Shapiro, LVEDC tout Lehigh Valley’s economic success at annual meeting

Saying that if Pennsylvania wants to show that it’s “open for business” it needs to work at the speed of business and not at the speed of government, Gov. Josh Shapiro was the featured speaker at the 2023 Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. annual meeting at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. 

Tuesday’s event was the first live event the LVEDC held since 2019 and the standing-room-only crowd was the largest the event has had since it was formed in 1995, no doubt because of the featured speaker. 

Shapiro highlighted what his administration is doing to make Pennsylvania a more business-friendly state, including speeding up the licensing and permitting process and offering a money-back guarantee to businesses if their permits aren’t decided by the promised time. 

He called the Lehigh Valley a shining example of what can be done when business, government and stakeholders, like the LVEDC can do when they work together. 

LVEDC President and CEO Don Cunningham told the crowd that once again the Lehigh Valley was named as one of the top 10 regions for new development by Site Selection Magazine. 

For 2022, the Lehigh Valley was ranked number two for regions of its size for new development with 46 new projects under development during the year. 

It was bested only by Greensboro, South Carolina, which had two more projects under development in 2022 than the Lehigh Valley. 

He also noted that the Lehigh Valley has seen a rebound in the manufacturing sector. 

While many still think of the days when Bethlehem Steel was a major force in the Lehigh Valley, Cunningham said industry has modernized and diversified with major national manufacturers like B Braun, Martin Guitar and Crayola, which bring the same sort of pride to the workforce that the Steel did in its heyday. 

“Our strength is in our balanced economy,” he said. 

He said last year manufacturing once again became the top economic sector for the Lehigh Valley for the first time in 15 years, making up 18% of the region’s economic output. 

Cunningham noted that there are 75,000 people employed in the logistics and warehousing industry in the region, and while the term “warehouse” may conjure up negative connotations for many, he said that they are an important part of the post COVID-19 economy as manufacturers realize they need to make and source products closer to U.S. population centers, making the Lehigh Valley a go-to place for business. 

He also pointed to companies like Shift4 Payments of Allentown, a tech company which has grown dramatically in recent years and put the Lehigh Valley on the global map with founder Jared Isaacman recently going to space on missions with SpaceX. 

Congresswoman Susan Wild also spoke at the event. She said that interest in the Lehigh Valley from companies is so high, she regularly meets with company officials in her Washington office, who are looking to locate in the Lehigh Valley because of the good things they have heard about the region.