State Leaders To Meet With Volkswagen & Suppliers
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Knoxville a factor in Germany trip
By ROGER HARRIS/knoxvillebiz.com
Representatives of the Knoxville Chamber and Innovation Valley Inc. will be part of the trade delegation that Gov. Phil Bredesen is taking to Germany next month to meet with Volkswagen AG and the auto maker's primary suppliers, a chamber official said Wednesday.
Participating in the trade mission - planned for Oct. 22-28 - is a must if the Knoxville region is going to take advantage of business opportunities expected from the Volkswagen assembly plant being built in Chattanooga, said Rhonda Rice, the chamber's executive vice president.
"This initial trip is about establishing relationships with those companies and those people that we need to understand better in order to do business with them," Rice said.
"This is just the start. We're putting together a plan that would attract companies from Germany and the rest of Europe," Rice said.
Recruiting new businesses to the Knoxville region is part of the mission of Innovation Valley Inc., a regional economic development partnership whose members include the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Knoxville Chamber, Loudon County Economic Development Agency, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, The Roane Alliance, and the Tellico Reservoir Development Agency.
About 40 government, business and community leaders from around the state are expected to make the trip to Germany, including several from the Knoxville area, said Rice, who was in Nashville earlier this week to attend the Governor's Conference for Economic and Community Development at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
The trade mission starts in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the Tennessee group will tour Volkswagen facilities. From there the mission will go to the German cities Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt for briefings with some of Volkswagen's major suppliers.
The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency may go on the trade mission, said president and CEO Allen Neel.
But first, the agency is headed for Canada next week.
"A variety of companies up there are showing interest in our area," Neel said. "Some of the contacts we're dealing with want a better understanding of the Volkswagen project, but I-75 in general is a very key corridor for Canadian companies," Neel said.
Assistant business editor Roger Harris may be reached at 865-342-6342.
