Blessed with rolling farmland and the pristine waters of the Tweed River, the Scottish Borders area in southeastern Scotland wants economic development without suffering the downside of industrial pollution. Not an ideal region, one might think, for an aggressive economic developer such as David Douglas, chief executive of Scottish Borders Enterprise, the development organization charged with creating international partnerships for businesses in the Borders region.
But Mr. Douglas considers the region ideal for “sustainable development,” a concept much under discussion in the architectural, engineering and scientific communities. The idea is to prevent development from damaging the environment. On yet another visit to Atlanta, this time with more than a dozen representatives from Scottish Borders companies, he reviewed his region’s plans for developing technologies, products and services that “enhance the future environment.” See Globalfax Vol. 2, Issue 28; Vol. 1, Aug. 13, 1993 Issue.
Mr. Douglas has been visiting Atlanta for the past two years, forging links with North Fulton, creating cultural exchanges and nailing down several deals including providing more than $100,000 worth of cashmere products to Rich’s stores.
At the heart of his development plans for the Borders region is the Tweed Horizons Centre for Sustainable Technology, a renovated monastery funded by government agencies. It has undertaken a national advertising campaign to attract applications from both existing businesses and start-ups in the field of sustainable technologies.
The centre’s objectives include providing a “sheltered” environment for the start-up of sustainable businesses which have significant potential for growth in world markets, and demonstrating the potential for new telecommunications and tourism to businesses and visitors to the Borders region. The Atlanta “link up” was held at the Fulton County Government Center downtown and was sponsored by Fulton County, the Greater North Fulton County Chamber of Commerce and Southern Bell.
Among the Scottish firms participating were makers of chocolates, draught ales, sculptured glass, upholstery fabrics and knitwear, men’s and women’s clothing, high-precision machine parts, telecom ducts and fittings, gourmet food products, software, electronics and computer and office furniture.
For more information contact Evelyn Jones-Worthy at (404) 730-8075. The Tweed Horizons Centre for Sustainable Technology is located at Newtown St Boswells, Melrose TD6 OSG. Tel: 01835 822992; fax: 01835 822991.