How to attract factory jobs to Huntington

Earlier today, I left a comment on one of the http://www.herald-dispatch.com/ user forums. Someone had said Huntington needs to attract more manufacturing jobs. Know-it-all me gave this reply:

There is also the assumption that companies that have manufacturing jobs want to locate within corporate boundaries. In modern America, they do not. How would Huntington or any other city in this area convince a manufacturer that being inside the city is more profitable than being outside?

Having nuked that person, here is what came later on the AP wire:

WEST CHESTER, Ohio (AP) — AK Steel has approved a 20-year supply contract with SunCoke Energy to provide AK’s Middletown Works with metallurgical-grade coke and electrical power.

The deal must still be approved by Middletown officials.

The coke and power would come from a new $340-million facility to be constructed, owned and operated by SunCoke adjacent to the Middletown Works.

SunCoke, based in Knoxville, Tenn., also is seeking economic incentives to build and operate the proposed plant, which would be capable of producing about 550,000 tons of coke and 50 megawatts of electrical power a year.

A zoning change and other city permits will be required.

Now I have the answer to my question. If we want to attract manufacturing jobs into the city, the best bet would be from a company that would supply materials to a manufacturer already in town and that does not want to incur a lot of unnecessary transportation costs.

Considering the companies that have left since I have been at the HD for nearly 30 years, I don't know what the list of possible suppliers would be.

And I don't know what "economic incentives" Huntington could offer. Sun Coke has a plant in Ohio between Ironton and Portsmouth. I probably need to learn exactly what incentives it received to build there before I could say if Huntington, Cabell County or West Virginia could offer incentives that are competitive with those offered in Ohio.