A photo from the Site Selectors Guild 2018 Fall Forum. This year’s forum is one of three prestigious events LVEDC officials will be attending in upcoming weeks. (photo courtesy Site Selectors Guild)

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) will be spreading the word about the region this month to site selectors, corporate location consultants, manufacturers, and industrial real estate professionals at several prestigious events across the nation.

LVEDC officials will be attending the Site Selectors Guild 2019 Fall Forum in Dallas, Tex.; the I.CON East in Jersey City, N.J.; the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) 2019 Fall Forum in Milwaukee, Wis.

Events like these allow LVEDC to learn economic development trends, market the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley, network directly with the individuals directly involved in company relocation and corporate real estate decisions.

“It’s important that these audiences know us and our market,” said Matthew Tuerk, LVEDC Vice President of Economic Development and Marketing. “We want them to be as aware of the Lehigh Valley as they are of any market, so when they are considering a location for a future project, the Lehigh Valley is at the top of their mind.”

The Site Selectors Guild is the national professional association of site selectors, location consultants, and national industrial commercial brokers, who are key advisors involved with virtually every major company relocation and corporate real estate decisions.

This includes such major consulting firms as JLL, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Biggins Lacy Shapiro, Deloitte, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, and more. LVEDC also attended the Site Selectors Guild Annual Conference in March, but the Fall Forum is has a more limited attendance at approximately half the size of that event.

“The intimate format of the Fall Forum conference makes it one of the best opportunities for economic developers to make real connections with Guild members, and for both groups to learn from each other,” said Andrew Shapiro, Site Selectors Guild board chair.

“As economic developers strive to attract new jobs and investment, we’ll be arming them with best and next practices to help them advance their game in everything from site visits, to crisis communications, to career growth,” Shapiro said. “We believe that the Fall Forum’s high-value content and direct access to 28 site selection consultants makes it a smart investment for economic development leaders across the country.”

I.CON is a major conference organized by NAIOP, an organization for developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate. NAIOP comprises more than 19,000 members and provides advocacy, education, and business opportunities through its powerful North American network.

I.CON is NAIOP’s premier event exclusively focused on the development, operation and expansion of industrial real estate. It will focus on big ideas, trends, and new technologies in industrial development.

“People know what they can expect from I.CON: non-stop networking, and a potential to make deals and business connections,” Thomas J. Bisacquino, President & CEO of NAIOP, said at last year’s event. “Sixth-five percent of the people here will say they either started or completed a deal in this meeting. If you are making a living in industrial, you’re in this room.”

LVEDC will also be hosting a bus tour of the Lehigh Valley for dozens of I.CON registrants, giving industrial professionals a first-hand view of what the Lehigh Valley market has to offer. This will be the third time LVEDC has hosted such a tour.

IAMC is an industrial and manufacturing real estate trade association, offering professional development, networking opportunities and resources for its members in the U.S. and abroad in the manufacturing and distribution sectors.

The IAMC Fall Forum will address topics relevant to supply chain and corporate real estate, including site selection, C-suite issues, facilities management, global operations, construction management, technology applications, and more. The theme of this year’s event is “Improving Company Performance Through Corporate Real Estate.”