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Investing in the Future

Why Omaha? Because it’s so good, you won’t believe it.

“Sometimes, we hear people ask, ‘Omaha? Why Omaha?’” said David Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber. “But when you understand the potential, the energy and the people here, you can answer, ‘Why Omaha? Because it’s so good, you won’t believe it.’”

First National Bank knows “why Omaha.” It is in its sixth generation of family ownership here. Its holding company, First National of Nebraska, is the largest privately held banking company in the U.S., with $19 billion in managed assets and nearly 6,000 employees in 35 states. First National Bank is the largest commercial provider of financing to the ethanol industry and the fifth largest agricultural lender in the country (Ag Lender magazine).

Working Mother magazine has named First National Bank one of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” seven years in a row and the company has been recognized by Computerworld magazine as one of the top three “Green IT” companies.

More than a great place to do business, Omaha also is attracting attention as a great place to work. Forbes magazine ranked Omaha the “8th Best City for Jobs” in 2008. “This ranking is a positive reflection of Greater Omaha’s business climate, workforce development and continued economic growth,” said Rod Moseman, vice president of economic development for the Chamber.

A company that chose to move its headquarters to Omaha also understands “why Omaha.” A $23.5 million project to expand the Gallup campus with a new, 100,000-square-foot building opens in October. Each year, approximately 5,000 top-level executives from around the world come to the city for leadership training. They are also finding out “why Omaha.”

Omaha on the Forefront of GREEN

Recycling one ton of paper saves four barrels |of oil; one ton of plastic, 11 barrels of oil; and one ton of aluminum, 37 barrels of oil.

“Recycling is an energy business,” said Brian Gubbels, co-founder of Firstar Fiber Corporation and recently Curbside Rewards, a subsidiary of Firstar Fiber. Firstar Fiber is a progressive, full-service recycling company that counts among its clients the City of Omaha and many of Omaha’s biggest employers, names like ConAgra Foods, the Omaha World-Herald and Union Pacific. Curbside Rewards is a new recycling-only hauling company that provides residents and businesses the convenience of curbside recycling and a rewards program powered by RecycleBank.

Firstar Fiber is, itself, a massive operation. The company opened 12 years ago in a 9,000-square-foot building in Fremont, Neb. Today, it runs a 200,000-square-foot plant in southwest Omaha capable of processing more than 8,000 tons (approximately 450 semi-loads) of recyclables per month.

Firstar Fiber began as a scrap paper recycler in 1997. Today, it processes the full spectrum of recyclables utilizing the latest in single- stream technology eliminating the need for homeowners and businesses to sort their recyclables. “We’re the only one in Nebraska with that technology,” said Gubbels.

Innovation is a hallmark of this local industry leader. Firstar Fiber is a licensee of the novel RecycleBank Program, an incentive plan that offers homeowners tangible rewards for recycling—up to $40 a month to spend at reward partners like AMC Theaters, Younkers and Hy-Vee. “Where we’ve put RecycleBank in place, we've had over 300 percent increase in recycling in the homes that have recycled before. That tells me we are an extremely green-conscious community provided we give people the tools.”