Umicore Participates In Business Roundtable At The White House

Seated to the left of President Obama, Ravila Gupta, president of Umicore USA, participates in a business roundable discussion at the White House on May 20.

Raleigh, NC – VMZINC® -US, the international brand name of rolled zinc products manufactured and sold by the Building Products Unit of the Umicore group, has announced that Ravila Gupta, president of Umicore USA, headquartered in Raleigh NC, participated in a business roundtable discussion at the White House on May 20.

By hosting this roundtable discussion with business leaders at the White House, President Barack Obama aimed to promote investment opportunities in the United States to encourage more job-creating projects. In addition to Umicore, companies that have recently expanded their footprint in the United States, such as Ericsson, Hankook Tire, Lufthansa, Novozymes and Zurich Insurance Group, were in attendance.

The roundtable began with questions on why such companies as Umicore have chosen to invest in the United States. Gupta outlined Umicore’s recent investments in Tulsa, Ala. and the acquisition of Palm Commodities International, based in Tennessee. From there, the discussion moved to what the U.S. administration can do on a micro level to assist companies to further invest in the country. A large portion of the meeting focused on how the United States can become more competitive by encouraging more young people to study technical subjects such as science, engineering and mathematics.

“I am honored that I received the opportunity to participate in this roundtable with President Obama and other business leaders from across the country,” said Gupta. “Recruiting employees for our work sites in the United States, which are often remote, can be a challenge for us. This roundtable was an excellent occasion to begin creating a dialogue about this situation with the White House, and I look forward to continuing these discussions.”

For more information about this roundtable, visit http://1.usa.gov/1lEH5m0.

About VMZINC®

VMZINC® is the international brand name of rolled zinc products manufactured and sold VM Building Solutions USA. For additional information, visit www.vmzinc-us.com.