Businesses in the Wilmington area may have strengthened global ties this week by networking with two representatives of French economic development efforts.
At the invitation of the Wilmington-based N.C. Foreign Trade Promotion Council, members of a French clean technology delegation visited the Port City during its latest North Carolina trip. The visitors were Cyril Dary, head of clean tech projects for Team Cote D’Azure, and Filip Gluszak, CEO and co-founder of GridPocket SAS, a company that develops energy efficiency software and platforms for smart grid utilities.
“Our particular focus on this trip is on clean tech industry so we have met with a number of researchers, public institutions, start-ups and big companies working around clean tech software,” Gluszak said Friday, as he attended an NCFTPC event held at Cape Fear Country Club. In general, “clean tech” is a term used to describe products or services that reduce waste and save energy.
Dary said, "We are here to make connections and exchange ideas." His organization describes itself in marketing materials as "the European laboratory of research, experimentation and standardization for a smarter city."
Gluszak said the trip might also be able to help his company extend its reach. GridPocket is headquartered in a science and technology park in the south of France called Sophia-Antipolis, similar to Research Triangle Park but on a much larger scale.
“We’re looking for the best place to start our business in the U.S., in North America,” he said, adding that North Carolina and Wilmington seem like good potential candidates because, among other reasons, they exhibit “a good quality of life.”
Marc Rojewski, product developer for Wilmington-based companies Dry Corp. and Dry Case and a native of France, was among those who spoke with Gluszak and Dary on Friday.
“I personally think that bringing international people to Wilmington is a great way to show that there is a lot of action going on even in smaller towns, that Wilmington attracts a lot of pretty big and interesting companies,” Rojewski said.
John Hayes, executive director of the NCFTPC and president of the N.C. World Trade Association's Cape Fear Chapter, said, “There’s nothing like face-to-face meetings, and there’s nothing like starting alliances with people who want to do business with you.”
State Rep. Rick Catlin, R-New Hanover, said global connections in general continue to increase for North Carolina’s business community.
“You go back just a few years, and there were really no get-togethers or awareness of international trade opportunities, and so this is something that’s really starting to grow,” said Catlin, who is chairman of the NCFTPC.
