The New North: Global New North aims to increase regional exports, foreign direct investment

NEW NORTH, May 4, 2023 – New North Inc., the economic-development corporation serving the 18 counties of Northeast Wisconsin, as part of its Global New North initiative is holding a pair of informational events next week for companies in the region who are interested in exporting.

In the same vein, New North also has had in-person representation at two recent events, 2023 Tissue World Düsseldorf and 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit, to increase the region’s profile within the international business community.

“Global New North is a multi-pronged strategy to ensure our region has a global presence,” says Barb LaMue, president and CEO of New North Inc. “Our participation in these important initiatives provides exposure for businesses in our region, along with increasing the awareness of our New North region.

“The goal of Global New North is to increase regional exports for our local companies, creating jobs and attracting capital investment in Northeast Wisconsin, working in conjunction with our partners.”

A pair of upcoming events in Green Bay and Appleton – “Exporting: Grow Beyond Wisconsin” – is tailored to small- to medium-sized companies in the New North region who would like to export, but may need additional knowledge to do so. Scheduled for May 11, the events are designed for companies who would like to grow their businesses beyond the U.S. market.

Experts with the knowledge and resources to assist will be on hand. They include Chris Wojtowicz, Wisconsin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) international trade consultant at the University of Wisconsin System Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship; Petra Fischer, German trade rep for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC); and Rome Rauter of WEDC. They will share information on the Go Global initiative of SBDC, strategies to consider, export services, upcoming trade missions and market-access grants.

On May, 11, the Green Bay session will be held from 10-11 a.m. in Room BT324 of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, 2740 W. Mason St. The Bordini Center of Fox Valley Technical College, 5 N. Systems Dr., will host the Appleton session from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Registration for both the Green Bay and Appleton sessions of “Exporting: Grow Beyond Wisconsin” is available at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07ejrbpi3501ad16ff&oseq=&c=&ch=.

Recent Global New North business-attraction efforts began with representation at 2023 Tissue World Düsseldorf the last week of March. Barbara Koldos, vice president of business development for New North Inc., joined a representative of the WEDC European trade office, Stefan Peikert, in Germany as the only two participants from the state at the event.

Tissue World, the largest dedicated tissue industry trade show, describes itself as the meeting place for tissue manufacturers, distributors and buyers to network, learn and conduct face-to-face business. This year’s event featured more than 120 exhibitors, 40 speakers and 45 conference sessions.

“Wisconsin is the top paper production state in the U.S., and we want to keep it that way,” says Koldos. “More specifically, Northeast Wisconsin is the state’s Converting Corridor, with our region hosting the largest concentration of paper-converting companies in the nation. We had the ability to tell our story and meet with several companies looking to increase investment.”

New North Inc. already plans to be represented at next year’s Tissue World, scheduled for early 2024 in Miami.

This week, Koldos joined WEDC CEO Missy Hughes and other economic-development professionals at the 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit just outside of Washington, D.C. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

SelectUSA is recognized as the top event in the United Sates for promotion of foreign direct investment (FDI). This year’s gathering hosted more than 4,200 attendees from 82-plus foreign markets, ranging from investors, companies, economic-development organizations and industry experts from more than 53 states and territories to create opportunities for investment deals through U.S. investment.

“It is exciting to have New North represented at SelectUSA as part of Team Wisconsin,” says Koldos. “It’s a great chance to educate people about our amazing state and region. We are able to talk about the strengths of Wisconsin: water, agriculture, manufacturing, and food and beverage. WEDC this year is focusing on the biohealth sector.

“It also gives me a venue to share information about the New North region’s business opportunities and available sites. For example, one foreign-owned company we are meeting with at SelectUSA has started to make plans to come to Wisconsin for a site visit.”

Representing the state along with Koldos and WEDC officials are other regional economic-development organizations and leaders from Wisconsin-based companies. One such company with a location in the New North region (Sheboygan Falls) is MilliporeSigma, an industry-leading life sciences company that provides contract pharmaceutical manufacturing services.

“With Global New North, we’re able to increase business for our region through events like SelectUSA, which presents the opportunity for New North to meet with FDI companies to potentially invest here,” adds Koldos. “We’re also able to connect with our Northeast Wisconsin companies who are interested in expanding. Assistance and exposure are the operative words when it comes to Global New North.”