New Jersey economic development officials have descended on the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., this week in an effort to entice and recruit more international companies to New Jersey.
They may just need to find another version of Rushikesh Bhavsar.
Bhavsar, the founder and chairman of MIG Media Neurons, has brought 18 companies to New Jersey from India in the past two years.
The pipeline, however, is more specific. All 18 of them have come from the western Indian state of Gujarat, which borders the Arabian Sea and ranks as the country’s sixth-largest state in size and ninth-largest in population (60 million).
Bhavsar said the pipeline is not a coincidence. He said the existing Indian diaspora, a majority of which is from Gujarat, is the reason why these companies are making the move to New Jersey.
And they aren’t moving to Edison, Woodbridge or Jersey City, municipalities known for having large numbers of South Asian residents and businesses. They’re moving to Hamilton Township and Mercer County.
Bhavsar said he has placed 22 companies throughout the U.S. But he said there is a reason why 18 of them have come to New Jersey.
“Mostly, the companies that are coming are coming from Gujarat, which is a western state in India, they have got their connections here,” he said. “The Gujarati gentry here is more in New Jersey, so they select New Jersey, and we help them move to New Jersey.”
Many of them are moving slowly but surely into one office building — the Ibis Plaza Office Suites in Hamilton — which is filling up quickly, according to Choose New Jersey. (MIG recently opened up a U.S. office in the same building.)
Others are dispersed throughout Mercer County.
The industries the companies represent include engineering, food, consumer products, construction, commodities and real estate.
Bhavsar said his company began its relationship with New Jersey by participating and hosting trade shows, three of which were in the Raritan Center in Edison.
“We were familiar with New Jersey and happened to meet the Choose New Jersey guys in the last (SelectUSA) summit,” Bhvasar said.
And, in two years, he has brought 18 companies, some through a partnership with Choose New Jersey. Some are still in the process of moving, while others have already opened their doors. He said he plans to bring six more next week — of a total of 10 additional companies that will move to New Jersey in the next month.
Bhavsar said that, despite New Jersey’s reputation of being a high-tax state, they have no problem moving into the state.
Here are the companies he has helped bring to New Jersey:
- Add Ready Construction Material Products LLC
- Akshar Tobacco Products LLC
- Dhruvi Construction Equipments LLC
- DRP Buildcon LLC
- Indo US Business Intelligence Services
- Komal Multibrand Products LLC
- MaaBody Projects and Products LLC
- Maruti Agri Business LLC
- NK Investment Projects LLC
- Robot IT and Graphics Design LLC
- Rolltex Engineering Exports LLC
- Sairam Steel LLC
- Sharp Engineering Exports LLC
- Shiv Shakti Hardware Products Trading LLC
- Tamarind Food Products LLC
- Triotekh System LLC
- Urja Projects and Products LLC
- Yash Logistics LLC
