Global Trade: Easy Reach

Foreign Direct Investment

In 2006 (most recent data), the total value of holdings by foreign-affiliated companies in Florida reached $39.3 billion, employing 273,100 Floridians. Among the U.S. states, Florida ranks 9th in total value of inward FDI and 5th in total employment by foreign-affiliated firms.

The main sources of FDI in Florida include Germany ($3.8 billion), Japan ($3.8 billion), United Kingdom ($3.7 billion), Canada ($3.0 billion), Australia ($2.8 billion) and France ($1.3 billion). The largest numbers of Floridians are employed by companies from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Japan, France and Switzerland. Key sectors for foreign investment into Florida’s economy include manufacturing, retail trade, wholesale trade, real estate, information and the financial and professional services.

More than 70 foreign and domestic banks have office locations in Miami, including six of the 10 largest banks in the world. New York is the only U.S. city with a larger international banking presence.

For more information on FDI in Florida, visit eflorida.com.

A Cutting-Edge Location

The Canadian engineering firm Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc. is just one example of a foreign company thriving in Florida. When it came time to open its first U.S. branch office, RWDI chose south Florida.

RWDI’s niche is wind engineering and the design of sustainable, high-performance buildings and livable outdoor spaces. RWDI does it all — from designing pool decks for luxury resorts to developing wind-resistant downtown skyscrapers.

“The work is very, very, exciting,” says Mark Chatten, business manager and head of RWDI’s Florida operations. “It’s definitely the cutting edge of architecture and engineering.” Cutting-edge work needs a cutting-edge location, he adds, and for RWDI, Miramar in south Florida was the logical choice.

RWDI is helping Terra Architecture design One Bayfront Plaza, the twin tower hotel and office complex overlooking Biscayne Bay and Bayfront Park that will be the tallest skyscraper in the South. The firm also is working on several low-rise hotel and resort developments in the Caribbean, Mexico and south Florida, including the wind-resistant Soho Beach House project in Miami’s historic South Beach district.

RWDI’s Miramar location not only puts the firm close to Florida clients, it offers easy access to clients in other parts of the U. S., the Caribbean, Panama and Latin America.

“There are two major airports in south Florida [Miami and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood]; you can get anywhere in the United States. If you’re trying to fly to Canada or Latin America, Miami is the natural hub,” Chatten adds.

Making the transition from Ontario to Florida was easy, Chatten says, especially considering that he made the move during the middle of winter. “South Florida is an interesting place. It’s very international, very diverse. I’ve always lived in big cities, and I really like the cosmopolitan feel of this place.”

Wind tunnel testing on the One Bayfront Plaza project in Miami. [Photo courtesy of Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc.]

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