Mary Cierebiej, Team Lorain County's Manager of Attraction & Expansion attended the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) WINDPOWER 2009 tradeshow in Chicago the first week of May. Mary attended as a Team Ohio member and partner of the Ohio Department of Development who sponsored the booth.
WINDPOWER 2009 Conference & Exhibition broke all former attendance records with over 23,000 attendees and 1,280 exhibitors. Ohio definitely stood out in the crowd this year with an impressive booth and steady flow of visitors. According to Ohio Business Development Coalition (OBDC - the marketing arm of the State of Ohio) the Ohio team interacted with over 500 contacts at the show. It is estimated that of those 500+ visitors, 295 of them are considered leads by the state and will be followed up with by the appropriate regional contact. The state already this month released a lead generated as a result of meetings held during the conference, so we hope this is only the beginning of wind related leads for Ohio.
Ohio was able to share its story of being the #1 supply chain state in terms of wind energy as well as answer questions regarding tax reform, industry-specific incentives, workforce and more. In addition, many visitors to the booth were Ohio companies wanting to know if they were in the supply chain database. Team Ohio members were able to pull up that information using interactive flat panel computer monitors displayed at the Ohio booth. Companies that may not have been included but thought they should be were referred to the Great Lakes Wind Network booth to make contact and schedule an assessment to determine where they fit on the supply chain.
Mary was able to visit the booths of some of our very own Lorain County companies and meet several other Lorain County company representatives at the Ohio Reception hosted by the Cleveland Foundation featuring Governor Strickland and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher. Ohio is serious about alternative energy and we put our best foot forward in trying to attract new and existing businesses beyond our borders and encouraged them to consider Ohio as they look to the future.
