LVEDC has prepared written brochures and digital materials in eight different languages and is sending them directly to their corresponding countries.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) is reaching out to international companies from all over the world and letting them know — in their own languages — why the Lehigh Valley is the right place for them to invest.

LVEDC has prepared written brochures and digital materials in eight different languages and is sending them directly to their corresponding countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

These brochures highlight the economic assets that make the Lehigh Valley a desirable destination for overseas companies seeking an entry point into the U.S. Northeast, including its access to markets, available commercial space, access to capital, strong labor pool, and more.

Check out the brochures in Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

The new materials — which include eight-page brochures and USB flash drives with additional information — are a proactive way for LVEDC to market directly to companies in these countries, and translating them into their languages ensures the message will be conveyed clearly.

“As far as we know, they aren’t given these kinds of materials from other regions, or even from some other states, for that matter,” said Michael Keller, LVEDC Director of Marketing. “We want to make it as easy as possible for these representatives to guide companies to the Lehigh Valley region.”

LVEDC has sent the materials to representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Office of International Business Development in each of the various countries.

LVEDC has sent the materials to representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Office of International Business Development (OIBD) in each of the various countries. The OIBD has the largest network of international offices of any state in the U.S., with a network of 26 international offices that cover more than 75 markets.

“LVEDC has always enjoyed a strong working partnership with the DCED, and having this vast international network to utilize for direct marketing of the region is invaluable,” said Don Cunningham, LVEDC President and CEO. “This is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate why the Lehigh Valley is extremely attractive to international companies seeking a strong consumer base in the United States.”

Joe Burke, Deputy Secretary for the OIBD, added: “It is extremely important that we are able to share the story of Pennsylvania all across the world. The new multilingual brochures will serve as a catalyst to help further the successes our department has secured with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation in attracting international businesses to set up in the region.”

Keller said the LVEDC international brochures were customized for their specific countries, with some highlighting existing Lehigh Valley companies that come from that nation, such B. Braun Medical Inc. for Germany, and Olympus for Japan.

The decision for which countries to send brochures to was based in part on a detailed analysis of which countries generate the most traffic on the LVEDC website, which sees a large number of visits from users in Canada, India, and Brazil, Keller said.

Among the Lehigh Valley’s economic assets highlighted in the brochures is government impact on business, quality of location, and information about the region’s excellent resources, including agricultural, water, natural gas, electric, and the transportation network.

The Lehigh Valley has become an increasingly strong market for international companies. About one-third of LVEDC’s prospects are from outside the country, and many of the region’s big success stories from the last year are from international companies.

This includes the French company Safran, which established an airplane wheel and brake repair facility in Lower Nazareth Township, and  Fuling Plastics USA, China’s largest manufacturer of plastic tableware and kitchenware, whose Upper Macungie Township plant marks the first time a Chinese manufacturing company has established a facility in the state of Pennsylvania.

Last summer, representatives from LVEDC embarked on a ten-day tour of Western Europe to attract foreign direct investment, with stops in Germany, France and England. This tour included daily direct marketing to prospective companies, as well as visits with international prospects with which LVEDC had already been previously engaged.