Friday, September 9, 2011

Gov. Dave Heineman Announces Business Expansions Resulting from Reverse Trade Mission

(Lincoln, Neb.) Today, Gov. Dave Heineman announced international business expansions in Nebraska with companies located in Korea, China and South Africa, as part of Nebraska's second Reverse Trade Mission. This year's trade mission, "Bringing the World to Nebraska," has offered trade representatives and international business leaders from 15 countries the opportunity to see firsthand the benefits of doing business in Nebraska.
"I am pleased to announce these international business expansions and investments in Nebraska as the result of our Reverse Trade Mission and the important relationships we have developed with our international guests," said Gov. Dave Heineman. "Any of these companies could have located anywhere in the world, but they are choosing to come to Nebraska. We've had several successful projects to discuss this week including the growing number of international companies who are interested in expanding in Nebraska. These companies continue to cite the relationships we build, Nebraskan's work ethic and our competitive tax incentives as just a few of the many reasons that Nebraska is an ideal home to locate and expand business."
Three Korean and Chinese companies will bring U.S. headquarters to or expand current operations within Nebraska. Additionally, Gov. Heineman signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a South African company, looking to headquarter in Nebraska.
Located in South Korea, EM Gear, LLC will locate their U.S. headquarters in Omaha for the future manufacturing of gears and gear box reducers. At the announcement, EM Gear CEO, Mr. Daesung Jung, named Nebraska's centralized location, low cost of living and doing business, and the hard-working nature of the people as specific reasons for selection. Mr. Jung is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Headquartered are in China, Global Choice International, LLC will expand current operations. Global Choice exports a variety of energy products including solar panels, wind turbine parts, transformers and LED products. The expansion will add warehousing and distribution efforts to their sales operations currently based in Omaha. Global Choice International President, Ms. Ping Wang, said Nebraska is the "perfect place for business." She added, "The team in Nebraska was ready to help us overcome unique issues." Ms. Wang said that she now feels at home in Nebraska.
Based in China, SFT America Limited, LLC will locate their U.S. headquarters in Nebraska. SFT America Limited is one of the largest lighting manufacturing enterprises in China, including the production of LED road and outdoor lighting, office and industrial lighting. SFT America Limited President Mr. Jie Shi stated that he originally planned to locate the U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Shi decided to locate in Nebraska instead of California during the Reverse Trade Mission explaining that, "Los Angeles could not do in three days, what Nebraska did in one day." Once the decision had been made to locate in Nebraska, state employees worked around-the-clock with the company to successful incorporate in Nebraska in less than 24 hours.
The MOU signed with South African company Benchmark Timetable formalizes Benchmark's intent to establish a U.S. base in Nebraska to support its growing clientele of schools and colleges. This information technology company specializes in master scheduling for the educational sector. Currently, Benchmark Timetable partners with Fremont-based Sycamore Education providing scheduling solutions for their U.S. clients and schools. Benchmark Timetable Director of Customer Service, Ms. Anny van Niekerk, said that the values in Nebraska fit well with those of Benchmark Timetable, and that she looks forward to working to headquarter in Nebraska.
The Reverse Trade Mission is aimed at encouraging international companies to explore opportunities for investment in Nebraska. Representatives from 15 countries: Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam will be among those participating.

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