Springfield delegation returns from China

The group flew to Beijing and spent time in Dalian and Zhengzhou, met with the vice governor of Henan Province, the vice chairman of the Henan Chamber of Commerce, and officials of the Dalian Free Trade Zone and the Dalian General Chamber of Commerce.

Brad Bodenhausen, executive vice president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, said the mission had three goals – to showcase Southwest Missouri State University’s presence in Dalian, where there is a campus, and Zhengzhou, where there is an MBA program; to build relationships that might lead to business deals; and for a group of Springfield business leaders to observe the modernization taking place in China.

“We went last fall and signed agreements with two chambers of commerce there to partner and try to build relationships between business and government officials. This was really the first step in carrying out those agreements,” Bodenhausen said.

Mike Briggs, president of Willow Brook Foods, went to China with the goal of meeting people in the food industry for the possibility of supplying raw materials or finished meat products in the future.

“From that standpoint, I got to talk to some folks who explained to me how the distribution works, so I don’t know if it’s going to lead to business overnight. But I sure feel like I’ve got a better handle on what it takes,” Briggs said.

Willow Brook ships raw materials to Mexico, Russia and Taiwan. Such arrangements create jobs in other countries without hurting Willow Brook’s local work force, he said.

Andy Lear, a partner with BKD and president of the Springfield Development Corp., a division of the chamber, was pleased with the trip’s outcome.

“If we’re looking for immediate results, I think we’ll be disappointed. But I do think we took another step in letting them know we’re serious and (that) we have some real interest.”

Springfield City Manager Tom Finnie said it’s clear that business opportunities with China must be based on long-term relationships.

“They don’t do business the way we do. They don’t put out bids and the low bid gets it. They do it based on relationships,” he said.

Furthering relationships and getting officials and businesspeople from Springfield and China together is where the potential for future business lies, Lear said, and that may happen in the near future. Bodenhausen said the chamber hopes to host a group from China here in September.

“If that works out, we would be able to continue that relationship here,” he said.

The trip cost each traveler about $3,300, with expenses paid by individuals or their employers. Mayor Tom Carlson paid his own way, and the city paid for Finnie, Bodenhausen said.

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