Development Authority touts success, focuses on incoming Carson-area businesses

Northern Nevada business development shared the spotlight with one-stop shopping for two state programs at a Wednesday breakfast in Carson City.

“Our business-development team is just doing fantastic,” Rob Hooper, director of the Northern Nevada Development Authority, said during the NNDA event. After Hooper said NNDA had set a quarterly record for attracting companies to the region, the audience of more than 100 heard details of key state programs from a trio of state officials.

The breakfast audience at the Carson Nugget heard from Secretary of State Ross Miller, Attorney General Catherine Cortez-Masto and Treasurer Kate Marshall. Audience members also learned about five companies coming to the Carson City area that could bring 100 to 200 jobs.

Among those firms was American Impact Sprinkler Co., which is moving to Carson City from Fresno, Calif., and will employ up to 20 when it reaches expected operational status. President Jason Snyder said after the breakfast that he moved in part because he discovered a foundry/machine shop here that had the capacity to handle his needs.

The shop is Insight Industries, which has a dozen employees. Snyder said Insight might have to add at least four more employees because of the combined workload of both firms. He said his own company, which will hire about six people, will have between 10 and 20 workers as it grows.

American Impact Sprinkler, he added, is in the setup phase here. It makes sprinklers for agriculture and uses parts from the United States. Because labor costs are less offshore, making the U.S.-parts policy a bit more expensive, it must be efficient.’

“We have to be a little bit smarter,” Snyder said.

The other four companies are expected to locate in Douglas County. They are Cristek Interconnects, which is in aerospace and defense; Global Aqua Solutions, chemicals; Franklin Armory, weaponry; and Eastbiz, mail forwarding and small-package shipping.

Miller and General Cortez-Masto talked about their one-stop-shopping programs. Miller described his office’s business portal on the Web, which is for companies to register their firms’ required government information. Cortez-Masto said she uses one-stop shopping to help with her office’s Home Again program, offering relief to homeowners who developed problems with housing finance during the recession. The attorney general also drummed up support for Assembly Bill 67, her bill to combat sex trafficking in Nevada.

Marshall talked about a pilot program her office is rolling out in at least 13 rural counties to encourage grade-school children and their families to save for higher education. Without using tax dollars, she said, it will provide $50 per child in seed money at the kindergarten level to teach the value of saving for later education.