LVGEA & Partners Bring 3,400 Jobs to Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance announced today that the organization and its economic development partners helped establish 3,412 jobs in Clark County during the past fiscal year.

The economic development group worked with 36 companies between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014 to help them relocate to or expand in Southern Nevada. These companies are expected to invest $209 million in new capital investment in our region and provide a one-year economic impact of $578 million.

All of this investment affords our valley’s residents employment opportunities and injects more money into the local economy, supporting more employment.

“More and more businesses are realizing the advantages of doing business in Southern Nevada,” said Tom R. Skancke, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance. “As we continue to attract businesses and industries here, we’re not only providing the residents of Southern Nevada with employment opportunities, we’re actively diversifying our economy and laying the foundations for the growth of new industries in the Las Vegas Valley.”

As the economic and community development organization for Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance published a Strategic Plan last fall. In that plan, the organization had outlined targets for performance, hoping to attract 1,750 jobs to the region during this past fiscal year. The LVGEA and partner organizations – including the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Clark County, the Cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and Mesquite – worked together to nearly double that target.

“We are actively advancing the goals of the strategic imperatives that our board of directors passed, and we are exceeding almost all key performance indicators included in our strategic plan,” said Jonas Peterson, chief operating officer for the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

The organization will review many of these indicators at its Oct. 2 annual dinner and in a calendar year-end report as the LVGEA transitions from reporting on a June 30 – July 1 fiscal year to reporting on an annual calendar basis beginning January 1, 2015.
Company Success Stories: The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance is proud to highlight a diverse group of companies it assisted last year.

Kareo
This healthcare tech company helped create more than 100 jobs in Las Vegas when the company relocated its operations center from Southern California this year. The company found it could hire a highly skilled, customer-focused workforce while providing its employees a better, more affordable quality of life in Las Vegas.
“As the company began considering a new operations center in Las Vegas, the support and guidance we received from the LVGEA was incredible,” said Tom Patterson, chief financial officer of Kareo. “We could not have moved as quickly or as effectively without this support and look forward to more opportunities to partner together in the future.”
The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance also partnered with the City of Las Vegas to help Kareo move to its new offices near Town Center in Summerlin.
“The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance has been an integral part of securing new businesses and creating jobs in the City of Las Vegas,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman said. “Kareo is a perfect fit for Las Vegas as the company specializes in both technology and medicine, two growing segments of our economy.”

BarclayCard
Earlier this year, as this community saw Citigroup exit the market, Barclaycard came to Henderson and hired many of those former Citigroup employees. At the same time, after Zappos moved downtown, Barclaycard was able to occupy their former headquarters in Henderson. Now, less than half a year after opening in Henderson, Barclaycard has exceeded its end-of-year hiring goal of employing 400 Southern Nevadans.
“American Nevada Company is proud that Barclaycard chose our Corporate Center office park in Henderson for their southern Nevada home,” said Phil Ralston, president of American Nevada Company, which owns the 92,000 square foot space Barclaycard is leasing at the Green Valley Corporate Center. “It is quality companies like Barclaycard that make Henderson one of the best cities in Nevada in which to live, work and play.”

Flowers Foods
When Hostess Brands was liquidated, Henderson lost jobs. But the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance and the City of Henderson helped Flowers Foods bring the former Hostess facility back online and provide 60 jobs in the city. Along with several other recent additions to the Southern Nevada market, Flowers Foods represents a growing food production industry in Clark County.

“The addition of Flowers Foods in our community is a great example of an improving economy.  The company was able to come in and quickly ramp up in a facility left dark for more than a year,” said Barbra Coffee, economic development and redevelopment manager for the City of Henderson. “Putting more than 60 people to work within three months of their first visit to Henderson represents a real success in our ability to get them open and operating in a timely manner.”

Bodybuiding.com
The Idaho-based company opened a 100,000 square-foot warehouse and distribution center in North Las Vegas last year to help it better serve Southwestern markets. The online food and nutrition store relocated to North Las Vegas because of our market’s favorable tax incentives, ready workforce and an incentive package that the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance helped the company attain.
As Raquel Krol, bodybuilding.com vice president of human resources, said in a June 23 Review-Journal story: “as part of our partnership with the Global Alliance, we were able to secure approximately $150,000 in abatements but in addition, training reimbursements through the Nevada Workforce Development team. We are continuing to work with the Alliance on furthering our partnership with additional incentives and of course, additional options of expansion in Nevada.”

R.W. Garcia
This global manufacturer of healthful tortilla chips plans a grand opening for its chip manufacturing factory this autumn, and the company is hiring 79 people to work at the facility.
“We have seen great growth in RW Garcia over the past few years,” said Robert W. Garcia, president of RW Garcia Co. Inc. “Our new state-of-the art facility in Las Vegas increases our manufacturing capacity and offers room for continued growth. We very much appreciate the willingness of the Governor to help facilitate the new plant and look forward to continued business in Nevada.”
The LVGEA worked with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Clark County to help R.W. Garcia establish its manufacturing plant in Southern Nevada.
“R.W. Garcia was looking to establish a West Coast operation for their growing business, and Clark County gave them the access to the market, and lower costs of doing business,” said Kevin Gullette, Clark County Economic Development Administrator.  “R.W. Garcia’s investment and job creation are a welcome addition to our community.  It shows how truly diversified the economy in Clark County has become.”

About Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance

The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance is a 501(c)6 membership organization dedicated to growing the economy in Southern Nevada through connectivity, community development, and strong business recruitment, retention and outreach.  LVGEA’s vision is to help Southern Nevada residents thrive in a global economy by fostering a more prosperous, diverse and connected regional economy.  For more information, call 702.791.0000 or visit www.www.lvgea.org.