Raleigh, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/09/2010 -- Longistics, a full-service provider of global logistics solutions (http://www.longistics.com), has announced plans to offer business development opportunities for exhibitors at Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) by establishing the SIP International Commodities Exhibition Center, set to open March 1, 2011. The Center will generate opportunities that accelerate the export of products from North Carolina and U.S.-based companies to China. Current plans call for Longistics to add 50 companies at the Center within the first year of operations, and 500 companies by five years.

The SIP International Commodities Exhibition Center will allow small- and medium-sized businesses an easy and cost-effective way to gain access to China, the third largest market for American exports after Canada and Mexico. Exhibitors at the Center will be able to display products in bonded, secure areas and benefit from regular events held at local, national and international levels to bring potential buyers to the Center, as well as to two N.C. Foreign Trade Zones operated by Longistics – FTZ 214, located in the Global TransPark near Kinston, N.C., and FTZ 93, located in Research Triangle Park adjacent to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The partnership will provide support for temporary exhibition and trade shows across China and North Carolina; and will offer diversified marketing tools, including billboards, TV, radio, Internet and print. Materials commonly exported from North Carolina to China include but are not limited to machinery, furniture and healthcare products such as pharmaceuticals.

Sited next to the city of Suzhou (the “Venice of the East,” pronounced “SUE-joh”), and described by China Daily as a leading industrial park in China, the SIP is a new city larger than greater Durham, N.C. It already houses 14,500 companies, more than 80 of which are in the Fortune 500. It is the second largest industrial city in China, next to Shanghai.

This announcement occurs on the first anniversary of a business delegation visit to China Oct. 14-27, 2009, by Gov. Bev Perdue, Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco and other leaders and government officials in North Carolina to encourage more trade between the nation and the state. In 2008, China imported $1.9 billion worth of North Carolina goods, making it the state’s second-largest trade partner after Canada and representing a 250 percent increase over the past three years.

Longistics has a joint venture partnership with SeAll (http://www.SeAll.cn/html/en/), a Chinese state-owned logistics company located within the SIP, to network Longistics’ FTZ 214 and FTZ 93 to the Chinese Integrated Free Trade Zone operated by SeAll and serve as the logistics point in China for the Center.

Those interested in learning more about opportunities for exhibitors at the Center should contact Lou Tapper at (919) 872-7626 or e-mail tapper@longistics.com.

QUOTES:
“During my trade mission to China last year, I saw firsthand the vast potential the Chinese economy holds for North Carolina businesses. I congratulate Longistics and the Chinese government on making this strategic partnership a reality,” said Gov. Perdue. “The Center will generate greater investments in our state and create more jobs for North Carolinians, beyond the 2,500 currently employed by Chinese businesses.”

“Opening the SIP International Commodities Exhibition Center offers a great opportunity for North Carolina companies to gain international exposure in China,” said Duane Long, chairman and co-creator of Longistics. “It is a passion of mine to improve relations with China. I know this Center will greatly help us remain globally competitive today and into the future.”

“This is the opportunity to enter China many businesses across America have been waiting for,” said Pat Long, vice chairman and co-creator of Longistics. “The exporting advantages our center provides are unlimited, particularly in offering intellectual property right protection for goods to be exported.”

“Our state’s exports continue to grow every year, as nearly one in 10 jobs in North Carolina is tied to international trade,” said Crisco. “This relationship will strengthen our already considerable presence in China, where we have foreign trade representatives helping our efforts, and it will make it easier for us to establish a regular presence there.”

“The creation of the exhibition center has been the major project for Longistics this year, and we are proud that it finally has come to fruition,” said Lou Tapper, vice president of Global Business Development at Longistics. “It affirms that Longistics is committed to helping N.C. businesses succeed in the global marketplace. We look forward to assisting companies with their exporting needs and those interested in expanding their business to the Asia market.”

“We see huge potential benefits for both China and the state of North Carolina from this new Center,” said Louis Lu, CEO of SeAll. “SeAll looks forward to operating closely with Longistics over the next few years in helping businesses who use the Center.”

NEW MEDIA CONTENT:
Introduction to Suzhou Industrial Park:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwEogP49QeU

Podcast with Lou Tapper discussing the SIP International Commodities Exhibition Center:
http://www.longistics.com/blog/2010/09/23/podcast-longistics-discusses-the-suzhou-exhibition-center/

Podcast with Lou Tapper discussing Longistics-SeAll partnership:
http://www.longistics.com/blog/2010/09/23/longistics%E2%80%99-joint-venture-with-seall/

DETAILS:
- Longistics has been actively promoting China as a market for exporting activity for more than a decade.

- Intellectual property rights protection is recognized as a major concern and always a hurdle for businesses looking to work in China. Today, SIP is a model district for national intellectual property protection. Among the nationwide development zones, SIP is the first to establish a regional intellectual property protection center. There are four bureaus dedicated to intellectual property rights.

- A goal of the Obama administration is to double U.S. exports by 2015, which could realize up to 2 million trade-related jobs. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called President Obama’s proposals to double U.S. exports and make significant infrastructure investments moves in the right direction.

- Longistics is the most successful FTZ operator in N.C. The company provides bonded and non-bonded warehousing, with state, local government and US Department of Commerce support.

About LONGISTICS:
Located in Research Triangle Park, N.C., Longistics is a full-service provider of global logistics solutions that specializes in cold-chain logistical support and problem solving services for a broad range of manufacturers and distributors of high value, high security products. A leading provider of third-party logistics, Longistics has a worldwide reach and growing presence in China, and other emerging markets around the world. Longistics provides transportation, warehousing and Foreign Trade Zone management operations at FTZ 214, located in the Global TransPark, and FTZ 93, located adjacent to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Capabilities include: supply chain studies, vendor managed inventories, transportation, technology, infrastructure, FTZ operations, domestic warehousing services, order fulfillment, kitting and sub-assembly, and value-added programs. For more information, visit http://www.longistics.com.

Jake Potter
MMI Public Relations
(919) 233-6600
jake@mmipublicrelations.com
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