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McDonnell says European trade mission will yield new investment in Virginia Date published: 7/23/2010
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
Gov. Bob McDonnell expects several economic development investments to come out of his weeklong trip to Europe. "We hope in the near term to have a fair number of announcements that we can make as a result of this trip," McDonnell told reporters Thursday in a conference call from Nuremburg, Germany. "So much of the ability to expand in Virginia does rely on expanding our trade opportunities in international markets." McDonnell has visited London and Amsterdam before getting to Germany this week. He said he and his group--including two Cabinet secretaries and some economic development staff--have met with companies that already have a presence in Virginia, such as Rolls Royce, or that could perhaps be lured to invest in Virginia. McDonnell said Rolls Royce's expansion in Prince George County, where the company is building a plant to manufacture turbine engines, could attract companies that make parts Rolls Royce uses. He said he has had meetings this week with companies in Rolls Royce's supply chain. McDonnell has also talked about wind energy and other alternative energies. He said he has promoted Virginia agricultural products, including wine. "I have learned a lot in these last five days about what Virginia is doing well with our marketing efforts and also learned some things we could do better," McDonnell said. The trip has cost $80,000 to $90,000. McDonnell said that's less than trade trips taken by his predecessors, some of which cost more than $100,000. He expects the trip to yield far more in investment and jobs, and said meeting executives and government officials face to face is worthwhile. "You have to look customers in the eye. You have to shake their hand and tell them this is not just a biz deal, this is a long-term partnership," McDonnell said. Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
A insightful look at the state of Virginia as potentially seen by those on planet Earth. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072206100.html?hpid%3Dnews-col-blog
"The trip has cost $80,000 to $90,000. McDonnell said that's less than trade trips taken by his predecessors, some of which cost more than $100,000." And no doubt his predecessors claimed that their taxpayer funded European vacations were going to result in fantastic ROIs as well. Research anyone?
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