Issue 18 – Winter 2014 - Kern Economic Development Corporation

Winter 2014
Kern Economic Development Corporation’s Bi-Annual Newsletter
Contents
3
Industry Focus:
4
2013 ENERGY SUMMIT
6
CSCMP Roundtable
2013
7
Board Member Profile
Bridging The Gap Between The Oil
Fields And The Farming Industry,
From Soils To Processing
Wayne Kress
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9
Holiday Open House
Economic Summit
Save the Date March 26th
10
KEDF
Committed to workforce
development to assist local
businesses and improve the lives
of Kern County residents
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11
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Welcome New Board
Members
Welcome New
Investors
KERN EDC Team
The Land of Opportunity
Kern County Emerges as a West Coast Economic Powerhouse
2013 In Review
In 2013, Kern County’s economy grew
at a moderate rate compared with 2012.
Most estimates put the year’s growth
around 3.0%, which is half the amount
seen in 2012 when the region’s GDP
expanded at a blistering annual rate
of 6.0%. Over the last year, the nonfarm sector has added approximately
6,000 jobs (year-over-year), while the
farm sector has stabilized from midyear losses. The top three industry
sectors in 2013 were wholesale trade
(7.1%), oil and gas extraction (6.5%),
and construction (7.9%). For the third
year in a row, the County’s annual
unemployment rate declined. Records
indicate an average of 12.3% in 2013 vs.
13.3% in 2012.
Recent Kern County Accolades
#5 Metro in U.S. for Upward Mobility
(National Bureau of Economic Research,
January 2014)
Top 20 Best Performing U.S. Metro
(Milken Institute, December 2013)
#3 Strongest-Recovering Areas in U.S.
(Brookings Institution, September 2013)
Top 15 Fastest-Growing Metro
GDP (Bureau of Economic Analysis,
September 2013)
#9 Engineering Jobs per Capita
(Forbes, July 2013)
#4 Region for STEM Jobs (Brookings
Institution, June 2013)
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)
www.kedc.com |
661.862.5150
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
Percent Change in Real GDP by Metroplitan Area, 2012
Kern County performed exceedingly
well in two important measures:
five-year high-tech output (7th) and
one-year job growth (12th).
A majority of the metros ended up in the bottom quartile of the annual
competitive rankings Forbes and the Brookings Institution ranked Kern
County in the Top 10 in the U.S. in terms of STEM and engineering jobs,
respectively. The New Year also saw the release of a report titled “Is
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
America the Land of Opportunity?” The study measured the top 100 metro
areas in terms of the upward mobility potential. Kern County ranked #1 in
Largest Economies in the Valley (GDP)
California and #5 in the U.S.
Looking Ahead
In 2014, most economists forecast sustained moderate growth for both
the U.S. and Kern County economies. Based on forecasted commodity
prices in the region’s dominant industries, energy and agriculture,
Kern County will continue to perform well. Most industry experts
predict 2014 oil prices to fluctuate in the $90-$100/bbl range, while
nut and milk prices are projected to increase in the coming year. It
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
is important to note that the negative
effects of the recent freeze on citrus and
Kern’s Economic Dominance Continues
In December, the Milken Institute ranked the Bakersfield-Delano region
other crops have yet to be determined.
In addition, economic activity in the
as the 19th best-performing metro (out of 200 areas) in the nation. Kern
healthcare services and transportation/
County performed exceedingly well in two important measures: five-year
logistics sectors should grow as Kern
high-tech output (7th) and one-year job growth (12th). By contrast, the
becomes a leading center for healthcare
rest of the Valley’s economies finished significantly behind Kern County.
and distribution operations.
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By Richard Chapman,
President & CEO
Kern EDC
Industry Focus
Bridging The Gap Between The Oil Fields And
The Farming Industry, From Soils To Processing
The energy industry and agriculture industry
are at the very foundation of Kern County’s
economy and for many years Kern EDC has
worked closely with oil and gas companies
and food processing businesses. In order to
strengthen economic vitality in this arena,
Kern EDC has begun meeting with oil field
service companies to identify needs and
opportunities and to create action plans to
ensure their businesses can flourish.
One of Kern EDC’s newest investors, MTS
Stimulation Services, Inc., has provided well
stimulation and acidizing services to the oil
industry in California for 30 years. To add to
their growing business, MTS just announced a
new line of green chemicals, which carry the
“Designed for the Environment” seal of approval.
The new line offers an alternative to traditional
hydrochloric acid, caustics and xylene.
MTS’s new spin-off business ties its efforts in
the oil fields with Kern County’s agricultural
community and food processing industry
by offering FDA approved chemicals that
are safe, green and sustainable. MTS
Environmental Solutions was created late
in 2013, to bridge the gap between the two
industries by offering a needed alternative
to harsh and dangerous chemicals typically
used. MTS Environmental Solutions products
include hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid,
caustic, Sani-cleaners L & H and peeling aids.
The products are so safe they can be touched
with bare hands.
For a demonstration or more information,
contact MTS Stimulation Services and MTS
Environmental Solutions at 661-589-5804 or
www.mts-stim.com or www.mts-es.com. “Historically we have offered a variety of oil
field services for production, disposal and
injection wells, plus well maintenance and
hydrogen sulfide removal,” said Monda Byrd,
vice president of MTS.
“Our customers have been very happy with
the quality of work we provide and demand
has continuously grown over the past years.
‘Safety First’ is our motto, and the new product
line for both companies gives substance to the
motto,” says Byrd.
Kern EDC welcomes our new investor, MTS
Stimulation Services, Inc. If you know of a
business that would benefit from being part of
Kern EDC, call Trish Reed at 661-862-5150!
MTS’s new line of products are 100%
biodegradable in 10 days, carry a triple zero
hazardous score, and have no fumes or gases.
3
2013 Energy Summit
Thank You to All Who Attended!
This year’s event covered recent technological advances in the
renewable and petroleum energy sectors and how local businesses
can better incorporate those changes into their operations; future
development forecasts for the industry; and how those advances
directly impact Kern County.
For more information, or to download speaker presentations, visit our
web site kedc.com/events/2013-energy-summit
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5
CSCMP Roundtable 2013
Employers from several industry
sectors gathered in October to learn
the most current information on the
new health care reform law and how
it affects businesses from Brandie
Gasper, associate attorney with Klein
DeNatale Golder. Gasper oversees
the health care legal department
and is a member of the corporate
transactional department. She is
an expert in handling legal issues
pertaining to health plans, including
contracting, regulations, compliance,
Brandie Gasper
and transactional matters. Attendees
left the Roundtable with valuable insight and resources that better
prepared them to react to the new health care law’s impact on their
business and employees.
Brandie Gasper, Mike Velten and Melinda Brown
Did you know:
• New regulations mandate when you must provide coverage to
temporary employees.
• There are new reporting and notice requirements.
• Your affiliated companies may impact your obligations under
health care reform.
• Part-time employees can affect whether your business is subject to
the employer mandate.
Brandie Gasper
“We joined the CSCMP Roundtable to learn more about
the very relevant topic of Health Care Reform. As an
employer of approximately 650 employees it is most
critical that we remain well informed with the most up to
date Health Care information. Brandi Gasper did a nice
job explaining the changes in the healthcare landscape
since 2010, while explaining, in common terms, what to
expect in the coming years. We walked away feeling
more educated and better prepared to broach the topic
with our employees.”
- Rachael Franco, Logistics Manager and
Denise Verdesoto, HR Manager from the
Target Distribution Center
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Bill Georgenton, Baldwin-Georgenton Insurance Agency; Chrissy Mettler, Klein
DeNatale Golder; Dave and Julie Womack, Kaiser Permanente
Kern EDC Board Profile
Wayne Kress,
director/
principal at
Cushman &
Wakefield |
Pacific, is one
of Kern EDC’s
newest board
members, and
his enthusiasm,
knowledge
and history of
Wayne Kress
working with
Kern EDC make
him a true “upperclassman” among its leaders.
Kress has been interested in real estate for as
long as he can remember, probably sparked by
Ben Batey, his childhood neighbor who moved
from teaching high school to selling homes for
Karpe Real Estate, then later to a distinguished
career as a local homebuilder. Kress worked
summers and weekends during junior high and
into high school for another neighbor building
and rehabilitating homes, learning many
construction trades along the way. He began
his career as an industrial real estate broker
in 1982 in Bakersfield with Coldwell Banker
Commercial Real Estate Services (now CBRE)
after a short stint in their Fresno office in a
support position. “My early mentors at Coldwell
were Clyde Barbeau, Pat Collins, and David
Gay—three terrific guys,” says Kress.
In 2000, Kress partnered with several fellow
CBRE agents to purchase the Bakersfield
office, which they operated until 2012, when
CBRE decided to exit secondary and tertiary
markets. His team moved on to formed Pacific
Commercial Realty Advisors and partnered
with Cushman & Wakefield, a partnership that
filled a void for Cushman in central California.
They have since opened an office in Fresno,
coinciding with CBRE’s exit from that market
as well.
Kress enjoys the variety and complexity of his
job’s challenges. “I love taking care of people’s
real estate concerns, and I’ve built a network
of skilled performers who help me do it. No
two days are alike, but my feeling of fulfillment
upon completing each deal is. I’m most proud
of building my Golden Empire Industrial Team
and helping to build Cushman & Wakefield |
Pacific into market-leading positions. My GEIT
teammates, Oscar Baltazar and Coby Vance,
are second to none, and my Cushman partners,
Duane Keathley, Vince Roche, and Jeff Andrew,
have each built careers of distinction.”
Kress has brokered thousands of transactions,
including all of Castle & Cooke’s industrial
land from 1989 through sell-out in 2011; site
acquisitions by Baker Hughes, Caterpillar,
KSI Industries, Nabors Well Services, Nusil
Technologies, Square D, Target, UPS, U.S. Cold
Storage, and Weatherford International; and
building acquisitions by American Tire, BLM,
Formica, Harvel Plastics, Hillman Fasteners,
Nestle, Pactiv, and State Farm Insurance.
Kress is a member of the Society of Industrial
and Office Realtors and he’s a 15-year Director
and Past Chairman of Mid State Development
Corporation, Bakersfield’s liaison agency for SBA
real estate loans. Kress has been a Rotarian for
27 years and is a past President of Bakersfield
East Rotary Club. He previously served on
the Boards of The Plank Foundation and the
Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center.
Kern EDC is proud to have a strong community
advocate like Kress on its Board of Directors.
His ongoing commitment to strengthen the
Kern EDC was most recently exemplified in his
blog, “Not An Investor In Kern EDC? What?!”
where he wrote about the EDC’s history and
significance in Kern’s community.
“I’ve been a supporter of KernEDC since its
founding in 1987,” says Kress. “It is a vital part of
my team, helping me address many of the ‘nonreal estate concerns’ held by potential employers,
ranging from labor to permitting authorities.”
Kress is a graduate of West High School,
Bakersfield College, and U.C. Berkeley.
He’s had many interests and hobbies, from
backpacking, water-skiing, and woodworking
in his teens and early adulthood to reading,
cycling, and snow-skiing today.
SAVE THE DATE
FOR
Fit for Business!
Kern Economic Development Foundation’s race to help create local jobs
and develop Kern County’s workforce.
Fit for Business!
The Park at River Walk
5k/10k • May 31, 2014 • 7:30 a.m.
Help us create local jobs and provide career-based mentoring to high school kids!
Adults (by 5/20): $30 • 12 and younger (by 5/20): $15
Adults receive tech-material race shirts • 12 and younger receive cotton t-shirts
And don’t forget about the Aera Corporate Challenge - Sign up the largest corporate team and win a prize for your
company. Coworkers, friends, and family can join you! Team members can run or walk in either race, at any speed.
Show your spirit with matching shirts and colorful signs, or just have fun supporting local job creation and workforce
development!
Last year more than 550 racers got fit for business. Join the fun for a good cause!
Like us on Facebook for updates and registration, or visit www.kedf.org
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2013 Holiday Open House
Each year the Kern EDC takes time to celebrate the year’s successes with
its investors by hosting a winter holiday open house. This year’s theme
was “Mele Kalikimaka” (Hawaiian for Merry Christmas) and guests
enjoyed island-inspired décor and food, while mingling and reflecting on
hard work that will pave the way for ongoing success in 2014!
Mike Maggard and Rick Kreiser
Kern EDC Team
Andy Stanley, Richard Chapman and Ray Watson
Meleaka
im
k
i
l
Ka
Amber McCombs and Ana Igoa
Trish Reed, Monda Byrd, Fiona Lytle and Melinda Brown
Patricia making Hawaiian smoothies
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Patricia Marquez and Dave Dmohowski
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Kern Economic
Development Foundation
Committed to workforce development to assist local businesses and
improve the lives of Kern County residents
Patricia Marquez
Recently, Bakersfield Magazine
We often hear that the current generation
featured a great article about Kern
doesn’t have the work ethic of past
Economic Development Foundation’s
employees, or that they won’t conform
Alliance of Medical Professionals
to standard requirements such as
(AMP) Mentoring Program. Titled
punctuality and dress. Accurate or not,
“Homegrown Healthcare,” the piece
AMP aims to give the Health Careers
highlighted our efforts to prepare
Academy students the resources to overcome
East Bakersfield High School’s Health
such issues with our mentoring curriculum. Lessons
Careers Academy students to become
have been developed to gauge their post-secondary education and career
a qualified future workforce for the
goals, to help them succeed in school with good time management
healthcare industry. From administration to clinical positions, these
and study habits, to practice resume writing and mock interviews, and
local kids want to fill local jobs and our AMP program aims to help
ultimately, create exceptional employees with humility and interpersonal
them do just that.
skills. “We recognize that they’ll learn about healthcare in school, so we
The article highlighted two mentors,
Danay Jones of San Joaquin Community
want to offer them the “unwritten lessons” of their future careers,” said
Patricia Marquez, KEDF Program Manager.
Hospital and Gabi Martin of
And who better to teach those lessons than the people who are
Bakersfield College, but it’s important
currently occupying healthcare careers? Our mentors are our most
to remember that it takes dozens
valuable resource. They are guiding students through the monthly
curriculum, while providing current, real-world commentary about
Our mentors are our most
valuable resource.
their own industry. They lend credibility to the lessons and become true
role models for their students. And if that wasn’t enough, our mentors
are committed to providing professional references and sharing job
openings with their students as they grow into their careers.
of people to make this program happen. We’ve recruited and trained
Though the AMP program is still too new to demonstrate our ultimate
38 healthcare professionals to join 109 junior and sophomore students
goal of an abundance of local talent hired
each month for mentoring sessions. Mentors are coming from many
for healthcare positions, coverage like
local companies (GEMCare, Bakersfield Heart Hospital, Dignity Health,
Bakersfield Magazine’s, the continued
Good Samaritan Hospital, and Kaiser Permanente to name a few)
development of our curriculum, and
and represent positions in leadership, marketing, nursing, physicians,
the dynamism of our mentors makes
and public health educators amongst many others. Companies and
us hopeful that Kern County employers
individuals are especially committed to AMP’s mission to lowering
will one day have a plentiful supply of
barriers that inhibit local hiring of healthcare professionals.
applicants from our own community.
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Your Kern EDC Team
Welcome New Board Members
Tim Hooper
S.C. Anderson (replacing Jeff Foy)
Mike Myers
GEMCare (replacing Bob Severs)
Patty Poire
Grimmway (replacing Jeff Green)
Welcome New Investors
Farm Credit West
Mike Moore
661-399-7360
Recurrent Energy
Michael Bowes
415-501-9507
Newmark Grubb ASU &
Associates
Mark Smith
661-862-5454
Hendricks Berkadia
Mark Bonas
661-369-7100
Bear Mountain Associates
Brent Rush
661-401-8772
Alon USA Energy, Inc./
Paramount Petroleum
Corporation
Bill Winter
562-531-2060 ext 2634
First American Title
Attila Csikos
951-256-5880
Richard Chapman
Cheryl Scott
Trish Reed
Melinda Brown
Patricia Marquez
Fiona Lytle
President & CEO
Vice President
MTS Stimulation Services
and MTS Environmental
Solutions
Monda Byrd
661-589-5804 X 1001
Muth Pump
Garold Muth
661-588-8700
Bolthouse Development
Company, LLC
Stephan DeBranch
(661) 323-4005
Investor Relations
Specialist
Program Manager and
Foundation Liaison
Director of Business
Development
Research Analyst &
Marketing Specialist
www.kedc.com
(661) 862-5150
www.kedc.com
Courtney Croswell
Receptionist
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U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
BAKERSFIELD, CA
PERMIT #7
2700 M Street • Suite 200
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Inside this Issue
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