EDAWN NEWS RELEASE
The president of an entrepreneurial manufacturing company announced the company’s plans to move its headquarters to Reno at an Economic Development Update Luncheon hosted by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) Thursday.
Formed in New Zealand, the cutting edge manufacturing company decided to base US headquarters here as it begins developing product for the construction industry. The novel idea for the company was revealed discreetly at the luncheon and will add 15 jobs to the region during the first few years of operations.
Technology, manufacturing and headquarters are all target sectors for EDAWN’s mission of job creation. The presence of the new headquarters means a total of four announced relocations only six months into the fiscal year, well on track for its target goal of seven. When our region can attract headquarters we bring high paying jobs and decision makers to live in the community. It is the decision makers who can see the attractive qualities of the area and ideally work with local suppliers and vendors to meet their needs.
The president and business manager of the new operation have each taken up residence in the region as the operations begin commencing in early 2014. In addition, after an introduction to Nancy McCormick, the vice president of business retention and expansion at EDAWN, they began engaging with business leaders in the community and local suppliers for their production.
“It is exciting to have an international company choose Reno over the many other options they had in the U.S. Their decision to manufacture in Reno speaks to our many strategic advantages not only for manufacturing but for distribution in the West,” said Mike Kazmierski, CEO of EDAWN.
Kazmierski reported a nearly 80 percent increase in site visits from companies interested in relocating or expanding to the region and nearly three times the quantity of jobs compared to previous years. There were 3,460 jobs announced in 2013 across several industries, with manufacturing making up 46 percent. Companies in the potential announcements pipeline represent over 2,900 jobs to the region in the next five years, in addition to the 1,723 jobs and four headquarters already announced in fiscal year 2013. McCormick visited 203 companies last year, 77 percent of which reported recent or future plans for growth.
The luncheon also featured updates from EDAWN’s entrepreneurial development effort, set forth by Vice President Doug Erwin, who has been the curator behind several entrepreneurial projects in the region including 1 Million Cups, TedXReno, Start-Up Weekend and multiple business plan workshops and competitions. Kazmierski reported a surge of entrepreneurial connection and activity and that Nevada doubled its entrepreneurial activity rate on a national scale.
Kazmierski projected increased growth and improvement in all three sectors, attraction, retention and entrepreneurial development, over the coming year.
About EDAWN
The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada is a private/ public partnership established in 1983 committed to recruiting, expanding and supporting newly forming quality companies that bring jobs to the region and have a positive impact on the quality of life in Greater Reno-Sparks-Tahoe.
