International Business Resources

Plano, Texas operates in the global economy

In Plano, you will find yourself in good company. Many of the world’s leading global firms are based here. Plano is in the nation’s second largest state and the nation’s fourth largest metro. Its central location and excellent transportation infrastructure provide access to a large labor pool of three million people. Trucks can reach 37% of the US population in 24 hours and 93% in 48 hours. If Texas were a nation, its gross domestic product would rank 12th in the world. Texas is the largest exporter in the United States. Its top trading partners are Mexico, Canada, China, the Netherlands and Brazil.

Both Texas and Plano are known for being pro-business. In fact, FDI magazine ranked Plano, a Top Five for Best Human Resources and named Texas the “U.S. State of the Future.” We encourage you to learn more about Plano, and discover why so many global companies and their workers call Plano home.

Plano’s Major Global Businesses include: JCPenney, Frito-Lay, EDS-an HP Company, Perot Systems, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, AT&T, Intuit, St. Jude Medical, PepsiCo, Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Samsung Telecommunications, and Harley Davidson.

Plano’s international businesses represent:

  • Financial Services
  • Information Technology & Software
  • Telecommunications
  • Electronics
  • Medical device
  • Oil and gas
  • Defense
  • Food & Beverage

International Transportation

  • DFW International is the nation’s third busiest airport and is gateway to 135 domestic and 38 international destinations
  • Fort Worth Alliance Airport was the first purely industrial airport in the Western Hemisphere.
  • Port of Houston, the nation second busiest, is 268 miles away.
  • Within 45 minutes of four Foreign Trade Zones
    • Eligible designation for Usage-Driven Foreign Trade Zone Site of the DFW Foreign Trade Zone
  • Central Time Zone

Plano Top Foreign-Owned Subsidiaries

Company

Country of Parent

Plano Employment

Alcatel-Lucent

France

2,400

Ericsson

Sweden

1,800

Flextronics

Singapore

750

Samsung Telecommunications of America

Korea

400

U-Tech Dallas

Taiwan

250

Siemens PLM Software

Germany

200

Creation Technologies

Canada

150

Retalix

Israel

200

Cadbury Confectionary Division

United Kingdom

140

Huawei dba Future Wei

China

75

M&W Zander

Germany

45

ND SatCom

Germany

35

Resources

The City of Plano maintains Sister City relationships with:

The City of Plano is receptive and responsive to International business, educational and cultural opportunities.  For more information about Plano’s international business climate or establishing a presence in Plano, contact the PEDB at 972-208-8300.

Here is how our staff can assist you:

  • Provide one-on-one briefings about Plano and its key businesses.
  • Provide site searches.
  • Assist with development and marketing of business and industry conferences and roundtables.
  • Facilitate and convene business-to-business networking meetings with the region's business allies and agencies.

Foreign Investment Flows to Plano

Texas attracts many foreign companies with its central location, robust transportation, large labor pool and lower cost of business. The state led the nation with $119.25 billion in foreign direct-invested assets in 2007, the latest data available for the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Most of the money came from Europe and went into manufacturing. (3/22/10) learn more

DFW Ranks 10th in Global Competitiveness

A 2009 study benchmarks the DFW region against an elite stratum of 21 global business centers in Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. It finds, based on five key areas of global competitiveness, that the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) region ranks 10th in global competitiveness among the measured global metropolitan areas. This composite ranking takes into account five essential ingredients for economic attractiveness: talent, access, resources, business climate and quality of life. DFW places second with respect to business climate, tied with Atlanta and outpaced only by Singapore. DFW placed 10th in access and resources and 11th in talent.  Additionally, DFW placed eighth in quality of life, in a four-way tie with Amsterdam, Chicago and Houston.

Texas is America’s Top Exporter

The Lone Star State is the nation’s top exporter for the seventh year in a row, according to a new U.S. Department of Commerce report. Gov. Rick Perry commented on the top ranking Thursday, attributing the state’s success on the exporting front to predictable business regulations and low taxes. Perry’s office released the data that helped Texas secure the top spot -- namely the state’s 14 percent increase in exports in 2008 over 2007. Last year, Texas exports totaled $192.14 billion, approximately $23.92 billion more than in 2007. The top five recipients of Texas exports include Mexico, Canada, China, the Netherlands and Brazil.