INNOVATION IS HELPING IDAHO COMPANIES
MOVE FORWARD

By Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter

As I travel around the state, I have the opportunity to visit a lot of businesses, business owners and their employees. I’m constantly reminded – in ways big and small – that businesses, like people, need to be willing and able to change in order to stay relevant and succeed.

That was the theme at my recent Innovation Summit. It doesn’t matter if you sell alfalfa or write software, it takes innovation to efficiently produce value, get your product to market and grow your business.

At the Innovation Summit, as well as my Business Summit in August, I was reminded again just how strong and resilient our companies are in Idaho. We have industry leaders who aren’t seeking shelter from this economic storm; instead, they are actively repositioning themselves and innovating for future success.

One example is the Camas Prairie Winery’s project to utilize solar energy. The Moscow winery has cut its energy bills by more than half by installing solar panels, paid for in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program. That not only reduces business costs but also is an example of how renewable energy can make Idaho businesses more competitive.

On a larger scale, Micron Technology is developing a new light-emitting diode technology that can be used in energy-efficient lights. This is a significant new product area for Micron. I announced a $5 million grant to Micron for the project a couple of weeks ago – part of our federal stimulus funding – because of the tremendous potential for creating new career-path jobs and charting new directions for the ones we have.

Innovation doesn’t always mean “high-tech.” Sometimes it means employing innovative business practices. Coeur d’Alene-based franchise Pita Pit recently was ranked the 49th top franchise in the world based on such factors as financial performance and corporate citizenship, as well as on its ability to innovate.

As I heard at my Innovation Summit, applying innovation to existing businesses and industries is just as important to the success of Idaho’s economy as using innovation to create new products and services.

And businesses throughout our state are finding success. Many companies are still expanding, hiring and getting new contracts. For example, I heard recently from Synoptek, an Idaho company that is very pleased with the success of its business since moving here from California. In its first year of operation in Boise, Synoptek expanded to a new office, hired more employees and established a state-of-the-art information technology hosting center. This summer, it was recognized nationally with a 131st ranking on the Inc. 500 list.

Meanwhile, Intermountain Gas and its three sister utility companies are opening a new customer service center in Meridian to serve nearly a million of its customers across eight states. The center will hire about 140 workers by the time it is in full operation next year.

In eastern Idaho, the Idaho National Laboratory received national recognition recently for its work in partnership with small businesses. That kind of public-private partnership is particularly important because most of Idaho’s employers are small. And when they succeed, the benefits ripple out across the entire community.

It also was great to see that a Kansas-based business, Watco Companies Inc., is so impressed with the success of its existing ventures in Idaho that it’s upping the ante. The company plans to lease-purchase 36 miles of railroad track from Boise to Caldwell. Once approvals for the deal are received, a new line called the Boise Valley Railroad will be in business, with high hopes for continued growth here.

That kind of positive message – of optimism and opportunity – is why I am so appreciative for the many Idaho business leaders who are stepping up to join the Project 60 team. We all are working together to advance Idaho’s economy, to create good jobs that lead to careers, and to improve everyone’s bottom line.

Project 60 partners are leading the way by helping with everything from contacting businesses interested in expanding to Idaho, to providing great advice on how to succeed here, to sharing stories about that success. Take a look at the Project 60 Web page, www.project60.idaho.gov, and I’m confident you will want to be part of this exciting effort to grow our economy, the Idaho way.

###

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter will release his Project 60 Update monthly, providing information about economic growth and business expansion throughout Idaho.

Return to October Press Releases