The government-owned Israel Aircraft Industries may open a plant in Illinois.
The IAI is negotiating with the state, whose governor, James Thompson, is presently in Israel with a delegation of 50 Illinois businessmen.
Thompson’s press secretary, David Fields, said the governor hopes to initial an agreement when he visits the IAI plant in Lod this week. The delegation is on a nine-day mission to promote foreign investments in their home state.
The planned American subsidiary would be located in Rockford, a city less than 100 miles northwest of Chicago, and would be used to recondition U.S. Army helicopters for sale to third countries.
IAI is not new to the United States. It already has an aircraft maintenance plant in Miami, Fla.
Fields said Illinois is offering special incentives to induce investments, and several other American states are doing the same. He said he hoped Rockford gets the IAI plant, which would generate 150 jobs.
The successful bidder will not be known until April.
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