By Larry Glassock, SEDCOR President

To properly address how the Willamette Valley will move forward, we need to take a deeper look at where we have been, where we are going and how we are going to get there.

In the early 1990’s, we saw the rapid rise of the high tech sector. Within five year, Oregon saw the investment of over $10 billion in new and expanding high tech firms. Mitsubishi Silicon spent over $400 million right here in Salem. Of course, we all remember the accelerated fall of this industry earlier this decade.

Food processing and seed production have always been mainstays of our economy in the Valley. Remember the fall of Agri-Pac, Chiquita, Agri-Seed, Agri-BioTech, Agri-Frozen and others? Think of the impact these downturns in high tech and food processing had on associated suppliers – now called Clusters.

Since 1995, we have seen the Salem Metro Area unemployment rate at a low of 3.7% in September, 1995 and a high of 8.8% in January, 2005. So, in the past we have seen the highs and lows of a volatile economy. To get an idea of where we are going economically, we must take a look at our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Some of our strengths include:

• An available labor force

• An I-5 location

• Available, serviced industrial land

• Strong, proven partnerships with the employee recruitment and training organizations like the staffing groups, the Enterprise for Employment, the Oregon Employment Department, the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) and especially Chemeketa Community College

• An excellent real estate development community that is good and responsive – just look at the Wachovia development

• Flexible incentives, including Enterprise Zones, Marion County Economic Development grants, OECDD programs, energy programs and the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund

• Competitive electric and gas rates

• Pro-business city councils and county commissioners

Our weaknesses make up a shorter list and include:

• Only moderate incentives compared to many other states

• The lack of a skilled workforce

• Low-cost electricity is in our past

• A lack of modern, available industrial buildings, some with rail access

• Ever increasing sewer and water rates and system development charges

Our list of opportunities is not long, but their ramifications are enormous:

• The creation of more serviced industrial land in our region – specifically the 650-acre Mill Creek Industrial Park in Salem, the Opus Industrial development property in Woodburn and the expansion of the Dallas Urban Growth Boundary to include more industrial land

• An existing diverse economic base to build upon

• Finally, the political clout to focus on the fundamentals of creating and maintaining a strong economy

However, there are some fierce threats we have to face:

• Inflation and rising interest rates

• Foreign competition

• Consolidations, mergers and takeovers

• Unfunded Federal mandates

• Anti-growth groups

• The housing bubble

• The unresolved PGE sale

• Legislature sessions that never seem to end

Clearly, we must capitalize on our strengths and opportunities and overcome the weaknesses and threats. It will be a daunting job, but if we keep focused on the fundamentals we will be successful. Let me highlight some of the areas SEDCOR will focus on during the next year or so:

• We will market this area with increased vigor

• We will put added emphasis on helping existing firms grow, through such initiatives as “Lean Manufacturing”

• We will be an active participant in creating and retaining over 1,000 jobs in the manufacturing, distribution and information processing sectors

Trends, tastes and technology are ever changing. The bottom line is that we must be flexible and continue our quest to diversify the employment base and generate new investment in our area.

Together, we can make this work.