Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.a. Business Visits EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Port Authority Meeting Date: November 19, 2019 AGENDA ITEM: Business Visits AGENDA SECTION: New Business PREPARED BY: Eric Van Oss, Economic Development Coordinator, Kim Lindquist, Deputy Director AGENDA NO. 5.a. ATTACHMENTS: Finance & Commerce Article APPROVED BY: LJM RECOMMENDED ACTION: Information Item BACKGROUND Staff has restarted the Business Visit Program and had recent meetings with several Rosemount businesses. The purpose of these visits is to conduct an annual “check in” and “year-in-review” with local employers. The visits are usually about an hour and can include facility tours. The topics are generally employer led and can cover anything from workforce to infrastructure improvements to facility expansion. Staff has a short survey listing 5 topics that we make sure are covered in the discussions. These visits include city staff, Port Authority members, and Council members, when available Sweet Harvest: The visit occurred on October 22, 2019. Attendees included Mayor Bill Droste, Kim Lindquist, Eric Van Oss and Heidi DeSautel from Sweet Harvest. The following information was obtained during the visit: Sweet Harvest is the largest distributor of honey nationwide. The Rosemount location serves as their headquarters in addition to a warehousing facility. Their sales have grown in recent years and they are poised for future growth as the food manufacturing industry looks for sugar substitutes. They employ about 20 people at their Rosemount location and the jobs are a mix of warehouse and office positions. The manufacturing portion of the business is located in Cannon Falls and they do not have any plans to consolidate the two facilities. They are hiring and would like to add an additional warehouse shift. Hiring has been difficult, especially at their Cannon Falls facility. Starting wages have increased to roughly $18.00 an hour to try and attract new employees. They indicated truck traffic and accessing onto County Road 42 is a concern. Additionally, they were pleased with the variety of local restaurants for their employees and Board members. The Rosemount facility is larger than what they need and they would consider subleasing the mezzanine space to another user. There are security issues associated with their warehousing function so any potential tenant would have to be vetted. 2 Frana: The visit occurred on October 22, 2019. Attendees included Council Member Tammy Block, Kim Lindquist, Eric Van Oss and Darrell Debele from Frana. The following information was obtained during the visit.: Frana is major builder of privately financed and government-funded multi-family housing. They directed the construction of more than 24,000 multi-family units representing over $2.2 billion in construction volume across the Upper Midwest. They make the prefabricated components and also serve as a general contractor for the construction jobs. Their Rosemount facility is the only other location outside of their main Hopkins corporate office. The Rosemount wall plant allows them to integrate directly into their building process. They utilize a truss system that enables them to use the wall plant to pre-fabricate entire corridor floor systems. They employ about 25 people in Rosemount. They have been able to increase production by implementing new technologies opposed to workforce expansion. Due to the nature of being a union shop (unlike their competitors) they have had little trouble finding employees. Wages are around $32 dollars an hour and include benefits. Employees do not need a construction background and candidates are not required to have any certifications prior to employment. They recently completed a facility expansion and are pleased with their presence in Rosemount. They indicated truck access on County Road 46 can be challenging. Proto Labs: The visit occurred on October 31, 2019. Attendees included Mayor Bill Droste, Port Authority Member Cory Ober, Eric Van Oss, and Brian Turner & Marcel Allen from Proto Labs. The following information was obtained during the visit: The Rosemount facility specializes in a plastic injection molding process that produces custom prototypes and end-use production. They employ around 275 employees at the Rosemount facility. Some insert molding has been moved to the Brooklyn Park location and this facility will scale to full capacity with solely plastic injection employees. They have a difficult time finding workers, both entry level and skilled. Proto Labs has a partnership with Hennepin Technical College for training employees and have had talks with DCTC regarding training as well. Due to labor shortages many employees are earning close to $18.00 an hour and they recently introduced paternity leave as an additional benefit. They have particular difficultly finding workers for the day shift as it pays less ($14.00). They indicated access to local affordable housing as a barrier to employee recruitment. Most employees cannot afford to live nearby and commute via carpool from Saint Paul. Transit use is not a realistic option for most employees due to the limited local transit and the timing of shifts. They hope to see more affordable housing developments so employees can live nearby. They are interested in working with the city on future hiring events. Eric is following up with Proto Labs regarding hiring events and work with the DCTC. Staff attended the MNCar Expo on October 30, 2019. Rosemount partnered with the Dakota County CDA and had Rosemount promotional materials at their booth. Staff met with representatives from Ryan Companies, Scannell Properties, Opus, Oppidan, and other developers. There was a high level of interest in properties for light industrial and multifamily developments. Eric is following up with each company’s contact. Three Port Members and two staff were in attendance at the Greater MSP annual meeting held November 11, 2019. The presentation unveiled their new goals, logo and website. Please see https://www.greatermsp.org/ to review the new website format and strategic plan update. 3 Staff attended the 2019 Industrial & Economic Development Summit on November 14, 2019. Topics revolved around industrial real estate trends in 2020 and strategies for cities to attract development. Attendees included Opus Development, Sambatek, Hoyt Properties, Hyde Development and Duke Realty. RECOMMENDATION No action needed at this time. Staff will provide information at the Port Authority meeting as it becomes available. 11/13/2019 Workforce, job creation and startups among Greater MSP’s top priorities – Finance & Commerce https://finance-commerce.com/2019/11/workforce-job-creation-and-startups-among-greater-msps-top-priorities/1/2 Greater MSP Partnership Board Chair Tim Welsh speaks Monday at the economic development coalition’s annual meeting in St. Paul. The group announced several 10-year goals for the region and rolled out new branding and logos. (Staff photo: William Morris) Workforce, job creation and startups among Greater MSP’s top priorities By: William Morris November 12, 2019 4:26 pm Ecolab Chairman and CEO Doug Baker does not like to come in last. Unfortunately, that’s the position in which the Twin Cities finds itself when it comes to entrepreneurship. According to the Regional Indicators Dashboard published by the Greater MSP Partnership to compare the region with 11 peer metro areas, Minneapolis-St. Paul rank 12th of 12 in new business establishment. That’s despite the efforts of 15 startup accelerator programs established in the past few years, Baker told Greater MSP members at the organization’s annual meeting Monday. “So while we have momentum, we obviously have got turn this up and turn it on,” said Baker, also a Greater MSP board member. “That’s exactly why we have this specific ambition. By 2030, the greater MSP region will be the best place for people from every background to start and scale ventures to create wealth by solving global challenges.” That goal, to go from last to first in a decade, was the most dramatic proposal rolled out Monday, but it was not the only one. For several months, Greater MSP has been convening local leaders to establish goals for the region in nine strategic priority areas. While that process is ongoing, the organization declared its first three goals Monday, in entrepreneurship, talent attraction and retention, and job growth. In the latter category, Anoka County Commissioner Scott Schulte said the Twin Cities rank ninth of the 12 peer cities in jobs added. By 2030, he said, Greater MSP wants to see the region in the top five, which would require a 25% increase in the current rate of job growth. “Everything good in a family and a community starts with access to a good job,” he said. To fill those jobs, the region will need to attract new talent, as well as keep those who come from moving on. That can be a challenge, said Target Executive Vice President Laysha Ward, but one worth the effort to overcome. 11/13/2019 Workforce, job creation and startups among Greater MSP’s top priorities – Finance & Commerce https://finance-commerce.com/2019/11/workforce-job-creation-and-startups-among-greater-msps-top-priorities/2/2 Forge North seeks new direction for new companies July 29, 2019 4:35 pm “A talented workforce is our region’s top competitive advantage,” she said. “We attract or retain great people to work with companies and agencies and our universities.” In the 35 largest U.S. metro areas, the Twin Cities sit right in the middle of the pack, ranking 13th in net migration, Ward said. By 2030, Greater MSP wants to move into the top 10. Regional leaders also celebrated on Monday a number of accomplishments of the past year, including the launch of the Forge North entrepreneurship support coalition. Greater MSP’s Regional Air Service Partnership also played a key role in prompting three new nonstop air routes from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Seoul, Dublin and Mexico City, with plans to add another soon to Shanghai, which led Greater MSP CEO Peter Frosch to quip that, far from being what coastal residents dismissively call “flyover country,” Minnesotans are now flying over them. Monday also marks a new look for Greater MSP, which introduced a new logo and branding for the organization. “If you step back a little bit, it’s almost hard to imagine it’s been now about 10 years since we as a region came together and said, ‘We’re very strong. We have a lot of success to build on. But we really want to strengthen that partnership,’” Greater MSP Board Chair and U.S. Bancorp Vice Chair Tim Welsh said. “But we’re now at a new moment, the beginning of the next decade, the beginning of a time for us to say, ‘What are we really going to think about the future? How is this region going to continue to thrive in the years ahead?’ That’s really what today is about.” Like this article? Gain access to all of our great content with a month-to-month subscription. Start your subscription here. ABOUT WILLIAM MORRIS Economic development reporter for Finance & Commerce. RELATED Copyright © 2019 Finance & Commerce | Suite 900, Campbell Mithun Tower, 222 South Ninth Street, Minneapolis,MN 55402 | (612) 333-4244