4 THE JAPAN TIMES FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 (Publicity) SOUTHERN USA Produced by: GLOBAL MEDIA POST State of doing business in Savannah Savannah’s beautiful preserved history has long been its sig- Everything is looking up down South nature trait. The city’s storied past will always make it distinct, but it is Savannah’s business future that is gaining attention from industries worldwide. he Southern United tation and logistics hub, given its the Southeast U.S.-Japan “Our region is incredibly connected, offering extensive States began this year proximity to the Panama Canal, Association. infrastructure via the Port of Savannah, two Class One railroads very strongly. Despite the which is increasing its capacity and an international airport that is a 30-minute flight away from global slump in petro- next year, and to Cuba, which will Georgia: Expanding its base Tleum prices, the region’s oil-pro- see an end to the long trade em- Two years since his first trade Atlanta, Georgia,” said Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) President and CEO Trip Tollison. ducing states, such as Texas and bargo with the United States. mission to Japan, Gov. Nathan The Port of Savannah is the fourth largest in the U.S. and has Louisiana, have lessened their Deal has seen his efforts pay off. been the fastest growing in the country over the last decade. It dependency on the commodity Regarded as the center of Japa- is also the only port to partner with all Asian members of the G6 and diversified their investment nese industry in the Southeast Alliance, made up of the world’s largest shipping companies. bases. Georgia and Florida, for United States, Georgia is working Japan is the seventh-largest export market for Georgia and is instance, are positioning them- to diversify its economy and im- ranked sixth among Georgia’s top import countries. selves as logistics hubs and are prove its infrastructure to attract Savannah’s economy is diverse with five major pillars: ad- building industrial parks to ac- more Japanese capital, which has vanced manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, tourism, commodate high-tech manufac- reached $10.4 billion to date. healthcare and military. turers. With 547 Japanese-affiliated Savannah is also known for being an incubator for emerging “In the South, Japanese companies providing jobs to industries, a filming location for movies, and the headquarters companies are growing in more than 20,000 Georgians, the to major companies such as Gulfstream Aerospace and Colonial number and increasing the Asian giant has become an im- Oil. value of their investment and portant partner to the growth of And with a skilled workforce, available property and a com- employment. Many Japanese the state economy. munity committed to everyone’s success, Savannah has every- manufacturers have decided to “Georgia’s world-class infra- thing to propel business in the region. come here,” said Consul General structure, top-notch workforce “With incredible assets and a diverse economy, it’s no wonder of Japan in Atlanta Kazuo OF JAPAN GENERAL CONSULATE and accessible resources provide that Savannah is located in the number one state for doing busi- Sunaga. Consul General of Japan in Miami an ideal business climate for in- ness,” said Tollison. Both Site Selection magazine and CNBC have Japan has a very high profile Shinji Nagashima ternational companies looking to named Georgia No. 1 for doing business. in the Southern United States as relocate or expand. We work hard TOYO TIRES TOYO SEDA’s mission is to attract jobs and investment to the region. each state deepens that bilat- From Nov. 14 to 17, the city of to advance partnerships and im- In a highly globalized economy and amid stiff competition at home and abroad, the Southern Whether a business is looking to relocate or an existing business eral relationship based on their Birmingham, Alabama will host prove existing ties with success- U.S. states have had to expand their economic bases and improve the investment climate is ready to expand, SEDA is the centrifuge of a propeller, making unique strengths. Over time, the the 38th Annual Joint Meeting of ful international markets,” Gov. without abandoning the sectors that have traditionally become reliable sources of growth. the connections, to help propel the business to success. region has attracted investment the Southeast U.S./Japan and Ja- Deal said. Through its business attraction, business retention and ex- in the automotive, manufactur- pan-U.S. Southeast Associations Georgia’s Department of Eco- attracting foreign direct invest- the bonds that keep our econo- pansion and its World Trade Center Savannah, SEDA offers cus- ing, oil and gas, energy, petro- (SEUS Japan), which will bring to- nomic Development has identi- ment, and Japanese companies mies strong,” he added. tomized services, connecting companies to the resources need- chemicals, technology, aerospace, gether business leaders from the fied new areas of growth (inter- have emerged as important pil- ed, including workforce programs, infrastructure, available prop- agriculture and logistics sectors. two countries. national trade, tourism, film, arts lars in that development. Tennessee: Focused on Japan erties, incentives and more. ■ Florida: The prefect location With 42 Japanese companies Accounting for 60 percent of → www.seda.org In 2013, Gov. Rick Scott led a operating more than 160 facilities total foreign investment, Japan local delegation to Japan to in- in Louisiana, Japan represents has poured in more than $15 bil- vite companies to invest in the more than half of all Asian for- lion into Tennessee’s economy, state. Currently, there are more eign direct investment projects in which has resulted in more than than 200 Japanese companies the state. 40,000 jobs for local residents. in Florida employing more than “There are a number of Japa- “Japan is Tennessee’s number 20,000 people. nese companies that have started one source of foreign direct “Florida has a lot of their operations here, especially investment, and no other country advantages. Many Japanese in the petrochemical and manu- comes close. We feel that we are companies have established their facturing industries. It’s a grow- the Japanese epicenter for this Latin American headquarters in ing list,” said Baton Rouge-based region in the United States,” said THE GOVERNOR OFFICE OF Miami because of the access to construction firm Turner In- Nashville Area Chamber of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Central and Latin America,” said dustries Group CEO Roland M. Commerce President and CEO Consul General of Japan in Toups. Ralph Schulz. Takaoka elaborated on the SEDA Miami Shinji Nagashima. In 2014, Gov. Bobby Jindal As the first Japanese carmak- state’s attractiveness: “As the OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR OFFICE OF Internationally renowned Gulfstream Aerospace is headquartered OF JAPAN GENERAL CONSULATE “We were one of the earlier traveled to Japan to meet with er to set up shop in Tennessee geographic center of America, in Savannah, Georgia and employs more than 10,000 people. Consul General of Japan in Atlanta manufacturing-focused compa- Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal some of the country’s top busi- and the Southeast in the 1970s, Texas has become one of Kazuo Sunaga nies that chose to locate in Flori- ness leaders and invite them to Nissan blazed a trail for Japanese the premiere destinations da. The state government of Flor- and innovation centers), while invest in Louisiana. businesses and other companies for Japanese investment in “As of December 2014, we cov- ida supported us coming here. building on existing ones (agri- “As the gateway to North as it attracted a host of automo- the United States. Last year, Louisiana: A s trategic location for investment er five states — Alabama, Geor- Looking at our success, Florida culture, aerospace, automotive, tive-related manufacturers and Latin America opened up gia, North Carolina, South Caroli- remains keen on increasing high- energy technology, IT, logistics suppliers. its energy sector to foreign na and Virginia. There are roughly tech and basic manufacturing,” and manufacturing). “We have a really strong investment. With the Panama Building on a strong record of cludes a one-permit system (NSR/ 1,500 Japanese companies in said Mitsubishi Hitachi Power “In terms of the international base in the automotive sector Canal increasing its capacity by Japanese investment, the State Title V), with a permit issued these five states. In Alabama, the Systems America President and projects we currently have with more than 900 suppliers 2016, Texas has become a very of Louisiana has become one of within 180 days. This expedited number of Japanese companies CEO David Walsh. going on right now, Japan is and manufacturers. One of strategic location for Japanese the top U.S. states for economic approach saves up to one year of almost tripled in the last 12 years, Japanese companies aside, the number one. Our Japanese the things we would like to energy companies.” development, according to inde- project time compared to other while in Georgia, it doubled,” said state is also the preferred base of partners are critically important do with our existing partners As a leader in the aerospace, pendent ranking organizations. states. Sunaga. operations for many other Ameri- in the automotive sector here is to help them expand their aviation, biotechnology and life New projects and expansions of Louisiana Economic From Nashville, Tennessee, the can and international investors in Georgia,” said Georgia research and development sciences, energy and agricul- existing companies are welcome. Development employs a consulate general of Japan at- because of that geographical ad- Department of Economic capabilities in this state. We are ture industries, Texas has also Japanese companies have “centralized project management tends to another five southern vantage. Development Commissioner creating the infrastructure to built one of the country’s larg- found increased production ef- approach” that creates even states that have intensified ef- Florida has become an essen- Chris Carr.