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Upstate SC and Belgium’s Agoria: Driven to Grow

The Upstate SC Alliance wanted

to encourage new international investors.

 

 

Belgium’s Transport and Mobility Group wanted

to bring value to its members.

 

 

 

SC Connect brought the two together.

 

As 2016 drew to a close, the Upstate SC Alliance was reflecting on its growth, and considering how to build upon it in 2017.

For the past decade, the economic development group representing 10 counties and about 1.5 million people had averaged more than $1 billion in new foreign direct investment each year. Home to BMW’s largest manufacturing facility and the North American headquarters of Michelin, the Alliance and its leaders sought to attract new international companies.

Jacob Hickman, Business Development Manager, Upstate SC Alliance

“The idea was to focus on certain geographies where we haven’t spent a lot of time and energy in the past. We really wanted to invest in new markets and build new strong long-term relationships,” said Jacob Hickman, the Alliance’s director of business development.

For help, the Upstate SC Alliance turned to SC Connect.

“SC Connect is able to align the Upstate SC Alliance with potential new investment opportunities, through direct interaction with companies and industry associations,” Hickman said. “They truly understand the dynamics of the Belgium market and where the best synergies reside.”

In preparation for a summer trip by Alliance representatives, SC Connect focused on matching growing Belgian companies with the Upstate’s target sectors – advanced materials, aerospace, automotive, bioscience and energy.

At about the same time, AGORIA – Belgium’s largest employer and trade association – had created a new focus group on transport and mobility. Determined to be more than a network, the new group developed a strong mission-focused vision to increase business, particularly in the United States.

SC Connect met with the group’s leader, who was cautious at first. But over time, the group warmed to the idea and hosted a meeting between members of the group and the Upstate Alliance during the Belgian visit in June.

Building A Business Partnership

Gathering at the transport group’s modern offices in downtown Brussels, Hickman and Upstate representatives outlined the scope and depth of South Carolina’s automotive industry, and the opportunities for Belgian ingenuity.

Both groups left feeling that partnerships were possible.

Through the summer of 2017, the Upstate SC Alliance, AGORIA’s Transport and Mobility Club and SC Connect worked to connect the Belgian group to the South Carolina automotive sector.

As a result, Belgian industry representatives will travel to the SC Automotive Council’s annual conference in 2018 and present to state  leaders on agile manufacturing, one of the group’s specialties.

“The success of that trip was first, getting a good understanding of the genetic makeup of Belgium,” says Hickman. “And, second, we’re going to have a delegation from the Belgian mobility sector coming in February, so Belgian companies will be interacting with South Carolina companies.”

“You’re not always going to get projects out of trips like that,” he said. “But now that there are boots on the ground in the form of SC Connect, there’s a connectivity that hasn’t been there before.”

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World’s Largest Wind Turbine to Be Tested in South Carolina

Clemson University will receive more than $23 million to test the world’s largest wind turbine, the creation of Danish company MHI Vestas, the Charleston Post and Courier newspaper reported.

Testing is expected to occur next year on the turbine, which can power up to 8,000 homes, the paper reported.

The turbine is part of Clemson’s wind -turbine research facility dedicated in late 2013. The 82,000 square foot facility’s mission is to help create the next generation of wind technologies and reduce energy costs.

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New SC Inland Port Getting Increased Rail Service

The new inland port slated for Dillon, SC will have five-day/week service, instead of the originally planned two-three day/ week service, authorities said.

“Forest products and agriculture products are both target export commodities for the facility,” a state ports authority spokesman said.

According to Charleston newspaper The Post and Courier:

The Dillon facility will handle about 45,000 containers in its initial full year of operations, with the SPA hoping to boost capacity to 220,000 cargo boxes annually as the area attracts new distribution centers and manufacturers. The Upstate facility, by comparison, handled 121,761 containers in fiscal 2017, which ended June 30.

To read the full article, click here.

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A Sampler of SC Connect’s 2017 Activities

SC Connect visits trade shows, sector meetings, civic clubs and other venues to make connections and build relationships for our clients.

Here’s a sampling of the events where SC Connect has been building relationships in 2017.

 

  • Paris Space Show

    The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the runway at the 2017 Paris Air Show.
  • Paris Air Show
  • Frankfurt Auto Show
  • Anuga Food and Beverage Trade Show – Cologne, Germany
  • Flanders Make Seminar Day – Brussels
  • “Biofuels in Aviation”, sponsored by Boeing – Brussels
  • Flanders Investment and Trade, Seminar on Exporting to the US – W. Flanders, Belgium
  • Upstate Regional Forum  – Building Global Fluency – Spartanburg, SC
  • South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association Annual Meeting –  Hilton Head Island, SC
  • South Carolina Automotive Council’s Supply Chain and Quality Conference – Charleston, SC
  • South Carolina Aerospace Conference and Expo
  • Receptions at U.S. Embassy – Brussels
  • Luncheon with Flemish Minister for Work, Economy, Innovation and Sport
  • The American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium functions

Would a presence at any of these – or an upcoming event  — help your organization fulfill its mission?

If so, contact us to discuss representation.

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Greenville, SC and Kortrijk, W. Flanders

In the fall of 2016, leaders of Greenville, SC and Kortrijk, W. Flanders began planning a visit to cement their Sister City relationships.

 

It was a long-dormant relationship that had been revived that summer by a trip of Greenville representatives to Belgium.

SC Connect was asked to facilitate, and began working with Greenville Sister Cities International, the City of Kortrijk and the chambers of commerce of both Greenville and West Flanders.

Stijn Van de Velde of Greenville Sister Cities

“I needed someone to actually go around and make connections,” said Stijn Van de Velde, who led the Sister Cities effort. “There’s nothing like physical contact, eye-to-eye meetings and handshakes on location.”

“People in responsible positions also want to be approached in a professional manner, and SC Connect does that,” he said.

Relationship Began a Century Ago

 

The trip would build on a relationship that began during World War I, when the US Army’s 30th Infantry Division that trained in Greenville participated in  the Battle of the Somme in Flanders during the First World War.

The relationship accelerated during the textile industry’s heydays, when Greenville billed itself as the “Textile Capital of the World” and hosted Belgian business leaders at its international convention. Friendships strengthened through the years with garden club exchanges, photography exhibits and student exchanges between Furman University and the Catholic University of Leuven (KULAK) in Kortrijk.

Things formalized in 1990 when Kortrijk invited Greenville representatives to ceremonies marking Kortrijk’s 800th anniversary.

Since the 1990s, Kortrijk and Greenville have evolved away from textile-based economies. Greenville has attracted large manufacturers, such as BMW and Michelin, as it developed a reputation for precision engineering and advanced manufacturing.

Kortrijk, with its many family-owned businesses, developed a unique culture of creativity that inspires its flourishing manufacturing and design industries. Today, its medieval city hall anchors a modern region known for such companies as Delta Lighting, Barco, Bekaert and many others that integrate smart design into manufacturing.

 

Building a 21st Century Partnership

 

Van de Velde, a West Flanders native but now a Greenville businessman,  organized the trip of Greenville representatives to Kortrijk in June of 2016. That led to plans for a return trip of Kortrijk leaders to Greenville in the spring of 2017.

Working from Belgium, SC Connect worked first to create an exchange that brought a marketing specialist from the W. Flanders VOKA to the Greenville Chamber of Commerce for a week. The exchange deepened the ties.

Then, as Van de Velde pulled the visit together from Greenville, SC Connect met with Kortrijk leaders from education, government and business to organize the Belgian delegation. That involved multiple trips to City Hall, Rotary Clubs, non-profit offices and the chamber of commerce.

 

Real-World Results

 

The result: 11 Belgians made the trip, including Kortrijk Mayor Vincent Van Quickenborne and representatives from Catholic University of Leuven, DesignRegion Kortrijk, HOWEST University and VOKA-W. Flanders. They were joined by the Belgian Consul and trade representatives from Atlanta for a week-long visit.

Greenville Mayor Knox White (l) and Kortrijk Mayor Vincent Van Quickenborne share a moment during 2017 Sister City visit of Kortrijk to Greenville.

The groups mixed well — so well, in fact, that the two mayors disappeared at one point during the farewell dinner, sneaking off to a reception where the Greenville mayor needed to appear before returning to the Kortrijk party.

Since that visit,

  • Furman and HOWEST have restarted discussions about how their students and teachers can work together.
  • Nanotechnology researchers at KULAC and Clemson have begun exploring collaborations, and
  • Discussions are underway for ways to connect high school age students from both communities.

“I think it wouldn’t have worked without SC Connect,” said Van de Velde. “Without the eyes and ears, without the boots on the ground, the face to face meetings, the glue to hold things together.”