Pittsburgh Regional Alliance Distro List - May 7, 2007

IMAGINE A TOP-RANKED REGION, AROUND THE COUNTRY AND ACROSS THE GLOBE

• UNITED STATES: PITTSBURGH REGAINS ‘MOST LIVABLE CITY’ TITLE
  The Pittsburgh region beat out 378 other metropolitan areas to regain the #1 spot as Places Rated Almanac’s “Most Livable City.” The region was #1 in the same list in 1985, is the only place to gain the list’s top billing twice and has never rated out of the Top 20. Criteria considered were housing/cost of living, transportation, jobs, education, climate, crime, health care, recreation and ambience (arts, culture, dining, etc.). Other high-ranking areas included San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia and Boston.

• NORTH AMERICA: PITTSBURGH IS A TOP THREE “CITY OF THE FUTURE”
  Pittsburgh stands out across the globe as a top “North American City of the Future,” according to highly-reputable Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) magazine, published by the Financial Times group in London. The 2007/2008 “Cities of the future” were selected based upon their strengths and prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion. Pittsburgh’s ‘short list’ rankings included:
  
  • #3 - Overall Top 10 - major cities category (2+ million population)
  • #1 - Most Cost Effective
  • #2 - Best Infrastructure

  Read the PRA press release.
  

• WORLDWIDE: PITTSBURGH AMONG ‘WORLD’S CLEANEST CITIES’
  We have done much more than shed our former ‘steel town’ image – the Pittsburgh region is now a world-leader in renewable energy and green building practices. The Forbes top 25 “World’s Cleanest Cities” list includes the Pittsburgh region, which tied for 10th place. Factors considered were clean energy generation, waste control, recycling and various levels of infrastructure reorganization. Common traits among the high-ranking areas were “a focus on high tech, education and headquartering of national and international companies.” Read more about the criteria, or view the entire list of top 25 cities in a slide show that features Pittsburgh.

• UNITED STATES: TOP ART DESTINATION - #1 Mid-Sized City
  The readers of AmericanStyle magazine deemed Pittsburgh the #1 mid-sized arts destination in the nation. Assets of particular interest were the yearlong “Pittsburgh Celebrates Glass!” initiative, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol museum. Learn more about the ranking.

OPPORTUNITY CHINA 2007: SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MISSION LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR REGIONAL STRATEGY
Members of the Pittsburgh regional business, civic and economic development community recently returned from an eight-day business trade mission. Opportunity China 2007 was the first major step in a five-year regional strategy that aims to expand export activities to China and promote the strengths of businesses in the Pittsburgh region to potential Chinese investors. Mission delegates learned what it takes to succeed in the China market from southwestern Pennsylvania companies with operations there. All of these – including Bombardier, Calgon Carbon, Industrial Scientific, Kennametal and PPG – were proactively interested in sharing their expertise, resources and established networks with regional companies interested in China. The “Opportunity China 2007 Mission Diary,” which was published in the Pittsburgh Business Times, provides more trip details.

Southwestern Pennsylvania companies and their employees are shipping millions of dollars of products to China – from Bombardier’s people mover that will carry Olympic crowds to Westinghouse’s projects that will power a booming economy. There’s tremendous growth opportunity for our exports, which means job growth here. By forging relationships with Chinese companies, we can capture their investment in our region.” – Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato

REGIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES FUEL U.S. – GERMAN RELATIONSHIPS
In conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the PRA recently hosted a delegation of public officials and business leaders from 15 energy-related companies in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) for an energy symposium and discussions on strengthening economic and scientific ties between the NRW and southwestern Pennsylvania. The German province shares an industrial heritage with our region and is undergoing an economic transformation with the decline of its hard coal industry. Symposium topics showcasing our standout regional assets were: Power Plant and Gas Technology; Biomass and Biogas; Solar and Wind; and Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.

The delegation, led by Dr. Jens Baganz of the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, was the second to visit Pittsburgh from the province since the beginning of the year. And in February, Minister President Jürgen Rüttgers signed a formal agreement with Governor Rendell to encourage academic, cultural and business relationships that will foster the growth of alternative technologies in both Pennsylvania and NRW. The PRA first established regional ties with NRW during a Germany business development mission in 2005.

BAYER EXPANSION BRINGS 60 NEW JOBS
With the option to expand virtually anywhere in the world, global chemical leader Bayer Corporation recently announced the location of its new human resources (HR) call center at its Pittsburgh campus in Allegheny County, bringing with it 60 new jobs. The center will handle the human resources issues of Bayer’s 15,000 U.S. employees – 1,500 of whom are southwestern Pennsylvania residents. Joining Bayer Corporation President and CEO Dr. Attila Molnar at the grand opening were Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll and U.S. Congressman Tom Murphy (PA-18). Job creation tax credits, customized job training grants and low-interest loans for capital investment were among the components of generous incentive packages provided from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County. Read Bayer’s press release to learn more.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS TOUR LIFE SCIENCES LOCATIONS
Last week, the PRA, at the request of DCED, presented a day-long tour of the region’s life sciences highlights for a delegation of journalists from Australia, Brazil, France, India and Korea. Sessions included a roundtable on growing and funding life sciences companies, a visit to the Hillman Cancer Center and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and presentations and tours at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Musculoskeletal Research Center. After departing Pittsburgh, the journalists continued to Philadelphia for a tour of life sciences facilities there.