First tenancies announced at Int'l Business Incubator.

The International Business Incubator New York City (IBI) located at 1540 Broadway in the Bertelsmann Building announced last week that its first tenants include Transbridge, a Hungarian-owned trading company; G.F. Realty (USA) Inc., a French-owned real estate firm; Multi Media Peter Lobel, a German-owned producer of computer hardware and software; and Wall Urban Design, a German-owned designer and manufacturer of urban fixtures and furniture.

The International Business Incubator New York was established by Bertelsmann

Inc. in conjunction with New York City to ease entry into the United States by foreign firms and generate economic activity in New York. Former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins called the IBI "the best place to get started in the United States for international businesses."

We are thrilled with the initial success of the International Business Incubator," said Dinkins. "The companies' decisions to locate at the incubator confirm our belief in this program's value as a development tool for foreign companies who wish to do business in the United States."

Mayor Dinkins, an early proponent and moving force behind the IBI program, said "Our objective for the IBI was to serve as a resource for foreign-owned companies and to facilitate their business development as much as possible. It's not enough for these companies to come to New York; we want to do everything we can to ensure that they prosper and grow here."

These tenants learned of the IBI and the opportunities it afforded foreign-owned companies through Bertelsmann's domestic and European marketing efforts. These efforts focused on the unique features of the incubator, such as a commercial concierge service and a 90-day lease termination clause, which were crafted specifically to help international companies.

The largest Incubator tenant is Transbridge, a subsidiary of Transelektro, one of Hungary's oldest and most successful companies. Transbridge is interested primarily in promoting trading activity and business ventures between the U.S. and Central and Eastern Europe.

Multi Media Peter Lobel owns and licenses IMEDIA and the interactive touch-screen hardware equipment on which the information system operates. The company is interested in finding licensees for the system such as airlines, ticketing agents, hotel chains and tourist destinations.

G.E. Realty (USA) Inc.'s parer.t company is CISE, Inc., the largest real estate firm in Europe. The company is interested in acquiring and managing real estate properties in the United States and hopes to have a large portfolio of properties by 1995.

Wall Urban Design conceptualizes and manufacturers urban furniture and fixtures including outdoor bicycle stands, toilets for outdoor parks, city trash cans, street signs and bus shelters. The company is interested in outfitting municipalities with its uniquely designed urban products.

This is a promising group of tenants," said Christian Alpers, senior vice president of Bertelsmann, Inc. "With the help of the IBI, I am confident that these three companies will flourish in the United States as Bertelsmann has. These tenants are role-models for other international businesses and as these companies succeed, New York will see more and more foreign business interests taking advantage of the IBI."

The IBI is located on two 25,000-square-foot floors of the Bertelsmann Building. The program is designed to make the process of establishing a New York business as smooth as possible for foreign-owned companies. Amenities such as a state-of-the-art phone system and free use of conference rooms are provided, as well as access to a Commercial Concierge service provided by Parter International, Inc. The Commercial Concierge assists tenants with new business development, government relations and introductions to appropriate service providers. The tenants also have a 90-day lease termination clause which allows the companies as they grow, to relocate into a larger office space.