As published in the January 1, 2016 Toledo Business Journal
Dean Monske
Regional Growth Partnership
2015 development results strong in region
Dean Monske, president and CEO, Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) shares his views about the direction of economic development in northwest Ohio, performance in 2015, and an outlook for continued progress in 2016.
Toledo Business Journal: By definition, the term “economic development” is very broad and encompasses many aspects of business and economic commerce. How do you define the Regional Growth Partnership’s role in economic development in this global arena?
Dean Monske: First and foremost, the Regional Growth Partnership is a sales and marketing organization. We market and promote the business assets of northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan to our key target audiences both nationally and internationally. Most of us are familiar with these assets ... such things as our incredible transportation infrastructure, our proximity to so many major markets, a nationally recognized workforce, and top educational institutions. For the RGP, our target audiences include site consultants, corporate real estate professionals, and C-level executives. We focus our efforts on five major industries where studies show we are highly competitive. These industries are food processing / agribusiness, energy, advanced manufacturing, automotive, and logistics. In essence, we compete in industries where we can win. In addition, as the regional network partner for JobsOhio, the RGP serves as a gateway to information, incentives, and ideas.
Beyond our central role, as a regional economic development group, the keys to success are partnerships. Our success is dependent on the efforts of many partners across the region. The RGP is at the top of the sales funnel in that we find opportunities and bring them to our regional partners, such as local economic development organizations. We rely on them to build their sites, form competitive incentive programs, understand their local economy as well as supply chains and major employers, conduct retention and expansion calls, and find opportunities for growth with their existing businesses.
Successful economic development is a team effort. I like to say “many hands make light work.”
TBJ: How would you characterize 2015, economically, from a northwest Ohio perspective?
DM: Overall, I would describe 2015 as a strong year for our region. Our core industries including automotive, manufacturing, and agribusiness produced solid results. Businesses in the advanced manufacturing sector created 1,700 jobs in 2015 and companies invested more than $240 million. Automotive companies created 236 new jobs while companies in agribusiness had capital investment of nearly $71 million. Another highlight was our region’s success in keeping several major corporate headquarters here. The Andersons is building a brand new headquarters and Block Communications is investing more than $9 million at its new location. Of course, the big one is ProMedica bringing at least 1,000 jobs to its new headquarters in downtown Toledo. We also saw some impressive growth in the energy industry, most notably the new 800-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Oregon, which is an $800 million project. There’s also a $5 million solar field in Clyde and a $20 million wind farm in Findlay.
Our success as a region was recognized nationally as one of the leading publications in the economic development world named five northwest Ohio cities among the top-performing in the United States.
TBJ: Share with our readers some new or exciting initiatives for the RGP in 2016?
DM: More so than any other time in my tenure at the RGP, we are undertaking a massive, proactive initiative to market, promote, and sell our region’s business assets in the food / beverage industry. We have studies showing the food industry will grow 4-5% per year for the next several years, so we know there are continuing opportunities in this sector. We also know this industry is a major strength for our region and we have all the assets businesses need, evidenced by the ongoing investment of existing companies such as Campbell’s, Bob Evans, Ballreich’s, Lakeview Farms, The Andersons, and Rudolph Foods.
Tied to this, American Electric Power worked with Austin Consulting to verify the readiness for development of five sites in northwest Ohio. These sites will soon be designated as site certified for the food processing / beverage industry. The RGP’s job is to market these sites to food companies looking to expand operations. We’ve undertaken an exhaustive amount of research to identify targeted companies in this industry. We have worked diligently with consultants and industry leaders in crafting our message. With 2016 under way, we will be actively and personally reaching out to more than 100 selected food companies discussing the benefits of locating in northwest Ohio.
TBJ: What’s your business forecast for 2016?
DM: I’m very excited about our growing energy industry. I think people would be surprised with how much is going on. We’ve seen more than $3 billion invested into operations in northwest Ohio’s energy industry since 2010. This has produced hundreds and hundreds of direct and indirect jobs. I mentioned earlier the $800 million gas-fired plant which is now under construction in Oregon. We also have three major refineries within 85 miles of each other. That’s pretty unique. BP continues to invest at its refinery, companies in Lima’s energy park continue to attract investment, and Toledo Refining is working with Norfolk Southern to increase logistical capacity for market access. We’ve also seen an increase in infrastructure needs because of the energy sector. So as a result, we’ve seen investments in trucking, rail, highway, access to port, pipeline development… all of this supports professional and construction jobs.
Related to our success in 2015, I see our automotive industry continuing its sustainable growth. I also expect increased activity in the food processing industry tied to our enhanced marketing outreach efforts.
TBJ: What’s the sales case you make to businesses to attract them to our region?
DM: Northwest Ohio is a high-quality, low-cost place to invest. We have the business assets companies need to succeed. Our transportation network is second to none. Our central location positions us near many of North America’s major markets. The workforce consistently provides a competitive advantage. We have some of the finest academic institutions around.
Beyond that, our best sales tools are the existing companies operating here. They are the ones utilizing our business assets. They are the ones who can best speak to the advantages of doing business in this region. So whenever possible, we put the private sector in front of site consultants and prospective companies – letting them talk firsthand about their experiences. In essence, our private sector businesses are walking testimonials, and their words carry a lot of weight and credibility in the eyes of site location decision-makers.
TBJ: With everything that’s been discussed, how excited are you about the future of the Toledo region?
DM: We’ve seen record results at the RGP the past two years. With everything we’ve already talked about and with what we see coming, I feel very confident this positive, upward trend will continue for the foreseeable future. I expect a continued growth in jobs and investment. Important to this is sustained growth. From that, we start seeing changes in people’s attitudes and expectations. And that’s important to have a positive, welcoming face on the community.
I definitely sense a different feel to what is happening. I hear a lot more positive comments rather than negative. I hear more from people about what’s happening as opposed to what’s not happening. There has always been activity, but in the past, often times those big things were one-offs. Now, it seems like there is so much development recently completed, under way, or scheduled to happen, that we are past the tipping point in our regional revitalization.