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The Terrebonne Economic Development Authority has signed a five-year industrial development letter of intent with the city of Weihai, China.
Returning from a six-day deal-making tour Friday to the far east city of 2.8 million people, a delegation of nine business, economic development and government representatives set the groundwork and verbally made deals to boost existing local industry with an international partnership.
In the process, they succeeded in attracting Chinese business to the region and put Terrebonne Parish on the map as an economic gateway for the remainder of Louisiana.
“I don’t think it could have gone much better,” TEDA CEO Steve Vassallo said of the trip. “We accomplished everything we had hoped to accomplish and it just was ideal.”
Vassallo said he and the delegation will present a lengthy report of their findings to the Terrebonne Parish Council in July. At that time they intend to reveal details of companies making verbal commitments to Terrebonne parish, and specific markets that are now open to importing Louisiana seafood as well as welcoming other businesses to the Chinese city.
“We certainly proved the case for shrimp and other seafood,” Vassallo said. “We are going to present some concrete opportunities [to the parish council]. There is a demand and we have got solid leads for Gulf seafood.”
The delegation traveled to China with a project wish list that sparked interest from Weihai Vice Mayor Tian Zhiying, who described Gulf of Mexico shrimp as “delicious,” and said he is “optimistic about its acceptance in Weihai.”
The Homey Group, was one of the businesses that expressed interest in working within Terrebonne Parish. The company processes more than 200 varieties of frozen seafood, vegetables and meat. It is known for aqua farming jellyfish, prawns, sea scallops and sea cucumbers, and has invested in advanced equipment that could develop new specialties.
Weihai officials also expressed interest in Terrebonne’s shipbuilding, ship repair and marine industries.
The TEDA delegation toured an AVIC International shipyard, which employs 4,000 people. AVIC International has subsidiaries in all the major cities of China. It also has more than 60 overseas branches in more than 30 countries and regions.
Vassallo said the Chinese hosts also want to collaborate with the Terrebonne medical community. “We visited the Wego Group, the largest medical device manufacturing company in China,” he said. “Wego employs 15,000 people in Weihai, and it specifically suggested establishing a U.S. office in Terrebonne Parish.”
Other stops for the delegation included Shandong Food and Drug Vocational College, Shandong University at Weihai and Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai.
“One of the comments made by one of the [vice mayor’s] staff members was that of the five delegations they had received [from around the globe] we were by far the best prepared,” Vassallo said. “To hear something like that made us feel good.”
TEDA began working on the economic excursion to China in October 2011. Since then, detailed arrangements were made to welcome the Terrebonne delegation and fill a schedule with serious meetings designed to get down to business.
Vassallo said it would be difficult to project a financial return for Terrebonne Parish at this time, but added that long-term dividends, based on trends, “could be substantial.”
He added that it was determined that Terrebonne Parish could become the gateway for the rest of Louisiana doing business with China.
The TEDA executive confirmed that while there may be situations in which Terrebonne Parish is not the perfect location for a Chinese business expansion, it could still be the referral source to other locations in Louisiana.
The TEDA CEO explained that if a particular company showed interest in locating in Terrebonne Parish, but a specific skill set was not abundant locally that might be in cities like Baton Rouge or New Orleans; all deals would still come through Terrebonne Parish. “That is where we could become a gateway,” Vassallo said. “Of course, we want first shot at anything.”
Vassallo said his biggest surprise was how advanced the city of Weihai is, being compared to Dallas in technological advancement. “We are not talking about a third world country,” he said. “Not even close to it.”
The Weihai government has two other sister-city relationships within the United States with Santa Barbara, Calif., and Akron, Ohio. According to Vassallo neither of those arrangements has the degree of economic base that the one with Terrebonne Parish does.
Officials from Weihai set a tentative plan to visit Terrebonne Parish in August.
Weihai, China Director of Foreign Affairs Li Wengao, seated left, and Terrebonne Economic Development Authority CEO Steve Vassallo sign five-year letters of intent to link the two communities in an industrial sister-city relationship. After the TEDA delegation traveled to China last week, a Chinese delegation is already planning a visit to Terrebonne Parish as soon as August. A cooperative endeavor agreement has yet to be signed by Chinese officials and Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet.
