Jobs Mission to Asia

The last few days in Tokyo were incredibly productive.  There were many meetings with Governor Daniels and members of Toyota, Subaru and other key companies currently doing business in Indiana.  The delegation is very upbeat about the entire trip on many different levels.  The delegate members had a lot of meetings they set up with their own individual contacts as well as through the delegation itself.  We are very optimistic about the numerous opportunities that could be imminent in terms of trying to bring business to the Indiana.

We had about a 13-hour flight from Tokyo into Newark.  Our flight from Newark to Indianapolis was canceled and we're going to be rerouted through Dulles, so it's going to be longer than a 24-hour travel schedule back to Indiana.  The delegates are exhausted after being gone for 10 days and the extensive travel, but optimism is high in regards to the trip.  In addition, the delegation found significance in spending time with each other and learning about each other's companies – what's happening with regard to progress and growth within their companies and how we can work together to continue to facilitate job growth within Indiana.

There was a lot of discussion on the flight back about various opportunities among the delegate members and further strategies to build upon the meetings that were held while we were in China and Japan.  I think that the difference between the two is that we have established relationships in Japan, thanks to the continued efforts of Mitch Daniels.  In the last few years, there has been a new focus on China, from this second trade mission with the governor, as well as a follow-up trade mission trip by the lt. governor this past June.  We see an incredible amount of opportunity in China with a lot of desire for growth within the U.S.  The Chinese companies we met with are open to selecting Indiana as a place where they want to do business.  And as I mentioned in a prior blog, numerous companies had indicated that they plan to open up a facility in the U.S. within the next year.  And so, it was fun and easy explaining why Indiana is a top place to do business.