LAGRANGE — The LaGrange County Economic Development Corp. will take part in a trip to Japan that will promote northeast Indiana to businesses there.
The trip will be led by John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, and include representatives from Fort Wayne Metals and Indiana Michigan Power. The trip begins Friday and ends Oct. 4, with participants visiting Tokyo, Shizuoka, Osaka and Hiroshima.
During the trip, the northeast Indiana delegation will promote the region as an attractive place for companies to locate and grow their operations. Presently, eight Japanese businesses have manufacturing operations or their U.S. or North American headquarters in the region.
“With a strong presence of longstanding Japanese firms in northeast Indiana, it is important for us to maintain strong relationships with these firms in Japan,” Sampson said in a news release from the Fort Wayne-based Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. “We hope to renew old friendships and build new friendships for the future.”
“We are excited to take part in this regional trade mission to Japan,” said Keith Gillenwater, president and CEO of the LaGrange County Economic Development Corp, in the news release. “It’s an invaluable opportunity for LaGrange County to connect with one of our largest employers while also spreading the message that northeast Indiana is a great place to do business.”
Nishikawa Cooper LLC, which does business as NISCO and is a joint venture of Nishikawa Rubber Co. of Japan and Novi, Michigan-based Cooper Standard Holdings Inc., has a plant in Topeka.