ResearchFDI congratulates Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development on landing a $1.7 billion steel mill project investment; highlighting the importance of approaching lead generation programs with a multifaceted strategy
Today, Steel Dynamics Inc. announced that a site outside of Sinton, TX in the Corpus Christi region is the
chosen location for its new $1.7 billion steel arc furnace mill project. The project will be the largest steel mill in Texas when completed employing over 600 new jobs. The Corpus Christi region was selected after an intense competition with other sites in consideration, such as Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico.
ResearchFDI, who has been under contract as a primary lead generation consultant with the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development for the past two years, is pleased to have played a part in this announcement by way of securing a multiplier meeting with an industry leader and an equipment supplier to Steel Dynamics for the CCREDC. The long road to this substantial investment for the Corpus Christi community began in 2016 when the CCREDC hired ResearchFDI to secure meetings with expanding companies, aligned with their targeted industries. Meetings with targeted steel-related companies headquartered in the Pittsburgh area was set up by ResearchFDI. The manufacturing industry has seen a renaissance in Corpus Christi, with over $50 billion in announced capital expenditure on industrial projects in the past decade.
This investment mission led our team to reach out to a Pittsburgh-based leading steel mill equipment supplier and metal producer. The initial meeting was intended to discuss setting up a repair and service facility, but instead led Corpus Christi to capitalize on being introduced to an industry leader, wherein they learned of potential arc furnace projects that the company was working with customers on and assisting with site selection. This meeting, now acting as a multiplier, brought Corpus Christi to be informed of a major expansion projects in development by other firms, including Steel Dynamics, that were circulating amongst metal industry leaders within the US. Following this thread, Corpus Christi was able to stay at the forefront of the Steel Dynamics deal and had valuable information on Steel Dynamics’ site and regional requirements, eventually leading to a successful bid and now a $1.7 billion investment win for their community. The CCREDC’s work is a strong case study on the importance of conducting lead generation programs with a hyper focus on your community’s leading industries, as well as approaching a meeting with a potential investor with a multifaceted strategy; as not all roads to success follow a straight line. President at ResearchFDI, Bruce Takefman said, “We applaud the work of our clients and friends at Corpus Christi REDC for this significant win. This victory demonstrates the importance of tackling investor meetings from all angles as well as the patience and tenacity economic developers need to harness in order to see a long-term deal of this magnitude through.”
For assistance in developing your economic development investment attraction strategy, please contact our team.
