US Embassy figure impressed by Birmingham's innovation

A senior figure from the US Embassy received a glimpse of the innovation taking place in Birmingham during a whistlestop tour of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce members.

Brenda VanHorn, Commercial Counselor for the US Embassy in London, visited several member businesses across the city-region during a fact-finding trip.

First up, Ms VanHorn visited STEAMHouse, Birmingham City University 's business support, co-working and innovation facility where she received demonstrations from professors in artificial intelligence (AI), as well as artisans and innovators.

Next stop was Webster and Horsfall, the 300-year old Birmingham manufacturer of spring wire and material solutions.

Head of operations Jonathan Horsfall provided an overview of the firm 's historic and conducted a tour of the museum room, showcasing the first transatlantic table for telecommunications which was made at the factory in Birmingham.

Ms VanHorn then met with Birmingham Airport CEO Nick Barton to discuss the future of transatlantic services and hear about the growth of BHX.

The penultimate part of the visit took Ms VanHorn to Marston Green-based software firm Jumar Solutions,

A discussion took place with Jumar CEO Wendy Merricks about opportunities in the United States, as well as the differences between delivering IT support services in the UK and the US.

The final meeting of the day was with Paul Faulkner, chief of staff and operations at Richardson, who will be attending the Select USA summit in Maryland next month to explore further opportunities with various states across the USA.

Ms VanHorn was accompanied by the Chamber 's international director Mandy Haque, who said: “We were delighted to receive Brenda, following on from our previous activities with the US Embassy.

“She was able to meet a good cross-section of Chamber members - some of whom are seeking support in the US market - and was very impressed by the scale of innovation that is taking place here. ”

Pictured: Nick Barton, Brenda VanHorn and Mandy Haque