Mandy Catoe
mcatoe@thelancasternews.com
June 2, 2017
In the final month of a banner fiscal year for job creation, the Lancaster County Department of Economic Development just launched its new website, targeting corporate executives, real estate professionals and site consultants.
The website is another tool for the department, which has helped create 2,700 new jobs for the county in the past 11 months under the leadership of Economic Development Director Jamie Gilbert."We're not done yet," Gilbert said Thursday. "I'm confident there will be more before we hit the end of the fiscal year June 30."
The past year comes on the heels of a five-year wave of growth, with over $1 billion in new investment and more than 8,000 jobs created.
"I shudder to think what we might have missed out on, but we haven't missed a beat otherwise," Gilbert said. "There were probably some companies out looking for us and we didn't show up in their searches, and that is why we need to have that presence."
He said the economic growth so far is a testament to the county's business climate, its work force and the efforts of county council and the new Department of Economic Development, an in-house agency that replaced the county’s long-troubled relationship with the nonprofit Lancaster County Economic Development Commission.
The new website is a source of information for industry and site consultants looking at Lancaster as a potential site for their business or client.
The slogan "where business is golden" is featured with a nod to Haile Gold Mine, the largest gold mine in the Eastern United States, and a broader theme that the entire county is an economic gold mine for business.
County Administrator Steve Willis praised the economic development team for the effort they put into the website.
"If you don’t have a good site that has the information needed right there and readily available, you get crossed off the list and never knew you were even being considered," Willis said.
Gilbert said the website captures the essence of the county, including the corporate facility side, the manufacturing side, the work force and "enough to whet their appetite."
It features the latest numbers on population, housing, jobs and wages, work force, productivity and income.
Several videos will be added to the site, including profiles of the community from an economic development perspective, the work force, corporate and office facilities, manufacturing, and a general overview. They will also feature short videos on a dozen existing companies here.
The website is http://lcded.com and has links to the economic development department's Facebook and Twitter pages.
"This website will get us the second looks and site visits that lead to future job announcements," Willis said.
Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or
contact her at (803) 283-1152.
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