Great Falls makes the grade on top list of places to relocate

The January 2003 edition of Expansion Management magazine names Great Falls as one of America’s 50 "Hottest Cities" for business relocation and expansion.

In fact, Great Falls — the only Montana city on the list — was ranked as the 25th most attractive city for business relocation and expansion.

Jacksonville, Fla. was named as No. 1 city; other cities in the top 25 include Colorado Springs, Colo.; Savannah, Ga.; and Jonesboro, Ark. Cities in the lower half of the list, ranked below Great Falls, include Columbia, S.C.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Allentown, Pa.

According to the article, the cities "that are doing the best job of presenting themselves as prime locations for growing manufacturing companies" were chosen by site selectors nationwide. Site selectors help companies find and develop new locations.

The site selectors were asked to rank the cities, "considering such things as business environment, work force quality, operating costs, incentive programs, worker training programs and ease of working with local officials."

"That kind of publicity is the kind you want," said Great Falls Development Authority President John Kramer. "We’re starting to gain attention. Slowly over the last year we’ve been getting the word out, and now we’re gonna start a major push on them."

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