Utah CEOs Cite Cost Advantages, Ethics and Local Workforce as Top Reasons to Locate Companies Here

Brad Walters, Gary Goodrich and Bob Carter address Utah executives at Utah Information Technology Association (UITA) event

SALT LAKE CITY – November 03, 2005 – Utah CEOs cite entrepreneurial atmosphere, high ethics, diverse foreign language experience, and a vast, talented workforce as key reasons to locate their technology companies here. Utah Information Technology Association (UITA) Trustees Brad Walters, CEO of Maxstream, Bob Carter, CEO of First Choice Solutions, and Gary Goodrich, CEO of ProPay USA, joined with moderator Cheryl Snapp Conner, partner in Snapp Norris Group Public Relations, to share their insights in a panel discussion at Orem’s Canyon Park Technology Center earlier this week.

All three CEOs praise Utah’s government for providing incentives and programs that make it attractive to base new companies here.

“There is a definite cost advantage in Utah over the West Coast,” Goodrich said. “Utah’s government does a good job of encouraging new business and staying out of the way. I am very optimistic about Utah becoming even more business-friendly because of the top-level emphasis the Huntsman administration is assigning to economic development in our state. In contrast, I have found New York to be the most difficult environment, with California as a close runner-up.”

The CEOs also cite a family-friendly atmosphere, a talented and effective workforce, and a reputation for high ethics as factors that are attractive to companies located here.

“Our culture is very family-oriented,” Walters stated. “We turn off our monitors at 5:05. Our employees are here from 8:00 to 5:00 and we know that they put in a solid, full-day’s effort in order to not have to stay late. It’s a definite benefit that makes managing workloads predictable.”

Carter agrees: “The quality of employees and workforce retention is a major advantage for us. Our employee turnover is very low. We are able to find employees who are young enough and motivated enough to welcome the technology-based training we can provide.”

The executives noted that ability to find sufficient diversity continues to be a challenge for Utah. Finding and attracting sufficient senior management is a challenge as well. All three executives encourage large companies to not only set up operations within Utah but to locate their CEOs, their headquarters and senior management teams in Utah as well.

“A company that doesn’t have its headquarters here is a transitory business,” Carter noted.

“Traditionally, we haven’t been effective at keeping the anchors, such as Iomega, WordPerfect and Novell, and that’s bad for new companies,” Walters agreed.

However, all three executives believe the future for Utah is bright.

“The prospects for raising capital in Utah are getting better and better,” Goodrich noted. “And while we need to do a better job of raising up senior talent and of hiring from within our region, it is becoming progressively easier to recruit senior talent from out of state.”

The executives also noted the benefit of organizations such as UITA in helping foster the entrepreneurial environment and the strong business and community network for executives and companies here.

About UITA
As Utah’s premier professional organization for more than 3,000 technology companies, the Utah Information Technology Association (UITA) exists to form closer relationships with industry and community leaders, develop superior management talent, sharpen professional skills and help gain access to capital. For more information on UITA, please visit http://www.uita.org.

About Canyon Park Technology Center
TCU Properties, established in 2000, created the Canyon Park Technology Center (the former Word Perfect / Novell campus, 1501 North Technology Way, Bldg L, Orem) as a premiere destination for technology companies and data centers in Utah. Located in the heart of “Software Valley” along the Wasatch Front, Canyon Park offers an unprecedented set of on-site amenities, a dramatic and beautiful setting, extremely competitive rates, and access to a well-educated work force. Canyon Park currently houses 85 companies and 4,600 employees in Utah County. For more information on Canyon Park Technology Center, please visit www.canyonparkutah.com.

Agency Contact:
Cheryl Snapp Conner
Snapp Norris Group
T) 801 208-1100

UITA:
Richard Nelson
T) 801.568.3500

| 11/3/2005 9:12:45 AM | 0 Comments