Beginning August 20, 2009, officials from the BusinessFirst! For A Greater Dayton Region business retention program will host an economic development official from Amsterdam inBusiness, the lead economic development organization in the Dutch city.

, will visit Dayton on Thursday, August 20 and Friday, August 21 to review the region's award-winning business retention program.  Krajewska will attend a regularly scheduled BusinessFirst! Resource Partners meeting on Thursday with various economic, community and workforce development officials who are part of the BusinessFirst! team.  She will also meet with educational institutions and several company officials to identify potential opportunities for regional firms interested in expanding to the European market.

Krajewska's Dayton visit is part of a two-week fact-finding mission to the U.S. to examine leading business retention programs and bring best practices back to Amsterdam.  Krajewska is responsible for implementing a business retention program in Amsterdam focused on high value companies in the European business center.  On her U.S. trip, Krajewska will first visit with Dutch officials in New York City and officials in Richmond Virginia responsible for business retention there. Following her Dayton visit, Krajewska will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to learn how local officials implement Pennsylvania's state-wide program, the Business Retention and Expansion Program (BREP).  She concludes her visit with discussions with Pennsylvania officials in Harrisburg before returning to Amsterdam.

"In the Dayton region and across the nation, we are seeing major economic restructuring that has resulted in a contraction of jobs over the last two decades.  However, at the same time, many companies in the region have made the decision to stay and grow here.  BusinessFirst! is helping many of those firms," noted Erik Collins, BusinessFirst! program manager.

"One of the strengths of our program is the large number of partner organizations who work together to help companies," explained Rob Anderson, Assistant City Manager, City of Vandalia. "Regional cooperation among organizations is an integral part of BusinessFirst! and a best practice that we believe is relevant for Amsterdam's new business retention program."

Over the last two years, BusinessFirst! partners have visited over 1,000 companies in the region and have delivered over 14,000 hours of assistance to small, medium and large companies in the areas of finance, workforce development, domestic and global marketing and commercialization of new products.  The BusinessFirst! team of partners is a coordinated group of 100 economic, community and workforce development agencies at the local, county and state levels who assist firms in meeting corporate objectives.  Using a customer-focused approach, service providers respond to requests for assistance identified during face-to-face meetings between the business owner and the BusinessFirst! representative.

Among the firms assisted are Iya Technologies, Kurz-Kasch and Thermacor (2009), New Page (2008), Appleton Papers and Morning Pride (2007), and Eurand Pharmaceuticals (2006).  In 2007, the trade association Business Retention and Expansion International (BREI) recognized BusinessFirst! For A Greater Dayton Region as best in class.

Note:  Justyna Krajewska will be available for one-on-one discussions with the media at 10 AM following the BusinessFirst! Resource Partner meeting on Thursday, August 20, 2009, at the Montgomery County Administration Building, 451 W. Third Street, Room 1001 (10th Floor), Dayton, Ohio.