This morning came early after a long night of travel.  After a day of meetings, we flew to Dusseldorf, piled into a car and a van, and made the 90-mile drive (they call it 150 kilometers here) to Lippstadt.  I've lost count, but I think we'll reach the 3,000 mile mark on this trip sometime today.  We traveled on the Autobahn today but spent much of the time in construction and traffic and on two-lane roads.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the hotel, they had no reservations for us ... and not enough rooms.  So we split up and checked into the rooms we could find in a couple of hotels.  Despite the late hour and our exhaustion, we did find a great local pizzeria that delivered late.

Germany and Michigan already have a great working relationship.  In fact, there are more than 300 German-owned companies in Michigan, employing over 170,000 people.

Today I spoke with four companies who are considering locating or expanding in Michigan: Behr-Hella Thermocontrol, ersol Solar Energy AG, Maschinengabrik Spaichingen (luckily I was able to refer to it as "MS Welders"), and EDAG.  EDAG, which is an engineering and development company, announced that it will invest $7 million to expand its Auburn Hills and Troy operations, creating 140 new jobs over the next two years.

Tonight we checked into our hotel (successfully - they had our reservations) and had dinner with company executives from another firm that may choose Michigan.  They were anxious to show off their city, so we walked downtown where we encountered "Sandkerwa" - a local festival celebrating the church.  We felt a little out of place in our business suits, but it was a great scene:  booths and food and rides and happy people celebrating their community.

More to come tomorrow…

- JMG