On Thursday, February 13, Mayor Craig Johnson and Elk Grove Village’s economic development team welcomed attendees from consulates and foreign investment organizations representing Greece, Poland, Ecuador, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and more as part of a tour of Elk Grove’s industrial and technology parks.

The event was part of a year-long series coordinated by SelectChicago®, with a goal of showcasing Illinois and the Chicagoland region to foreign investment groups that support international businesses seeking to locate in the United States.

During the welcome by Mayor Johnson, attendees learned about Elk Grove Village’s business-friendly approach, including how the Village supports businesses through a robust transportation infrastructure, continuous public works improvements, and forward-thinking initiatives like pursuing 5G connectivity throughout the industrial park.

Attendees had the opportunity to tour MC Machinery, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, including the company’s state-of-the-art showroom and customer support centers. Representatives from MC Machinery noted that being located near a concentration of some of their top manufacturing customers, as well as in close proximity to several of their major machine tool competitors, was a benefit to their business. They added that visibility of their new building from I-90 had netted them at least two new sales opportunities.

The tour also included a stop at the Elk Grove Technology Park. Representatives from Brennan Investment Group discussed the collaborative effort to conceptualize and develop the innovative new site, which makes Elk Grove Village even more attractive to high-tech companies — putting them within the O’Hare market while providing the fiber and data connectivity they need.

The event concluded with a lunch at ENCLAVE for Entrepreneurs at O’Hare. Guests learned about ENCLAVE and Elk Grove’s unique public-private partnership, and how Elk Grove is committed to helping business leaders grow and sustain their businesses while also developing themselves as individuals and members of the community.

Participants had a number of questions about how Elk Grove supports international businesses, including everything from access to rail within the industrial park, to access to a skilled workforce, to the 6B tax abatement program.

“We’re thrilled to partner with SelectChicago on this program,” noted Joshua Grodzin, Director of Business Development and Marketing. “We’ve had the honor to work with several international companies just in the past year to establish Elk Grove as their North American headquarters and are always looking for ways to promote Elk Grove’s hub location and business friendly advantage to a global audience.”

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About SelectChicago®: SelectChicago® is a curated program helping foreign investors and international businesses tap into regional Chicago area economic development programs. Our team works with overseas investors, municipalities, international trade commissioners, economic development organizations — and Chicagoland businesses to assist global investors in investing at the municipal level and local companies establish US subsidiaries abroad.