Opher Aviran is bullish on Savannah. So is the country he represents.
Aviran is the Israeli Consul General to the Southeastern United States. He was in Savannah last week to give a public lecture sponsored by the Savannah Jewish Federation, tour Caesarstone, the Israeli custom quartz surfaces manufacturer that is building a plant in Richmond Hill, and visit with Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson, with whom he has developed a fast friendship.
Aviran, who was recently promoted to the rank of ambassador, met Jackson in 2012 when the Savannah Jewish Federation sponsored her trip to Israel to attend an international conference of mayors.
“She came with a group, but everyone was talking about Mayor Jackson,” Aviran said. “So many people wanted to meet her that we had to extend her stay.”
Jackson made such an impression upon Israeli business and government leaders that, a short two months later, Uriel Lynn, president of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, along with Aviran and other top Israeli officials, came to Savannah to hold a seminar with area business leaders on exporting goods and services to Israel.
Turns out, the two areas have discovered a number of economic drivers in common and the potential to tap even more.
The state of Georgia has had continuous economic and trade representation in Israel since 1994 as part of the Georgia-Israel exchange
established by then-Gov. Zell Miller to explore emerging technology, enhance trade, encourage tourism and jointly participate in bilateral economic programs, Aviran said.
Now in his fourth year at the Atlanta post, Aviran has worked to strengthen the bond between Israel and eight southeastern states in the fields of economics, academics, culture and politics.
Nowhere is the economic aspect of that bond stronger than in Georgia, which last year led the Southeast and ranked eighth nationally in total trade with Israel, based on the dollar value of imports and exports.
Trade partners, large and small
While two local economic leaders — the Georgia Ports and Gulfstream Aerospace — have long enjoyed business relationships with Israel, companies in Israel have more recently begun to look at investing in the region, while Georgia companies are exporting more to Israel than ever before.
As the second-largest and fastest growing container port on the East Coast, Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal has served Zim — Israel’s national shipping line – for more than 30 years, Aviran said.
Total trade between the two is likely to increase with the deepening of the Savannah harbor and the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in the next several years, he said.
“The Savannah port already has two weekly shipping services to the Port of Haifa and the Port of Ashdod,” he said, adding that Garden City Terminal is the second most important U.S. port for Zim.
“Zim is very satisfied with the Port of Savannah,” he said. “They plan to move more and more through this very efficient port.”
The aerospace connection
Savannah-based Gulfstream Aerospace has a strong business connection in Israel with their longtime joint venture with Israel Aerospace Industries at Ben-Gurion Airport, Aviran said.
Since 1999, the two companies have collaborated on producing small jets, primarily for business but also for military use. In 2001, Gulfstream acquired the Galaxy from IAI and renamed it the G200.
Since 2011, the two companies have worked together to produce the Gulfstream G280 super mid-sized business jet, with Gulfstream holding the design certificate and IAI the production certificate.
The relationship extends beyond smaller business jets, Aviran said, as Israel has purchased several G550s for military use.
“The aircraft is built in Savannah, then flown to IAI for special outfitting and completion,” he said.
Manufacturing takes hold
Last year, Richmond Hill was the recipient of a $100 million dollar investment when Israeli company Caesarstone announced plans to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Bryan county. That facility, which will create 180 jobs, will open next year.
During last June’s state trade mission to Israel led by Gov. Nathan Deal, the Haifa Group, a leading global supplier of potassium nitrate for agriculture and industry, announced plans to build a new controlled release fertilizer plant in Savannah, a $12 million investment that will create another 30 jobs.
Also slated to open next year, the plant will allow the Haifa Group to effectively serve the North American market, bringing both production capabilities and the supply chain closer to its business partners, Aviran said.
World Trade Center Savannah President and CEO Trip Tollison said Israel is a trade partner that is becoming more and more important to the region.
“The Savannah region has strengthened its already strong economic ties with Israeli with the recent Caesarstone and Haifa announcements,” he said.
“In addition, the city of Savannah has developed a strong working relationship with Israel, leading to World Trade Center Savannah partnering with the city to host various delegations including the Israeli Chamber of Commerce, the Israeli Consul General and several Israeli businesses interested in Savannah.
“I expect we will not only see this relationship grow but flourish moving forward.”
Aviran agrees.
“In 2015, the government of Israel will seek to partner the city of Savannah and surrounding counties to build further capacity around shipping and logistics, manufacturing and aerospace market, while introducing new strategic collaborations in green energy and cyber security technology markets.”
THE AVIRAN FILE
Ambassador Opher Aviran joined Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983. He has since served as the deputy ambassador at the embassy in Rangoon, Burma, cultural and scientific affairs attache at the Israeli embassy in The Hague and deputy chief of mission at the Israeli embassy in Canberra, Australia.
Between international postings, Aviran worked in Israel in a variety of high level national security positions, including as director of the Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese Affairs Department in Jerusalem and the senior foreign policy advisor to the Israel Defense Forces Planning Branch in Tel Aviv.