Coming to America:

It's a big site-selection plunge for any company, and it was the central focus at one workshop at IAMC's Apr. 19-23 Professional Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz. Fittingly that session featured a trio of panelists with intimate knowledge of international projects - particularly high-ranking Nissan North America executive Jim Morton.

Nissan, of course, has gotten to know a lot about coming to America in recent years. Nissan launched its maiden voyage into the U.S. in 2000, announcing that it had picked Canton, Miss., for the company's first American plant. The US$1.4-billion facility, which will ultimately employ more than 5,000 workers, opened in May of 2003.

"One of the top concerns for us in entering a new country is adapting to a new and different culture," said Morton, the assistant to Nissan North America's CEO. "With a new plant, we're usually looking at transferring some employees to the new location."

That's just what Nissan did with its Mississippi plant. The company wanted a cadre of corporate veterans on deck to ensure that its first U.S. production facility got off the ground smoothly. At the same time, though, Nissan wanted to ease transferred employees' cultural transition. That's why the company built a local school in the Magnolia State.

"That school allowed those employees' children to continue in the educational system of the country from which they were relocating," explained Morton, who was previously Nissan North America's senior vice president for finance and administration. "It ensured that they would be current in their native system when their families were later transferred back."

Panelists Jennifer Derstine, Invest in America, and Jim Morton, Nissan North America, share some conversation before the program.

But needs vary among the foreign companies that expand into the U.S. market, pointed out McCallum Sweeney Consulting Senior Principal Ed McCallum, who moderated the Apr. 22nd workshop, "Doing Business in the USA: Cross-Border Viewpoints."

"If it's a company that doesn't yet have a presence in the U.S., its focus is on building relationships," said McCallum, who's consulted on a number of large American location projects, including Nissan's Mississippi plant. "On the other hand, if the company already has a U.S. presence, then its focus is on the project schedule."

Transferred employees' needs vary as well, he added.

"It makes a lot of difference where those people are with regard to their place in life," explained McCallum. "Their visions can be totally different. Those with children will concentrate on issues like education and crime. But [transferred employees'] focus is totally different if they have no children, or their children are grown."

Nissan, of course, was focused on far more than cultural adaptation in coming to America. "Recruiting and hiring talent" is another "top concern" in new markets, said Morton. That process is complicated, he continued, by "a long lead time, with two and a half to three years from site selection to first production. A lot of things can happen in that time, [including] changes in product demand and currency fluctuations."

On the other hand, the U.S. currency's sagging fortunes are motivating many firms to start up U.S. plants, said McCallum.

"It costs less for them to build in the U.S. with the American dollar than it does if they build with their own currency," he said. Similarly, R&D is considerably cheaper to build in the U.S., McCallum added.

"Knowing how to proceed" is another major concern for Nissan in moving into new markets, said Morton. Consultants are major cogs in making that process run smoothly.

"We find professionals who are in the [site-selection] business on a daily basis," Morton noted. "Our company might do a site selection every three to four years. Things change. We don't stay current on things like changes in state investment climates and newly emerging locations."

The consultants hired by Nissan work with a company team made up of all functions that will be involved in the new plant, he explained. The consultants also work with state and local economic developers in securing project assistance for things like training and hiring.

All of that activity, however, proceeds with a very low profile.

"We negotiate quietly," Morton said.

"Listen to the prospect," he advised the economic developers in the audience. "Make sure you know what it is they're looking for."

Added McCallum, "The ability of a community to embrace a new family" is a major factor in making some areas stand out in site-selection competition. "Communities that distinguish themselves exhibit a sense of welcoming that takes all the things off the company's plate that they're worrying about."

Hard facts are also a persuasive tool in attracting companies, McCallum said.

"To the extent that you can quantify your benefits to a company, do it," he advised. "Numbers do not lie."

The U.S. Department of Commerce is also a player in persuading foreign firms to plunge into the U.S. market. The department in 2007 created Invest in America, the first federal-level U.S. investment promotion arm in a generation.

"We found that press coverage was creating a very negative perception of U.S. receptivity to foreign direct investment (FDI) in America," Jennifer Derstine, an international investment specialist with Invest in America, said in explaining the rationale for creating the agency. "Invest in America is the primary U.S. government mechanism to coordinate inward investment promotion. We work to improve companies' understanding of the U.S. investment climate.

"We also focus on the public perception inside the U.S.," she told the Scottsdale audience, "making sure that people know about the role that FDI plays in America."

Federal officials can also play significant roles in attracting foreign firms, McCallum said.

"If a congressperson or senator shows up to welcome a prospect, that makes an impact," he said. "Embrace your delegation," he advised economic developers. "Get them energized."

Invest in America, however, doesn't promote individual U.S. areas.

"We talk about the nation as a whole," Derstine explained. "We don't promote one region over another. Our message is that the U.S. is a stable and welcoming climate for FDI."

The agency steps in, though, to solve any investor problems that are based at the federal level.

"Invest in America serves in the role of ombudsman for the international investment community," said Derstine. "We work across the federal government to act as a voice to address investor concerns and issues involving federal agencies. We're there to help those companies navigate in the U.S."