On Aug. 11, Hutchinson, Minn.-area businesses partnered with the local Economic Development Authority (EDA), the Southwest Initiative Foundation, and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development as part of a statewide initiative to promote Minnesota as a viable manufacturing area for businesses that are considering locations in the U.S. Dividing the state into eight regions, The Site Selector Familiarization Tour brought in site-selecting consultants to familiarize them with the assets and infrastructure that Minnesota has to offer international and domestic businesses.

"In the Southwest Region, which includes communities such as Hutchinson and Willmar, we are strong in industries such as manufacturing, food, agribusiness, and bioscience," said Scott Marquardt, vice president of the Southwest Initiative Foundation. "Site selectors help provide location strategy to international companies in every industry. Our goal in bringing them to Hutchinson and Willmar was to show them what the region has to offer, the depth of technology utilized and an entrepreneurial spirit that makes manufacturing so strong in our area."

"Hutchinson has a set of labor and infrastructure attributes that makes it an attractive candidate for foreign and domestic companies looking to establish a U.S. presence, joint venture, or regional distribution center," explained Lee Miller, economic development director of the Hutchinson EDA. "While many communities focus on financial incentives such as tax breaks, loan forgiveness and financing, we've found one additional factor that helps position Hutchinson as a premier location to consider: a highly skilled workforce. Approximately 35 percent of the labor force in Hutchinson is directly involved in manufacturing. Hutchinson is a community that supports and promotes educated, hard-working, skilled labor."

"As part of the Hutchinson business community, we were glad to help represent manufacturing in the region," said Eric Lipke, general manager at custom toolmaker Midwest Industrial Tool Grinding, Inc. (MITGI). "We see the advantages of working in this area every day: readily available quality labor, people who care about what they are doing and making, and a strong work ethic. In some parts of the country, companies have to work hard to build that culture. In Hutchinson, that culture already exists."

Tour locations included manufacturing facilities that specialize in agribusiness, technical products, large scale equipment and materials used by manufacturers including, Crow River Winery, HTI, Hutchinson Manufacturing, NuCrane, and MITGI.