Council using CEOs in drive to attract companies to region

The Spokane Area Economic Development Council has begun using area business executives to pursue leads with out-of-state companies that might move to this area.

The goal is to spur recruitment of companies that would add more high-paying jobs to the area, said Jon Eliassen, president and CEO of the Spokane EDC.

Using area CEOs to write other CEOs to talk up this region’s advantages is part of an increased focus on job growth by the EDC. A recent survey and strategic plan commissioned by the organization said Spokane County, within the next few years, needs to create between 1,000 and 2,000 new jobs annually to not lose ground and to spur an innovation-based economy.

Eliassen has asked CEOs at Itron Inc., Inland Northwest Health Services and Servatron Inc. to send letters to the heads of companies the EDC has identified as possible recruits. Most companies are high-end manufacturing firms based in California, said Eliassen.

So far, the response has been positive, with a few of those contacted asking for more information, said Eliassen. For those who don’t respond, the EDC plans to make follow-up phone calls to establish interest.

The letters are aimed at companies with 40 to 50 workers, making their possible relocation simpler than for a larger firm, he added.

The letters sketch out the lower-cost economic advantages of doing business in Washington compared with California. If the California CEO asks for further information, the EDC prepares a detailed analysis of the money to be saved by operating in either Spokane or North Idaho, Eliassen said.

The key money-savers, said Eliassen, are the absence of a state corporate income tax, lower unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation rates, and lower energy costs.

So far the EDC has sent out about 70 CEO-to-CEO letters and plans to send out another 100 or more.

The plan to use specialized cost-analysis tools is part of a series of recommendations in a strategic plan developed for the EDC by Chabin Concepts, a California consulting firm.

The EDC paid about $52,000 for that study.