GLDPartners Assesses Sheridan Wyoming For Investment
Written by Lois Yates - GLDPartners Practice Lead, Competitiveness and Economic Development
Earlier this month GLDPartners visited Sheridan Wyoming to collaborate with the economic development entity Forward Sheridan and its community partners in assessing the Sheridan economic development investment attraction opportunity, particularly in terms of tech-related manufacturing.
While rural America offers many opportunities, it also faces unique challenges in growing its economy and maintaining an educated and healthy labor force. What GLDPartners discovered in Sheridan was a vibrant rural community that has found a niche in tech manufacturing where order volumes are relatively modest but production requires a higher level of touch and skill. The creativity and problem solving skills required for these jobs cannot necessarily be found by outsourcing to lower cost regions but they can be found in some places like Sheridan. Employers are reporting that Sheridan has done a great job in shaping their postsecondary education to better meet the challenges of globalization and the postindustrial economy. They are providing training in the fields and specialties most sought after. Sheridan’s lower real estate costs and a great expanded broadband network are also key attractions. In the end, with some creativity, a keen and realistic sense of competitiveness, and fit for purpose infrastructure a community like Sheridan can represent a serious contender for some manufacturing investments.
GLDPartners believes that Sheridan as well as other rural communities in the US can bolster their manufacturing presence by gaining a better understanding of industry supply chains which describes everything from conceiving, designing, producing, testing, distributing, and supporting the end product.
SBA-funded SCORE volunteers chapter chair in Billings, serving the Eastern half of MT, Northern half of WY, and Western half of SD.
7 年Forward Sheridan is very unusual in that it's head Jay Stender has a substantial hard science background and that opens up very different opportunities and priorities that get implemented. Like many small towns these days, there's surprising talent in place, that's willing to return home, or move to somewhere as desirable for raising a family (pretending hipster Millennials will never mature from urban lofts to homes suitable for children, pets, and greenspace is more like Peter Pan's Lost Boys than family dynamics. Wyoming's got the public infrastructure new built beyond any state I'm aware of thanks to resource development taxbase, a very small population, and smart taxation strategies.