Welcome to the September 2024 Pinal County Economic & Workforce Development Update!

Greetings,

We’ve almost made it through the summer! We are moving towards cooler weather and into our events season. Explore Pinal County will be supporting several events throughout the region in the coming months. We encourage you to check out the events calendar at explore.pinal.gov and get out and experience all the County has to offer!

Our ARIZONA@WORK – Pinal County staff and partners have worked hard over the past several months to produce the required Local Plan. There are more details below on the process of moving forward to full implementation.

We also discuss two significant employers – FrameTec and Green Bay Packaging – both of which made announcements regarding new manufacturing facilities in the past few months.

I am personally very happy to introduce a new member of our staff, Michelle Carpenter, who brings a great background to the team. Read more about Michelle below.

As always, if there is anything our staff can do to help support you or your friends and family with a business or in seeking employment, please let us know. .

Best wishes,

James Smith

Director, Economic and Workforce Development

FrameTec, a building component manufacturing plant and building framing services company, announced plans to build a truss and wall panel facility in Casa Grande. The new facility will consist of two buildings, with the first plant expected to be operational in 2026, followed by the second plant in 2027. FrameTec’s Casa Grande facility will create over 400 new jobs and represents a $150M capital investment.

A conceptual rendering of FrameTec's new factory being proposed in Pinal County, south of Phoenix.

Green Bay Packaging Inc. has joined the legion of Wisconsin snowbirds located in Arizona. The company's recent land acquisition in Casa Grande encompasses approximately 80 acres, and they intend to build a new box factory in the future. Of note, in 2021, the company completed construction of Wisconsin's first new paper mill in thirty years, and in 2022, the mill was certified as a net-zero water user.

Arizona, the Region and Pinal County Recognized by Business Facilities Magazine

Business Facilities Magazine recently released its 20th Annual Rankings Report, in which Arizona and our overall region were recognized in several categories.

The State was in the Top 10 for Best Business Climate, Customized Workforce Training, the Aerospace and Defense industry, the amount of Solar Power (Installed MW) and Solar Power (Growth). A particularly important recognition was the State being named as the #1 state for the Semiconductor industry. Evidence that Pinal County is truly part of the Phoenix regional economy is the development and/or announcement of several semiconductor supply chain companies in recent years, representing nearly a billion dollars in capital expenditures.

The Phoenix/Chandler/Mesa area was recognized as the #1 Manufacturing area among Large Metros, undoubtedly driven by the tens of billions of dollars in investment from the semiconductor industry. Phoenix was in the Top 10 for Logistics and FTZ Activity (Imports). It is important to note that Pinal County is a part of the Phoenix FTZ, and the County has supported the applications of several companies that have contributed to this activity in recent years.

More locally, Pinal County was recognized as the #7 Fastest Growing County by Net Migration, while two of our communities - Queen Creek and Casa Grande - were the #3 and #8 Fastest Growing Cities, respectively. We believe that these recognitions show that our State, Region, and County are poised to continue to thrive in the future!

ARIZONA@WORK is the state brand for the public workforce system authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA-Public Law 113-128). The law requires the Pinal County Workforce Development Board, in partnership with the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, to develop a comprehensive four-year local plan to address the multi-faceted needs of customers, encompassing access to employment, education, training, and a range of support services. The development of the plan included a public comment period which was offered between June 27 and July 12, 2024.

The following schedule highlights the plan’s path to final approval and implementation:

September 19, 2024:

Presented to the Pinal County Workforce Development Board 

October 2, 2024:     

Presented to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors 

November 21, 2024:  

Presented to the full Workforce Arizona Council 

January 1, 2025:     

Plan effective date

The plan will be made available to the public after consideration by the Workforce Arizona Council on November 21st.

New ARIZONA@WORK Pinal County Service Provider

The Pinal County Workforce Development Board approved the selection of Eckerd Connects as the new contracted provider for Adult Program and Dislocated Worker Program services, effective July 1, 2024.

Eckerd Connects joins Central Arizona College, which serves as the contracted Youth Program provider, and Chicanos Por La Causa, which provides One Stop Operator services.  For a complete listing of the ARIZONA@WORK Pinal County network and associated funding, please visit https://www.pinal.gov/1518/Stevens-Amendment

Central Arizona Regional Forums

The Pinal County, Maricopa County, and City of Phoenix workforce development boards (ARIZONA@WORK) invite you to register to attend the 2024 Central Arizona Regional Workforce Virtual Forum Series, which begins on Thursday, September 26, 2024. Attendees will hear presentations from the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) and local business representatives on critical workforce and economic development topics. This event will be the first in a series of virtual online forums dedicated to strengthening and fostering workforce partnerships, regional collaboration, economic development, innovation, and inspiration. Further information is included in the flyer (right), including registration info, There is no cost to attend.

Workforce Development Month Proclamation

Each September, National Workforce Development Month is celebrated by state workforce agencies in recognition of the tremendous contributions workforce professionals make in their support of both job seekers and employers. On September 4, 2024, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved a proclamation recognizing September as "Workforce Development Month" in the County. Harold Christ, Chair of the Workforce Development Board, which oversees the ARIZONA@WORK Pinal County workforce development system, read the proclamation into the public record. Harold, as well as members of the Economic & Workforce Department, are pictured below with the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.

Explore Pinal County Tourism Advisory Group Update

The newly established Explore Pinal County Tourism Advisory group met twice over the last several months to discuss ways to work together. The group discussed targeted tourism marketing strategies, collaboration and cross-promotion opportunities, and upcoming events. In addition, attendees received a brief overview of the Southern Arizona Sports, Tourism & Film Authority’s mission and how our regional representatives can join that group.

ABC15 Sonoran Living to Feature Pinal County 

Explore Pinal County has sponsored a 14-segment series with ABC15’s Sonoran Living show. The segments highlight upcoming events and top attractions within our County. Some of the forthcoming segments will feature Superior, Casa Grande, and Eloy. The next segment will air on September 26 @ 9:00 a.m. on ABC15. Click here to view the playlist of videos so far.

Governor's Conference on Tourism

Pinal County staff recently attended the Arizona Governor’s Conference on Tourism (GCOT), the premier educational and information-sharing event in the state for travel professionals and destination marketers. GCOT provided attendees with the opportunity to exchange ideas with peers, learn from expert panelists, draw inspiration from nationally renowned speakers, and discover cutting-edge products and services. Staff will utilize this knowledge to improve the services provided through Explore Pinal County.

BisNow Event Participation

Pinal County sponsored the BisNow Phoenix Hospitality and Resorts Summit on August 20th in Scottsdale. Hospitality developers, brokers, and managers from throughout the state attended this event prior to the Arizona Office of Tourism's Governors Conference on Tourism. Supervisor Serdy had the opportunity to address attendees on the feasibility of hotels/resorts in his district of Pinal County, and staff discussed other opportunities in the

I-10/I-8 corridor. The event also included two panels that focused on how to navigate growth and innovation in Arizona's hospitality industry, including investment strategies to exceptional guest experiences. 

New Coordinator for Explore Pinal

Please welcome our newest team member, Michelle Carpenter, who has recently joined our office as the new Economic Development Coordinator. She holds degrees from Arizona State University and UCLA and spent many years in the TV/Film industry. Michelle is active in many local organizations, particularly in Florence. Among other duties, she will oversee our Explore Pinal program, replacing Courtney Gulley, who relocated out of state with her family. Contact Michelle at michelle.carpenter@pinal.gov or 520-866-6309.

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