Dayton region, Haifa of Israel sign economic pact
September 10, 2009 Filed in: Aerospace
technology
DAYTON, Ohio – The Dayton region and the Israeli city of Haifa on Wednesday, Sept. 9, signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting economic development in both locations.
The Dayton region’s interests are represented in the agreement by the Dayton Region Israel Trade Alliance, which includes the city of Dayton, Montgomery County, and the Dayton Development Coalition.
The document
lays out a framework for cooperation to enhance
economic growth and create new employment
opportunities in both locations. It also calls for
the Alliance to establish an economic development
office in Haifa to promote bilateral business and
development cooperation over a three-year period.
The office will be paid for with private donations, and $350,000 has been raised, Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said.
The parties held a signing ceremony in the Engineers Club of Dayton, capping a four-day trade mission by a delegation of business and government leaders from Haifa and a two-year initiative by Dayton region leaders.
The new pact furthers the region’s efforts to leverage its strengths in aerospace-related technology to create jobs and improve its economy.
“The goal of the Dayton community is to be recognized as the national center for aeronautics and aerospace systems. And because of this, relationships matter – relationships that we build internally in our own community, but also relationships that we build internationally,” Foley said.
Foley was one of the signatories to the agreement. The others were Rhine McLin, mayor of Dayton; Jim Leftwich, president and chief executive officer of the Dayton Development Coalition, and Shmuel Gants, director general of Haifa.
A single protestor paced the sidewalk outside, carrying sign boards depicting bloody scenes of destruction. The woman said she opposed sharing military technology with Israel.
Dayton and Montgomery County officials began looking for economic development opportunities in Israel about two years ago. The effort focused on Haifa because it, like Dayton, is a center for aerospace and defense work. A delegation of Dayton Region government officials and business executives traveled to Haifa on a trade mission in September 2008.
Haifa organized its own trade mission one year later, but individual business leaders began following up immediately.
In May, Beavercreek-based Woolpert Inc., the University of Dayton’s IDCAST (Institute for the Development of Advanced Sensor Technology), and Tidex Systems Ltd., an Israeli vision technology company, jointly formed a new, Dayton-based company named i23D. It converts two-dimensional video into three-dimensional models for military and commercial applications.
And in August, STAN Solutions announced an agreement to acquire exclusive North American distribution rights for a high-resolution, panoramic camera produced by Haifa-based Adaptive Imaging Technologies. STAN is partnering with IDCAST to expand the camera’s capabilities for military, homeland security and commercial applications.
The office will be paid for with private donations, and $350,000 has been raised, Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said.
The parties held a signing ceremony in the Engineers Club of Dayton, capping a four-day trade mission by a delegation of business and government leaders from Haifa and a two-year initiative by Dayton region leaders.
The new pact furthers the region’s efforts to leverage its strengths in aerospace-related technology to create jobs and improve its economy.
“The goal of the Dayton community is to be recognized as the national center for aeronautics and aerospace systems. And because of this, relationships matter – relationships that we build internally in our own community, but also relationships that we build internationally,” Foley said.
Foley was one of the signatories to the agreement. The others were Rhine McLin, mayor of Dayton; Jim Leftwich, president and chief executive officer of the Dayton Development Coalition, and Shmuel Gants, director general of Haifa.
A single protestor paced the sidewalk outside, carrying sign boards depicting bloody scenes of destruction. The woman said she opposed sharing military technology with Israel.
Dayton and Montgomery County officials began looking for economic development opportunities in Israel about two years ago. The effort focused on Haifa because it, like Dayton, is a center for aerospace and defense work. A delegation of Dayton Region government officials and business executives traveled to Haifa on a trade mission in September 2008.
Haifa organized its own trade mission one year later, but individual business leaders began following up immediately.
In May, Beavercreek-based Woolpert Inc., the University of Dayton’s IDCAST (Institute for the Development of Advanced Sensor Technology), and Tidex Systems Ltd., an Israeli vision technology company, jointly formed a new, Dayton-based company named i23D. It converts two-dimensional video into three-dimensional models for military and commercial applications.
And in August, STAN Solutions announced an agreement to acquire exclusive North American distribution rights for a high-resolution, panoramic camera produced by Haifa-based Adaptive Imaging Technologies. STAN is partnering with IDCAST to expand the camera’s capabilities for military, homeland security and commercial applications.
