How Ecodev Persuades Companies To Bring Manufacturing Back To The U.S. (Hint: It's Cheaper)

All around the country, Americans are dreaming big. Their boldest ideas are changing their communities--and having a ripple effect throughout the world.

CLICK HERE to read about pockets of innovation in other U.S. cities.

In the last decade, Americans' perception of domestic manufacturing has done a 180. "10 years ago, customers were demanding that their companies operate overseas because they thought they'd get a cheaper rate," manufacturing consultant Dana Olson says. But a swell of national pride and increasing sensitivity to the health of the environment have conspired against foreign manufacturing. "Now companies would much rather manufacture in the U.S. for loyalty as well as cost savings."

A new factory opening in Devils Lake, North Dakota, will bring 500 jobs to the city over the next five years.

As president, CEO, and founder of Ecodev, Olson assists companies that want to expand, relocate, and consolidate their manufacturing within the United States. Lately, Ecodov has also helped American companies bring their manufacturing home. Last month, Olson's company announced that one of its clients, Minnesota-based Ultra Green, was moving production of its biodegradable paper products (including plates and serving utensils) from China to the United States. A new factory opening in Devils Lake, North Dakota, will bring 500 jobs to the city over the next five years.

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Sometimes it’s necessary to move for that perfect job, but at what price?

There's nothing quite like finding that perfect job, especially after weeks (and sometimes months) of exhaustive searching and interviewing.

But sometimes, a golden work opportunity can move you from everything you know and love to a much pricier location. Aside from housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare, relocation expenses can cost you thousands, depending on where you move and how many people come with you.


Ask Miriam: Your 'Date of Birth' and 'Birth Order' Play Major Roles in Your Life.

Indian company bringing up to 750 Columbia jobs

WNS Global Services to locate its firstU.S. facility at State Media Co. building

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/22/2285283/indian-company-bringing-up-to.html#storylink=cpy

An Indian company plans to invest $4.25 million in Columbia to open its first U.S. facility, initially bringing 300 jobs to the Midlands.

WNS Global Services today announced it will open the facility — which could be used as a call center, and for tasks such as insurance-claims processing and accounting services — at 1401 Shop Road, also home of The State Media Co., including The State newspaper.

WNS, with more than 23,000 employees at 25 centers worldwide, and more than 200 global clients, will open the new center in July, said Ron Strout, head of the Americas for the company.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/22/2285283/indian-company-bringing-up-to.html#storylink=cpy

“The plan over time is to bring up to 750 people,” he said. “It could be doing health care, finance and accounting, call center for travel and leisure. We’ve had interest from all of those perspectives.”

Jon Hurley, a WNS senior vice president, estimated the center could be operating at full employment as soon as two years.

“I’m pitching it to one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S.,” Hurley said. “We’ve got a lot of clients that are interested.”

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/05/22/2285283/indian-company-bringing-up-to.html#storylink=cpy

Google Makes Space for City Tech School

CornellNYC Tech to Occupy Portion of Firm's N.Y. Building

Google Inc. GOOG +2.23% will provide 22,000 square feet of its New York City headquarters—in the heart of Manhattan's high-tech zone—to a new applied-sciences school while the institution's new campus is built on Roosevelt Island in the East River.

Officials at Google estimated the market value of the space— which will be provided free to CornellNYC Tech, a joint venture between Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology—at between $10 million and $12 million. That estimate includes the value of an option the school has to expand to 58,000 square feet during the next 5½ years while work on its permanent campus is completed.

"We need to create a new academic model for this time and this place and this industry—and that's exactly what we are going to do," Mr. Skorton said. "The key, we believe, is engagement between world-class academics and companies and early-stage investors. Co-location is critical, connecting academic research and industry in sort of a mixing bowl and seeing what happens."

U.S. Department of Labor: Summer Jobs 2012

A new call-to-action for businesses, non-profits, and government to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012.

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Pool Your Resources of Family, Friends, Etc., and Franchise Yourselves!

Top 20 Franchises For The Buck

Intro

Don’t have the patience, capital or guts to generate sales from scratch? Try franchising. With the help of Robert Bond, chief executive of the World Franchising Network (a franchise database) and publisher of Bond’s Franchise Guide, we waded through data on 110 of the most established names to find 20 that deliver the biggest bang for a competent operator’s investment buck. The methodology is based on five variables: average initial investment (franchise fees plus equipment costs); total locations (the more the better); closure rate (the number of closings in the last three reported fiscal years divided by the total number of existing locations); growth in the number of U.S. outlets in the last three years; and the number of training hours as a percentage of startup cost (the more support from the home office, the better). Overall footprint and survival rates carried the most weight. We did not include royalties paid to franchisors because they ranged in a tight band and thus barely affected the overall rankings.