HCH's ball bearings are used in electrical appliances and automobiles, etc., and are distributed from Jacksonville.

Chinese bearing manufacturer HCH Bearing Americas opened its first US branch in Miami, but eventually made Jacksonville its permanent headquarters in the United States. Douglas Robbie, general manager of the Americas, said that after moving to Jacksonville in May 2012, the company got closer to more customers. "If you draw a 500-mile box from Jacksonville across the country, you might be exposed to 70% of the new manufacturing in the United States," he pointed out.

The company's six-person Jacksonville distribution center serves manufacturers and distributors in parts of the United States, Mexico, Canada, and South America. Its customers include Panasonic, Audi, Bosch and General Electric, and its ball bearings are used in everything from electrical appliances and automobiles to industrial tools and escalators.

Robbie expects to open more offices in Texas and Indiana in the next six months, but the company is working to reach an agreement to bring its products to the United States through JaxPort. Currently, the bearings are shipped from New Jersey. "I did research on Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville and Miami," Robbie said. PortMiami was ultimately too busy to meet the company's needs; Savannah was "strangled by the auto industry"; Charleston could not accept the kind of ship that shipped HCH products from China. Jacksonville has five ships from China every week, and Ningbo-the place where HCH products are shipped-is one of Jacksonville's "friendship cities". Robbie believes that this combination means that the company can deliver products quickly.

China has become Florida's fourth largest trading partner and largest import market. The value of cargo imported from China to Florida ports increased by 10% between 2011 and 2012, reaching US$8.1 billion.

Manny Mencia, senior vice president of Florida Enterprise International Trade and Business Development, estimates that there are as many as 200 Chinese companies in Florida. Most are small trading companies.

HCH Bearing is a subsidiary of China Huanchi Bearing Group, which is one of China's largest private companies and the largest manufacturer of small and medium-sized ball bearings in China.

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