The Levelland Economic Development Corporation has launched a new website and also revamped their logo to better serve business growth and development.
The corporation works oneon- one with any business to serve their unique needs, whether that is starting, expanding, or relocating a company. Additionally, the group is open to assisting businesses of all sizes and a variety of industries with the goal of furthering that company, the city and partnering with city, county, and local businesses and institutions.
Some of the ways LEDC helps established and prospective businesses include: site selection, incentives, strategic partnerships and connections and expediting and streamlining the development process.
LEDC Executive Director Justin Balderas explained that the main issue that resulted in putting together a new website was security. It was estimated that the previous website had not been updated for a prolonged period of time and cyber threats were posing an issue beginning in 2023.
“Getting more security features for the data that we retain was what helped us make the decision,” said Balderas. “Additionally, the tools that we have added to this current website were not efficient with the older website. The tools were more advanced that what our website was capable of handling.”
Maneuverability for the website user is another enhancement over the previous website. The main page provides quicklinks, simple data points, photos of the area and graphics to assist the user. Although the simplicity of the website is appealing to those who are taking a quick look out of curiosity, there are tools that provide extensive data for those who are seriously considering making a serious and financial move to the City of Levelland.
“Something like demographics can be a little boring sometime, but for CEO’s and executives, that information is important to get a snapshot and makeup of the area,” explained Balderas. “The information provided through the demographics section covers extensive categories and offers projected numbers for the future.”
Another tool that is offered is the Property Search and Analysis tool. Balderas says they receive phone calls asking about what is available. The requests could span from the large industrial operations to the small entrepreneur who wants to open small business.
The property search tool allows users to view listed properties that are for sale and details about each one. Balderas explained that the tool is sourced through the internet and his office does not format each brochure and the information detailed in them. The tool essentially pools all the properties that are for sale on the internet and places them in one spot for the user to see.
“I would like to communicate to the community that if they do have commercial, industrial or raw land property they are looking to post for sale, they can contact us and we can get them in contact with a representative who handle the tool,” said Balderas. “I also want to stress that the process is not hard and is very simple. Additionally the process is free of charge.”
Another useful tool while looking through properties is a 3D rendering Balderas added that people may need to consider growing their digital footprint everything has become digital. With that, going through the process of listing through the widget may increase the likelihood of more opportunities.
“Before we get phone calls, folks visit the website,” said Balderas. “This website might be our first impression and might be a representation of the community. Solely in 2024, we have already seen a 47% increase on traffic.”
The groups main audience is site selectors, which are the middle-man in the transaction to speak to the actual investors of companies. Those site selectors that Balderas surveyed include the state of Texas, national and international because investors are trying to on-shore businesses due to the pandemic.
Balderas explained that the website offers a direct line of communication to himself and the members of the LEDC Board. Additionally, tabs on the website offer information as to what the community looks like and why they should consider Levelland.
“We are oil, gas and agriculture, that is our main cluster. We are not going to attract too many IT companies from Silicone Valley,” said Balderas. “We have to know our identity and cater it to possible investors.”
For the state of Texas, economic development is run at a local level, but that is not the case for other states. In turn, creating the new website not only had to be competitive for surrounding regions, but for other state level websites throughout the country.
Balderas shared that the group is open to feedback concerning the maneuverability and overall utility the website provides.
“I hope we can encourage our community members to utilize these various tools and get everything they need out of these resources,” said Balderas. “The whole purpose of this is to market our community, have our citizens utilize it and empower what we have to offer.”