What does a site selector look for in the Quad-Cities?

In the Quad-Cities, places to build are constantly being evaluated.

Each city has its own perks, and there to help market them is the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. Vice President for Business and Economic Growth Tami Petsche said there were multiple ways development leads were generated.

In some cases, a company approaches the Chamber directly. In others, the Chamber is aware of possible plans and makes first contact.

Consultants, however, are the most common sources for the Chamber. Companies hire them to help narrow down potential locations, generally for an expansion project.

"It's very important for the Quad-Cities to be on the site consultant's radar," Petsche said, adding that consultants are informed by the Chamber. "It's a lot of general education and awareness about the Quad-Cities."

Internally, the Chamber markets the Quad-Cities through promotions and advertising. Once connected with consultants, it steps away and the consultant takes charge, Petsche said. In the case of an expansion, for example, a consultant comes in with a checklist of things needed — a property with a specific amount of acreage, an existing building of a certain size or a specific location.

"We let them provide the details to us as to what they are looking for," she said. 

Then, work with community leaders, brokers and developers begins. As for what the consultant is looking for, it's generally narrowed down to three things. 

"In today's world, it goes back and forth, but it's very even. It's the site, the property or the workforce," she said.

The big question Petsche tries to answer is whether the community has the workforce to support what the company needs. Consultants not only are looking at the quantity of the available workforce but the quality, she said. 

On a national front, both of these are major issues.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are more than 10 million job openings in the United States, but only 5.7 million unemployed workers. Even if every unemployed person in the country found a job, 4 million openings would remain.

When the pandemic was at its height, more than 120,000 businesses temporarily closed and more than 30 million workers in the United States were unemployed. In the years since, job openings have increased and unemployment has declined.

An additional 4.5 million jobs were added to the workforce in 2022, but since the pandemic, nearly 3 million fewer Americans are working, compared with February 2020. The U.S. Chamber surveyed workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic and found 27% needed to be at home to care for children or family, and an additional 28% said their health was poor and healing took priority over work. COVID concerns, low pay and acquiring new skills before re-entering the workforce also were indicating factors.

Region-specific issues

A local problem Petsche identified was the lack of shovel-ready job sites. Having utilities lined up, preparation to the site and overall due diligence are crucial for success, she said. Most companies want to hit the ground running as soon as they can. Knowing they may have to perform additional work before they can get started could turn them away from the community. 

In 2021, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced $11 million in Rebuild Illinois Capitol Grants. In the news release, Pritzker stated the Shovel Ready Infrastructure Capital Program grants would support 11 projects across the state while creating an estimated 824 construction jobs statewide.

The grants were awarded to projects that would require substantial initial investments, the release stated. State funding was used to leverage $46 million in local and private funds in order to unlock a total $57 million community impact.

"By giving these initiatives the upfront and transformative funding boost they need to move forward, we're spurring a chain of new public and private investments aligned with what the community wants to see," Pritzker said. "I want to zero in on that because it's a cornerstone of this effort: We're investing in projects that fit the economic development plans for each region, maximizing the long-term return on local investment."

Locally, $597,500 was granted to the YWCA of the Quad-Cities in Rock Island, for example, for demolition and site preparation of a new building. In March, CEO Julie Larson said the new three-story building would be approximately 54,000 square feet and expand the center's child care, health and fitness and swimming pool offerings. Currently, about 3,500 people use the YWCA in Rock Island, but Larson hopes to double that number when the new building opens this fall.

For the YWCA, staying in Rock Island was important because it already serves that community, Larson said. Petsche said proximity to customers and suppliers came into play, too.

"That's probably their first look, is where do I need to be?" she said. "A lot of their decision is based on where they need to be to get their product moved."

A prime example is Continental Cement in Buffalo. The company has had a plant in Hannibal, Missouri, since 1903 but acquired the Iowa plant in 2015. A spokesperson for the company said one reason for the acquisition was Buffalo's presence on the Mississippi River. The Hannibal plant ships materials south, and the Buffalo plant ships them north, effectively expanding the company's reach.

Access to the river for shipping and the robust highway system are generally big pulls for businesses looking to expand into the community, Petsche said. 

"Companies like to be in communities where there is already a cluster of similar-type companies," she said. "Speed to market is essential, it seems. They want to start yesterday."

For this reason, the Chamber receives requests for existing buildings, but there generally are not vacant buildings of the size and specifications needed. Instead, consultants look for green-field sites, then narrow in on the ones most prepared for immediate construction.

In the Quad-Cities, manufacturing is a strongpoint in the business community, she said. In 2021, manufactured goods were the largest export in the region, with metal manufacturing $2.98 billion and chemical manufacturing exporting $2.12 billion worth of goods, according to the Chamber.

Regionally, manufacturing produces more than 17% of Quad-City area jobs. On the list of major manufacturers are Arconic and Tyson Fresh Meats, which employ about 2,400 people, according to the Chamber.

In June 2022, Fair Oaks Foods, a Wisconsin-based food manufacturer announced it would build a $132 million plant in Davenport's industrial park. At the time, company officials said 247 employees would make ready-made bacon to be shipped for distribution.

When looking for the best place to expand to, a company official said requests for information were issued across seven states. Requirements included a lot that could hold a building this large, a city that could provide the additional labor to support the company and other various site requirements.

Fair Oaks COO Joseph Freda said the ability to support the labor force was key when choosing Davenport, which beat out 176 other locations. Most of the processing will be automated, which means the company will need more skilled than manual workers.

Brandon Talbert, of Austin Consulting, said the building was expected to be about 150,000 square feet and sit on 31.5 acres within the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center, home to other large operations.

“There’s room at the site to support potential expansion in the future,” Talbert said.

The city’s attention to detail in having other infrastructure already on the site, utilities close by and land surveys completed also helped push the location to the top of the short list, he said.

“A lot of that due diligence had already been completed, which helped us evaluate,” he said. 

The size of Fair Oaks Foods' building is not small by any means, but Petsche said companies are constantly looking for bigger and better, depending on what they are manufacturing.

"There's a trend today of these mega projects, like electric vehicles or the components that go into them," Petsche said. "And those are huge, major projects that you hear a lot about today, but they're also usually looking for 1,000-plus acres and a workforce of thousands of people."

In that case, the Quad-Cities is not a competitor, she said. Instead, the state helps generate leads, based on available space. And the communities work together to create a viable business community and economy. 

"It's an everyday role that we play here in the community," she said of the Chamber. "It takes a community within itself to attract these companies here."

The community came into play directly with the Fair Oaks Foods decision, she said. Iowa is the No. 1 pork-producing state and the top state for pork exports, making Davenport an ideal spot for a business centered on bacon.

Davenport has had recent success with big activity because it has large, well-prepared sites. Surrounding communities, such as Clinton, are attracting large expansion projects, too.

"Even though business attraction is the sexy topic that everyone wants to talk about, it truly is the existing companies where our success comes from," Petsche said.

In December 2022, Nestle Purina invested $156 million and added 96 jobs to its Clinton facility. The Nestle Purina PetCare Company has had a footprint in Clinton since 1969. Over the past 53 years, the plant has grown to employ 570 people. The latest expansion has added capacity, production and a new training center.

The Clinton factory is the kitchen for some of the company's most popular food and treats, as well as the hub for testing new products. Purina makes more than 190 formulas, and many are exclusive to Clinton.

Another emerging concept with manufacturers is ESG goals, or Environmental, Social and Governance. Within each topic are different metrics, Petsche said, and company leaders constantly are looking for ways to enhance their involvement with each.

Specifically, clean energy is rising in popularity.

"Here within our region, MidAmerican Energy has 88.5% of their electricity that they provide to their Iowa customers, produced through renewable energy," she said.

According to MidAmerican, it has partnered with landowners for nearly 20 years to house turbines on their land. Currently, the company has 3,400 turbines in its fleet. In 2022, MidAmerican spent $41.4 million in landowner easement/lease payments for its wind projects.

This includes leasing land from 4,300 property owners across the state of Iowa, resulting in more than 10,000 wind-energy jobs.

Back in Buffalo, Continental Cement is leading its own industry in renewable resources. In March, leaders announced they were investing $32 million into renewable energy efforts, aimed at reducing the company's carbon footprint.

When Continental moved to Buffalo in 2015, it brought along Green America Recycling, LLC, the sustainability arm of the company. It operates at both the Hannibal and Davenport locations.

To make its cement, employees use fossil-fuel-fed kilns, including coal. But Continental now is taking a more environmentally friendly approach. Everything from windmill blades to truck tires to plastic and oil waste can be used to replace the coal.

The company measures its success through a total substitute rate (TSR). Currently, the TSR is about 30%, which means the company is taking about 30% of the coal out of the equation and replacing it with alternate fuels.

According to a 2020 report by researchers at MIT, concrete is the most popular material in the world. With cement being the primary binder of concrete, they are the main ingredients contributing to about 8% of global emissions.

In comparison, aviation accounted for more than 2% of global emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. With its renewed investments, Continental is hoping to increase its TSR to 55%, effectively decreasing its emissions by an additional 25% by next March.