Ahead of the signing of an International Friendship Pact with the
City of Birmingham, the Minister is meeting with regional leaders
and businesses to promote Wales’ economic strengths and learn
lessons from their plans for inclusive growth.
While setting out the Welsh Government’s mission to help young
people plan ambitious futures in Wales, the Economy Minister will
promote key areas of strength with links to the US market,
including TV & film, semiconductors, tech, renewables and
advanced manufacturing.
The talks follow yesterday’s news that Great Point Studios –
which also has studios in Atlanta - has purchased Seren Stiwdios
with support from the Welsh Government and Cardiff Capital Region
to create state of the art production facilities and new job
opportunities in the sector.
The Minister will speak to the Progressive Policy Institute at an
event in Atlanta on Thursday, bringing together entrepreneurs,
trade experts and city officials to share insights on supporting
local growth and discuss how US economic policy is supporting
their plans.
Wrexham based Moneypenny will also host the Minister at their
Atlanta hub following a meeting with Airbus’s US team.
Shortly after signing a new International Friendship Pact between
Wales and Birmingham with city Mayor Randall Woodfin, Minister
will visit the Innovation
Depot, a business incubator for tech start ups.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Economy Minister, said: “From
the TV industry to semiconductors, Wales excels in markets with
US investors and clients that support quality, skilled jobs.
‘With our brilliant manufacturing skills base and abundant wind
and tidal energy opportunities, Wales is perfectly placed to
exploit opportunities that are already creating jobs here in the
US.’
“Our International Strategy is offering targeted support to
exploit the growth potential of these sectors so that more people
can plan ambitious futures in Wales. Recent Welsh Government
trade missions have led to new US investment in Wales from the
gaming industry, with Rocket Science’s new HQ to semiconductors
to KLA’s $100m investment in their Newport base.
“As we focus on securing better jobs and narrowing the skills
divide to tackle poverty, I’m keen to learn more about how
new US economic policies are partnering with states and cities to
back industries of the future in places that need it most.
“Wales has so much to offer the world with a distinctive brand
built on quality and ambition. Our longstanding and more recent
export strengths - from aerospace to TV & Film – support the
foundations that allows us to open doors for new exporters who
are bolstering that brand week in, week out.”
The USA is now Wales’ number one export market.
Since 2021 businesses have invested $500bn in US manufacturing
and clean energy, boosting jobs in areas most in need of
investment.
In 2022 Welsh exports to the USA were worth over $4 billion,
accounting for 20 per cent of Welsh exports and representing a 6
per cent increase compared with 2021.
There are an estimated 320 US-headquartered companies in Wales,
employing just under 49,000 people.
Notable examples include Amazon (Swansea), GE (Nantgarw), General
Dynamics (Merthyr Tydfil), Kelloggs (Wrexham), Kimberley Clark
(Flint), Meritor (Cwmbran), Nordam Europe (Caerphilly), Raytheon
Systems (Flintshire), KLA (Newport) and Triumph Actuation Systems
(Deeside).
For the last 10 years, the USA has consistently been Wales’s
largest inward investment donor. In 2022-23, Wales secured 14
investments from the USA, promising to create 836 new jobs and to
safeguard a further 537 jobs.
The Welsh Government is ambitious for the compound semiconductor
industry in south Wales and will continue developing it further
with major companies who are investing in the cluster. The
Welsh Government is working with the SPTS division of KLA
Corporation, a division that provides wafer processing solutions
to semiconductor and microelectronic device manufacturers, to
support its plans to expand operations in Newport as part of
an already announced $100 million investment creating
362 jobs.
The Welsh Government has become a signatory of an alliance of
European regional governments, promoting growth, fostering
collaboration, and developing strong value chains in the
semiconductor industry. The Minister will call for a new level of
ambition in the UK to boost investment beyond London and the
South East in the industries of the future.
Rocket Science has announced that it will set up its new studio
in Cardiff, with support from the Welsh Government via Creative
Wales - creating 50 highly paid and skilled jobs for games
industry graduates and professionals, working directly on, and
solving some of the hardest technical projects for the biggest
video games in the world. This inward investment project was
secured following a successful Welsh Government-led trade mission
to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco in 2022.
