Elgin woos foreign investors

Elgin might seem an unlikely place for an international trade delegation to visit, which is exactly why trade commissioners from 20 nations chose the city for a tour Wednesday.

The visit was the ninth in a series of "reverse trade missions" designed to highlight investment opportunities outside Chicago's city limits.

"The purpose is to bring them outside Chicago to show them prime opportunities for foreign direct investment," said Mark Harris, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The Elgin Chamber of Commerce, which helped organize the visit, said the trade mission reflects Elgin's increasing reliance on global business.

"More and more, foreign-owned companies are moving here," chamber president Leo Nelson said. "We're trying to get foreign companies to invest in the Elgin area."

During an itinerary that took the delegation from Elgin Community College to the Grand Victoria Casino, the commissioners met Mayor Ed Schock, ECC President David Sam and Elgin-area businesses that already engage in foreign trade.

The Elginites who greeted the trade officials tried to sell the city by noting its proximity to Chicago and O'Hare International Airport and by showing how international trade already has taken root in Elgin.

"We can support the kind of growth that they would be interested in because we have the infrastructure here," Nelson said.

The trade commissioners cannot boost investment in the region directly, but they can encourage firms from India, China, Taiwan and 17 other countries to do so.

"A lot of communities are really realizing that this is a great opportunity for them to show what they have to offer to foreign companies," Harris said.

Since they started in 2004, the trade missions have taken the delegation to Rockford, Springfield, Champaign and five other cities across the state, according to the commerce department.

Elgin's business community hopes Wednesday's visit will result in more foreign companies moving to the area and doing business with local firms.

"There's a lot of dialogue going on," Nelson said. "It seems to me that it's been positive."