Government, community leaders travel to Japan, China

A group of 10 government and business leaders are on a 12-day trip to Japan and China. The trip includes visits to parent companies of local industries, meetings with government officials, a school tour and opportunities to share information about Tippecanoe County and the advantages of locating a business here.

“This is an opportunity to thank those who have already invested in our community, to extend our hands in friendship and to strengthen our business ties,” said Jody Hamilton, director of economic development at Greater Lafayette Commerce, who coordinated and is participating in the trip.

“It’s been 25 years since Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., owned by Japan’s Fuji Heavy Industries, became an Indiana corporation, and 10 years since Heartland Automotive, which is owned by Shigeru Co. Ltd. in Japan, came to town,” Hamilton said. “Now, Heartland Automotive is building a new plant here, so we will visit both of those companies in Japan.

“We are also welcoming Nanshan America Advanced Aluminum Technologies to our community, so we will be meet representatives of its parent company in China,”  she said.

Besides Hamilton, three elected officials are traveling: Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski, Tippecanoe County Commissioner David Byers and West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis.

Also traveling from Greater Lafayette Commerce are Joseph Seaman, president and chief executive officer; Doug Mansfield, board chairman and manufacturing president at Kirby Risk Service Center; and Gary Henriott, chair of the Economic Development Council and chairman and chief executive officer of Henriott.

Other travelers are Dennis Carson, economic development director for the city of Lafayette; Pat Corey, executive director of resource development at Ivy Tech Community College Lafayette; and Steve Bluestein, executive vice president at Oscar Winski Co., Inc.

The group left Sunday, April 15, and will be in Tokyo and Ota City, Japan, until Saturday, April 21. They then fly to Beijing and go by bus to Longkou, where Nanshan is headquartered. They return home on Thursday, April 26.

About Greater Lafayette Commerce

Headquartered at 337 Columbia St. in Lafayette, Greater Lafayette Commerce, whose roots go back 85 years, is a nonprofit membership organization supported by local industries and governments. Its mission is to advance economic and community prosperity for a superior quality of life.