Jan Meijer, Sweden’s honorary consul general in Atlanta, has resigned from his position as chief executive of Thomas Concrete Industries Inc.’s U.S. operations to provide consulting services through his own firm, Consult-US, to Swedish firms in the Southeast.

The location of the Swedish Consulate General moved last month from Swedish-owned Thomas Concrete’s U.S. headquarters in Cobb County, to a new space at the law firm of Bodker, Ramsey & Andrews on Peachtree Street, where Mr. Meijer will also maintain the Consult-US office.

“Swedish companies entering the U.S. often don’t fully appreciate the high levels of competition and diverse make-up of the consumer population here,” he told GlobalFax in an interview last week.  Consult-US will educate Swedish firms about the U.S. marketplace and provide networking opportunities and contacts, he said.

Mr. Meijer added that he is not new to consulting, having started a similar service for Swedish companies in the U.S. 17 years ago, before being hired by Thomas Concrete, one of his first clients.

During his tenure at Thomas Concrete, the company grew from 39 employees with 3 plants in Georgia to 1,200 employees with the 37 plants in Georgia, North and South Carolina, he noted.

  At present, Mr. Meijer is consulting with five Swedish clients interested in establishing a U.S. presence, including a computer software company, a developer of chemical cleaning agents and a flooring firm.

He said Sweden also has several hundred biotechnology firms that may wish to partner or set up an operation in Georgia as the state’s reputation as a biotech hub grows. 

Mr. Meijer’s services will further extend to U.S. companies interested in entering the Scandinavian market, which, he said, could serve as a test market for high-tech goods since Scandinavians tend to be early adopters of technology.

Contact Mr. Meijer at (678) 686-1006 or meijerthom@hotmail.com. Jill Olander of the Swedish consulate is available at the above number for visa/passport queries, etc. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5-7:30 p.m.  Contact Thomas Rosseland of Bodker, Ramsey & Andrews, a law firm focused on representation of overseas clients and their business interests in Georgia, at (404) 351-1615 or at trosseland@bralaw.com