Governor Bredesen ANNOUNCES TRADE MISSION TO GERMANY
Governor to Lead Outreach to VW Suppliers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen announced today a delegation of Tennessee government, community and business leaders will travel to Germany in October to meet with officials of Volkswagen AG and the automaker’s supplier community. The governor announced the trip during his keynote address at the 55th annual Governor’s Conference for Economic and Community Development at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN.
“Our message to Volkswagen suppliers is simple: Tennessee is ready to offer the same world-class business climate to the automaker’s partner companies as well,” said Governor Bredesen. “I’m convinced we’ll find a receptive audience for our message.”
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development will be the state’s lead agency for the trade mission and will invite representatives from Tennessee communities located within a defined radius of the Enterprise South megasite. The initial meetings with suppliers will focus on Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies based in Europe. Regional industrial development associations from across Tennessee will also be invited to participate in the trade mission to represent communities who cannot send a delegate. A list of trade mission participants is still being finalized. The trade mission will run October 22-28.
“We’ve been very up-front about saying the Volkswagen project has the potential to benefit the people of Tennessee beyond the 2,000 direct jobs and $1 billion capital investment of the assembly plant,” said ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber. “The assembly plant is an anchor around which additional investment can take place.”
The trade mission will begin in Wolfsburg, Germany where Governor Bredesen and members of the delegation will tour the Volkswagen AG facilities and meet with company executives. Volkswagen AG Chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn will also host the delegation for a reception in Berlin. Following the governor’s return to Tennessee, the delegation will travel to Dusseldorf, Munich and Frankfurt to hold briefings about the project with suppliers before returning the U.S.
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