Economic development in Nevada

For 30 years Nevada has been looking -- mostly unsuccessfully -- for new industries to locate facilities in town, but in 2003, all that changed.

During the last two or three years the city has been making headway in attracting the attention of potential new businesses and in 2003 those efforts were rewarded with a number of manufacturing companies looking to locate new operations here, a couple of new retail businesses in the offing and a major expansion of an existing business.

One of these companies, Xtreme Products, which manufactures stainless steel tailgate extenders, is already in limited production in the old OrthoFlex building east of town on U.S. Highway 54.

Green Forest Engineered Products, which will manufacture a synthetic lumber product, made from plastic and sawdust, should be open for business in the next few months in the Key building, beneath the Austin Boulevard overpass.

Likewise, Insite, which will provide the telephone help desk for an Internet service provider using satellite distribution, will be in operation shortly.

Thorco, which makes wire display racks, and an aircraft maintenance company will probably make some kind of formal announcement in the next couple of months as to their plans.

Over the next two or three years these five companies are expected to add about 1,000 new jobs, which will almost double the current number of manufacturing jobs in Nevada.

In addition to these companies, which have been talked about for many months, the old Wal-Mart building is slated to become a Sutherland's Lumber this spring and two weeks ago a developer from Salina, Kan., announced that an investment group he represents has purchased the Consumer's building and hope to have it occupied in four to six months.

In May the long awaited Wal-Mart Supercenter opened its doors.

All of these new businesses involved a great deal of work behind the scenes by Nevada city manager Craig Hubler and Nevada Area Economic Development Commission director Sam Foursha.

However, Hubler recently said that these companies are coming to Nevada because of what we have to offer, not because of the people selling Nevada.

The assistance that Nevada was able to offer these companies has also been a factor in their locating here rather than somewhere else.

Hubler also said that he hopes the development effort does not stop after these companies are here and in operation.

To help the development continue, the city recently hired Wilson, Chapman, Re‚ a Kansas City public relations firm to tell Nevada's story to anyone who will listen.

"If someone who is looking for a location for a business hears about what's happening here he may decide that this would be a good place to set up business," Hubler recently said.

One piece of the current development efforts will come sometime in January when the city plans to hold a combination job fair/supplier conference for people wanting to go to work for the new companies and to help local businesses make contact with the new companies.

If a local business can provide a product or service one of these new companies needs, Hubler would prefer to have them get the new business, rather than someone in Joplin, Kansas City or Springfield.