CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA'S TRADE BLOG: 17th annual Bringing the World to PA!

posted by Hannah Copenheaver

Governor Tom Wolf with Pennsylvania's Authorized Trade Representatives

In conjunction with the Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development, we hosted the 17^th annual Bringing the World to PA on Monday, September 19, 2016.

Meetings with PA’s Trade Offices:

The event brought 14 of PA’s authorized trade representatives to meet one on one with local manufacturers and colleges to discuss their international business strategies. These representatives cover 46 different international markets for Pennsylvania. The list of Pennsylvania's Authorized Trade Representatives in attendance included:

Australia (Australia, New Zealand)

Sarath Menon (Singapore) and May Abrera (Philippines)

Ms. Angela Foley

Canada

Mr. Chris Leslie

Central & Eastern Europe (Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Ukraine)

Ms. Pavlina Becvarova

Germany (Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland)

Ms. Franziska Wegerich

India

Ms. Supriya Kanetkar

Indonesia

Ms. Mary Veronika

Mexico

Chris Leslie (Canada)

Mr. Efren Flores

Middle East (Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Turkey)

Mr. Seth Vogelman

Netherlands (Belgium, Netherlands)

Ms. Nora van der Horst

Saudi Arabia

Ms. Wiam Alwazir

Singapore (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)

Mr. Sarath Menon & Ms. Carma May Abrera

South Korea

Mr. Steve Shin

Taiwan

Ms. Irene Tsai & Ms. Amy Pan

United Kingdom (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom)

Mr. Martin Lewis

Each year, the event seems to attract more and more companies – and we hit a record number! Companies represented the southcentral Pennsylvania area, which encompasses Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties. Here are this year's event numbers:

14 authorized trade representatives
87 attendees for meetings
41 different companies, 15 of which were new to the event
150 meetings between companies and trade representatives

This year also presented a new opportunity for us to showcase the export program in front of Governor Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf, as they kindly opened the Governor’s Residence to host the event.

Evening Reception:

Governor Tom Wolf

The day ended with a networking reception in the Governor’s Rose Garden. The 129 reception attendees included state and federal government officials, the Philadelphia consular corps members, World Trade Center Harrisburg members, event sponsors, and local manufacturers and trade service providers. Guests of Honor during the reception included:

PENNSYLVANIA STATE GOVERNMENT

Governor Tom Wolf
First Lady Frances Wolf
Department of Agriculture

Secretary Russell Redding
Deputy Secretary Hannah Smith-Brubaker

Department of Community and Economic Development

Secretary Dennis Davin
Deputy Secretary Joseph Burke

DCED Secretary Dennis Davin

Deputy Secretary Carol Kilko

Department of Education

Secretary Pedro Rivera

Department of Labor & Industry

Secretary Kathy Manderino

Department of State

Secretary Pedro Cortés

PHILADELPHIA CONSULAR CORPS

Germany: Honorary Consul Ralf D. Weidemann
Flanders: Representative Daisy van den Hooff-Mertens
France: Honorary Consul Michael E. Scullin
Mexico: Consul Alicia Kerber
Pakistan: Honorary Consul Inayat H. Kathio
Peru: Consul General Vitaliano Gallardo
Switzerland: Honorary Consul Christine Pfister
Uruguay: Honorary Consul Peter Longstreth

WTC Executive Director Tina Weyant

So, why do we hold this event?

We wanted to showcase just how large the southcentral Pennsylvania export economy is and why it is important to our state’s growth. Studies show that manufactures who export show increased and faster profits, which in turn leads to more jobs and higher paid workers. According to the latest merchandise export trade statistics for US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's), which were released on September 8, 2016, the seven MSA's of southcentral Pennsylvania exported a total of $8,818,824,663 in 2015. This represents 22.4% of the total Pennsylvania state exports! These figures demonstrate just how vast and mighty this region truly is.

Thank you to our event sponsors!

We would like to extend a special 'thank you' to Team Pennsylvania, the event’s signature sponsor, for all of their gracious support. At the silver level, we had the support of UPS and the York County Economic Alliance, York’s chamber of commerce and economic development corporation. At the bronze level, CAM Innovation (a York-county manufacturer), Fulton Bank’s international group, K&L Gates, Klinge Corporation (also a York-county manufacturer), and Stambaugh Ness provided additional financial support. Furthermore, the program would not have been possible without our partnership with MANTEC.

Pictures: Click here to view more pictures on our Facebook album.