As we enter into Q4, we are excited to officially announce the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s business recruitment team will now be known as Select CLT. By using a concise name and tapping into our globally recognized airport moniker, CLT, we are able to communicate our geographic location and business purpose more directly to prospects and site selectors.
The timing of Select CLT is opportune as activity is high and as our team finishes out the year with an intense travel schedule. As Jeremiah Anderson mentioned in our last blog, we’ve been busy. Since March 2022, Select CLT has generated 124+ new investment opportunities. And, with the recent hire of team member, Kylie Barnes, the Select CLT Team reaches six, making us fully equipped to hit the gas pedal this fall.
Over the next quarter, the Select CLT Team will be on the road nearly every week until mid-December – that’s a total of 16 marketing trips, both domestic and abroad. Here are some spoiler alerts for Q4:
We will be spending a considerable amount of time in the Midwest, specifically Chicago, IL. The Windy City has seen a recent exodus of corporate HQs with three major players announcing relocations this summer (Boeing, Caterpillar and Citadel hedge fund). Some attribute the leave to the less friendly business climate, higher crime rates and the lack of talent. As one of the fastest growing regions in the nation with the ability to attract young, educated talent (average incoming population is age 31) AND offer one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the country, the CLT Region delivers where Chicago falls short. With corporate office continuing to be a major target for us, we see lots of opportunity in Chicago.
Western Europe has been and continues to be a hot spot for recruiting FDI into the CLT Region. As we reach post-COVID norms, foreign companies feel more confident making international investment decisions and are more eager, now than ever, to enter the US market. Interestingly, we’ve seen an uptick in activity from EU countries that are traditionally not as visible in our region, such as Italy, Spain and Belgium.
Keeping all of this in mind, Select CLT has two European trips planned in Q4.
In late-October, Select CLT will attend and conduct prospect meetings at BIO Europe, a life sciences tradeshow in Leipzig, Germany focused on biotech and pharma sub sectors. Following BIO Europe, the next stop is Belgium for a three-day marketing mission. While in Belgium, Select CLT is co-hosting an FDI Seminar to discuss opportunities in North and South Carolina in our region. This event is in partnership with A-Law International Law Firm, Management InSites and the Belgian American Chamber of the South.
In mid-November, Select CLT will attend and lead prospect meetings at Medica in Dusseldorf, Germany. We will also be collaborating with the State of South Carolina to host a reception at their booth during the show. Medica is the largest life sciences tradeshow in the world and includes 17 exhibit halls with exhibitors from 50+ countries. With the recent $1B Eli Lilly announcement in Cabarrus County and the groundbreaking of the Pearl, Charlotte’s Innovation District, the life sciences industry cluster is an important emerging ecosystem for the CLT Region. Tradeshows like Medica and BIO Europe provide us access to the latest, cutting-edge technologies in this field that, ultimately, we want here.
Select CLT has a handful of additional domestic and regional travel on the docket this fall. Some of these trips include geographic-based marketing trips to Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey, and Atlanta for FABTECH, North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event.
That’s it for now, folks! We look forward to sharing outcomes of these trips as they occur. Stay tuned!
