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Thursday, March 14, 2002

By Donald I. Hammonds, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Does Pittsburgh's economic future have a Latin American flavor to it?

It will if Guillermo Velazquez and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Western Pennsylvania succeed in improving trade ties with Latin American countries.

	Guillermo Velazquez is president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Western Pennsylvania. (Gabor Degre/Post-Gazette)

To consider the impact of Latin American trade on Pittsburgh, consider that the value of Pittsburgh exports to Mexico jumped 120 percent from 1993 to 1999, from $180.1 million to $397.5 million. Trade with Caribbean and Central American countries rose 25 percent in the same period, from $59.9 million to $74.8 million.

"Pittsburgh is a high technology-based region that is important to Latin American countries because they need what Pittsburgh has," Velazquez said. "They are in the process of developing, so they need the implementation of high technology in all of their industries -- the very latest technology which Latin American countries don't have."

Hoping to capitalize on the opportunities south of the border, a growing number of area agencies and companies have joined the Hispanic Chamber, ranging from engineering software concern Ansys Inc. and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline to PNC Financial Services Group, the Port Authority of Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Velazquez, president of the Hispanic Chamber, is marketing executive at Conco Systems, a Verona maker and servicer of cleaning condensers used in the electric power generation industry. He said the chamber offers a wealth of programs and services aimed at smoothing trade ties between Pittsburgh and Latin American countries that enhance opportunities for companies such as Conco.

Through a partnership with the Pittsburgh office of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the chamber in recent months has held seminars on opportunities in the Caribbean and Mexico and will hold another one April 24 focusing on emerging South American markets.

To push the case for more trade with the region, Velazquez spends a week over every month outside the country. When he's not on the road, he's meeting with various local civic leaders and others putting out the word about the chamber and its programs.

Velazquez is a good match for the task at hand -- he is a former World Trade Center of Pittsburgh director of special projects, was born and educated in Mexico City, has a degree in business and information systems and speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese.

His enthusiasm for Latin American trade is shared by others who see a wealth of opportunities for companies capable of supplying a range of products and services for countries trying to upgrade their infrastructure and improve their economic competitiveness.

Argentina, for example, needs telecommunications equipment and services, computer and software equipment and medical equipment. Brazil also is in the market for telecommunications and computer equipment, while Mexico desperately needs building products. And just about everyone seems to be in the hunt for pollution control equipment and electrical power systems.

In addition to keeping tabs on Latin American opportunities, the chamber runs an online career center that assists with resumes, conducts job searches and allows member to list job openings.

Promoting business between Latin American countries and Pittsburgh and enhancing Hispanic employment opportunities aren't the only missions of the chamber. It's also involved with helping Hispanic newcomers to the region find jobs and adjust to life here, Velazquez said.

That's particularly important given the contrasts between Hispanic communities in other cities and Pittsburgh.

"Inevitably, the husband or wife will get a job here in Pittsburgh and they will say, 'What's in Pittsburgh?' Is there an area there where most of us live?' " Velazquez said.

But what they will discover is that Pittsburgh "is a region that is unique in the whole country.

"We have just about the most highly trained Hispanic professionals living here, and they are more economically independent, so they live all over the region. They are very highly educated doctors, heart transplant specialists, lawyers, and business people."

In other parts of the country, particularly the West and Southwest, there are "more working people who have to live together and help each other out," he said. While their numbers are smaller here than most regions, Hispanics who are here tend to be fairly independent, something the chamber is working to alter.

It wants "to bring more Hispanic cultural events here to bring the community together," said Velazquez, a salsa dancing and volleyball enthusiast. Among his ideas: sponsoring Latino bands at civic events such as the opening of the Pittsburgh Pirates season.