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Newsletter Finnish American Chamber of Commerce, Florida
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Issue 04
Volume 4
April 2013
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Greetings!
spring is here!
We want to express our sincere thank you to our 4th intern, Mr Jukka-Pekka Neuvo and wish him well in his future endeavors.
Simultaneously, we are happy announce the arrival of our news intern. Please read her introduction on this newsletter.
If your company is interested in international internship programs, please contact the chamber and we can give you more details.
We are happy to provide these opportunities to Finnish students.
Hope to see you this month on some of our events again!
Also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin to get the latest news.
At your service,
Lena Hartikainen
FACC-FL President
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News from Florida
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Florida unemployment drops to lowest in 4 years
Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment dipped to its lowest level in more than four years in February when it dropped to 7.7 percent. Read more here.
Income grows 3.2% in Florida in 2012
Florida's total personal income increased to $775 billion in 2012, up from $755 billion in 2011. Read more here.
Florida Ranks #3 in Clean Energy Jobs
Florida ranked third in 2012 in clean energy jobs, with more than 8,600 jobs created through more than 500 projects, according to a new report by Environmental Entrepreneurs. Read more here.
Movies Mean Big Business for Florida
A study released on the economic impact of The Florida Film and Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive Program found a return on investment (ROI) of 4.7, with estimated state and local tax revenues in Florida last fiscal year totaling $547 million and the present value of the tax credit totaling $117 million. Learn more and key findings here.
Florida Agbioscience Industries Growing and Helping Region's Economy
Battelle, a global research and development organization, released a study that shows agriculture, forestry and fisheries production in a 13-state region of the southeastern U.S. plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands generates $240 billion in regional economic activity and supports more than 2.2 million jobs, with labor income totaling $62 billion. Read full article here.
Max Planck Florida Institute Study Points to Major Discovery for Alzheimer's Disease
The study potentially identifies a cause of Alzheimer's disease-based on a newly-discovered signaling pathway in cellular models of Alzheimer's disease-and opens the door for new treatments by successfully blocking this pathway. Learn more here.
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News from Finland
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UpCloud Plans Already US Invasion
UpCloud, the Finnish cloud infrastructure provider, has launched its services across the Europe to compete with local rivals such as CloudSigma and Elastichosts. According to the Gigaom website, the service provider has also its sights in the US, and has expansion plans ready. Read more here.
VTT Invention Turns Recycled Cardboard Into Biodegradable Nappies
VTT Technical Research Center of Finland states that the process enables recycled paper and cardboard to be used as a raw material for nonwovens such as hygiene and home care products including nappies, sanitary towels and cleaning cloths. Learn more here.
TCBC Awarded as One of the World's Most Innovative New Products
The dental filling material developed at the Turku Clinical Biomaterials Centre (TCBC) was awarded as one of the world's Most Innovative New Products during the dental industry's largest fair, International Dental Schau, (IDS 2013) in Cologne. Learn more here.
Kiosked Partners With an Influetial US Company
Kiosked has made its move to expand in the US market by forming a partnership with Eyemagine, a company which builds web-stores for brands such as as Metallica, Disney, HP and other Fortune 500 companies. Eyemagine is one of the leading Magento solution partners in the US. Read more here.
Large Demand for Porvoo-Based Drain Rehabilitation Products in the US
Picote Oy Ltd's visit to the Pumper and Cleaner Expo, the industry's main trade fair in the United States, was a success. The Finnish drain renovation company received 70 invitations for tender from the US and Australia, with a combined value of some USD 500 000. Read more here.
EFSA Reports That Food Produced in Finland is the Cleanest in Europe
70.8 per cent of the food produced in Finland did not contain any traces of pesticides. Half of the food produced in the whole of Europe was completely clean. Pesticide residues were detected, but in very small amounts. Learn more here.
Who would have thought that a coalition government of six (!) different parties can take decisive action?
The Finnish government has surprised everyone by slashing the corporate tax rate from 24,5 per cent to 20 per cent. This is well below the EU average! Watch a video
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Confusing law about foreign drivers repealed
Moving quickly to reinforce the state's tourism-friendly image, lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to repealing a law that has caused confusion about whether international visitors need special permits to drive in Florida.
The Senate voted 38-0 to approve the measure (HB 7059), which also passed the House last week. The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.
Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said his coastal northwest Florida district draws many Canadian "snowbirds" each year. And while the Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement have not been enforcing the international-driver law, he said it was important that lawmakers erase the perception that foreign visitors could face problems.
"We wanted to make sure foreign visitors knew the welcome mat was out" and that they wouldn't be confused about the driving issue, Gaetz said.
The law called for foreign visitors to get what are known as international driving permits before leaving their home countries. Those permits would be in addition to regular driver's licenses, and the requirement was designed to help Florida law-enforcement officers sort out traffic incidents, especially involving international visitors who don't speak English.
But the law, which took effect Jan. 1, created confusion as foreign tourists drove into the state or rented cars. Also, state officials said it might violate an international treaty called the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.
Concerned about the potential treaty violation, the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles last month said the Florida Highway Patrol would not enforce the international driving permit requirement.
Nevertheless, lawmakers in both chambers pushed the repeal through committees before taking it to the House and Senate floors. Scott has already made clear he will approve the repeal.
"It made no sense," Scott said earlier this month about the requirement.
Read the original article here.
Released March 27th, 2013, The Miami Herald
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New Members Introduction
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Almaco Group is the leading system supplier providing a complete range of products and services for Accomodation and food Handling areas for the global maritime industry, was founded in 1998 and has offices in Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, USA, and Singapore.
ALMACO provides complete solutions for Accommodations and Food Handling Systems for Newbuilding and Modernization projects for the cruise and offshore industries. Additionally, ALMACO supplies Modular Bathrooms to the hospitality and residential industry worldwide. These solutions incorporate all phases of the unit's life cycle, from conceptualization and design, through complete turnkey deliveries and efficient post-delivery support. ALMACO's products and services address all needs for cruise ships, ferries, accommodation vessels, offshore accommodation platforms and rigs, and land-based modular construction.
Headquartered in Turku, Finland and with an office in Boca Raton, FL.
ALMACO Group is proud to be a member of the FACC and look forward to strengthening our Finnish-American ties that go back 15 years.
To learn more about ALMACO Group, please visit website.
Dorsey-E. Earl Smith Memory Gardens Funeral Home and Lake Worth Memory Gardens in Lake Worth, Florida
Dignity Memorial providers, offer quality and compassionate services to help families through one of the most challenging times of life.
The Dignity Memorial® network of more than 1,800 licensed providers is North America's largest and most trusted brand for your funeral, cremation or cemetery needs. Whether your need is now or you are making end-of-life final arrangements in advance, you can count on your Dignity Memorial provider for professionalism, quality and service excellence.
When you choose a Dignity Memorial funeral home or cemetery provider, you'll receive access to exclusive benefits, including National Transferability of Prearranged Services, the Bereavement Travel Program, the 24-Hour Compassion Helpline® and an acclaimed grief management library. Benefits such as these, combined with our compassionate professionals and expertise in funeral arrangements, burial services and veterans' burial benefits,
make our funeral homes, mortuaries and cemeteries a wise choice for you and your family.
When it comes to preplanning for yourself or making final arrangements for someone you love, the Dignity Memorial network is the brand you can trust for all of your funeral, cremation, cemetery and memorial service needs. Company website here.
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New Intern Introduction
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Meet Annemarie Snellman, a 25-year-old Finnish national and recent B.S. graduate in Business and Economics from University of Uppsala, Sweden.
She will be working as a trainee at FACC, Florida and Honorary Consulate of Finland in Lake Worth, Florida, for the next six months.
Annemarie: "I am very excited about this opportunity as I have always been keen to learn about American culture and business environment. Therefore, I am looking forward to getting to know many new people, companies, and organizations during my stay.
I am sure that this experience will teach me valuable new skills and abilities that I can draw on in my life and hopefully international career."
Wishing all newsletter readers a very happy springtime!
Feel free to contact her directly at +1 (561) 307 1847
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Other Events
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Please note that as a member of FACC, Florida you are also invited to events organized by ABiCC, the Association of Bi-National Chamber of Commerce in Florida.
Inaguration of the 13th ABICC World Business Month 2013
Monday April 29th, 2013, Time: 6pm-8:30pm, Entrance fee 10
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Networking Reception with International Wine,& Food Tasting.
If you want to carpool, contact our FACC office.
Address: the Double Tree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay,1717 N. Bay Shore Drive Miami FL.
Don't forget to bring a lots of business cards !!!
RSVP: news@abicc.org by latest Wednesday April 24th, 2013.
Palm Beach Strategic Forum
April 8-9, 2013
Palm Beach County Convention Center
Five years after the Great Recession, the global economy is showing signs of a moderate return to growth, leaving business and government leaders at a critical juncture of decision-making. What direction should the path to growth take? How can governments achieve a balance between austerity and stimulus? What global risks should business leaders be prepared to navigate? How can regulators achieve a safer financial architecture without stifling economic momentum? Could the spectre of protectionism and competing national monetary policies increase the risk of "currency wars"?
 Consul General in New York, Ambassador Jukka Pietikäinen will be attending the two day seminar with FACC. Additionally, FACC is hosting a small reception for his honor during the forum. If you are interested in sponsoring this event please contact us at faccflorida@gmail.com.
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We hope you find this newsletter useful and we love to get feedback and suggestions how we can make it better. We also have many volunteer opportunities within the chamber so let us know how you want to be involved.
Sincerely,
Lena Hartikainen
Finnish American Chamber of Commerce
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