SAEDF's emphasis on business retention and expansion (BRE) is a direct result of the continued growth of the local corporate base and the need to grow the existing job base. The SAEDF's scope of work for BRE demonstrates a serious effort to keep our valued employers engaged and successfully operating in San Antonio.

The goal of SAEDF's BRE program is to retain and expand key business clusters, be the main point of contact for these businesses, and include the City, County, Chambers of Commerce, CPS Energy, and other agencies as necessary.

SAEDF has created a schedule for annual visits to targeted industry clusters to express appreciation and reassert the commitment from the City of San Antonio and Bexar County that our city is a favorable and competitive operating environment.

SAEDF has also created a Rapid Response Team to mitigate industry losses as soon as they are identified. When other opportunities for improvement are identified through BRE efforts, the appropriate local government unit or agency will respond with technical assistance.

Finally, additional positive outcomes from the BRE visitation process will benefit economic development efforts by:

• Soliciting setup of home office visits when large local employers are branch operations, so the BRE discussion may be carried to the top executive levels and also explore their headquarter relocation prospects.
• Ascertaining their key supply-chain partners for introductions as prospects to expand or relocate to San Antonio.
• Compiling all specific problems voiced through BRE visits as a feedback loop, identifying problem patterns or opportunities for improvement to the local operating environment.

To see an example of SAEDF's recent BRE efforts, read the following article from the San Antonio Manufacturer's Association newsletter (3rd Quarter, 2011):

New business retention program builds relationships with local manufacturers.

By Omar Garcia, Vice President, San Antonio Economic Development Foundation

One important fact in doing business is that relationships matter. At the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation (SAEDF), we're applying that rule to one of our key priorities: keeping companies – and the jobs they provide – in San Antonio, by partnering with the San Antonio Manufacturers Association (SAMA) on a new business retention and expansion program.

The program involves SAEDF and SAMA meeting with local manufacturers to offer SAEDF as a single point of contact to help resolve issues they may face or obstacles to their growth – whether that involves business factors or government issues.

A question we ask is: "How can we help your business grow, and make your life easier?"

The answer might be as simple as providing information or helping a company figure out how to deal with transportation issues. It can involve providing guidance on tapping into job training programs, grants or local, state and federal incentives available to growing companies.

Because existing companies are SAEDF's best source of referrals, we'll ask them about their out-of-town suppliers – how we can help bring these operations to San Antonio to further support the local manufacturers and create more local jobs.

This "relationships matter" approach to business retention promises to succeed with the additional partnerships of the City, County, CPS Energy and others. Together, we can convey a single message to the manufacturing sector: We're here to help you grow and thrive in San Antonio.