A SURE thing: Economic Development stakes a claim in far corners of the state.

• Author: Ostermiller, Pamela
• Position: Focus

Whether you're a one-man trucking operation, a mom-and-pop convenience store, or a large manufacturer of you-name-it, companies in rural Utah--or those hoping to move to Utah--have a lot of help growing and expanding these days. And so do the towns and counties where they plan to sprout. From Internet databases to grassroots marketing plans to award competitions, rural entrepreneurs have only to reach out and seize the right niche and opportunity.

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Assistance begins at the state level, pumped up by the energetic economic growth governor, Jon Huntsman, and his team in the Governer's Office of Economic Development (GOED). "One thing we talk about routinely in the governor's office is how to grow our own businesses--especially those in rural areas," says Jason Perry, the executive director of GOED.

The first notable program to encourage growth in rural areas is Utah SURE Sites, which stands for Select Utah Real Estate. Incepted at the end of 2005 in conjunction with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), the program is just now taking shape. SURE Sites is a highly-detailed, interactive Internet mapping program that provides businesses with enhanced economic development and site selection services.

For example, representatives of a company in Ohio looking to relocate to Utah would visit the SURE Sites page (www.utahsuresites.com), enter their search criteria (size of land, industrial park, proximity to a railroad, etc.), and find everything they need to know about some 70 sites across the state. A locator can also search for available buildings or create targeted demographic reports. It's essentially a state-run commercial real estate brokerage, ideally the first place a site consultant looks when beginning the relocation process.

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"It started as a way to have quality, accurate data in advance of a project," says Michael Ryan Flynn, a developer of the program and the vice president of public development for EDCUtah. "We wanted to be able to respond to inquiries quickly. Timelines are getting shorter and shorter, from a week to a day that [locators] need a turn-around."

Flynn says the SURE Sites program, which includes spaces for industrial, manufacturing, distribution centers and some office space, is actively supporting between 50-200 sites online and that there are currently a number of deals in motion.

There are some known companies that are moving to Utah, such as Procter & Gamble...