Deanna Derway, president, Washington County Local Development Corp.

BY DEANNA DERWAY

As 2015 drew to a close, we once again reflected
upon the past year and optimistically look ahead
to the opportunities and challenges that will
shape the overall economy in the coming year.

The Washington County LDC has once again
experienced a steady increase in loan requests
as the health and optimism of small businesses
strengthens. In 2015, 10 new loans totaling over
$1 million dollars were added to our portfolio
in a variety of sectors. The improving economy
seems to have led to more spending, and increased
investments in equipment that has in
turn spurred production and produced healthy
economic growth.

We believe that this optimistic trend will continue
to grow into 2016 with this steady growth
as a welcome sign that the economy continues to
head in the right direction.

The New Year delivers new opportunity and
trends are looking positive for the economic
climate in our region. Some positive economic
signals we have seen include employment growth,
low unemployment rates, lower energy costs, and
increased business investment.

Pete Bardunias, president/CEO, Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.

BY PETE BARDUNIAS

The year 2016 is likely to be one of growth for
southern Saratoga County and the surrounding
area.

Various initiatives are taking hold throughout
the region and some of the plans which have been
in the works for awhile are coming to fruition.
From the perspective of this community, here
are some thoughts on what will make this a
very special year in the land just north of the
Kosciuszko Bridge’s twin spans.

The “word of the year” should be “workforce.”
Business leaders and elected officials should be
considering ways to positively impact the ready
workforce and workforce development situation
in the Capital Region. Businesses large and
small have open positions and are clamoring for
employees with relatively minimal training but
a strong work ethic and willingness to adapt to a
challenging work environment.

The number-one question I get asked is “where
can I find people who want to work?”

Martin Vanags, president, Saratoga Prosperity Partnership.

BY MARTY VANAGS

There is old joke about economists that says
you could lay all the economists in the world
down end-to-end and they would still never
reach a conclusion.

So it goes with economic forecasts; there
is ample material and information, but predicting
how the local economy will behave in
relation to regional, national and international
activities, all of which have a bearing on our
local economy, is daunting at best. Instead of
forecasting, let’s look at opportunities surrounding
the key industry sectors in Saratoga
County: advanced manufacturing, agriculture,
financial business process outsourcing,
research and development, and specialized
distribution.

“Great expectations” is the operative term
when it comes to the enormous investment
in advanced manufacturing–specifically the
semiconductor industry–in Saratoga County.
In 2015, worldwide spending on equipment
in semiconductor fabrication facilities or
“fabs” fell flat to 0.5 percent or about $35.8
billion. Fab equipment spending is predicted
to grow by 2.6 percent or $26.7 billion in 2016
according to the industry association SEMI’s
quarterly update. Leading industry market
groups predicted growth in the industry in the
upper single digits; they are now forecasting
1.3 percent growth.

What does this mean for GlobalFoundries,
our hometown fab? We are confident that their
$15 billion footprint and over 3,000 employees
will continue to have a positive impact on
our community. Success for our county will
hinge on our collective efforts to leverage this
investment.

Todd Shimkus, president, Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce.

BY TODD SHIMKUS

Last year in this column, I said there were
four trends that the Saratoga County Chamber
of Commerce believed would drive our
economy forward. So how’d we do in our prognostications?

1. We said small business growth would
continue to drive our economy. In 2014, we
had hosted 80 ribbon cuttings. We added 60 in
2015. The talented volunteers from our SCORE
program saw record-breaking numbers of local
entrepreneurs and business owners seeking out
their free and confidential advice. These two
facts combine to tell us that there are many
people among us willing to create jobs and
invest in Saratoga County.

2. We said that the supply of available hotel
rooms would continue to increase. We added
that the appropriation of even more money for
our tourism promotion effort by the Saratoga
County Board of Supervisors would help to
drive up demand to fill many of these new
rooms.