The
Dayton
Development Coalition (DDC) presented this power point slide to an
audience of
a thousand
recently in Dayton. Dot
size
on the slide is commensurate with number of company projects advanced
in
conjunction with local economic development efforts.
Among DDC partners, few had as many such
projects as Darke.
Dayton
Development Coalition...
Darke among
Top Area Counties in Development Projects
County
companies, development efforts acknowledged at the regional
level
February 15, 2012
DARKE
COUNTY- According to state and regional data, Darke County companies
were among
the most aggressive in the Dayton region in 2011 in terms of the
planning and
implementing of local expansion projects.
Furthermore, those companies partnered
with local and state economic
development organizations more consistently than in most area counties.
Recent
information released by the Dayton Development Coalition, the regional
economic
development partnership of which Darke County is a member, shows that
Darke had
as many company projects brought to the state in cooperation with local
development organizations as any county in the region.
“What’s
been happening in Darke County is significant in several ways,”
explained Marty
Hohenberger, VP of Business Development for the Dayton Development
Coalition.
“Most importantly, there have been a significant number of companies
recently
with projects that have created or retained jobs.
But it’s also significant that those
companies have had strong relationships with county development
personnel and
the confidence to partner with them on these projects. Private-public
collaboration in Darke County right now is one of the many strengths of
our
region.”
According
to the Darke County Economic Development Office, the county’s
Partnering for
Progress (P4P)
Initiative has helped
leverage almost $19 million in state and federal funding for local
business in
the past two years, which has greatly assisted company projects. These projects have
retained or created
approximately 650 county jobs during that time span.
According to Economic Development
Director
Marc Saluk, the numbers are disproportionately large for a county of
Darke’s
size.
“As
the
country came out of the recession, Darke County had companies that were
ready
to grow and expand before other counties in the Dayton region,” he
explained.
“The timing was perfect as county leaders had just finished putting the
partnership together at about this time.
The impact of the partnership working
with these companies as they have
sought new opportunities has been significant.”
Saluk
also
adds that the county’s exposure during this period of growth has also
been
helped because many of the local projects have been brought foreword by
big
names. Whirlpool
and The FRAMGroup are
just two examples Saluk cites of companies that the partnership has
collaborated with recently on high-profile projects.
He said that there does not appear to be
any
slow down on the horizon.
“We are still
finding plenty of companies
with plenty of aggressive growth projects in development.
It’s actually rare that we
visit a company
that doesn’t have these plans at some phase of development,” commented
Saluk.
“Obviously, we will continue to lend whatever assistance we can to
these
efforts. But,
either way, the county’s
future looks bright so long as we continue to support the efforts of
the
businesses that we are lucky enough to have here”
|