Corporate Services

Corporate Services

The DonSchjeldahlGroup is an industry leader in assisting corporate clients in developing Location Strategy, Community and Property Selection, Community and Property Due Diligence, and Incentive Negotiation. Our services are unbiased with respect to country, state, region or city. Studies are conducted in complete confidence, protecting our clients from those who may try to exert undue influence on the location decision. Our broad base of experience and comprehensive and impartial approach to projects allows us to find the location that optimally meets our client’s requirements.

Location Strategy - addressing strategy questions such as:

• What is the optimal number and location of plants and distribution operations?
• What is the best allocation of customers to distribution facilities?
• What is the best sequence for staged introduction of production lines and facilities?
• How do strategies change under different assumptions?

The DonSchjeldahlGroup is expert at investigating a wide spectrum of production and supply chain factors that influence location strategy including:

• Raw material sourcing alternatives
• Seasonal considerations
• Transportation costs and service characteristics by mode of shipment
• Customer demand points, volumes
• Changing demand patterns
• Product shelf life
• Cold chain requirements
• Availability of specialized trucking
• Facility capacity constraints
• Inventory management requirements
• Customer imposed delivery constraints
• Carbon footprint / sustainability drivers
• State, local development incentives
• Introduction of new products
• Fixed and variable production costs
• Facility costs
• Competitor strategies

Community and Property Selection – once an optimal region is established the next step is selection of the community and property that provides the best fit for long term success. The DonSchjeldahlGroup tailors services to reflect each client’s unique balance of location factors which can include:

• Labor availability, cost and work ethic
• Recruitment and retention of technical staff, management
• Waste water treatment capacity, cost
• Transportation costs, service
• Electric power and natural gas service
• Water quality, service reliability, cost
• Quality of life, community attributes • Site/building characteristics
• Site image, neighborhood characteristics
• Telecommunications services
• Environmental risks
• Permitting and scheduling
• State and local taxation
• Property costs, development costs
• Air service connecting to key cities

The professional associates of the DonSchjeldahlGroup have assisted clients in developing location strategies and evaluating communities, sites and buildings throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.  Within these regions we have worked extensively in large metropolitan areas as well as smaller outlying communities. 

Our services are unbiased with respect to country, state, region or city.  Studies are conducted in complete confidence, protecting our clients from those who may try to exert undue influence on the location decision. Our broad base of experience and comprehensive impartial approach to projects allows us to find the location that optimally meets our client’s requirements.

Community and Property Due Diligence

Due diligence begins with the initial community/property selection. The DonSchjeldahlGroup manages the due diligence process to ensure that communities and properties are as represented and that the project can move forward with known costs, schedule and risks. The DonSchjeldahlGroup identifies beneficial aspects and fatal flaws at each location that may hinder project development. 

Outside Services Managed by The DonSchjeldahlGroup can include:

• Environmental testing
• Boundary survey
• Title search
• Geo-tech, soil testing
• Air quality permitting
• Traffic studies
• Zoning review
• Establish permit schedule
• Secure agreements with utility service providers
• Prepare a preliminary assessment of needed building and infrastructure improvements
• Confirm workforce conditions

Incentive Negotiation

Not all incentives are created equal.  In fact, many incentive offers do little or nothing for the project. The DonSchjeldahlGroup is expert at cutting through the fluff and identifying development incentives that bring benefit to the project. The DonSchjeldahlGroup incentive services are often conducted simultaneous with Due Diligence where project needs for infrastructure, training or other requirements are identified. Incentive agreements are then pursued to that will address true project needs.

The DonSchjeldahlGroup incentive services typically follow these steps:

• Request, secure and analyze incentive offers from state, regional and local agencies and utility service provider organizations. 
• Negotiate as-of-right and discretionary incentive packages with each organization.
• Obtain memorandum-of-understanding and other agreements that commit all parties to the negotiated incentives.
• Complete economic development incentive applications for the programs in the incentive agreement.
• Attend public meetings to secure approvals of applications if required.
• Review agreements between governmental, regional and special authority entities, utilities and the client and develop a Post Implementation Binder that has all applications, outline of the programs and ongoing reports that need to be completed year after year in order to maintain incentives.