International Town Hall Returns: Mark Your Calendar for May 8

February 8, 2015

It has been an exciting year since the Tampa Bay Export Alliance (TBEA) was announced at the 2014 International Town Hall. Leaders in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have been working together on international initiatives and achieving amazing results. They’ve travelled together to Chile and Panama and coordinated joint educational sessions to teach our businesses how to export products. Tampa International Airport has announced increased frequency of flights to Zurich, Switzerland (Edelweiss) and Panama City, Panama (Copa Airlines) and will inaugurate non-stop flights to Frankfurt, Germany (Lufthansa) on September 25th. At Port Tampa Bay, they are purchasing new gantry cranes to handle increased container traffic and working to recruit new shipping lines to the largest port in Florida. Port Tampa Bay has also finalized a deal with Tampa Tank/Florida Structural Steel to hire 108 new workers, expand its headquarters in Ybor City and establish a steel fabrication facility in Port Redwing — the first of many steel companies envisioned to locate at Port Tampa Bay. In short, our international efforts are taking hold and producing results.
 
On Friday, May 8, the TBEA will kick off World Trade Month with its second International Town Hall at the Hilton Carillon Park in St. Petersburg. The event, taking place from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will feature a keynote presentation and three panel discussions among community and business leaders who are driving international business development in the Tampa Bay region.
 
This year’s International Town Hall promises to build on the tremendous momentum the TBEA has achieved since the launch. We urge you to attend this important meeting and learn what the TBEA is doing to grow jobs and capital investment by increasing the international export of products and services within the bi-county area. You’ll hear from local companies that have forged valuable new relationships, generated new business and sold product while on the first TBEA organized mission to Chile. Better yet, you’ll get a chance to learn more about how you can maximize opportunities for your organization through the seminars, trade events, and trade missions TBEA has planned for 2015.
 
Registration information and other details will be announced soon. Save the date!