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Oakland County specializes in helping overseas
companies cut through the red tape to set up shop and/
or do business here, offering everything from a la carte
support to a full range of services. APAG Elektronik,
based in Switzerland, and ISOQA, with headquarters
in Taiwan, are among the 1,040-and-counting foreignowned
companies that have established presences here.
Read on for their stories. By Kathy Gibbons
An Easy
Decision
BUSINESS-FRIENDLY
PHILOSOPHY MAKES
ALL THE DIFFERENCE
WHEN SWITZERLAND-HEADQUARTERED APAG
Elektronik was searching for a U.S. base for its sales and business
development operations, the company visited about 14 locations
nationwide with the intent of buying an existing enterprise.
Nothing seemed quite right.
Then APAG officials attended a SelectUSA convention in
Washington, D.C., last May. SelectUSA promotes the advantages
the U.S. offers as a location for business and investment. Oakland
County representatives had a booth at the event, and soon they
all got to talking. Until then, Oakland County wasn’t even on
the company’s radar.
But one thing led to another and scant months later, APAG
had a representative on the job in Troy.
APAG, which produces automotive electronics and claims
BMW as a major customer, chose Oakland County because
of the support the company was offered, Oakland County’s
proximity to the auto industry — tier one manufacturers and tier
two suppliers — and a prevailing business-friendly environment.
“Oakland County and Troy are investor friendly,” says Chief
Executive Officer Johannes Popp. “Let’s say it was very easy to
deal with them.”
APAG hired industry veteran and local resident Joe Valentic as
its first sales representative. Valentic was given a temporary office
at the Automation Alley business accelerator, which provided
the space free for three months and a U.S. mailing address as
APAG searched for a permanent location. The county provided
lists of tax accountants, payroll companies, banks and real estate
professionals for them to choose from. County representatives
also put APAG in touch with Oakland County Community
Switzerland-based APAG, which produces automotive
electronics (above), is opening a location in Oakland County.
College to coordinate some training for Valentic.
Over the next few years, APAG plans to add sales and
engineering staff at its Oakland County office.
“These will be trained in Switzerland, but they’ll all be
(Oakland County) locals,” Popp says.
APAG’s manufacturing operations are currently in the Czech
Republic, though Popp says the plan is to open a plant in Mexico
in a year or so to improve the logistics of serving U.S. customers.
In the meantime, Popp is excited about the possibilities that
the new Troy office brings.
“They really made it easy for us,” he says, “to make the
decision to go to Oakland County.”
Kathy Gibbons is managing editor of Oakland County Prosper.
Photos: Courtesy of APAG; opposite page, by Kathy Gibbons
62 OAKLANDCOUNTYPROSPER.COM 2016