Supporting the Success of 400+ Primary-Sector Companies
Supporting the Success of 400+ Primary-Sector Companies
Throughout 2024, our staff met or surveyed more than 160 primary-sector company leaders in Cass and Clay Counties as part of our Minding our Own Business(es) BRE (Business Retention & Expansion) Program.
We ask companies about their needs so we can understand the bigger picture and align them with appropriate resources or advocate for changes that support business growth and the region’s economic vitality.
Using BRE surveys with established primary-sector companies, startups and in partnership with organizations like the Fargo-Moorhead Human Resources Association, we collect vital information from businesses including expansion opportunities, information on challenges or barriers to growth and evaluation of and input on community resources and amenities.
Beyond collecting data, our technology triggers alerts based on certain survey concerns so staff can quickly respond. The data also identifies trends in regional primary-sector challenges, informing public policy and programs and highlighting the needs of the business community.
And according to the survey… 77% of primary-sector companies have plans for expansion within 1-2 years; an 8% increase from 2023
Potential projects may result in:
Workforce remains a significant barrier, though there are positive trends
Trending in the right direction in removing barriers to growth
- In 2023, 61% of companies reported there are barriers to growth in the community and 1 in 4 businesses indicated they may expand elsewhere in the future.
- In 2024, a majority of businesses (55%) shared that there are no community-specific barriers to growth and less than 1 in 5 shared they would consider elsewhere for their future expansions.
The top themes of barriers include:
The breakdown of industries most likely to expand:
Most Difficult Positions to Recruit
- Welders & CNC Technicians
- Machine Operators & Maintenance Technicians
- Engineers (Mechanical, Electrical, and SMT)
- CDL Drivers & Logistics Personnel
- Middle Management & Supervisory Roles
- IT & Tech Support Roles
Relationships Drive Regional Growth
A key feature of our Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program is that it enables us to develop meaningful relationships with the region’s businesses, creating opportunities for us to support their growth.
We set out to understand the full impact of Minding Our Own Business(es) by verifying if a BRE visit or survey preceded support for a successful company expansion. Often BRE visits may not directly lead to a project but will lay the foundation for businesses to call us when they’re looking to make an investment.
We discovered that 61% of successful GFMEDC projects (2019-2024) can be attributed to relationships formed through our BRE outreach, which have resulted in:
Further highlighting how much our BRE program helps drive activity in the region – when excluding the two largest attraction projects to the region during that time (ND Soybean Processors and Amazon), BRE-related projects accounted for:
Economic development is a team sport and often starts with strategic conversations from our BRE program that turn into strong collaborative relationships with a shared vision of prosperity.
Minding Our Own Business(es) will continue to evolve to meet the needs of companies and deliver more value. The GFMEDC is in the early stages of piloting benchmark reports that will be shared with businesses who participate in the program, offering valuable insights into how their plans for growth and experiences in the community compare to their industry peers and the market as a whole. This value-add in our programming will not only inform our partners and policymakers on how they can better support primary-sector companies, but will also equip businesses with up-to-date analytics that help make data-driven decisions.
Assists
The Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC’s support of businesses is not exclusively limited to supporting workforce needs or business expansion projects. Our team provides primary-sector companies with a wide range of support. These smaller assists happen regularly over time, and the support we provide companies paves the way for expansions and job creation down the road.
This year, our team completed 75 company assistance projects including:
- Primary-Sector Certification Assistance: Helping businesses apply for, renew, or understand primary-sector certification and notifying companies of expired certifications and assisting with re-applications.
- Financial Programs Support: Sharing information on grants, tax exemptions, and financial incentives like the Automation Tax Credit, Technical Skills Training Grant, Career Builders, and PACE program.
- Business Networking and Introductions: Connecting businesses to relevant people, such as investors, advisors, or support organizations like the SBDC or ND Trade Office, as well as facilitating introductions to resources like accelerators, workforce training, and professional networks.
- Publicity and Recognition: Featuring companies and individuals in Fargo INC magazine and other promotional platforms, as well as coordinating press releases highlighting company expansions.
- Workforce and Market Development: Supporting workforce training programs and connections to career academies and assisting companies in exploring international markets and scaling operations.
Tools to Support Success
Smartbook
To provide companies with a comprehensive overview of local, regional and state resources and programs, the GFMEDC offers our SmartBook, sponsored by Bremer Bank.
Supporting the Greater Good and Giving Back
To encourage a higher rate of return on our surveys, we donate $25 to the charity they choose. In fact, from the program’s inception in 2021, our organization has donated more than $9,300 to local nonprofits, with $2,325 donated this past year.
Survey participants can choose one of seven local non-profits that include: United Way, Homeward Animal Shelter, Ronald McDonald House, Roger Maris Cancer Center, Great Plains Food Bank, F5 Project, and the Jeremiah Program.
Automate ND Tours
Aimed at supporting innovation and growth within North Dakota’s manufacturing sector, the Automate ND Program has enabled businesses across the state to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and create more fulfilling roles for their workforce. This innovative initiative has been made possible through $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
An Automate ND Statewide Tour, in early December, provided a firsthand look at the program’s impact, with local visits to Cass County awardees including Marv Haugen Enterprises in Casselton, Precision Equipment Manufacturing in Fargo, and DR Millwork Company (dakBUILT) in Kindred.
Four Cass County companies have received a combined $994,000 in program incentives, leveraging an additional $1,660,000 in private investments. These combined resources are driving more than $2.65 million in capital investment in automation projects within the county alone.
The Automate ND program exemplifies the power of public-private partnerships in fostering economic development and incentivizing private investment.
As Joe Raso, President of GFMEDC, remarked, “small businesses shared a clear message during these tours: these investments into automated machinery would not have been possible without Automate ND giving them the extra push.”
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