Local officials say some great connections were made between Wellington County and the Netherlands during a visit from a delegation of Dutch business representatives to the area last week.
The county provided a reception and tour of local sites of agricultural and historical interest to delegates from 38 Dutch businesses on May 27.
The delegates were part of a group of 46 businesspersons visiting as part of the state visit to Canada of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima from May 26 to 30.
The county worked with the City of Guelph and University of Guelph to host the delegation, providing a full day tour of university facilities, Mapleton’s Organic Dairy and a visit to the Wellington County Museum and Archives, where the visitors enjoyed a reception and dinner after touring the national historic site.
The visitors, along with county representatives, then attended a Feeding the Cities conference on May 28 and 29, including business match-making sessions, where Wellington companies were matched with Dutch company representatives for face-to-face sessions.
Wellington County economic development officer Jana Reichert noted the exchange was very timely, as the county’s recently-completed investment strategy identified the Netherlands as “a natural economic partner.”
“The Netherlands was looking at us as saying these guys have a lot of land and they have a lot of innovative processes and were looking at them and saying we could learn a lot in terms of their sustainable practices and in terms of their experience feeding the urban consumer,” she stated.
“So it was really current and it was really topical and relevant.”
Reichert feels some good direct connections were made during the “open match-making” sessions on Friday.
For example, she noted one Dutch ingredient supplier on the tour specialized in organic mushrooms.
“Basically they were looking for any kind of processors in our area,” said Reichert.
“So we connected them with canning businesses with … pizza businesses … the (Dutch) business wanted to get as many face-to-face meetings as possible, so that’s what we were trying to do. That’s where the value really comes in, is understanding what your business base is and what they really do.”
Warden George Bridge said he was especially pleased with the connections made at the government level.
“The big thing we got out of it, that I was excited about, was the connections to the Dutch government,” said Bridge, noting Dutch agriculture minister, ambassador and staff from the Netherlands’ Washington embassy were among the contacts made.
“Those are big connections,” Bridge said.
Mapleton Mayor Neil Driscoll, who accompanied the group on the tour through Wellington County, said the Dutch visitors were a “really fun” group that was especially impressed to learn about the strong Dutch influence in the region.
“We already have a historical connection with them … We have a natural connection and a lot of our communities have a strong foundation of Dutch businesses,” said Reichert.
During the conference, delegates publicly stated they were pleased with the opportunity to get outside the city and get a true sense of the local areas.
Showcase
“They were so glad that Wellington County hosted them,” noted Reichert.
“It made sense. We’re good hosts and we’ve got great local food and we want to showcase what our lands look like …
“We can do that in a meeting boardroom in Toronto, but why not come out and see what we do.”
With trade between Canada and Europe expected to increase in the coming years, Reichert said opportunities for direct connections such as the Dutch visit will become increasingly important.
“There are future opportunities; the world has shrunk significantly,” she said.
“The formalized trade agreement between Europe and Canada means this is going to be even more important and those relationships are crucial.”
See related photo on page 24.
