EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
The Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville has just finished a survey to help local businesses grow and add new jobs.
This survey is the first that GAGE has ever conducted and the response and results have been positive.
Last December, GAGE conducted an online survey of area businesses.
"It's to get a better understanding of those companies, what their products are, if they will be expanding within the next few years. Just what type of fit they are for our community and how they expect to proceed in the future," said GAGE Business Development Director Donna Crooks.
Crooks says that GAGE received a 32% response rate which was above the expected 25.
Of those who responded, feedback was positive.
"We had about 77% of them say that they will be expanding in the next few years and they will be expanding and creating new jobs. Expanding on their footprint, the amount of square footage they have in the community, as well as the capital investment," Crooks told 14 News.
The survey was confidential, but Crooks says the majority of those polled were manufacturing companies.
With nearly 80% expecting expansion in the next two to five years, the Evansville area may be facing even more job growth.
"The news always focuses on new companies moving to town, because those are sexy and they're new and nobody knows about them, but in reality, it's the existing companies that are adding the majority of the jobs and it's really crucial that they continue to add to their presence here to maintain our economy," Crooks said.
Since this was a confidential survey, we were not able to receive comment from the companies who were polled. Time will tell which companies plan to expand.
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