Missouri Partnership markets business opportunities

Missouri officials have spent the past year ushering out the state Department of Economic Development's business-marketing role, and the nonprofit group that's now charged with attracting businesses to the Show-Me State is ready to take action.

That group, St. Louis-based Missouri Partnership, considered the Tour of Missouri in October as its coming-out party - that highly publicized event marked the group's first real chance to get its message out to national and international media.

Missouri Partnership was a silver-level sponsor of the Tour of Missouri; representatives with the group were at every stop along the tour, touting the partnership's role.

Created in November 2007, Missouri Partnership's $3 million annual budget comes from the Missouri DED and the St. Louis-based Hawthorn Foundation. The partnership's purpose is to market and promote Missouri as a prime location for business relocation and expansion.

And even though Missouri Partnership is just a year old, the organization already is negotiating with several companies about bringing their operations to the state.

"There was a desire to see some long-term consistency in how the state goes about marketing itself for investments," Missouri Partnership CEO Chris Chung said, noting that, as a marketer, DED was vulnerable to changes in the political landscape.

"Regardless of who's in charge of the governor's office or (General) Assembly, over time, you need a consistent marketing message ... as well as consistent relationships with people who are making the decisions on where to locate or expand their businesses," he added.

The goal

One industry where Chung sees potential for growth is alternative energy, specifically manufacturing parts for wind farms that are springing up across the country.

"We're in dialogue with a least half a dozen projects related to manufacturing to support wind energy manufacturing, both the towers and the turbines," Chung said. He declined to name companies, citing confidentiality issues, though he noted that all are based outside of the United States. "A lot of the wind traffic is from international companies who see opportunities now in the United States."

Chung said southern Missouri is especially suited to the industry. He pointed to an Oct. 24 announcement by German manufacturer Nordex that the company plans to spend $100 million to build a wind turbine factory in Craighead Technology Park in Jonesboro, Ark. The facility, according to a company news release, will employ 700 people at an average wage of $17 an hour.

"The new plant in Jonesboro is a key pillar in our international strategy," Nordex CEO Thomas Richterich said in the release. "It will enable us to serve the United States, one of the fastest-growing markets for wind energy, and come closer to our objective of generating 20 percent of our revenues in the U.S."

Chung hopes other companies like Nordex will see that kind of opportunity in Missouri.

"Whether it's the towers, the engines or the blades, Missouri knows how to make stuff; it's in our DNA as a state," Chung said. "We're close to where those products are needed, so shipping costs are low, there's a good work force, and there are other potential suppliers. It's something we need to be more visible in."

A year in the books

Though Missouri Partnership is celebrating its first anniversary this month, local representatives on the group's 12-member board say it's an organization years in the making.

"It started conceptually four years ago," said Jim Anderson, Missouri Partnership board member and president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. "We put together the framework of a concept for a lot of people to look at, but the ultimate test was the Hawthorn Foundation board. It went through a lot of views, and everyone just jumped on board immediately."

Chung spent his first year as Missouri Partnership CEO building the organization, including hiring nine full-time staff members and creating a consistent brand for the state - and the organization.

"We've already started engaging in certain marketing efforts - magazine advertising, developing collateral materials, launching our Web site," Chung said, noting the particular importance of the Web site, www.missouripartnership.com, which offers profiles of the state's different regions and a site selection tool for businesses considering the Show-Me State.

Spreading the wealth

Both Anderson and Springfield attorney Randell Wallace, the other local representative on the partnership's board, say Missouri Partnership's potential goes beyond the state level to supplement local recruitment efforts, such as those by the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership.

"The efforts of (Missouri) Partnership are a perfect complement to what we're doing here locally," Wallace said. "They have the ability to carry out some activities and campaigns that we simply can't on a local basis. We appreciate them as a partner in that."

Anderson, however, noted that the main goal of Missouri Partnership is to promote the entire state and funnel potential new businesses to the areas best suited to each situation.

"Quite frankly, the Department of Economic Development, St. Louis and Kansas City have always done their own thing; we haven't had the level of coordinated, focused economic development marketing that we now have," Anderson said. "Are all the projects that Chris deals with coming to Springfield? Absolutely not, but getting them to Missouri is the first major step."

And even though the current economy may restrict the number of companies in a position to build new facilities or expand current operations, Chung said the economic downturn underscores the need for the organization's services.

"Things will turn around - it's a question of when, not if," he said. "If you have a marketing message that's been out there consistently the whole time, you should be well-placed when things hit their upswing."