Since its initial launch in July 1999, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s mass-exodus advertising campaign has succeeded in attracting four companies to the Ocean State.
There has been one “fatality” — Bristol-based online boating supply company Sailfirst.com, which closed last fall — but the three remaining companies from the campaign’s first wave appear to be thriving.
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The program is not without critics, some of whom believe the state should focus more on supporting companies already here, and others who believe the program has simply not been successful.
“That was one of the best moves I ever made,” said Rick Roth president of Mirror Image, a silk screening company that moved to Pawtucket from Cambridge in October 1999.
Roth brought 20 of his 30 employees from Massachusetts with him.
“It’s much more affordable down here,” he said. “Quality of life was an integral factor. The ones that moved got a huge boost in their standard of living. And, the quality of employees we’re able to hire down here is better.”
Roth said he and his employees love Pawtucket, and praised the government as “extremely cooperative. They’re business-friendly. They want us here. That makes a huge difference.”
The EDC assists the companies that relocate with site location and financing options through the state for companies that qualify, said Joseph Hammang, vice president of science, technology and business development at the EDC.
Andrew Chi, director of marketing and sales at Orbidex.com, an Internet service company specializing in art and antiques, that relocated to Providence a year ago, said he thinks his company has more potential for growth in Rhode Island than it did in Massachusetts.
Being in Rhode Island “keeps the cost of operations – the overhead – down,” Chi said. “You can invest more money into the business. The money that would have been spent on real estate and high salaries can be spent on the company to stimulate higher growth.”
The pool of local talent from Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Rhode Island College (12 of Orbidex’s 18 employees have been hired since the company made the move), as well as the Ocean State’s quality of life, figured in the decision to relocate, Chi said.
“Quality of life also matters,” he said. “People are happier. They enjoy their lives more and they are more productive.”
Since moving here in January 2000 from Needham, Web design firm Bx.com has doubled its number of employees from 30 to 60 and is currently renovating its new space in Providence’s Davol Square. When completed, the company will have three times its previous space.
Bx.com President Edward Weisberg said he too moved his company’s headquarters to Rhode Island with hopes of dipping into the pool of local computer science graduates.
“Nobody’s really tapping RISD and Bryant and Brown,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent that’s leaving the state.”
Weisberg said six Bx.com employees made the move to Rhode Island with the company, many choosing to live in Cumberland for its easy access to both Providence and Boston.
“Now, given what’s going on in the economy, we’re interviewing people who live in Boston who are willing to do the drive down,” he said. “I do the reverse commute myself.”
At least one Rhode Island business owner has mixed feelings about the mass-exodus campaign.
“I’m pleased to see the state working hard to build the high tech sector in Rhode Island, and working to retain the businesses,” said Eric Robichaud, owner of Rhode Island Soft Systems and Mediaweave in Woonsocket. “I agree with keeping companies in the state. I have mixed feelings about luring out-of- state companies. It’s good for the state and for the industry in general, but also bad for me.”
Robichaud’s Mediaweave was listed in the February edition of Providence Business News’ “High Technology Monthly” as the number two Web developer in the state. Mass-exodus company Bx.com was ranked number one.
“Great – my tax dollars just bought me a new competitor,” Robichaud said. “I’d like to see a little more done to help the companies that are already here to keep them here, versus focusing on bringing in new, out of state companies. I understand what’s happening, and I do see the benefits. I just have mixed feelings.”
According to a Providence Business News/Johnson & Wales University Executive Poll conducted in Nov., 25 percent of those surveyed said they believe the Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) mass-exodus campaign has been successful at attracting Massachusetts companies to relocate to Rhode Island; 50 percent said the campaign has not been successful; 25 percent said they didn’t know.
Twenty-five percent said they think the EDC is paying sufficient attention to providing support for Rhode Island companies, preventing them from relocating elsewhere; 70 percent said no; five percent said they didn’t know.
Hammang said the second phase of mass-exodus is under way, targeted on the estimated 65,000 Rhode Island residents who commute to Massachusetts on a regular basis.
“It’s been really, really clear to us that the majority of people who are commuting are doing it by force of habit over many years,” said Hammang.
One recent workday, the EDC distributed mock train schedules to workers en route to Massachusetts. The schedules listed Rhode Island technology companies and pointed out “how much time they spend commuting and how many opportunities exist in Rhode Island,” said Hammang.
Hammang said mass-exodus applies to more than just Massachusetts.
“Companies like BitHeadz (a music software company from Northern California, now located in East Greenwich), they came here for all the reasons that mass-exodus is about,” Hammang said. “Remember, mass-exodus is a lowercase ‘m.’ We’re not marketing solely to companies from Massachusetts.”
