Elite Site Selectors Group Identifies Key Economic Development Trends and Issues Impacting Today’s Economy at Annual Conference

Chicago, IL, March 11, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The Site Selectors Guild annual conference took place February 23-25 in Puerto Rico and was attended by 35 global site selection consultants and nearly 300 economic development-related professionals. The Site Selectors Guild (SSG) is the world’s largest association of business location experts whose combined membership lead corporate location projects valued at more than $30 billion in annual capital expenditures and thousands of new jobs globally each year.

New at this year’s conference was the release of the Guild’s first State of Site Selection Trends survey results and an in-depth moderated panel discussion of those findings. Corporate leaders responsible for their company’s location investment decisions will benefit from the expertise culled via the survey.

Economic development trends and insights identified and discussed at the conference include:

• An expected significant increase in the number of manufacturing site selection projects inside the U.S. over the next three years, and a corresponding slight decrease in the number of manufacturing site selection projects outside the U.S. over that same time period.
• The manufacturing sectors that are expected to invest the most significantly in the U.S. over the next 3 years are, in order: automotive/related assembly, chemical/petroleum-based products, food and beverage.
• The most critical location factors that are expected to drive the growth of U.S. site selection projects are access to a robust market, logistics, low energy costs, access to talent, and low business risk relative to other parts of the world.
• An increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S., with Germany expected to be the leading investor in new site selection projects in the U.S., followed by China and Japan.

“We estimate that approximately 25 percent of our corporate clients rely on professionals like us, as location advisors, to make the final call on their location choices. This represents millions or even billions of dollars of investment in a location. The annual SSG conference is an opportunity for us members to convene to discuss pressing issues and trends in today’s global economy and to share with the economic development community what corporations need and want in a location,” said Andy Shapiro, Managing Director, Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company and the 2015 conference chair.

Guest presenters included executives from Hanes Brands, Citi, Owens Corning and Diamond Mountain Consulting, each of whom described the strategies and processes guiding their most recent site searches. Other sessions discussed supply-chain factors in site selection, the tools consultants use in conducting due-diligence, location process, factors and trends and the characteristics of competitive communities.

The conference also featured two internationally acclaimed keynote speakers. Ross DeVol, Chief Research Officer at the renowned Milken Institute, spoke on the topic, “Characteristics of Competitive Places: Changing Models of Economic Dynamism” and Gregg Fraley, noted creativity expert and developer of the “whole brained” approach to innovation, “Creativity and Innovation and Their Impact on Economic Growth.”

The annual event features The Excellence in Economic Development Awards. The 2015 winners were:

• Frank Conlon, Executive Vice President, Strategic Property Division Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Ireland (International Winner)
• Lee A. Crume, Director of Sales, Jobs Ohio
• Patty Lundstrom, Executive Director, Greater Gallup Economic Development Corp.
• Matt McQuade, Director, Business Development Columbus 2020
• Rhonda Rice, Executive Vice President, Greater Knoxville Chamber of Commerce

Award candidates are Economic Development Organizations (EDO) nominated by Guild members and are selected based on:
• Mastery of process
• Ingenuity and creativity
• Going above and beyond
• Political acumen
• Staying power
• Personal and caring touch

Nashville was announced at the event as the location for the 2016 Site Selectors Guild annual conference. Hosted by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the 2016 event will take place February 24-26. Registration for the event will open September 22, 2015. Guild member William Hearn, Senior Vice President, CBRE Atlanta’s Location Consulting Group, is the 2016 conference chair. Also announced was the Fall Forum, which takes place in Philadelphia October 26-28, 2015. Guild member Jay Garner, President and Founder, Garner Economics, LLC, is the Fall Forum chair.

About The Site Selectors Guild
The Site Selectors Guild is a professional association comprised of the world's most respected site selection consultants. The mission of The Site Selectors Guild is to advance the profession of international corporate site selection by promoting the profession and providing education, networking and other services to those involved in the industry.

All members of The Site Selectors Guild have been nominated and approved by their industry peers. As the first and only group of its kind, the Site Selectors Guild brings together a dynamic network of site selectors from around the world, combining their talent and expertise to create an invaluable resource, unmatched in its quality, for both corporations seeking site selection assistance and economic development organizations.

For more information: www.siteselectorsguild.com