Business Retention & Expansion

Task Force

Approximately 20 volunteers join GREDA to complete their annual Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Task Force visits each spring. Approximately 100 area businesses are contacted and company background forms completed prior to on-site visits. Our BR&E teams then go out and meet in person with their respective businesses. Post visits or follow-up calls are made to those companies or businesses who request further assistance.

All completed forms are entered into a database by GREDA staff and Interns. eSynchronist, one of the nation’s leading companies in the field of economic development and business retention created the database program that is used for this research.

Positive highlights from the 2010 BR&E Initiative include:

• Strong management and ownership stability evident throughout the report
• 68 percent of companies have made or are planning to make technological improvements
• 51 percent saw increases in overall sales
• 41 percent deemed their businesses to be growing
• 88 percent introduced new products or services in the last five years
• 13 companies have indicated that they plan to expand in the next three years
• Most businesses rated emergency services (police, fire, and ambulance) and utilities high
• Quality of life was identified as the leading strength in the Western Illinois region
• Most business owners ranked the GREDA workforce as productive (6.04 on a 7 point scale)

Weaknesses/Concerns:

• Fifty percent of the companies interviewed are expected to be negatively impacted by upcoming legislation (Federal and State)
• Property Tax Assessment was deemed to be inadequate and unfair by many
• Several businesses identified the negative business climate as the major weakness of our Region
• Many companies expressed a dissatisfaction with Internet speed
• Attracting high skill labor to the area is a major problem
• Quality of workforce was a concern to some businesses

Top Business Sectors:

• Consumer Goods/Services
• Health Care/Pharmaceuticals
• Finance/Insurance/Real Estate
• Business Services
• Communications
• Consumer Services
• Government
• High End Business Service
• Other/Undetermined