The College of Southern Idaho’s Applied Technology and Innovation Center (ATI) offers students training in various programs that range from food technology and processing to industrial maintenance systems, drafting, programmable logic controllers, renewable energy systems technology, and computer-aided design.
Graduates from these programs, in turn, provide Idaho with a steady stream of highly skilled individuals who make up the state’s workforce, which is one of the top reasons Japanese business has increased rapidly in the state.
Atom Seimitsu, a Tokyo-based company that manufactures robotic equipment for the semiconductor industry, connected with ATI multiple times. The collaboration has resulted in numerous possible applications in the agricultural industry, including fully automated greenhouses and food processing plants.
Cutting-edge R&D at the University of Idaho and Boise State is also why SAKAE Casting, a Japanese manufacturing company that specializes in aluminum casting of cold plates, came to Idaho.
“They reached out to the government of Idaho. The government of Idaho provided some funding to Boise State University through the IgM fund, I believe. And that particular fund helped start some initial research,” said Ed Klopfenstein, the Honorary Consul General of Japan in Idaho.
“And then through other private sources, they've been able to expand that research. Most universities don't open up themselves to foreign companies like this. Boise State opened its arms,” Klopfenstein added.
With the influx of foreign investment, Idaho’s GDP has grown an average of 2.8% every year since 2015.
“We'd like to uncover and hopefully communicate to Japan why Idaho is a good place to invest in for these Japanese companies and why they should do business with local Idaho companies. That's been the centerpiece of Idaho’s relationship with Japan,” he also said.
