Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chicago

Dutch design shone brightly in Chicago this week at the The Inspired Home Show, North America’s largest housewares trade show, including a prestigious award for a particularly gezellig Dutch retail concept. This year, 1,600 exhibitors and over 30,000 home and housewares professionals from more than 120 countries converged upon Chicago to discover new housewares products and industry trends. Consul General Eric Strating and Deputy Jeroen Beekman visited several Dutch companies exhibiting at McCormick Place, including Brabantia USA Inc., Koopman International B.V. and Vacu Vin, to discuss the state of the industry, trends and the current economic climate. Dutch excellence and innovation was visible all over the conference trade floor. From Brabantia's latest appliances to Koopman's non-food products or the innovative Dutch design products of VacuVin, the Netherlands is a player in this industry. This was perhaps best illustrated by Balthazar Kookwinkel, a cookware store from Hilversum, the Netherlands, who won the prestigious global honoree award. Competing with stores from 31 different countries, their concept, judged on elements as vision, design, display, marketing, and more, came out as one the best. Which, of course, we celebrated with a 'bloemetje' from the Consulate. Congratulations to owner Irma Thierig and daughter Julia Daalder!

Last week our Deputy Consul General Jeroen Beekman had the honor of joining a Black History Month Celebration at the First Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois, organized by the Midwest Underground Railroad Network. It was an inspirational event featuring gospel, dance, storytelling and praying, to celebrate the importance of the Underground Railroad—the secret network of freedom seekers and their allies who helped them escape slavery—in Black history, and therefore, American History. In Southern Chicagoland before the Civil War, on the Little Calumet River, Dutch immigrants played a supporting role as more than 4,000 freedom seekers traveled through northeast Illinois on their way to Canada and freedom. Families like the Tons and Kuypers provided freedom seekers a place to stay and transportation at their own personal risk—it was illegal to assist freedom seekers, even in free states like Illinois. We're grateful that the courage of the freedom seekers, Underground Railroad members like Lewis Isbell, and Dutch immigrants like the Tons and Kuipers continue to bring us together to this day. Thank you Larry McClellan, Tom Shepherd, Rodney Harrington, and others for inviting the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chicago to be part of this evening. Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the USA

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz visited the Netherlands last week on a successful economic mission, organized with support from the Consulate. The Netherlands and Minnesota are strong partners—trade flows worth billions support tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. We have particularly strong ties in areas like alternative protein and MedTech—where we’re organizing a mission to Minnesota in May (interested Dutch companies can learn more here: https://lnkd.in/egZ5QdA8). A few developments worth noting from the Governor's whirlwind visit: 🟥⬜ 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐭-𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: organized at Brainport Industries Campus by the Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), Gov. Walz and the Minnesota delegation presented how the state drives innovation in sectors like healthcare and advanced manufacturing, followed up by focused roundtables on regenerative medicine and medtech with experts like Dr. Charles Bruce of Mayo Clinic and Michael Flynn of Destination Medical Center (DMC). The Brainport region of the Netherlands has an innovative medical cluster, with growing research and commercial ties with Minnesota—great to once again bring them together.   🩺 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: the Twin Cities has been a successful landing spot for part of the Dutch giant’s Image-Guided Therapy business—focused on the development and production of small, precision medical devices—and the company recently announced another round of expansion in the state. Accompanied by Eindhoven Mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Gov. Walz and the Minnesota delegation visited the Philips Customer Experience Center in Best. A terrific example of Netherlands-Minnesota innovation.   📜 𝐍𝐋𝐂 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬-𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 3.0 𝐌𝐨𝐔: In Amsterdam, in the presence of Constantijn Van Oranje-Nassau, NLC Health Ventures hosted a breakfast and panel discussion on 🇳🇱🇺🇸 business. A handful of NLC portfolio companies have already found Minnesota a productive gateway into the US market, and Gov. Walz made it clear that Minnesota is ready to strengthen its ties with the Netherlands further. We're thrilled that the parties signed a memorandum pledging to build an NL-MN bridge for health innovation that will accelerate MedTech breakthroughs and benefit patients worldwide.   The Governor’s visit last week follows a successful Dutch medtech trade mission to Minnesota in 2023, accompanied by the Minister for Health, as well as regular exchanges on agriculture, food, and alternative protein, underlining the strategic relationship between the Netherlands and Minnesota, and the Netherlands Consulate in Chicago looks forward to deepening our excellent relationship with the state. Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development | GREATER MSP Partnership | Minnesota Department of Agriculture

As part of Black History Month, the Midwest Underground Railroad Network, together with the First Reformed Church of South Holland organized a beautiful evening in Chicagoland’s south side to celebrate, recognize and remember the historic significance of the Underground Railroad Project. It was a joy to be part of this inspirational event, with gospel, dance, storytelling and praying, to express and explain the importance of the Underground Railroad in Black history, and therefore, in American History. Thank you First Reformed Church of South Holland Larry McClellan Tom Shepherd Rodney Harrington and others, for inviting the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chicago to be part of this evening. It was an honor. The Underground Railroad was the secret network of individuals, organizations, and locations that assisted Black Americans on their way to Canada as they escaped slavery in the US South. More than 4,000 freedom seekers passed through northeast Illinois before the Civil War, on their way to Canada and freedom. The farm of Dutch settlers Jan and Aagje Ton is one of three Underground Railroad sites recognized by the National Parks Service in Illinois. As leaders of the Dutch immigrant community that settled around South Holland (de laage prairie) and Roseland (de hooge prairie) in the southern part of Chicagoland in the early 1900's, the Ton family and the Kuyper family participated in the Underground Railroad. The Ton farm stood on the banks of the Little Calumet River on the route from Chicago to Detroit, and they provided freedom seekers a place to stay and transportation at their own personal risk—it was illegal to assist freedom seekers, even in free states like Illinois. Today, the Ton Farm is the site of Chicago’s Finest Marina, a small boating facility and the oldest Black-owned marina in Chicago. In 2022 an official Illinois State Historic marker was dedicated at the site. In 2024 Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar of the Kingdom of the Netherlands unveiled a bilingual Dutch-English interpretive sign about the Dutch immigrants who aided freedom seekers escaping slavery in the South.

Consul General Eric Strating made his first official visit to the Commonwealth of Kentucky last month, with a program focused on controlled-environment agriculture, manufacturing, knowledge-sharing, and government. Dutch-American trade and investment supports nearly 10,000 jobs in Kentucky, with flourishing ties between the Netherlands' world-class agtech sector and a growing ecosystem in the Commonwealth. Highlights of the trip included: ⚙𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡-𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: a fascinating stop at the new WILA | Press Brake Productivity US HQ in Louisville, where the company is producing innovative new solutions in tooling, automation, and precision for the US metal fabrication market. 🌱🍓 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝-𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: the Consul General visited 80 Acres Farms, one of Kentucky’s leading vertical farming operations and a key investor in the Netherlands (they have a pioneering research center in the Hague), and helped cut the ribbon on the new Bosch Berries facility in Somerset, underscoring how Dutch AgTech expertise can help drive rural economic growth and advance sustainable food production systems. 🏫 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞: at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment we discussed the CEA Pathways Project, an initiative funded by the CG in Chicago, the Ministerie van Landbouw, Visserij, Voedselzekerheid en Natuur, and the Kentucky Horticulture Council to advance CEA knowledge by engaging with growers of all scales, developing critical resources to support growth, and gaining business insights to help Dutch companies better understand commercial opportunities. 🏛️ 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: in a meeting with Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel and Kentucky Department of Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, we explored how connecting Dutch innovation with areas strength in Kentucky’s agricultural and economic sectors, we can create new opportunities for growth, collaboration, and shared prosperity. A huge thank you to Daniel da Costa, Perry van Adrichem, and Trevor Terry for making this trip a success. Your vision and dedication to strengthening ties between the Netherlands and Kentucky truly highlight the spirit of collaboration that drives this partnership forward. This is just the beginning, and we look forward to continuing this important work together! NLWorks | Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the USA | HortiTech | Netherlands Agricultural Network in the USA and Canada | Bosch Growers

Do you want to help grow the economy of the Netherlands by building bridges between the Netherlands, Chicago, and the broader Midwest? Are you proactive, detail-oriented, and with a keen understanding of the 🇳🇱🇺🇸 business environment? The Consulate General is looking for a new Senior Economic Policy Officer, tasked with helping Dutch companies as they expand in the US market. Bonus points if you have subject-matter expertise in the mobility sector. The Midwest is home to 80 million people with an economy the size of Germany, and Midwest-Netherlands economic ties support hundreds of thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic—help us achieve our mission to make those relationships even stronger. More info here: https://lnkd.in/gKxCGv-8 Interested applicants should reach out to Jeroen Beekman (Jeroen.beekman@minbuza.nl) for more information.

The Netherlands and the Midwest share deep cultural ties—in heritage, in visual arts, in music, in architecture & design, and in film—and we take pride in these flourishing ties. A few highlights from a busy 2024 in Dutch Culture in the Midwest: 📜 Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar dedicated a bilingual Dutch-English interpretive panel telling the story of Dutch immigrants who helped freedom seekers escaping slavery at a site on the banks of the Little Calumet River on Chicago's south side. https://lnkd.in/g3QPZ9HJ 🏛️ The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Chicago was the first US museum to host a capsule version of a Rijksmuseum exhibition on the history of Dutch Colonial Slavery. https://lnkd.in/gzTVF2FY 🎨 Dutch street artists Leon Keer and Massina (Marije Spelbos) painted three massive murals in the Midwest with the support of DutchCulture USA, in Holland, Michigan, Salina, Kansas, and Cincinnati, Ohio. 🎹 Dutch pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen made their debut at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in October, performing Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos. https://lnkd.in/gSy7qipe 🪟 Dutch artist Anneke Eussen exhibited her compositions of recycled glass at Chicago's DOCUMENT gallery. https://lnkd.in/gbbxWYEz 🖼️ Four curators from the Netherlands joined invitation-only Curatorial Exchange program at EXPO CHICAGO art fair. https://lnkd.in/gmjBjZY6 📽️ Films from the Netherlands screened at the Architecture & Design Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival Summer Screenings Series.

Last Friday, we celebrated a milestone in Dutch-American agritech partnership, as Consul General Eric Strating helped cut the ribbon at a 30-acre Bosch Berries greenhouse in Somerset, Kentucky. The Netherlands is the capital of the global greenhouse and controlled-environment agriculture sector. Now, Wouter van den Bosch and Tijmen van den Bosch, two visionary Dutch growers, are bringing their family’s agricultural expertise from Bleiswijk in the Netherlands to the heart of Kentucky. In only four years, Kentucky has grown to over 13.8 million square feet of production under glass or plastic, making it second in the U.S. for fresh produce production under cover—an achievement reflecting the power of collaboration. The Netherlands is proud to support this spirit of collaboration. Partnerships like the KY-NL Consortium show how Dutch expertise in sustainable agriculture can combine with American ambition to deliver real results like: ✅ Reducing food miles, ensuring fresher produce ✅ Creating jobs and economic opportunities locally ✅ Meeting global challenges like food security and sustainability The Bosch brothers are producing far more than berries—they are growing opportunities for healthier communities and stronger international ties. At the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chicago, we are committed to fostering partnerships like this, which demonstrate the strength of Dutch-American agricultural and economic diplomacy. Congratulations to the Bosch Berries team, the Somerset community, and all who made this possible. This is only the beginning! NLWorks | Bosch Growers | Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development | Kentucky Department of Agriculture

It was another successful year for the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency team in Chicago, with a steady flow of high-value projects landing in the Netherlands. Innovative companies from the Midwest continue to #InvestinHolland, finding the Netherlands a compelling European home because of its talent pool (diverse, digitally skilled, multilingual, and embracing a healthy work-life balance), its innovation opportunities (the renowned triple-helix innovation ecosystem which nurtures new technologies), and its sustainable future (circular economy expertise and a commitment to zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050). A few highlights from a busy 2024:   ● GE HealthCare: the Chicago-based medical giant chose to expand its facility in Eindhoven to develop and manufacture radioactive markers for diagnosing and treating diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer (aka 'personalized medicine'). The Dutch operation will evolve into GE's Centre of Excellence for the newest isotope tracers, growing into a new lab facility with four production lines—this 'Cyclotron' will be located on the Eindhoven University of Technology campus. Currently 300 people are employed at the operation in Eindhoven.   ● Infinite Acres: the Netherlands was the natural choice for Ohio’s 80 Acres Farms first-of-its-kind research center. The technology-focused subsidiary of the American vertical farming company chose the Hague for its Field Lab and Experience Center to foster collaboration with the companies and research institutes driving innovation in the Netherlands’ world-leading high-tech agriculture community. https://lnkd.in/g9h4HiUz   ● Kalsec Inc.: drawn to Gelderland for its world-class food ecosystem, the Michigan-based company chose Wageningen for their new SPICE Lab center-of-excellence. An R&D innovation center focused on natural colors, flavors, and food preservation technologies, the SPICE Lab will enable Kalsec to tap into the agrifood innovation cluster in Regio Foodvalley and around Wageningen University & Research. https://lnkd.in/gfVKXFKC   Interested in exploring what opportunities the Netherlands may hold for your company? Reach out to NFIA Chicago Director Paul Kleijne.

We had the incredible honor of welcoming Eric Strating, the new Consul General of the Netherlands, to our WILA USA facilities this week! It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase WILA USA’s journey and growth in Kentucky. We're proud to represent Dutch innovation and excellence as we continue to expand in the U.S. Thank you, Consul General Strating, for taking the time to visit and learn about our company!