The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation has released its second annual report of interviews conducted with 25 existing industries throughout the Corridor region. The conclusion from this year's interviews is that the region's business climate is healthy.

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Existing Industry Call (EIC) Program is used to identify opportunities for growth and any impediments that discourage local expansion. Kathy Evert, president of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, said, "Based on research, existing business and industries account for 70 percent or more of all new jobs. This report as well as last year's report further documents this."

Of the 25 companies interviewed in 2008, 64 percent plan to expand their facilities in the region in the next three years, which would create up to 142 new jobs, and invest more than $65 million. Another true indicator of a healthy business climate is the growth in product and service offerings by existing industries. Twenty-two of the 25 companies have introduced new products, services or capabilities in the last five years and 18 of the 25 anticipate new products or services in the next two years.

Employers were asked several questions regarding workforce - availability, quality, stability, productivity, training, recruiting and more. The 25 employers interviewed employ over 3,880 people and added 182 new jobs over the last three years, a net gain of 143 jobs.

Workforce was rated quite high in all areas except availability with some employers having challenges in filling some positions. The 25 employers had 132 positions unfilled at the time of the interviews, but indicated this number is stable. Public services and utilities ranked very high by these employers as well. Exceptions to the above average ratings were air service and cellular service.

Sixteen volunteers accompanied Iowa Lakes Corridor staff in conducting in-depth interviews with employers in manufacturing, ag-related and service-related businesses from December through March. The same questionnaire was used for each company visit to help identify individual business needs, concerns and suggestions about the local business climate.

All information received from the interviews and pre- and post-interviews are entered into the Synchronist Business Information System, a software tool to organize, analyze and report company information.

"By utilizing the Synchronist Business Information System, the Iowa Lakes Corridor gains invaluable insight into the dynamics of the local economy," said Shaun Arneson, vice president of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation.

Any and all company information gathered is kept strictly confidential and results are in the aggregate form. With the 25 interviews completed this year and the 25 completed last year, the current report shows the two-year comparisons of these 50 company interviews. Plans are under way to conduct the third round of interviews with 30 or more companies this winter.