Soon after 2008 starts, so too will a new partnership between the MetroHartford Alliance and its counterparts in the Cambridge region of the United Kingdom.
In January, about 10 companies from that region will be in Connecticut and partnered up with local businesses to meet. Later in the year, it is expected that Connecticut companies will make the journey to the United Kingdom for a similar visit.
The venture has been put together by the Metro Hartford Alliance and U.K.-based UK Trade and Investment, the East of England International and the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce.
The partnership was described as loaded with potential by Alliance Vice President Sandra Johnson.
It has been nearly a year in the making as foreign representatives actively sought an American counterpart for the partnership and visited several prospective regions up and down the East Coast.
Johnson said it came down to the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Hartford, with the edge going to Hartford because of its similarities to the Cambridge region.
David Dowle, a spokesman for UK Trade and Investment, one of the partners in the program, told England’s Peterborough Telegraph newspaper that “some 10 firms will be taking part in the trip to Connecticut, but there was a lot more demand for the venture and this shows there are many firms looking to build trade links with the USA.”
Similar Communities
Johnson pointed out that “Cambridge is very much known as the knowledge corridor, similar to how we’re looked at.” She added that, “They felt they need to help garner international business opportunities for their small- and medium-sized businesses. And they wanted a region with similar industries.”
The businesses range from the aerospace sector to software technology and biomedical devices to name a few. The MetroHartford Alliance will spend the next couple of months identifying local “partner” businesses that match the businesses coming from the U.K.
There is hope that the partnership could lead to some of those foreign businesses starting operations here in Connecticut, a move that could create jobs and more businesses opportunities.
Comparable Companies
Another scenario that would result in success would be additional opportunities for Connecticut businesses to promote their projects.
As an example, there could be an aerospace manufacturer that sells its products to Pratt & Whitney and Boeing that would jump at the opportunity to sell to Europe-based Airbus. If there was a Cambridge-area company that was also an aerospace manufacturer, the two could partner and expand their customer base with Airbus becoming an option for the Connecticut company.
“That would be one way that the businesses could build their business internationally,” Johnson said. “In that example, both companies would benefit from the partnership and an opportunity that isn’t there now.”
