International Business Headlines
October 2011
These monthly headlines will provide you with a few highlights of the Commonwealth’s World Trade PA program, managed by DCED’s Office of International Business Development.
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Click www.exportingPA.org to access the new PA International Trade Guide.
TRADE: More than 340 companies participate in Pennsylvania International Week 2011
Pennsylvania International Week (#piw2011) is a series of events set up throughout the commonwealth that gives companies the opportunity to network with Pennsylvania’s team of international trade representatives from 20 nations. The tour is organized annually by DCED’s Center for Trade Development and its ten Regional Export Network partners.
At each of the nine stops on this year’s tour, Pennsylvania's authorized representatives met one-on-one with area companies seeking foreign market intelligence, agents and distributor candidates, industry and government contacts as well as on-the-ground assistance during business trips to these foreign markets. In all, over 340 companies from across the state, including 79 new clients, participated in a total of 1,594 one-on-one appointments.
This year’s event kicked off in Pittsburgh on September 12 and included a networking reception hosted by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and concluded in Philadelphia on September 23 with the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia’s International Showcase.
INVESTMENT: Focus Canada – More than just Canada Geese flying south to Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale
The rapid growth of the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania has attracted significant attention from north of the 49th parallel, most notably from the Province of Alberta. DCED’s Canada Investment Office Director, Jason Rose, has been actively pursuing the natural gas exploration & service sectors in the wild rose province by persistently highlighting the core advantages of locating in PA versus WV & NY. DCED’s Canadian office has organized multiple investment seminars in conjunction with regional partners from the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance & Central Bradford Progress Authority over the past two years that have coincided with the biannual Gas & Oil Expo in Calgary, Alberta, and have acted as an important venue for investment attraction promotion.
These above efforts have been instrumental in attracting Talisman Energy to PA, along with well service providers Trican Well Services & Fracserve, water remediation firms BOS Solutions & Newalta and heavy equipment transporter Transforce – Speedy Heavy Haul. The fruit from these efforts has been the direct creation of over 800 new high paying jobs for the Commonwealth. With the continued focus on the development of the Marcellus Shale play, we should look forward to continued inward investment from our neighbors to the north.
TRADE: Thermoclad (Erie County) Obtains REACH Certification, Ships to Europe
Thermoclad is a premier US designer and manufacturer of custom, environmentally friendly thermoplastic powder coating and water-based industrial coating solutions. Thermoclad representatives met with John Worthington from IBT Partners, Pennsylvania’s Paris-based trade representative in May 2011 in hopes of finding assistance through the Envoy Program to acquire European Union REACH Certification for one of their flagship products, with the objective of increasing exports to Europe. The Envoy Program is a low-cost, fee-for-service program that allows PA exporters to execute their international market entry strategies. In August, Thermoclad obtained REACH certification as a direct result of this assistance and they are now sending their second shipment of primer to European customers.
“IBT Partners was instrumental not just in filing with REACH itself but also in gathering all necessary information from our vendors. This involved a serious amount of tenacity and follow up calls. IBT Partners also established contact with our customer to ensure him of met deadlines and accuracy of reporting. This could not have been accomplished without IBT as a partner to Thermoclad.” Maryse Sulimma, EVP, Thermoclad
PORTS: Governor Corbett Announces Funding for Philadelphia Port
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced September 21 the release of state funding amounting to $15 million to continue the Delaware River Main Channel-Deepening project. The initiative will ultimately deepen the Delaware River’s entire 103-mile main shipping channel from 40 to 45 feet. The announcement came during a visit by the governor to the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
The funding will allow the lower portion of “Reach B,” a section of the Delaware River shipping channel located off the coast of Delaware, to be deepened to 45 feet. As with work done thus far on the project, a private dredging company chosen through a public bid process will perform the deepening, under the guidance and supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Delaware River Main Channel-Deepening is a federal public works project, with 65% of the project’s cost to be funded by the federal government and 35% by a local match, in this case the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. The Commonwealth’s total outlay to date for the project totals $45 million. Total estimated cost of the project is $305 million.
INVESTMENT: Governor Corbett Addresses UK Homeland Security Seminar by video
On September 28, 2011, an address from Governor Corbett by video opened a London conference targeting UK security companies looking to establish a presence in the US market. (Link to video: (http://www.pacast.com/players/cmsplayer.asp?video_filename=9077_Governor_BritishBusiness.m4v).
The all day seminar, Doing Business in the USA: Opportunities in US Homeland Security, was organized jointly by the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, Pennsylvania’s UK Investment Office,UK Trade & Investment; and ADS, the premier UK manufacturers and trade organization operating in the Defense, Security and Aerospace sectors.
Presentations showcasing Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region as a location for UK security companies to establish operations were made by Suzi Pegg, Vice President for Global Marketing at the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and Mary Unger, Executive Director of the International Institute for Homeland Security, Defense and Restoration. Ms. Unger’s participation in the event was made possible through Team PA Foundation's Expert Speakers Program which allows industry experts to represent Pennsylvania at international, industry-focused events.
A case study on behalf of a UK security company that has already invested in the Pittsburgh region was presented by Dr. Edward Klinger, CEO of Cniguard Ltd.– a company specializing in the development and manufacture of electronic security systems designed to protect major water industry infrastructure and installations.
The event drew a corporate audience representing the cutting edge of the UK security industry and generated a number of immediate investment and joint venture prospects for the Commonwealth and for Southwest Pennsylvania in particular.
TRADE: Japanese Buyer Plans Hardwoods Purchases After PA Visit
Chris Ogawa, buyer for Tenryu Corporation of Tokyo visited Pennsylvania June 20-22. The visit was coordinated by the Department of Agriculture’s Hardwoods Development Council in cooperation with several Regional Export Network partners. Mr. Ogawa visited 19 companies during the trip and indicated he was ready to begin purchases (minimally $100,000 of product over the next few months). Mr. Ogawa is based out of Tenryu’s Vancouver office where he buys Canadian softwood and recently started buying hardwood lumber from Quebec. As Canadian suppliers were often sourcing from PA suppliers, he was pleased to negotiate direct supply agreements for several species, especially Pennsylvania’s soft maple. Ogawa was also interested in seeking Forest Stewardship Certified green suppliers during his visit to Pennsylvania. As a new buyer of Pennsylvania hardwood, he wrote: “While meeting the owners and representative of the PA companies, I noticed that they all take great pride in what they do and the products that they produce. You cannot build a long term relationship without trust when it comes to doing business with Japanese companies. I truly hope that I can play a role as a new bridge between PA and Japan. The physical distance is great but I know now that it is not so difficult with pride and trust already in place.”
PORTS: Delaware County Council announces Port Security Initiative
On June 19, 2011, Mr. Jack Whalen, Chair of the Delaware County Council, announced the Delaware County Port Security Initiative (phase I). The County Security Initiative builds the foundations to directly mitigate several security gaps identified in the Sector Delaware Bay Strategic Risk Management Plan commissioned by the US Coast Guard’s Area Maritime Security Committee. The Port Security Initiative is the county’s plan to enhance integrated maritime domain awareness and emergency response and protection. The County awarded the contract to The Boeing Company of Ridley Township, PA to design and implement the system.
Boeing will develop a multi-layered security and protection solution of installation and integration of long-range camera surveillance, smart radar and communication intelligence systems for monitoring, assessment and detection of several critical waterway infrastructure/key resources along Segment Delaware River North (Pennsylvania state line to Hogg’s Island). Delaware County’s 911 Emergency Response Center will gather and display the information from these systems in real time.
Phase Two will incorporate north of the Philadelphia International Airport to Bucks County. It is planned that ultimately, the entire Delaware River will be included in this network. The goal is to provide situational awareness and a security umbrella for all the ports on the Delaware River.
TRADE: PAMEX: CTD Launching New Mining Exports Initiative in January 2012
CTD is proud to offer Pennsylvania suppliers to the mining and construction industries a three-year program designed to expand export sales of goods and services into India, China, and six markets within the South African Development Community (Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Zambia and Mozambique). PAMEX will be based on a 20-member industry consortium to be recruited among firms that supply equipment, consumables, health and safety, consulting and engineering services and other products and services to underground and surface mining operators in the target markets.
CTD will hire PAMEX Marketing Representatives in each country to work directly with the consortium. Program oversight is provided by CTD’s Authorized Trade Representatives based in India, China, and South Africa. Marketing services to be provided to consortium participants include:
- Development of Regional Export Sales Plan
- Development of Regional Buyers List and Market Summary
- PAMEX Representative to assist participants with marketing and sales outreach in each market
- Regional Market Travel by the PAMEX Marketing Representative to promote the consortium
- Translation of company promotional materials where necessary
- Printing of product and service brochures/promotional material
- Special calendar of mining trade show exhibition and missions participation opportunities
- Monthly reports communicating project status to ensure participant field objectives are met
- Access to journals and periodicals as applicable
Annual participation fee is $10,000, renewable for the three (3) year term of the initiative. For more information on PAMEX and CTD’s export promotion programs and services, contact Larry Nelson at 717-346-2256 at or Linda Gardner at 717-214-5306 at
INVESTMENT: Pennsylvania featured at US Business Opportunities seminar in Portugal
On September 29, Pennsylvania’s Investment Office in Spain and AICEP Portugal Global (http://www.portugalglobal.pt/EN/Pages/Home.aspx), Portugal’s investment and trade agency, hosted a Business Opportunities in PA video conference in Lisbon. Attending the conference were 20 Portuguese companies representing a number of Pennsylvania’s targeted sectors including infrastructure and construction, food processing, finance, energy and bio-pharmaceuticals. Speakers in Lisbon included Mikel Burzako, Pennsylvania Center for Direct Investment’s representative in Spain and Dr. Lori Spears, Associate Director of Information and Communication Technologies Institute at CMU in Pittsburgh, who spoke about CMU’s Portugal campus and their Entrepreneurship-in-Residence Pilot Program. Speaking from Harrisburg were Michele Washko from the Life Science Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania, Rebecca Woods, PennDOT Bureau Director of Construction and Infrastructure and Wilfred Muskens, Deputy Secretary for International Business Development at DCED. Mark Russell, the Senior Commercial Service Officer at the US Embassy in Lisbon, provided closing remarks on behalf of the Ambassador.
The program was well received by the Portuguese company representatives, several of whom indicated that they plan to explore the opportunities that were presented for their businesses in Pennsylvania.
TRADE: Julian Krinsky Camps (Montgomery County) Attracts Korean Students
Offering youth summer camps and educational programs, JKCP recruited 19 Korean students from Goyang Foreign Language High School to attend their two-week Model United Nations program in July. The Model UN program challenges students to debate the most urgent issues facing the world today and prepare for the sessions by exploring current political situations, leadership positions, voting patterns and alliances of the represented countries. The PA trade representative in Korea identified the students in the recruitment process enabling the export sale of the JKCP’s educational services in the Korea market.
INVESTMENT: German Energy Delegation visits Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
From September 27-30, the Center for Direct Investment hosted a delegation of 19 from the state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) in Germany led by the State’s Minister for Environment and Climate Protection, Hans-Heinrich Sander. The purpose of the delegation’s visit was to strengthen business and political relations between Niedersachsen and the US. Stefan Peikert and Friederike Sudholt from Pennsylvania’s Investment Office in Germany assisted in organizing their tour and traveled with the group.
In Philadelphia, September 27–29, the delegation participated in a number of meetings and events including a visit to the Science Center, where they heard an overview of the state and the Philadelphia region; a tour of the Comcast Center, meetings with the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient buildings, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and Mark Group at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and a meeting and tour of Aerzen USA, a major German manufacturer of compressors and pumps. Individual business meetings were also arranged for the companies by Select Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and Pennsylvania’s Trade representative in Germany, Linda von Delhaes-Guenther. The group was hosted at two receptions: one of which was sponsored by Rödl & Partner USA, a major German accounting firm, and a reception where they were welcomed by the Honorary Consul of Germany in Philadelphia, Barbara Afanassiev.
In Pittsburgh, the delegation was welcomed at Pittsburgh Regional Alliance offices by David Murdoch, Honorary Consul of Germany, and provided with an overview of the Pittsburgh region by Dewitt Peart, President of the PRA. The delegation was taken on a tour of Pittsburgh which highlighted Technology Drive and several of Pittsburgh’s green buildings. A luncheon was held with the German American Business Circle (GABC) hosted by Susanne Cook at Cohen & Grigsby. This was followed by a meeting with Devesh Mittal, Vice President-Industrial Solutions of Aquatech International Corporation, a water technology firm, where they learned about the company’s water technology solutions, specifically as it relates to Marcellus Shale. Following their visit to Pittsburgh, the delegation departed for Houston, the last stop on their tour.
CONTACTS
If you have questions regarding the above articles, please contact:
TRADE: Pete O'Neill, Executive Director, Center for Trade Development - peoneill@pa.gov
INVESTMENT: David Briel, Executive Director, Center for Direct Investment - dbriel@pa.gov
PORTS: Herb Packer, Executive Director, PENNPorts - hpacker@pa.gov
UNIVERSITY / ALUMNI: Leigh Walter, Manager, International Business & University Relations - lwalter@pa.gov
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