PassaParola

Vol 3 – Issue 3 Dec 2014

A Letter from the Director

Directly from Milan

From our Austin Branch

Who’s who?

Upcoming events

write to [email protected] if you wish to sponsor, advertise or begin featured in future issue

Italy America Chamber of Commerce

1800 West Loop South, # 1120 Houston, Texas, 77027

T.: 713.626.9303 F.: 713.626.9309

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Letter from the Director Alessia Paolicchi Dear member,

The last quarter this year opened with a high intensity business activity at the Chamber. We hosted several trade missions from Italy starting from the end of September with 7 Food&Wine companies from Piacenza who met Buyers and importers from Houston and Austin during a B2B meeting day at the Hotel Hilton Post Oak. At the end of the day a particularly tasty Gala dinner has been organized at Carmelo’s restaurant in Houston, where the menu was built with specialties from Piacenza and Emilia. Great Success! A few local importers already contacted two of these companies and they are already working on their business agreements. Five startup companies from Tuscan landed in Texas with the aim to open new market and investment opportunities. They are active in the field of medical science, biomedicine and nanotechnology. They have been selected by a panel of scientists from the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the largest and cutting edge in the world, in the context of a project carried out by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas in partnership with the regional government agency Toscana Promozione and supported by the Greater Houston Partnership. The 5 startups have met the main representatives of the scientific and venture community. They saw the scientists of Bioscience Research Collaborative, were led during the visit at the NASA Space Center by the Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, visited the Methodist Research Institute, the Houston Technology Center,

the Science Technology and Advance Research Park (Star), the Texas State University and the IC2 the Innovation Creativity Incubator Capital in Austin. A whole day dedicated to business to business meetings for effective opportunities for business with venture capitalists was also part of the program. Two different delegations from Lombardy have reached Houston on October and November to explore the Texan market. Promos Milano sent 3 companies in the field of luxury Jewelry, sun glasses and apparel; the Chamber of Commerce of Bergamo accompanied an entrepreneur in the bakery supply sector who visited several potential clients in town and a representative of a company in the wind energy business who is settling in Houston. In the middle of all this…, I flew to Italy and took part to the Annual Convention of Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad in Ancona. I could meet with many entrepreneurial representatives from Regione Marche and I have also been invited by the Ascoli Piceno Mayor to visit their town and – again – get together with more local companies. During this intensive trip I also had the chance to visit Confindustria locations in Veneto. All these very interesting contacts will be turned into potential trade mission for the next year. Before the seasonal greetings to all the members and friends of the Chamber and of the Italian community in Texas, I’d like to send a special thank and a big hug to Luciano Topi and his lovely wife Ilaria, who decided to go back to Italy after more than 20 years spent in Texas

promoting the Italian culture and business (13 of which as our President and Chairman!). We all are sad…, but the good news is that Luciano will never stop to support the Chamber, even from Rome. He will be our best ambassador in from the Eternal City. We all are going to miss you guys! During the last quarter the number

of business and individual members of the Chamber has significantly increased. We have reached the highest amount of members ever, just have a look to the "Who is Who" section to know more about the newest ones! See our "Upcoming events" page and find out great opportunities to visit important Food & Wine fairs in Italy if you are a professional. Be also aware that special discount for members will be available from Piaggio Italia, starting form January! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year y’all! Stay tuned…

Directly from Milan Francesca Bacci Dear friends, Our Italian branch is working hard managing several projects. First of all, a big trade mission in collaboration with Veneto Promozione, the Society for the Internationalization and promotion of Veneto economic system (industry, agriculture, trade, tourism, and tertiary sector).

The Country Presentation hosted in Marghera, Venice, (headquarter of Veneto Promozione) has been a very successful: we attended as speaker with Mrs. Letizia Miccoli, Executive Director of California’s Chamber of Commerce.

Many companies attended the event, and almost all of them will participate to the trade mission. We are working to organize B2B meetings with Texans partners in Houston and Austin for each company that will be attend. The Veneto’s delegation will be in US on March. We are also continuing our job to promote “TuttoFood” and “Host” in the US, and we are very proud to have signed another agreement with FieraMilano concerning the promoting and recruiting buyers for “Sicurezza 2015”, the leading international event in Italy focusing on anti-intrusion, fire prevention and detection, passive defense systems, home and building automation, cyber security, intelligence and anti-terrorism, products and services for public law enforcement agencies and private security companies. We also recently signed an agreement with the Universita’ Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (http://www.ucsc.it) to recruit students for internships. We offer trimestral internships in our Chamber in Houston to every student that would like to spend time to realize a very productive experience abroad. Last but not least our Taste of Italy: the event’s promotion started, and many companies are asking about it. I’m planning a presentation in Tuscany with two of the largest organizations of wine’s producers for the first week of January.

From our Austin Branch Martin Morales

The Austin branch has experienced a lot of activity since our last update. On October 29th, we were involved in the Bio Science mission from Tuscany. We arranged for the five biotech companies to meet with Texas State University at their Star Park facility, in San Marcos. Star Park is a bio tech incubator with some of the only lab space available in Texas for bio science startup companies. In addition, the companies visited with the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin to learn more about their bio science incubator facilities. We were also able to meet with the office of the Governor of Texas to discuss a working relationship between Tuscany and the State of Texas. Because of an increase in the number of trade missions from Italy to Texas, we decided to create an Advisory Committee for the Chamber. These individuals have specific expertise and have agreed to assist Italian companies by consulting with them on best business practices for trade in the United States. Congratulations to these individuals:

Rodolfo Ambrosetti, with IBM, who will assist us with the technology sector.

Giacomo Butera, with Drinking Luxury, who will assist with the wine and spirits sector.

Dr. Carlos Capra, with Lezioni d’Italiano, who will assist with translation and language.

Chris Cutrone, with the Texas Workforce Commission, who will assist with membership.

Stefania Rigo, with Aliseo Foods, who will assist with the food sector.

We are looking forward to working with our advisors on many more trade missions in the coming year.

Festa di Natale in Austin was held the evening of Wednesday, December 3rd, at Gusto Italian Kitchen. We had about 50 people attend with great food, wine from Margaux and Associates, and entertainment from Danielle Reich.

Everyone had a wonderful time and it was a great start to the holiday season. We look forward to many more events in the New Year.

Who's who?

Who's who main goal is to promote networking, explore synergies and circulate business knowledge. From this column new members are introduced in greater detail giving opportunity to identify and develop potential new business connections. Newcomers are given a warm welcome and presented to IACC membership. In this issue Andrea Magi from il Mascalzone, Roberta Basato from Wiforce, Giancarlo Ferrara from Amalfi. We also welcome Mr Andrea Natale and Mrs Barbara Haderlein as new Individual members. GIANCARLO FERRARA – AMALFI

Chef Giancarlo Ferrara began his culinary journey in his home town of Salerno, Italy with his family. After that he attended the

Professional Center Albergiero in Salerno and the School of Culinary Arts Etoile. Upon completion of his studies and apprenticeships, and winning the honor of Best Restaurant in Veneto from the Veronelli Guide in 1998, he went in Dublin and in Florida to perfected his skills. Giancarlo joined also Arcodoro in Houston as Executive Chef and quickly became a fixture in the Houston culinary scene. Giancarlo is now fulfilling his dream of opening up his own restaurant, Amalfi, where he will blend the spirit of his heritage with skill and technique. The western coast of Italy summons visions of gorgeous views, salty air, and the freshest seafood & produce imaginable. Leave your passport at the door - Chef Giancarlo Ferrara invites you to experience the tastes, aromas, and passions of his homeland right here in

Houston through a culinary experience years in the making. Chef Ferrara often found himself alongside his mother in the kitchen where he absorbed many lessons that can only be taught with time, patience, passion, and love. His appreciation for quality, local, and seasonal food grew as well, following him in each of his culinary ambitions and becoming the cornerstones for his menus. The inspired menu at Amalfi emphasizes fresh seafood, vivid citrus, and cozy olive oil in addition to fresh pastas, an assortment of meats, family-made cheeses, cleanly crafted cocktails, and an extensive, thoughtful wine list. Here at Amalfi we strive to offer a warm setting in which to celebrate and cherish both everyday moments and significant milestones. Please visit soon; we look forward to sharing our kitchen with you. ANDREA MAGI – IL MASCALZONE

Retired Italian Olympic boxer Andrea Magi

founded Mascalzone. Mr. Magi famously won the bronze medal at the 1987 European

Championships. Before his boxing career,

Magi attended culinary school and has returned, full force, to his original passion. His family inspired the former boxer, a native of the Pesaro region located on Italy’s Adriatic coast. His menu is based on family recipes. Magi’s grandfather was a chef as well as his “Auntie”. Magi and his wife Rachel have four children under the age of nine. Mascalzone opened the doors to its first restaurant in London in 2005. It soon opened a second London location, earning a reputation as

one of the most stylish and vibrant authentic Italian eateries in the city. The early success of the Putney and Edgware locations had founders Rachel and Andrea Magi looking to bring his recipe for success – authentic yet innovative Italian food combined with a casual, fun atmosphere – to the United States. The restaurant’s inventive signature dish (and namesake) is the Mascalzone, half calzone, half pizza and a culinary legend in the making. The dish quickly became a favorite among patrons of the restaurant. The restaurant offers customers a unique gastronomic experience, uniting traditional Italian dishes with more contemporary fare. Mascalzone offers a full wine list (all from Italy) as well as an intriguing after dinner cocktail named the God Father. Mascalzone uses only the highest quality and freshest ingredients available and strives to use organic produce as much as possible. Now Mascalzone is getting the quality certification "Ospitalità Italiana" as authentic Italian Restaurant and Magi has plans to open three more locations in the Houston area in the next twelve months including the one near the Washington Avenue (at 1500 Shepherd drive 77007) nightlife scene that offers extended hours to accommodate club goers. ROBERTA BASATO – WIFORCE WIFORCE is a world wide full service provider in

the maintenance , ship and offshore repair, construction and piping industry. Since the company’s

establishment, customers have made WIFORCE their source of quality services. This is attributed to the experience, work ethics, skills and

focus on safety of all on- and offshore employees. In a short response time and with a large in-house personnel database covering all qualifications, we provide personnel with many years of experience are working at WIFORCE. Our policy is ‘SAFETY FIRST’. It’s the core value in everything we do. We seek to do the job properly the first time we do it – every time! WIFORCE provides all employees with HSE and qualified work training. The high quality standard of WIFORCE is confirmed by the main international quality and safety certifications issued by IQNET and RIINA. Human resources play a major role in the maintenance of the plants, where they are required operational figures informed, trained and accountable in order to perform maintenance work in areas sometimes dangerous and pose a risk to safety and protecting the environment. The selection of personnel to these tasks, its insertion, continuous skill enhancement through appropriate educational tools and information, the identification and training of specific figures involved in key roles, WIFORCE enable its customers to ensure an excellent professional level, necessary for the planning and execution of maintenance tasks with the utmost safety and reliability. Refineries, petrochemical plants, Oil & Gas (On and Off-Shore) are some of the areas where WIFORCE has engaged in maintenance activities, with full confidence and satisfaction from customers.

Upcoming events April 14-15th Taste of Italy

cfc

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Members only deals

“The Italian Chambers in USA are honored to announce an upcoming partnership with PIAGGIO USA – A special promotion for all our members is coming out soon. Stay tuned “

Special opportunity for wine & food traders: sponsored trip to Italy for

Feb. 13-14 th Mar. 22-25 th

May 3-6 th

contact Marina ([email protected]) to more information

...at the end

ITALY-AMERICA Chamber of Commerce of Texas

is pleased to wish you

and

Whishing you Happy Holiday and New Year filled

with prosperity and success!