SOREDI to Attend Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City

Medford OR – TEAM Oregon Advanced Manufacturing has launched Year 3 of its targeted statewide business development program. SOREDI is a long-standing team member, along with 20 other economic development organizations and utilities from throughout Oregon who have invested in the program. In August, representatives from Central and Southern Oregon will be traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah to participate in the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market tradeshow including Colleen Padilla, Executive Director of SOREDI. SOREDI is attending the show as a guest of Sunday Afternoons, an Ashland hat designer and manufacturer that creates a full line of outdoor and lifestyle hats, available in 30 countries worldwide. The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market tradeshow is the largest single gathering of companies in the outdoor industry, from large established manufacturers, to small companies with emerging technologies in the field. SOREDI’s goal in attending the tradeshow is to promote Southern Oregon as a destination for business expansion and to pursue supply chain opportunities for local manufacturers.

SOREDI has a long history of attending tradeshows to learn industry trends and serve as Southern Oregon’s ambassador. “Choosing which tradeshows to attend is directly related to industries that have a successful history of growth in Oregon. In this case, we can capitalize on the reputation Oregon already has for offering a robust outdoor lifestyle. That makes us an attractive destination for companies that market to this audience,” states Colleen Padilla. “While we’re there, we divide the tradeshow floor amongst our team and we literally walk every aisle, making sure we meet each company along the way, inviting them to visit our communities and learn why Oregon may make sense for their expansion plans. At the end of the day, we will each have a list of individual conversations we’ve had and relationships we’ve built.”

When visiting cities outside the region for a tradeshow or other business activity, SOREDI also visits companies that have already expressed interest in Southern Oregon or have real expansion projects in the works. On this trip, Padilla plans to visit the headquarters of JakeWilson.com and to schedule one-on-one meetings with a number of companies who have expressed interest in relocating to Southern Oregon. Tradeshows and company visits are part of SOREDI’s overall strategy to help businesses relocate to Southern Oregon and create jobs in the region.

About TEAM Oregon Advanced Manufacturing: The TEAM is a collaborative, industry focused recruitment, retention and expansion initiative that leverages multiple organizations and investment to deliver an intensive outbound program. Team members hail from all over Oregon representing the City of Sheridan, Portland Development Commission, Lane County, Clackamas County, Oregon City, McMinnville Economic Development Partnership, Corvallis/Benton County Economic Development, City of Canby, SEDCOR, City of La Grande, SOREDI, EDCO, REDI, Union County Economic Development Corp., City of Wilsonville and City of Gresham. The TEAM also includes the Oregon Economic Development Association, Business Oregon, PGE and the Port of Portland. Visit www.ormanufacturing.com to learn more.

About SOREDI: SOREDI is a private, membership-based, non-profit organization, governed by a board of directors. Its six-person staff is charged with local business expansion and new business recruitment efforts, financial assistance to start-up companies through its business loan fund, and management of Enterprise Zones in Jackson and Josephine Counties. The agency was formed as a regional economic development agency in 1987. Learn more at https://soredi.org.