A 10-member delegation recently went to Japan and had extensive meetings the companies there, touting the attractiveness of the Dayton region. A few delegation members then continued on to China, consulting with the leadership at Fuyao.
The delegation’s goal was to develop stronger ties with international companies and lay the groundwork for more potential investment here in the future.
Mitch Heaton, vice president for economic cevelopment at the Dayton Development Coalition, said every company is different in how they do business and how they approach the search for an expansion location. So the discussion must be tailored to that company.
“A lot of people think incentives are the way to go and that’s usually icing on the cake. It starts with transportation. It starts with infrastructure. It starts with other community relationships that they have and then make common good come together and build from there,” Heaton said.
Another delegation member, Horton Hobbs, of the Chamber of Greater Springfield, said companies are interested in the story of how Honda has done well in Ohio and grown over the decades.
“Once the Japanese companies see this case and find a home in the region they see how great it is to do business, how available the workforce is because of transportation networks it leads to further investment,” Hobbs said.
Landing an agreement for foreign investment is not an easy task. Once word of a company’s interest in locating in the U.S. gets out, it is not uncommon for thousands of cities to begin competing for those jobs.
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