GreaterReading.com

Greater Reading Economic Partnership201 Penn StreetSuite 502Reading, PA 19601

• A Region with a Plan: Ride to Prosperity• We Keep Growing!• 14 Companies Who Now Call Greater Reading Home• Hot Project: Cambridge-Lee Industries• Progress at Mixed-Use Redevelopment Project• Importing Made Easier: FTZ 147

Be Something Greater

d i d y o u k n o w• The State of Pennsylvania won the 2013 Silver Shovel

Award by Area Development magazine.

• Berks County ranks 3rd in Pennsylvania for total agriculture products sold and Berks County’s total agriculture income, which includes crop sales and livestock sales combined, is $367,840,000 annually.

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Articles of Interest in Economic Development for Greater Reading 2013 Quarter 2

GREATER READING ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP • GREATER READING, PA • (610) 376.4237

WE KEEP GROWING!Since 2005, we have worked on over 130 projects which have resulted in 10,982 jobs to the community. The largest industry continues to be manufacturing and distribution.

In 2013:• 14 projects• 1,206 jobs (633 new & 573 retained)• Totaling 697,500 square feet leased or sold

GREP not only markets Greater Reading to attract new businesses, but we also work closely with existing companies to identify both challenges and/or opportunities they may be facing. We are able to connect them with our community resources and partners.

• GREP has visited/worked with 35 Berks County companies in 2013 • Job Impact from existing companies = 462 retained and 159 new jobs

GREATER READING WELCOMES THESE NEW ANDEXPANDING COMPANIES

Four years ago, eight Greater Reading economic development organizations began collaborating to develop a new economic development plan for Greater Reading. In June 2010 the Ride to Prosperity (RTP): Strategies for Economic Competitiveness in Greater Reading was made public. The original RTP plan has helped guide key county economic development

initiatives for the past three years, and spurred a new spirit of collaboration around the important work of building a more prosperous and successful Greater Reading.

Throughout the beginning of 2013, the group of eight worked to develop an updated plan; Ride to Prosperity version 2.0. The 2.0 report builds on our original work plan and lays out a new vision for economic development in the coming years. Our newly proposed strategies, RTP 2.0, are focused on five key areas:

Entrepreneurship and Innovation: We are proposing a new countywide effort, Reignited in PA, to groom a new generation of high growth companies in Greater Reading.

Workforce and Talent Development: We will lead a new initiative to transform the region’s Career and Technical Education system so that area youth are better prepared to enter growing technical career fields and local employers can tap into a skilled and career-ready workforce.

Sites and Infrastructure: We have enjoyed great success in developing new sites for commercial and industrial development and will expand on this success via the RTP 2.0 strategy.

Quality of Place: Hospitality and tourism are key, but little understood, anchors of the Greater Reading economy. Under RTP 2.0, we will seek to develop a stronger tourism sector that provides high quality jobs to local residents and attractive amenities for visitors.

Business Friendly Berks: We are sponsoring a new effort to bring top quality business expertise to help local governments redesign how they interact with local businesses in areas like zoning and licensing, and to become national leaders in providing high quality customer services. This effort will begin in Reading via a Business Friendly Greater Reading Task Force, and will soon be rolled out to other communities across the region.

Beyond these work plans, the RTP partners will continue to develop and expand their partnerships so that they can support key economic development initiatives while also serving as smart stewards of both public and private investments in the community.

Jon Scott

President and CEO

HOT PROJECT Cambridge-Lee Industries, LLCWhen copper tube manufacturer Cambridge-Lee Industries decided to expand operations, they chose to build a new plant in Greater Reading. More than just an affordable,

strategic location in southeastern Pennsylvania, Greater Reading gave them access to a skilled workforce, a choice of excellent properties, and a well-connected business community that streamlined the approval process—so they could break ground months ahead of schedule.

Cambridge-Lee’s CEO & Treasurer, Andrea Funk sat down with Greater Reading Economic Partnership (GREP) to explain why they chose to build their newest plant in Reading, PA and to talk about how GREP helped them to get

the project started efficiently and effectively. Cambridge-Lee Industries has three plants located in Reading, Pennsylvania and is currently moving a fourth plant to the area. Building this 200,000 square foot facility will cost them about 60 million dollars and will create 250 jobs in Berks County. Through GREP, Cambridge-Lee was able to streamline the approval process and break ground very quickly. “What Greater Reading Economic Partnership did is, they were able to make the connections; without that it would have taken us months to break ground,” said Funk.

Cambridge-Lee Industries entered the copper tube industry in 1955 as a small distributor serving the U.S. plumbing market. Over the years, the company has evolved into one of the world’s largest distributors of copper with sales offices in every corner of the globe.

To learn more about Cambridge-Lee Industries story visit GreaterReading.com.

PRESIDENT & CEO’S MESSAGE

A REGION WITH A PLAN: RIDE TO PROSPERITY

Interior of 200,000 SF building

The newly constructed 200,000 SF building at Cambridge-Lee in Greater Reading, PA

Birdsboro Kosher Farms

IMPORTING MADE EASIER FTZ 147The FTZ Corp of Southern Pennsylvania, grantee of Foreign Trade Zone 147, has recently been approved for the reorganization and expansion of the zone under the Alternative Site Framework (ASF).

The ASF takes the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) area from single buildings or parcels and overlays the FTZ over a large service area that includes all of Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, and York Counties in Pennsylvania, in and adjacent to the Harrisburg Customs and Border Protection port of entry.

Companies within these counties that have a need for FTZ status will no longer have to wait for the traditional process of request, review and approval of a subzone. Instead, they will enjoy an almost immediate extension of the FTZ benefits for a qualified user.

“We are very excited that the FTZ Board has approved our application,” said Jon Scott, President for FTZ Corporation of Southern Pennsylvania. “This new framework provides a great tool for economic development in the south central Pennsylvania region, and more specifically Greater Reading. Through the new streamlined alternative site framework, businesses can now quickly utilize zone benefits at their selected site instead of being limited to pre-designated areas.”

For U.S.-based companies involved in international trade, the Foreign Trade Zone Program provides a means of improving their competitive position. FTZs are secured areas located in or near U.S. Customs ports of entry, but legally considered to be outside the customs territory. The fundamental benefit offered by the program is the ability to defer, reduce or even eliminate customs duties on products admitted to the zone. Businesses should analyze the relevant facts and circumstances to determine and quantify the potential benefits of operating or using an FTZ. For additional information on south central Pennsylvania’s Foreign Trade Zone Program, go to www.ftz147.org.

GreaterReading.com

Increased coordination and collaboration with our economic development partners has been an ongoing goal for Greater Reading Economic Partnership (GREP). With the culmination of the first phase of the Ride to Prosperity this year, the economic development plan for Greater Reading, we have seen unprecedented coordination, collaboration and communication in our region. Collaboration for the sake of collaboration is not itself the goal. In an era of scarce resource and increased regulations, it is necessary to leverage resources like never before. That requires trust and confidence on the part of everyone involved in the economic development process. Fortunately, we have that today and it results in better outcomes.

This increased level of collaboration was absolutely key to pushing a project like Cambridge-Lee Industries forward. Because Greater Reading boasts a well-connected business community, GREP was able to work closely with the County of Berks and our economic development partners to streamline the approval process—so Cambridge-Lee Industries could break ground months ahead of schedule.

There have been many more examples of collaboration that has translated into success for our region. As stated in the 2013 Ride to Prosperity report “Regional collaboration is now the normal way of doing business. It is not tied to a single project or initiative; it is how economic development gets done today.”

Jeffrey RushGREP Board Chairperson

President, Fulton Bank Great Valley Division

BERKS PARK 78| 150,000 SF AVAILABLEApproved Sites / 10 Year LERTA

WHY COLLABORATION IS VITAL

Log-on toGreaterReading.comto view avai lable propert ies

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Strategically located along Route 78 with easy access to all points in the northeast United States.• Electric Provider: Met-Ed• Gas on Site: no• Telecom on Site: yes

• Water on Site: yes, well water• Sewer on Site: yes• Sewer Provider: public

The IsoBag is manufactured by new Greater Reading company, Isolator Fitness

You can call it cooking equipment, but we call it the Cadillac of ovens and they are handcrafted right here in Greater Reading, PA since 1880. BlueStar is expanding and adding up to 30 jobs.Prizer-Painter, a manufacturer of high-end residential and commercial cooking ranges and ventilation equipment, will construct a 42,000 square foot office building in the city of Reading. The company will invest more than $3 million in the project.

The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) will provide a $1,827,000, 15-year low-interest loan at 1.5 percent to the Greater Berks Development Fund on behalf of Prizer-Painter.

CONNECT WITH US!

COMPANIES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LOW-INTEREST FINANCING Five Greater Reading companies took advantage of the attractive low-interest, below market, loan financing through the Industrial Development Corporation, Greater Berks Development Fund, for land and building acquisition, construction and renovation, resulting in the creation or retention of jobs.

1. Berk Wiper International2. BlueStar3. Custom Milling and Consulting4. East Penn Manufacturing5. Gateway Ticketing Systems

facebook.com/GreaterReadingEconomicPartnership twitter.com/GreaterReading blog.greaterreading.com linkedin.com/company/greater-reading-economic-partnership

GREATER READING ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP • GREATER READING, PA • (610) 376.4237

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WYOMISSING SQUARE UPDATEProgress at Mixed-Use Redevelopment ProjectWyomissing Square is an award-winning $80 million mixed-use Brownfield redevelopment project in the heart of Wyomissing Borough–an affluent suburb of Reading, PA. This adaptive reuse project has transformed a formerly underutilized 13-acre Brownfield infill site into a thriving mixed-use community featuring 250 luxury apartments, 135-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, 60,000 square foot office building, and an existing 13,000 square foot Euro-Mediterranean Restaurant.

The luxury apartment community -100 Park at Wyomissing Square- has been extremely well received by the local market place as is evidenced by its 96% occupancy rate. The apartments have been particularly popular with the young professionals demographic that is not quite ready to settle down and buy a house yet but still want a nice place to live. Rental apartments are also appealing to baby boomers who are beginning to downsize and are going through a new life transition.

The newest addition to Wyomissing Square will be a 33,000 square foot specialty retail center called The Promenade at Wyomissing Square, which will be located at Hill Ave. & Park Rd., in Wyomissing, PA just a block north of Penn Avenue across from the VF Outlet Village. The project is currently under development and is scheduled to open in Fall 2013. Available space ranges from 800 square feet to 12,000 square feet with a base module of 1,860 square feet and 20 feet of frontage.

We want your business to be a part of our community! If you are interested in learning more visit: PromenadeatWyomissingSquare.com or contact John Conners Jr. at jconnorsjr@brickstoneco.com or (215) 972.1550

INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT

“In al l of the counties we have done business with in the past 20 years we have never worked with a more competent, focused economic development team as yours.” —Christopher D. Bras ler, Bras ler Propert ies

“To me, GREP is l ike the United Way for Berks County business, and Berks County and the businesses in i t are better for the work GREP does.” —Andrea Funk, Cambridge-Lee Industr ies

East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc. was the Jobs First Award Finalist of the ImPAct Awards in the Southeast region

EthoSource Office Furniture opened new retail space in Greater Reading and King of Prussia

Artist’s rendering of The Promenade at Wyomissing Square

Thank you to our Investors for investing in results and working together to grow our community and create opportunities for everyone to be something greater.

These companies contributed $5,000 or more in 2012-2013. Please note this does not include foundations or governmental entities.

“WHO SAID IT CAN’T BE DONE IN AMERICA TODAY?” -BILL THOMASBill Thomas found a connection in a pair of original World War II khakis found at an Army surplus store while in college. They were remarkably comfortable with deep pockets and put together to withstand just about anything. They were unlike any khakis currently being made and caused Thomas to ask, “We could put a man on the moon, but can’t make khakis like we did 50 years ago?” Thus was the start of Bills Khakis.

Today, thanks to the hard work of 20+ devoted employees, and many others, Bills Khakis can be found throughout the United States at over 500 select men’s specialty stores. All products, including pants, shorts, jeans, shirts and jackets are produced in the United States. The company has been named to Inc. Magazine’s Inner City 100 five times, as one of America’s 100 fastest growing inner city businesses.

Bills Khakis makes its home in downtown Reading, Pennsylvania in a renovated warehouse building that was once home to the Reading Hardware Company and now appears on the National Historic Register. Now, the company uses Reading area landmarks and neighbors as backdrops for its upcoming fall catalog―a move that is right in line with the company’s brand.

“Greater Reading has a long history of manufacturing excellence,” said Jon Scott, Greater Reading Economic Partnership, President and CEO. “Today, it is innovative companies like Bills Khakis that serve as prime examples of forward-thinking business leaders found here in our community.”