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.
This marks Gov. Holcomb’s third international economic development trip to Europe and seventh overall as governor, following strategic trips to Japan, India, Israel and Canada in 2017 and 2018. The costs of the state delegation is being paid through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation.