By: Rick Stouffer
Edited By: Abbey Zaluski
What was founded roughly four years ago to entice companies to settle in the Marietta, Ohio, area, is today a powerhouse in attracting companies to set up along the Ohio River Valley in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Any successes the non-profit organization Shale Crescent USA has had — and will have — are based on indisputable truths: stone-cold facts derived from studies which have cost more than $500 million.
Even though the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc with domestic local and national economies, the Shale Crescent has used this time to inform company decisionmakers that manufacturing, which went overseas in the last 30 years to secure cheap labor, needs to come home – now.
A simple cost-benefit analysis shows the difference in labor costs between the U.S. and the world’s second-largest economy, China, has shrunk to roughly 5% due to advanced manufacturing and increasing use of robotics. These facts, coupled with the abundance of domestic energy, makes the Shale Crescent a better, less expensive place to manufacture.
“This was not a good year, because most of our contacts are made at conferences. Since March, there have not been any conferences,” said Greg Kozera, Shale Crescent’s Marketing and Sales Director. “We did not sit around on our butts but began pitching to companies in March that the pandemic proved how important manufacturing is to this country.” Most Americans did not recognize how dependent we are on China and other countries for PPE, Personal Protective Equipment, such as surgical gloves, hospital gowns, masks, face shields, etc.
Korzera’s enthusiasm is “Energizer Bunny-like” when talking about the Tri-State’s region’s abundant natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil for utilization by petrochemical-related companies. Now, his contact portfolio includes manufacturers in general, since the region’s abundant, inexpensive oil and gas can be used as the primary feedstock and fuel for many companies. He has spent the last nine months telling Shale Crescent’s message on 60 radio stations and their audiences.
“The message is that manufacturing jobs should be here (in the U.S. and specifically within the Shale Crescent),” Kozera said. Oil and gas support manufacturing and vice versa.
Right now, the Shale Crescent team is working on six projects. These include companies looking to set up new operations, hopefully, in the Shale Crescent region, with each project’s size ranging from $100 million to $200 million, according to Kozera.
“The Shale Crescent people really get it: It’s not about promoting opportunities of individual areas, but it’s promoting regional opportunities,” said Bryce Custer, SIOR, CCIM, Broker, Petrochemical & Energy Services, and founder of company Ohio River Corridor.
Custer, a recent addition to the Shale Crescent board, (who Kozera said is a “great addition” to said board) brings his years of experience working in the Northern Ohio River area with companies, gaining knowledge of what companies are looking for. “Shale Crescent tells the region’s story with facts, showing why companies who come to the region will be successful,” he said.
For additional information on the Shale Crescent area contact Bryce Custer, SIOR, CCIM.
Email: [email protected]
Direct: 330-418-9287