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Pennsylvania
Top-Shelf Initiatives and Business-Friendly Incentives Help Businesses Succeed Throughout the Commonwealth

By Beth Brody

Pennsylvania continues to live up to its name as the Keystone State, holding a key position in the economic, social, and political development of the United States. Last year's American Electronics Association Cyberstates report ranked Pennsylvania eighth in both total technology employment and number of technology firms. Other statistics show that Pennsylvania is the second largest biopharmaceutical state in the nation and fifth in the field of biotechnology.

In April 2001, Governor Mark Schweiker launched the state's Life Sciences Greenhouse–a historic initiative designed to build on the biotechnology research at Pennsylvania's top universities, and to capitalize on the powerful economic potential of the state's status as a world center for life-science businesses. To seed the initiative, $100 million is being invested in Southeast, Southwest, and Central Pennsylvania. The initiative represents the largest single technology-related economic development project in Pennsylvania history.

The Life Sciences Greenhouse is expected to directly create 4,400 new jobs, attract or create 100 new biotechnology companies, and leverage more than $150 million in private capital over the next five years.

"With the launch of the Life Sciences Greenhouse, we're turning Pennsylvania's abundant intellectual capital and research resources into concrete economic benefits for all Pennsylvanians," says Gov. Schweiker. "[The initiative] will grow companies and create jobs in every corner of the Commonwealth."

Helping Businesses Succeed

Virtually every initiative Pennsylvania has introduced is helping its businesses prosper. In addition to creating an environmental policy that stresses cooperation, the Ridge/ Schweiker administration has made significant cuts in business taxes, radically reformed workers' compensation, and deregulated both the electric and gas utilities. Since 1995, the cost of doing business in Pennsylvania has been reduced by over $15 billion, including $7 billion in tax cuts.

What's more, Pennsylvania has one of the best-funded business-assistance programs in the nation. The $40 million Opportunity Grant program is the state's flexible business financing program that allows the Commonwealth to respond to business needs. The $22 million Jobs Creation Tax Credit program provides a $1,000 tax credit per job to firms that create at least 25 new jobs or increase their total employment by 20%. And the Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program is one of the nation's leading economic development programs. Over 10,000 new jobs have been created since the KOZ program began in 1999. The KOZ program can help a company significantly reduce the cost of doing business through exemptions, deductions, abatements, and credits of state and local taxes such as local property tax, state sales and use tax, and Corporate Net Income (CNI) tax.

Find Sites with Ease and Speed

To help site selectors find the perfect location for their expansion or relocation, Pennsylvania offers the PA SelectSite and SelecTech Sites Initiative–a rapid, Web-based search that brings the speed and flexibility of the Internet to the site selection process. SelectSites and SelecTech Sites offer over 100 sites certified as "ready to build." To be considered as a SelectSite or SelecTech Site, a property must have the necessary available acreage; proper zoning; electric, gas, and water delivery to meet requirements; T-1 telecommunications lines (minimum); close interstate proximity; and proximity to a large population base.

Bucks County: Business-friendly

In the eastern portion of the state, just outside of Philadelphia, Bucks County, PA sits strategically located along the Northeast Corridor. The Bucks County Economic Development Corporation (BCEDC) and the Bucks County Industrial Development Authority (BCIDA) have been instrumental in attracting and retaining businesses in the area.

In 2001, BCEDC and BCIDA approved more than $25 million in low interest financing for companies in Bucks County. In the same year, BCEDC/BCIDA closed more than $42 million in previously-approved loans for businesses which will create or retain at least 1,375 jobs. To date in 2002, BCEDC/BCIDA have approved more than $70 million in low interest loans. In the past year, more than 20,000 confirmed visitors have "toured" the BCEDC Web site (www.bcedc.com), which includes a fully searchable database of more than 250 available properties zoned for industrial or office use. The Web site also offers a full range of information on business incentives available through BCEDC, and on Bucks County as a place to do business.

It's these business-friendly initiatives that sell many firms on Bucks County. For example, MediMedia USA, Inc., a leading provider of consumer and professional health information, relocated and expanded operations in Lower Makefield Township, creating at least 525 new jobs for Bucks County over the next three years. Gov. Schweiker attended the grand opening ceremony to announce a $1.3 million incentive package from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania including Opportunity Grant and Job Creation Tax Credits. In the life sciences, a newly-created consortium of biotech businesses was awarded a Customized Job Training grant for more than $400,000 to provide a variety of job training for biotech employees over the next three years. The consortium's grant application was a joint initiative of BCEDC, the Center for Business & Industry Training, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center, and the Regional Biotech Council for Bucks County.

Penn's Northeast: Uniquely Positioned for the Future

Just a two-hour drive from New York City and Philadelphia, Penn's Northeast has excellent road access via I-80, I-81, I-78, I-476, I-380, and I-84. With one call to Penn's Northeast, the one-stop economic development partnership serving Northeastern Pennsylvania, you can access information on Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. The Penn's Northeast region is home to 14 highly regarded colleges and universities, and is serviced by 10 others. These institutions play a key role in the economic vitality of the region, and encourage technological advancements while strengthening the overall business climate. By networking with these institutions, Penn's Northeast and its partners strengthen the business climate, encouraging technological advancements and research and development.

This is clear in the recent announcement that AdvancePCS, the nation's leading health improvement company, will open a mail service pharmacy by October 2002 in the Greater Wilkes-Barre area. The company will create 750 new jobs within three years of operation, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, management, and other professional service employees.

Jon S. Halbert, vice president of AdvancePCS notes that the community's proximity to colleges of pharmacy represents a major recruiting advantage that complements the area's significant labor pool. The area is also important for its close proximity to many of AdvancePCS' clients in the eastern United States.

Location also played a factor in the building of three northeast Pennsylvania distribution centers recently. In April of 2002, Michaels Stores, Inc. opened a mammoth distribution center on a KOZ site in Humboldt Industrial Park, located in Hazleton, PA. The facility will serve the entire northeast portion of the United States. Michaels used SelectSites to find a suitable site and managed to get the facility opened ahead of its target date.

Wal-Mart recently selected Monroe County for a $60 million, 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse. Another retailer, TJ Maxx, selected a KOZ site in Pittston, PA for a one million-square-foot distribution facility. The 105-acre facility is expected to open by the end of the year and employ 1,200 people.

Companies moving to northeastern Pennsylvania say the available workforce influenced their decision; existing companies throughout the Penn's Northeast region credit their success to the talented and dedicated workforce. When E&B Giftware chose to locate in the region, Jonathan Sacks, vice president of operations and general manager, indicated that one of the deciding factors was what they heard from other companies in the area.

"We heard about their attendance rates, work ethics, and their ability to produce, and we were impressed," says Sacks.

Williamsport/Lycoming: Close to it ALL

In the middle of Pennsylvania, lies Williamsport, PA, part of Lycoming County. The city and county's central location puts businesses within close range of major interstates, including the east/west I-80, and U.S. routes 15 and 220. Considered to be a prime site for logistics and distribution centers, Williamsport/ Lycoming also has the distinction of being a center point for the new I-99 corridor, which will run from Maryland to Canada when completed over the next several years. The area also hosts about 400 acres of tax-free KOZs, eliminating all state and local taxes until 2011 for selected new industries. What's more, fiber optic cable has been installed throughout the entire area and T-1 lines connect the colleges, schools, and major businesses.

The area boasts Lycoming College (with strong programs in science and business), and the Pennsylvania College of Technology (an affiliate of Penn State University), a world-class four-year tech college. Because of its comprehensive curriculum, many plastics firms from around the nation send their employees to the college for intensive training.

"We have an exceptional workforce with regards to skill levels," notes David Dougherty, director of economic development for Industrial Properties Corporation, a division of the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce. "We have many skilled crafts people, well versed in machine shop technology and metal fabrication. We also are home to a wide variety of pharmaceutical companies and food processing facilities because of our top-notch workforce and strong work ethic."

Firm believers in Williamsport/ Lycoming include Lycoming Engines, manufacturer of airplane engines and a division of Textron Industries that has been in the area for over 100 years; Shop-Vac, makers of industrial vacuum cleaners, Kellogg's; Tetley Tea; Frito-Lay; West Pharmaceuticals; Northrop Grumman; Grumman Olson; Lonza Chemical; and FedEx, which currently has one air terminal and is building a new 40,000-square-foot ground transportation facility.

Pittsburgh: A Shining Jewel in the Southwest

With more than $3.1 billion in regional development, an expanded convention center, the rebirth of industrial and business parks, and an enhanced cultural district, the Pittsburgh region is undergoing systemic change or, what developers like to call a "metromorphosis." And doing business in the 10-county Pittsburgh region is easier and more attractive than ever, with over $5 billion cut from business taxes in the past four years. Personal income taxes are also at a record-low rate of 2.8%. KOZs are spread across 40 sites and 5,000 acres throughout the region. It's no wonder that the area boasts one of the largest concentrations of Fortune 500 corporate headquarters anywhere, including such companies as USX Corporation, Alcoa, H.J. Heinz, PPG Industries, PNC Bank Corporation, Mellon Bank Corporation, and Allegheny Teledyne.

Multiple technology sectors thrive throughout the Pittsburgh region including information technology, environmental technology, advanced materials and chemicals, biomedical technology, and advanced manufacturing. These industries employ more than 100,000 people in the region, comprising 10% of the workforce and nearly 20% of the area's total payroll, with computer integration and systems design driving a large part of the growth. More than 450 software firms employ nearly a quarter of the region's technology workers.

In addition, the presence of such major institutions as Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh contribute to the area's fame as a high-tech and top-notch medical community. Joining the ranks of big-name firms coming to the Pittsburgh area is AMTECH Computer Systems, a United Kingdom-based industry leader in electrical design software, which moved to Allegheny County in April 2002.

"The Pittsburgh area is ideal for us given its base of engineers that are involved with designing power distribution systems," says Mark Tindal, sales director, AMTECH. "Pittsburgh is rapidly becoming a software development community."

Behind each relocation and expansion is the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA), a company's front door to the region's economic development services. Working under the theme, "no barriers. . . just bridges," PRA offers site location assistance, workforce needs assessment and delivery, and help in locating funding and business incentives, the PRA is a site selector's greatest advocate. In 2001, the PRA helped companies create and retain nearly 3,100 jobs; saw $208 million in capital investment; had more than 600 inquiries to its Business Resource Center; and increased foreign press coverage of the Pittsburgh region by travelling abroad to raise awareness.

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