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Cord Blood America News
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The Silver State’s Silver Lining
Posted: 28 Oct 2010 08:48 PM PDT
by JOHN W. McCURRY From Site Selection magazine, September 2010
What happens in Las Vegas next is a medical-services industry, thanks to lower costs and an air-logistics advantage.Power companies are energized, too.
Southern Nevada has been a magnet for California-based firms seeking new locations for several years. That trend shows no sign of abating as the greater Las Vegas region continues to attract firms in the life sciences and energy fields.
Cord Blood America, the parent company of CorCell, for example, decided to move eastward from Santa Monica, enticed by lower taxes and a skilled work force, says its co-founder and CEO, Matt Schissler. CBA facilitates umbilical cord blood stem-cell preservation.
“Las Vegas has a lot of attractions, and that makes it easy to live here,” says Schissler, who claims a personal affinity for Las Vegas. “When I found myself driving to Las Vegas once a month to attend a convention for a day to look for business, I realized that Las Vegas is a tremendous hub for business. Over time, I realized it would be much easier to be in Las Vegas and save 12 to 13 percent because there is no income tax and because of lower property taxes.”
CBA employs 36 in a 17,000-sq.-ft. (1,580-sq.-m.) leased facility, which Schissler says is large enough for the company’s short-term plans, but CBA expects to grow and expand capacity. Schissler believes the Las Vegas area is an up-and-coming life sciences cluster, which has picked up momentum since the opening of the Nevada Cancer Institute in 2005 and the attraction of other medical companies in subsequent years.
“We’re starting to see a lot of medical and biotech companies here in Nevada,” Schissler says.
While Las Vegas was always CBA’s first choice, the company also looked at sites in Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming. When decision time came, one of the deciding factors involved logistics. He cites Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport, which Airports Council International ranked 9th in the world in April in total takeoffs and landings, as a major draw.
“One of the biggest deciding factors was the transportation system in Las Vegas,” Schissler says. “We ship cord blood samples which have a very short shelf life. We don’t want a lot of transportation time. We were able to lease a facility right by the airport, less than a 10-minute drive away. It really reduced our logistics costs. We are able to get our products in and out very easily. This was probably the linchpin in our decision. People don’t realize the logistics advantages of Las Vegas.”
Somer Hollingsworth, president and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority, says the region, known for its tourism industry, is now building on that foundation by pairing it with a burgeoning medical sector.
“We’ve got tourism, and now we are focusing on the medical side. We hope to become a center of medical tourism over the next five to 10 years,” Hollingsworth says. “People will come here for treatment.”
View the entire article at SITE Selection ONLINE
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