Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, second from left, looks at a model while learning more about hydrogen at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia on July 24. Holcomb visited Australia and Singapore as part of a foreign economic development trip paid for with private funds. Photo provided | Indiana Governor’s Office
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is looking to strike a few more international economic development deals before his time in office is up.
This year, Holcomb has taken economic development trips to Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, the Netherlands and Mexico. His latest trip has brought him to Australia and Singapore, his first visits as governor, and 24th trip overall.
The goal of the latest trip is to cultivate new collaborations and opportunities with each region across government and industry, along with focusing on growing partnerships to advance “mutually beneficial” economic development, innovation and talent development in shared sectors such as advanced manufacturing, defense and energy, Holcomb’s office said in a news release announcing the trip. It is also one of the last trips Holcomb will likely take as governor, as the Republican is term-limited and three candidates are vying to be his successor this fall.
His days as governor are numbered, but Holcomb has left the door open to more trips before he’s out.
“It’s pedal to the metal. Indiana cannot afford to downshift, down my stretch or in the 169 days when I hand the keys for someone else to drive forward,” Holcomb said on a Zoom call with reporters Sunday. “ … We want to make sure that we maximize our remaining days.”
Holcomb left for Australia and Singapore with First Lady Janet Holcomb, Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg and Indiana Economic Development Corporation representatives on July 20. The cost of his travel is being paid through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation. He is expected to return to Indiana on Tuesday.
Indiana shares strong trade ties with both regions, with imports and exports topping $1.8 billion and $944 million with Australia and Singapore, respectively. The state is home to 32 Australian business establishments, including C&R Racing and Tronics, and two Singaporean-owned businesses.
Both regions also host a number of Indiana-based businesses, with CAI, Eli Lilly and Co. and Zimmer Biomet operating in both Australia and Singapore, according to the governor’s office.
While in Australia, Holcomb met with U.S. and Australian government officials to discuss shared strengths and opportunities. Indiana’s delegation also attended a roundtable discussion at the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney to discuss economic and policy connections between the two countries and highlight Indiana’s position in the U.S. and globally, his office said.
They also met with executives of Australia-based businesses, and Holcomb highlighted Indiana’s focus on global engagement and the growing ties between Indiana and Australia at a reception hosted by the U.S. Consul General, his office said.
The delegation also met with representatives of the state of Victoria in an effort to explore partnership opportunities between Indiana and Victoria, which boasts strong advanced manufacturing, defense, energy and life sciences industries. They also met with the leadership of the American Chamber of Commerce Australia, attending a roundtable hosted by the chamber in partnership with IFM Investors, a Melbourne-based institutional investor and asset manager that has invested in the Indiana Toll Road.
In Singapore, Holcomb and staff met with U.S. and Singaporean government officials and representatives of Enterprise Singapore, their enterprise development office, to discuss opportunities to increase investment, trade and innovation. They also met with members of the Singapore business community interested in expanding to the U.S. at a business and industry roundtable hosted by Enterprise Singapore, his office said.
While most of the call with reporters on Sunday was focused on the foreign trip, Holcomb was asked about Indianapolis’ ongoing efforts to lure Major League Soccer to the city. He highlighted the international appeal of soccer, adding that he was hopeful local leadership could create a framework to bring a team to Indy.
Upcoming U.S. elections also came up, with Holcomb saying they are at the top of international business leader’s minds.
“There are folks who binge watch our political theater as if it’s a reality show and can’t get enough of it and hang on every minute,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb told reporters he tries to emphasize that Indiana offers certainty, predictability and stability for companies looking to establish business in the U.S. He compared it to a first date.
“It’s our first date for a lack of a better description,” he said. “We’re turning on our Hoosier hospitality neon sign that says, ‘If you want to grow, we want to grow with you and we can go further and farther together.’”
Some of the visits on the trip stemmed from an investment summit Holcomb attended in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. Holcomb also said he accepts invitations to visit international business and government leaders out of respect.
Determining the success of this trip, along with past trips, is based on whether officials have “moved the ball down the field,” Holcomb said.
“There is no substitute for showing up,” Holcomb said. “A lot of people talk, Indiana walks. And we back it up and then we go back home and we start again, working the deal. … Hopefully, ultimately, we’re standing side-by-side in the state of Indiana and celebrating cutting the ribbon or doing the groundbreaking.”
Visiting international locations for companies already headquartered in Indiana — such as visiting Penske Australia and Eli Lilly’s Australia and Singapore locations — helps further strengthen relations, he said. Holcomb also visited an Australian facility of PACCAR, a heavy-duty truck manufacturer that is a partner of Cummins.
Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck and PACCAR formed a joint venture to advance battery cell production in the U.S. last year, now known as Amplify Cell Technologies. This “strategic collaboration” will advance zero-emissions technology for electric commercial vehicles and industrial applications, The (Columbus) Republic reported in June.
Holcomb was also asked about how the state can promote foreign-owned companies while still maintaining a commitment to Hoosier small businesses. He said the state needs businesses of all sizes — small, medium and large —saying it was an “ecosystem effort.”
“A lot of times the big businesses get the headlines, but it’s the small businesses that are the suppliers, that are the talent, that are scaling up,” he said. “That’s why it’s been so important to us to, in recent years, devote so much time and energy and activity toward venture capital and increasing access to venture capital, so small businesses can scale up in Indiana and actually stay in Indiana.”
Holcomb doesn’t expect to see the payoff of these trips right away, predicting the impacts would likely be seen decades in the future. But there are companies, like Lilly, whose expansions in the state have taken place over decades, he said.
“The payoff will be that families have high-wage careers, where they can live, work and play and enjoy our great state,” Holcomb said.
