YCDA recently attended Pack Expo, one of the largest packaging industry trade shows in North America, We met with over 25 Pacific Northwest companies and made 20 new contacts with organizations that indicated interest in learning more about our region or had key connections to local industry clusters

Yakima County is home to a large and growing food processing industry. Targeting related and complementary businesses, in this case packaging and processing equipment, is one of many strategies employed by economic developers.

“Recruitment is a long-term process,” said Joe Schmitt, Director of Business Recruitment with YCDA, “and maintaining a presence and building relationships are key to remaining top-of-mind when decisions are made.”

YCDA met with prospective businesses in automation and robotics, material handling and packaging manufacturing, and a wide range of packaging companies that specialize in everything from plastic bottles to foil lined bags.

“It’s always nice to tell our story and make connections to businesses in our region,” said Schmitt. “These connections help build new relationships that can have an impact in our future recruitment success.”

YCDA attended the Pack Expo with members of the Eastern Washington Economic Development Alliance, a unique partnership between several different county EDO’s enables the group to jointly market related industries while reducing costs to the participating economic organizations.

Source: City of Pasco