A year after of encouraging business activity by Israel and Rochester, in upstate New York, Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) COO Linda Becker told "Globes" that there were more business opportunities for Israeli companies in the area. Greater Rochester is considered the fourth largest high-tech center in the world, after Silicon Valley in California, Route 128 outside of Boston, and Israel.
Becker, a former VP at Xerox (NYSE:XRX) and Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK), is trying to turn Rochester into the world's top high-tech center, and believes that collaboration between Israel companies and companies already based in Rochester will do the job. Rochester-based companies include Xerox, Kodak, Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL), and CooperVision Inc.
Becker works with GRE's Israel representative, Omri Linder of SIT Ltd.(Systematic Inventive Thinking) . Linder handles GRE's activity in Israel and locates suitable Israeli companies. Becker says, "Linder finds companies that need help in the US, such as financing, facilities, and partnerships, while I look for these solutions, and we bring them together."
"Globes": Can you name any successes, after a year of activity in Israel?
Becker: Representatives from 60 Israeli companies have already visited Rochester at least once. Every visiting company gets a special itinerary, and its representatives meet potential investors or partners. Israeli companies that have opened offices here to date include Aliroo, and Algotec Systems. We set up the first meeting between Algotec and Kodak, which ultimately resulted in Kodak acquiring Algotec, which consequently moved its offices to here. We also set up the first meeting between Orex Computed Radiography and Kodak, and Orex was also recently acquired.
What are GRE's motives in all this activity?
"My goal is to set create more jobs in Rochester. The collaborations create more jobs here."
Is Rochester more attractive than cheaper places, such as China and India?
"We have 18 universities in the region, and a relatively inexpensive labor force. Real estate costs are low, while we're close to New York City and Washington DC. The proximity to large optics, imaging, and telecommunications corporations improves the ability of small Israeli companies to gain access to giants such as Bausch & Lomb, CooperVision, Xerox, Kodak, and General Electric (NYSE:GE).
Becker says that the large corporations have an interest in GRE's activities. "A group of senior managers from Bausch & Lomb are due to visit Israel to meet companies for building strategic partnerships. The same is true for representatives of Kodak."
Becker says three meetings are planned with Israeli optics and imaging companies over the next two months.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 22, 2005