Stacy Innerst, Post-Gazette Click photo for larger image.

One of regional Pittsburgh's quiet success stories -- a strong counterpoint to pundits and naysayers who gnash their teeth about our economic development fortunes and prospects -- is the steady growth of foreign-owned companies operating here.

Often basing their U.S. headquarters in Western Pennsylvania, some 250 companies, led by Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan, collectively have nearly 38,000 employees in 400 locations.

Bayer USA and Sony are among the better known examples. Yet many others operate just as steadily and generally are just as stable. Their business models and strategy have been well planned over a longer time span. These companies are critical to our region's well-being.

Great stories abound. They need to be told more often. We all share the obligation to support the success of these jewels in our midst.

Not surprisingly, foreign-owned firms find our region attractive for two major reasons: location and work force.

Pittsburgh is located within 500 miles of more than half of the nation's top 50 metro retail markets and is armed with a transportation infrastructure that includes the top airport in the United States, the busiest inland shipping port and extensive highway and rail connections. And its work force offers a skilled pool of expertise and labor with a strong work ethic.

As an example of how this can work, one of my firm's clients came here in the 1970s. It took a long-term view and endured several years of losses, but eventually emerged into profitability, and is still growing as a major employer today. The company continues to grow, with revenues exceeding $100 million and more than 300 employees throughout the United States. It also has expanded globally with subsidiaries in Canada and Mexico.

Foreign-owned businesses often make unique, sophisticated products that are highly engineered and generally require employee expertise of a higher caliber, with an associated higher pay scale.

Certainly, the research and breakthroughs of the Bayers and Sonys are excellent examples, but there are a host of other products used in niche applications. These range from safety (fire protection) and processes and manufacturing (scrapers to clean coal mine conveyor belts) to law enforcement (alcohol detection devices) and building/construction markets (window components).

Such manufacturers often bring their vendors and suppliers from the home country due to the rarity and specialty of the need, thus creating additional employment.

Foreign-owned companies with their U.S. headquarters here also provide a strong base of customers, heavy investment in their management teams and a high number of white-collar, administrative positions.

Moreover, these firms create niche markets that our region may not otherwise serve, make significant charitable contributions to our culture and community service initiatives, and are led by executives who are considered exceptional leaders in their fields.

European companies especially have attractive values and beliefs that contribute substantially to a long-term presence in the Pittsburgh region. They manufacture top-of-the-line, high quality products that are not intended to be disposable.

They also engage in very thorough advance planning with a long-term perspective, and are more likely to absorb losses for a period of time if the parent company sees the potential for eventual profit.

German-owned businesses have a remarkable, refreshing and at times challenging character trait -- they do not make promises that they cannot keep, and they fully expect the same consideration in return. Their American-owned counterparts would do well to emulate this value.

We should understand that foreign-owned businesses have unique issues that we all need to grasp. For one, their profits and losses are not entirely dependent on how well the company is managed. Because the U.S. affiliates often borrow start-up funds or purchase products from their parent firms, they can and do see their fortunes rise or fall based on fluctuations in the currency exchange rates.

What cannot be overstated is the tremendous need for more direct flights from Pittsburgh to foreign capital cities.

The elimination of flights to London and Frankfurt has led to a staggering cost in lost man-hours to these firms as their executives have to use other, more circuitous routes to travel. This will have a huge impact on whether more companies choose the Pittsburgh region as a U.S. headquarters in the future.

To help secure and grow the presence of such firms here, the region also should do more to foster the connections of firms already here; support the work of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its marketing affiliate, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, to market southwestern Pennsylvania and support existing regional employers to grow jobs and capital investment; and make better use of the executives of these companies who generally are bullish on our region and can serve as superb ambassadors. Any business leaders contemplating a move will be influenced greatly by their peers and the positive stories they tell.