Sioux City Metro Earns High Marks for Food Processing and Economic Growth Potential
In the just-released August issue of Business Facilities magazine which is published in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, the Sioux City metro ranked first in the nation for “Food Processing Industry Growth” and earned recognition as the third best metro in the United States for “Metro Economic Growth Potential” among communities with populations under 200,000. The recognition comes just six months after the metro was ranked number one in the nation for the second consecutive year for economic development in its population category by Site Selection magazine and just four months after the same publication named The Siouxland Initiative (TSI) one of the ten best economic development organizations in the country.
Debi Durham, President of TSI, welcomed the rankings and stated, “It is rewarding to see our region recognized on a national scale for the very things that have compelled so many of us to make this community our permanent home.” Durham credited the metro’s strong showing to a concerted regional effort and the hard work of Siouxland’s local businesses and economic development professionals. “This simply would not have been possible without the dedication and determination of countless individuals who are committed to seeing our local economy grow.”
Although Business Facilities has been publishing rankings of the fifty states for the past five years, this is the first year the publication has included rankings of “cities, towns, and MSA’s.”
“Established in 1968 as a national site selection magazine, Business Facilities provides monthly news and resource information for more than 40,000 corporate executives responsible for the expansion or relocation of their companies.” http://www.businessfacilities.com/
The magazine’s cover story, “2009 Metro Rankings”, was co-authored by the Business Facilities Staff and focuses on “the intense competition for new facilities and relocations taking place on the regional and local level…” Recognizing the present economic climate and the fierce battle waged between communities and states to recruit the companies who are creating jobs, the magazine article’s subheading reads, "The economic squeeze has intensified the competition between localities at all levels. Here we give our annual assessment of the best of the best – the cities, towns and MSA’s which have executed the most successful strategies and deserve to take a bow as our rankings leaders".
Ranked first in “Food Processing,” the Sioux City MSA topped Genesee County, NY; Livingston County, NY; Jackson, TN; and Fresno, CA; which rounded out the top five. Authors for the magazine wrote, “We’ve designated Sioux City, IA as the leading growth center for food processing, food products and agribusiness because it is the epicenter of the Siouxland Initiative’s highly successful development of a huge food-oriented job creating engine.” The article also specifically identifies over a dozen of the metro’s leading food processing companies.
The Siouxland metro region was also ranked third in the category for “Economic Growth Potential” among communities with populations under 200,000. While this is only the first year for such rankings, Business Facilities believes the “Metro Economic Growth Potential” recognition will become a prized designation by local communities. The article states, “And we’ve created a special designation that we are confident will become a coveted metro ranking: economic growth potential.”
“Each of the metros that were cited in the smaller-population ranking impressed us with the diversity of their economic development efforts,” says the magazine, “A good example of this diversity is our third place finisher, Sioux City, IA which is part of the Siouxland Initiative, a tri-state effort which has established growth-driven hubs in food processing/food products, call centers, data centers and clean energy.”
TSI Executive Vice President, Chris McGowan, explained, “Earning recognition from Business Facilities, which has been published for over forty years, is something we are very proud of and we intend to utilize this ranking in our national and international marketing programs.” McGowan added, “In spite of today’s challenging economy, this ranking identifies the communities with the strongest potential for future growth and this is another reason to be optimistic about our future.”
The top five communities for “Economic Growth Potential” with populations under 200,000 includes, Greenville, SC; Winston-Salem, NC; Sioux City, IA, Overland Park, KS, and Surprise, AZ.
The Siouxland Initiative is a not-for-profit economic development organization focused on increasing and enhancing employment opportunities in the tri-state area of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
