Register for the Tri-State Development Summit TODAY!
September 30, 2011
[share]The 9th Tri-State Development Summit will take place on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at the Oakley-Lindsay Center in Quincy, IL. Hundreds of government and business leaders have already made plans to attend and hear from leading experts in the fields of agriculture, transportation, broadband, waterways and economic development.
Our speakers include:
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad
Damon Porter, Director, MoBroadbandNow
Thomas A. Oakley, Member, Tri-State Development Summit Transportation Task Force, Publisher, Quincy Herald-Whig, Director and Treasurer, Quincy Newspapers, Inc.
Alvin B. Lee, Regional Business Director, Mississippi Valley Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Rodolfo R. Sabonge, Vice President of Market Research and Analysis, Panama Canal Authority
Jim Sutter, CEO, U.S. Soybean Export Council
Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director, Soy Transportation Coalition
For more information about the event and to register online, visit www.tristateofmind.org. Or call the GREDF office at 217.223.4313.
Visit the NEW www.tristateofmind.org!
September 9, 2011
[share] Did you know that GREDF is part of a little 35-county movement in Western Illinois, Southeast Iowa and Northeast Missouri called the Tri-State Development Summit? We think the mission of the Summit fits perfectly with our own…
Tri-State Development Summit:
Bringing together tri-state area leaders to define common issues;to develop an on-going dialogue to effectively address those issues; and to improve the quality of life of the entire tri-state region through economic development activities.
Great River Economic Development Foundation:
GREDF exists to maintain and improve the economic vitality of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois through the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses to our communities.
We believe that by working together we can accomplish great things. That’s why we’d like to invite you to join us at the 9th Tri-State Development Summit which we’re proud to say is being held on October 5th in Quincy. Please take a moment to visit the Summit’s new website – www.tristateofmind.org – for more information and to register for this year’s event.
IAQ Annual Meeting Materials
August 15, 2011
[share] Dr. Bob Graboyes, Senior Fellow for Health and Economics, NFIB Research Foundation, gave a speech entitled “Healthcare Reform: How High’s the Water, Mama?” at the 2011 Industrial Association of Quincy Annual Meeting on August 15th.
PDFs of his presentation, supplemental materials and 2 recent articles are below. For more information and writings from Dr. Graboyes visit www.NFIB.com/DrBob and www.robertgraboyes.com.
Mark Your Calendars: 2011 Tri-State Development Summit
August 8, 2011
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Adams County Tied for 2nd Lowest Unemployment in State
July 29, 2011
[share] Adams County is tied for the second lowest unemployment in the State of Illinois for the month of June at 6.1%. That is 1.1% lower than June of 2010. This is the second month in a row that Adams County has tied Schuyler County, coming in second only to Brown County out of the 102 counties in the state.
The City of Quincy’s unemployment sits at 6.7% which is 1.3% lower than a year ago in June.
IAQ Annual Meeting Features NFIB Senior Fellow on Healthcare Reform
July 19, 2011
[share] Dr. Robert F. Graboyes, a Senior Fellow for Healthand Economics at the NFIB Research Foundation in Washington, DC., is the featured speaker at the Industrial Association of Quincy 2011 Annual Meeting on Monday, August 15th. The luncheon will be held at noon in the Hall of Fame Room at the Quincy University Health and Fitness Center. Tickets are available by filling out and returning this reservation form or calling Great River Economic Development Foundation at 217.223.4313.
Dr. Graboyes will give a speech entitled, Healthcare Reform: How High’s the Water, Mama?. “The 2010 healthcare law is washing across American business and will profoundly complicate the relationships between employer, employee, and government,” said Dr. Graboyes. “I will talk about sandbags and high ground for the years ahead.”
In his role at the NFIB, Dr. Graboyes analyzes federal and state healthcare legislation from the perspective of small business. He also teaches health economics in master’s and doctoral programs at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia, and George Mason University.
Previously, Dr. Graboyes was Chase Manhattan Bank’s economist for sub-Saharan Africa, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and associate professor at the University of Richmond. In 2000 and 2007, he was Visiting Scholar at the Kazakhstan School of Public Health in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University, master’s degrees from the College of William and Mary, Columbia University and Virginia Commonwealth University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. His recent writings can be found at NFIB.com/DrBob.
Reservations for the August 15th luncheon at the Quincy University Health and Fitness Center Hall of Fame Room may be made by filling out and returning this reservation form or contacting GREDF, which serves as IAQ facilitator, at 217-223-4313 or gredf@gredf.org. The cost is $15 per person. Tables of seven are available.
Unemployment Rates Continue Fall
July 5, 2011
[share] Unemployment rates in the region continued their downward trend in May.
Adams County currently sits at 5.5% which is 0.5% lower than April and 1.2% lower May 2010. Adams County is tied with Schuyler County for the 2nd lowest unemployment out of 102 counties in the State of Illinois, second only to Brown County.
City of Quincy unemployment rates for May sit at 6.0%. This is 0.6% lower than April and 1.5% lower than a year ago.
Quincy Area Safety Council Sponsors OSHA General Industry Courses
June 15, 2011
[share] The Quincy Area Safety Council (QASC) will sponsor OSHA General Industry Courses July 18 – 21 at Vatterott College in Quincy. The OSHA 10-hour General Industry Course will take place from 8am-5pm Monday, July 18 – Tuesday July 19. The OSHA 30-hour General Industry Course will take place 8am-5pm Monday, July 18 – Thursday, July 21.
The OSHA 10-hour program is designed and intended to provide instruction on a variety of general industry safety and health standards to entry-level workers. The course emphasizes hazard identification, avoidance, control and prevention. Registration fees are $175 for members (with a $25 member discount for each additional student from the same employer) and $195 for non-members.
The OSHA 30-hour program is more comprehensive than the 10-hour general industry program. It is designed for anyone involved in general industry, especially personnel responsible for supervision, management, safety and the company’s employees. The course emphasizes hazard identification, avoidance, control and prevention. Registration fees are $425 for members (with a $25 member discount for each additional student from the same employer) and $450 for non-members.
Thomas Grey, CHCM, President, Grey & Associates, Champaign Illinois is the instructor. Tom Grey is a highly skilled trainer and coach in employer and employee development of safety performance. Tom has over 28 years of hands on experience as a former plant manager, safety manager, human resources manager and quality control manager in manufacturing, distribution and trucking industries.
Tom is a graduate from the University of Illinois and a US Army Veteran. He is a trained Industrial Designer, Humane Resources Generalist, Board Certified Hazard Control Manager (CHCM) and OSHA Outreach Trainer. Tom has been trained in the OSHA Outreach OSHA 501 General Industry 10-hour and 30-hour Trainer Program. He is also authorized to instruct for the National Safety Education Center and the OSHA Training Institute on the OSHA 511 General Industry Course and SHA 501 General Industry Train-the-Trainer Course.
The mission of the Quincy Area Safety Council is to improve safety in Quincy and the surrounding area through a network of safety-minded individuals acting to predict, prevent, and minimize accidents.
[share] Selecting the right foreign partner in a new country is a critical marketing decision. The right partner can lead to new sales and profits. The wrong partner may mean significant lost sales, poor branding and ultimately withdrawal from the market. For most companies, their first foreign partner is their agent or distributor. As that partner will be doing most of the marketing activities in the country, getting the right partner is crucial.
A firm must begin by detailing what it wants from the foreign partner. How much of the sales and marketing burden will be pushed on to the partner? If the exporter is planning to open a distribution facility, then much of the logistics issues will be handled by the exporter rather than the partner. Similarly, if the exporter is planning to open an overseas sales/marketing office, there are considerably less expectations from the partner.
Following are some of the issues to consider when choosing a partner. These will help identify the potential strengths or weaknesses of each partner as well as the opportunities and threats they face in the country and industry in which they operate. These same strengths and weaknesses need to fit with the strengths and weaknesses of the exporter, and the opportunities and threats need to match with the international goals of the exporter. This may be difficult to achieve, which is why the selection of a foreign partner is most commonly selecting the ‘best’ partner among a list of considerations rather then finding the ‘ideal’ partner.
Product Lines Currently Represented: One of the best indicators will be the product lines (brands) the potential partner already represents. This reveals a great deal about their experience, strengths and focus. There may be some lines that would be competitive with the manufacturer’s product and preclude any potential for a representation agreement. This is particularly important for exclusive representation agreements. Manufacturers want to avoid ‘line collectors’ – companies that try to represent as many product lines as possible in hopes that ultimately one or two will be huge successes.
Industry Focus and Technical Knowledge: Most agents and distributors focus on particular industries. Though their focus may not be a perfect match, it can be used as a guide. If particular technical knowledge is required, such capabilities will need to be identified.
Years of Experience: Manufacturers are sometimes attracted to relatively new agents and distributors that may be more aggressive given their relative need to grow and succeed versus other competitors in the market. On the other hand, a mature, experienced partner may have the needed contacts to ensure greater success for the exporter.
Sales Structure: This is a critical indicator. It describes how the foreign company sells and to whom. For example, does the distributor only sell to retail locations, but never to the end-user? Does the distributor sell to large accounts?
Current Customers: If research has determined that particular customers are crucial, such as government agencies, some clarification by the company needs to be made to ensure they will be contacted.
Customer Support: If training, parts distribution or product repairs will be necessary, determine what customer support functions the company is able to provide.
Office Locations: The location of the main office and any other offices will indicate the geographical sales focus of the company. It will help determine what part of the territory it can effectively cover.
The Illinois SBDC International Trade Center can assist in finding suitable foreign partners. We subscribe to databases that list foreign companies by industry and sales activities. The State of Illinois Office of Trade and Investment offers direct assistance in finding and vetting foreign partners, as does the US DOC Peoria Export Assistance Center within the U.S. Commercial Service. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for your next partner search. For more information, call (309) 677-3075 or email illinoissbdcitc@bradley.edu.
Unemployment Continues to Fall in April
May 31, 2011
[share] The region continues to see a positive trend for unemployment with rates falling throughout Western Illinois in April. Adams County is ranked 2nd lowest in the state at 6.0% which is 1.4% lower than a year ago. Quincy is 1.5 percentage points lower than a year ago standing at 6.6%.