Flagstaff was recently named a 2014 Best City for Global Trade by Global Trade Magazine, under the Employee Friendly category. Every year, the editors at the magazine compile the list to help globally-minded companies strategically locate, grow and expand their operations.
“With a new twist on this year’s list, our editorial team identified 10 needs-based and relevant categories that globally minded companies refer to when choosing a new location. These ‘needs’ became the 10 categories we used to measure and select this year’s recipients,” shared Global Trade editor Patrick Dooley in a press release. Global Trade is a U.S.-based magazine for U.S.-based companies that do business globally. According to the magazine, global trade is the world’s largest industry, at $18 trillion per year.
Flagstaff and Northern Arizona are prime for global trade because the local business environment is strong for business attraction, according to Julie Pastrick, CEO of the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. “Not all communities can claim strength in business attraction and growth. A center point of the community is a recessive-proof manufacturing sector. The products that are manufactured locally are in demand despite the ups and downs of the economy. They include pet food, medical devices and dental products, medical packaging, paper products and ice cream cones. Because of the fact that the companies that manufacture these products are here paying better than average wages, we are a city that has a great workforce and business environment better than other places.”
“Proximity to a university always ranks high on the list for global engagement,” added Pastrick, who was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker as a member of the Arizona District Export Council. “There is no way we could be where we are today without NAU. They provide a talent pool that other communities do not have access to. There is hardly a school at NAU that doesn’t have a global presence,” said the Arizona District Export Councilperson selected to contribute leadership and business experience in support of the nation’s export expansion effort.
“Businesses are attracted to a strong, local pool of local talent, and through the university we find engineers, chemists, technology and marketing majors, and hotel and restaurant managers. Without a skilled labor pool, it would be difficult to grow into international markets, so the university is a critical component of global trade growth,” said Pastrick.
Flagstaff was chosen because it fits exporting site selectors’ needs of “Employee Friendly.” According to Rich Bowen of the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona (ECONA), that means, “People want to live here. When we talked to the Global Trade magazine reporter on the phone, he was mentioning that Gore has been cited as a Best Company to Work for. So we told him about our Outdoor Magazine Best Towns to Live ranking and gave him a lot of info about our quality of life. We started talking about all the CEOs of big companies that live in Forest Highlands and Pine Canyon.”
“Of course, we ended up on their ranking before we talked to them,” continued Bowen, ECONA president/CEO. “The U.S. Commercial Service [a trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration] lists places that are exporting and Gore is on that list with a lot of exports, so, too, Kahtoola. Nestle Purina from this location is exporting through the Port of Los Angeles to northern Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. SCA Tissue, Machine Solutions and other local companies are exporting from here.”
“It [global export] is much simplified today. We have the DNA, the bones to support exporting,” said Bowen. Some of those “bones” could be the I-40 shipping corridor and BNSF railroad line.
“To export, you have to get your products to the Port of LA, one of the top 15 cargo hubs in the world and we have two ways to do that: rail and I-40. A lot of the companies that are shipping are using freight, but they have their choice here,” said Pastrick.
“The future holds promise for global trade in Flagstaff, as we have a voice to bring export assistance to businesses that care about global expansion. … Export University run by the Arizona District Export Council in collaboration with the Arizona Commerce Authority has been offered in Flagstaff and will come back again. We want to help as many businesses as have thought about adding global trade to their mix,” offered Pastrick, who says that Export University is conducted in a small setting where “we can help them with resources and explain how to use them.”
The America’s Best Cities for Global Trade special report is not meant to be definitive, according to the magazine editors, but should be considered a collection of helpful tips. They recommend that exporters should consider the named cities when looking, for instance, for a great business environment, a well-educated or skilled workforce, a globally minded city or assistance with their site-selection process.
The report highlighted top ten American cities in each of the following ten categories:
- Best Trade Missions & Export Assistance
- Most Innovative
- Best Site Selection Assistance
- Best Skilled Workforce For Manufacturers
- Best Emerging Cities
- Best Business Environment & Incentives
- Best Global Vibe
- Most Employee-Friendly
- Best Proximity To Universities
- Best Logistics Gateways
Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson are the only Arizona cities to make the list. FBN
By Stacey Wittig
Flagstaff Business News
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