Whitmer makes second trade mission to Europe in 2023

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made her second trade mission to Europe this year with a trip to Austria this week focused on creating new jobs and investments in Michigan's auto manufacturing and clean energy sectors.

In Graz, Austria, Whitmer met with executives at AVL List GmbH on Wednesday, according to a news release from her office. The company is among the world's largest mobility technology companies and focuses on auto industry and climate-neutral mobility, according to its website.

"Today, I continued my economic mission to go anywhere and compete with anyone to bring jobs and investment back home to Michigan," Whitmer said in a statement. "We have the workforce, businesses, and mobility ecosystem to lead the future of advanced manufacturing, and I look forward to winning more transformational, job-creating projects for every region of Michigan."

AVL's North American headquarters is located in Plymouth and Whitmer wants to increase the company's presence in the Michigan city, according to her office.

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This recent trade mission follows another Whitmer made earlier this year to Norway. Whitmer announced last week that a Norwegian company — Nel Hydrogen — chose Michigan as the site for a new manufacturing facility that could create 500 jobs after her meeting with them in January.

"We went to Norway, had a meeting with Nel, that really I think, obviously, shows how important it is to build relationships and to make sure we're telling the Michigan story everywhere," Whitmer told the Free Press in an interview last week. "(We) had this conversation and now we're talking about over 500 really good-paying jobs. The biggest electrolyzer facility in the nation is going to come to Michigan. It's going to round out so much of the clean energy work that we're doing and solutions for energy consumption."

Quentin Messer Jr. — who heads Michigan's economic development agency, which sponsored Whitmer's latest European trade mission — touted the trip to Austria as another chance to land investment in the state.

"As a truly international US state, we seek to partner with our friends in Europe to be a global industry leader and are grateful that the Governor continues to champion this message of opportunity around the world on behalf of Team Michigan," Messer said in a statement.

Whitmer's celebration of the Norwegian company's announced investment in Michigan and this recent European trade mission come amid a rising tide of local and legislative opposition to two recent major economic development deals involving companies with ties to China. Lawmakers say they plan to seek ways to give themselves and communities a greater say in Michigan's biggest economic development deals.

While in Europe, Whitmer will also visit Latvia to meet with President Egils Levits and thank Michigan National Guard troops for their service conducting exercises with the country during the Russia-Ukraine War, according to a news release from Whitmer's office.

Free Press staff writer Todd Spangler contributed to this report

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer makes second trade mission to Europe in 2023