According to an annual ranking by Site Selection magazine, 337 corporate offices located in Pennsylvania in 2010 the fourth-highest number in the U.S. Texas took first place, followed by Ohio and Louisiana.
Matt Zieger, recently named president and CEO of the Team Pennsylvania Foundation, says much of this success can be attributed to regional economic development organizations that are good at drawing businesses and cooperating with peers in other regions. At industry conferences, Pennsylvania often has its own table to promote the state’s brand which Zieger says is pretty unusual. “Most other states, you have every little county fighting for themselves,” he says.
Zieger also says the Governor’s Action Team, which connects with businesses looking to move into Pennsylvania, is a resource many states don’t have. Another asset is the website PA SiteSearch, a tool to find available corporate real estate across the state. Zieger says the website’s traffic has grown consistently in recent years.
Rankings like the one in Site Selection are more than just a pat on the back, Zieger says. Professional site selectors pay attention to these rankings because it tells them which states will likely be easiest to work with and have the best locations for their customers. This helps lure new businesses and keep existing businesses here.
Source: Matt Zieger, Team Pennsylvania Foundation
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen
