By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com
Speaking in a conference call from Europe Thursday, Gov. Jim Doyle said he
is optimistic that German companies doing business in Wisconsin will
expand here.
“The response was very, very positive,” said Doyle, who spent several days
in Hessen – Wisconsin’s sister state – earlier this week.
“Those companies that are already here know us and what we have to offer,”
he said. “They know our facilities and the highly skilled and educated
people we can bring to a business.”
Doyle specifically cited the German pharmaceutical firm Merck Biosciences,
which already has two facilities in Wisconsin, including Novagen. (It is
not part of New Jersey based Merck & Co., which has legal troubles
involving its Vioxx pain medicine.)
Doyle also held talks with executives at Carl Schenck AG, which he said
might expand a plant it has in Whitewater.
And he said an agreement inked on Tuesday between Madison’s University
Research Park and the Frankfurt Biotech Innovation Center could produce
jobs and trade.
Also while in Germany, Doyle had breakfast with Wisconsin members of the
Army’s 123rd Main Support Battalion. They demonstrated heavy vehicles
that are made by OshKosh Truck and widely used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On the downside, Doyle said he is worried that Germany’s sluggish economy
and a political impasse could affect its business dealings with the Badger
State. Wisconsin exported $460 million in products to Germany in 2004.
He said he held talks with Roland Koch, the president of Hessen, who has
been shuttling to Berlin to help set up a new government.
“Koch is in middle of the negotiations and is leading the finance team to
put together a budget to deal with their big deficit, something I know a
little about,” he said wryly.
“But the feeling is that they are not going to have effective government
for the next few years because the Christian Democrats and Social
Democrats won’t compromise on the basics,” he said.
“My hope is that Germany’s economy improves, because they are our sixth
largest trading partner,” he said. “We want to see it grow.”
Doyle and his entourage – which includes executives from 18 companies –
spent Wednesday and Thursday in Prague, where Doyle attended a biofuels
conference and went to a reception at the U.S. ambassador’s home.
Business leaders will meet with their Czech counterparts tomorrow and
Doyle will tour Badger Meter and GE Healthcare facilities. He’ll also go
to a function at a Harley Davidson dealership.
Then it will be on to Poland for more commercial and political meetings.
Doyle said he hopes to meet with Poland’s president, Lech Kacynski, who
was elected to his post last month when he was mayor of Warsaw.
“I’m hoping the session with Kacynski will still happen,” he said. “We’ll
see.”
The Czech Republic and Poland are new members of the European Union and
Doyle hopes to expand trade with them. He said they both represent
“attractive” markets and entry points to the emerging Eastern European
market.
Wisconsin exported nearly $50 million there last year and sales to those
nations rose significantly in the first half of 2005.
Doyle said he will visit a Quad/Graphics plant in Poland to observe its
advanced technology. He will also go to the Warsaw University of
Technology with Marquette University officials. The schools are planning
to set up an entrepreneurial engineering initiative.
