virginia Regional Alliance
The Southern Virginia Regional Alliance (SVRA) is a new, two-year pilot initiative to regionally market the counties of Halifax, Pittsylvania, Henry and Patrick along with the cities of Danville and Martinsville in Southern Virginia. The SVRA’s mission is to adopt a unified marketing approach that will increase the visibility and awareness of the region resulting in an increase in prospect activity throughout the rural Virginia communities. Funding partners for the SVRA include the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Revitalization Commission and each of the six localities.
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative in Rural Virginia
The previously profiled Southern Virginia Regional Alliance might have not been possible without the collaborative effort put forth to form the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC). In 2003 the MBC was formed to promote economic development in rural Southern Virginia. Thanks to generous grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration and the Virginia Tobacco Commission, MBC built a network that includes over 800 miles of open-access, advanced fiber optic cable. The 400 gigabit-per-second backbone network connects more than 60 business and technology parks in rural Southern Virginia to the Equinix Internet Business Exchange in Ashburn, Va. and the Terremark Exchange in Culpeper, Va., with direct connections through McLean, Va., Richmond, Raleigh and Charlotte and to the TelX Internet Exchange facility in Atlanta.
Montgomery, Ala.’s River Region
What is truly remarkable about Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) selecting Montgomery for its first North American manufacturing plant is that the outlying communities contributed money towards an incentive package for the Korean company.
Prattville, Greenville and Elmore County, Ala. understood the power communities have when they share resources for the common good. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said it took less than three hours for the communities to agree to contribute to the incentive package, ensuring HHI’s $90 million capital investment and the creation of 1,000 jobs. “We compete on the football field Friday nights, but when it comes to economic development we have to think as a region,” said Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Jr. HHI CEO J.S. Lee said Hyundai Heavy chose Montgomery because of the right combination of a warm welcome and hospitality. “The factory will help the local economy by creating new jobs for many citizens in Montgomery and the surrounding area,” Lee said.
The Aerospace Alliance on the Gulf Coast
Even though the Gulf Coast region lost out on the U.S. Air Force's contract to build a new aerial refueling tanker fleet (Boeing won the contract over EADS and will build the planes in Washington State and in Kansas. If it won the contract, EADS would have built the planes in Mobile, Ala. creating tens of thousands of jobs in the Gulf Coast region), The Aerospace Alliance remains one of the South's most notable collaborative economic development efforts.
The Aerospace Alliance is a four-state joint effort to promote the Gulf Coast regions of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi as a center for aviation and aerospace, which it already is actually. The region is supported by a cluster of military bases, NASA facilities and a growing aviation and aerospace industry. The groundwork has been laid by the Aerospace Alliance, even though missing out on the tanker project was a disappointing setback.
Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley ®
Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley ®, home to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, University of Tennessee and Y-12 National Security Complex, is rich in education, workforce development, technology and entrepreneurship, which are the key economic drivers in this regional partnership. Through these drivers, target sectors have been identified and include automotive suppliers, media technology, renewable energy, pleasure boat manufacturing, regional headquarters and shared service centers. Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley is a collaboration of the Blount Chamber, Knoxville Chamber, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, Loudon County Economic Development Agency, Roane Alliance and Tellico Reservoir Development Agency.
Hampton Roads, Va.
The Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (HREDA), created in 2005 as the result of a merger between two regional economic development organizations, represents 10 cities and 5 counties with an overall population of 1.7 million. HREDA focuses solely on marketing the region to attract new businesses to Hampton Roads and works with 14 local economic development departments in accomplishing that mission.
In addition to the collaborative effort between the localities in the region, HREDA’s private investor community supports regional initiatives through commitment of services and funds that allows the organization to develop and maintain robust marketing initiatives. Hampton Roads’ $54 billion economy offers a diverse business environment that includes the Port of Virginia, 180 international companies representing 27 countries, defense and related industries, manufacturing, technology and innovation, and tourism.
Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance
Five parishes or counties, on the Texas side of south Louisiana are seeing benefits from working regionally. Formed in late 2006, the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, based in Lake Charles, La., has brought together the public and private sector from Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jeff Davis Parishes to work together for economic growth and stability. The region of almost 300,000 has out-performed the nation during the recession and earned the most projects and expansions for smaller communities in the nation in 2010.
Hard hit by Hurricane Rita in 2005, then Ike and Gustav in 2007, the region has responded with strong determination. A construction boom followed these disasters and the economy diversified. Aviation, ports, tourism and gaming, healthcare and other categories experienced growth in recent years in Southwest Louisiana. The large petrochemical complex is the backbone of the region with over 23 facilities and 6,500 employees.
One of the results of collaboration is the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial Economic Development Center, or SEED Center, that is being constructed on the campus of McNeese State University. The facility will house a business incubator and the economic development agencies in a one-stop location.
The Alliance works closely with Chennault International Airpark, six area ports including the Port of Lake Charles and other industrial assets to market this robust area to the world.
Global Industrial Aerospace Park, Columbus, Miss.
The 2,500 acre, publicly controlled GTR Global Industrial Aerospace Park (GTR GIAP) in Lowndes County, Miss. is surrounded by four Mississippi counties and three Alabama counties. These county governments, along with the major city governments, economic and industrial development organizations and educational institutions, have agreed that the development of GTR GIAP is beneficial to the economic growth and well being of their communities. As a result, a Memorandum of Cooperation and Collaboration was developed and all entities are in concurrence to the benefits of the massive aerospace industrial park.
The site is located adjacent to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport and 50 percent of the site is the Crossroads Megasite, a TVA certified megasite. The site features a 8,000’ runway. Over $100 million has been invested in infrastructure since 2003. Lowndes County is already home to a large aerospace cluster and two top-ranked aerospace schools are located within a one hour drive -- Mississippi State University and the University of Alabama.