Seattle seen as promising area for N.Z. business

Press, 19 April 1979, Page 7

Seattle seen as promising area for N.Z. business

By

JOHN N. HUTCHISON

San Francisco Promising opportunities for trade await New Zealand businessmen and manufacturers in the Seattle area, America's north-western gateway for Pacific commerce. This is the conclusion reached by Mr P. Crack, New Zealand’s commercial officer at San Francisco, when he returned from his second visit to the state of Washington to develop information and contacts which can assist New Zealand exporters in gaining a foothold in the booming markets of the Seattle area. With a few notable exceptions, the area is being overlooked, he believes, by traders who tend to gravitate toward Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Seattle is the core city of a metropolitan population of about 1.500,000 concentrated along the shores of Puget Sound — the huge natural harbour shared by Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Like a powerful maritime kingdom, Seattle and its satellite cities, Tacoma and Everett, have for more than a century dominated trade with Alaska, rivalled other West Coast ports in their commerce with Japan and Asia, and handled an immense flow of rail cargo to and from the American interior. In recent years the giant SeaTac international air terminal has become a major air cargo terminal. The Port of Seattle, an authority embracing Tacoma’s harbour and SeaTac as well as Seattle’s own facilities, handles more cargo to and from the inland United States than all other West Coast ports combined. It has the fourth largest container port in the world and it runs the largest comprehensive warehousing and distributing system in the West. “The Seattle district itself, with a million and a half people, can provide a full-sized market for some New Zealand suppliers,” said Mr Crack. ‘‘For those seeking a larger outlet, Seattle is the distribution center for the states of Idaho, Montana and Alaska. “Alaska itsef is an exciting prospect for New Zealand trade. It is a captive market, served almost exclusively from Seattle, , it is an affluent market, i and it is a market which !

demands the product quality offered in so many New Zealand exports.” Three types of supplier for whom Seattle can offer advantages were: “First, there is the person who seeks a compact, efficient market for limited production. Second, the opportunity for ' the trader or manufacturer who wants to begin with a trial market before considering expansion. Third, i Seattle is a good regional base for someone developing general West Coast business, along with Los Angeles. San Francisco and Portland,” Mr Crack said. Beef and casein are leading New Zealand exports landed in the port at present. The principal air shipment of the New Zealand Export Company, the North American marketing arm of Knights Tailors of Invercargill, is into Sea-Tac. An American company, Jetcraft, is the principal agent for C. W. F. Hamilton, bringing in jet power units for a wide variety of boats built in the United States for commercial, recreational and racing use. Sausage casings, beer, outdoor equipment and marine

fittings are selling well, Mr Crack reported. New Zealand Distributing, the American branch of Mason and Porter of Auckland, has developed from its Seattle base a good West Coast trade in fresh fruit and light garden machinery. ; “North-westerners, who -enjoy the outdoors much as I New Zealanders do, are (taken with the quality of ' New Zealand camping, .boating and mountain gear,” iMr Crack said. “I believe there are also fine i opportunities in the home I builders' field. The state of (Washington is one of the I country’s fastest growing construction areas. It cannot at present keep up with the demand for home components. Roofing, cabinets and carpets come to mind.” The Boeing Company, Seattle’s largest industry, employing 60,000 workers, is thriving, but the state, sensitive to the need for diversification, is seeking to develop trade and manufacturing to cushion agains the perils of a oneindustry economy. There have been periods when slumps in Boeing’s aircraft orders have produced severe recession in the state’s economy. Foreign trade is

therefore of vital: importance, and the various; business organisations in two counties comprising “Metro Seattle” promote it vigorously. The result has been a substantial increase iin the value of goods | flowing into the port. The I Seattle Customs district i cleared shipments worth IS24M in 1977; in 1978 the [figure was about S32M. | Although inflation was a | factor, most of the increase represented real value. “All we need to do business there is to get our people to the area,” said Mr Crack, noting that his office was ready to assist with information and introductions. “Seattle is a convenient area for the businessman who may find other American markets too large or too complicated, in terms of the time he can afford to spend in cultivating them. In some 30 interviews during my recent visit there, I invariably found a positive feeling toward doing business with New Zealand. Any visitor with proper introductions will have no trouble reaching officials, customers, bankers and others. “When New Zealand suppliers schedule a visit to the American West Coast, I would like them to include the Seattle-Tacoma area in their itineraries. Three days there, meeting individuals, looking at markets, seeking agents and observing the competition would be a good way to start. They may not hit the right combination at once; usually, a second trip is required. “But Seattle is not a hectic market. Its geography, climate and people give it a natural affinity for New Zealanders, and they will find it easy to establish personal business relationships,” Mr Crack said.