The Republic
THE city’s inability to sustain the job creation successes of the 1980s through the recruitment of new companies is understandable.
Columbus’ failure to create a climate in which existing businesses would feel comfortable and supported is inexcusable.
The world of economic development in the 21st century is much more competitive than it was two or more decades ago. Thousands of communities have recognized they must provide something to attract investment and jobs.
In that climate, no city can afford to take anything for granted.
But Columbus’ economic development leaders have.
Within the space of a few weeks, two companies have announced plans to take their operations out of the city.
What makes both situations even more intolerable is that their new homes are to be within an hour’s drive of Columbus.
They only had to look a few miles to find something better than what they felt they had in Columbus.
There is no comfort in the relatively small size of the businesses. Makuta Technics Inc., which is going to Shelbyville, has 16 employees while Qualtronics expects to have 43 workers when it starts production in Greenfield.
Overlooking the obvious fact that some small companies can become very big ones, no city should have an environment in which a company can feel neglected or unimportant.
It is the responsibility of economic development leaders to maintain an aggressive recruiting program for attracting investments. Indeed, Columbus has spent many thousands of dollars on trips to other continents.
But part of the city’s economic development mission also has been to encourage continued investment and expansion of existing businesses, a role highlighted when the city convinced the parent company of Cosco Inc. to continue and even expand operations in Columbus.
That effort affected hundreds of workers and millions of dollars in the company’s investment in this community.
After these developments, one can only wonder what happened to that commitment.