Vietnamese Delegation Welcomed to Columbiana County
LEETONIA, Ohio – When representatives from the area visited Vietnam on a trade mission trip in 2019, they were welcomed with open arms, and on Monday, the favor was returned when several members of a Vietnamese delegation visited Columbiana County to learn about Ohio business practices.
Following an opening ceremony at Youngstown State University on Monday morning, eight delegation members headed to Leetonia to tour the Global Investment Hub opened last year by the Columbiana County Port Authority, partly as a result of the 2019 trade mission trip.
Penny Traina, port authority director, was on that mission to Vietnam, along with county Commissioner Mike Halleck and Mousa Kassis, director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center’s Export Assistant Network at YSU.
On Monday, Traina welcomed the delegation to the Global Investment Hub, saying it was an honor and pleasure for her and Halleck to visit Ho Chi Minh City and that she hoped they found American culture enjoyable.
In Halleck’s absence Monday, county Commissioner Ray Paparodis welcomed the visitors, thanking them for coming and saying, “Anything we can do to help you, please ask. You honor us by traveling so far.”
State Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-79th, also spoke, saying one of her main priorities as an elected official has been making sure Ohio continues to be the best place to live, work and raise a family.
“A large component of that is being pro-business,” she told the delegation, adding that, while her role is exclusively based in Ohio, it is important for her and her colleagues to remember the decisions they make in the state Legislature have international implications as well.
“My hope is that your time here will expand upon existing relationships as well as facilitate the creation of new,” Robb Blasdell said, encouraging all involved with the delegation’s tour to take advantage of the unique opportunity to learn from one another and develop deep relationships so they can continue to partner through joint ventures and expand international sales opportunities.
Saying the day’s event was all about relationships, state Sen. Al Cutrona, R-33rd, said, “It doesn’t matter what you do in this world – all that matters is communication, networking and relationships. That’s how we become stronger as a nation, by working together.”
He told the group that he and his colleagues “want to make this work,” saying, “You can always lean on us, lean on me, on the House and on the Senate.”
Leetonia Mayor Kevin Siembeda assured the delegation: “This is the best place you can be.” He said a journey a few years ago to transform the community, county and state had resulted in their visit.
“We’re beginning to become a community and a region that is going to focus, develop trade, business and network together. We’re here to help you. We’ll do what we need to do to make your time and energies here worthwhile.”
The delegation received a plethora of information about what the port authority and the state of Ohio can offer to companies looking to expand here.
Brittany Smith, port authority assistant director, said the agency “wears many hats” and is responsible for economic development, business retention and the majority of grants awarded in the county.
Of the 62 public ports in Ohio, CCPA is one of few that is self-sufficient, receiving no local, state or federal dollars for operation but depending upon most of its revenue from rental income from properties it owns and also administering some grants for county departments.
The port authority’s largest asset, she advised, is the Wellsville Intermodal Facility, a 50-acre park on the Ohio River that is home to five companies and is the last deep river port in Ohio located in an Opportunity and Foreign Trade Zone.
The facility was made possible with $33 million invested in federal and state grants over the years.
The visitors learned from Kassis that throughout its history, Ohio has been known for industrialization, including manufacturing, technology and innovation and is currently ranked third in the nation for manufacturing.
In 2022, $57.55 billion worth of goods and $22 billion worth of services were exported from Ohio, and Kassis said 65 percent of both the United States and Canadian populations are within a day’s driving distance of Ohio, increasing purchasing power of businesses in the state.
He explained how the Global Investment Hub could help any new businesses brought about by this visit, since they would be working with a team composed of himself, Mariah Hauser, SBDC EAN; Traina; Smith; Haeden Panezott, port authority private sector specialist; and Bobby Ritchey, port authority recovery coordinator.
For one year, a company – once registered with the state of Ohio – would be able to locate in the Global Investment Hub, with free rent and Wi-Fi, and required only to hire a YSU intern for 20 hours per week for one year.
Calling it “the lowest investment possible” for starting up a business, Kassis said this gives a new business a year to explore its options, which could include staying on after the first year and leasing space in the GIH building, purchasing or leasing a building, purchasing to build at the port authority’s 42 acres of shovel-ready land 2 miles from the GIH or locating elsewhere in Ohio.
Questions posed by members of the delegation related to possible taxation, with county Commissioner Tim Wiegle mentioning commissioners could create an enterprise zone to assist with taxes, which could be “somewhat of an incentive.”
Following a lunch provided by the port authority, the delegation traveled to Wellsville for a tour of the Intermodal Facility, where John Frankavich, terminal operator of Port of Ohio at Pier 48, explained to the group the various ways cargo is loaded and unloaded, specifically domestic steel, which he said is from Arkansas and Kentucky, and soybeans imported from Argentina and India.
Asked at the end of the tour what she thought of the day’s presentations and events and whether the idea of locating to Ohio sounded attractive, Tran Ngoc Dao, vice director, Internal Relations Department of the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City branch, indicated interest, saying it seemed some members would like to have an office in the GIH.
She said the information will be shared with friends and partners and will be looked into, possibly for implementation next year.
Prior to the tour, she said Vietnamese companies are interested in new chances for business opportunities in such commodities as seafood, pet products, fabrics and renewable energy.
She also said the delegation was hoping to see areas of Ohio related to culture in addition to business.
The delegation is expected to continue its tour of the area through Thursday.
Pictured at top: Area officials and members of a Vietnamese delegation pose for a photo at a luncheon at the Global Investment Hub in Leetonia.
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