'The New Alabama' showcased to top Japanese leaders during major trade conference

Dr. Condoleezza Rice addresses the SEUS Japan 38 conference at Birmingham’s historic Alabama Theatre. (Photo: Jamie Martin/Gov. Robert Bentley’s office)

By: Michael Tomberlin

The SEUS Japan 38 conference may have ended nearly a week ago, but economic development officials believe it will have lasting effects for Birmingham and the state.

The 38th joint meeting of the Southeast U.S./Japan and the Japan-U.S Southeast Associations was held in Birmingham last week. Seven southeastern states had their own positive stories to tell about the business and cultural relationships with Japan – to the tune of nearly 140,000 employees working at Japanese companies in those states.

But Alabama had the home-field advantage for the conference and used it to showcase Birmingham with events at the Alabama Theatre, Barber Motorsports Park and within the Magic City’s culinary scene.

“Hosting the SEUS conference gave us a prime opportunity to showcase the new Alabama to influential Japanese leaders, including the ambassador, consuls general and VIPs,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “Many of the Japanese delegates had never been to Alabama, and we believe we were able to present them with a view of Birmingham and the state that positions us to build on this partnership.”

Japan is the top foreign investor in Alabama. Japanese companies invested $345 million in the state in 2014.

“Successful business development, and in particular international direct investment and trade, depends first upon relationships,” Brian Hilson, CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance, said. “That is especially true with Japanese companies. Alabama has over 70 Japanese direct investments, including 13 companies in the Birmingham area. It is important that we maintain strong and active relationships with those companies, and that we develop new relationships with other Japanese companies interested in doing business here.”

Those in attendance left with a fresh image of the state, according to Hilda Lockhart, director of International Trade for the Alabama Department of Commerce and the chief organizer of SEUS Japan 38.

“Feedback from the delegates from Japan and the other SEUS states indicates that we were able to show them that Alabama has a lot of offer,” Lockhart said. “Hosting events at venues like the Alabama Theatre and the Barber museum made an impression, as did speakers such as Dr. (Condoleezza) Rice and Martin Luther King III. This allowed us to share our vision of Alabama and the future of our relationship with Japan.”

The BBA made it a point to use Birmingham’s hosting position as an opportunity for economic development. Hilson said there were talks with Japanese business leaders and officials to explore how the metro area could see more expansion and recruitment prospects.

“We have always used the conference to develop relationships and identify new business opportunities. The Birmingham community and the state of Alabama were on a world stage during last week’s conference, and the planning and leadership that went into making the conference such a success, as we had hoped, also led to some new business opportunities for Birmingham,” Hilson said. “In addition to the conference, we hosted meetings with individual Japanese companies that came here for the conference, but also scheduled additional time to meet with us and get to know Birmingham.”

Those meetings were fruitful, he said.

“It was obvious that they sensed the momentum our community has, and they channeled their interests toward several key partnership opportunities, including UAB and Southern Research,” Hilson said. “Thanks to the strong impression they had of Birmingham through the conference, we have planned additional follow-up meetings with each of them.”

This year was the third time the SEUS Japan conference has been in Alabama. It was the second time Birmingham has hosted the conference since the very first SEUS Japan in 1984.

“I think the bottom line is that SEUS demonstrated the high level of commitment Alabama has to our relationship with Japan and how the state is growing and innovating to meet the needs of future Japanese investment,” Canfield said. “This investment has been very good to Alabama, and we want to continue being a favored destination of Japanese companies.”

Lockhart said the corporate community helped make SEUS Japan 38 successful.

“The support of Alabama’s corporate sector was key to the success of SEUS Japan 38, with substantial backing from Alabama Power, the Tennessee Valley Authority and many others,” she said. “Significantly, officials from the Alabama operations of Honda, Toyota and Protective Life/Dai-ichi were able to tell their stories directly to the Japanese delegates. The involvement of Regions, as Alabama’s only Fortune 500 company, and CEO Grayson Hall as the event co-chair, was also a tremendous benefit.”