It has been a busy year thus far for the NEI. As we approach the final stretch of 2023 with less than 130 days left, we are gearing up for one last major surge before the holiday season begins. To date, we have successfully added 63 new project opportunities to our pipeline – surpassing our annual goal by 124%. This brings our total active pipeline projects to approximately 90, demonstrating the remarkable progress we’ve made.

Over the next 60 days, our dedicated business development team, including myself, will embark on an additional 15 sales missions. These missions will encompass a range of activities, including conferences and trade shows focused on advanced material industries, vehicles, insurance, medical devices, defense and aerospace. We are also concentrating on site consultant and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) initiatives.

• For site consultants, we are hosting our very first IN The North Familiarization Tour (FAM Tour) – partnering with Northwest Indiana Forum and South Bend/Elkhart Region to offer a Northern Indiana FAM Tour that stretches from Northwest to Northeast Indiana. Our site consultant guests will explore all three regions of northern Indiana in less than three days.
• On the FDI front, I am excited to inform you that I will be representing NEI in Japan, alongside our regional partners, at the 53rd Midwest US Japan Association Conference (MWJA).

Interestingly, this year’s MWJA will revolve around key themes such as “strategies for innovation,” “green and digital transition” and “partnerships for the global economy.” These themes align perfectly with the regional initiatives that NEI has been diligently working to advance throughout the year. To highlight just a few of our ongoing projects, we are continuing to drive progress in our zero-emission off-highway vehicle cluster, INOVEC. We have recently applied to the U.S. EDA Build to Scale Program to further support this endeavor. Additionally, we are actively working towards establishing an Automation Integration Center, designed to facilitate entry into the “hardtech” innovation ecosystem, in collaboration with partners like EWI.

Notably, we recently had the privilege of hosting Senator Young to discuss how NEI can benefit from the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which he co-authored and championed. Senator Young also discussed with us ways to enhance our access to much-needed labor – both domestically and internationally – and addressed various other critical aspects, including housing.

Internally, our Marketing team has been hard at work on the completion of our rebrand, which includes everything from printed collateral and internal signage to branded materials and a podcast studio. You can read more about this HERE.

I want to emphasize that without your unwavering support, many of these initiatives would be incredibly challenging, if not impossible, to advance. Therefore, I would like to extend a heartfelt invitation to you to remain actively engaged with us, participate in our endeavors and consider volunteering your valuable expertise.

As mentioned in my previous communication, the 2024 Annual Operating Plan Process has already commenced. There is still time if you would like to connect and share your valuable insights and perspectives. Your input is instrumental in shaping our future strategies and direction.

Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to our ongoing collaboration as we strive for even greater achievements together.