EVERETT—Snohomish County, in partnership with the Port of Everett and Economic Alliance Snohomish County, met with Japanese delegates from the Chubu Industrial Engineering Association (IEA) on Monday, September 8, to showcase the region’s economy, workforce development strategies, and key industries.
The Chubu IEA is a consortium of companies in Japan’s Chubu region, a region in central Honshu – Japan’s main island. The largest city in the Chubu region is Nagoya, often referred to as the center of Japan’s automotive industry due to headquartering major car manufacturers such as Toyota.
Separate to its auto manufacturing, however, Japan’s Chubu region has an economic profile that mirrors Snohomish County in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and clean mobility, according to Snohomish County Economic Development Analyst Harry Birak and Aerospace & Strategic Sector Development Director Grace Yoo.
Snohomish County has a great working relationship with Japan’s Chubu region and even signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between Paine Field Airport and the Chubu Centrair International Airport in 2017.
Early September’s visit was a product of this continuing working relationship, kickstarted by the IEA and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) as a sort of study mission. These two agencies reached out to Snohomish County to facilitate the visit and the county, in partnership with the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, welcomed the opportunity as a chance to showcase its economy and innovative ecosystem.
During the visit the delegation met with local companies, learned about regional assets, and heard from a panel of industry experts.
In addition to the Japanese delegation, which included reputable companies from Japan’s Chubu region, notable local attendees included: Mike Fong, Executive Director for Economic Development Snohomish County, Port of Everett Commissioners, and City of Everett Councilmember Ben Zarlingo, along with several industry representatives.
Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center (WATR) Executive Director Matt Poischbeg, Northwest Innovation Resource Center Executive Director Diane Kamionka, Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance CEO and Executive Director Nikki Malcom, as well as the Washington State Department of Commerce and LeFarge & Egge were also keynote speakers.
Snohomish County’s new Aerospace & Strategic Sector Development Director, Grace Yoo, welcomed the delegation members to Snohomish County with remarks in Japanese.
“The visit reinforced the importance of continued international exchanges like this. Building awareness of Snohomish County’s strengths is key particularly as one of Washington’s strongest exporting counties. These types of visits strengthen our presence in existing markets and help us open doors in new ones,” Yoo told the Lynnwood Times.
The County plans to incorporate insights from the visit into its international engagement work. As part of its broader Business Recruitment, retention, and Expansion (BRRE) strategy, the county is also developing a targeted approach to engage with priority regions, which includes Japan, Yoo continued.
Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, and Neepaporn “A” Boungjaktha, Executive Director of Economic Development for Snohomish County, traveled to Japan back in 2022 to meet with government officials and businesses to form relationships and future investment opportunities in both Japan as well as the county.
The trip was part of the International Leadership Mission, formerly called the International Study Mission, created by the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle. The Alliance began taking these trips annually back in 1993 until the pandemic put a standstill on international travel after the team’s last trip to Ireland in 2019.
While there are no immediate outbound trips planned for the county currently, Snohomish County leadership says it will continue to identify opportunities where a visit would advance trade and investment goals.
The county anticipates additional delegations in the coming months focused on aerospace, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing but final details are still being coordinated with its state and regional partners.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
