Utah Policy - Politics, Communications & Government Relations

'BusinessWeek 50' Includes 6 With Utah Operations

Today's Economic Review features a report on six companies, with operations in Utah, showcased in the BusinessWeek 50. EDCUtah congratulates each on their incredible success.

Of course, these types of compilations and reviews provide added attention to our efforts and enhanced opportunity for our organization to produce great results. We look forward to the interest and opportunities that will result from the well-publicized success of these six excellent organizations.

Today's Economic Review also includes links to many of the ED-related news stories from the past week. As always, if you have comments, suggestions or topics you'd like to see in the Economic Review, please contact us by clicking the “Comments” button on the bottom of this page. Enjoy!

Jeff Edwards
President and CEO

Six Companies with Utah Operations Ranked in BusinessWeek 50 List

The April edition of BusinessWeek magazine announced the 12th annual ranking of the best-performing companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index—the “BusinessWeek 50.” These are companies whose management vision spurns conventional wisdom, according to BusinessWeek.

Six of the BusinessWeek 50 companies have Utah operations and EDCUtah has had the privilege of working with each of them, either through recruitment efforts or partnership activities. The Utah companies, listed according to their ranking are:

#3 Allegheny Technologies—ranked No. 26 last year, is an EDCUtah recruited company. Its titanium is a vital material for airplanes and jet engines and is a key ingredient in the hot-selling, though oft-delayed, Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In 2007, its high-performance metals kicked in 76 percent of the company's $1.2 billion in operating profits, despite making up just 40 percent of sales.

#5 Questar Corp.—ranked No. 5 for the second year in a row, Utah-based Questar Corp. is an EDCUtah founding member. Led by CEO Keith Rattie, Questar earned $507 million on sales of $2.7 billion last year and has benefited from a diverse set of businesses that includes gas pipelines and processing plants.

#11 CB Richard Ellis Group—an EDCUtah investor, CBRE is the nation's largest commercial real estate broker, more than doubling in size during the recent boom. Last year CBRE earned a record $388 million on sales of $6 billion.

#21 Goldman Sachs Group—is an EDCUtah recruited company. Unlike other big investment banks, Goldman got out of the subprime mortgage market at just the right time, generating a robust 40 percent return on equity last year.

#25 Nucor—is an EDCUtah recruited company. Nucor is now the nation's second-largest steel company, and the most profitable. After a record performance in 2006, slumping demand caused a 16 percent drop in earnings during 2007, but the company has remained a cash machine, booking nearly $1.5 billion in profits last year.

#26 Varian Medical—is an EDCUtah recruited company. Long thought of as the Microsoft of radiation-therapy equipment used to treat cancer, Varian Medical dominates its space with 50 percent-plus market share, methodical rollout of products and distribution clout with hospitals.

“The fact that so many BusinessWeek 50 companies have operations in Utah indicates that Utah is an ideal destination for headquarters operations and large expansion projects,” says Jeff Edwards, president and CEO of EDCUtah. “Companies driven by a desire for excellence recognize not only Utah's great location, unique beauty and unparalleled quality of life, but also the unmatched quality of our workforce. Utah continues to attract and retain the best of the best.”

Whether you want to call it management vision or moxie, BusinessWeek says this year's crop of 50 best performers “are companies that, for all of their past successes, are not afraid to alter their business models at the first signs of weakness,” and Utah is fortunate to have six of the top 50 performers in our state.

CALENDAR

May 4-7: CoreNet (San Diego)
May 14: Board Meeting
May 18-21: ICSC (Las Vegas)
May 18-22: SAMPE (Long Beach)
June 4: Golf Tournament (Wasatch Mountain)
June 9-12: AUVSI (San Diego)
June 17-20: BIO (San Diego)
June 18: Executive Committee (EDCUtah)
June 25: Quarterly Update (location TBD)
Aug. 6: OIA Thought Leader
Sept. 13-17: IAMC (Oklahoma)
Sept. 25: What's Goin' Down Up North - Northern Utah Economic Summit Thursday, September 25, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Utah State University Innovation Campus, North Logan. Registration form.
Oct. 9-12: CoreNet (Orlando)
Oct. 22: Quarterly Update
Dec. 17: Holiday Open House (EDCUtah)

In The News

Economic Development Headlines from the Past Week

Forbes Names Provo One of Best Cities For Jobs

- Provo's job surge was not housing-related. While job growth in housing-boom towns across the U.S. tapered off in 2007, Provo had the highest employment growth in the country, at 5.5%. (Forbes)

Angel investors fund many new Utah firms

- Ten years ago this month, five businessmen who had all started successful businesses met together for the first time in the conference room of the Commission for Economic Development in Orem. (Morning News)

8 finish program linked to Mexico

- Eight graduates of a new economic development program offered by Centro de la Familia de Utah received certificates of graduation on Sunday and are prepared to take first steps toward launching new businesses and providing help to communities in Mexico. (Morning News)

China goes West: Utah companies prepare for more Chinese tourists

- They'll come in groups, pouring out of buses to "ooh" and "aah" at the colorful vistas in Utah's national parks. They'll spend their tourist bucks here and throughout the West and take back home plentiful memories of good people, good food and good times. And they will be Chinese. (Morning News)

Utah in good fiscal health compared to other states

- While Utah is in relatively good shape, the finances of many states have deteriorated so badly that they appear to be in a recession, regardless of whether that's true for the nation as a whole, a survey of all 50 state fiscal directors concludes. (Morning News)

Public market intriguing

- It strains the imagination that Utahns would have much appetite to shop at a public market on a frigid winter morning. But Utahns are a hearty stock. They likely would come out — rain or shine — if they had a compelling reason.
(Morning News here and here)

Latino impact: Chamber notes growing markets and opportunities

- The state's largest minority group is pressing the Utah business community to embrace Utah's growing diversity. (Morning News) (Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah Indian chamber formed

- Cal Nez is miles away from the Navajo Nation, where he was raised by Navajo-speaking grandparents. Even so, it's clear the Salt Lake business owner with decades of graphic-design experience hasn't forgotten his roots. As president of the new Utah Native American Chamber of Commerce, Nez says it's fitting that the eagle feather — held sacred by most American Indian cultures — is incorporated into the chamber's logo. (Morning News)

Downtown Alliance airs vision for 'cultural district'

- From housing in the former Salt Lake Tribune building to a new home for the Salt Lake Art Center, the Downtown Alliance is circulating maps and artistic renderings of its vision of a "cultural district" in downtown Salt Lake City. (Morning News)

Board OKs incentive awards for 3 motion pictures in Utah

- The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board on Friday approved Motion Picture Incentive Fund awards to three productions. (Morning News)

New Macy's in City Creek likely to focus on local tastes

- The sprawling Macy's store on State Street in Chicago was once the home to the premier name in Chicago retailing, Marshall Field's. But about a year and a half ago, Macy's forged one chain with one name and one much-ballyhooed national strategy out of Marshall Field's, Robinsons-May, Kaufmann's and other local icons it owned across the country. (Salt Lake Tribune)

More cash for Trolley Square overhaul

- The investment company that bought Trolley Square in Salt Lake City three years ago has added another $25 million to the downtown-area mall's expansion and renovation budget.
(Salt Lake Tribune)

Partnerships Among Cities Key to Northern Utah's Economic Success, Experts say

- Though northern Utah's economy is expected to experience a slowing through 2008 and 2009, the long-term outlook for the area's economy continues to be strong, said John Mathews of the Department of Workforce Services. (Utah Business)

Giant project could bring 50,000 jobs

- Imagine being able to drive north from South Davis, “against” the traffic, to work each day. Or imagine hundreds and thousands of new jobs to the area paying between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. (Davis County Clipper)

Roll out the bulldozer

- The vision thing. That's what Ogden's economic redevelopment gurus are hanging the city's hat on: that Ogden can be something. A place to go. A place to live. A place to play. A place to succeed. (Standard-Examiner)

Swiss Software Firm Opens N.A. Division in Utah

- Switzerland-based IT software publisher Wendia AG International announced Tuesday that it has launched operations in North American with the creation of a new division. Headquartered in Provo, Utah, Wendia North America will focus on expanding its parent company's market presence in the United States, the company said. (Techrockies.com)

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