Florida and Israel both have hot climates, water-supply challenges and a growing focus on life sciences, simulation technologies and alternative energy. Despite these similarities, only about 1 percent of the total trade between the U.S. and Israel comes from Florida.
A group of Central Florida business people is trying to change that by encouraging local companies to do business with companies in Israel.
"With the strength of the Jewish community in Florida and the fact that we have so many areas where we can partner up and work together, I think that accounting for [so little] of overall trade is unacceptable," said Diego Echeverri, director of political and economic affairs for the Consulate General of Israel in Miami.
Both regions also attract lots of tourists and are home to several world-class research universities.
A few weeks ago, about 40 people attended a meeting of the Florida Israel Business Forum at a downtown Orlando law firm. The forum, which has offices in Orlando and Miami, was established earlier this year by the Consulate General of Israel to encourage trade with Florida.
In October, the group is planning to bring about a dozen technology companies to a water conference in Orlando, and then in November, the group will be part of a delegation of Florida business people who plan to visit technology companies and attend a water-technology conference in Israel.
Solar tech could be key
One key area ripe for partnership is in solar technologies. In Israel, 90 percent of the homes have solar panels, and some of the most innovative solar products in the world are produced there, Echeverri said. More Florida businesses are offering solar products as more people to look to install solar panels to harness energy or heat pools and water for their homes.
Much of that growth has been spurred by rebates the state started offering in 2006 for companies and residences that install solar systems. "You almost pay nothing for the systems," said Victor Eyal, the chief operating officer and president of UMA Solar, an Altamonte Springs company that sells solar pool heating systems, water heaters and electricity producing solar panels.
Eyal, who grew up in Israel, is one of the local business leaders leading the push to link Central Florida with Israel. He moved to Central Florida in 1981 and began importing water collectors from Israel to use in the solar pool heating systems he sells. The collectors Eyal imports are produced on a kibbutz, and he estimates he brings in about $15 million worth of product from Israel a year.
"It's my lifeline," Eyal said. "Without importing product from Israel I would be out of business."
2 projects under way
Besides importing products, local leaders are hoping that businesses will also export their services and expertise to the Mideast country. Joe Harris, principal at Harris Civil Engineers in Orlando, has been doing that for nearly a decade.
His firm, which specializes in engineering for resorts, hotels and golf clubs, has been trying to help develop two projects in Israel since 2001: a 500-acre golf course resort in the north part of the country in the Tiberias region and 1,200-acre theme park and shopping center in the southern resort city of Eilat.
"It's a huge benefit," Harris said, referring to doing business in Israel. "Number 1 is it's another client. Looking at my business over the last 20 years, it has exploded because of international work. There are lot of other companies that just sell to the U.S. market and it is really hurting them right now. Now more than ever, the U.S. and Florida needs to trade internationally."
But doing business in Israel can be tricky for Central Florida companies. For example, the developers of the golf course project Harris is working on, had originally planned to partly finance it through golf course membership fees. But because golf is not nearly as popular as it is in Florida, Israelis have largely balked at the idea of paying for memberships, Harris said. To generate enthusiasm in the sport, Harris said developers are sponsoring Laetitia Beck, an Israeli teenage golf phenom to travel around the world competing in tournaments.
With the Eilat theme park and shopping center, Harris and the developers face a tougher approval process than they would in the U.S., he said. The land they want to build on contains a kibbutz and is owned by the Jewish National Fund, a nonprofit group controlled by an international board. The government of Israel has a lot of power in rezoning land and unlike in Central Florida, where land use decisions are sometimes decided before a public meeting, objections raised by the public in Israel have to be investigated, Harris said.
"When we first started [the golf course project], government officials said it would take 10 years to get it designed," Harris said. "I said, 'Are you kidding me?' It's been eight years, so I believe him now."