AJAX, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 09/05/12 -- The Town of Ajax was recently presented with the prestigious CompetitiveReady Seal. After completing a rigorous evaluation of the Town's capacity to sustain business development, Ajax is the first Canadian community to earn the sought after designation.
The CompetitiveReady Scorecard is based on the stringent criteria site selectors use when screening communities for potential development. Over 175 factors were audited, falling into 10 categories-global positioning, real estate, physical infrastructure, human capital, organizational effectiveness, business climate, business resources, living environment, mitigated risks, and sustainable practices.
Ajax earned its highest scores in physical infrastructure, organizational effectiveness, sustainable practices, real estate, and business climate.
QUOTES
"Since 2010, when Council adopted the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy, key objectives were identified to strengthen the Town's position for investment attraction. Council recognized the CompetitiveReady auditing process as an opportunity to benchmark successes and identify improvements. The expert validation further proves the Town's readiness to compete for business investment in the North American market."
-Mayor Steve Parish
"The extensive process involved the community in mapping assets and capacity, building relationships, and leveraging internal and external resources to prove that Ajax is ready for investment. Through a true Ajax team effort, the process included, 115 documents reviewed, 54 interviews, 40 different websites researched, 31 organizations represented, 28 individual and group discussions, five presentations, and four days of touring Ajax."
-Lisa Hausz, Business Development & Marketing, Town of Ajax
"Ajax is a well-located community along Hwy 401 and in close proximity to the Toronto market. This has allowed the Town of Ajax to capitalize on securing a highly skilled workforce that is looking to work and live in the same area."
-Donald Paslowski, Senior Consultant, Austin Consulting
"Ajax has thoughtfully zoned and prepared employment lands for development. The sites are fully serviced with infrastructure and are primed for site certification."
-Allison Larsen, Principal, Chabin Concepts
QUICK FACTS
-- In February 2012, Council authorized staff to move forward in pursuing
the Competitive Ready seal assessment.
-- Other features noted by CompetitiveReady evaluators include: Business
partnership approach to permitting process through the unique
PriorityPath program, the award-winning First for Business engagement
program, sustainability initiatives that support businesses, planned
community with clustered employment areas, and numerous trails and
designated green spaces.
-- The CompetitiveReady final assessment includes a community snapshot, an
asset inventory, and a proprietary Ajax Asset Scorecard with
recommendations for raising the score in each category.
-- CompetitiveReady is a collaborative effort of The Austin Company, Chabin
Concepts, Applied Economics, and EDsuite - U.S. based economic
development and site location professionals with international expertise
ranging from economics to marketing and website development.
LEARN MORE
-- For more information, visit www.ajaxfirstforbusiness.ca and
www.competitiveready.com.
Contacts:
Media Contact:
Town of Ajax
Christie McLardie
Manager of Communications
905-619-2529, ext. 3362
christie.mclardie@ajax.ca
