ENRICH in the USA Manufacturing / Logistics Landing Hub
Located in Atlanta, Georgia and hosted by the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, the Manufacturing & Logistics Landing Hub provides access to the region’s and state’s major manufacturing and supply chain ecosystem efforts. The state of Georgia hosts two significant initiatives which connect international corporations with local businesses, of particular note: the Center of Innovation for Logistics, which supports 12,300+ logistics providers with over 150,000 employees; and the Center of Innovation for Manufacturing, which supports the global stakeholders responsible for the nearly 92% of the state's exports. Major industry players like Kia Motors, Gulfstream Aerospace, Caterpillar and Coca Cola, call Georgia home. Most recently, global companies like Adidas, ASOS, and Flexport have opened major expansions of their businesses to the region, joining 3 of Gartner's top 25 global supply chains ran out of Atlanta.
Beyond Atlanta’s role as epicenter to much of the state’s manufacturing, logistics, and transportation infrastructure, the city has committed sincere efforts in building out resources for small innovative companies from anywhere in the world, to access these assets. Nearly 40 organizations, including coworking spaces, university and career resource institutions, accelerators/incubators, and workforce development groups, work in concert throughout the area to assist European SMEs and other manufacturing/logistics/supply chain stakeholders. Additionally, nearly 30 investment firms, covering non-traditional funding and capital groups, venture capital firms and angel funding groups, provide a wide range of potential funding pools to visiting companies interested in conducting business further within Atlanta.
About the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute:
The Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) is a business outreach organization within Georgia Tech that aims to assist, strengthen and grow entrepreneurs and industry efforts in a local, regional and global context. Through the provision of different programs that are applicable to a wide range of companies, it has extended Georgia Tech’s impact and service through more than ten cohorts of companies already assisted to date. These programs introduce tools on the cutting edge of technology and industry practices that corporations need to be competitive.
EI2 is located in the Centergy building at Tech Square, an innovation hub in Midtown Atlanta. This strategic location provides a direct connection with institutes, companies from different industries, investors and other business stakeholders. EI2 is aligned with Georgia’s Innovation Ecosystem, with key clusters supported by two of Georgia’s Centers for Innovation: Manufacturing and Information Technology. Emerging companies find strong support at EI2’s technology incubator, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), particularly in the fields of Advanced Manufacturing and Financial & Payments Technologies (FinTech). Furthermore, the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute remains a strategic partner of the EI2 ecosystem and has previous experience providing its programs and resources to foreign entrepreneurs. Equipment, training opportunities and connections to innovation and research centers reinforce innovative industry practices. EI2’s ecosystem also includes alliances with different industry companies that provide site visits to manufacturing plants in the Atlanta area; these companies provide their insight, lessons and guidance to manufacturing enterprises considering entering the U.S. market.
EI2 takes pride in its work as a Soft Landings site, connecting foreign companies with its pre-established networks. All of EI2‘s connections and links with Georgia Tech’s academic and institute services strengthen both startups and SMEs. Below is a summary of the resources related to its Soft Landings program:
Services offered to facilitate Soft Landings:
Domestic Market Research, Identification of Local Customer Prospects, Access to Capital & Potential Funders, Intellectual Property/Patent Assistance, Help Meeting Government Regulations, Assistance with Import/Export Laws, Cultural Training.
EI2 additional resources:
Georgia Tech’s Language Institute, the ability to connect with Georgia Tech faculty (expertise in different areas and projects), the ATDC Incubator and its services (Customer Discovery Class, Customer Discovery Labs, ATDC mentors), mentorship programs attached to different EI2 units and a robust government and service provider network which welcomes and support new companies from around the world.
Additional Resources on the ENRICH in the USA Manufacturing & Logistics Landing Hub: