Keeping Fremont on the map

Economic development is more an art than a science.

Kevin Wilkins understands that.

In his role as executive director of the Greater Fremont Economic Development Council, Wilkins works to attract companies to Fremont.

As a development director, Wilkins knows that preparation and continued study are important. But to gain a sense of the nature of an unnamed, interested company from its initial contact gives a town’s recruitment effort a clear edge over the competition.

Responding in a professional manner to avoid Fremont’s being eliminated from consideration in the early rounds of competition takes careful wording and absolute confidentiality, he says.

Wilkins also knows that when a company is interested in finding a Nebraska site for expansion, the competitive process is outlined with razor thin boundaries. One misstep from a competing community and the interested party pares its short list by dropping that site.

“Understand that the initial contact from a company is designed not to include the site, but to find reasons to exclude it. To drop it from consideration,” Wilkins says. “So we have to be very careful with our responses and presentations.”

Wilkins speaks of the “fatal flaws” that accompany every request for proposal from a hired consultant. Every company has certain requirements which communities must meet to make the short list of potential sites. Perhaps a company wants to be located within 20 miles of the Interstate, or be guaranteed of an electric rate of 4 cents per kilowatt, or be able to acquire 50 acres of land that is “shovel ready.”

An effective economic development effort must be able to respond to these requirements within a 24- to 48-hour period. Due to this small window of opportunity, the research must have been completed before the request lands in the mailbox.

“I update information constantly. My office has to have knowledge of land available around Fremont. The general health of our current businesses is an important factor. And the direction we want our town to travel, both in terms of growth and diversity is crucial. The city of Fremont and the State Office of Economic Development are great sources of information for us. Development is a team project,” Wilkins says.

Nothing eliminates a site more quickly than the public’s knowledge that a company is considering a town for expansion. Confidentiality is a non-negotiable expectation in all discussions.

Fremont’s access to Eppley Airfield in Omaha leads a long list of positives for any company that considers Fremont for its next home. Four-lane travel to the Nebraska’s major metropolitan areas is another plus. The current trend of population migration to the eastern corridor in the state offers growth potential for the future also.

“I believe in the next 25 years we will complete the business and housing development of the expressway ring around Fremont,” Wilkins says. “To that end we need to increase our emphasis on life-long learning. We need to build a culture promoting the acquisition of skills. Knowing that the average worker will be retrained five to seven times in a career, Fremont’s population should hold continuing education as a high priority.”

When travel opportunities to promote Fremont arise, Wilkins will leave his office. He has traveled across America and overseas “selling” this location.

For now, his development office is housed within the Chamber of Commerce building where he can be found keeping his finger on the pulse of the town. Sometime this summer the office is scheduled to be moved into the Fremont Municipal Building.