Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota
and South Dakota are fostering new advances
in traditional industries such as agriculture and aerospace.

S

tate legislatures in Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota have looked at their traditional industry base and decided to capitalize on it.
      Many states continue to offer incentives for advanced and speculative high-tech business, but various local leaders have turned to established local industries for additional investments. But that does not mean there is nothing new under the sun.
      North Dakota, for example, recently landed a $1.9 million grant to promote specialty crops and value-added agricultural products from its huge agricultural base.
      "We're finally getting real leverage in our efforts to find new products, new markets and new value-added opportunities for North Dakota agriculture," says North Dakota's Gov. John Hoeven.
      Nebraska officials hope to entice business in traditional sectors with new tax incentives for investments and jobs, and economic development officials in Kansas continue to court aerospace investments, bringing high-flying projects to the flat and smooth terrain. For the whole region, wide open spaces mean wide open opportunities.

      South Dakota is particularly attractive to telecom industries such as call centers since the state touts itself as having more fiber optic cable than any other state. Even in the economic downturn, South Dakota scored several call center investments.

South Dakota is looking to biotech as it builds on its proud heritage of animal breeding and agricultural products.

      "We had a variety of other opportunities to locate elsewhere, but the trained and motivated workforce at the Gateway Center, and the cooperation of the State of South Dakota tipped the scale," says Larry Willet, president of Phase 2 Solutions, an Arizona-based customer services provider. Phase 2 announced last October, it would open an 18,000-sq. ft. (1,672-sq. m.) center in Vermilion and will create up to 250 jobs. Phase 2 is a welcome addition to the community since the area suffered multiple layoffs when Gateway downsized in the region.
      Heartland America, a Minnesota-based catalog business, announced two South Dakota expansions last fall. The firm is opening a facility in Custer and expanded its Rapid City operations to handle mail order operations.
      "This is another example of our telecommunications infrastructure at work," notes Gov. Bill Janklow. "Companies like Heartland America are able to expand to communities like Custer because South Dakota has kept ahead of the pace on installing the proper infrastructure."
      South Dakota has a rich farming tradition, and state officials hope to capitalize on it by investing in research for farming and biotech. Last fall, Hematech, a privately held research firm, announced the company would relocate its research and animal laboratory facilities from Kansas to Sioux Falls.
      Hematech researches the production of human antibodies in cattle for the treatment of various diseases. The company will occupy lab space in the Tech III office facility and expects to employ 20 scientists and biotechnicians.
      "In our research for a new facility, we evaluated regions from the Twin Cities to Omaha and found Sioux Falls to be the most desirable place for the expansion of our research operations," says James M. Barton, CEO and director of Hematech. "South Dakota is recognized as one of the nation's leading agricultural areas. We plan to build upon the state's expertise in animal breeding and care to accelerate the development of our animal production systems."