Business Ties
- There are 50+ Swedish companies at 100 locations in greater Chicago including: Cision’s, Combi Wear, Electrolux, Ericsson, H&M, Sandvik, Scandinavian Airlines, SKF and Trelleborg Sealing
- There are nearly 60 Chicago-area companies in Sweden including: Abbott, Baxter, CAN Financial, Northern Trust, United Continental, McDonald’s, Motorola Solutions, TBricks and Underwriters Laboratories
- Consulate General of the Kingdom of Sweden in Chicago
- Swedish Trade Council in Chicago
- Sweden-US Chamber of Commerce in Chicago
- Chicago-Gothenburg Sister City relationship, since 1987
- There are 5 weekly nonstop departures from Chicago airports to Stockholm, and daily flights in summer.
- An estimated 136,000 Swedish-Americans reside in the Chicago area
- A delegation from Swedavia, a government group that owns and operates airports across Sweden, visited Midway International on a fact-finding mission, Mar. 2012
- WBC participated in the Swedish E-Days event in Chicago, a rotating forum that brought together dozens of American and Swedish companies, Apr. 2007
Recent Expansions
- Cision/Vocus office move, Chicago, 2015
- TBricks, financial IT office in Chicago, 2013
- H&M, retail, multiple locations, Chicago, 2013 and prior years; Lombard, 2014
- Electrolux, expansion to 965,000 sq. ft. distribution center in Minooka, 2013
- Ericcson Inc., sales office in Schaumburg, 2010
- Sandvik AB, acquired Rexam’s beverage can business, 2007
- SKF, relocation of production from South Dakota, 2006
Total Trade, 2016: US $696 million
- Total Imports to Illinois, 2016: US $501 million
- Top Import Categories, 2016: Machinery/parts, iron & steel, aircraft parts, tools, medical instruments, pharmaceuticals, electric machinery and electronics, diagnostic chemicals, spirits, plastics
- Total Exports from Illinois, 2016: US $195 million
- Top Export Categories, 2016: Precious metals scrap, earthmoving equipment, trucks, electric machinery, books, chemicals, medical instruments, iron & steel, tools