By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph state representative who accompanied Governor Mike Parson on a trade mission to Europe says business executives there were very receptive.
Rep. Brenda Shields says the Missouri trade delegation met with several business executives from companies based in Germany and the Netherlands.
“You could tell that they were very pleased and impressed that we had made time to visit them in their home country and visit their headquarters and tour their facilities,” Shields tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “I think it made a tremendous impression upon them that we were very interested in having them in Missouri and for them to do business with us.”
Shields had a chance to speak with executives of companies with investments in St. Joseph: Boehringer Ingelheim, Schuetz Container Systems, and BASF.
Shields says the Missouri delegation saw a mix of companies with about half that have investments in Missouri and half that do not. She says those that do not have a presence in the state do have a working knowledge of Missouri and of St. Joseph as well.
“I think St. Joseph is a prime location for a lot of the new development that our foreign friends are ready to invest around,” Shields says.
Shields says there might be some deals in the works in wake of the trade mission last month, but she is not permitted to discuss any pending moves.
Personal relationships are very important to business executives in Germany and the Netherlands, according to Shields.
“For me personally, it was very interesting to sit in these meetings with these CEOs and owners of these multi-billion dollar companies and to listen to what was important to them,” Shields says.
What is important to them, according to Shields, are primarily four things: abundant, affordable energy, transportation, workforce development, and tax policy. Shields says the delegation emphasized Missouri’s low corporate tax rate during the talks.
“And every time that you’d mention that their eyes would get very excited to hear about that as well.”
Missouri benefits simply due to its location, in the middle of the country. It has interstates and federal highways crisscrossing the state, with rail transportation, and even water transportation with barge traffic on both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Gov. Parson has emphasized workforce development during his tenure and the legislature has approved several programs designed to enhance workforce skills.
Shields was one of only two state lawmakers to go on the trip.
The Hawthorn Foundation, a Missouri nonprofit, funded the trip.