< Previous6 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 46 Small Business If you’re starting out small with a big idea and plan to grow a business empire from scratch, you can’t pick a better place to do it than Colorado. 48 Entrepreneurship & Innovation From root beer oats to on-the-go puri ed ice and water, Colorado has been the source of many world-changing ideas. 50 Renewable Energy & Natural Resources Wind and solar projects are plentiful in Colorado, but so too are more traditional energy sources. 53 Infrastructure & Logistics Why are rms like BNSF Railway and Amazon investing so heavily into new facility projects in Colorado? An unmatched transportation grid has a lot to do with it. 56 Aerospace Whether your business is helping people y the friendly skies or launch into space, Colorado is the one place on earth where you can do it all. 59 Bioscience & Health Tech Colorado has become a proving ground of life- saving technologies, therapies and treatments in the world of biotech and health care. 62 Advanced Manufacturing Heidi Hostetter is an evangelist for Colorado’s advanced manufactuing industry. 64 Technology & Information Why did California-based Switch y choose Colorado over Utah and other states? An unparalleled talent pool had a lot to do with it. 66 Corporate HQ & Professional Services When the VF Corp. needed to nd a new permanent home, it didn’t look far. Like many rms, it already knew Colorado was the best choice. 68 Tourism From the Rocky Mountains to world-class whitewater, Colorado offers something for the outdoor enthusiast of every stripe. 70 Quality of Life Why are working-age Coloradans healthier and happier than residents of virtually every other state? Look around the state and you’ll see why. 72 Photo Gallery 79 Index to Advertisers Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin Photo courtes y of Waterm ill Express Photo: Getty Images8 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E ON L IN E E D I T I ON The publishers believe that the information contained in this publication is accurate. However, the in formation is not war ranted, and neither Conway, nor the Colorado Offi ce of Economic Development and International Trade, assumes any liability or responsibility for actual, consequential or incidental damages re sulting from inaccurate or erroneous information. PHONE: (770) 446-6996 • FAX: (770) 263-8825 • TOLL FREE: (800) 554-5686 email: editor@conway.com web: siteselection.com/cc/colorado Colorado: Business Comes to Life is published by Conway, 6625 The Corners Parkway, Suite 200, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 USA. PRINTED IN USA. ©2019 Conway President & Publisher ADAM JONES-KELLEY Executive Vice President RONALD J. STARNER VP of Publications & Editor in Chief MARK AREND Managing Editor of Custom Content SAVANNAH KING Managing Editor ADAM BRUNS Senior Editor GARY DAUGHTERS Art Director SCOTT LARSEN Production Manager BOB GRAVLEE Lead Designers SEAN SCANTLAND RICHARD NENOFF NEGIN MOMTAZ Graphic Designer WHITNEY ONI Vice President of Sales CHARLES FITZGIBBON Vice President of Corporate Development PAUL TARRANTS Regional Director Custom Content KRISTIN PICKETT Lead Photographer CARMYN SUZOR Customer Support Manager BRIAN WATSON Circulation Manager JULIE CLARKE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TE AM Webmaster BEN YAWN Director of Programming & Analytics DANIEL BOYER IT Coordinator MARK BERTRAM TAKE THIS GUIDE WITH YOU ENJOY Read the digital edition on your tablet and phone. Click on links for even more information. SHARE Share the magazine on social media with your friends and community. LINK Feature the magazine on your blog, website or newsletters with a link or one of our easy-to-use tools. siteselection.com/cc/colorado SHARE LINK Cover design by Negin Momtaz10 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E ou can learn a lot about a governor’s priorities by observing the legislation he supports and signs into law. In the case of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, it’s obvious that he supports making education affordable and beneficial for all, reducing health care costs for both workers and employers, and keeping Colorado firmly on its path toward a sustainable energy future. On May 6, Gov. Polis joined Senate President Leroy Garcia and Speaker K.C. Becker to celebrate the major accomplishments of the 2019 legislative session in Colorado. Among them: • Making free, full-day kindergarten available for all Colorado families by fall 2019. • Freezing tuition rates at all public colleges and universities in the state for the coming year. • Investing $2.3 million in concurrent enrollment, enabling more high-school students to earn college credit. Gov. Polis takes bold steps to ensure long-term prosperity for Colorado. by R ON S TA R N E R Y Building a Sustainable FUTURE I NTE R V I E W W I TH TH E G O V E R N O R• Establishing a reinsurance pool to reduce health-care insurance premiums. • Lowering the cost of prescription drugs. • Reducing out-of-pocket health- care costs for Colorado citizens. • Taking aggressive action on climate change by shoring up the state’s pathway to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. • Providing a 35% increase in transportation funding. Other bold steps were taken, but Polis left little doubt that he intends to keep fighting to make Colorado more affordable and more hospitable for people and the companies that employ them. In a recent interview, he commented on these initiatives and why he is pursuing them. Education has always been one of your top priorities, and this year you made sure that public colleges and universities in Colorado will keep tuition flat for the coming year. Why is that an important milestone? GOV. JARED POLIS: I am very excited about that. We need to do more to reduce the cost of higher education. We are also doing free all-day kindergarten. Our real goal is to make all forms of quality education affordable at every stage of life in Colorado. To help companies and their workers keep health care costs under control, you established a reinsurance pool to reduce premiums and reduced out-of- pocket costs for individuals this year. How will these steps help Colorado employers compete? POLIS: Reinsurance will lower health-care premiums as much as 25 percent in Colorado. We also passed systemic reforms to reduce health- care costs. We are making hospital pricing transparent, for example. We are looking at all great ideas from the right and the left. What is Colorado doing to move closer to its goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040? POLIS: We are making historic progress on energy and climate issues. We enacted major Public Utilities Commission reform. This will save all Colorado ratepayers money with clean renewable energy, and we extended the electric vehicle tax credit. What is Colorado doing to make sure that its transportation infrastructure is globally competitive? POLIS: We have the No. 1-ranked airport in North America and the No. 7 in the world in Denver. We are investing to make it even better with multi-modal access. We are pushing forward with legislation to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles too. Boulder recently ranked fourth among all cities in the nation with the most STEM jobs. What is your state doing to increase STEM education and ultimately STEM job employment in Colorado? 25% reduce health-care premiums by up to Colorado established a reinsurance pool this year to C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 13 POLIS: We are deploying a number of strategies, including upscaling our many mid-career workers. We are focused on increasing concurrent enrollment opportunities for students while they are still in high school to make it even easier and more aff ordable for them to transfer to two-year and four-year colleges after graduation. And we are working with large employers in Colorado to make sure we are proving the STEM training they need for their workforce. Colorado ranks No. 8 in the nation in total solar energy jobs. What is your state doing to increase adoption of solar technology and ultimately solar energy deployment? POLIS: We are blessed with a lot of sunshine in Colorado. We are looking to make solar less expensive. We have a Colorado energy effi ciency program that rewards solar adoption. What did you learn from founding ProFlowers and other successful ventures in the private sector that you are now able to apply to your job as Governor? POLIS: It’s given me a valuable perspective on the importance of entrepreneurship. I believe we must innovate a disruptive model to improve our quality of life, and we must empower our private sector if we are going to accomplish that. GOVERNOR JARED POLIS14 C O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E Betsy Markey brings a private-sector mentality to Colorado’s economic development efforts. by R ON S TA R N E R For BusinessFor BusinessFor Business Getting Getting Getting Things Things Things DoneDoneDone I N T E R V I E W W I T H O E D I T D I R E C T O RC O L O R A D O: B U S I N E S S C O M E S T O L I F E 15 hen Betsy Markey meets with business leaders interested in expanding in Colorado, she knows exactly where they’re coming from. Why? Because she’s one of them. Before being appointed by Gov. Jared Polis to his cabinet as executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) in January 2019, Markey carved out an impressive career of her own as a business builder. In the late 1980s, Markey and her husband launched a successful technology company, Syscom Services, and she also purchased a coffee and ice cream shop in Fort Collins called Huckleberry’s. Later, she served as a member of Congress representing Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District, and she also served in various executive roles in the administration of President Obama. In her current job, she helps companies grow in Colorado. In the following interview, she discusses several of her top priorities at OEDIT. There has been talk of Colorado becoming the next “Aerospace Alley.” How do you plan to accomplish this goal? BETSY MARKEY: Well, we are the main aerospace alley in the country. We have a prominent legacy with all of our defense assets. There are 180 Colorado aerospace and defense companies employing over 200,000 jobs and adding over $15 billion to the economy. Another 500 Colorado businesses provide space-related businesses, and we continue to grow. Manufacturers in your state are increasing their efforts to attract workers to rural areas. How can Colorado help them? MARKEY: We hold at least an annual rural road show with our large aerospace prime contractors. We go into rural areas to identify small business suppliers. WREN Industries in Grand Junction supplies Lockheed Martin, and AMPT in Durango is a NASA contractor. Enterprise Zone tax credits are available to these companies. W Betsy Markey, Executive Director, OEDIT Ice climber near Vail. Photo courtesy of Colorado Tourism OfficeNext >