Delegates from Ohio tout China trade visit

After a nine-day trade mission to China last month, state officials and delegates - including two from northwest Ohio - are following up on contacts made with Chinese companies primarily focused on renewable energy and transportation.

The University of Toledo, for example, plans to invite to the area a renewable-energy company whose leaders are interested in establishing a U.S. presence, said delegate Megan Reichert-Kral, UT's director of business incubation.

Last month's mission, which allowed 21 Ohioans to visit companies and witness Chinese strides, was a success, Ms. Reichert-Kral said. She visited all three cities on the trade mission, Beijing, Wuhan, and Shanghai, and was amazed by the size of solar power and wind energy installations, she said this week.

"I was very encouraged, and I think this particular company has a lot of potential," said Ms. Reichert-Kral, who declined to name the Chinese firm.

"I definitely think it was successful," she added. "It's just amazing to me how quickly everything is growing there."

Lisa Patt-McDaniel, director of the Ohio Department of Development, which organized the trip, also said she felt the trade mission was a success. The companies are looking for U.S. partners or places to begin manufacturing, and a couple of announcements could be made within six months, she said.

"It's an ongoing thing," Ms. Patt-McDaniel said. "The mission is not the end. It's only the beginning of the work."

Continuing to find opportunities for Ohio-made goods was another focus of the trip, state development officials said.

China is Ohio's third-largest export market, and it received $1.9 billion worth of products from the Buckeye state last year, noted Deborah Scherer, director of the department's Global Markets Division. The mission cost the state $30,200. Each delegate paid $4,675 to attend and provided his or her own transportation to China.

In Shanghai, Ms. Reichert-Kral of UT and the mission's other northwest Ohio delegate, Jim Rush of Communica Inc. in Toledo, rode on a high-speed train before it officially opened.

Besides joining the state trade mission in Shanghai, Mr. Rush spent time in China doing research for a Cleveland consumer products company client, said the Communica senior vice president who also is involved with a joint venture, Becker/CMCA, with George A. Becker & Co. of Cleveland.

Ms. Patt-McDaniel and Ms. Scherer spoke about northwest Ohio's universities, skilled workers, companies, and transportation benefits during visits to Chinese companies, Mr. Rush said.

"They do a really good job of highlighting northwest Ohio, particularly in the solar sector," Mr. Rush said.

Ms. Scherer said of the solar operations in northwest Ohio: "That was certainly of interest to some of the companies."

Contact Julie M. McKinnon

at: jmckinnon@theblade.com

or 419-724-6087.