Valley piques interest of Asian companies

By Don Shilling

More foreign trips will be arranged with the help of a federal grant.

YOUNGSTOWN — Four Asian companies are considering the Mahoning Valley for office or plant locations after an overseas trip by Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber officials.

Tom Humphries, chamber president, and Eric Planey, chamber vice president for international business attraction, returned Sunday from a 15-day trip to visit with corporate and government officials in China and Taiwan.

At a news conference Wednesday, Planey said the most likely deal to come from the trip also is the smallest. A company that he and Humphries met with was interested in the Mahoning Valley for a sales office.

Planey said it was a “good probability” the office could be approved in the next 12 months.

He described two other deals as having “medium probability.” Both would take longer to put together than the sales office, he said.

Planey added he couldn’t provide any details about the first possibility other than it would have a significant impact on the Valley. He said the other company is in the steel industry and is looking for a U.S. location.

The fourth company has the lowest probability of success, he said. It involves an electrical equipment manufacturer that is considering a U.S. location for assembly or distribution.

The companies are looking to expand in North America because they believe shipping costs will increase over time, Planey said.

Planey, Humphries and Florence Wang, a member of the chamber board, visited with 11 companies, eight industry groups and two government leaders.

Planey, who used to work in Asia as a vice president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, said he was pleased with the results of the trip, given the attempts being made worldwide to attract Chinese investment.

He said Chinese companies were clear that the North American market wasn’t their top priority for expansion. In the near term, they would prefer to expand in countries that are closer to them, such as South Korea and Vietnam, he said.

Planey said officials from the U.S. Commercial Service, which promotes U.S. trade, encouraged the chamber officials to look at other areas as well. Countries such as South Korea and Japan are being overlooked because of all the attention being paid to China, they were told.

Humphries said other trips will be put together with the help of a $250,000 federal grant the chamber received earlier this year. The money is being used to pay for the hiring of Planey and to coordinate such trips, Humphries said.

The next trip will be to Israel in January. Chamber officials are taking a handful of local companies to pursue business opportunities.

Trips to Asia and Europe will be considered after that, Planey said. He added he also was interested in going to Brazil, which has some of the world’s fastest-growing companies.

shilling@vindy.com