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June 2012
EDA Office of Foreign Trade • Riverside County, California • USA
export magazine
sponsors
www.riversideca.gov
www.murrieta.org
www.ci.palm-springs.ca.us
www.cityofhemet.org
www.cveza.org
www.moval.org
W
elcome to the June
issue of EXPORT, the Office
of Foreign Trade’s monthly
magazine that chronicles the successes
of Riverside County businesses
exporting their products around the
world and the ongoing efforts to attract
foreign direct investment to our county.
Our top story this month illustrates
the power of the federal EB-5 program
to attract much-needed capital to
Riverside County. The program, which
has grown dramatically in popularity
as banks have been reluctant to loan
money after the country’s financial
crisis, is having a real positive effect on
our county’s landscape.
One of the ways the EB-5
program works best is when a
federally-approved regional center
works to gather a pool of interested
investors who can put together tens
of millions of dollars for investment.
The Riverside County Economic
Development Agency is working with
nearly 60 regional centers to continue
to attract more investment into the
county.
One of the regional centers we
work closely with is Modern Era
Development in Arcadia, which has put
together a group of 34 investors who
are putting up $500,000 each to fund
a $17 million mixed-use project in the
Corona area. This project will be a real
addition to that area, providing a hotel
and professional offices to a growing
part of our county.
The lure that draws such investment,
of course, is the opportunity for foreign
investors to earn visas for themselves
and their families to live in the U.S.
This program, administered by the U.S.
Customs and Immigration Services, also
creates jobs for Americans, however,
and it is important to remember that
these employment goals must be met
for the investors to remain here. It truly
is a winning situation for everyone
involved – foreign investors, local
businesses who need investment and
Riverside County residents who need
jobs.
This issue also examines the efforts by
a pair of Riverside County businesses
– Nemesis Arms in Calimesa and
Heli-Flight in Riverside – to expand
their successful businesses even
further by expanding into foreign
markets. The interesting thing about
each company is that they already
are doing well with their efforts in
the U.S. They could easily continue
along that path and enjoy great
success domestically. Instead, they are
spreading their wings and reach for
even more success abroad.
You may already be familiar with
Nemesis Arms’ products, even if
you may not know it. The Calimesa
company makes a rifle system that
can be broken down and stored in
a backpack for easy transport. The
company’s products are included
in two new movies – “The Amazing
Spiderman” and “The Bourne Legacy” –
and has been seen on several television
shows. The company has worked
hard to get its unusual product into
the international market, despite
some extra scrutiny that accompanies
a firearm. But it overcame those
obstacles and clearly is on the right
path.
Heli-Flight is another company that is
doing well locally and across California.
Its helicopters are an integral part
of the state firefighting apparatus,
dropping water and chemicals on
major fires not just in California but
across the West. It also does amazing
work ferrying federal drug agents
into dangerous situations, where they
chop down large marijuana farms and
bundle them up in nets for removal by
helicopter. Either of these jobs would
be a handful for most companies.
But despite the success locally,
Heli-Flight, through a sister company,
is endeavoring to become a player in
the international market for helicopter
parts and overhaul services. It already
has had some success working with
the Indonesian government, and it’s
a safe bet that more of such success
is on the way. As our story illustrates,
the company has made strides already
in learning the export business and
researching the marketplace. I look
forward to great things from them
moving forward.
With warmest regards,
Tom Freeman
From the oft
Commissioner