Nate Feltman: Gov. Holcomb takes Indiana to the world

What do Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungry, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Kenya, Kuwait, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom have in common?

If your answer is that Gov. Holcomb visited each of them at least once during his eight years in office, you are correct. That is 34 countries visited in eight years as part of his administration’s economic development efforts. Last month, Holcomb completed his final official overseas mission as governor when he visited Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Holcomb is not the first Indiana governor to venture overseas in search of opportunities for Indiana. In fact, Indiana governors have been making connections overseas since the late 1800s. Indiana’s 16th governor, Thomas Hendricks, who also served as vice president under President Grover Cleveland, is thought to have been one of the first sitting governors to travel overseas when he made the trip to Europe in 1875 to study European social systems and infrastructure.

In more modern times, Gov. Bob Orr is remembered for trade missions in the 1980s to Japan that are credited with landing Subaru’s manufacturing plant in Lafayette. But after then-candidate Evan Bayh criticized the Subaru incentive package, the state’s efforts to attract foreign investment took a hit.

Gov. Mitch Daniels reinvigorated the state’s efforts to court foreign investment as part of his economic development strategy, landing significant investments from Honda, Toyota and Nestle. Daniels established the Indiana Economic Development Foundation in 2005 (simultaneous with the creation of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.), which has been used by every governor since to raise private dollars to fund foreign trade missions.

But without question, Holcomb has taken Indiana’s global engagement and efforts to attract foreign investment to new heights. Since 2017, the IEDC has worked with 313 foreign companies that have committed to invest $44.9 billion in Indiana and create 46,500 jobs. Foreign direct investment represents 37% of the capital investment and 23% of the job commitments announced during Holcomb’s time in office, according to the IEDC. Companies like SK Hynix in Lafayette, Samsung SDI in Kokomo and New Carlisle, Canadian Solar in Jeffersonville, and Doral Renewable in Starke and Pulaski counties will bring thousands of jobs in cutting-edge industries to nearly every corner of our state.

In an era of unprecedented foreign direct investment in the United States, keeping Indiana top of mind and selling its business-friendly environment to decision-makers is critical. Business is a full-contact sport. As all successful businesspeople know, making contacts and building relationships and trust is always a critical first step to winning new business. And as a Midwestern state that is sometimes referred to as “flyover country,” Indiana must reach out beyond our borders.

There are many reasons to applaud Holcomb’s efforts to take Indiana to the world. Foreign direct investment injects new capital and ideas into our economy, and brings diversity to our communities and new technologies from around the world to Indiana. And of course, thousands of Hoosiers are employed, taxes are paid and community organizations benefit as a result of foreign investment in our state.

Let’s keep up the strong efforts to attract job-creating foreign direct investment to Indiana as Gov. Mike Braun and team craft the next iteration of Indiana’s economic development playbook.•

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Feltman is publisher of IBJ and CEO of IBJ Media. Send comments to nfeltman@ibj.com.