Mike Snyder, The Commercial Review managing editor

cr.news@comcast.net

The leader of a regional economic development group updated a local organization on ongoing efforts to attract new business and industry to the area.

E. Roy Budd, executive director of Energize-ECI, a nine-county cooperative, told members of the Jay County Development Corporation board of directors his group is committed to marketing the region.

"We focus on attraction (of new employers) ... we're very aggressive in our marketing," Budd said Tuesday at the Community Resource Center in Portland.

Budd also updated board members on an ongoing study that will attempt to match the strengths of each area of the nine-county region with appropriate businesses and industries. The board learned of that study last month from JCDC executive director Bill Bradley.

Energize ECI, which has headquarters in Muncie, includes representatives from Jay, Blackford, Grant, Madison, Delaware, Randolph, Wayne, Henry, Rush and Fayette counties.

Budd said Tuesday that one of the current projects for Energize ECI is a Finnish company that produces components for electric-generating wind turbines. The company is looking for a location close to Brevini Wind USA, a company which manufactures gear boxes for wind turbines.

Budd said that Jay County is among the sites the company is considering.

Wrapping up a brief presentation, Budd said that 2010 could continue to see challenges in economic development.

"We're in recovery right now ... businesses are still cautious about investing right now," Budd said.

Bradley, during his monthly report, asked board members to finish interviews and questionnaires that are part of an ongoing awareness campaign by JCDC. The campaign is to gather information about what JCDC "clients" want and need from the group.

A fund-raising campaign is expected to begin later this year.

"We've gotten some really good feedback ... that will help shape the next phase of this whole process," Bradley said. "The biggest challenge ... is letting people know what we've done."

He also said that helping local businesses and industries with retention issues continues to be among the top priorities of JCDC.

Bradley also gave a brief overview of the MyFarms project being proposed by rural Bryant resident Steve Fennig. Fennig hopes to start a business that would program computer microchips to assist in precision farming. The site for the proposed operation is in the Weiler Building.

"It has a real potential ... and it's a nice mix," said Bradley, noting that it is a value-added idea that is not traditional manufacturing.