Real Estate Journal — Economic Development — January 30 - February 12, 2015 — 11A
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M id A tlantic
M id A tlantic R eal E state J ournal By Randy P. Seitz, Penn-Northwest Development Corporation Penn-Northwest reports success with Make it in! Mercer County Campaign sionals.
enn-Northwest is ex- cited to report on the success of the Make it in! Mercer County marketing campaign. Penn-Northwest has identified three key is- sues that have challenged Mercer County for decades: a shrinking population, an in- creasing unemployment rate, and an exporting of young talent from the community. In response to these major challenges, Penn-Northwest implemented its first ever Program of Work in 2012. We are pleased to report that the agency has now successfully completed its second annual Program of Work. Through- out the past fiscal year, the staff has been aggressively completing the Program of Work’s goals designed to increase employment and encourage investment in Mercer County. The Program of Work’s goals focus on new industry recruitment, local industry development, local entrepreneurship, workforce development, and marketing & membership. During FY 2013/2014, staff reported overall capital in- vestment for new & local in- dustry projects in the amount of $188,773,369; the retention and creation of 1,387 jobs; and an increase in member- ship funds collected of 12%. Penn-Northwest generated 765 new industry leads, dis- tributed 85 prospect pro- posals, and conducted 14 site visits, which led to five new companies in Mercer County. We couldn’t be more proud to have Boise Cascade, Hi-Crush Partners, Penn Stainless Products, Pocono ProFoods, and Springfield Commons as additions to our community. The organization also pro- vided direct technical, finan- cial, workforce, and other support to 9 local companies, helping them to increase investment and employment in Mercer County. We are pleased that these compa- nies, including American Cap Company, Autosoft, CCL Container, Ellwood Crank- shaft & Machine, First Na- tional Bank, Hodge Foundry, Integrated Fabrication & Machine, Jamestown Coating Technologies, and Supreme Manufacturing, set such great examples as to how to Make it in! Mercer County! The Make it in! Mercer P
County marketing campaign and economic development successes in Mercer Coun- ty gained the attention of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) and in October 2014, Penn-Northwest received the prestigious honor of being named the Large Economic Development Agency of the Year for its demonstration of outstanding accomplish- ments in economic develop- ment. PEDA is the statewide association of local, state, corporate and non-profit eco- nomic development profes-
able to achieve success and bring us, as a community, a step closer to improving the overall economic health of Mercer County. To learn more about becoming a mem- ber of Penn-Northwest or for information on how we can help make your corporate ex- pansion more affordable, visit www.penn-northwest.com. For additional information, contact: Randy P. Seitz, president/ CEO, Penn-Northwest Dev. Corporation, rpseitz@ penn-northwest.com, 724-662-3705 n
The new Fi s ca l Year 2014/2015 is off to an ambi- tious start with 295 new industry leads to date, 27 proposals distributed, and 8 site tours conducted. Later this month, the PNDC staff will be attending a food pro- cessing trade show to further spread the Make it in! Mercer County marketing message. It is through the joint ef- forts of the executive commit- tee, the board, the volunteers, the County Commissioners, and the Penn-Northwest members that we have been
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