From The Macomb Daily Online Edition

By Dan Heaton
Macomb Daily Business Editor

Macomb County is working to put the word out on opportunities for business -- even opportunities that exist halfway around the world.

County governmental leaders and a dozen or so members of the business community met in Mount Clemens Thursday morning, but the focus was on the Middle East.

"I would like to go there and get work, bring it back here and hire Macomb County people to do that work. With the Internet you can do it," said Dominic Abbate, an architect and president of Wakely Associates, Inc., in Warren.

Abbate was part of a party of government and business leaders who traveled to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Egypt late last year in a trade mission sponsored by the Arab American Chamber of Commerce. Thursday's meeting at the County Administration Building was part of an effort to share what was learned on the trip with local businesses, said Nancy White, chairwoman of the county board and a member of the delegation.

"I see tremendous opportunity for a service type business -- finance, construction planning, engineering, architecture -- to do business" in Dubai or Doha, Qatar.

White, Abbate and others who were on the trip spoke almost in awe of the level of construction activity taking place in those two cities. In Dubai alone, community leaders are planning to build some 200 high-rise buildings, just over the next two years -- plus all the infrastructure that goes with it.

Abbate said he could envision his firm getting a piece of work -- most of which would be done at the company's Warren office on Van Dyke.

White, and others, stressed the feeling of safety they had during the 11-day visit, the cleanliness of the cities, and the many Michigan connections they encountered.

Steve Cassins, economic development director for the county, said he had reservations about traveling to the Middle East -- fears, he said, which were quickly alleviated.

"We could not have been treated better," he said.

Cassins also related a story about a meeting with a key oil minister in Qatar who is also a leader in the OPEC organization.

"It ended up that we lived in dorms across the street from each other at Michigan State in the 1970s," Cassin said.

Many of the business and governmental leaders in Dubai and other Middle East countries were educated in the U.S. and have a preference for dealing with U.S. firms when possible.

In addition to acquiring work from the Middle East, Cassin said that area of the world is a prime area for exporting possibilities.

The county has a person on staff who is available to help local companies get into the export business, Cassin said, adding that additional information on possible business opportunities for local firms is available through his office at the county.

"There's a tremendous opportunity there. It would require some work, but the opportunities are there," he said.

For more information on Middle East possibilities, exporting assistance, or other business training programs, contact the Macomb County Planning & Economic Development Department at (586) 469 - 5285.