Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) is the backbone of local economic development. It represents MEDCO’s critical role of listening and responding to the needs of existing industry. In 2022, MEDCO’s formal BRE program included 83 business interviews between the months of January and November. These in person discussions were completed with over 150 individuals representing local employers with a median employment of 25 and a total full-time employment base of almost 6,500 employees.
This year’s findings included the following:
- 37% of companies anticipate new products/services in the next two years.
- 34% of companies are currently implementing new technology into operations and production.
- 76% of companies reported an increase in sales from 2021.
- 90% of companies continue experiencing challenges with logistics.
- 77% of companies added a new job in 2022
- Only 22% of companies anticipate adding new employees over the next 12 months.