Nov. 6, 2009 6:48 a.m.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber officials on a business development trip to the Far East say they’re seeing reminders of how the United States looked a half-century ago. ##M:[MORE]##

The officials, who include Regional Chamber President Tom Humphries, Eric Planey, the chamber’s vice president for international business attraction, and board member Florence Wang, are visiting China and Taiwan as part of a chamber initiative to establish a “global footprint” for the Mahoning Valley.

The delegation arrived in Shanghai late Tuesday, Planey reported in an e-mail, the first time he has been back to the city in two years. While the infrastructure build-out continues with the 2010 Shanghai World Expo approaching, he saw fewer tower cranes “dotting the skyline.” During a dinner with colleagues that evening, he confirmed that China’s gross domestic product was below the average for China, 9%, for the first time in decades, a possible indicator that China’s stimulus package is working and that the build-out is continuing further west in the country.

“Tom and I both agree that China today is not so different from the United States in the 1950s,” with its increase of domestic technology build-out, higher percentage of college graduates and “can-do attitude,” he said.

Meetings Wednesday provided an introduction into the China market, ”a great way to become more strategic in our discussions with companies scheduled for later in the week,“ Planey said. Through a friend, he was able to arrange “a personal walk-through” of a steel mill. China’s steel market has seen “enormous price volatility,” he said. The September 2008 plunge was followed by bottlenecks on long steel associated with the stimulus spending, and the export market continues to be weak.

“Was the 11th five-year plan rolled out in 2006 off the mark in terms of production capacity? It seems that way -- they will be short on flat and short steel capacity in the coming years,” Planey observed. While the Chinese steel firms are considering expansions overseas, perceived red tape and potential backlash are making them hesitant about doing so in the United States.

“Could be an opportunity for the Valley to get out in front of them in the coming months,” he remarked. “This was a great presentation as it gives us the ability to craft specific topics with the Chinese steel makers we are meeting next month.”

The second visit was with a company that is developing hybrid powertrains for the automotive industry, Planey said. The visit was hosted by the company’s president, a former Ford Motor Co. engineer and “Wisconsin Badger.”

The company’s executive team also includes an Ohio State University alumnus. Foreign students who studied in U.S. schools and return to their home counties are the best U.S. ambassadors, he said. “They loved their experience in the states, want to work for American companies abroad and have a global view we need to have,“ Planey remarked.

The meeting included what Planey described as a “great discussion” about electric vehicles, a market that has a better chance of accelerating in China because the government is willing to commit resources to accomplish that goal, while it remains a “high-risk proposition“ in the United States. The company’s success could provide a template for Chinese original equipment manufacturers to follow, “meaning they will not be a [General Motors] or Ford of the 1950s to 1990s [in terms] of having so much supply base in-house, a la Delphi and Visteon.”

While the meeting produced no near-term opportunities for Valley companies, Planey said he is satisfied that a “great contact” was made “in the Chinese auto space that will grow,” and he predicted that the company would work with U.S. electric vehicle manufacturers in the future.

Copyright 2009 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.