For three days in late April, virtually every camera in the sports world trained its lens squarely on one city: Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Hosting the NFL Draft commands that level of attention. From April 24 to 26, more than 600,000 people showed up at the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field and neighboring Titletown to enjoy the festivities of pro football’s second biggest spectacle. Among the attendees were thousands of media members from across the country and the globe.
Most spectators and media types came to find out where the college stars of today will play in the National Football League, but more than a few visitors came to kick the tires on Wisconsin’s business landscape. About 15 people participated in a site selectors familiarization tour hosted by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and New North Inc., the economic development group for greater Green Bay and northeast Wisconsin.
While the sports world waited breathlessly to see who would go No. 1 overall, the site selectors and I wanted to see what Wisconsin looked like far away from the media glare and broadcaster scrutiny.
Wisconsin passed this test with flying green and gold colors. The Badger State handled the fanatical crowds with ease, but more importantly, revealed why it has become a force at winning highly competitive economic development projects.
One glance at the Conway Projects Database shows this progress. From Microsoft’s $3.3 AI data center development in Mount Pleasant to Eli Lilly’s $3.5 billion expansion of its pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Kenosha County, Wisconsin is experiencing a technology and manufacturing boom.
Moreover, it is happening in every quarter of the state. Rosewood Dairy/Renard’s Cheese announced a 50,000-sq.-ft. remodel and expansion in Algoma. AmeriLux acquired 22.5 acres in De Pere for a $40 million, 500,000-sq.-ft. factory that creates 100 jobs; and Dakota Supply Group is building a 39,000-sq.-ft. facility in Sheboygan.
For three days, I went searching for answers for what’s driving this investment binge. A business tax credit incentive is playing a role, as is continued investment into talent attraction and creation of investment-ready sites for business. From Milwaukee to Appleton to Eau Claire, the folks who run growing firms are finding the right mix of business climate and workforce to make expansion plans work and bottom lines shine.
...Read the full Site Selection article here.