The Sweden Connection
Why Sweden?
The City of Rockford was founded by Swedish immigrants in the 19th century. Today the Rockford community is still known for its substantial Swedish heritage, with 13% of Rockford citizens claiming Swedish ancestry. In fact, Rockford has the third largest concentration of Swedish people per capita in the United States.
Rockford also has a history of successfuly Swedish-owned companies, like Rapid Granulator and Haldex, as well as dozens of companies that are owned or managed by descendants of Swedish immigrants.
Sweden is an open market to both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and export. According to the US Department of Commerce, the United States is Sweden’s favorite FDI country because the American market is so “open”. US trade regulations are very favorable to foreign investment. They have a 5 to 1 trade surplus with the U.S. and want to import more from America.
Currently over 20% of all jobs in the Rockford MSA are in manufacturing. Many of these jobs require highly skilled professionals trained in the technical processes of modern manufacturing. In fact, Rockford ranks 4th among cities in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin for the number of high tech jobs in manufacturing. The country of Sweden consistently ranks among the top three world-wide for innovation and technology. We are a good match for Swedish companies.
In order to build success and win major industrial projects for our region, we have to build ties to Sweden. Business deals occur as a result of relationships. To strengthen our ties to Sweden and benefit from our Swedish heritage, we have formed “the Sweden Connection, an aggressive, targeted marketing plan to increase employment in the Rockford area. We have joined the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce. We have met with Swedish organizations in the United States, with the US Department of Commerce both in Sweden and in Washington D.C., and with the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden at E-Days.
We think that our region’s historical and current connections with Sweden give us an ideal foundation on which to build a strong trade program. The Sweden Connection, in partnership with several trade partners, utilizes a blend of trade missions, matchmaking, in-market representation, trade show appearances and advertising tactics to communicate the significant resources of the Rockford region.
For information on the upcoming SouthSweden E-days trade mission click here.
To download a brochure pertaining to the trade mission, click here.
To view the Sweden Trade Mission video, click here.