Greenville Organizations Combine Resources to Better Serve Existing Companies

Existing Industries Coordinating Council formed to provide solutions to expanding companies

By Jerry Howard, President & CEO, Greenville Area Development Corporation

The cornerstone of any successful economic development program is how well a community services its existing industries. Successful programs can help sustain an entire economy in recessionary times and add greatly to a community's prosperity in good economies. Historically, Greenville has an excellent track record when it comes to capital expansion and job creation from existing industries. One needs to look no further than last year when Greenville was number one in South Carolina in capital investment and 94 percent of the total was from existing industries. Much of our past success can be attributable to South Carolina's long-standing Ambassadors Program and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce's Existing Industries Program.

Significant changes at the local and state levels have essentially mandated changes in the way we address existing industries. Early in Governor Sanford's administration, he announced the state would no longer provide field agents to call on local industries and work with local economic development offices. Concurrent with this was the realignment of the economic development responsibilities in Greenville that led to multiple organizations including the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the Greenville Area Development Corporation, and the Upstate Alliance sharing in partnership the major economic development duties.

More importantly, these changes allowed for a period of honest self-evaluation and an opportunity to make significant improvements to our existing economic development programs. One of those areas was existing industries. In assessing our existing industries program in the aftermath of state cutbacks and local changes in economic development, two potential areas for vast improvement were apparent. Initially we were able to confirm what we long expectedÑvery few of the existing industries in Greenville actually get contacted throughout the year. Secondly, vast resources within the community were being underutilized due primarily to a lack of communication with the groups providing services.

Part of the challenge of improving our existing industries program was identifying those resources in the community providing value-added services to local manufacturers and having them enter into a constructive dialogue with one another on a regular basis. We identified literally hundreds of such companies in both the public and private sectors. The Greenville Area Development Corporation recently brought together all of the public entities with programs specifically designed to assist expanding companies. These were the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Manufacturers Extension Partnership (SCMEP), Greenville Technical College, the Greenville Area Development Corporation, the Greer Development Corporation, and the Center for Advanced Technology Training.

Each of these organizations has been calling directly on companies in order to promote their own agenda or programs, of which every one has value in its own right. Therefore the goal in bringing together these organizations was to coordinate visits and send a unified message to our mutual customers. The first step was to create a shared database that allows each partner to enter pertinent information about their visit that can be easily accessed by the other groups. Regular monthly meetings are held to facilitate a roundtable discussion on the concerns of local companies, ideas for improvement to our overall level of service, and ways to add continued value from a programming and event standpoint. Thus was born the Existing Industries Coordinating Council (EICC).

The EICC quickly became more than a label. It defined a value-added process that has both a positive and unique impact on local economic development issues. The old and outdated unilateral decision-making process was replaced by one which favors partnerships by inviting participation from a variety of organizations. The top priorities of an existing industries program in Greenville are now achievable since seven organizations are all focused on the same end. Visiting all industries in Greenville, improving the message by better understanding the marketplace, and increased efficiencies through more resources and better service post-sale are but a few examples of what the EICC can accomplish over time. Each of the organizations contributes to the common goal while promoting its own agenda, allowing for maximum flexibility of resources.

All counties in South Carolina have an Existing Industries Program through their Chamber of Commerce or local economic development office; however, the EICC concept is unique in its structure and use of empowerment of decision-making and delegation of responsibilities. The EICC also incorporates into its membership industry representatives, which gives us the best available first-hand feedback on our initiatives. This ensures each call, program, and event offers value to our customers and greatly enhances their chances of growing in Greenville.

Economic development is a competitive environment. While competition invites innovation, it rarely offers solutions; therefore, it becomes incumbent upon local economic development officials to provide innovative techniques to meet the constantly challenging and changing demands of local businesses. Just as in the private sector, success in economic development is predicated on how well we are able to do this. The net effect is that through innovation our economic development program has put into practice those initiatives that will
foster investment, new jobs and most importantly promote an improved quality of life for our citizens.

Jerry Howard is president & CEO of the Greenville Area Development Corporation. Contact him at jhoward@greenvillecounty.org.