Amarillo EDC gives business growth update at State of the Economy

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) held its sixth annual State of the Economy event Tuesday to focus on its achievements over the last year in bringing business to the area.

More than 400 people, including business leaders from across the region, gathered for the annual report from the AEDC, which highlighted three of its major business additions to Amarillo. Also, the AEDC has approved a $500 million project in collaboration with Lubbock to bring one of two Plant Agricultural System facilities, creating more than 700 new jobs.

Kevin Carter, president and CEO of the AEDC, spoke about the importance of getting the word out about the positive impact on the city with new business and workforce initiatives.

“This is a way for us to give back and inform our citizens,” he said. “One of our projects that I am specifically proud of is that we got to work with Lubbock on a regional collaboration to bring Plant Agricultural Systems to both of our cities. It was also great that businesses already here are expanding their businesses. We will be making announcements about other business in the upcoming months.”

Carter said that compared to other cities of its size in the state, Amarillo has had tremendous success in promoting Amarillo to business.

“I think the success we have had in the last five or six years, we have been aggressive,” he said. “I think I have made about 62 trips in the last two years, and we have five team members that travel regularly to get the city's name out there. I think we have been way more successful than some cities, but the good thing about it is that we get to communicate what Amarillo has to offer with our workforce, the quality of life, and the work that we have done to make the city better.”

With the success of the AEDC in bringing in business that awards and national magazine articles have highlighted, Carter said that this highlights Amarillo as a business-friendly city that will garner more interest from other companies.

“With the new programs that we have started like REROOT, there will be people across the state that will want to reach out to us and emulate that, but they will not be able to copy how great Amarillo is," Carter added. “What a tremendous turnout today with over 400 people taking time out of their day and listening to what we are doing.”

The keynote speaker was Aaron Demerson, president and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation, who spoke about the booming success of the state in bringing in business, which makes it as a state one of the top 10 economies in the world.

“My role today was to talk about the great state of Texas, the opportunities we have here in our state, and how we collaborate with the AEDC,” Demerson said. “We market Texas, but the rubber meets the road at the local level. The facts speak for themselves with several accolades for Amarillo in terms of their growth and their economic development prowess, so they compare very well with other cities in our state.”

Demerson said that events like this bring together education, workforce, education development and city officials, making for a better Texas from a business development standpoint.

“The key to bringing business to any area is collaboration; you have to work together at the local level,” Demerson said. “Of course, you have to have the assets like land available, infrastructure, and skilled workforce. When companies are looking at a city in Texas and looking at Amarillo, we want to bring those types of leads to the community. Our role is to market the state domestically and internationally. The state is booming, and businesses want to be here. We want to be a business-friendly state."

Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley said that he is grateful to lead a city that has been able to draw business to employ the citizenry in the way it has.

“We are still working to hit that next wave of growth; we have some housing issues that we as a city are trying to work through with construction costs going down,” Stanley said. “I believe as a city with tools like the AmTech Career Academy, we are creating a well-trained workforce."

He also commended the work of the AEDC in bringing business to the city.

“The AEDC levels the playing field, and if we want to compete with other cities, this gives us another tool in the toolbox to bring business to the city,” he said.

Carter closed with his message for the city on what the AEDC tries to achieve for the community.

“This is a great chance to give back to our community and be cheerleaders for us to thank you for having a great product to sell,” Carter said. “Our economy is doing fabulous with wages going up, and I think Amarillo has done much better than other communities.”

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo EDC hosts State of the Economy event to give business update