News and Press Releases

Allstate To Pay $7.5M In Salaries In 2012

CHUBBUCK, Idaho -- Allstate will pay out $7.5 million in salaries to 230 employees at its newly built call center in Chubbuck in 2012 alone. The company is happy with the figure, as the call center's local economic impact was one of the biggest talking points surrounding it coming here.

The call center won't even be fully staffed yet -- it has the capacity to take on 500 workers.

Last year, the company paid out $27 million to build the call center. Allstate Service Department Director Randy Perry said a majority of that went to local contractors. The call center has the chance to bring more businesses to town, because as the business grows, they'll bring even more money to the area.

But the company is bringing more than just monetary value to town, said employee Casey Park. He was hired as as a front line leader as a part of the first wave of workers.

"This is a fantastic company. And you know above that, the people here in the community are just wonderful people," Park said.

He said the people feel like family, and said he feels like he's on a level playing field with corporate executives.

Vice President of Customer Contact Centers, Linda Moynihan, said the center just got a review back on the first 100 employees, and the group blew company expectations out of the water.

"There are probably a lot of people (in the Pocatello-Chubbuck area) that were probably a little under-employed, because of the fact that they wanted to be here, and they probably have a lot of potential. And so we anticipated that we'd get really good talent. But across the board, (they) exceeded our expectations," Moynihan said.

Allstate tried to set that example, Perry said. The new building is Level 2 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified.

"We want to be a good corporate citizen," Perry said.

The building is equipped with bike racks for people who ride to work, and has showers and lockers inside for them to clean up before their shift. The windows reflect sunlight to bring more natural light into the office and to help save electricity.

The company also tried to be inclusive in its design, so all of the desks are open and there are very few closed door offices. There are open "huddle" centers for group meetings and the walls are covered with local art and inspirational quotes. Perry said the design is appropriate for an office that's starting off on the right foot.

"It's really neat because we really feel like Idaho's going to be a site that the others aspire to look like and act like," Perry said.

Allstate hopes to bring its number to 230 employees by the end of the year, and reach its capacity of 500 total over the next several years.

Entry level positions start at $12 an hour.

By Brittany Borghi
February 16, 2012

Links: 
Local News 8

New local jobs creation leader is named

John Regetz is already eyeing some of the players in Pocatello and around the region he believes are critical to attracting new business and expanding existing companies.


   “The community has some really great resources with Idaho State University and the Idaho National Laboratory,” said Regetz via telephone from Indiana on Thursday. “You really have a strong basis for economic development and expansion. You have already have seen the benefits of that with the organization when Gynii Gilliam was running it.”


   Gilliam had been executive director of Bannock Development Corp. for more than five years when she left at the end of December to take a position as the state’s chief economic development officer on Jan. 1.


   While she will still play a role in attracting new business to Southeast Idaho along with the rest of the Gem State, the search for a new leader here in Bannock County has been on since December.


   Darlene Gerry, associate general counsel at Idaho State University, has been serving as interim executive director since last month, but on Thursday, the BDC announced that Regetz would take over the position full-time beginning March 19.


   Regetz is a 25-year economic development veteran who is currently executive director of the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation and co-director for the La Porte County Economic Development Alliance in Michigan City, Ind.


   Regetz spent some time working in Idaho early in his career when he worked for the University Inn in Moscow [correction], also taking some supplemental classes at the University of Idaho.


   That made tossing his name into consideration for the BDC opening a pretty easy decision, he said.


   “I’ve lived in the West before and my wife, Sue, and I like it out there,” he said. “We really wanted to get back to the Intermountain West.”


   Tim Forhan, chairman of the BDC’s board of directors, touted Regetz lengthy experience, new perspectives and contacts as an invaluable future asset for the economic development agency.


   “His years of both community and regional economic development experience are a great fit for our needs,” Forhan said in a release Thursday. “It was a pleasure to see the immediate chemistry John developed with the people he met when he visited. I am confident he will build upon the great economic development we have been building in recent years.”


   Regetz also took note of some of that recent growth, mentioning the addition of Allstate’s call center and this week’s announcement of ON Semiconductor’s planned expansion.


   “The first order of business in economic development is retaining and expanding existing business,” he said. “(The ON) announcement shows you (Pocatellans) have the resources to do that.”


   To that end, the first thing he’ll be doing when he hits town in March, Regetz said, is to get to know those who are already here, business, civic and community leaders.


   Getting to know the BDC board members better is also a top priority.


   “I will depend a lot on their support,” he said.

BY JIMMY HANCOCK
 jhancock@journalnet.com  
February 16, 2012
  

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

ON PLANS EXPANSION ‘We are positioning ourselves to be stronger’

POCATELLO — ON Semiconductor’s Senior Director of Operations and Pocatello Site Manager John Spicer announced expansion plans at the Pocatello operation Monday morning.
   “I think things look great for us moving forward,” Spicer said at the Pocatello Centennial Rotary Club breakfast meeting. “We are positioning ourselves to be stronger and more competitive in the coming year.”
   The company added more than 100 jobs to its Pocatello workforce in 2011 and though Spicer says there still may be some bumps in the road, he anticipates a very strong business in Pocatello, at least for the foreseeable future.  
   Spicer made a four-part announcement concerning new investments in the city of Pocatello. They included expanding the   company’s Fab 10 clean-room and investing $6 million in new construction at their current site on Alvin Ricken Drive in Pocatello.  
   “We will be expanding our clean-room operations this year,” Spicer said. “The expansion is in response to one of our clients increasing their manufacturing capacity in Pocatello.”
   Along with the $6 million in construction, the company also plans to add about $5 million in new production equipment to the $25 million in new equipment it added in 2011. According to Spicer, the addition will allow the company to keep speed with their client’s intentions to increase their output by four times.
   “Using this equipment we are purchasing,” Spicer said, “Pocatello employees will manufacture integrated circuits for our client’s high-tech products.”
   Spicer also announced Monday that ON Semiconductor has purchased the building its operation is currently located in at Alvin Ricken Drive. The company has been leasing the property since AMI Semiconductor left. Idaho State University still owns the land on which the building sits, however, which is located within the ISU Research and Business Park.
   ON Semiconductor houses more than 150 research and development engineers, who are a vital part of the business’s operations and a great addition to the community of   Pocatello, according to Spicer.
   During an open house at the Pocatello City Council Chambers Feb. 9, Pocatello Regional Airport officials mentioned that they had spoken with ON Semiconductor officials about expanding their operation to the Airport Business Park. However, Spicer says he does not have any knowledge of those talks or what they entailed.  
BY MICHAEL FARNWORTH
mfarnworth@journalnet.com
February 14, 2012 

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

John Regetz named Executive Director of Bannock Development

Pocatello, Idaho – John Regetz has been selected as the new Executive Director of Bannock Development Corporation (BDC). The position became vacant on January 1 when former BDC Executive Director Gynii Gilliam became the new Chief Economic Development Officer for the State of Idaho.  Regetz is expected to begin work on March 19.

Regetz brings 25 years of economic development experience with him to his new job. He comes to Bannock Development from Michigan City, Indiana where he has worked as Executive Director of Michigan City Economic Development Corporation and Co-Director for the La Porte County Economic Development Alliance.

Regetz previously worked in economic development management positions in Urbana, Illinois; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Pierre, South Dakota; and Miller, South Dakota. John and his wife, Sue, have also served in many leadership positions in the communities in which they have lived.
  

In making the announcement, Tim Forhan, Chairman of the Bannock Development Board of Directors, said, “I am delighted that John Regetz has accepted the Executive Director position. He brings a great deal of experience, additional perspectives and a broad set of new contacts to our efforts. His years of both community and regional economic development experience are a great fit for our needs. It was a pleasure to see the immediate chemistry John developed with the people he met when he visited. I am confident he will build upon the great economic development momentum we have been building in recent years in the Pocatello-Chubbuck-Bannock County community and across east Idaho.”
   

In accepting the position, John Regetz said, “I am excited about my upcoming move to Bannock County and the Pocatello-Chubbuck community. Bannock Development has earned a tremendous reputation for economic development success. Gynii Gilliam’s skills have created an excellent organization and it is my goal to build upon her economic development accomplishments through attracting new businesses and growing existing businesses. Bannock Development’s volunteer leadership is as talented as any I have seen in the nation and I am very excited about the resources Idaho State University and the Idaho National Laboratory offer as economic development partners in the community.”
   

Darlene Gerry will continue to serve as Interim Executive Director of Bannock Development until Regetz’ arrival.

John Regetz, new Executive Director of BDC

Otter visits research complex

    POCATELLO — Eric Burgett handed Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter a large cubic zirconium diamond as an example of crystalline models that can soon be produced at the Research and Innovation in Science and Engineering Complex in Pocatello Wednesday morning.
    Otter quipped that his wife might enjoy wearing a rock that size on her hand, barring the weight of the specimen.
    Otter attended round two of Idaho State University’s tour of RISE in the former Ballard Medical building as part of promoting the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission or IGEM. Otter was unable to personally attend the first program hosted Jan. 18. due to weather conditions in the state’s capital.
    “I’ve wanted to make IGEM a reality,” Otter said to a crowed of local officials in a cleanroom of the RISE.
    Otter has proposed $5 million to go toward the IGEM program. The initial investment is smaller compared to Utah which invested about $73 million into a similar program.
    The IGEM program mission includes creating “new enterprises and high-paying knowledge-based jobs by increasing strategic areas of research and development” through partnerships in industry, higher education and government.
    The RISE Complex is 260,000 square feet in size and is the only one facility like it in the world, according to Burgett an assistant nuclear engineer professor who is orchestrating research projects at the center.
    “This facility allows us to further our ability to really bring IGEM to Idaho State,” Burgett said. “The facility is designed around multi-disciplinary research, focused mostly on materials, but it’s also focusing on interdisciplinary and cross-boundary research.”
    While research partnerships with other universities has already begun, Burgett said having the governor make a stop will only help bring awareness to facility’s potential.
    “It’s an exciting opportunity to let people in the state and federal level know what the university is doing here,” Burgett said.
    He said the idea behind the facility is to leverage assets. Since companies may not be able to buy all of the expensive equipment needed to conduct various research endeavors, the facility would allow for invaluable collaboration and access to research equipment, according to Burgett.
    The leveraging and collaboration will help in the applied side of IGEM’s aim.
    Burgett said nano technology is a field of his research that combines two normally “isolated worlds” of research. He said interdisciplinary research can lead to new sciences.
    “IGEM is the applied side that makes it useful,” Burgett said.

For more information on IGEM, visit www.idahotechcouncil.org.

By Vanessa Grieve
vgrieve@journalnet.com
February 2, 2012

Attacking Negativity

Mayor puts positive spin on Pocatello

   POCATELLO — Mayor Brian Blad was at Thursday’s meeting of the Pocatello Rotary Club to give his annual state of the city address when he decided to change it up a little, opting to also speak about the need to talk the city up.
   “It was more about looking to the future of Pocatello,” Blad said on Sunday. “It was about a positive Pocatello, about who we can be and why we should be positive. We have a great place to live and I am excited about where we are and what we are doing.”
   A Pocatello native, Blad said the city has a history of comparing itself to other similar communities around the state with an eye for what it lacks. This attitude, he said, can still be pervasive at times despite organizations such as Valley Pride that have worked for years to change it, and the addition of numerous entities and businesses to the Gate City that few others have.
   “We have a Dick’s Sporting Goods. It’s one of only two in the state,” he pointed out. “We have an Allstate call center, which is the only one in the northwestern U.S. We are one of four cities in the state to have a major university.”
   The things Pocatello does have, those things that those other cities don’t have, is where he’d like to see our focus, Blad said.
   Greg Gunter, president of Rave Communications and a Pocatello Rotary Club member, was at Thursday’s meeting and he said the topic is something he’s heard in the past, that we shouldn’t speak poorly of the city. But he suggests that we do need to occasionally take a hard look at our shortcomings as well, that it’s often the best road toward evolving and making progress.
   He says he also understands where Blad was coming from.
   “There is a tendency to knock ourselves down, and hold ourselves as something less than other cities,” he said. “That’s just not true. We have to realize that we have some things that other cities around the country would die to have.”
   Quality of life, quality people and Idaho State University were just some of those things Gunter listed.
   “But there has to be a balance there,” he said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize just what we have to offer. But at the same time, we have to understand our shortcomings to move ahead.”
   Gunter also said he was not bothered by Blad’s speech.
   I wasn’t taken aback by it at all,” he said. “I understand completely where the mayor was coming from in that negative thinking tends to reinforce itself and positive thinking tends to reinforce itself.”
   Blad also said the city’s shortcomings are not something he thinks should be swept under a rug and simply replaced by a good word or two. In fact, thanks to a recent survey of Pocatello residents, he’s quite aware of where the city is falling short in the eyes of Pocatellans and looks toward addressing those concerns.
   “The survey brought out a lot of really good things, but it also brought out some things we need to work on as a city,” Blad said. “Hopefully, we will be able to put some resources in other areas to help change some of the attitudes people have.”
   Overall, most of the people he talks to have a good attitude about what Pocatello has to offer, Blad said. The hope is in getting everyone else on board to help promote the city.
   “We are moving forward and we are going to need a lot of the community’s help as we do,” he said.

BY JIMMY HANCOCK
jhancock@journalnet.com
1/30/2012

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

Former local jobs official honored

   POCATELLO — Since Gynii Gilliam left the Bannock Economic Development office in Pocatello to become Idaho’s chief economic development officer, she misses two things about Pocatello.
   What she misses most is the people.
   “I miss the people of Pocatello,” Gilliam said, “This is just such a wonderful community.” What she misses second is the local airport.
   “I miss being able to walk into the airport 35 minutes before my flight, check my bags and get onto my flight without issue.”
   Gilliam has been at her new position in Boise since the first of the year and says that she is overlapping right now, but only through the month of February.
   “We’re finishing up some projects we already had in the works,” she added.
   Gilliam told Chubbuck Mayor Steven England that she is optimistic about the future of the state after being in Boise.
   “Everyone acted like I’ve been there for a long time,” she told England. She added that going from Los Angeles to Pocatello and the smaller communities, then back to a larger community like Boise has still been an adjustment.
   A steady group of wellwishers made their way into the Economic Development offices Friday afternoon to bid Gilliam farewell and good luck.  
   “I’m glad everyone was kind of coming in waves rather than all at once,” Gilliam said. “This way, I was able to talk and visit with everyone.”
   She is looking forward to being able to take the same mentality to Boise with her.
   “I’m looking forward to building the same partnership with the communities of Idaho as our office here in Pocatello has been able to build,” Gilliam said, “I’m very proud of the way our community has been able to come together and how coordinated we have become. I love that the people of Pocatello and Chubbuck are now seeing the larger vision and I look forward to trying to make that happen on a statewide level.”
   Gilliam believes that Bannock County has a great future and that the forward motion of technology and the growth of other sectors in the county will continue to strengthen.
   She offered some advice for whoever succeeds her in Pocatello.
   “Listen to all the wonderful people around you,” Gilliam said. “Process and filter what you come across, keep the community working together and you will be OK.” 

 
MICHEAL FARNWORTH/IDAHO STATE JOURNAL

   A steady group of well-wishers made their way into the local economic development offices Friday afternoon to bid Gynii Gilliam, right, the former executive director of Bannock Development Corp., farewell and good luck. Gilliam took an economic development job with the state.
 
 BY MICHAEL FARNWORTH
 mfarnworth@journalnet.com
January 21, 2012

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

New agency to promote local tourism

     POCATELLO — Efforts to promote tourism to Pocatello now has a new name and a restructured approach, and those behind it are set to unveil it to the community on Tuesday.
   What was once the Greater Pocatello Convention and Visitors Bureau is now  VisitPocatello.com, an entity that has been thriving for several months already. Its perfection remains a work in progress, but the word is beginning to spread.
   Stephanie Palagi, executive director of Old Town Pocatello Inc., and a VisitPocatello.com board member, says they are getting a lot of feedback.
   “People are checking it out and letting us know what they like, what we’re missing and what they think should be there,” she said.
   Matt Hunter, executive director of the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce and VisitPocatello.com board member, said the efforts of  VisitPocatello.com happen mostly outside the community, seeking to bring travelers here. That work doesn’t do much for VisitPocatello.com’s profile around town, however.
   “That’s why we are sharing with the community what we are doing with a ribbon-cutting,” Hunter said.  
   That open-house event will be hosted at the Towne-Place Suites by Marriott, located at 2376 Via Caporatti at 11a.m. on Tuesday.
   “We want to share with everyone what we have been doing,” Palagi said.
   The CVB, historically, had been funded by the Pocatello/Chubbuck Auditorium District, which collects a 2 percent tax on area hotel rooms. Several years of fighting a lawsuit filed by Ameritel Inns resulted in the legal decision that the Auditorium District’s funding of the CVB was not allowed, according to Idaho Statutes.  
   The CVB and Auditorium District parted ways in 2010 and the CVB became its own nonprofit entity. Its primary source of funding for promoting Pocatello is now a grant from the Idaho Travel Council.
   A year ago, the lack of funding led the CVB’s board of directors to the undesirable decision of having to part ways with its lone employee, Rebecca Satter, its longtime executive director.
   Since then, the board has worked to come up with a new identity for the marketing entity and to figure out how to operate it efficiently with the scant funds available. Those changes have included rebranding the identity of the tourism marketing entity.
   “We created this VisitPocatello.com online and we have been working on developing that website since then,” Hunter said.
   They have also developed a partnership with the Pioneer Country Travel Council of Southeastern Idaho, which works to promote tourism throughout Region 5 of the Idaho Travel Council. Pioneer Country Travel Council now receives and distributes VisitPocatello.com’s Idaho Travel Council grant funds.
   Because of the cooperative effort, Pocatello is now marketed in travel publications with the rest of Southeast Idaho in larger, bolder, more colorful advertisements that Palagi and Hunter believe will produce far more attention for the region and the Gate City.
   “It’s a much more efficient use of funds,” Hunter said.
   Working with the Pioneer Country Travel Council means less work for the four board members who are volunteers in charge of marketing tourism in Pocatello. Because Pioneer is handling distribution of those Idaho Travel Council funds, it has relieved the board of what is essentially a full-time job.  
   Among the prime targets of VisitPocatello.com’s efforts is the thousands of people who travel through Southeast Idaho each year on their way to Yellowstone National Park via tour buses.
   “We are already on the route,” Palagi said. “We just need to get them to stop here and spend a day or two.”  
  Stephanie Palagi, executive director of Old Town Pocatello Inc., discusses the VisitPocatello.com campaign.

ELIZABETH RIFFEATH / IDAHO STATE JOURNAL

BY JIMMY HANCOCK
jhancock@journalnet.com
January 23, 2012

Links: 
Idaho State Journal
Visit Pocatello

Bannock Development tabs interim director

POCATELLO — Darlene Gerry came to Pocatello to work for what was then AMI Semiconductor with a fiveyear plan that basically was to end with her getting back to her native state of Maine.
   Eight years later, she’s at Idaho State University where she’s the associate general counsel.
   “I’ve lived in nine different states and I have never found a place I just didn’t want to leave like I found in Pocatello,” Gerry said Tuesday. “I just fell in love with this area. The people are so amazing. It’s just such a welcoming place.”
   Gerry (pronounced like Gary) says she also enjoys taking advantage of the outdoor opportunities so closely available.
   “I like to hike and cross country ski,” she said.  
   When ON Semiconductor completed its acquisition of AMI in 2008, Gerry said she was offered a similar position, that of general counsel,for ON, but it required her to move to Phoenix, where the company is headquartered.
   She didn’t want to go.
   Another opportunity arose,however. A longtime adjunct professor for ISU in its College of Business,she was offered a full-time position that opened at roughly the same time. Later,an associate general counsel position opened up and that’s where Gerry’s been for the past 18 months.
   Clearly having abandoned her five-year plan, Gerry further entrenched herself in the community last week — with the blessing of her employer, of course — when she agreed to be Bannock Development Corp.’s interim executive director.
   “I’ve (worked with) Gynii Gilliam many times over the years, different things from ISU, and I have always been impressed with what she does,” Gerry said. “Tim (Forhan) asked me if I could help out. I jumped at the chance.”
   Gilliam was executive director of Bannock Development for more than five years when she left at the end of 2011 and moved to Boise to take over as Idaho’s chief economic development officer on Jan. 1.
   Forhan, who knew Gerry from their days working at AMI, is currently chair of Bannock Development’s board of directors.
   Gerry, excited at the prospects of selling Pocatello as the place to relocate or establish potential businesses, said it was just a matter of getting the OK from her employer.
   ISU officials, she said, didn’t hesitate. She said Kent Tingey, ISU’s vice president for university advancement, was very supportive.
   “Kent saw it as a very positive move,” Gerry said. “It will mean some extra work for me, but that will be OK.”
   Gerry won’t be alone, however, in trying to fill the void left by Gilliam’s departure. Others, who already have a long history with Bannock Development, are stepping up to take on some of Gilliam’s many former roles as part of a collective effort.
   It’s something Gerry looks at a microcosm of how Pocatellans typically behave.
   “This is really illustrative of how this whole community works,” she said. There are so many projects here that come together through collaborative efforts.”
   Among those taking on a piece of Gilliam’s former responsibilities is Mark Lupo, regional community relations representative for Idaho Power in Pocatello.
   A member of Bannock Development’s board of directors, Lupo has frequently attended many of the same regional economic development meetings Gilliam attended. Now, he will attend those meetings representing both Idaho Power and Bannock Development.  
   He typically meets with officials from companies considering a move to Pocatello in his capacity with Idaho Power, but Lupo says he will likely take a more significant role in that regard, showing those same officials around town as well.
   “I am so pro-Pocatello   that I enjoy doing it,” Lupo said. “I enjoy showing people the town and what we have to offer to a new business.”
   Lupo said he’s also excited to have Gerry on board.
   “I think Darlene will be great,” he said. “I think she will be a real asset to us in the interim.”
   Matt Hunter, in Boise for meetings this week, has also been a longtime member of Bannock Development’s board. In a news release from Bannock Development, Hunter is listed as the one who will help Gerry with the day-to-day community-related activities.  
   Hunter said his role is to help link Gerry to the existing business community, but beyond that, he admitted, it’s a little less defined.
   “My role is helping out with things that come up,” he said. “Some have really clearly defined roles and mine is whatever comes up. If it’s companies that come into town, I will help with that. I will be there to fill in wherever needed.”
   Rounding out the list as set out in the release is Tim Forhan, who will continue as chairman and leader in the search for Gilliam’s replacement   ; Arlen Wittrock, who will assist with external communications; and Gilliam, who will work with Gerry on a regular basis to ensure continuity on existing projects.
   Gerry declined to comment on any of those existing projects.
   Another person on that list set out in the new release is Angie Callaway, who has been executive assistant at Bannock Development for several years. Hunter, Lupo and Gerry all praised Callaway’s skills and each commented on how vital she is to the continued continuity of the economic development entity.  
   “We are all really relying on Angie quite a bit to take over some of the responsibilities in there as well,” Lupo said. “We are thankful to have her here.”
   Bannock Development stopped taking resumes for its open position on Jan. 6,   saying in the release that more than 40 people, both locally and from around the country, had applied.
   They project a new executive director could be selected by mid-February, with the hopes of that person starting by the end of March.
   Gerry, having just agreed late last week to take on the role, is doing what she calls “homework.”
   “A lot of the stuff I have been doing is preparing myself,” she said, “reading some of the prior reports and proposals to get an understanding of how it’s all put together.”
   Gerry, who says she has not applied for the position, describes her role as the one who will work to coordinate   efforts.
   “If new proposals or requests comes in, I will be the one trying to bring all the pieces together to get it done,” she said

BY JIMMY HANCOCK
jhancock@journalnet.com
January 11, 2012

Links: 
Idaho State Journal
Local News 8 Story

Recognizing good people, good events in community

Catch someone doing something right. In our society, from raising children to managing employees to observing our public officials, we often focus on catching someone doing something wrong. In other words, we emphasize the negative.
Of course, that is sometimes necessary as we attempt to correct inappropriate behavior.
However, today I want to focus on catching people doing something right, especially in the area of economic and community development.
Too often we do not recognize good things that happen and the good people who accomplish those good achievements.
As we all are well aware, our economy continues to struggle along with those who are affected by our weak economy. The recession may be technically over, but unemployment still hovers around nine percent. Too many individuals and families continue to struggle in this economy to make ends meet.
Fortunately here in the Pocatello, Chubbuck, and Bannock County community we have experienced some great economic development successes over the past year that bode well for the future. These success stories haven’t occurred by happenstance. They have occurred due to the hard and diligent
work of many in our community including elected officials, business leaders, economic development professionals, education leaders, and citizen volunteers.
Today I want to recognize and thank these individuals and organizations for their wonderful achievements over the past year. They have been caught doing something right and deserve the thanks and recognition of our great community and its residents.
Allow me to cite a few examples of our community and economic development success during 2011.
Allstate: The ribbon was cut in October for Allstate’s national insurance service center in Chubbuck. The Allstate facility brings over $20 million in new investment and creates over 500 new jobs. Our Pocatello and Chubbuck Mayors and City Councils along with our Bannock County Commissioners
deserve credit for their roles in bringing this new business to our community.
Hoku: It’s taken awhile, but the huge Hoku facility on the west side of Pocatello is about to begin production. The company has invested over $700 million in new construction, has employed hundreds of construction workers, and will soon employ over 200 new workers.
Petersen, Inc.: They constructed and moved to their new facility located by the Pocatello airport in September. Along with their growing competitor,
Premier Technology, they also add jobs and economic vitality to our community.
Portneuf Medical Center: Our new community hospital opened in May following construction in excess of $150 million. Along with the new hospital, we now have a new cancer center and many new doctors providing additional medical treatments and services allowing our residents to receive the best of medical services right here in Pocatello. Idaho Joint Research Center (located in the former Ballard Building): Congratulations and thanks to the Pocatello City Council, State of Idaho, and Idaho State University for upholding the zoning, covenants, promises, and commitments made relative to the Ballard Building and the Research and Business Park. The Idaho Joint Research Center is off to a fast start creating new contract and research opportunities for ISU, including the ScanTech business partnership, providing support to new and existing businesses, and setting the stage for additional business growth in the community.
ON Semiconductor: Completed the $27 million expansion announced in 2010 adding over 100 new jobs and securing the future of the  Pocatello. I am optimistic that we will hear more good news from ON Semiconductor and its Pocatello operations in 2012.
Idaho State University: ISU continues to grow its positive impact on business and economic development in our region. In addition to its 2,000 employees and annual economic output estimated at $312 million, ISU has greatly increased its research and development revenue. This has also led to the commercialization of technology the university has developed, further benefiting local businesses and the regional economy.
Brooklyn’s Playground: This is not an economic development project. It doesn’t have any employees or directly provide any community income.
However, more than any other project in our community this past year, it symbolizes how great this community is in working together to benefit others. It was built with $580,000 in donated funds and with mostly volunteer labor by our citizens. While providing children of all abilities a place to play, it is a symbolic showcase for businesses looking to locate in our community, demonstrating how this community comes together to help one another.
In the theme of catching someone doing something right, I conclude by thanking Gynii Gilliam, executive director of Bannock Development, for the key leadership role she has played with all of the above-mentioned achievements and many more. Gynii has led our community’s economic development efforts with great positive leadership and integrity. As you may know, Gynii will be leaving Bannock Development at the end of the year to become the
new chief economic development officer for the state of Idaho. I know she will continue to look out for the interests of our community in her new job.
Thanks, Gynii, and best wishes.
May God richly bless our wonderful community and you personally this Christmas season and may 2012 be a successful and prosperous year for all of us!

By Arlen Wittrock
December 18, 2011

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

Hoku energizes Pocatello plant

POCATELLO — The lights are on and everyone at Hoku is home.

Hoku Materials, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hoku Corp., was formed to manufacture, market and sell polysilicon for photovoltaic modules.

The Pocatello company announced last week that it has connected its new polysilicon plant to Idaho Power’s substation and is receiving permanent power as the company continues to commission the site.

“Connecting to the 82-megawatt Idaho Power grid-connected substation is a critical milestone,” Hoku Corporation’s CEO Scott Paul said. “The power infrastructure for the plant is complete, and we now have continuous electricity.”

Previously Hoku had been using temporary power and portable generators for localized construction and commissioning activities.

“Connecting to the substation enables us to complete systemwide commissioning activities, including our instruments and control systems, and power-hungry equipment like pumps, compressors, and our polysilicon deposition reactors,” Paul said. “These reactors are the largest consumers of power on-site, requiring very large loads of continuous power — they cannot be run on temporary power or portable generators.”

There are a number of items that need to be completed by Hoku’s operators, engineers, and construction contractors before it can bring chemicals on-site and begin the continuous production of polysilicon, according to the CEO. These items include finalizing internal safety checks, and completing the installation of various fire protection, alarm, and safety systems.

“However, with the addition of permanent power, we are able to start up the plant,” Paul said.

Hoku Corporation is a solar energy products and services company with three business units: Hoku Materials,
Hoku Solar, and Tianwei Solar USA, Inc

Hoku Materials manufactures, markets and sells polysilicon for the solar market from its plant in Pocatello.
Hoku Solar markets and   installs turnkey photovoltaic systems and provides related services. Tianwei Solar USA markets and sells photovoltaic modules manufactured by Tianwei New Energy. Hoku Corporation is a majority owned subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd.

For more information, visit  www.hokucorp.com 

Sunday, November 27, 2011
By Journal Staff

.

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

Site manager says future is bright for ON Semiconductor

POCATELLO — The future is bright for ON Semiconductor, according to site manager John Spicer.

   Spicer provided a number of examples to help back up the statement that he made during the Rotary Club’s luncheon at the Red Lion Hotel on Thursday in Pocatello.

   “The recession had a negative impact on the company,” Spicer admitted. “But after we shut down Fab 9, we were able to reduce our costs and increase productivity.”

ON Semiconductor currently employs 700 full-time employees and 100 part-time workers.

There are currently no plans to cut back the work force, according to Spicer.

   “Revenue for (the entire company) totaled roughly $2.3 billion in 2010,” Spicer said. “I would estimate that $650 million of that total derived from our business unit in Pocatello.” 

   The production site in the Gate City is one of two such facilities that are based in the United States.

   Local workers produce goods for On Semiconductor customers in the power supply, automotive, communications, computer, consumer, medical, wireless, mobile phone, industrial, military and aerospace markets.

   “We have grown in productivity and increased the value of the plant in Pocatello,” Spicer said. “I foresee us successfully moving forward into the future. We have the ability to provide for different technologies with the know-how to manufacture what our customers envision.”

   Spicer attributed the lower costs associated with productivity at the Pocatello plant to the fact that they have been able to reduce the amount of waste and cut back on overhead costs.

BY TAMMY SCARDINO
tscardino@journalnet.com  
Links: 
Idaho State Journal
ON Semiconductor

New Alliance - ISU Teams up with Scan Tech

October 5, 2011

POCATELLO — Idaho State University’s first partnership to fill the massive Ballard Medical complex it purchased for $3.6 million this year is now taking up some of the space. ScanTech Identification Beams Systems, a subsidiary of ScanTech Holdings of Atlanta, Ga., announced its joint partnership with the university Tuesday afternoon.

   ISU President Arthur Vailas said ScanTech is just the first company to announce a partnership with ISU to use the old Ballard Medical building which covers almost five acres. He said there will be others — both private and government.

   “I’m telling you I’m confident that is going to happen,” Vailas said.

   Vailas shared the podium with Dolan Falconer, president and CEO of ScanTech IBS, George Imel, dean of the College of Science and Engineering, and Eric Brugett, the assistant professor in charge of new development at the complex, as the partnership was unveiled.

   “This park was part of the vision the university had a long time ago,” Vailas said about the research center ISU is beginning to develop inside the old Ballard complex. “We have the intellectual capital to deal with problems and now we have the facility. This resource is the infrastructure we need for ISU to take the next step.”

   ScanTech has begun to deliver equipment for its operation at the ISU research facility, but Brugett said it will be mid-spring of 2012 before everything is fully operational.

   “We have to remove some hurdles,” Brugett said. Among those hurdles are adequate electrical systems and licensing for the electron accelerator that will be used for the imagin of cargo containers.

   Brugett said ISU already has the necessary federal license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which can be amended. He said he needs to acquire state licensing from the same agency that regulates CT scanners in hospitals.

   “We’re not going to dive into this head-first,” Brugett said. “We’re going to take it one step at a time.”
 
IBS is dedicated and committed to design, develop and build affordable, nonintrusive inspection systems utilizing state-of-the-art Ebeam and X-ray technologies that significantly assist in locating and identifying threatening materials and substances at the world’s airports, seaports, borders, embassies, and other facilities and buildings, ScanTech’s website states.

   Falconer said his company has already contracted with Premier Technologies of Blackfoot to develop new equipment for the company. ISU’s technology center will become the testing grounds for this high-tech equipment.

   Dean Imel said he hopes the partnership will offer ISU students an opportunity to get experience with cutting edge technology.

   “This is something in today’s world we really need to emphasize,” Imel said.

   Using this technology to improve homeland security is just the beginning, according to Brugett. He said imaging accelerator technology may lead to better ways to irradiate fruits and vegetables and sterilize medical instruments.

   The ISU assistant professor said the partnership with ScanTech fits well with his plans to focus on “applied nano-technology” at the complex. 

BY MICHAEL H. O’DONNELL
modonnell@journalnet.com
Links: 
Idaho State Journal
Idaho State University

COMPUTER DATA CENTER SET HERE

 $10 million project to open next March
  BY JOHN O’CONNELL
    joconnell@journalnet.com  
 September 2011
POCATELLO — A Utah businessman announced plans Wednesday to open Southeast Idaho’s first commercial computer data center in 27,000 square feet of vacant warehouse space at the former Garrett Freight Lines building.
   Heman Smith, CEO of Cayenne Technologies of Mona, Utah, said he intends to invest up to $10 million to get the business started and plans to open in March of 2012 with a staff of roughly 20, earning salaries in the $80,000 range.
   The center will fill a growing demand for businesses throughout Idaho, Utah, California and the Northwest in need of secure and reliable data storage space and information disaster recovery services, Smith said.
   Smith also assured a small crowd that included local business leaders and Lt. Gov. Brad Little his facility will attract other high-tech businesses to the area and should result in some companies locating disaster recovery equipment here and contracting with local information technology staff.  
   He intends to develop the space in three phases, with the longterm goal of growing to between 70 and 100 jobs in the local center by 2014. Some time next year, he also intends to seek space either in Pocatello or Idaho Falls to house a second center, which he would likely locate in new construction.
   “The demand for that storage capacity is huge,” Smith said. “Right now the demand   outstrips the supply.”
   Though there are about five data centers in Southeast Idaho — the largest of which is located at the FBI building — none of them lease space to private interests, Smith said.
   Internet-based services, such as Facebook and You-Tube, buy volumes of space from data centers to store their video files, he said.
   Other businesses often turn to data centers to protect their records and capabilities from disasters. While few companies have their own backup power systems, the data center’s power source will be backed up by diesel generators or fuel cells. The data center must also have access to at least two separate sources of fiberoptic cable in case one of the lines is severed.
   One fiberoptic line runs behind the facility along First Avenue, owned by CenturyLink, formerly Qwest. Syringa wireless had previously announced plans to build the second line directly in front of the facility along Garrett Way.
   In the first phase of operations, the facility will require 2 megawatts of power — equivalent to the power consumed by 1,300 homes. Idaho Power officials said they’ll supply that power from a   nearby substation.
   Smith, who said he’s backed by local investment interests, bank interests and his personal resources, chose Pocatello largely due to its reliable and cost-effective power supply. He was also enticed by the proximity to a major university, the region’s seismic stability, the affordable cost of living in the area and the cool and dry climate. Data centers require cool temperatures and low humidity to protect the equipment, he explained.
   Smith vows his facility will be much more efficient than traditional data centers, which typically pump in cool air through raised warehouse floors to keep equipment from overheating. He intends to keep the equipment in his racks cool and dry in individual refrigeration units.
   Smith, who attended ISU before graduating from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, intends to offer “colocation” services, through which businesses would lease his rack and bring in their own equipment, and more comprehensive “managed” services, entitling customers to the use of his staff and equipment.
   He worked with data centers   for the Utah business Altiris, and he also helped the genealogy website ancestry. com better utilize data centers.
   Little, who was in Pocatello to speak at the Bannock Development Corporation 20th Annual Economic Development Symposium, believes Smith’s announcement highlights some of the reasons why Idaho has been in a good position to weather the economic downturn.
   “The assets that we have here in Idaho that attracted Hoku, that obviously attracted Cayenne — affordable power, a good workforce, the weather — it continues to attract a lot of people,” Little said. “I’m optimistic that we’re in the right place. I think this is kind of an indicator of what’s going to take place all over Idaho.”
   Smith credited Gynii Gilliam, executive director of Bannock Development Corp., for assisting with research.
   The Idaho Department of Labor also assisted with research and data. Dan Cravens, regional economist for the Idaho Department of Labor, said with the multiplier effect factored in, the center’s initial phase of operations should result in the creation of 40-50 jobs.  
 

Links: 
Idaho State Journal

East Idaho has several small business resources

September 20, 2011
By John Hart - Small Business Development Center
This past week I attended a business seminar organized by Kim Boyack of the Internal Revenue Service. The meeting drew together agencies and companies involved in small business development in Eastern Idaho. The purpose was to sit face-to-face with others   who are engaged in helping small businesses for networking and knowledge sharing.
   What surprised me the most is how well the various organizations fit together in filling various development needs of small businesses. These resources should be looked at by all in small business. If you are not taking advantage of help in starting and running your business, you are missing a great opportunity.  
   The SBDC is one of these resources. I am the director for the Pocatello and surrounding region. We offer no-cost business consulting directly to small businesses on topics such as business planning, marketing, operations, and financials. We focus on for profit business development, startups, and businesses that are trying to grow and expand.
   The SBDC also offers low cost business trainings and seminars. Usually we operate on a small scale, and then occasionally on larger scale. We are currently organizing the Working Women’s Business Symposium on Oct. 6th that will be held at the Clarion Inn. This will be a large, all-day training event with expert presenters and topics specifically for women in business. We also organize smaller classes on business start-up, marketing, internet strategies, and bookkeeping.  
   The Eastern Idaho Development Corporation is another local development organization. The EIDC partners with local banks to facilitate business loans that are backed by the Small Business Administration. Samantha Damron is the director at EIDC and knows the local bankers and funders that specialize in small business loans. She can be reached at 234-7541.  
   Another local development agency is Bannock Development. This economic development resource has a key focus on attracting new business to the region, retention of local businesses, and coordinating state and local incentives for businesses. Bannock Development is a main player in the economic development occurring throughout the region. Gynii Gilliam is the director and can be reached at 233-3500.
   Partners for Prosperity is another nonprofit organization that assists with business development in Eastern Idaho. This organization helps with computer training, workforce and business skills development, and cultivating partnerships. They offer help to minorities and those needing a foundation of business skills or financial education. Sonia Martinez is the director and can be reached at 785-0059.  
   The final agencies I will mention in the column today are the Idaho Departments of Commerce and Labor. These two government agencies have put together excellent online resources to help with starting a business in Idaho and hiring employees. The Department of Commerce has a publication that has become indispensable to helping new startups and small businesses navigate the technicalities and requirements of setting up a business. It is called “Starting a Business in Idaho” and is available to download online at www. commerce.idaho.gov.
   Sitting at a joint table with these business development agencies and others was eye opening for me. I was inspired by the collective resources that are available to help small businesses of all types.
   Take advantage of these and make an effort to contact one or all of the groups here. For additional help, you can reach the SBDC at 208-244-8521 or online at  www.idahosbdc.org  .

Links: 
Idaho State Journal
Small Business Development Center

Local Allstate job fair draws 500

 Insurance company plans to hire hundreds for Chubbuck call center

Friday, September 23, 2011
POCATELLO — More than 500 people didn’t pass up the opportunity to meet and greet local representatives of the new Allstate call center that is currently under construction in Chubbuck.
   A line formed outside and spilled into the parking lot at the Idaho Department of Labor location in Pocatello where the insurance company’s job fair   was held on Thursday.
   Allstate Site Leader Jody Lewis wasn’t surprised at the turnout.
   “They’re excellent paying jobs,” Lewis said. “I’m proud of the fact that we’re adding to the economic growth of the area.”
   Job seekers were presented with basic hiring information before they shook hands with one of the members of the Allstate Leadership Team that was present to answer their questions and collect resumes.
   All job applications must be electronically filed.
   Interested job seekers can submit an application or learn more about the qualifications for each position at  www.allstate.jobs  .
   “Once they are hired on, they will go through an extensive   , week-long training session that will prepare them for a specific exam that they have to pass in order to become a licensed Insurance agent,” Lewis said. “We pay for the first test and if they have to take it a second time, we do provide additional training.”
   As more interest has been expressed in the higher level administrative positions that hiring managers were struggling to fill locally, the Allstate team is currently in the   process of taking applications for customer relationship specialists and other front-line employee positions.
   People can apply for more than one position at a time.
   “The website is being updated regularly,” Lewis said.
   Chubbuck resident Renae Estrada is currently employed. Nonetheless, she was curious to find out what Allstate has to offer.
   “I’ve worked at a call   center before,” Estrada says. “I just wanted to see if this is a job I would be interested in. I’m not sure whether I’ll submit an application or not.”
   Customer Relationship Specialists make $12 an hour and have the opportunity to earn more based on how well they perform.
   Subsequent job fairs will be held in November at the newly constructed site.
   The $21.9 million facility is scheduled to open in October.  


  Hundreds of people stood in line at the Idaho Department of Labor location in Pocatello on Thursday so they could meet and greet local representatives of the new Allstate call center that’s being built in Chubbuck.
 
BY TAMMY SCARDINO
 Idaho State Journal
    tscardino@journalnet.com  

Links: 
Idaho State Journal
Allstate

Petersen Inc. at Airport

September 2011
POCATELLO — Fresh paint fumes and the sight of workers putting the final touches on the Petersen Incorporated sign facing Interstate 86 were all part of Thursday evening’s grand opening preparation.
Machinists, welders and various fabrication workers could be seen working on numerous projects inside the more than 72,000-square-foot facility prior to the Thursday ribbon-cutting, located at 1463 Fortress Drive near the Pocatello Regional Airport.
Jeff Schutte, the Pocatello fabrication manager, said the facility has about 30 projects or work orders it is currently filling.
Groundbreaking on the Idaho facility took place in August of 2010 and the Utah-based company began moving into the facility in February. During the past few months the final elements of the fabrication facility have been installed.
“It feels great to have our new blast and paint booths and burn table finished,” Schutte said.
In the center of the fabrication shop sets a 85-ton main boom for an electric shovel dipper to be sent to a mine site. Schutte said they can build single parts or every component for clients.
“There isn’t any limitations there,” he said. “It’s just a matter of what this customer is wanting for this area and what they need next — anywhere from handles, to booms to crawler frames to revolving frames, car bodies and all the heavy weldments for the shovel.”
Vice President of Business Development Rob Despain said the company builds parts for a variety of industries, including mining, nuclear waste, aerospace, industrial and petrochemical. Petersen tackles everything from small precision machining and manufacturing to large machining and ships products all over the world.
“Everything you’re looking at comes to us in flat sheets of steel, straight angles and straight beams,” Despain said, as he looked around the facility. “We do something to it — cut wholes into it and form it in shapes. What a carpenter is to wood, we are to steel. Really, our only limitation is our customers’ imaginations.”
The Pocatello branch is an all-inclusive shop providing design, fabrication and installation of metal industrial and precision machining products.
Schutte said the large pieces of metal used in the boom’s construction were cut on the burn table, which can cut large sheets of metal.
Schutte said there are about 52 employees at the facility with a few positions available. He said they will reach 60 employees within the next four to six weeks.
As for workload, he said the facility could handle about 40 project requests at any given time.
For more information on Petersen Inc., visit www.peterseninc.com.

By Vanessa Grieve
vgrieve@journalnet.com

Links: 
Idaho State Journal
Petersen Incorporated

$2 MILLION INFUSION

Research grants fuel work at ISU complex

POCATELLO — In the wake of an announcement that Idaho State University Nuclear Engineering and Health Physics Associate Professor Eric Burgett was awarded two grants totaling roughly $2 million, a small crew of workers is in the middle of reassembling various types of equipment that will be used for research purposes at the Idaho Joint Research Complex, 1651 Alvin Ricken Drive.
  
Outside of the facility, the Ballard Medical Products lettering has been removed from the monument sign, the landscape has been spruced up and an orange and black ISU flag can be seen flapping in the wind near the front entrance.
  
The former industrial manufacturing site was recently purchased by university officials for $3.6 million.
  
“We’re still in the ‘ramping up’ phase and were just barely given permission to occupy the building,” Burgett said. “I expect the first accelerator to make it here from Atlanta within the next two weeks.”
  
Researchers now have more than one “clean room” where they can go to use devices such as electronic scanning microscopes.
  
“That is the beauty of (the acquisition),” Burgett said. “The facility is a perfect fit for what we need.”
  
Once the infrastructure is in place, Burgett will delve deep into his research project that garnered the attention of those representing the U.S. Department of Energy. With the DOE grant money, he plans on developing advanced radiation detectors that can measure the level of fuel inside nuclear reactors.
  
“The technology that could spin out of this project could lead to the prevention of incidents that involve the threat of radiation exposure, like what happened in Japan (following a massive earthquake and tsunami that had a negative effect on the country’s nuclear reactors),” Burgett said. “The multidisciplinary approach we are taking is unique.”
  
Besides partnering with the Idaho National Laboratory and ON Semiconductor, Burgett said there has been talk that IJRC researchers will pair up with the Department of Homeland Security and the Food and Drug Administration in order to fulfill the entities’ research needs.

Such work will require that various types of researchers and technicians will relocate in Pocatello.
  
“Safety is going to be paramount in everything we do here,” Burgett concluded.
  

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BY TAMMY SCARDINO

ISU prof gets grants worth $2M for nuclear program

POCATELLO — The 200,000-square-foot building that has sat vacant along Alvin Ricken Drive in Pocatello for the last several years will soon be put to good use thanks to officials with the Department of Energy that awarded Idaho State University Associate Professor Eric Burgett two grants worth an estimated $2 million.

“This is huge for our nuclear engineering program and a credit to Eric — that he is on the leading edge of radiation and nuclear research in two different areas,” said George Imel, dean of the ISU College of Science and Engineering. “It speaks well for the entire university.”

Burgett will use the funds to develop advanced radiation detectors and to measure fuel levels inside nuclear reactors. “Receiving these grants was only made possible by the fact that we have our new IJRC Research Center,” said Burgett, in reference to the ISU Research Park and the recent acquisition to purchase the former Ballard building. “The space and equipment at the new facility will help us move forward in a multi-disciplinary effort, working with a number of different universities. We just couldn’t have conducted this kind of research in any of our other buildings.”

The titles of Burgett’s grants are “In-Pile Instrumentation Multi-Parameter System Utilizing Photonic Fibers and Nanovision” and “Plasmonically Cloaked and Metamaterial Neutron Scintillators.”

“For measuring fuel inside a reactor, you can’t imagine a worse environment,” Burgett said. “The radiation levels, extreme temperatures and pressures are almost unimaginable. Our study is an application of nanotechnology. It is applied research to a real-world problem ... not only do we push the theory, but we’re pushing a theory to drive a solution to a real-world need.”

Officials with the DOE allocated funding for 51 different university projects this week in order to bolster nuclear research and development in the United States.

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BY JOURNAL STAFF

Tianwei powering growth in Idaho

Official says investment helps create jobs and expects more businesses

NEW YORK - When Baoding Tianwei Group acquired a majority stake in cash-strapped Hoku Corp in 2009 to build a polysilicon manufacturing plant in Pocatello, Idaho, it became the most significant Chinese investment in the state, said Idaho Lieutenant Governor Brad Little.

Tianwei is a wholly owned subsidiary of China South Industries Group, a Fortune Global 500 company and a manufacturer in the renewable energy industry.

Hoku's $390 million plant in Pocatello had come to a halt in 2009 due to lack of funding during the financial crisis. Before the year came to a close, Tianwei came in as a major investor and took over the polysilicon production plant in a $220 million deal with Pocatello that began in January 2007.

The plant, which will begin operations later this year, will have the capacity to produce 4,000 tons of polysilicon annually.

Polysilicon is used for the production of renewable solar electricity power panels. A high demand for photovoltaic products has caused a shortage of polysilicon worldwide.

According to Hoku CEO Scott Paul, the production plant will supply polysilicon to some long-term customers in China, such as Hanwha SolarOne Co, Jinko Solar Holding Co, Hong Kong-based Solargiga Energy Holdings Ltd and Shanghai Alex New Energy Co.

Little called the investment a win-win situation for Idaho and China because he said it will create jobs for his state as well as high quality products for consumers in China.

"Hoku is a good example of a trade that is mutually beneficial to both countries. Because of the technology and infrastructure we have in Idaho, we can provide high-quality products for buyers in China. China buys a lot of our products, and this is why they invest in Hoku," Little said.

Not only did the investment put Pocetello on the global map, the construction of the production site has injected $500 million to $700 million into Idaho with the purchase of materials such as steel and chemical reactors from Germany, said Gynii Gilliam, executive director of Bannock Development Corp.

Bannock Development is a private, nonprofit economic development organization which aims to attract businesses to Pocatello.

Hoku, based in Hawaii, is expected to create 500 construction jobs when production on the Pocatello plant begins. There is now a total of 140 staff in Pocatello.

"This partnership creates jobs, brings in capital investment and builds the energy industry. We hope to have Hoku operating here for years to come," Gilliam said.

In January, Tianwei signed an agreement with Wells Fargo that could lead to the development and building of solar power products in the US. The cooperation includes potential financial support for Hoku's production facility in Pocatello.

Ding Qing, Tianwei's vice-chairman and president, said with Wells Fargo as a partner, they will do more clean energy projects and create more jobs in the US, according to a Tianwei press release.

Paul said Tianwei's investment in Hoku is "one of the largest investments in renewable energy in the US, with strong support from the Chinese central government".

To date, the project in Pocatello has received more than $200 million in funding from Chinese banks, such as China Merchants Bank and Bank of China.

"Tianwei's investment in Hoku is part of their long-term strategy to grow their (photovoltaic) business in the US with the help of Hoku Solar," Paul said.

Hoku Solar, a subsidiary of Hoku, is developing photovoltaic projects in the US.

"We have absolute confidence that the production of our plants will begin this year. We are getting strong technical support from Baoding Tianwei and our sister company in China which are manufacturers of polysilicon," Paul said.

He complimented Pocatello for its low energy prices, good workforce training, pro-business attitude and strong local government support.

Poised to attract more Chinese investments, the city works closely with the Idaho Department of Commerce's office in Shanghai to help Chinese companies which are interested in breaking into the US market.

Gilliam said the state is working on two deals with Chinese companies in the energy sector but did not elaborate.

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BY ARIEL TUNG