OCTOBER 2006 NEWSLETTER

CORPORATION NEWS

Featured Success Story

The Clarion County Economic Development Corporation has moved with the Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry into a new location in the Borough of Clarion as of August 2006. Our new address is 21 North 6^th Avenue, Clarion, PA 16214. Our telephone and fax numbers remain the same. Please drop by and visit us when you are in Clarion.

The corporation also has a new web site: www.callclarionpa.com. Please visit and bookmark the new site on your web browser. Along with our new web site, staff has new e-mail addresses:

Brad Ehrhart, Executive Director brad@callclarionpa.com
Maria Kirby, Economic Development Specialist maria@callclarionpa.com
Mary Jo Ford, Administrative Assistant maryjo@callclarionpa.com

FEATURED SUCCESS STORY

Stewart Laboratories, Inc.

Stewart Laboratories, Inc., a Clarion County Environmental Testing Laboratory, was able to fund an upcoming equipment purchase with the assistance of the CCEDC, the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, Northwest Savings Bank, and the Small Business Development Center. The CCEDC's Genesis Loan Fund supplied $10,000 toward the purchase of the equipment, and our staff assisted with some additional financial paperwork for the Northwest Commission's $20,000 Micro Loan. The Small Business Development Center worked with Stewart Labs to create and update a business plan, including the financials needed to secure the additional bank loans toward the purchase.

FEATURED RESOURCE PARTNER

Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PENNTAP)

An outreach program of Penn State University, PENNTAP is a federal-state-university partnership for economic development. Serving Pennsylvania business and industry statewide since 1965, PENNTAP is one of the nation's first technical assistance programs and remains a credible and valuable resource for helping Pennsylvania businesses compete and grow.

PENNTAP helps Pennsylvania businesses improve their competitiveness by providing technical assistance and information to help resolve specific technical questions or needs that can be addressed within a limited amount of time. The service of PENNTAP staff is confidential and provided at no cost to clients. The program focuses on helping smaller businesses that normally do not have the in-house expertise or resources to resolve specific technical questions or needs. PENNTAP specialists assist small businesses by providing technical advice, technical information, and referrals to other expertise, resources, or programs.

PENNTAP services the entire state of Pennsylvania through a network of technical specialists who have specific areas of technical expertise and are located throughout the state. Within Clarion County alone, PENNTAP has completed forty-eight projects within the last five years resulting in job growth, job retention, and 2.9 million dollars in economic benefits reported by our business clients.

The most frequently requested service is our web site assessment where PENNTAP specialists have helped Clarion businesses evaluate their Internet-based marketing effectiveness and improve the sales impact and visibility of their sites. We have a Wood Technology Specialist who has assisted numerous Clarion timber and woodworking operations improve their productivity. The Environmental Specialist with PENNTAP is an expert in pollution prevention and has conducted assessments with regional firms. We can provide technical literature retrievals and have delivered preliminary patent searches for Clarion inventors and entrepreneurs.

Possibly the most strategic advantage of our program is our alliance with other economic development partners like the Clarion County EDC, the Northwest IRC, the Ben Franklin Technology PArtners and Clarion University with their SBDC. Together, each of us seeks to leverage and not duplicate one another's skills and resources. For example, a Clarion HVAC contractor came to PENNTAP last year with an invention for a new innovative device. Through the local CCEDC industrial network, the business planning skills of the SBDC and the funding support of the Ben Franklin folks, this entrepreneur has commercialized his HVAC idea and is now selling his product in Clarion County.

For general information on regional PENNTAP assistance contact:

Jay Schenck

Penn State - Behrend College

REDC, Room 219

Erie, PA 16563-1701

Phone: 814-898-6046

Fax: 814-865-6125 e-mail: djs20@psu.edu

PENNTAP's web site: www.penntap.psu.edu

For eBusiness and Information Technology-related services contact:

Don LeGoullon

206 Seneca Street

4th Floor National Transit Building

Oil City, PA 16301

814-677-3152 x 112

814-677-5206 fax

814-882-2449 cell

donl@psu.edu

FEATURED CLARION COUNTY

               AVAILABLE SITE
             Trinity Point at Monroe
          Trinity Point at Monroe

Clarion Trinity Development Co. (CTDC) continues progress on the development of "Trinity Point at Monroe," this mixed-use business park development is located directly on Interstate 80 at Exit 62. The development contains more than 100 acres, with 54 acres designated as a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) providing state and local tax relief benefits through December 31, 2013.

All infrastructure and utilities are available and provided throughout the development including both fiber and wireless Broadband Communications. Over 3,000 feet of on-site access roads and utilities have been completed, with turning lanes and signalization on State Route 68 to be completed in 2007 at the entrance of the development.

Building construction will continue with the October 24, 2006 groundbreaking for the Biotechnology Business Development Center in cooperation with Clarion University of Pennsylvania. This 40,000 square foot LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building will feature 6,667 square feet of incubator space and 20,000 square feet in flex space for tenants. The building's projected completion date is March 2008.

Trinity has been selected as one of the five new State Police Communication and Dispatch Centers being constructed across the state. The site was selected because of dual grid electric supply and its two separate fiber optic telecommunications lines.

A retail component, Tractor Supply, recently open on site.

Clarion Trinity Development is currently offering parcels for sale with flexible-size lots, land leases, and build-to-suit options available. The suit is suitable for type A office space, light manufacturing, research, and medical facilities, hotels, and professional housing.

For more information please visit their web site at www.clarionbiz.com or contact:

Tim Reddinger, Clarion Trinity Development Co.

Tele/Fax: (814) 764- 5652

E-mail: tim@clarionbiz.com