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inroads
a quarterly publication of the hampton roads economic development alliance
2009 QTR 3
CHAIR Mike Barrett Runnymede Corp.
VICE CHAIR Robert BrownRobert Brown and Associates
TREASURER Bob BoydBB&T
SECRETARY Rick Bagley Wachovia Securities
President & CEO Darryl Gosnell
Senior Vice President Amy Parkhurst
Vice President Thomas Clemens
Vice President Steve Cook
Operations Debbie Ogan& Technology Director
Investor Sarah CavanaughDevelopment Director
Research David Gray& Information Services
Business Recruitment Chris Gullickson
Marketing Lisa LitwillerCommunications
Executive Kate RodenhouseAssistant
International Consultants
China Catherine Magill
Germany Ingo Bentz
United Kingdom Charles Macdowell
staff
officers
500 Main Street | Suite 1300
Norfolk, VA 23510
T +1 757 627 2315
11820 Fountain Way | Suite 301
Newport News, VA 23606
T +1 757 627 2315
4 East Bank House | Tide Mill Way
Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1BY UK
T +44 1394 610022
World Trade Center | Birkenstrasse 15
28195 Bremen, Germany
T +49 421 174660
Darryl Gosnell, President & CEO
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
We are in the home stretch of 2009, and the Alliance anticipates an active
and productive fall.
During the 3rd quarter of this year our business recruitment team traveled
to several U.S. and European cities promoting Hampton Roads at some excit-
ing venues. In July, the Alliance, sharing the venue with VEDP and the Greater
Richmond Partnership, hosted a special event at Wimbledon in the U.K. and
was able to secure several corporate appointments during the week-long
occasion. We also conducted marketing missions to the New York area and
Western Canada. The month of August included a
consultant mission to New York and New Jersey and
a marketing mission to Washington, D.C. and Mary-
land. In September we visited Germany and Austria,
a trip that incorporated visits to Munich, Karlsruhe,
Heidelberg, Freiburg, Salzburg, Linz and Vienna in
order to meet with several corporate headquarters
with operations in Hampton Roads. September also
saw our marketing team attend the Defence Systems
& Equipment International Exhibition in the U.K., conduct a Kansas marketing
mission and participate in the IAMC Professional Forum in Minneapolis.
The combination of these marketing activities culminated in 17 new busi-
ness contacts, 76 corporate appointments and 13 consultant appointments.
In addition, HREDA’s project managers worked on 14 new inquiries and
hosted 13 client visits.
As you are no doubt aware, recent headlines have indicated that Virginia
has weathered the weakened economy better than most states; and the Al-
liance is optimistic Hampton Roads will continue to fare well. We are seeing
our efforts of the past several months yield hoped-for tangible results, while
continuing to add new projects to our pipeline. And of course, we remain
grateful to our partners for their ongoing support. With the force of our com-
bined efforts, we can – and will – successfully promote Hampton Roads as
the premiere location for business relocation and expansion.
inroads is a quarterly publication of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance. Comments and suggestions should be forwarded to Lisa Litwiller at llitwiller@hreda.com.
“Face-to-Face contact is the broadest bandwidth communication
you can have in professional life.”
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Washington, DC Marketing Mission (8/09)
NY/NJ/CTMarketing Mission (7/09)
DSEi, London (9/09)
Munich, Germany Marketing Mission (8-9/09)
Wimbledon & Corporate Appts. (7/09)
Western Canada Marketing Mission (7/09)
NY/NJ Consultant Mission (8/09)
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.”
– Jack Kerouac, Author, Painter, Poet
The following is an excerpt from Harvard Business Review, June 2009 Report 1
2,300 Harvard Business Review (HBR) subscribers were surveyed and 79% rated in-person meetings as the
most effective way to meet new clients to sell business while 89% said face-to-face meetings are essential for
sealing the deal and almost all, 95%, said such personal interac-
tions are a key factor in successfully building and maintaining
long-term relationships. In shaping new business opportunities,
you need to see the body language to get a view as to whether
or not what is being proposed is being processed and, ultimately,
is acceptable. The non-verbal communication is equal to, if
not more important than, the verbal. This is especially true when working in the international arena where body
language is often crucial to communicate perspective.
All savvy business leaders recognize that travel is an investment - an investment of time and money and an
investment in your clients that helps to align and speed up decision making. More than ever, it is an investment
worth preserving.
1 A Report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services: Managing Across Distance in Today’s Economy
Can Your Company Afford NOT to Travel?
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k
Steve Cook participated in a
marketing mission to the Kansas
City region with VEDP’s Steve
Bridges in September. One of
the more interesting companies
they met with was Impact Design,
an embroidery and art needlework
facility located on site at the Lan-
sing Correctional Facility in Lansing,
Kansas. The company employs ap-
proximately 300 inmates in the de-
sign and production of artwork for
all types of apparel for colleges and
universities, golf clubs, high school teams, etc. Interestingly enough, the first item the visiting team noticed
as they entered the workroom was a Virginia Tech polo shirt at the embroidery station! Due to the success of
their innovative company, Impact Design is researching expansion options in the Mid-Atlantic.
HREDA and VEDP Visit Correctional Facility in Kansas
Impact Design Researching Mid-Atlantic Opportunities
During the second week of
July Amy Parkhurst and Sam
Workman (Newport News)
covered a lot of territory in the
Northeast conducting 14 corpo-
rate appointments in New York,
New Jersey, Connecticut and
Pennsylvania. Six companies
indicated an interest in investigat-
ing Hampton Roads for a future
expansion or relocation in the
next 1 to 3 years. Many cited
the high costs of doing business
in the Northeast as an incentive
for considering a more business
friendly location.
A late July marketing mission
to Vancouver, BC, Canada’s larg-
est metropolitan area, found Tom-
my Miller (Franklin-Southampton)
and Thomas Clemens facilitating
14 appointments with maritime,
distribution and computer sci-
ence related industry corporate
decision makers. Prompted by
government initiatives and incen-
tives, the Canadian based high
tech sector is enjoying a boom.
“From start-ups to expansions
companies are beginning to seek
out more centralized customer
support locations to better serve
their ever-broadening base of cli-
entele; many with operations on
the eastern coast of the United
States,” said Clemens. “And we
want them to think of Hampton
Roads as their location solution.”
This was the Alliance’s third mis-
sion to Canada and second to
Vancouver this year.
Carla Howard (Norfolk) and
Scott Hall (Virginia Beach) ac-
companied Steve Cook in Au-
gust to the New York City/New
Jersey metropolitan area to
meet and update consultants
on the latest and greatest hap-
penings in Hampton Roads.
Detailed planning resulted in
successful meetings with 11
representatives from 8 differ-
ent companies. “This trip was
such a great experience,” said
Carla. “I love sharing the excit-
ing things happening in Norfolk
and the region. The meetings
gave me a fresh perspective on
how consultants view Hamp-
ton Roads.”
Mission Briefings: The Northeast, Canada and the Midwest
road w
orkFor a third consecutive year
the Alliance hosted select cli-
ents, contacts and consultants
to view world-class tennis at
Wimbledon’s Grand Slam tennis
tournament. This traditional,
high profile event is consistently
well received and provides our
team a unique opportunity to
engage and entertain British cli-
ents with whom the Alliance has
developed business relation-
ships throughout the year.
This year’s VIP guests rep-
resented 7 projects considering
Hampton Roads as an expansion location. Amy Parkhurst and Charles
Macdowell, HREDA’s U.K. consultant, represented the region at the July
2 event held at the historic All England Lawn Tennis Club.
United Kingdom - All England Lawn Tennis Club
Designed to thank
companies and decision
makers for their invest-
ment in our region Darryl
Gosnell, Thomas Clem-
ens, Scott Hall (Virginia
Beach) and Tom Elder
(Chesapeake) embarked
on a brand new type of
marketing mission. In late
August, the delegation,
divided into two teams,
covered 3,200 miles in 5
days visiting German and
Austrian headquarters of
companies with opera-
tions in Hampton Roads. The meetings, 11 in all, provided face-to-face opportunities to engage and thank
business leaders for their investment in our region. And the sentiment was returned. The corporate hosts
expressed sincere appreciation for the team’s investment of time and resources to become more familiar with
their companies, operations and future plans.
Headquarters Visit - Germany and Austria
The Power of Gratitude HREDA Team visiting Plasser & Theurer’s headquarters in Linz, Austria.
Pictured above, from left: Allan Edwards (Frontline Engineering), Matt Hatson (Babcock), Gerry Fabian (SELEX), Amy Parkhurst (HREDA), Jeff Taylor (De-fence Manufacturer’s Association -DMA), Simon Walstrom (QinetiQ)
Pictured above L-R: Joseph Neuhofer (President, Plasser American Corporation Chesapeake); Patrick Vierlinger (Export, Plasser & Theurer, Vienna, Austria); Tom Elder (City of Chesapeake); Robin Laskowski (Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Plasser American Corporation Chesapeake).
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kDefence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi)
Hampton Roads knows defense. And, HREDA
knows Hampton Roads. So, it is not uncommon for
the Alliance’s marketing calendar to contain a fairly
large number of defense related events. Attendance
at September’s Defence Systems & Equipment Inter-
national (DSEi) in the U.K. marked the fourth out of six
such events scheduled in 2009.
As the leading integrated defense and security
exhibition in the world, DSEi provides a forum for all
those concerned with defense, security and military
aerospace to meet with senior international trade and
military experts. The event offers a valuable platform
for attendees to view the latest systems and equip-
ment from the world’s defense and security industry.
Among the 29,000 attendees from over 40
countries at the 8-11 September U.K. conference
were HREDA team members Chris Gullickson and
Charles Macdowell, Jim Noel (York County) and
Steven Wright (Chesapeake). The tireless delegation
facilitated appointments with 16 different companies
and learned the following perceptions and/or factors
are regarded as regional strengths: our pro-military
representation in D.C. via Forbes, Webb, Allen and
Nye; the large number of primary (tier one) defense
contractors; and the fact that every branch of the
military is represented in Hampton Roads.
“Golden nuggets of potential projects are still out
there,” Macdowell commented. “We just have to sift
deeper to find them. At the moment, British interest
in the U.S. is highest in the defense sector, which ap-
pears to be unaffected by the economic downturn.”
“Although the economy has suffered, the U.S.
defense industry is strong with a budgeted defense &
homeland security spending for 2010 at over 600 bil-
lion dollars,” noted Gullickson. “Many of the compa-
nies we met with expressed an immediate need for a
U.S. location. And, we are happy to report, one such
company has already scheduled an October visit to
Hampton Roads.”
According to a report featured in the September 15th Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads’ economy is considered in the top 20 of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. And, according to Alan Berube, the Brooking Institute study’s coauthor, the region’s significant concentration of defense and government related industry is the most important contributing factor.
Pictured above, L-R: Chris Gullickson (HREDA), Charles Macdowell (HREDA U.K. Consul-tant), Steven Wright (City of Chesapeake), and Jim Noel (York County).
Pictured below, L-R: Aran Croker (Vice President of the Americas, Astute) and Geoff Hill (Manager Director, Astute) at the Astute booth.
road rep
ort
3rd Quarter YTD TOTAL 2008
PROJECTS Total Active 129 N/A 129
New 19 38 38
PROSPECT VISITS
Total 13 32 39
New 10 24 27
Repeat 3 8 12
RECRUITMENTACTIVITIES
Trips 9 35 48
Appointments 89 246 269
Contacts 17 194 n/a
ANNOUNCEMENTS Total 0 5 4
Capital Investment 0 $22,850,000 17,820,000
Jobs Created 0 286 63
Square Footage 0 109,200 326,300
third quarter report
The trade relationship between the U.S. and the United Kingdom is the strongest in the world, and Britain
is the largest foreign investor in the U.S. economy, valued at $300 billion. However, British business is typically
more focused on services as compared to manufacturing. As a result, British investment activity has tended to
take place in financial centers like New York or Chicago, and biased towards acquisition – like HSBC’s pur-
chase of Household – instead of organic expansion.
The current economic climate is impacting investment into the U.S. The UN’s World Investment Report
stated that direct investment between developed nations experienced a downturn of 60% in the first quarter
of 2009, while investment in developing nations fell 25%. In the U.K., business investment slumped by 10.4%
between the first and second quarter of this year, the biggest drop since 1985. Annually, the decline is the
largest on record since 1967.
The effects the Alliance is facing with our marketing activities in the U.K. are:
- Fewer companies prepared to risk ‘stretching their wings’ across the Atlantic, preferring to focus on
their domestic markets;
- Greater difficulty in raising sufficient finance for a new U.S. operation or expansion;
- Slowing of the pipeline of projects already under consideration – although not many have cancelled
their plans altogether;
- Greater interest in lower risk methods to enter the U.S. market, through JVs, partnerships and the
licensing of IP.
Due to the region’s favorable business climate and low cost of doing business, Hampton Roads remains
attractive to British companies. But, the lack of direct transatlantic air service is seen as our single greatest
disadvantage.
A View from Across the PondCharles Macdowell, HREDA’s U.K. Consultant’s Update to the Board September 24, 2009
HREDA operates on a calendar fiscal year; therefore YTD reflects January through September 09
500 Main Street, Suite 1300Norfolk, VA 23510
inroads
Investor Calendar Notes All meetings scheduled for 8:30 AM unless indicated October 22 Executive Committee MeetingDecember 10 Board Meeting, VMASCJanuary 14, 2010 Annual Meeting of Investors
Safco Celebrates New Operation in Isle of Wight
Safco Products Co., a division of Liberty Diversi-
fied Industries, is the newest tenant in IOW’s Intermodal
Park occupying 329,000 SQ FT of state-of-the-art distri-
bution space. A leading provider of organization and
comfort enhancing products for the workplace, Safco
serves as an importer and exporter for well-known
office and business retailers. At the grand opening
ceremony held last June, Liberty Diversified Industries
President Mike Fiterman complimented the profes-
sionalism of the IOW Board of Supervisors, County
staff and the county’s ability to simultaneously attract
quality business while maintaining its rural and aesthetic
beauty.
The Alliance introduced representatives of Safco to
the region in January 2008 and the project was officially
announced for IOW in July 2008.
Pictured above, L-R: Dan Zdon (Vice President of Liberty Diversified Industries and General Manager of Safco Products Company); Mike Fiterman (President of Liberty Diversified Industries) and The Honorable James B. Brown, Jr., Chairman of the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors.