Beijing - A Commerce Lexington group of 55 has been in China since the weekend. Between sightseeing in this amazing place, the group has had opportunities to meet with companies that have ties to Lexington but are doing business in the People's Republic of China.
One gathering was with architects from Cincinnati-based GBBN, a firm that also has offices in Lexington, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Shanghai. According to GBBN Senior Project Designer Jonny Hofmann, the company currently employs 100 to 130 people, 40 of them are in the Beijing office - up from just five in 2007. Within a year, Hofmann said he expects the China operations will employ 10, 15 or maybe 20 more.
In the US, the firm has a lot of business in the health care market, playing a role in the construction of the University of Kentucky's recently-built medical center and the firm is currently leading a project for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. But in China, GBBN has seen much of its business in designing massive housing blocks in increasingly contemporary styles to meet this nation's housing boom. However, the company has diversified it's Chinese markets in recent years to include mixed-use structures, schools and hospitals.
Nicholasville-based Alltech is also seeing a Chinese staff ramp-up in it's future. In addition to the recently announced introduction of its Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale to the Beijing and Shanghai markets, the bio-tech company is also seeing growth in some of its domestic product lines which will be growing stronger as a Tianjin facility prepares to come online. Alltech currently employs around 230 in China with 80 to 100 in sales and support, according to their Asia Pacific Marketing Manager, Roland Matyasi.
When not learning of the ways Lexington area businesses are capitalizing on the Chinese market, the Commerce Lexington group has been checking out historic sites in and near the Chinese capital, including the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, sites used during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as well as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
Today, we have traveled to Suzhou via Shanghai. Immediately evident in Suzhou, one of China's "boom" cities now with a population topping 6-million, is the hasty construction of massive housing blocks, many now standing vacant.
Later our tour will take us to Hungzhou with a stopover in Shanghai to round out the trip.
While in Beijing the group was joined by hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens celebrating the 62nd anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Oct. 1st marked the day of the late Chairman Mao's ascension to power.
Upon returning to Lexington I'll have more on the experiences of those on the trip and information on the local companies doing business in the world's most populous nation.