©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Galesburg in Foreign Trade Zone |
Officials throughout the Galesburg community and representatives from local entities all say that having another tool in the chest will pay benefits down the road.
The group gathered Wednesday morning at the Amtrak Depot to formally announce Galesburg as being a member of a foreign trade zone.
Economic Development Council for Central Illinois' Chief Operating Officer, Vickie Clark, says the FTZ will lower costs for businesses, increase their competitiveness in the global market and strengthen both employment and capital investment opportunities in Galesburg, Knox County, and the western Illinois region.
Galesburg Mayor Sal Garza told the gathering that there is a whole host of benefits to being involved in the foreign trade zone.
"It generates opportunities in terms of business attraction, but at the same time, it lowers obstacles, and eases the stresses of these potential employers in terms of bringing in material, as well as assembling and manufacturing whatever their product is," Garza said.
Garza says the program doesn't provide any guarantees and what the region has received is an opportunity to elevate the probability of levels of success.
Knox College President Roger Tayor says he has looked on, in his words with some "dismay," as local residents took "pot-shots" at the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association, which he says, has become sort of a municipal pastime for the bloggers or people who write letters to the editor. Taylor says he appreciates the hard work of Greg Mangeri and the GREDA staff on obtaining the FTZ and says those bloggers and pot-shoters need to congratulate GREDA on the victory.
(GREDA Chairman and Carl Sandburg College president Tom Schmidt speaks at Wednesday's Foreign Trade Zone Announcement.)
(City Manager Dane Bragg, Mayor Sal Garza, and Vickie Clark, Economic Development Council for Central Illinois C.O.O. speak Wednesday morning at the Galesburg Amtrak Depot.)
(Former Macomb Mayor Tom Carper, Chairman of the Amtrak Board of Directors, speaks Wednesday morning. WGIL News Story and Photos by Dominic Fortini.) |
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| 10 28 09 by Newsroom |
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