By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON - Four Anderson and Madison County officials will travel to Asia this week in an effort to build relationships with Asian businesses that could eventually net the city economic growth.
Anderson Economic Development Director Linda Dawson, Deputy Mayor and Board of Works Chairman Greg Graham and economic specialist Ayako Girt and Anderson/Madison County Corporation for Economic Development Executive Director Rob Sparks will travel to Shanghai and the Yuhang District in China and Tokyo, Japan, calling on companies interested in moving to the United States.
"It's very important when you're dealing with Asian companies to develop a rapport with those companies and to keep their relationship up," Dawson said.
The visits, about three or four a day during the trip, were pre-arranged for the city at companies that already have expressed interest in meeting with Anderson representatives.
"Typically, they wouldn't do it if there wasn't any interest," Dawson said.
The trip, for which the group will leave Saturday and return Nov. 6, will help Anderson spread the word about its infrastructure, work force, location and assets like the Flagship Enterprise Center for high-tech research and development.
Graham hopes the trip also will help convince Asian businesses to locate in the Midwest.
"Most Asian businesses, when they come to the United States they go to the West Coast," he said. "We want to convince them that they need to come to the Midwest. They can make their product here and they can have it on the shelf tomorrow, they can do it at less cost. It's more environmentally friendly and a reasonably priced place for employees to live."
Graham is going on the trip in place of Mayor Kris Ockomon, who had a prior commitment. Graham will head the delegation, while Dawson, Girt and Sparks will provide information on incentives offered by Anderson and Madison County and try to sell the area.
The trip will follow up visits to Asia during former Mayor Kevin Smith's term, when the city went to Japan twice and China once. It's important to maintain relationships with Asian business partners, Dawson said.
"All the indications that we have received back is that Asian companies are very into personal relationships," she said. "It takes several years to build the relationship. This is a long-term commitment."
The city also will be strengthening its relationship with its unofficial sister city in China in the Yuhang District, from which representatives visited Anderson last year, Graham said.
Although many cities go on state-sponsored economic development trips abroad, Anderson will go it alone this time, allowing for more one-on-one attention on the city.
"We felt it was more productive to go on our own and represent the region and the state," Dawson said.
Dawson, Graham and Girt's expenses will be paid out of the city's travel fund, while Sparks had been asked to pay his own way on the trip, according to a Herald Bulletin story published in March.
While city officials are in China for business, Chinese business people will make a trip to Anderson in an unrelated venture. City spokeswoman Tammy Bowman said there were some prospect visits coming to the city at that time.
Graham said a Chinese banking delegation was coming to Anderson to look at some of the former GM properties that have been taken over by the city.
Dawson would not comment about ongoing business prospects within the city, but said some interest in the city had come from China.
"We've been quite pleased that over the last couple months that we've had interest from Chinese companies," she said. "We've had about three or four contacts wanting further information about Anderson."
Although it's doubtful the city will strike any deals while its representatives are in Asia, the chance of getting Asian businesses to visit the city is well worth the trip, Graham said.
"I think that would be a great step forward and be a fine result of the trip," he said. "These types of journeys start with the first steps, and we want to follow up with these companies and really sell Anderson as a place where they can come, make a profit and have a successful business."