Business Growth Initiative creates new jobs

South Bend’s leadership is onto something big — by addressing the most pressing immediate needs of local companies, they can spur significant economic growth.

The idea of “economic gardening” — nurturing existing businesses to make them more efficient, productive and profitable — has led to a collaboration between the City of South Bend and the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County to create the “Business Growth Initiative.”

The idea took shape in 2006, when South Bend’s leaders visited Louisville, Ky., to see firsthand how that city’s “High Impact Initiative” was spurring economic growth within its existing business community.

“We want to create long-term partnerships with local business,” says Jeff Gibney, executive director of the Department of Community and Economic Development for the City of South Bend. “We are all working together to understand what their business needs are and then deliver the solutions that will make those things happen. This leads to creating local jobs and expanding the tax base, both of which are critical to successful economic growth.”

For this reason, the City of South Bend teamed up with the Chamber to create a special position, the director of business growth for the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, held by Phil D’Amico.

In this role, D’Amico is instrumental in strengthening businesses, in large part by connecting them with government resources to find solutions to problems and overcome barriers.

He has discovered that just about every company could use some help from the local government in some way, but often company officials don’t know whom to approach in city government.

“Issues vary from something as small as having a streetlight fixed to needing financial incentives for purchasing important new equipment, buying property or hiring and training workers,” D’Amico says. “They’re really pleased and surprised when I tell them, ‘Hey, we can help you with that.’”

In 2009, D’Amico visited more than 300 businesses in South Bend, resolving more than 70 different types of issues that could have hampered growth. By the end of the year, the Business Growth Initiative team had helped set up more than $3 million in private investment and nearly $1 million in public investment throughout the region.

Heraeus Kulzer Inc., a maker and distributor of dental products, relocated its North American corporate headquarters to South Bend.

Other highlights of the Business Growth Initiative’s accomplishments under D’Amico’s leadership include:

• Assisting Heraeus Kulzer Inc., a maker and distributor of dental products, with the relocation of its North American corporate headquarters to South Bend.

• Working directly with David Rhoa, president of Lake Michigan Mailers, to assist with opening a new facility in the area (see the related story in this issue on Lake Michigan Mailers)

• Working with a data company in its building of a second data center in the Blackthorn area.

• Working with Stanz Foodservice to complete a $4 million freezer-building expansion on Progress Drive.

• Working with Director of Public Works Gary Gilot to assist a technology firm in seeking alternative power for its facility, including both solar and wind power.

• Helping many nonprofits develop a strong network for long-term sustainability. They include the Youth Service Bureau, the St. Joseph County Salvation Army’s Kroc Community Center and the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.

• Working with several educational initiatives — such as Ivy Tech Community College-South Bend, Apprentice Academy, Holy Cross College and Brown Mackie College — to help support educational growth for a better-prepared workforce.

A solid partnership

Stanz Foodservice completed a $4 million freezer-building expansion on Progress Drive.

One of the most impressive results of the Business Growth Initiative is also one of the least obvious — an improved dialogue among local businesses, the City of South Bend and the Chamber.

“This is 100 percent collaboration,” Gibney says. “There is no sense of ‘turf’ at all. We all have the same goal and work together, enthusiastically, to achieve it.”

Gibney and D’Amico meet at least weekly to discuss D’Amico’s most recent findings.

“Phil calls on businesses to see what they need,” Gibney says. “Incentives? Zoning changes? Variances? Training assistance? Tax abatements for additional equipment or add-ons? Phil helps South Bend businesses understand we are serious about helping them grow.”

Periodic roundtable sessions involving various key business executives and Mayor Steve Luecke also help foster a stronger municipal-business partnership, as well as mutual understanding of economic development issues. Sometimes U.S. Congressman Joe Donnelly also attends.

Future plans

To date, the City of South Bend’s Business Growth Initiative has helped generate about $40 million in financial support for local businesses, mostly through tax abatements and infrastructure improvements.

With Ignition Park under development, a key focus for the city right now is identifying potential businesses (local as well as outside) that would be a good fit for the 140-acre technology park planned on the site of the former Studebaker complex.

“Unlike many parks, which are owned by development companies who want a quick return and will take any business, Ignition Park is totally owned and managed by local government,” Gibney says. “We can be more patient in finding companies that will be best-served by the park’s facilities, which will lead to more stable occupancy rates and better long-term prospects for staying and expanding here and hiring more local workers.”