Two things: First, specialization. Boyd specializes exclusively in the field of business relocation. While the corporate site selection decision is an infrequent event for you, Boyd is constantly monitoring business climates, labor conditions, cost trends, incentive programs and other more subtle geographic variables often overlooked by the inexperienced or the generalist.

Second, independence. Boyd will objectively and independently recommend the optimum city and site for your project and do so free from the sometimes conflicting influences of downstream commissions tied to real estate transactions, ancillary consulting packages or competing incentive deals.

Boyd's five decades of independent counsel is unique and unparalleled in the corporate relocation field. Boyd's vast experience and independent posture ensure a best practice site selection recommendation that will stand the test of time and management review. Boyd serves but one interest: the client's.

A: The corporate site selection decision is one of the most difficult and consequential that management will ever make. A less than optimum site will result in a costliness and compromise of competitive position that will persist for years. Boyd's caseload of corporate site selection work and its specialization in business relocation result in unmatched research and evaluative skills. This specialization enables Boyd to come to grips with your location problem without delay or costly false starts, ensuring on-time success of your relocation, expansion or consolidation plans.

A: While the services of realtors and economic development agencies are sometimes helpful, their scope of interest is restricted to the properties and locales that they are promoting. Boyd can objectively explore all your location options without geographic constraints, parochial interests or after-the-fact commission influences linked to real estate deals or more lucrative economic development incentive commissions (often in less than optimum locations for the client).

A: Boyd combines many of your own in-house skills with capabilities outside the range of your normal day-to-day operations. Skills which you might expect in financial analysis, human resources, taxation, logistics, I.T., telecommunications, e.g., are enhanced by Boyd's hands-on knowledge of such factors as available sites, financial incentives, community attitudes, the tenor of labor-management relations, competitive wage and hiring pressures, dependability of energy supplies, security & political stability and lifestyle considerations of management transferees and families. The firm's proprietary statistical data bank is enhanced by Boyd's first-hand insights into the hundreds of candidate cities researched each year, the myriad of companies interviewed by Boyd in the field and by the operating experiences of Boyd's client network.

A: Boyd clients receive a fully-documented written report covering all phases of the site selection project. While each client project has its own unique demands, the following six elements are common to most Boyd site selection engagements:

Criteria Development--a start-up consultation covering the overall location objectives of proposed project and the development of key operating specifications and occupancy requirements of the planned new facility;

Primary Search Area-- a delineation by Boyd of the geographic region or regions where the location objectives of the proposed project can be maximized;

Feasibility Costs and Candidate Cities -- the identification of a select series of candidate locations, the rationales for the rejection of less desirable cities and the preparation of a comparative feasibility cost analysis among the initial candidate locations;

Field Research - regimented and confidential field research carried out by Boyd in each of the most promising cities covering labor market and recruiting issues, available sites, support services, state and local financial incentives, lifestyle considerations of transferees and dependents and other client-specific field investigations;

Final Economic Analysis -- a final projection of annual operating costs scaled to the proposed new facility on Boyd-recommended sites within each of the finally-chosen cities;

Client Visitations - based on Boyd's field research findings and local contacts, Boyd will develop meaningful and productive itineraries and then facilitate client visitations to each finally-recommended city.

A: All Boyd activities are carried out in a highly confidential manner which cannot be traced back to the client. Secrecy and client anonymity are maintained throughout the study period. Boyd's regimented and well-tested investigative techniques avoid premature disclosure of your plans, preventing troublesome labor and competitive repercussions. Boyd's commitment to secrecy also insulates your executives from disruptive outside sales pressures which can impair the decision-making process. Moreover, representation by Boyd can bring instant credibility to your undisclosed project and afford it prompt access to top-level government officials and influential community leaders and support organizations.

A: No. Boyd's business relocation experience crosses many industry lines. Corporate location studies for U.S. and overseas companies have been prepared covering a broad spectrum of manufacturing, headquarters, R&D, distribution warehousing and telecommunications-intensive operations such as data centers, help desks and corporate call centers. The firm's operations are international, including extensive experience in Canada and a growing offshore workload.