Professional associations abound, but the Site Selectors Guild is the only association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants. Made up of the world's leading location strategists, Guild members provide expert consultation for every industry, sector, and function to corporations across the globe.
In early October, Business Recruitment Manager Daniel Buitrago attended the Site Selectors Guild Fall Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana. To offer a glimpse into the event, Daniel shared a few of his insights with us.
Who was the event for, and what did it consist of?
This forum brought together industry professionals for panel discussions, roundtables, and networking sessions, all designed to spark new ideas, foster meaningful connections, and drive real results.
What were some hot topics you got from the discussions?
- How trade volatility is shaping corporate location decisions.
- Power availability and site readiness, along with labor availability, continuing to be key factors for site selection.
- In talking with consultants, project activity remains constant. However, decision-making by companies continues to be altered by external factors, a major one being tariff uncertainty.
What did you enjoy most about the event?
This may be a silly one, but going for a run at 5:30am with a few conference attendees was a great memory. It was nice to do something different than the usual networking sessions, which usually take place in expo halls and conference rooms. I got to know one of the site selection consultants during the run and explored Indianapolis under the early lights. This was all thanks to getting invited to run by one of the Georgia attendees. That Thursday morning got off to a great start!
Were there any takeaways you learned that you’ll apply to recruiting business to Georgia?
My key takeaway was identifying the U.S. industry winners and losers in the current tariff landscape.
Starting with the winners:
- Defense and national security due to reliance on global supply chain. Think of companies in biomanufacturing, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, or machine tools.
- Other manufacturing that involves steel and aluminum, textile and apparel producers, or U.S.-based automotive manufacturers with robust domestic supply chains.
- Technologies in advanced sectors like semiconductor manufacturers, software or information technology, digital service providers.
- Energy and raw materials. Products from domestic oil and gas, electricity, wood or lumber.
- Financial services such as banks and investment firms with U.S. domestic focus.
As for those facing challenges:
- Construction due to increased costs for imported steel, aluminum, copper, and lumber.
- Agriculture due to retaliatory tariffs from China and the European Union. There is a reduced demand for U.S. exports of soybeans, corn, dairy, pork, and associated supply chains.
- Manufacturing sectors with significant imported raw materials, mechanical and electrical service, and components in electronics, automotive, machinery, construction equipment.
- Consumer electronics with imported components. For example, smartphones and laptops.
- Auto parts and vehicles that are dependent upon imported components.
Are there any additional details you'd like to share?
It’s important for our team to attend these types of conferences to stay connected to site selection consultants, keep up with new trends, and learn from economic developers from other states.
The Site Selectors Guild conferences serve as a great platform to connect with various groups in economic development from across the country. Georgia attendees included economic developers from GDEcD, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Richmond County, Glynn County, and Georgia Power.
Meet our Business Recruitment Team!
Daniel serves as a Business Recruitment Manager on our Statewide Business Recruitment Team. These professionals partner with businesses, consultants, and the State of Georgia for site selection support and new business attraction.
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