WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From County Office of Communications (EDITED) April 8, 2005: Westchester County has offered financial incentives to Lenovo, (of China), the world’s third largest computer company, in hopes that the giant will open its global headquarters in Westchester. The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency approved $366,000 in sales tax exemptions Thursday so the company can go through with plans to temporarily lease about 39,000 square feet of space at 1 Manhattanville Road at the Centre at Purchase.
Westchester County is already seeing the results of County Executive Andy Spano’s trip to China: a new headquarters for China’s largest computer company, two likely overseas partnerships for Pace University, a new sister city for Westchester, the possibility of new corporate offices here and more business for several local firms.
The news comes on the heels of Spano’s trip to China at the end of March. Spano, Board of Legislators Chairman Bill Ryan and Salvatore Carrera, head of the county’s Economic Development office, met with the Lenovo chairman to explain why Westchester would be the best location. They talked about the IDA benefits available, the services available from the Office of Economic Development, quality of life, talent pool and technological infrastructure.
Lenovo spokesman Steve Foley said in a statement today, “We thank County Executive Andrew Spano for his efforts on Lenovo’s behalf and his visit to China to meet with the company’s senior executives. We look forward to finalizing all of the agreements and Lenovo becoming a part of the Westchester and New York State business community.”
The company is also looking to construct a permanent headquarters in Westchester, Foley said. The company, which recently purchased IBM’s personal computing division, is expected to hire about 50 existing IBM employees as well as 50 new employees.
The trade delegation led by Spano included Pace President David A. Caputo, Westchester County Association President Bill Mooney, Board Chairman Ryan; Jacknis; Carrera; Daisy Yau, director of the county’s Asian American Affairs and Business Development; Pace Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Beverly Kahn; Linda Sama, director of the Center for International Business at Pace’s Lubin School of Business; and Susan Merritt, dean of the School of Computer Science and Information Systems.
The group met with mayors and university officials in five major Chinese cities.
One of the trip’s primary goals was to help Pace set up partnerships and/or joint degree programs with Chinese universities. The county paved the way for the arrangements in a Spano-led networking trip to China two years ago and was instrumental in helping the school obtain official certification to offer educational programs to Chinese students.
Caputo signed memorandums of understanding with the presidents of Yangtze University in Jingzhou and Xian Northwest University. The agreements call for establishing cooperative relations, faculty and student
exchange programs, joint academic and cultural programs, and collaborative research between Pace and Chinese faculty members and professionals. Partnerships with three other universities are being discussed, as is making China a study-abroad destination for students from Pace and other institutions. Pace hopes to offer business and technology courses in China by 2006.
“The results exceeded our expectations,” Caputo said. “We found that the people we met knew about Pace and knew about Westchester, but did not know the breadth of offerings at Pace, at Westchester Community College, and at the other colleges and universities here. The expectation now is that the intellectual and academic strength in the county will be a major recruiting factor (for Chinese businesses).”
Caputo added, “The expertise and connections of Mr. Spano and his staff were enormously helpful in opening doors for us. The trip would not have been as successful without their work on our behalf before we went and while we were there.”
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Spano and his Office of Economic Development also paved the way for some local companies to do business with the Chinese. Following up on an earlier request by the Chinese government to find partners, Spano and Carrera put Starwood Hotels, a White Plains-based company, in touch with officials about the possibility of becoming a partner in a Guangzou hotel project.
The Chinese government is also looking for engineering partners to help with a water purification plant in Jingzhou, so Spano is introducing the Chinese to several Westchester engineering firms with that expertise. Westchester is also hoping to attract the corporate offices for a simulated wood manufacturing plant that uses wheat stalks and is to be built in China. Another plant is being considered for New York state. Officials also talked about getting Westchester-based companies involved in the redevelopment of Jingzhou’s historic district.
Spano also made arrangements to bring Chinese artisans from Jingzhou to Westchester to repair the pavilion (a Chinese gift) at Lasdon Park. The work will likely be done this summer.
The delegation also gained a new sister city: Taizhou, an export-oriented coastal city of 5.6 million. Spano met extensively with various officials of Taizhou and signed an agreement with the mayor calling for mutual economic cooperation and educational, cultural and medical exchanges. Part of the reason they were there was to help welcome the opening of a new dining/hotel/entertainment facility by the owners of Imperial Wok in White Plains and Somers. A group of 20 Taizhou businessmen are coming to the U.S. this summer — making a stop in Westchester — to look at possible investments.
Those interested in a detailed log of the delegation’s activities, a website has been created by County CIO Norman Jacknis at www.westchestergov.com/china05.
