Rochelle hosts German officials

Pictured above, Mark Tomkins, President and CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce

Lori Hammelman
Posted 5/29/18

Two ranking German officials paid a visit to Rochelle Wednesday, accepting an invitation from the city to tour facilities and discuss economic development opportunities.

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Rochelle hosts German officials

Pictured above, Mark Tomkins, President and CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce

Posted

ROCHELLE — Two ranking German officials paid a visit to Rochelle Wednesday, accepting an invitation from the city to tour facilities and discuss economic development opportunities.

Deputy Consul-General Dr. Andreas Goetze and Mark Tomkins, President and CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce, toured two businesses along with the city railroad and technology park.

This comes after Rochelle’s economic development director, Jason Anderson, traveled with Gov. Bruce Rauner on a trade mission to Europe. Anderson and the delegation toured Poland and Germany for 12 days, visiting companies and businesses to tout all that Illinois has to offer.

Both complimented the vast resources Rochelle has including the proximity to major highways and railroads.

“It struck me today being here, for a relatively small town all of the resources that you have in place for successful businesses, workforce, utilities, and transportation and the companies here that are already successful,” Tomkins said. “We are working on bringing German companies not just to the Midwest, but here in Rochelle as well. That’s our role in the German American Chamber of Commerce. We are dedicated to building investment between Germany and the U.S.”

Deputy Consul-General Goetze talked about the tour, visiting MightyVine and Silgan Containers. He also touched on the many German Americans that have planted roots in the Midwest area.

German Goetze 2 WEB

Pictured above, Deputy Consul-General Dr. Andreas Goetze

“I think Rochelle is the most fascinating place in the sense that is has combined infrastructure, railroad, energy, roads, and is the perfect place for economic opportunities,” Goetze said.

Tomkins talked about meeting Anderson during the Trade Mission trip, which also included a visit to the world’s largest industrial trade show in Germany.

“The Governor’s delegation had a great group of people from Illinois, being able to connect with individual companies to make those connections for Rochelle to start drawing some of that investment here,” Tomkins said.

Tomkins also discussed the German apprenticeship program in conjunction with Kishwaukee College and the over 40 companies already involved. The three-year program includes an Associates degree at Kishwaukee with the German apprenticeship certification. Upon completion, graduates are guaranteed employment in the core jobs of advanced manufacturing and CNC technicians.

Mayor Chet Olson addressed the German officials, thanking them for visiting.

“This is a great opportunity and honor to have folks visit our city and see what the Midwest has to offer,” Olson said. “We feel in Rochelle we have a great opportunity here with all the logistics…We thank you gentlemen for coming today. I hope your travels were very informative, and hope to see you in the near future.”

Tomkins reiterated how impressed he is with Rochelle. This is his first visit to the ‘Hub City’ as President and CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce.

“For a town of this size it is impressive to see the forethought and the investments in utilities and the infrastructure and at the same time, seeing the companies are following along and investing as well,” Tomkins said.