Tech Parks Arizona will host the Consul General of Israel, David Siegel, on April 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, 1245 E 2nd St. Siegel’s talk will be part of a briefing on the Tech Parks Arizona Global Advantage business attraction program and its Israel initiative.
In affiliation with the UA and Tech Parks Arizona (which combines research parks and a business incubator), Global Advantage aims to attract international technology companies to Southern Arizona to expand and diversify the local economy and create high quality jobs in the region.
A major component of the program is its Israel initiative, which began about four years ago. Global studies name Israel as one of the top countries that export technology around the world, explains Naomi Weiner, project coordinator. “It’s a fertile market,” she says. The Global Advantage team has promoted the initiative with trips to Israel to meet with representatives of Israeli companies and diplomats.
Global Advantage target sectors complement the university’s research strengths in many areas, she notes, including advanced energy, defense and security, sustainable mining, arid lands agriculture and intelligent transportation.
From small startups to large multinational corporations, the Global Advantage initiative can help take a product from concept to prototype to large scale manufacturing. It provides a “soft landing” for international companies, says Weiner, by offering a wide range of services, including legal assistance, such as setting up a U.S. subsidiary or help with visas; banking; language learning or translation and relocation assistance.
The Southern Arizona location also offers benefits related to NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Association, she says, allowing companies to “export raw materials to Mexico, do their manufacturing in Mexico at a lower cost and then import the final product back into Tucson without tariffs.” This is facilitated by Tech Parks’ partnership with The Offshore Group, which provides services to foreign manufacturers in Mexico.
Space for the event is limited; RSVP by April 24 to nweiner@uatechpark.org.
