Pence wraps up UK trade trip after blitz of meetings

Gov. Mike Pence wrapped up his job-hunting mission Wednesday by meeting with a company he said is considering Indiana for its U.S. operations, but his office wouldn’t reveal the firm’s name or any details.

“Out of respect for the company, we cannot share further details about the company or their potential plans in Indiana at this time,” said Pence spokeswoman Christy Denault. “However, we hope to have good news to share in the future.”

Pence also met with executives from more than a hundred aerospace and defense executives during a dinner hosted by Rolls-Royce.

And he talked with the CEO of British Petroleum and the president of Tate & Lyle’s specialty food ingredients division. The British arigbusiness announced Tuesday that it plans to invest $90 million in its Lafayette operations.

In addition, Pence met with executives from Alcoa, GE Aviation, and Ratheon during the Farnborough International Airshow. The airshow is a weeklong event that focuses on trade of aerospace and defense industries then follows with a public event and airshow.

At the airshow, the governor hosted a booth and a reception with more than 50 executives. Pence also sat in on and participated in a roundtable conversation about the competitiveness of the U.S aerospace and defense industrial base.

“Search among the stars of the aerospace industry, and you will find yourself in Indiana, a state that is attracting growth from the industry’s global powerhouse companies,” Pence said in a statement.

“Around the world, I am proud of the reputation Indiana has built as a state that works for business,” he said. “This week, chief executives of leading aerospace firms came ready with questions about doing business in Indiana. We came prepared with the answers—demonstrating that if you want to operate in a location where industry leaders are succeeding, Indiana is the place to be.”

Pence was joined on the trip by a 22-person delegation. This is the third trip Pence has made in the last year to work with companies overseas. He has also been to Germany and Japan.