Kerry Group from Ireland. B. Braun and Bosch Rexroth from Germany. Kervan USA from Turkey. Bronkhorst High-Tech from the Netherlands. 

All those internationally based companies chose to begin or expand operations in the Lehigh Valley within the past year, helping to make the region the No. 1 mid-sized market in the U.S. for new economic development projects.

To continue that momentum, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) participated in a recent forum to introduce the region to even more global companies. 

The SelectUSA Investment Summit, held May 3-6 near Washington, D.C., is an opportunity to establish relationships with site selectors and executives worldwide. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the summit is the federal government’s highest profile event dedicated to promoting international business investment in the United States.

Lehigh Valley has a strong story to tell those decision-makers.

Lehigh Valley is home to more than 100 international companies, including the U.S. headquarters of Olympus Corporation of the Americas (Japan) and B. Braun Medical (Germany). It is home to operations of global leaders like Mack Trucks (Sweden), Evonik (Germany), and Air Liquide (France).

About 40% of the prospects who contact LVEDC to explore doing business in the Lehigh Valley are international.

LVEDC participated at SelectUSA in conjunction with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. 

Kristin Cahayla-Hoffman, Vice President of Business Development & Attraction, and Doug Warfel, Director of Attraction & Lending, met with site selectors, company executives, and international delegates, promoting the advantages to doing business in the Lehigh Valley – a growing, Top 15% manufacturing market with a workforce of nearly 1.8 million, located within an hour’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population.

They met with companies or representatives from China, France, Germany, Ireland, Korea, Mali, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. 

“The SelectUSA Summit provides an opportunity to introduce the Lehigh Valley and our history of global business growth to a wide range of international business leaders who are looking to expand into the U.S. market,” Cahayla-Hoffman said. “Collaborating with our partners at the state allows the Lehigh Valley to amplify our support for foreign direct investment.” 

LVEDC’s team held meetings in the Pennsylvania pavilion, along with Pennsylvania Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger and Deputy Secretary for the Office of International Business Development David Briel.

Within the past year, Lehigh Valley welcomed new investment from these global companies:

• B. Braun of Germany announced a $20 million expansion to its medical device manufacturing center in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, that will create 200 new jobs. It is the second major expansion in three years for B. Braun, which established its U.S. headquarters in Bethlehem in 1979.
• Kervan USA of Turkey is nearly finished constructing a $20 million, 90,000-square-foot hub for candy manufacturing and packaging in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth townships. Kervan’s U.S. headquarters, established in the Lehigh Valley several years ago, will move there as well.
• Kerry Group of Ireland opened a coffee roasting and extraction facility in Hanover Township, Northampton County, with 76 employees.
• Bronkhorst High-Tech of the Netherlands, relocated to a larger facility in Hanover Township, Northampton County, where it added assembly operations. The company has based its U.S. operations in the Lehigh Vallely for 19 years.
• Bosch Rexroth of Germany broke ground on a logistics center next to its North American hydraulics manufacturing hub in Bethlehem. Bosch Rexroth has operated in the Lehigh Valley since 1967.
• Gesellschaft für Micronisierung mbH (GfM) of Germany is renovating a property in Bethlehem into a production facility for micronization of pharmaceutical, food, nutritional, and cosmetic ingredients. Production is expected to begin later this year, bringing up to 100 jobs.