Good News

Hopefully, most of you read about B.R. Funsten's expansion plans in last Tuesday's and Wednesday's Manteca Bulletin. I hadn't blogged about it due to the great press coverage, but I didn't want the positive vibe to go away just yet. So I thought it was worth talking about one more time.

During tough economic times, business establishment drops to near zero. Economic developers realize that protecting your base is critical during these times. As business look to cut costs, most companies are consolidating, not expanding. This makes business retention the most critical element of any economic development strategy.

B.R. Funsten is a classic example of how to benefit from a strong business retention strategy. In order to save dollars, they decided to consolidate a number of facilities. Due to the age of their existing building in Manteca, they were looking for a newer building (likely in Stockton) with an owner anxious to sell in the current downturn. However, management staff was also concerned that moving all of the company facilities at once could create possible disruptions in business--a big no no, in these tough times.

In order to stay in Manteca, they needed assurance that they could have their newly expanded facility completed by the end of the year. With the new permit center nearly complete, we were able to convince the company that Manteca could deliver on its promise to expedite all permitting and plan checking. In addition, we have existing staff with the experience to expedite these types of projects--further giving them confidence in our ability to deliver.

I also believe that all of the new development in Manteca gave them further confidence that they were investing in a community with a bright future. They were also happy with the safe, family-oriented environment here they had experienced over the past decade.

At the end of the day, it is the progress that Manteca has made as a community, and our commitment to the future that kept B.R. Funsten in town. In return one of our city's top sales tax producers will not only be sticking around, but they'll be more than doubling their business emanating from our community. It is a true win, win for the company and our citizens.

Now it is up to our staff to make sure that we deliver on our promise to get the building finished by the end of November. Since failure is not an option, staff will be meeting bi-weekly to monitor the progress of the project and I will get personally involved whenever necessary to keep the project going.