Delta County Area Chamber of Commerce

Minding our own business for March, 2006
Linda Hirvonen, Delta County EDA

Delta County Strengths and Weaknesses
Trends as Identified by 2005 UP Business Barometer Feedback

The Delta County Economic Development Alliance conducts in-depth visits with owners/managers of businesses identified as significant to our community. They may be significant because they are major employers, because they are growing, because they have sought state or local incentives, because they are struggling, or because they are representative examples of a target industry. As part of these visits, we collect data on employment, facilities, expansion plans, workforce needs, industry trends, and their perceptions of our community as a place to do business.

Some of our questions are open-ended, some ask for ratings on a scale of 1 – 5, and others provide a choice of responses. Three of the most telling open-ended questions are: “What are our community’s strengths as a place to do business?” “What are our community’s weaknesses as a place to do business?” and “Are there barriers to future growth in our community?”

The 2005 respondents were from Escanaba, Gladstone, Wells and Rapid River. Although responses can be broken out by community, most of the responses crossed municipal lines. This is partly attributable to the way our population tends to live in one community and work in another. Another factor is that perceptions of what one community is doing affect the entire county, especially when it comes to actions and perceptions of local government. It is well to note that perceptions may not be accurate or based on facts, but perceptions are an important aspect of gauging the attitudes and accuracy of facts or knowledge with respect to very important issues affecting the economic development in our communities.

Following is a representation of some of the items and perceptions that were provided in several of the 40 responses from 2005:

Community Strengths:
Sixteen different companies had some variation of “Great Labor Force- Good Work Ethic” as the first thing they thought of when asked about our strengths. Comments included loyalty, caring and commitment of employees, productivity, stability, willingness to work extra hours, work ethic being “in-bred Up North,” and statements about the quality of particular workers like welders, assemblers, and engineers.

Running a close second to the high quality of our workforce were comments about the community resources. Comments included: access to raw materials; real sense that their business is wanted here- especially common among Gladstone businesses; that we’re a geographic center for those with regional businesses; the friendliness of local people; and the access to great recreation.

Community Weaknesses:
Fifteen responses had to do with transportation and distance from markets as top weaknesses. These ran approximately 2/3 road and 1/3 air service. Increased time (often an extra day) to market, increased time of materials coming in, increased transportation costs both in and out, and lack of 4 lanes represented the majority of the road related responses. Limited flights and options, lack of business-timed air schedules, difficulty getting clients or vendors in and technicians out at short notice, and higher cost of tickets were most often mentioned regarding air service. Comments were also made about how our distance from major markets also affects our ability to attract top talent.

Barriers to Growth:
Three items made up the most commonly identified barrier to growth: electricity, transportation, and perceived priorities of government officials.

Not surprisingly, electric issues had to do both with future capacity and with rate increases. Uncertainty was the bottom line in both cases- whether we have the capacity needed to expand, whether we can feasibly increase the capacity, and how far rate increases will go and when as they affect pricing, bidding, and ability to compete.

Transportation, including air service, rail service, ability to attract enough truck drivers to meet increasing demands, and expense of transportation (time, miles, and higher air fares) also affect businesses ability to meet customer demands competitively.

Lack of space to expand was also listed as a barrier to growth. The concern was mostly with wetlands limitations and the difficulty getting Department of Environmental Quality permits. There is some concern about future residential space.

In addition to the priorities of the DEQ, several comments had to do with local elected officials not really understanding the needs of business. Focus on following regulations is often perceived as putting up roadblocks rather than helping the business to navigate those regulations. In other words, government workers approaching from a customer service standpoint instead of from a bureaucratic focus would go far in improving several communities’ abilities to attract and retain employers. It should be said that Gladstone received the most praise for their approach to business of all the communities. The other comment had to do with what several business owners perceived as a growing trend in local officials paying more attention to “politics” than what is best for the community- whether it was in not making the tough decisions or in partisan decision making.

The bottom line, like all bottom lines, is that we do several things very well, do some things less than well, and have some improvements to make to ensure that we are a positive community prepared for opportunities extended to us by existing and potential businesses. The EDA encourages citizens to spend the time reviewing both Escanaba’s and Gladstone’s new Comprehensive/Master Plans. (Both are online www.escanaba.org; www.gladstonemi.org) Escanaba is still accepting input until March 26th.
"Come Grow with Us in Delta County"

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