Growing list of firms looking at S.E. Idaho

POCATELLO — The list of leads that Bannock Development Corp. keeps in its continuing effort to recruit new businesses to Southeast Idaho now includes the names of more than 50 companies.

Gynii Gilliam, executive director of the organization, estimates half of those interested businesses are in the clean energy sector, but the list also has several service and manufacturing businesses.

While speaking at a Pocatello Rotary Club luncheon on Thursday,Gilliam assured the crowd that for all the bad news that abounds regarding the economy, lately she’s been seeing only strong evidence that the region is in for a bright future.

Throughout the end of 2008 and all of 2009, Gilliam said few companies visited Southeast Idaho to investigate potential expansions here. Since last Thanksgiving, however, she’s been flooded with requests for visits. In a two-week period in early June, for example, Gilliam accommodated three corporate site visits.

“It’s been just incredible. It hasn’t really slowed in the site visits,” Gilliam said, adding Bannock Development has also “been getting more and more inquiries about the airport.”

Some of the leads on the list may soon result in corporate commitments.

“On a couple of projects, we can almost see the finish line. ... We’re in the final lap,” Gilliam said, before adding the caveat, “even though we’re this close doesn’t mean we’re always going to get it.”

Gilliam said Pocatello has routinely been surviving initial cuts when businesses interested in expansion whittle down their choices of communities.

Gilliam noted Pocatello has a long history with manufacturing, and businesses love the trained local work force and the fact that the city has a university to train additional workers. Businesses are particularly impressed by how organized Pocatello is when it comes to providing assistance during site visits and how well the various entities work together. Sometimes corporate receptions and community tours must be planned on a day’s notice.

“They’re always surprised at how quickly we can assemble the people who are greeting them ... and they’re all experts in their field,” Gilliam said.

She also stressed the importance of working to help existing businesses prosper. She said driving by the new Portneuf Medical Center campus under construction on a daily basis has served as a constant reminder that “we haven’t stopped moving.”

She also mentioned that Hoku Materials, which is scheduled to start commercial production of polysilicon later this year, recently hired 35 workers. Furthermore, Gilliam said the community risked losing plants run by J.R. Simplot, Monsanto and ON Semiconductor during the economic downturn, and all three of the large manufacturers were retained. In fact, ON recently celebrated a considerable investment in its local plant.

BY JOHN O’CONNELL
joconnell@journalnet.com

Aug 20, 2010