UPDATE
As we conduct our daily lives reacting to the daily headlines of doom and gloom and recovery programs, MBITA is moving forward with an very active event schedule for 2009. Along with our general trade promotion services MBITA’s focus for 2009 is to provide our members and clients with quality in-depth seminars, conferences and knowledge on where the money is in the changing global landscape, and where are the best markets for our products and services.Read about our luncheon/seminar held in January on the Gulf Coast Countries of the Middle East and the opportunities that abound in that region for American business. Also, see the information on our upcoming conference in Monterey on the AGOA countries of Africa.
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President
Tony Livoti
MBITA
Vice President
Shay Adams
AIM Medical Sales
Members
Dr. Edward Valeau
Els Group LLC
Hartnell College
President Emeritus
Marcelo Siero
IdeasSiero
Jim Faith
Trade Export
Finance Online
(TEFO)
Cristina Polesel
MBITA
General Manager
This newsletter has been
created by MBITA's editor
Cristina Polesel
cristina@mbita.org
MBITA welcomes new member, the Port of Stockton.
The Port of Stockton continues on the most significant expansion of its operations in their 75-year history, becoming a true intermodal transportation hub and further expanding its critical role in the Central Valley as 'California's Heartland Port' - trading with more than 55 countries worldwide. In 2007 most important was the inauguration of the Port's ship-to-rail service.
Located in the fertile San Joaquin Valley, the Port of Stockton boasts first class warehouse storage and handling facilities for both dry and liquid materials, facilities and equipment to handle break-bulk and containerized cargoes by land or by sea. Situated in the hub of four major freeways, two transcontinental railroads, an internal waterway and a regional airport, the Port of Stockton is centrally located to provide the optimum service for shipment and storage of product and cargo.
All of these components place the Port in an ideal position for domestic as well as national and international distribution.
The Port od Stockton is committed to environmental stewardship and enhancement of the Delta and surrounding communities. The Port is currently unveiling and implementing a program that identifies opportunities the Port could engage to enhance the Delta.
Why Use the Port of Stockton’s Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ)?
Many firms take advantage of the weekly entry program, which allows a company to make a single entry paying the Manufacturing Processing Fee once. For a firm that does as few as 10 containers a week, this feature can save up to $500,000.00.
The Port offers a strategic link to interior U.S. markets. Its unique location makes Stockton an ideal distribution point for shippers sending goods to the Western U.S. Market. Shipping overland to these areas is easy because of direct access to a vast network of interstate highways and railroads.
Stockton’s FTZ includes facilities located at eigth sites throughout the Stockton area, offering a variety of services, including deep water, commercial air, highway and two class one railroads. Stockton provides more transportation options than many other zones.
When coupled with other programs such as the enterprise zone, a FTZ program can yield additional incremental benefits that result in even greater tax benefits.
For more information on the Port of Stockton’s services and programs, visit www.portofstockton.com
Contact:
William (Bill) Lewicki
Marketing Director
2201 W. Washington St.
Stockton, CA 95201-2089
Tel. 209-946-0246
email: blewicki@stocktonport.com
Web: www.portofstockton.com
MBITA New Members
Clayton and Peggy Noack
MBITA welcomes new members, Clayton and Peggy Noack, owners and managers of several businesses on the Monterey Peninsula.
Peggy, a French citizen was married to Clayton in Beijing, China while both were attending school at Beijing’s Peking University. Peggy was studying for her PhD in Chinese archeology, while Clayton was completing his undergraduate education in Chinese Studies. Since 2003 both Clayton and Peggy have had direct business relationships in China, and have a branch office for their companies in Guangzhou, China. After completing several manufacturing projects for startup companies, Clayton and Peggy started healthspaproductswholesale.com, which has manufactured and shipped wholesale spa products worldwide.
Clayton is now attending the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) where his International Policy specialization is focused on business development and trade with China. Clayton’s emphasis in his specialization involves the transfer of clean tech and green technologies between the United States, China, and the rest of the world. These businesses url’s are www.buildingchinagreen.com (under construction) and coming soon www.builditgreenwholesale.com. Clayton’s overall goal is to use trade as a means of environmental protection.
As China’s global influence increases there will be more and more consultants who are able to speak Mandarin Chinese. However, only a small handful of people will be/are fluent in Mandarin and have a deep understanding of Chinese culture. If you or your company is looking for consultants to aid in oral translation, travel, manufacturing, shipping, or overall problem solving as it relates to China, Clayton and Peggy Noack have the expertise and relationships to help you achieve you or your firms desired goal.
Contact:
Clayton Noack: 831-206-3552
Peggy Noack: 831-206-0181
email: noackchinaconsultants@gmail.com
web: www.healthspaproductswholesale.com
www.chinacommerceconnection.com
www.jingchengmaguoxing.com
www.buildingchinagreen.com
Mr. Thiam has over 10 years of experience in sales, consulting, design, development, implementation, training, support and management of information technology solutions and services in the San Francisco-Silicon Valley Bay Area. He holds several industry leading certifications such as Microsoft MCP, MCSE, Cisco CCNA, CCNP, CCAI and is also an ITIL certified.
Mr. Thiam studied Computer Science and Mathematics and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and an MBA. Mr. Thiam enjoys being a resource for information, education, and personal networking for people seeking connections, technology, agriculture, energy, and business resources globally.
Mr. Thiam speaks fluent French and Spanish. He is an accomplished business technology executive with expertise and in-depth knowledge of information technology and services management.
Mr. Thiam is the founder of Afrisystems, a company based in Senegal, West Africa specializing in assisting companies to make sure they have the right IT, security solutions and marketing communications to meet their business objectives. He also provides business development services to overseas companies that want to expand their business into Africa.
Contact:
Bamba Thiam
Founder
Afrisystems
1361 Sicap Liberte II
Dakar, Senegal
Tel. +221 33 825 56 96
Fax +221 33 825 56 94
Mobile: +221 77 529 82 84
email: bamba@afrisystems.com
Web: www.afrisystems.com
Born in San Jose, CA, Michael Backer has lived and worked in the High Tech Capital of the World, Silicon Valley most of his life. He earned a B.S. in Accounting from San Jose State University and also has a MBA in Management from Golden Gate University with a special emphasis in International Business. In addition, he received certification at Oracle University in Oracle 11i.10 General Ledger Management.
Mr. Backer’s background and skills include over 10 years experience in Financial Reporting, and over 6 years in Revenue Recognition, utilizing SOP 97-2, SOP 98-9, SOP 81-1, EITF 00-21, SAB 104, FASB 48, FASB 5, VSOE Analysis.
He is experienced in budgeting, forecasting, account analysis, Sarbanes-Oxley, foreign currency translations FASB 52, treasury duties, leases, term debt, audit reports, and inter-company transactions.
Mr. Backer has an understanding of analyzing the financial information and disclosures of SEC 10K’s and 10Q’s, as well as generally accepted accounting principles from www.fasb.org and www.sec.gov.
Mr. Backer has basic knowledge of international financial reporting standards and international accounting standards from www.iasb.org located in London, England which over 100 countries currently have adopted. The U.S. is headed towards these international standards and the FASB and IASB work closely on convergence of accounting and financial reporting standards.
As a member of the Monterey Bay Int’l Trade Association (MBITA) Mr. Backer wants to apply his background of 24 years of accounting and financial expertise to global trade marketplace providing financial analysis for companies involved in acquisitions, joint-ventures and strategic alliances, etc. He is also interested in expanding his career into other areas of international business such as export management and agency representation and agrees with MBITA’s special focus on Green technologies, products and solutions for the global marketplace.
Click here to see his resume.
Contact:
Michael Backer
891 Celebration Drive,
Milpitas, CA 95035
Tel. (408) 799-1388
email: mbacker987@yahoo.com
Join us on February 27, 2009 at the Irvine Auditorium of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) for a comprehensive overview of trade and investment opportunities in Africa. The conference is organized by the Monterey Bay International Trade Association (MBITA),TradePort.org and GlobalCalifornia.com, in In collaboration with the Monterey Institute for International Studies (MIIS), the Monterey County Business Council and the
Foreign Commercial Service (USDOC).
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was signed into law in 2000 with the main objectives of providing tangible incentives for American companies to conduct bilateral trade and investment with African countries that continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets. Each year, the President evaluates the sub-Saharan African countries and determines which countries should remain eligible. As of April, 2008 there are 39 AGOA-eligible countries.
The current AGOA countries in Africa offer ripe incentives and fruitful opportunities for trade and investment in our otherwise sluggish and challenging global economy. This conference will spotlight those African countries that are AGOA members with the greatest demand for American ingenuity, products and technology.
The conference will also cover a general overview of the challenges and roadblocks American companies face in establishing a workable, successful business relationship with African partners and their governments. The conference will highlight proven methods to reach out to the African private sector in the areas America knows best: private enterprise, investment capital, technology transfer and management.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
Call the MBITA office at 831-334-2218
Based in Bologna, Italy, COFIMP is an entrepreneurial management training organization that promotes innovation, partnerships and practical business training to small to mid-sized Italian enterprises looking to upgrade to 21th-century business models like Silicon Valley.
Cofimp runs business courses for SMEs in Italy and has over twenty years of experience in providing training and consultancy services for company development strategies and market requirements.
Cofimp is a partnership of businesses working in close collaboration with the Association of Enterprises of Bologna, Italy
CoFimp has initiated a new program called “Move to Enterprise 2.0” is a new training master, promoted by Cofimp, for young talent on the themes of Web 2.0.
The initiative is part of a new line of training called "Move to - Training in Action” which has already collected considerable success with other project chapters such as "Move to China" and "Move to Logistics".
The course explores the new models from social, business and the technology points of view. The goal is to provide practical knowledge and tools for starting new businesses and/or the creation of a new role of "Innovation Pivot", which builds and promotes the change inside the companies. The main topic is the value creation in the Networked Economy, referring to the new paradigms of mass collaboration, knowledge share and unified communication.
The upcoming Study tour in Silicon Valley that will be held during the week of March 9th will be the most important experience inside this training program. The Course will be coordinated by Dr. Paolo Angelini, an entrepreneur with thirty-years of experience in IT applications for enterprise business, and Dr. Alessandra Barulli who is a higher educational manager. Click here to visit the delegates profiles.
MBITA will pre-qualify and arrange business meetings to support CoFimp’s program objectives and escort the upcoming delegation throughout the tour, that is sponsored by IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Telecom Italy.
MBITA Luncheon/Seminar
Santa Cruz, CA
Jan. 30, 2009
MBITA’s effort to identify the best markets in our challenging global marketplace for 2009 began with a luncheon-conference on the Gulf Coast Countries (GCC) in the Middle East consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This event was designed to highlight business opportunities for American companies in the Middle East with such projects as the zero-emission ‘eco-city’ project in Abu Dhabi called Masdar City presented by Jim Sandoval of CH2MHill who is the lead contractor for the project.
Patty Lundeen, Manager, Design, Wet Design gave a presentation on her company’s consistent success in the United Arab Emirates where they build fountains and other water projects. Christina Sharkey, Senior International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce - San Francisco office gave a tour of the best prospect industries for each Middle East region and also discussed market entry strategies, business customs and common mistakes made by American businesspeople when doing business in the Middle East.
Unique Image Inc. gave a presentation on their unprecedented ALO Magazine featuring the Middle East culture that most Americans have not been exposed to. Unique Image Inc. will also be conducting a trade mission to Dubai next fall.
In the last decade the Middle East has conjured thoughts of war, unrest, terrorism and our dependence on foreign oil. However, this seminar-conference proved that looming behind the daily and worrisome headlines of the war and terrorism the GCC countries in the Middle East present great opportunities for American technology, business acumen, products and services.
Have a Green product, service or technology?
Sign up for a membership in GreenTradeNetwork.com
With a focus on global trade industry companies and professionals, the MBITA Global Jobs Center offers its members—and the industry at large—an easy-to-use and highly targeted resource for online employment connections in global trade.
Both members and non-members can use the MBITA Career Center to reach qualified candidates. Employers can post jobs online, search for qualified candidates based on specific job criteria, and create an online resume agent to email qualified candidates daily. They also benefit from online reporting that provides job activity statistics.
For job seekers, the MBITA Career Center is a free service that provides access to employers and jobs in the global trade industry. In addition to posting their resumes, job seekers can browse and view available jobs based on their criteria and save those jobs for later review if they choose.
Job seekers can also create a search agent to provide email notifications of jobs that match their criteria.
Sponsors, Partners, & Affiliates
tlivoti@globalmbita.com
www.tradeport.org
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