Upstate SC Developers Strengthen Relationships with Site Consultants
October 19, 2015Site consultants are a valuable resource for companies looking to establish or expand operations. These individuals and firms are experts in assessing the attributes of cities, counties and states, taking into account what a region may offer when it comes to workforce development, tax incentives, available real estate, supply chains, infrastructure, quality of life and more. With an almost overwhelming amount of information to evaluate when making these important decisions, companies rely heavily on site consultants to identify the best potential site locations to help them achieve their business goals.
Much like companies rely on site consultants for information, the consultants themselves work closely with local developers, including those here in the Upstate, to ensure they are well versed on what a region has to offer.
Upstate SC Alliance, along with the local developers, has always maintained a strong working relationship with site consultants. These relationships are a major reason that site consultants understand the unique advantages of the Upstate and the state of South Carolina. And thanks to these efforts, site consultants have collectively agreed that South Carolina ranks as one of the nation’s top three states for doing business. The Palmetto State ranked third overall in Area Development Magazine’s 2015 Top States for Doing Business, an annual business ranking based on the results of a survey of consultants.
The survey asked site consultants to rank their top states based on 21 different factors across three main categories—business environment, labor climate, and infrastructure and global access. South Carolina ranked in the top five in over half of the 21 categories, including taking the top spot in Overall Cost of Doing Business, Incentive Programs, Cooperative State Government and Speed of Permitting.
Upstate SC Alliance is committed to the continued success of managing the relationships it has with site consultants. Earlier this month, a select group of prominent site selection consultants from across the U.S. visited the Upstate to learn more about what the region has to offer.
The three-day event featured a number of site tours conducted by representatives from local city and county representatives. The visiting site consultants also took part in a panel at the South Carolina Economic Developers Association (SCEDA) meeting, discussing issues that included South Carolina’s competitiveness and initiatives on building an available and trained workforce.
“It is important for the Upstate SC Alliance, along with our local developers and investors, to build strong relationships with these consultants,” says John Lummus, president and CEO of Upstate SC Alliance. “In doing so, the consultants are well versed on what we have to offer and will hopefully choose the Upstate as a home for their next project.”
Site consultants interested in learning more about Upstate South Carolina can contact Aimee Redick, director of global engagement at Upstate SC Alliance, at aredick@upstatealliance.com.
READ MORE