TROY ? Five companies have been selected to participate in the Automation Alley trade mission to Central and Eastern Europe from Oct. 16-26. Previous trade missions have generated $23 million in new business for Southeast Michigan.
Participating companies include:
Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority (Detroit); freight transportation and distribution hub for U.S. Midwest and Southwest Ontario businesses;
K & F Electronics (Fraser); manufacturer of printed circuit boards;
Global Manufacturing Alliance (Troy); specializing in the design, manufacturing and integration of automotive assembly systems for vehicle closure panels, body structural components, and vehicle side panels;
Plante & Moran (Auburn Hills); certified public accounting and business advisory firm;
VIA Information Technologies (Troy); software and professional services company that specializes in building commercial application software;
?Participants will have a unique opportunity to visit with interested companies in the dynamic markets of Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic,? said Hayes Jones, director of the International Business Center.
?With foreign investment in Central and Eastern Europe reaching $36 million in 2004, the trade mission offers participants the ability to enter the market at a prime time, and to make the right connections to begin exporting to these markets for the first time, or to expand existing sales,? Jones said. ?With the help of U.S. Commercial Service Offices in Pontiac, Bratislava, Prague, Warsaw, and Budapest, we?ve been able to identify the best foreign partners in order for our businesses to achieve maximum success.?
Jones said previous missions to China, Germany and Mexico have generated more than $23 million in contracts for area companies, several letters of intent and numerous new hires.
?We expect to see great results out of this mission as well,?? he said.
