Business Facilities magazine will present a comprehensive, practical, and strategic conference program that helps corporate delegates better plan and manage their companies' relocation or expansion projects. This unique experience will be supplemented by an all-star list of guest speakers, who will be making presentations and leading discussions on a number of hot-button issues.

Seminars

Keys to Successful Back Office Location
Dennis Donovan
Principal
Wadley-Donovan-Gutshaw Consulting

 

Companies in nearly all industries occasionally face a challenge in finding optimal locations for back office functions. This workshop will offer a time tested approach toward choosing locations wherein success potential of a back office is maximized. The workshop will address the following:

• Upfront planning;
• Predominant location factors by type of back office;
• Location decision-making process;
• Effective labor market assessment;
• Illustrative data sources for back office site selection; and
• Synopsis of an actual project.
• Merits of offshore vs. onshore will also be briefly discussed.

The workshop is intended to provide corporate real estate executives the latest thinking concerning back office location. Armed with presenter insights, participant observation, and handout material, corporate real estate executives will be in a more informed position to guide their internal client teams on successfully resolving back office locational challenges. Additionally, economic development professionals will gather a deeper appreciation of customer needs/expectations. Throughout the session, interactive dialogue and questions/answers will be encouraged.

 

The Art of the Deal Today in the Era of Globalization
Don Holbrook
Partner
The Vercitas Group

 

In today's economic chaos and the lingering effects of mass and rapid globalization supported by the greatest economic perfect storm in our lifetimes... it sometimes can be overwhelming at the local level to see how to profit and create sustainable economic development.  The Art of the Deal Today is about learning to create pearls of opportunity amongst the economic maelstrom.  How to attract capital investment into new facilities and jobs is more important than ever before. Focusing on what Holbrook calls in his latest book, "Who Moved My Smokestack?" on the art of "Thrivival" in order to create the greatest economic opportunities in our local economies.

 

Incentives Are More Than Cash
Ed McCallum
Senior Principal
McCallum Sweeney Consulting

 

Incentives are more than just cash.  Actions from the community (state, province, regional, local governments) that make a location more attractive can cover a wide array of activities.  In addition to cash grants to a company, this can include property provision (site and site preparation); infrastructure provision (cost and schedule); permitting support; recruitment, screening and training; communication and public relations cooperation; legislative support; transportation benefits; and others.  In addition, incentives have a flip side – clawbacks.  Companies need to understand fully their performance obligations associated with their incentives and the penalties they may face if they fail to meet those levels.

 

Green Economy: Opportunities/Best Emerging Sectors
George Tobjy
Tax Director
KPMG Global Location and Expansion Services (GLES)

 

This session will focus on new developments in alternative energy and location trends for emerging energy technology projects.  The presentation will also detail new incentives to develop renewable and "green" energy including Federal grant and tax credits enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Other state incentive programs to support the development of new alternative energy manufacturing projects and to encourage company investment in renewable energy systems will also be highlighted.  A review of new developments in LEED  and incentives to support LEED construction will also be provided.

 

Workshops

Renewable Energy - Target Industry Analysis And Location Trends
David Brandon
Senior Vice President
Site Selection Group, LLC

 

 

In much the same way as the micro-electronics industry swept across the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, alternative energy today has captured our attention as it develops to a global industrial scale.  Lead by wind energy systems, photovoltaic systems, and biomass conversion, the renewable energy sector now occupies center stage in investment promotion efforts across the country.  In conjunction with fuel cell and energy collection and storage technologies, the renewable energy sector represents a broad array of technologies, opportunities for new business investment, and potentials to adapt and modernize excess facilities shuttered in the wake of global cost pressures.

This presentation will endeavor to characterize the nature of the renewable energy sector today; track its investments in facilities in the U.S. over the past few years; delve into its near-term business development potentials; and, discuss anticipated facilities location patterns in the short run.

 

How to Get the Company From Here to There:
Retaining and Relocating Your Human Capital
Jan Dickinson
President & CEO
The Dickinson Consulting Group/Relocation Center

A corporate group move is a contrast with regular, individual relocations because it involves lateral transfers of individuals whose positions historically do not relocate. Many of the lower-salary employees are needed to keep the organization intact. These employees are not as mobile as higher-income employees.

Employees are the company’s ’ most important resource. Pre-move support programs are important for employees who will not be relocating to the new location to avoid early turnover before the position relocates. Productivity and the general flow of operations are vulnerable at this time. Also a challenge facing management is daily activity being diverted from on-going business productivity by the training duties.

Relocation is third on the stress ladder, following death and divorce. The thought stirs basic human feelings of insecurities and loss of control of their lives. Having all personnel experiencing these feelings at the same time often presents reactions which are detrimental and should be prevented rather than trying to correct them. The talk will cover the vital issues companies face many of which are often overlooked and prove to be costly.

 

Think Tanks

Issues in Facility Consolidation Analyses
Jerry Szatan
Principal
Szatan and Associates

 

Companies consolidate facilities after mergers and acquisitions, or increasingly in this difficult economy because of excess capacity and the need to adjust production capacity to meet demand. Goals may include more effective operations, lower costs or other objectives. This think tank will discuss systematically identifying the benefits, costs and risks of facility consolidation, including addressing tricky political issues. It will begin with an introduction to the issues based on case studies of consolidation feasibility conducted by Mr. Szatan and continue with participants sharing the lessons they have learned in consolidation or relocation projects. Mr. Szatan has worked with companies on consolidation studies for headquarters, back offices, and manufacturing facilities.

 

Evaluating Locations for High-Tech Investments
Matt Szuhaj
Director
Strategy & Operations
Deloitte Consulting LLP

Matt will discuss best practices for evaluating effective incentives programs, summarizing key cost and operating condition attributes, and evaluating the attributes and competitiveness of a location.