Companies looking to relocate are flocking to Northern Nevada - why?

The Reno-Sparks region has become a distribution mecca, due mostly in part to its proximity to I-80. Nancy McCormick is the vice president of business retention, expansion and workforce for the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) and they use I-80 as a selling point. According to data from EDAWN, the area has one-day truck service to the Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland and Boise. Add an extra 24-hours and two-day service is available to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.

"We have immediate access to port of entry in California and logistically can reach locations in 11 western states within 24 - 48 hours," said McCormick. "It's

Northern Nevada has earned big headlines in the news as a major tech hub, but is it really the next Silicon Valley?

Image courtesy of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce

Particularly since Tesla began construction on its Gigafactory, Reno has had national headlines pegging it as the newest Silicon Valley. Lately, they’ve sounded something like this:

“For decades, the city was a gambling mecca. But when casinos fell on hard times, Reno struggled. The city has reinvented itself as a tech hub, thanks to recent arrivals like Tesla.”

That clip came from CBS This Morning as they touched on Reno’s economic improvements. And they are right – many big names in tech have moved, or expanded to northern Nevada in recent time including Apple, Switch

After going through the toughest recession in its history, Northern Nevada has hit some major economic development victories.

Last year, 156.4 million pounds of cargo came through Reno’s airport the three to four weeks prior to Christmas. This whopping number was an all-time record for the facility. And the airport isn’t the only player in the region to see shipping traffic “take off”.

The improving economy has combined successfully with the increased adoption of e-commerce, which has help fuel an increase in the number of new warehouses and distribution center. Add a growing manufacturing base producing items from cheese to pet food to electric batteries, and Northern Nevada continues its transformation as a distribution mecca. Storage and

Reno has repainted its image and now it’s challenging Silicon Valley with its attractive business structure.

“There was only one place to go, and that was up,” said Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve.

In 2011, unemployment peaked at nearly 14% when Governor Brian Sandoval signed a law aiming to diversify the state’s economy. He recognized that gambling wasn’t enough to support the state’s economy and a sustainable workforce.

Reno has scored some big wins, starting with a new, highly automated factory run by Ardagh Group SA. The factory produces 3.5 million cans of tomato paste and other food products in just one day. In 2014, Tesla chose Reno out of six other locations to build its greatly anticipated Gigafactory. The Gigafactory is the largest in

The Biggest Little City has averaged more than 10,000 new jobs to the region for the past two years.

Per the EDAWN (Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada) Executive Updates job growth chart, Reno is ahead of the projections for 52,400 new jobs for the five-year period January 2015 – 2019. The unemployment rate has dropped from over 13% five years ago to under 5% as we are approaching full employment.

In a normal market nationwide, typical population growth is about 1% every year and Nevada is almost double that rate. The state was named one of the two fastest growing states in the last year and has attracted several new companies and startups to the community.

There are still a projected 30,000 new jobs to be filled over the years

The Greater Reno-Sparks region has seen a huge influx of business in 2016, with 27 diverse companies calling the Silver State home.

Photo courtesy of EDAWN

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) honored these companies that have relocated to the area, welcoming the newest addition Mishimoto Automotive at EDAWN’s Companies Welcome Reception on December 8. Mishimoto is a manufacturer of after-market cooling systems for automotives. They will be moving into a new facility in Spanish Springs with approximately 53,000 feet of working space.

Two more companies honored at the event were Cam Concept and Alltrade Tools. Cam Concept is providing and developing new systems for trailers and hook-lifts in the waste management