INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 27, 2019) – Governor Eric J. Holcomb
will lead an economic development trip to Europe next week, visiting key
international partners in France, Belgium and Germany. This trip comes after a
record-breaking year for international economic development in Indiana, with 47
foreign-owned businesses committing to locate or grow in Indiana, creating up
to 6,521 new jobs and investing $3.2 billion – a more than 300 percent increase
from 2016 – in the Hoosier state.
“There’s no substitute for meeting with our partners and prospective investors
in person. Indiana has a growing global reputation, built on the momentum that
continues to bring back more jobs for Hoosiers and opens new markets for
Hoosier-made goods,” Gov. Holcomb said. “We’ll use our time in Europe to
strengthen relationships with some of our most important international economic
partners, while continuing to promote Indiana as the best state in the U.S. to
do business.”
Indiana is home to 450 European businesses that support more than 113,200
Hoosier jobs across the state. In 2017, businesses exported $9.6 billion of
Hoosier-made products to Europe, accounting for more than 25 percent of the
state’s total exports. More information on Indiana’s ties to Europe is
available here.
Gov. Holcomb will be accompanied by Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim
Schellinger, Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) Board of Directors
members John Thompson, chairman and CEO of Thompson Distribution, and Mark
Neal, principal of Bradley Company, as well as IEDC staff. The delegation will
depart for Europe on Wednesday, March 6, and return to Indiana on Thursday,
March 14.
FRANCE
Gov. Holcomb and the delegation will kick off the economic development trip in
Paris, working to strengthen relationships between Indiana and France already
being bolstered by the state’s first, year-round, nonstop transatlantic flight
between the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) and Charles de Gaulle
Airport (CDG) in Paris. Indiana already supports 48 France-based businesses,
employing 28,500 jobs, and counts France as its largest European export
destination with $1.5 billion of Hoosier-made goods sold there in 2017.
In Paris, the governor will meet with executives of French corporations with
operations in Indiana and of Indiana-based businesses with facilities in France
to discuss opportunities for growth across both regions. He and the secretary
will also pitch Indiana as a promising destination for new U.S. investment to
French businesses at CEO roundtable events hosted by Institut français des
relations internationals (IFRI), a global think tank,
and the Mouvement des enterprises de France (MEDEF International), the
largest employer federation in France.
On Saturday, the governor and delegation will visit the Normandy American
Cemetery and Memorial to honor Hoosiers and all American service members who
lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations.
BELGIUM
On Monday and Tuesday, the governor will meet with government officials and
business leaders in Brussels – the capital of one of the fastest-growing
sources of foreign direct investment in the United States. Belgian-owned firms
operating in the U.S. support 145,400 jobs and invested $377 million in R&D
activities in 2016.
Gov. Holcomb and the delegation will meet with U.S. Ambassador to Belgium
Ronald Gidwitz to discuss opportunities to strengthen economic opportunities
between Indiana and Belgium, and the governor will pitch Indiana to Belgium
businesses interested in operating in the U.S. during a CEO event with the
American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium (AmCham Belgium).
The governor will also meet with European Union and North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) leadership in Brussels, which is considered the capital of
the European Union and serves as the headquarters of NATO, to highlight
Europe’s considerable impact on Indiana – which includes supporting more than
100,000 Hoosier jobs. Gov. Holcomb will meet with U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay
Bailey Hutchinson and with leadership of AmCham EU.
GERMANY
Following Brussels, the governor and the delegation will travel to Germany,
which is the state’s second-largest foreign direct investor with 120 business
establishments across Indiana. On Tuesday and Wednesday, in Frankfurt, Gov.
Holcomb will meet with government officials, including U.S. Ambassador to
Germany Richard Grenell, and with businesses from Germany, Indiana and beyond
that employ Hoosiers.
The delegation will also travel to Stuttgart, Germany, to meet with leadership
of Coperion GmbH, a subsidiary of Indiana-based Hillenbrand Inc., and will
visit Ramstein Air Base, where the governor will meet with Indiana servicemen
and women. In Frankfurt, the governor will host a Friends of Indiana reception
to thank key partners with ties to Indiana and Germany for their contributions
and commitment to advancing mutually beneficial cultural and economic
partnerships.
