Indianapolis chamber absorbs World Trade Club

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The 46-year-old World Trade Club of Indiana is becoming part of the Indy Chamber — a move organizers hope will give the not-for-profit additional firepower as it works to educate, connect and grow Hoosier businesses in the international marketplace.

Details of the merger, announced Monday morning at the second annual World Trade Day seminar in Carmel, are still being finalized. The 350-member trade group has been exploring ways to work with like-minded organizations for a couple of years, said board President Tom Miller, managing director of PNC Bank’s foreign exchange operation.

“As we have grown and become more successful, we’ve been looking for that synergy to push the organization forward,” he said. “The stars aligned in a way we think will allow us to develop and grow our educational endeavors.”

In a news release, the Indy Chamber said the “strategic alignment” should strengthen efforts to grow the region’s international footprint.

“Partnering with the World Trade Club enables us to deliberately focus our resources on helping existing companies grow their opportunities in the international marketplace,” Chamber CEO Scott Miller said in the prepared statement, “while positioning our region as a desirable location where international companies can relocate or expand.”
 
About 131,400 Hoosiers now work for global businesses operating in Indiana, the chamber said.
 
World Trade Club has about a dozen volunteer board members who approved the merger and will be asked to recommit to the new organizational structure, Tom Miller said.

The tiny group, funded by membership fees and corporate sponsorships, organizes monthly educational luncheons and puts on the annual World Trade Day event.

The chamber alliance gives it instant access to nearly 3,000 business members that employ about 235,000 people in central Indiana.

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