Upgrade Economic Inputs: Regulatory Climate

If the Medical Equipment and Supplies cluster is to enhance its growth and competitiveness in the future, the industry will need to continually upgrade local economic inputs. Like many other clusters, medical equipment firms find their competitiveness affected by the region's complex and fragmented regulatory process. The local business climate is plagued by multiple jurisdictions with different requirements for business transactions, such as uneven water and sewer rates across districts. Businesses face a lack of clarity regarding which government agencies should be contacted for any given issue. The absence of a smooth and integrated compliance process frustrates local business expansion and attraction.

Upgrade Economic Inputs: Air Transport

Given the industry's extensive export ties around the country and the world, airline access is a major priority for local firms. Local businesspeople often face difficulties attaining same-day round-trip flights in and out of Kalamazoo and would like to see increased frequency of flights to key U.S. destinations. In addition, reliability of existing flight departures and timeliness of schedules is another concern. Perceived weak capacity offered by our local air transportation infrastructure is a barrier that could constrain future growth of our Medical Equipment and Supplies cluster.