7.4. EDSR 12-21-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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SUMMARY OF RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES EDA STRATEGIC PLAN 13 4. TARGET INDUSTRIES The City of Elk River benefits from having identified target industries as a focus for its industrial recruitment. It may welcome a broad range of industrial businesses that contribute to the City’s tax base and meet its standards for high quality appearance, but having identified target industries provides a focus to its outreach efforts. If those industries align with Elk River’s comparative advantages, they also contribute to the City’s marketing about what is special about the City’s economic development context. The City’s existing target industries are medical device manufacturing, light manufacturing, energy, and data centers. In our interviews we heard a concern from a medical device manufacturer that the skilled workforce for that industry may already be a little stretched locally, so attracting similar businesses to the area may create issues of workforce depth. That argues for broadening the target industry beyond its current medical specialization. We suggest the following targets because they reinforce messaging about the key comparative advantages that Elk River offers. • Precision or high-skill manufacturing. This is a little broader than medical device manufacturing. It reinforces the existing manufacturing ecosystem in Elk River, including its attention to workforce development, and sets an ambitious tone for the City’s aspirations. Precision manufacturers require stable, reliable energy which Elk River offers. • Companies with statewide or regional customer bases. This reinforces the fact that Elk River is situated at a transportation crossroads, and in fact has outstanding access to greater Minnesota, and especially northern Minnesota. • Data centers. Identifying this as a target industry reinforces messages about the quality and reliability of Elk River’s electrical utility. The health care and social assistance sector emerged from the industry sector analysis as a business sector that has a lighter than average presence in Elk River. Health care and social assistance jobs are less than 9% of Elk River’s job base, but around 17% of the jobs of the state as a whole. That suggests that Elk River residents may be underserved by health care providers, and that health care providers may see an opportunity in expanding into Elk River. Moreover, the jobs in this sector tend to be medium to high wage jobs. The Stantec team did not conduct research on the potential for attracting additional health care providers to the City. But because of the positive impacts associated with health care jobs, that is a possibility worth exploring. Strategies/Actions 4a. Update the target industries list in a way that reinforces key messages about Elk River's strategic advantages. Recommended target industries are: a) Precision or high-skill manufacturing, b) Companies with statewide or regional customer bases, c) Data centers