MASSACHUSETTS SPOTLIGHT
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Massachusetts
Takes Off
the Gloves
Takes Off
the Gloves
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ay State political and economic development officials are seeking to blunt competition from lower-cost states.
"I've got news for North Carolina and other states that are actively competing against us," Gov. Mitt Romney said at the launch of a new marketing campaign this summer. "With literally thousands of jobs at stake, we are not going to sit by idly."
Massachusetts is targeting fast-growing industries such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, security and plastics. The biopharmaceutical industry is well-entrenched, and the relatively new homeland security industry is already bringing firms to the state. These companies are prevalent on the Highway 128 belt around Boston, long identified with high-tech clustering.
Barbara Berke, the state's director of economic development, says the state has done its homework to understand its relative cost-competitiveness. Now, it is trying to remove obstacles such as permitting. The state is compiling a list of pre-screened or "shovel-ready" biotechnology sites. And companies are looking beyond Boston to cities like Worcester and Springfield.
Massachusetts chiefly competes for biotech expansion with North Carolina, Maryland and California. In medical devices, Michigan and Minnesota are the primary rivals, while competition comes from New York and New Jersey in other industry sectors.
In January 2003, Massachusetts began a program to hire specialists from fast-growing target industries to serve as ombudsmen. Scott Sarazen, former director of global facility planning and development for Genzyme Corp., is the ombudsman for the biotechnology industry. His efforts have quickly paid off, as at least a half dozen companies are set to announce either expansions or locations in Massachusetts. In a state that employs 90,000 in biotechnology and supplier industries, Sarazen starts with a good foundation.
"There's a lot to be said about the 'value addeds' of Massachusetts," Sarazen says. "By getting folks from industry to come in, you get people who know the lexicon. When I took this role, I though it would be a matter of making policy changes, but I've found there are a lot of good policies in place, and it's just a matter of fine-tuning them."
Sarazen says the modern-day bromide of technology transfer being a contact support holds true.
"We want to provide as much opportunity for organizations to be together physically as possible," he says, then concentrate on keeping them there. "The perceptions of high cost of living and taxes just aren't true. Massachusetts is a place where you can do all of your operations. It's the best biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation economy in the world."
Sarazen says life sciences have site needs similar to other industries, but with a few unique specifics like clear height to accommodate clean room and HVAC needs.
"The physical infrastructure demands are less specific than a lot of people think," Sarazen says. "They want to be near transportation systems, but no more or less than other industries. They look for a state that from a regulatory point of view embraces the industry and communities supportive of what you do and how you do it."
Massachusetts is focusing on early-stage life sciences companies that generally have small space requirements. Sarazen says these types of companies have fallen off the radar screens of many states that instead focus on attracting large-scale manufacturers.
"Biotechnology is a cluster-based industry and the industry goes where the industry is," Sarazen says.
"The Boxborough area is ideal in many ways," says Cisco Systems spokeswoman Virginia Runion. "Massachusetts is home to an impressive list of approximately 60 universities and colleges – including MIT and Harvard – and produces some of the best engineering talent in the nation."
"In the almost 10 years since Cisco established its first facility in New England," says Carl Redfield, senior vice president, worldwide manufacturing operations, Cisco Systems, "we have developed a strong appreciation for the culture of innovation and quality of life in the region."
"I've got news for North Carolina and other states that are actively competing against us," Gov. Mitt Romney said at the launch of a new marketing campaign this summer. "With literally thousands of jobs at stake, we are not going to sit by idly."
Massachusetts is targeting fast-growing industries such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, security and plastics. The biopharmaceutical industry is well-entrenched, and the relatively new homeland security industry is already bringing firms to the state. These companies are prevalent on the Highway 128 belt around Boston, long identified with high-tech clustering.
Barbara Berke, the state's director of economic development, says the state has done its homework to understand its relative cost-competitiveness. Now, it is trying to remove obstacles such as permitting. The state is compiling a list of pre-screened or "shovel-ready" biotechnology sites. And companies are looking beyond Boston to cities like Worcester and Springfield.
Massachusetts chiefly competes for biotech expansion with North Carolina, Maryland and California. In medical devices, Michigan and Minnesota are the primary rivals, while competition comes from New York and New Jersey in other industry sectors.
In January 2003, Massachusetts began a program to hire specialists from fast-growing target industries to serve as ombudsmen. Scott Sarazen, former director of global facility planning and development for Genzyme Corp., is the ombudsman for the biotechnology industry. His efforts have quickly paid off, as at least a half dozen companies are set to announce either expansions or locations in Massachusetts. In a state that employs 90,000 in biotechnology and supplier industries, Sarazen starts with a good foundation.
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"There's a lot to be said about the 'value addeds' of Massachusetts," Sarazen says. "By getting folks from industry to come in, you get people who know the lexicon. When I took this role, I though it would be a matter of making policy changes, but I've found there are a lot of good policies in place, and it's just a matter of fine-tuning them."
Sarazen says the modern-day bromide of technology transfer being a contact support holds true.
"We want to provide as much opportunity for organizations to be together physically as possible," he says, then concentrate on keeping them there. "The perceptions of high cost of living and taxes just aren't true. Massachusetts is a place where you can do all of your operations. It's the best biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation economy in the world."
Sarazen says life sciences have site needs similar to other industries, but with a few unique specifics like clear height to accommodate clean room and HVAC needs.
"The physical infrastructure demands are less specific than a lot of people think," Sarazen says. "They want to be near transportation systems, but no more or less than other industries. They look for a state that from a regulatory point of view embraces the industry and communities supportive of what you do and how you do it."
Massachusetts is focusing on early-stage life sciences companies that generally have small space requirements. Sarazen says these types of companies have fallen off the radar screens of many states that instead focus on attracting large-scale manufacturers.
"Biotechnology is a cluster-based industry and the industry goes where the industry is," Sarazen says.
Cisco Campus Could
Coax More Companies
"The Boxborough area is ideal in many ways," says Cisco Systems spokeswoman Virginia Runion. "Massachusetts is home to an impressive list of approximately 60 universities and colleges – including MIT and Harvard – and produces some of the best engineering talent in the nation."
"In the almost 10 years since Cisco established its first facility in New England," says Carl Redfield, senior vice president, worldwide manufacturing operations, Cisco Systems, "we have developed a strong appreciation for the culture of innovation and quality of life in the region."