About the RAEDC
Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Rockford Area Economic Development Council website. Our organization was formed in 1980 by an energetic partnership of private and public sector leaders. More than twenty-five years later, our mission of “helping employers create and retain quality jobs” still guides us in sustaining and strengthening the economic health of the Rockford Region.
Ours is a collaborative environment. We work closely with many partners to learn what existing and new employers need to grow - and match those needs with the correct resources. We provide one-stop economic development assistance, help clients conduct site analysis based on their unique requirements, lead them to the right incentive programs, create and conduct business educational programs such as Continuous Improvement/Lean Manufacturing and identify and help develop future markets.
The wonderful region we serve is particularly well-suited to the following types of businesses: logistics and distribution, aerospace engineering and manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, metals fabrication, backoffice/call centers, among others. Please visit the Targeted Industries section of this site for more detailed information on why Rockford matches up so well with these types of businesses.
If you choose to invest in the Rockford Region, your company will not only benefit from a productive and proven workforce, but a wealth of training offered by a variety of top-notch educational institutions.
Your company will also benefit from our low costs of doing business and affordable and exceptionally high quality of life. Companies like Hamilton Sundstrand, Chrysler, UPS and Lowe’s have invested heavily in our region in the very recent past.
In 2008, RAEDC will implement a groundbreaking new strategy called Rockforward!, the goal of which is to bring $2.8 Billion of new wealth to our regional economy by 2012. A virtual “who’s who” of business and civic leaders, governmental agencies and companies big and small have invested, and we hope you will visit the “Rockforward!” page to learn about or stragies in detail. We certainly would welcome your participation as an investor.
Please let me know - personally - if there is anything I can do to help your business succeed in Rockford. Call 815 987 8118 or email jfadden@rockfordil.com.
Sincerely,
Janyce Fadden, President
John Chadwick, Chairman of the Board