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Companies in the News
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Brazilian Consulate Soon to Open in Atlanta
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva signed a decree last week authorizing the opening of the Atlanta consulate, according to the Web site. A spokesperson at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington told GlobalAtlanta that Adalnio Senna Ganem, the consul general in Miami, is to be transferred to the Atlanta post. Although a date for the consulate’s opening has not been confirmed, Maria Michel, a spokesperson at the Brazilian consulate in Miami, said that Mr. Ganem will be in Atlanta for a luncheon at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Feb. 6. During a visit to Atlanta last July, Mr. Ganem told members of the Brazilian-American Chamber that a consulate would open in the Georgia capital but that negotiations were ongoing and no timetable had been set. He told GlobalAtlanta at that time that the future Atlanta consulate would have jurisdiction over Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and possibly Louisiana and Mississippi. The consulate in Miami, he added, is to handle Florida’s relations with Brazil. A previous Brazilian consulate in Atlanta was forced to close shortly after the 1996 Summer Olympic Games as part of a worldwide drawback of the country’s consulates general due to economic stress at home.
Morocco Mission Shelved for Bigger Venture
As the Jan. 24 application deadline for the mission approached, international business development firm PHARE Associates LLC had only filled five of the 12 desired slots, prompting U.S. Commercial Service officials in Casablanca, Morocco, to postpone the trip and broaden its scope. Fatiha Coulombe, PHARE’s founder and managing partner, said that when it does take place, the mission will include stops in Algeria and Tunisia and will be aligned with an investment conference in Casablanca, the date of which is yet undetermined but will likely impact when the mission takes place. Ms. Coulombe will travel to her native Morocco next month to iron out the details of the new mission, which she thinks will provide added benefit that will be worth the wait for participating companies. “I think this is going to have a much higher profile,” she said. Rick Ortiz, commercial counselor with the Commercial Service in Casablanca, whose jurisdiction includes the three countries Ms. Coulombe mentioned, said he could provide more details about the new trip after he meets with Ms. Coulombe. GlobalAtlanta reported Jan. 11 on the plans for the original mission. View that article here. Contact Ms. Coulombe by phone at (706) 882-0288 or by e-mail at fcoulombe@bellsouth.net.
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Volkswagen, Rolls-Royce Eye Coastal Georgia Site
The site has lain dormant since it was developed in 2002 for DaimlerChrysler. The auto manufacturer had proposed a plant that would produce vans and employ 3,500 on an investment of about $1 billion. According to the Morning News article, it was never to be for Chrysler, which experienced an economic downturn in late 2002. But since then, the site dubbed the “mega site” has seen high-profile potential suitors including Boeing Co., Toyota, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., Kia Motors Co. and even a lesser offer by Daimler. The article said that Volkswagen recently released a statement making clear its plans to locate a manufacturing center somewhere in the South, and there is speculation that a Rolls-Royce move could be afoot because it would land the company close to Gulfstream Aerospace Inc., one of its prime customers. Officials from the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Savannah Economic Development Authority wouldn’t comment, both citing organizational policies against talking about specific projects. The article cited a study conducted by international advisory firm KPMG and commissioned by the Georgia department, which ranked the site as the best one among 20 other sites in the Southeast. The KPMG study suggested that automotive manufacturing, chip fabrication and pharmaceutical/chemical production would be the best industrial fits for the site. See the entire article on the Savannah Morning News site here.
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Magazines Rankings Suggest Georgia Not So Bad for Employment
Atlanta placed fourth out of 100 in Forbes magazine’s list of Best Cities for Jobs in 2008. The regressive scoring scale—the lower the rank the better the score—took into account median income, unemployment, income growth, job growth and cost of living. Atlanta was eclipsed only by Salt Lake City, Utah; Wichita, Kan., and Austin, Texas. The article accompanying the list said that jobs in the transportation, distribution and financial services sectors anchored Atlanta’s position near the top. Fortune magazine, another top financial list-maker, named three Georgia-based companies on its list of 100 Best Companies to Work for 2008. Columbus-based insurance provider Aflac, Atlanta law firm Alston & Bird LLP and Atlanta hospital Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta ranked Nos. 30, 31 and 45 respectively. Of the three, Aflac posted the highest rate of job growth in 2007 at 5 percent, but Children’s Healthcare had the most employees. None of the three companies have employees based internationally, but Aflac and Alston & Bird have sales or operations abroad. Alston & Bird ranked No. 3 in the category of highest-paid employees and was recognized for a few uncommon policies: 90 days paid maternity leave, coverage of fertility treatments and concierge services. At Aflac, where the Fortune list shows 68 percent of employees are women, financial incentives—a 401(k) match, profit sharing and pension—were listed among the company’s many crowning human resources achievements. Fortune cited a sense of purpose as one of Children’s Healthcare’s most magnetic qualities, noting that 46 percent of new hires came from employee referrals, and “more than 20 percent of current staff—many citing ‘idealism’—have been here for more than 11 years.” For the full list, click here.
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