New Jersey’s Hudson River “Gold Coast”
From spearheading green energy efforts and stem cell research to providing models for urban renewal and government-corporate teamwork, New Jersey continues to improve its environment for businesses both large and small.
“The state has a lot to offer, especially a tremendously talented workforce and a location that is really advantageous to business. The transportation systems are very strong and the quality of life in our communities is strong,” explains Dennis M. Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey. “Verizon chose New Jersey to locate our corporate center in Basking Ridge a few years ago. There was stiff competition from several states, but we decided to cast our lot with New Jersey, and we are happy with that.”
Verizon is just one of hundreds of companies that have increased their presence in the Garden State in recent years, drawn by New Jersey’s highly educated and technologically skilled workforce, superior educational systems and unparalleled access to markets. Already 24 of the country’s 500 largest companies are headquartered in the state, including Johnson & Johnson, Prudential Financial and Honeywell.
And while big business finds New Jersey a strong base from which to operate, small businesses and entrepreneurs are also reaping the benefits of the state’s advantages and business-savvy government. No other state has done a better job of transitioning from the old manufacturing economy to the knowledge- and entrepreneur-driven “New Economy.” The 2007 State New Economy Index, created by the nonprofit Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, ranks New Jersey second in the nation based on 26 factors ranging from foreign direct investment to the number of jobs at fast-growing companies.
Private innovation combined with government initiatives is keeping
New Jersey at the forefront of the best places to conduct business.
Quality of Life Benefits Business
The benefits for business also stem from a lifestyle that led CNBC to rank New Jersey first for quality of life in 2007. Anyone who has spent long days lounging on the 127 miles of broad, sandy beaches or cross-country skiing in the Pine Barrens could tell you that. But quality of life is more than just beaches and parks. It encompasses schooling, medical care and a host of other factors. Nearly 99% of New Jersey high schools offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and the state ranks third for scores on AP exams. Over 83% of high school graduates go on to college, many to the research hub of Rutgers University, the venerable state school that is one of 57 colleges and universities (plus another 22 community colleges) in New Jersey. Medical care is on par with the best in the world for cancer treatment, heart care and overall quality of care. Broadband penetration is the highest in the nation.
NJ Transit’s rail, bus and light rail operations
are among the most efficient in the country.
“New Jersey is home to pristine highlands, a magnificent shore region, historic sites, farmlands, first-class tourism, world-class industries and a diverse and talented workforce,” says Steve Morgan, president of Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L). “It also serves as the gateway to the Mid-Atlantic region. It truly has something for everyone: a great place for living, working and conducting business.”
Such pride is typical for those living and working in New Jersey. What may seem more unusual to those unfamiliar with the state is the aggressive commitment by government officials, from Governor Jon S. Corzine on down, to create new business opportunities and expand New Jersey’s economic engine to the benefit of both corporations and citizens. State support coupled with the inherit benefits of being in New Jersey is reflected in the optimism of business executives. A 2007 KPMG survey of 107 corporate and senior-level business leaders in the state found a majority expecting profitability to rise through 2010, with 92% either planning to boost capital expenditures, hiring and spending on new products, or leave those levels unchanged. All told, 78% told KPMG they are firmly committed to New Jersey.
Because of New Jersey’s strong markets for renewable energy,
it is the ideal location for clean energy technology companies.
Ralph Izzo
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated
Proudly Committed to New Jersey
PSEG
At PSEG, we’re bullish on New Jersey. For more than 100 years, our employees have provided the energy to fuel New Jersey’s dynamic economy and improve the quality of life for millions of people across the Garden State.
New Jersey is a great place to work and live — and do business. While small in size, New Jersey looms large because of the strength of its high-tech economy, educated workforce and strategic location at the heart of America’s largest, globally connected market.
To be a premier business location in today’s world means being a leader in protecting the environment. At PSEG, we are strongly committed to helping New Jersey build the greener, sustainable economy of the future through investments in conservation, energy efficiency, renewables and other clean technologies such as nuclear power.
Our vision of the future is one in which New Jersey continues to thrive in ways that benefit people, business and the environment. We remain as bullish on New Jersey as ever.
www.pseg.com
Expanding New Jersey’s Highly Skilled Workforce
New Jersey offers companies an impressive
pool of scientific talent and skilled labor.
For many, the rich workforce in New Jersey is a significant draw. For example, the state has the highest concentration of research-based pharmaceutical companies in the world, and thus one of the highest numbers of scientists per capita.
“New Jersey’s scientific workforce is clearly a strength of the state,” says Elizabeth G. Posillico, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. “I’ve found that it is relatively easy to fill positions. Because we’re so close to many of the bigger pharmaceutical companies, there’s a deep talent pool to draw from.”
New Jersey’s concentration of talent led Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals to decide to consolidate operations in New Jersey after it acquired a specialty pharma company in 2006. “New Jersey afforded the company unique opportunities that would help us reach our goal to create a high-performance U.S. organization that is lean, market-focused and capable of driving superior growth in one of the largest and most important pharmaceutical markets in the world,” explains Gunnar Reimann, Ph.D., member of the Bayer HealthCare executive committee.
New Jersey is also committed to growing the talent pool for its 828,400 small businesses. Recently, to ensure a competitively educated workforce continues to be available, the state partnered with the NJ Business & Industry Association to develop training programs to supply small firms in every industry with skilled labor. The state further assists small businesses through everything from tax-exempt and taxable bond issuance to venture capital and grants for relocation and sales tax exemptions. To give a crucial advantage to entrepreneurs just starting out, the N.J. Economic Development Authority has run an innovative program since 1992 called the Entrepreneurial Training Institute (ETI). With classes offered statewide, the ETI trains existing and startup business owners on how to improve their operations and create a business plan. The ETI also helps them access the available resources they need to grow.
One resource that small businesses have found quite helpful is the state’s revised business Web site, www.NewJerseyBusiness.gov. Business owners can access business-related documents and assistance information, complete basic tax and employer returns in real time and contact appropriate government representatives.
The state is also committed to expanding opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses. Through the business Web site, for example, qualified owners can access a bid opportunity database drawing from 100 state agencies including educational institutions. New Jersey has also teamed with ACCION International, a private, nonprofit micro-lending and busi-ness training organization. Through the Economic Development Authority, low-cost loans are provided to ACCION, which in turn offers loans and advisory services to small businesses that don’t often have access to traditional sources of credit. In 2007, $500,000 was distributed this way, mostly in urban areas. “We truly are reaching the women- and minority-owned businesses of New Jersey,” says Paul Quintero, chief financial officer and interim chief executive officer of ACCION New Jersey and New York.
Because of New Jersey’s strong markets for renewable energy,
it is the ideal location for clean energy technology companies.
Encouraging Green and Clean Research
New Jersey is tapping into its wealth of workforce experience in other ways. Building on the state’s long history in the energy industry, companies are taking strides to make the Garden State a leader in clean energy. “Transforming climate change into an opportunity plays to New Jersey’s strengths as one of the world’s leading centers of technology-driven innovation,” says Ralph Izzo, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), a $12.2 billion (revenues) energy and energy services company. “At PSEG, we want to be at the forefront of supporting and driving this transformation to an environmentally sustainable, economically vibrant future.”
Because of New Jersey’s strong markets for renewable energy, the state is the ideal location for clean energy technology companies. To grow “green-collar” jobs, the state has created a Clean Energy Tech Fund to help foster clean energy manufacturing and research and development companies in the state. Enhancing that effort is an initiative to align curricula at institutions of higher education to support the industry.
Hon. Bob Franks
President
HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
New Jersey is home to more pharmaceutical and medical device companies than any other state in the country, or any other country in the world. The pharmaceutical and medical technology industry is a leading driver in creating a thriving economy in our state, as well as making New Jersey a global leader in research and development.
The HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ) is a trade association for the research-based pharmaceutical and medical technology industry in New Jersey. Founded in 1997, the Institute represents 30 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical technology corporations, many of which have made New Jersey their worldwide or North American headquarters.
Our member companies have an estimated $27 billion annual impact on New Jersey’s economy, directly employ more than 60,000 people, account for 112,000 spin-off jobs and donate tens of millions of dollars to local philanthropic causes.
www.hinj.org
The Epicenter of Biotechnology Advancement
New Jersey is an educational hub, with 57 colleges
and universities and 22 community colleges.
As with green energy, many states also want to be leaders in biotechnology and research, but only New Jersey has established itself as such. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) dubbed the state “the epicenter of the global pharmaceutical and medical technology industry.” Indeed, biotech jobs have grown 28% since 2003, according to a 2007 study by BioNJ (formerly known as the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey).
More broadly, the state has established three zones to support the technology and life science industries. The Innovation Zones of Camden, Greater New Brunswick and Newark offer enhanced benefits such as the ability to sell operating losses to profitable companies and score advantages in formulas to earn various state incentives. In February, Denmark’s Novo Nordisk elected to open its first U.S. hemostasis facility in the Greater New Brunswick zone. The 30,000-square-foot facility, located on the campus of the Technology Centre of New Jersey in North Brunswick, not only affords the company financial incentives, but also places it near the research centers of Rutgers and other advanced institutions.
BioNJ notes the industry has received great state support, citing everything from sales and tax exemptions to creative financing and incentives from the Edison Innovation Fund, a $150 million (2007) arm of Governor Corzine’s Economic Growth Strategy that seeks to support high-tech businesses, particularly those focused on biotech, renewable energy, stem cell research, nanotechnology and communications.
Complementing corporate efforts is New Jersey’s world-renowned research university, Rutgers. A state university based in New Brunswick, with campuses in Newark and Camden, Rutgers is a leader in clean energy research through its Energy Institute and in stem cell research through the Spinal Cord Injury Project at the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience. The work has proven so important that Wise Young, the Center’s founding director, recently received the Melvyn H. Motolinsky Research Foundation’s 2007 Distinguished Service Award for his groundbreaking research on spinal cord injury.
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