Global Connections

Andreas and Susanne Pawlik didn't want to settle in their native Germany. Led by an adventurous spirit, they traveled the world before landing in Southwest Florida and launching a computer consulting company.

After getting a taste of winter in the northern states, they decided they wanted to make Cape Coral, where they had a vacation home, their full-time residence. As luck would have it, the Pawliks won a United States green card, which sealed the deal.

Andreas went to work with the Collier County government in information technology. Susanne started Pawlik Corp., which provides e-marketing and consulting services, focusing on Web site design with video production and virtual tours.

"It's a perfect way-the lifestyle, the business opportunity here," says Susanne Pawlik. "For a small business in Germany, it's very, very hard to get settled. All the bureaucracy-it's much, much more."

Six years later, the company has four full-time staff, including both Pawliks, and two subcontractors.

The Pawliks are among a growing number of foreign nationals who live and work in Southwest Florida, representing one segment of the international influence on the region's economy.

The region might not compete with the state's international business hub in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but the Gulfshore has a considerable amount of international activity, from both trade and investment standpoints, says Manny Mencia, senior vice president of international business development for Enterprise Florida, a state economic development program.

"Certainly, Southwest Florida has been a big beneficiary of the internationalization of Florida, which has occurred in last 30 years or so," he says.

Mencia adds that economic developers in Collier and Lee counties have made a niche of showcasing opportunities for the European investor. "I think they have been very successful in attracting investors, particularly from Northern European countries."

Southwest Florida has a substantial European population, says Arnold Haake, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Florida and president and chief executive officer of Royal Palm Bank in Naples, which caters to foreign nationals.

"Estimates of anywhere from 30,000 to 70,000 foreign nationals have homes here and travel here regularly. Those are very believable numbers. They're a big portion of the Southwest Florida economy," he says.

In many ways, the Pawliks' story is typical of those who settle and start businesses here. Southwest Florida's weather, quality of life and affordability-backed by a favorable exchange rate-inspire foreign visitors to buy vacation homes. Some rent them out during the winter, when work obligations prevent them from using their vacation homes. Eventually, many consider a permanent move, but getting a visa that allows them to stay longer requires that they prove their productivity.

Those with a business either move or expand it; others start companies. Because real estate is "the business of Southwest Florida," as Haake says, that's the sector to which they gravitate, like so many other entrepreneurs.

"A lot of Germans also end up in property management or vacation rental properties," says Susanne Pawlik, who estimates that about half of her clients are in real estate. "They see their own house and [think], 'Oh, yeah. That's something I could do.'"

Going Abroad

Besides foreign investment and the cornucopia of restaurants and real estate agencies owned by foreign nationals, a growing number of engineering and other local companies do business overseas. Retailers import consumer goods, and manufacturers import materials and export products.

After 13 years in the import-export business, Hal Wilmot isn't surprised at the kinds of products that come through Farris Customs Brokers in Fort Myers-everything from boats, yachts and automobiles to dietary supplements and ice cream cones. An officer of the company, he sees imports from Korea, Brazil and Honduras, South Africa, Slovakia, Turkey, India and beyond, with a growing amount of cargo from China.

Business has been "pretty consistent over the years," he says. Farris, a U.S. Customs-bonded warehouse with three brokers, moved into a larger facility three years ago at Southwest Florida International Airport.

Wilmot says that international trade in Southwest Florida is a growing part of the whole formula. "People are seeing opportunities," he says. "If they have a plan of how to do it, and they've done a lot of investigation and research, and it's part of their living and not a hobby, then they can be successful."

Most area importers are small companies with 15 or fewer employees, says Wilmot. "There are some big players, but if you look out there, the majority of international business is importing and there are a small number of employees in their organizations."

The Naples-based cableware division of Loos & Co. is not only the exclusive U.S. and Mexico distributor of a Swiss-made brand of cable cutters, but it manufactures "military-spec hardware for cable" used in aircraft by such companies as Boeing, Cessna and Lockheed. "All of those airplanes are sold overseas also, so the repair and maintenance overseas requires our product," says Phillip Cox, director of sales and marketing.

Gus Loos started the family-owned wire-rope manufacturer in Connecticut in 1958. In 1979, he started the cableware division in Naples. "He was spending his winters down here and wanted to build a factory here so he could spend more time here, which a lot of people do," says Cox.

The Naples division has about 60 employees, but it sells to distributors in about 18 countries, including Australia and New Zealand, Taiwan, and many countries in Europe and South America.

The weak dollar recently has boosted sales overseas, says Cox. As a result, the company has introduced new products, including one to help stabilize mechanical systems during earthquakes. That one has received a lot of interest from Turkey and other Middle East countries.

Working with Enterprise Florida to participate in major trade shows in France and England and the company's Web presence have opened new doors. "The challenges are finding the distributors who actually stock and can sell our product," says Cox.

International sales represent 10 to 15 percent of its business, and it's an area the company looks to grow. "I think there are still a lot of opportunities for us overseas," Cox says.

Global Activity, Local Impact

Economic developers, educators and international companies already calling Southwest Florida home are attempting to smooth the way for more global activity, particularly to link European companies and the emerging markets in the Americas-Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the past couple of years, Collier has established new incentives; and the Immokalee airport has become the Florida Tradeport, marketed as "a hub to the Americas, promoting international trade between Latin America, the United States and Canadian markets," says Tammie Nemecek, executive director of the Economic Development Council of Collier County. Trade missions targets have included Poland, Guatemala, San Salvador and Honduras.

"We're trying to grow more of the targeted industries we typically work with, which are biomed companies, IT companies, corporate headquarters," she says. "We're just at the beginning stages of really expanding our international opportunities with regards to these types of businesses."

Foreign companies doing business here tend to be more resilient after economic downturns and pay higher wages, Nemecek says. In addition, she says that getting a company to get into that international market is not only beneficial for the company because it helps diversify its client base, but it also is beneficial to community because it results in a stronger company that pays better wages. "And those folks are investing those dollars back into your community," she says.

Most of the existing international firms represent links with Germany, the United Kingdom and France. A new relationship with Poland also has been forged.

Skytruck LLC, an aviation company that works with a Polish plane maker, is locating at the tradeport and opened the door for the Poland mission. That led to a commitment by the factory it works with to build a maintenance facility in Immokalee. The mission also allowed Naples-based Vitarich Laboratories to connect with a distributor for its nutraceutical products throughout the European Union, says Nemecek.

"In the last six months or so I've seen a huge growth in inquiries about establishing businesses, moving businesses, investing in businesses by folks from outside the United States," says Pamella Seay. An attorney certified in international law and a law professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, she often gets inquiries from businesspeople interested in going global. She's had an increase in interest from Brazilian companies as well as a surprising number of inquiries from China, where she leads student trips.

International business interests are "extremely important" to the local economy, she says. "Regardless of the numbers, what you're looking at is an increase in business, in employment, jobs," says Seay. "A business landing itself in any location is going to be a boon to the economy. Maybe not immediately, but they're going to be paying taxes, employing people and they're going to provide spin-off businesses as well."

To draw them, Southwest Florida has the FGCU's educational opportunities and its business school's Second Circle program, which grooms international relationships. Seay says the foreign trade zones at the Immokalee, Charlotte County and Southwest Florida International airports are a plus, and support systems for international companies are already available.

"You have to have the services that support them, such as attorneys that know how to help European businesses acclimate themselves to U.S. [laws], market, or accounting," says Nemecek.