Why German Companies in US can look to the Future with Confidence

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Why German Companies
in U.S. can look to the Future
with Confidence
“Buy Global” – a Letter
to the U.S. Congress
Background image © Don Mace | Dreamstime.com
America strives
toward a Greener Future
Cartoon: Recession
in Chipmunk World
German American
Chambers of Commerce
Deutsch-Amerikanische
Handelskammern
VOLUME 20 · NUMBER 2 · $5.00
GACC • 75 Broad Street, 21st Floor • New York, NY 10004 • USA
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C O N T E N T S
EDITORIAL
Every cloud has a silver lining,
even in a chipmunk’s world
Falling exports, job cuts on both sides of the Atlantic and yet
there is hope blowing in the “Winds of Change”. This month’s
T R A N S AT L A N T I C T I C K E R
cover story quotes CEOs from German subsidiaries in the
German American Company News
4
Renewable Energy field expressing their optimism regarding
the U.S. Market. They explain why ‘green’ companies in the
Nicola Michels
Editor, New York
nmichels@gaccny.com
U.S. can look to the future with confidence. An assessment of
the current sentiment is given by the Annual Economic Survey
COVER STORY
Winds of Change: Why German companies in
the U.S. can look to the future with confidence
6
conducted by the German American Chambers among their
members – who also see the silver lining. Perhaps the Letter to the U.S. Congress, also
SPOTLIGHTS
undersigned by our Representative of German Industry and Trade in Washington
Guarded Optimism in German
American Business Community
10
“Buy Global”: A Letter to the U.S. Congress
12
America Strives Toward a Greener Future
15
opposing the “Buy American” provisions in the stimulus package, may help to decrease
emerging protectionism.
How to be in control of your own destiny is explained by Torsten Krings, President
and Owner Travel Solutions, in the monthly DreamCatcher article. Don’t be scared of
the vast choices in the IT industry is the advice the Business Tool, article – our new
SPECIAL REPORT
Market Entry: a special service of DE
17
IT Blog answers your technical questions. The Board Talk article introduces Monika
Krug who sits on the GACC Board of Directors in Philadelphia. Ms Krug shares her
opinion on the role of non-profit organizations in the U.S. in comparison to Germany.
D R E A M C AT C H E R
Be the Master of Your Own Destiny
22
BUSINESS TOOLS
Don't be scared ot BI, BPM, CRM,
ECM, ERP and SCM
26
MEMBER PROFILE
Weishaupt opens training and office
facility in Chicago suburb
28
EVENT CALENDAR
Future Events & Delegations
31
PAST GACC EVENTS
Past GACC Events: January – February 2009
32
B O A R D TA L K
Monika Krug on Non-Profit Organization in the U.S.
Just don’t swallow it! It has to last
until the recession is over.
Exclusive cartoon by Heiko Sakurai
www.sakurai-cartoons.de
34
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Where Ost meets West
and aesthetics mingle
At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, an extraordinary,
sprawling blockbuster exhibition,
“Art of Two Germanys: Cold War
Cultures,” argues a persuasive case
against the clichéd views of EastWest aesthetic divides. If the usual
suspects – Joseph Beuys, Anselm
Kiefer, Gerhard Richter – are
included, so are some unlikely
ones who are not generally associate with postwar German art:
Blinky Palermo and Nam June
Paik. Stephanie Barron, LACMA’s
senior curator of modern art, and
Eckhart Gillen of Kulturprojekte
Berlin GmbH have jointly organized an amazing survey of German
art from 1945 (the end of World
War II) to 1989 (the fall of the
Berlin Wall) that neither sidesteps
the complex political issues of the
period nor makes them the central
vantage point from which we view
these works. • The Wall Street Journal
SRA starts $200M project in Germany
SRA International Inc. won a
$200 million task order from the
General Services Administration.
The Fairfax,VA based technology
firm will help the U.S. European
Command and U.S. Africa Command maintain ready forces and
enhance security for global operations. The project will be based in
Stuttgart, Germany. Transition
efforts under the new task order
began Feb. 1 and full performance will start on July 1. Under
the contract, SRA will provide
communications and information
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technology services to support the
commands with devices, hardware, software, and network IT
and communications support
services. • Washington Business Journal
Antitrust woes could dog
Ticketmaster, Live Nation
A proposed merger of concert promoter Live Nation Inc. and
ticketing giant Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. is expected to be
announced within days, but
antitrust concerns could delay its
completion. The deal would match
the world’s dominant ticket seller,
Ticketmaster, with Live Nation,
which was once its biggest client.
Live Nation is the world’s No. 1
concert promoter, owns 140-plus
venues and has multiyear comprehensive rights deals covering the
tours of Madonna, Jay-Z, U2,
Nickelback and Shakira. The companies plan to argue that the very
technological advancements that
allowed Live Nation to launch its
own ticketing platform could allow
other companies to do so as well.
Live Nation’s ticketing system is run
by CTS Eventim AG, a German
company that competes with Ticketmaster overseas and is the market
leader in Europe. • Associated Press
German PearC sells Macintosh clones
U.S. residents already had the
pleasure/disgrace of buying nonApple computers with Mac OS
X pre-installed through PsyStar.
European customers were left
out in the cold, as PsyStar is a
U.S.-based company which
undoubtedly makes shipping
across the pond rather expensive.
Despair no longer, European
clone enthusiasts: German
PearC is here. PearC is basically
selling machines very similar to
the ones offered by PsyStar, with
three possible base models ranging from 499 EUR to 1499
EUR, all with Mac OS X 10.5
Leopard pre-installed. The
machines range from an Intel
Pentium dual core E2200 to
Intel Core i7 machines with
options of up to 12GB of RAM.
• newmobilecomputing.com
Controversial designer
Chris Bangle leaves BMW
One of the most controversial
designers in recent memory, Chris
Bangle, is leaving BMW this
month to pursue interests outside
of the car business. The move is
voluntary, BMW says, and Bangle
will be replaced by his former
protégé, Adrian van Hooydonk.
Bangle was the first American to
head design for the German luxury-car maker and had been in
charge since 1992. • AutoWeek
January Auto Sales: Porsche
Porsche Cars North America Inc.
said its U.S. sales fell 36 percent
last month as volumes of its
Boxster and Cayman models fell
sharply. The U.S. unit of the German automaker said that in
January it sold 1,658 vehicles
compared with 2,595 in the yearearlier period. The decline in
Porsche sales for January is a
result of the worsening economy
that is particularly impacting
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sales of luxury items including
the German auto maker's premium sports cars," the company
said in a statement. Porsche's
weak sales came as other
automakers posted big declines.
Ford Motor Co.said its sales last
month fell 40 percent and Toyota
Motor Corp. suffered a 32 percent decline. The industry has
reported at least a 30 percent
decline in U.S. sales every month
since October. • Associated Press
about the 2009 outlook after a
strong flow of new orders in the
fourth quarter, he said in a
Bloomberg Television interview
in Davos, Switzerland. In the
U.S., the executive said the Turner Corp. subsidiary will not suffer
from the subprime mortgage crisis. “Turner did not have any
business in the home construction market and therefore has
nothing to do with the subprime
market,” he said. • Bloomberg
Fraunhofer USA Center
has received an $8.7 million grant
Hannover Re buys
Scottish Re’s ING life reinsurance
The Center for Molecular Biology (CMB) has received an $8.7
million grant from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation to
support continued development
of an avian influenza vaccine that
uses transient plant-based technology. CMB will develop
vaccines against highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of
H5N1 subtype, and work to
advance promising candidates
into clinical trials. Fraunhofer
USA, Inc. is a non-profit research
and development corporation,
with headquarters in Michigan.
Hannover Re, Germany’s secondbiggest reinsurer, agreed to take
over Scottish Re Group’s business
of reinsuring U.S. life-reinsurance policies written by ING
Groep NV. Hannover Re will also
“acquire the policy administration systems of Scottish Re as
well as other assets supporting the
U.S. mortality reinsurance business,” it said in a statement
distributed by the Hugin
newswire. The acquired business
“is estimated to generate a premium volume of about $1.2
billion,” Hannover Re said. The
Hanover, Germany-based reinsurer has said it wants to expand
its less volatile life-reinsurance
business through acquisitions to
limit the profit swings that follow
property and casualty claims
from natural disasters. • Bloomberg
• PR Newswire
Hochtief has ‘High’ Backlog,
targets U.S. orders
Hochtief AG, Germany’s biggest
builder, has a “high” order backlog and anticipates winning more
contracts as the U.S. steps up
public-works spending, Chief
Executive Officer Herbert
Luetkestratkoetter said. The
CEO is “cautiously optimistic”
Sybase buys
mobile-payment-firm Paybox
consumers to use mobile phones
to buy goods and services, conduct banking and even transfer
money between individuals. Paybox, started in 1999, is privately
held and based in Raunheim,
Germany. Terms of the deal,
which closed Dec. 30, were not
disclosed. Paybox, which has 30
employees, says its mobile payment network serves 20,000
merchants selling digital and
physical products, and is available
to 15 million mobile phone subscribers in Europe, North and
South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. • San Francisco
Business Times
Daimler still seeking
to sell Chrysler stake
Daimler AG still wants to sell its
nearly 20 percent stake in U.S.
carmaker Chrysler, a spokesman
for the German group said amid
speculation Fiat would join forces
with Chrysler. “We are still trying
to divest our 19.9 percent stake
in Chrysler,” the spokesman said
but he declined to discuss to
whom it wanted to sell the holding. Daimler is not ruling out the
idea of seeking German state
guarantees for its finance arm, he
added, noting the company did
not want to be at a competitive
disadvantage should rivals make
use of the program for their
financing operations. • Reuters GAT
NEW:
Subscribe to the Transatlantic Ticker via RSS Feed
www.gaccny.com/en/news/transatlantic-ticker/
Sybase Inc. bought Paybox AG, a
German company that allows
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S T O R Y
Winds of Change
Why German companies in the U.S. can
look to the future with confidence
By Nicola Michels & Pia Spangenberger
The U.S.A.
is the largest market
for wind energy.
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B
arack Obama wants to lead
his country out of the economic crisis with a massive
stimulus package. Within two
years he hopes to create about 2.5
million new jobs and provide
tax relief for lower and middleincome groups. Bigger state
grants will allow for large
scale infrastructure projects,
with a strong focus placed on
promoting green technologies. Over the next ten years
the new administration plans to
invest $150 billion in new
technologies such as wind and
solar energy. German firms in
particular will be among the beneficiaries if they position
themselves in the U.S. market at
the right time.
Germany, being the world leader
in renewable energies is positioned ideally to jump on the
multifaceted opportunities in
the realm of “new” technologies.
A strong boost has already been
provided with the emergency
law designed to stabilize the
U.S. economy. Considerable
opportunities for growth
are seen for German firms
in wind energy since wind
farm construction is con-
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C O V E R
stantly being subsidized. Industry experts anticipate significant
double-digit growth rates until
2012. As a result, Texas and California as well as the mid-Western
and Northeastern states will be in
the vanguard of this development. In keeping with the
impending changes the Obama
administration is generally
expected to change the Production Tax Credits (PTC) with the
aim to provide added stimuli in
the development of the industry
during the recession.
This outlook is confirmed by
Plambeck Neue Energien AG, a
company currently being assisted
in its U.S. debut by the German
American Chambers of Commerce: “Our entry in the U. S.
market is in line with our strate-
Kelly Lloyd, General Manager
of Plambeck New Energy USA, Inc.
www.pne.de
gy of international expansion.
The next step is to join local
partners in greenfield development ventures. To this end we
are working closely with the German American Chambers of
Commerce, says Kelly Lloyd,
General Manager of Plambeck
New Energies USA, Inc.
>>
S TRENGTHS
W EAKNESSES
• High volume market
• Short-term orientation
• Availability of risk capital
• Costly market entry
• Cooperation of research and economy
• Complex legal system
• Good infrastructure
• Instable financial system
• Positive business climate
• High labor productivity
O PPORTUNITIES
• Low market-entry barriers
• High trade deficit
SWOT
Analysis
• Good reputation of German products
• Interest in new products and innovations
• Attractive subsidy programs
• Growing national debt
T HREATS
Market USA
• New climate and environmental policy
• Free trade agreement
S T O R Y
• Legal system (liability, IP laws)
• High competiveness
• Financial instability of many U.S. companies
• Disadvantage for foreign companies
(subsidy policy)
• Protectionism and trade disputes
• Product safety regulations
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S T O R Y
Ralf Sigrist, President and CEO
of Nordex USA, Inc.
www.nordex-online.com
Nordex,
headquartered
in
Norderstedt, Germany, and since
September 2008 also established
in Chicago, is also embarked on
expansion. The company, a leading supplier of megawatt
installations, will invest $100 million in two new plants. Its
objective is to produce 300 wind
turbines annually by 2012. After
evaluating 35 potential sites
Nordex decided on Jonesboro,
Arkansas. Two-thirds of the total
spending will be allocated to rotor
blade production. Once nacelle
and rotor blade production are
launched in 2012, more than 700
Arkansans will be working for
Nordex. That is almost one-third
of its worldwide workforce.
Jonesboro offers Nordex an
almost perfect environment:
Located centrally to numerous
wind-prone regions in North
America, the city also qualified
thanks to its modern infrastructure, educational facilities as well
as highly-skilled labor pool. Ralf
Sigrist, President and CEO of
Nordex USA, Inc. in Chicago,
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observed: “To be successful in the
United States you have to manufacture and add value locally.”
With the help of the German
American Chambers of Commerce MEPSOLAR AG
(Munich Energy Partners)
dared the leap into the U.S.
market. Its chairman of the Board,
Konstantin Strasser, commented:
“Our partners in the United States
do business in the Northeast and
Southwest. First we want to get
established in
utility-scale
photovoltaic
installations
in the Southwest where
the potential
is large. We have already identified
properties and clarified preliminary
financial arrangements. It is our
plan for our U.S. partners to
arrange for properties and permits
and for us to assume construction,
operations and financing of the
power plants on the basis of our indepth experience and our
company’s capabilities.”
To be successful
“
in the United States you
have to manufacture
and add value locally.
Ralf Sigrist, Nordex USA, Inc.
”
www.mepsolar.com
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10:44 PM
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C O V E R
Great perspective
not only for renewables
In addition to renewable energies
specialists, small and mid-sized
German companies active in other industries also continue to
discover major opportunities in
the American marketplace.
Robert Exact Colors GmbH, a
company based in Emsdetten,
will be entering the U.S. market
shortly. CEO Ralf Huelsmann
indicated: “Even though data
compiled by the German American Chambers of Commerce
reflect the daunting size and
complexity of the American market, its business environment is
especially interesting for all its
multifaceted opportunities. With
“Aqua Tinting”, a new process for
creating exact color matches, we
are positioned to supply U.S.
customers with an environmentally-compatible product geared
to modern requirements. Cost
and time savings and greater flexibility in production are only a
few of the advantages of the
process. Given Aqua Tinting’s
special advantages compared to
U.S. competitors, we are highly
motivated to develop this market
and anticipate signing initial contracts in 2009.”
The majority of the German subsidiaries in the United States
expect to confront difficult conditions in 2009, but they are
relatively optimistic mediumterm. That is the prevailing
assessment among the 50 topranked U.S.-based subsidiaries, a
listing compiled annually by the
German American Chambers of
Commerce. In 2007/2008, 66%
of these companies registered
higher sales. Siemens, which tops
the listing, improved its sales by
$4 billion to $27 billion and
according to George Nolan, the
company’s CEO, is
looking “to the
future with confidence – especially
as a consequence of
®
the
impending
infrastructure projects foreseen for
www.exact-colours.de
the energy sector.”
exact colours
Save the Date: Berlin March, 30 — April 2, 2009
S T O R Y
Altogether some 3,000 German
enterprises maintain production
and sales operations in the United States. They employ more
than 650,000 people and represent an investment of around
$203 billion. In coming years
much will depend on how well
the U.S. investment climate
develops. Following setbacks in
recent years it is now possible to
reenergize economic relations
between Europe and the U.S..
President Obama has indicated
that he is counting on a close dialogue with Europe. To this end
steps will have to be taken in dismantling trade barriers. The
recent “Buy American” provisions in the stimulus package will
hopefully be removed.
Despite apprehensions about
current economic conditions the
German American Chambers of
Commerce with offices in
Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New
York, Philadelphia and San Francisco believe that the crisis
harbors many opportunities.
After all, there is hope for the
downturn spiral to end by end of
2009 or latest by the beginning
of 2010. This view is the result of
the annual economic survey for
the Economic Forum. More
results for this survey can be
found in the following article.
Go West! GAT
1st German American Energy Conference
“Renewable Energy Boom USA”
www.gae-conference.com
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S P O T L I G H T S
Guarded Optimism in German
American Business Community
GACC Members expect a tough year for the U.S. economy;
but remain optimistic about their own companies’ future
T
“
We are bottoming out
and it will get better.
Heiko Thieme, Chairman,
American Heritage Management Corp.
”
he respondents to the annual
German American Business
Economic Survey offered a
mixed outlook for 2009. The
majority expects to see further
declines for the U.S. economy
in 2009. But interestingly,
when asked about their own
companies’ prospects, 67%
think that sales revenues in 2009
will either grow or maintain their
current levels, with only 28%
expecting current revenues to fall.
This optimism is indicative that
the majority of respondents feel
rather certain that their companies
are strong enough to weather this
storm. The survey was conducted
by the German American Chambers of Commerce
Diane Swonk,
Senior Managing Director
and Chief Economist
at Mesirow Financial
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(GACC) prior to their Annual
Economic Forum 2009 held in
Rosemont, IL on January 29th.
At the Economic Forum, Senior
Managing Director and Chief
Economist Diane Swonk of
Mesirow Financial, and Heiko
Thieme, Chairman of the American Heritage Management
Corporation, the two presenting
financial experts, reiterated the
GACC survey respondent’s
gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy in 2009. Both emphasized
the fact that a stimulus package
needed to be passed by congress as
quick as possible to minimize further damage to the economy:
“The longer we wait, the bigger it
has to be” said Diane Swonk.
While both financial experts see
the need for a quick implementation of the stimulus package, 44%
of the survey respondents were
unsure if their companies are
going to benefit from such a package. For instance Ralf Sigrist,
President & CEO of Nordex
USA, one of the executives at the
roundtable discussion at the Economic Forum, expects positive
direct results from the stimulus
package for his industry, renew-
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S P O T L I G H T S
able energies, as it is a top of Obama’s stimulus agenda. Other
executives at the roundtable discussion like Brad Haeberle, VP
Marketing at Siemens Building
Technologies, and Norbert
Weichele, CEO of Zentis Food
Solutions North America, expect
to indirectly benefit from the
stimulus package. Especially Haeberle hopes to benefit from state
supported projects in the construction industry, while Weichele
instead hopes for a decrease in
transportation costs due to infrastructure development.
It was also made clear that while for
some industries the future looks
brighter than for others, access to
capital will remain difficult for all
borrowers. The majority of the surveyed companies (63%) expect
that ease of access to capital in
2009 will remain the same. A quarter of the companies expect access
to capital to become increasingly
difficult, and only 7% think there
is a possibility of improvement.
Availability of capital has been a
key factor weighing down the
economy; even similar credit
A N N U A
B U S I N E S
E C O N O M I
S U R V E
Simone Pohl, President & CEO
of the German American Chamber
of Commerce of the Midwest
“The GACCs have been focusing
on renewable industries and energy
efficiency for years. In 2009, we plan
on continuing to spotlight our commitment
to energy solutions by hosting at least one
event every month showcasing the latest
developments in green industries.
From solar, to wind, to energy efficiency,
we aspire to enable Germany’s advanced
technologies further access to U.S. markets
and foster business partnerships that will
offer greater opportunities on both sides
of the Atlantic.” • Simone Pohl
opportunities for 2009 will make
borrowing difficult.
In the midst of layoffs and reduced
working hours, GACC members
presented a somewhat positive
outlook for their employment
numbers. The majority of the par-
ticipating companies (74%) expect
their employment numbers to stay
the same or to increase in 2009.
However, respondents’ employment expectations varied depending on company size or type. 48%
of the large companies expect a
decrease in employment in 2009,
while only 10% of the small companies expect this drop. The
majority (69%) expects their
employment to stay the same and
even 21% expect an increase in
their employment.
Overall, the prospects in the German American business community are better than for the
overall U.S. economy, for which
a majority of respondents do not
expect a turnaround until the end
of 2009/ beginning of 2010.:
“We are bottoming out and it
will get better.” Heiko Thieme
explained. Both Thieme and
Swonk are positive that the U. S.
will be the first region to come
out of the recession, closely followed by Europe, and then Asia.
“This is a global problem, that
requires global solutions”, concluded Diane Swonk. GAT
The U.S. Economy will turn around:
Sales Revenues in 2009 will:
Employment in 2009 will:
Do you expect to benefit from the stimulus package?
L
S
C
Y
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S P O T L I G H T S
“Buy Global”
A Letter to the U.S. Congress
T
he “Buy American“ provisions in the U.S. economic
stimulus package would give
the protectionist downward spiral new impetus and damage an
already crisis-ridden world economy even more. In particular
Germany, the world leader in
exports, would be threatened by
such a development.
By the German American
Chambers of Commerce:
Atlanta
Chicago
Houston
New York
Philadelphia
San Francisco
This debate on protectionism is
being cast against the background of a crisis that
impacts the entire closely-integrated
world
economy. Currently
the United States and
Europe account altogether for almost 60
percent of world
trade. As a consequence both parties
bear a special responsibility. If efforts to
dismantle existing investment and trade barriers
between the United States and
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Europe succeed, says the OECD,
it would boost economic performance on both sides of the
Atlantic by up to 3 percent.
The fact that in the final analysis
Germany and the United States
are sitting “in the same boat” is
clearly reflected in labor market
statistics: In Germany some
2,700 U.S. enterprises employ
some 800,000 people – meaning
that every 50th employee in the
Federal Republic owes his job to
an American employer. Conversely, the approximately 3,000
German companies in the United
States employ more than
670,000 people.
In order to counteract these
measures, a letter has been sent to
the U.S. Congress – among other
business organizations it was also
undersigned by our Representative of German Industry and
Trade in Washington, Mr. Bernhard Welschke.
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S P O T L I G H T S
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington D.C. 20515
The Honorable John Boehner
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
H-204, U.S. Capitol
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
S-221, U.S. Capitol
The Honorable Mitch
McConnell
Minority Leader
U.S. Senate
S-230, U.S. Capitol
February 9, 2009
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leaders Reid, McConnell and Boehner
Last month, you received a letter from fifteen major US business associations, urging you to avoid trade-restrictive mandates
in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). We are writing to you as the international counterparts of those
business associations, working here in DC; we commend the stance they have taken, and we hope you will listen to their
powerful arguments.
Each of our organisations is working hard in our home countries, with our domestic governments and constituencies, to
make sure they do not make the mistake of thinking that ‘protectionism’ actually protects. We are fighting strongly to keep
markets open and to ensure economic activity flourishes as much as possible. In the current climate, with fragile consumer
confidence and frozen credit lines, we need as much new opportunity as possible.
We understand that politicians – here in the US, but in our home countries too – must focus on the well-being of their own
citizens. They are right to do so. But political leadership must also have the far-sightedness to work out what is really in their
citizens’ best interests, and the commitment to champion those policies. We know that you all understand the central role free
trade and international investment play in delivering economic prosperity. You understand the historical record, and how it
illustrates the road from isolationism to global economic hardship. We are hopeful that you will apply those lessons today.
Our ability to constrain governments around the world from lapsing into isolationism will be much easier if America continues to provide leadership and moral authority on this issue. We therefore hope that you will ensure the US shows that leadership and sends a strong message about living up to multilateral commitments. We strongly urge you to strip from the final
language of the bill anything that others could characterise as breaking the promise made at the G20 conference last
November – “we will refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export
restrictions, or implementing WTO inconsistent measures to stimulate exports.”
The passage of an amendment proposed by Senators Dorgan and Baucus shows that there is an awareness of the importance
of international rules. But we would go further: it is vital that the US observes the spirit, as well as the legal wording of the
G20 statement, and does nothing that gives others an excuse to accuse her of breaking her word.
Just as important from your perspective, keeping America’s markets free and open is the right thing to do domestically, in
terms of stimulating the US economy. As the US business organisations note in their letter, “at a time when US exports are
one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy... the U.S. Congress should be taking actions to promote U.S. exports, not
undermine them.”
Probably most of the business association that have signed this letter – and many of the US business associations – have individual companies within their membership that could argue they might see a short term gain from a particular increased tariff
line, domestic sourcing requirement or ownership limitation. But, when seen in context, we know that the overall economic
interest of the US and of each of our home countries is best served by openness. We strongly urge you to reject measures
that would close off the US market, leading inevitably to other markets being closed to you in return.
Respectfully,
Brazil Information Center / Brazil Industries Coalition
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Confederation of British Industry
Confederation of Indian Industry
European-American Business Council
Federation of Korean Industries
Keidanren-USA (Japan Business Federation)
Representative of German Industry and Trade
Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association
CC: All Members of Congress
1 3
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Page 14
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Monday, 20th April 2009, 2 pm – 5 pm
Downtown Marriott Hotel
55 Fourth Street, San Francisco
GERMAN EVENING RECEPTION
Wednesday, 22nd April 2009, 7 pm – 11 pm
German Consulate General
1960 Jackson Street, San Francisco
Get your personal invitation at the German
Pavilion, Expo Booth 1448!
The German Pavilion at the RSA®
Conference 2009 is organized
by TeleTrusT – the European
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Association of the German Trade
Fair Industry.
Your contact: Arno Fiedler
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2/20/09
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S P O T L I G H T S
America Strives Toward
a Greener Future
By Matthew Allen
R
enewable energy isn’t something pie in the sky. It’s not
part of a far off future. It’s
happening all across America
right now.,” stated U.S. President
Barack Obama in at a factory in
Ohio just days before his inauguration; a brief statement but one
holding much promise in these
exciting times. With an economy
searching for a recovery, a President who understands the
opportunities of renewable energy
offers hope. And this connection
is well-founded. The 2008 Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Study from the American Solar
Energy Society (ASES) showed
that the renewable energy industry grew three times as fast as the
total U.S. economy in 2007, and
energy efficiency jobs grew twice
as fast. They predict that the two
sectors could account for up to 37
million jobs in the United States
by the year 2030. And the nation
is already setting
records, with
the American Wind
Energy Association (AWEA)
announcing in January 2009 that
the U.S. is now the world leader
in wind energy production.
Obama’s Energy Stimulus
Of course, such optimistic growth
will require unwavering government support, and the President’s
platform suggests just that.
Barack Obama has called for
energy efficiency improvements
throughout the federal government and for at least one million
low-income private homes per
year for the next ten years. As a
national goal, he looks to reduce
electricity
demand 15
p e rc e n t
from
projected levels by
2020. He also
seeks to establish the
first nationwide Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS),
requiring 10% of U.S. electricity
to come from renewable sources
by 2012. President Obama’s transition team also supports these
efforts, especially its co-chairman,
John Podesta, founder of the
Center for American Progress
(CAP). CAP, a think tank sponsoring progressive policies and
projects, has released studies, such
as the Green Recovery: A Program
to Create Good Jobs and Start
Building a Low-Carbon Economy,
outlining the importance of the
energy efficiency and renewable
energy industries.
Other branches of the U.S. government are also eager to
encourage growth in renewable
energy. Last year, the Department
of Energy, for example, outlined
the potential for 20% of U.S. energy to come from wind power by
the year 2030; already the government is taking steps toward this
goal. In January 2009, they
announced the issuance of a
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) worth up to $6
million over two years to support
growth in the wind industry. >>
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S P O T L I G H T S
Invest in the Northeast
Within this environment, the
time is right to invest in green
technology in the United States.
One region, which deserves specific attention, is the northeast.
Over the last few years, the most
dramatic additions in alternative
energy have been in the south
and west, but the opportunity in
New England and the Middle
Atlantic states is overwhelming.
Huge wooded areas and city
wastes are already being tapped
for bioenergy; New England,
birthplace of the U.S. wind
industry, is eager to expand both
onshore and offshore projects;
even solar offers untapped potential once they debunk the myth
that it’s only useful in hot climates. And the northeast, home
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to almost a quarter of the population of the country, is ready not
just with the resources, but also
the demand for renewable energy
and efficient energy technology.
State and city initiatives throughout the area are already being
planned for expansion.
In light of this promising outlook
for the region, the German American Chambers of Commerce
(GACC) will soon be holding
two energy conferences in New
York. The 1st German American
Energy Efficiency Conference Energy Efficiency in Buildings
will be held in New York City this
April and The 5th German
American Renewable Energy
Conference - Bioenergy: Power,
Heat, and Fuels will be held at
National Grid in Syracuse, NY on
June 23. The GACC is proud to
work in this exciting field. We
look forward to helping establish
valuable relationships between
German and American companies in the industry. GAT
2/20/09
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Basic Services
Address Inquiries
MARKET ENTRY
Market Studies
Legal Information
Payment Collection
VAT Refund
Special Services
Business Partner Search
Recruitment
Office Representation
Trade Fairs Representation
T
he service-portfolio DEinternational of the consulting
departments of the German Chambers of Commerce
abroad includes basic services which are offered and
requested worldwide as well as special services which are
developed individually in different places, such as here in
the U.S.
The German American Chambers of Commerce (GACC) are
enlarging the range of services for promotion of foreign trade.
Particularly for medium sized German companies this would
mean: better market access, better client orientation, and also
transparency and use of the networks.
The GACC offices presently promote the following
DEinternational services which not only support German
companies who are expanding their business abroad, but
also offer services geared towards firms already established.
In quarterly reports the GACC offices introduce one of the
various DEinternational services, including detailed information
about procedures as well as actual case studies. In this issue
the German American Chamber presents Market Entry as a
special service of DEinternational.
DEinternational Special Report
2/20/09
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SPECIAL REPORT
MARKET ENTRY
M
aking the decision to
enter a new market, to
take the first critical
steps in establishing a business
presence, can be a daunting
c h a l l e n g e f o r a n y c o m p a n y,
large or small. A number of
potential pitfalls lie in wait for
even the most diligent enterprise. C o m p a n i e s e n t e r i n g a
foreign market need to be
aware of not only legal issues
but also cultural mores and
commu n ic ation b ar r ie r s . DEinternational Consulting Services,
with ties to 120 German foreign
Chambers in 80 countries, is
perfectly positioned to understand and address these issues
and to help ease the “growing
pains” for companies considering market entry.
The Consulting Services Department of the German American
Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States (GACC South) has
spent more than a decade developing services designed to bridge the
gap between markets and cultures,
developing a familiarity with the
U.S. market while maintaining a
close connection to the network of
German Chambers throughout the
world. Market entry services are
varied and comprehensive; from
market research to location and
business partner search to coordination of client meetings and business
trips. The service can be tailored to
match the individual needs of each
client’s unique situation using such
tools as a needs assessment questionnaire
which
allows
the
consulting client to set the course
of the partnership.
Marley Deutschland GmbH
Experiences the Market Entry
One of the GACC South’s most
recent market entry success stories
resulted from their partnership with
Marley Deutschland GmbH, a German manufacturer of folding doors
since 1952 and part of the international Aliaxis Group. Approaching
the American market was always
part of the plan for Marley and in
2008 they decided that time was
right.
Therefore Marley GmbH
sought a knowledgeable partner in
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SPECIAL REPORT
A SPECIAL SERVICE OF
the U.S. and was referred to the
GACC South in Atlanta. “From our
point of view it was the most efficient way to get the right people to
the table,” declares Stephan
Dörrschuck, Director of Sales and
Marketing at Marley. During their
research of the retail sector for
folding doors and a subsequent calling campaign, the GACC South
consultants identified a previously
unknown gap within the U.S. folding
door market. The feedback they
received – and which they quickly
communicated to Marley – was that
high-quality, stylishly designed folding
doors
were
virtually
nonexistent. The goal then became
to locate business partners who
understood and valued quality products. They identified two of the
largest players in the folding door
market for professional and residential customers, who work with
almost every major home improvement chain. The Atlanta team built
a relationship with the owners of
the U.S. companies and soon a multi-city business trip was organized
for Marley.
New Areas for Expansion
within the U.S.
A GACC South employee accompanied Marley’s Managing Director Udo
Heinemann and Mr. Dörrschuck as
they traveled to Atlanta, Miami and
Philadelphia to meet with potential
distributors and to discuss strategies
for future cooperation. Marley has
now sent test shipments to potential
distributors in the U.S., which could
soon provide American customers
with a comprehensive product range
of folding doors to fill their doorways
with quality and design.
The results of the initial market
entry project were so positive that
Marley did not hesitate to sign on for
an immediate follow-up project in
order to pursue the promising contacts established, as well as to
continue exploring new areas for
expansion within the U.S., such as
the installation of their folding doors
in recreational vehicles.
The DEinternational Market Entry
service is provided by the GACC
offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York,
San Francisco and Texas. For contact
details see the following page.
2/23/09
9:03 PM
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SPECIAL REPORT
GERMAN AMERICAN CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE OF THE MIDWEST, INC.
Mark Tomkins
Vice President Director Consulting Services
401 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3330
Chicago, IL 60611
Direct: +1 (312) 494 - 2172
Tel: +1 (312) 494 - 2173
Fax: +1 (312) 644 - 2662
mark.tomkins@DEinternational.us
www.gaccom.org
CONTACT
OF COMMERCE, INC. NEW YORK
Dr. Michael Blank
Vice President & Treasurer
75 Broad Street, Floor 21
New York, NY 10004
Direct: +1 (212) 974 - 1882
Tel: +1 (212) 974 - 8831
Fax: +1 (212) 262 - 4586
mblank@gaccny.com
www.gaccny.com
GERMAN AMERICAN CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE INC. CALIFORNIA BRANCH
Nicholas Wagner
Consultant
201 California Street, Suite 450
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel: +1 (415) 248 - 1255
Fax: +1 (415) 627 - 9169
nicholas.wagner@DEinternational.us
www.gaccsanfrancisco.com
OF COMMERCE OF THE SOUTHERN
UNITED STATES, INC.
Martina Stegmeier
Director Consulting Services
530 Means Street, Suite 120
Atlanta, GA 30318
Direct: +1 (404) 586 - 6827
Tel: +1 (404) 586 - 6823
Fax: +1 (404) 586 - 6824
martina.stegmeier@DEinternational.us
www.gaccsouth.com
www.DEinternational.us
OF COMMERCE OF THE SOUTHERN
UNITED STATES, INC. TEXAS OFFICE
Jan Christoph Wiedemann
Managing Director Texas Office
1900 West Loop South, Suite 880
Houston, TX 77027
Tel:+1 (713) 629 - 8787
+1 (832) 533 - 2817
Cell: +1 (404) 234 - 2245
Fax: +1 (713) 629 - 8799
jan.wiedemann@DEinternational.us
www.gacctexas.com
2/23/09
9:03 PM
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Photos: Christian Heeb
★
★
★
★
★
★
★
★
★★★
★★
★★★
★
START YOUR ENGINES
Journal.The German language magazine about travel, business and lifestyle
in North America. Subscriptions at www.glpnews.com. For advertising call (212) 896-3881, Mr. Detlef Fox.
2/20/09
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D R E A M C A T C H E R S
G E R M A N
E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L
S P I R I T
I N
T H E
U N I T E D
S T A T E S
“Be the Master
of Your Own Destiny”
Read the story of Ohio based
Torsten Krings from Wallmerod.
PERSONAL
BACKGROUND
I
www.ts24.com
www.lccusa.com
grew up in a small village in the
Westerwald region of Germany,
called Wallmerod. The Westerwald is a highland region located
right between Cologne and
Frankfurt and bordered by the
Rhine, Lahn, Dill and Sieg rivers.
I graduated from High School in
Montabaur. After 2 years in the
Air Force I studied Business
Administration in Paderborn and
soon after I completed my studies
moved to Frankfurt/Main to start
my career in business travel,
working for companies like
Cathay Pacific Airways, Europcar
and Carlson Wagonlit. I spent a
total of 12 years in Frankfurt and
relocated to the U.S. in April of
1996. My wife Tammy is American. We have three kids,
Connor (6), Sophie (10)
and Cody (17).
Why America
As long as I can remember, my
family had ties to America. We
had friends in Minnesota and
Virginia that I started to visit
when I was 17. I traveled to the
U.S. on a regular basis and pretty
soon fell in love with the country.
From all of these experiences it
was clear to me that at some point
in my life I would be coming
here. It was never an official plan
but always in the back of my
mind. It then so happened that I
met my colleague and future wife
at a global meeting in Tampa
Florida in 1993. As our relationship became more serious, I
started researching potential business opportunities in the U.S.
Cultural Surprises
© Stephen Strathdee | Dreamstime.com
The biggest cultural surprise to
me was really the “can do” mentality in business; the seemingly
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Greatest Inspiration
Torsten Krings, President and Owner of Travel Solutions
never ending strive to detect business opportunities and turn them
into viable entities, the overwhelming urge to have your own
company and to be in control of
your own destiny, paired with a
very strong competitiveness. In
this country, the word “Entrepreneur” has a whole other meaning;
entrepreneurship is not only for a
selected daring few, but for pretty
much anybody who is willing to
take on the risks, challenges, hard
work and rewards of owning your
own business.
Biggest Challenge
As with many Germans, I am
very direct. It took some time
for my colleagues, business associates and friends to get used to
that! It also took some time for
me to accept that I needed to
modify my own behavior, in
some cases, to adapt to this
more relaxed culture. It meant
getting used to wearing jeans to
work instead of a suit and tie!
(Which didn’t take very long to
get used to!)
F A S T F A C T S T R AV E L S O L U T I O N S , I N C .
Names of Partners:
Torsten Krings & Tammy R. Krings
Hometown:
Wallmerod, Germany & New Albany, Ohio
Age of President/Partners: 48/48
Location:
Columbus, Ohio
Year Founded in the U.S.:
1995
Business Activity:
Business Travel Management
Number of employees:
180
Revenue:
$250 million
In my youth and early career I
looked to many different people
for inspiration and guidance so it
is a bit ironic that today my
biggest inspiration comes from
my children. They inspire me to
be a better person; to practice the
values that I preach to them every
day, to do the right thing simply
because it is the right thing to do.
These simplistic values can be
difficult to apply in the business
world and in particular your own
business where your personal
financial health depends on the
decisions that drive profit.
BUSINESS
BACKGROUND
In 1992, I transferred to Wagonlit/Accor as Director of Sales
for Germany. With the multifaceted experiences in travel and
my international contact network it was a natural decision to
start a business within corporate
travel management.
My partner and I started the
business as a travel management
consulting firm and came up
with a new concept that allowed
corporations to run their own
travel department with little or
no support of a travel agency.
This model was then accepted
and adopted by the Airlines
Reporting Corporation (ARC) in
the United States and introduced
across America as a viable option
for corporate entities. Our company became known as “the
innovators” of the business travel
industry. Some of our clients
>>
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included Home Depot, Ashland
Chemical, Chevron, Charles
Schwab, Federated Department
Stores and many others.
Shortly after starting the travel
management consulting firm, we
also started Travel Solutions.
Travel Solutions is a business
travel management company. It is
consistently ranked in the Top 10
U.S. Corporate Travel Agencies
and is in partnership with
Lufthansa City Center (LCC) for
support of our global accounts.
We are a 24X7 operation and are
using sophisticated technology
through the internet to get closer
to our clients.
Reason for Starting Business
Having worked for a few major
international corporations in
Europe for nearly 12 years, I
wanted to challenge my own disciplines, implement my own
ideas and be the master of my
own destiny. I wanted to start a
company that would become
known as the best in its class.
Being the largest was never a
goal. I always only wanted to be
the best.
ple that fit our culture and mission. Our business is built on
relationships. Although we are
technology intensive and quality
driven, travel management continues to be a relationship
oriented business from the front
line agent talking to the customer to me meeting with the
CEO’s of our client base. Having the right people who share
the same values and work ethic is
a core requirement of our success
and one that we continue to
strive to make better.
Source of Start Up Capital
Future Goals
Private capital.
Biggest Obstacle
I think the biggest obstacle was,
and still is, finding the right peo-
Growing the business into the travel resource of choice for German
companies in the United States and
especially companies with a strong
international background. GAT
2/20/09
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1st German American
Energy Conference 2009
Renewable Energy Boom USA
March 30 – April 2, 2009 in Berlin
Transatlantic energy conference of the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) –
the German Energy Agency – and the German American Chambers of Commerce
(GACC), under the patronage of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge of the German
)HGHUDO)RUHLJQ2I¿FH
Monday, March 30, 2009:
German-American Energy Market, Evening Reception
Tuesday, March 31, 2009:
Solar Boom USA
With generous support from:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009: Wind Boom USA
Thursday, April 2, 2009:
Bioenergy Boom USA
Registration and further information available at:
B U S I N E S S
2/20/09
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T O O L S
Don’t be scared of BI, BPM,
CRM, ECM, ERP and SCM!
How more Information Technology (IT)
can enable your business
By Erhard Ludwig
S
mall and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) in particular often don’t have the
time and resources to filter
through the vast amount of IT
choices to find what would be
necessary and useful for them to
enhance their business processes.
Additionally, they are mostly not
aware of their own IT potential.
Eventually some don’t risk interrupting a working business – if it
ain't broke, don't fix it!
Yet today’s digital age requires
companies to deliver faster and
faster. Intensifying market pressure stemming from higher
competitiveness and customers’
increasing bargaining power
brought on by the Internet (which
makes instant price comparisons
possible) forces companies to take
action. Not being informed and
sticking to old methods can be
deadly, especially in tough economical times such as these.
From six days to four hours: A case
study how to save time and money
The following case study points
out how to significantly improve
business processes and save
resources with the help of the
right software:
Investing in IT needs careful
consideration and knowledge.
Numerous software systems
can provide support to deflect
critical pressure and at the
same time address market
demands. Furthermore, many
outstanding systems are available under “open source
licenses”, i.e. with zero acquisition cost and the usage is free
of charge.
www.gaccny.com/it-blog
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Before using IT systems, each
step of a customer ordering
process in a company was performed manually and forwarded
to the next processor by (interoffice) mail. The whole process
starting from the customer
inquiry, the customer evaluation
over the stipulation of the contract terms to the proposal
preparation and service delivery
took about six days on average.
The disadvantages for the customer and the company are
clear: The customer had to wait
too long for the completion and
was not aware of the status of his
request due to the non-transparent process. This uncertainty can
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B U S I N E S S
T O O L S
DEFINITIONS OF IMPORTANT IT CONCEPTS:
Business Intelligence
(BI)
Refers to techniques and processes of the systematic analysis (accumulation, evaluation and display) of data
(own company, competitors, market) in electronic form. The aim is to win insights on how to improve operative
and strategic decisions with regard to corporate objectives.
Business Process
Management (BPM)
Deals with finding, designing, documenting and continuously improving business processes.
It could be described as a "process optimization process".
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
Consists of the processes a company uses to track and organize its contacts with its current and prospective customers.
CRM software is used to support these processes; information about customers and customer interactions can be entered,
stored and accessed by employees in different company departments. Typical CRM goals are to improve services provided
to customers and to use customer contact information for targeted marketing.
Enterprise Content
Management (ECM)
Strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve,
and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes.
Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP)
An enterprise-wide information system designed to coordinate all the resources (capital, supplies or personnel),
information, and activities needed to complete business processes such as order fulfillment or billing.
Supply Chain
Management
(SCM)
Specifies the strategy and management of all tasks of supplier choice and procurement, transformation and logistics.
In particular, it includes the coordination and collaboration of the involved partners (suppliers, merchants, logistics
service providers, customers). SCM aims to improve efficiency of the supply chain from natural resource procurement
to the consumer sale.
lead to the result that the customer backs out and looks for an
offer from another company – a
blown deal for the company.
With the introduction of a proper IT system and the consequent
analysis and radical redesign of
the complete process, time could
be reduced from six days to four
hours. Whereas the system assisted well through the process, only
one employee as a generalist was
needed for the handling of the
entire task. Furthermore the
amount of processed inquiries
went up by the factor of 100 per
month on average.
IT as an enabler also opens up new
opportunities to establish com-
pletely new business processes and
segments generating new income.
to introduce a new IT system
most efficiently.
Of course each company has its
individual needs of IT systems.
Every company needs a detailed
analysis and roadmap on how
To pursue this topic further, ask
questions or get advice, please
visit the new GACCNY IT blog
at www.gaccny.com/it-blog. GAT
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M E M B E R
2/20/09
12:05 AM
Page 28
P R O F I L E
Tapping into the Potential
of the U.S. Market
Weishaupt opens training and office facility in Chicago suburb
R
ising demand for high quality German technology in the
energy efficiency market and
the importance of proximity to
the growing customer base in the
U.S. have led Weishaupt North
America to expand their U.S.
operations at the beginning of
this year into a brand new facility
in the western suburbs of Chicago. The new facility was
inaugurated with a Grand Opening celebration including
2 8
G E R M A N
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more than 120 guests on January
25 in Elgin, IL.
Weishaupt is among the world’s
market leaders in combustion
equipment, focusing on gas, oil,
and dual-fuel burners. Outside of
their major market Europe,
Weishaupt has offices in Brazil,
Canada, the U.S., South Africa,
and with representatives all over
Asia, Weishaupt employs over
2,800 people worldwide. With
such global presence and increasing domestic attention to
efficiency, it is natural that the
U.S. has become one of
Weishaupt’s major markets.
“Our new facility offers vast
office and warehouse space, a theoretical training center with 16
training spots, and a practical
training center with 2 operating
Weishaupt burners,” explained
Thomas Weishaupt, Vice President of Sales Export, Max
Weishaupt GmbH , who came
from Germany to take part in
this important seminal moment
in Weishaupt’s company history.
“A burner is a high tech product
and service is required regularly.
2/23/09
9:09 PM
Page 29
M E M B E R
With this facility, we’re well set
up for the Midwest, closer to our
end users, OEMs, and good customers. This is the only way for
us to promise quality service and
reliability to our customers.”
People just don’t buy anything
Quality service and reliability are
dependent on proximity to the
customer: prompting the selection
of a western suburb of Chicago as
the new Midwest headquarters.
“You cannot promise quality service if you cannot offer on the spot
support,” says Wolfgang Saller,
CEO of Weishaupt Corporation.
“Although we have a very good
product, people just don’t buy
anything, unless they know that
they are supported and serviced in
a timely manner. Chicago is the
perfect location for our U.S. operations, as it is centrally located in
the Midwest. Through O’Hare we
can easily be anywhere in the U.S
within 4 hours.”
The Grand Opening of the new
Weishaupt facility attracted a
variety of local and national business partners, reps, and many
potential customers. As guests of
honor, Weishaupt was proud to
welcome the mayor of Elgin, IL,
Edward Schock, who illustrated
the benefit of Weishaupt’s new
location and expanded on other
benefits the city has to offer, and
Roland Herrmann, Deputy German Consul General, who
discussed the importance of the
“Made in Germany” tag and the
assurances of quality the label
carries with it. In addition to
enjoying delicious traditional
German food and listening to
P R O F I L E
German live music, guests also
received a live demonstration of a
Weishaupt dual-fuel burner in
the new training area. This burner/boiler operation is unique due
to the incorporation of a custom
made boiler produced by local
manufacturer, LES Boilers from
Wyoming, IL. This focus on local
partnerships
has
allowed
Weishaupt to be at once both
global in scale and beneficial to
regional businesses.
High demand for oil and gas
Values such as the focus on proximity to the customer, reliable
customer service, and in house
training, have led Weishaupt to
achieve remarkable success. Even
in these turbulent economic
times, increasing attention to
energy efficiency ensures that
Weishaupt operates profitably. In
fact, according to Thomas
Weishaupt, Weishaupt Group
increased its sales worldwide by
16% to 460 million dollars in
2008.” This is the best sales volume since Weishaupt’s beginnings
77 years ago.
Thomas Weishaupt, Vice-President of Sales Export,
Max Weishaupt GmbH
Weishaupt America Inc.
Thomas Weishaupt is very
optimistic about his company’s flourishing prospects.
“There will always be a
demand for oil and gas; there
will always be a demand for
energy, and it will increase,
which inevitably turns the
focus to energy efficiency”. As
the entire nation looks towards
President Obama and his stimulus package, Weishaupt is
optimistic: Energy Efficiency is
the future and a centerpiece of
President Obama’s agenda. GAT
2587 Millennium Dr, Unit A
Elgin, IL 60124
Phone: (847) 531-5800
Fax: (847) 531-5855
sales@weishaupt-america.com
www.weishaupt-america.com
2 9
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2/23/09
9:09 PM
German American Trade is published
monthly except bimonthly in January and
July by the German American Chamber of
Commerce Inc., 75 Broad Street, 21st
Floor, New York, NY 10004.
G
E
R
M
A
N
A
M
E
Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned
unless accompanied by a properly addressed
envelope bearing sufficient postage. Editor
reserves the right to edit letters to be
reprinted. Editor and publisher cannot
accept any liability for the accuracy or completeness of any material published.
Contributed articles do not necessarily
reflect the Chamber’s position. If you have
any comments regarding articles in this
magazine, please call 212-956-1770.
One Year Subscription: US$ 50 (Euro 50,-)
One subscription is included in annual
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Single copy: US$ 5
U.S. postmaster send address changes to:
German American Trade, 75 Broad Street,
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N
Atlanta
New York
German American
Chamber of Commerce
of the Southern United States, Inc.
530 Means Street, Suite 120
Atlanta, GA 30318
T 404-586-6800 F 404-586-6820
info@gaccsouth.com • www.gaccsouth.com
German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
75 Broad Street, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10004
T 212-974-8830 F 212-974-8867
info@gaccny.com • www.gaccny.com
Editor & Advertising Coordinator:
Nicola Michels • nmichels@gaccny.com
T 212-956-1770 F 212-974-8867
German American
Chamber of Commerce
of the Midwest, Inc.
401 N. Michigan Avenue, #3330
Chicago, IL 60611-4212
T 312-644-2662 F 312-644-0738
info@gaccom.org • www.gaccom.org
Publication date of this issue: March 2009
© Copyright 2009 German American Trade
GAT Editorial Team
Editor
Barbara Afanassiev GACC NY, Philadelphia Branch
bafanassiev@gaccphiladelphia.com
Philadelphia
German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
Four Penn Center, Suite 200
1600 John F. Kennedy Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2808
T 215-665-1585 F 215-665-0375
info@gaccphiladelphia.com
www.gaccphiladelphia.com
Houston
Stefanie Jehlitschka GACC South
sjehlitschka@gaccsouth.com
German American
Chamber of Commerce
of the Southern United States, Inc.
Texas Office
1900 West Loop S., Suite 880
Houston, TX 77027
T 713-629-8787 F 713-629-8799
info@gacctexas.com • www.gacctexas.com
Anja Nemitz GACC NY, California Branch
anemitz@gaccny.com
Janka Pieper GACC Midwest
pieper@gaccom.org
Pia Spangenberger GACC NY
pspangenberger@gaccny.com
Julia Zimmermann GACC South, Texas Office
jzimmermann@gaccsouth.com
Design and Production
San Francisco
German American Chamber of Commerce Inc.
California Branch
201 California Street, Suite 450
San Francisco, CA 94111
T 415-248-1240 F 415-627-9169
info-ca@gaccny.com
Relocating to or within the Metropolitan New York Area?
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T 914-741-0445 F 206-203-3640
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www.thinkersdesign.com
It is my primary duty to make this experience a positive one.
To assist you in any of your Real Estate needs, contact me today.
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Serving New York's Westchester, Putnam & Dutchess Counties and Beyond
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3 0
T R A D E
C
Chicago
Office of publication: New York
A M E R I C A N
I
THE MAGAZINE OF THE GERMAN AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Periodical postage paid at New York,
NY and additional mailing offices:
USPS number 025-026
G E R M A N
R
TRADE
Reproduction in whole or in part of any
article is prohibited without permission.
Nicola Michels GACC NY
nmichels@gaccny.com
Page 30
D E C
0 8
2/23/09
9:09 PM
EVENT
CALENDAR
March 3 - April 2, 2009
Page 31
Mar. 3
Mar. 8
WI Chapter: Rite-Hite Open House
Daylight Savings Time
Held by GACCoM WI Chapter
Milwaukee, WI
www.gaccom.org
Mar. 10
Mar. 12
Mar. 17
Mar. 17
“2nd Energy Efficiency Symposium”
Global Leaders Luncheon
with SAP’s Leo Apotheker
HR Executive Circle with Jane
Addams Resource Corp.
St. Patrick’s Day
Held by GACCoM
Chicago, IL
www.gaccom.org
Held by GACCoM
Chicago, IL
www.gaccom.org
Held by GACC California Branch
Los Angeles, CA
Mar. 26
Mar. 26
Mar. 30 - Apr. 2
YEC Event
“Dealing with the Financial Crisis”
2009, lecture by Harriet Higgins,
Smith Barney CitiGroup
Annual Membership Reception
1st German American
Energy Conference
Held by GACC NY
New York, NY
www.gaccny.com
Held by GACC Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
www.gaccphiladelphia.com Held by GACC
Berlin, Germany
For all GACC Events
www.ahk-usa.de
• The Who’s Who of German-American business relations
• Lists over 3,500 HQs and branch offices
of German firms in the United States,
as well as their parent companies
For further information or banner
advertising please contact your nearest
German American Chamber of Commerce:
GACC South Atlanta Office: Stefanie Jehlitschka
404.586.6803 • sjehlitschka@gaccsouth.com
in Germany
• Offers detailed information such
GACC Midwest Chicago Office: Janka Pieper
312.494.2162 • pieper@gaccom.org
as top executives, email addresses,
number of employees, turnover
GACC New York Office: Nicola Michels
212.956.1770 • nmichels@gaccny.com
and NAICS classification
3 1
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P A S T
G A C C
2/20/09
12:05 AM
Page 32
E V E N T S
GACC Highlights
January - February 2009
2/6 MN Chapter:
Annual Maskenball
2/20 MN Chapter:
2009 Scholarship Award
& Networking Dinner
ANNUAL ECONOMIC FORUM
1/29 Rosemont, IL – 200 executives from the German American business community came together
at the GACC’s Annual Economic Forum 2009 in Rosemont, IL to hear top notch financial experts
Denver, CO
and German company executives discuss their economic outlook for 2009. Matthias Sonn, Minister
2/5
of Economics at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, D.C. opened this
CO Chapter:
dynamic forum, while moderator Michael Backfisch, Middle East Bureau Chief of Handelsblatt,
EuroNetworking
in Dubai, UAE started the discussion by presenting the results of the GACC Annual Economic Business
Survey (which can be found on p. 11 in this issue). Diane Swonk, Senior Managing Director & Chief
Economist at Mesirow Financial, and Heiko Thieme, Chairman of the American Heritage Management
Corp., both gave lively presentations on their financial outlook and then joined in on the roundtable
discussion with Brad Haeberle, Vice President of Marketing, Siemens Building Technologies;
Ralf Sigrist, President & CEO of Nordex USA, and Norbert Weichele, CEO of Zentis Food Solutions
North America, to discuss their economic outlook for 2009. Results of the survey and video clips
1/24 “After Hours”
Business Networking
of the Forum can be found at www.gaccom.org under “Past Events”.
2/24 “After Hours”
Business Networking
>ĞĂĚŝŶŐŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐĮƌŵǁŝƚŚϯϬǇĞĂƌƐĞǆƉĞƌŝĞĞŶĐĞĨŽĐƵƐŝŶŐŽŶ
>ĞĂĚŝŶŐŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐĮƌŵǁŝƚŚϯϬǇĞĂƌƐĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĨŽĐƵƐŝŶŐŽŶ
'ĞƌŵĂŶďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƐŝŶEŽƌƚŚĂŶĚ^ŽƵƚŚŵĞƌŝĐĂ͘
'ĞƌŵĂŶďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐŝŶ
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ǇƐƵƉƉŽƌƚƐĞƌǀŝŝĐĞƐ͗
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2/23/09
9:10 PM
Page 33
P A S T
G A C C
E V E N T S
2/11 Baden - Württemberg
Symposium: Sustainable Energy
Technology in Germany and the U.S.
2/23 WindEnergy Business 2009
Networking Reception
1/21 New Year’s Luncheon
2/24 WindEnergy Business 2009
with the Executive Director for
Conference
Germany of the International
Monetary Fund, Dr. Klaus Stein
2/26 What You Need to Know:
St. Paul, MN
“Current U.S. Immigration Issues for
German Companies” presented by
2/12 Members Meet Members
GACCoM in cooporation with Dykema
@ WJM Associates
New York, NY
Detroit, MI
Rosemont, IL
Chicago, IL
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC
1/20
1/29
2/12 Hax'n Essen
MI Chapter:
GACC Annual Economic
Annual New Year’s Gala
Forum 2009
1/16-1/17 Annual Transatlantic Program (TAP) Reunion
at US Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
Atlanta, GA
1/20 New Year’s Reception
2/26 “A Taste of Germany”
Bier Gourmet Dinner
Houston, TX
2/5 Business luncheon
with Dr. Wilfried Prewo, CEO
IHK Hannover in cooperation
with the European Center of Excellence
3 3
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A M E R I C A N
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B O A R D
2/20/09
12:05 AM
Page 34
T A L K
Non-Profit Organizations in the U.S.
As VP for Corporate Planning & Development of Henkel Corp. Monika Krug was part of Henkel’s growth in
North America participating in numerous acquisitions and managing various divestments for the Company. She
left Henkel in 2002 and is now active in various non-profit organizations such as the German-American Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, Chemical Heritage Foundation/Joseph
Priestley Society, and Surrey Services for Seniors.
3 4
G E R M A N
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ABOUT HENKEL
Henkel was founded in 1876. In fiscal 2007,
the company generated sales of 13.1 billion Euros
in more than 125 countries trust in Henkel’s brands
and technologies. The Dax-30 company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, and ranked among
F
N
R
E
are The Dial Corporation, Schwarzkopf & Henkel,
and the Adhesives Technologies activities within
Henkel Corporation. In 2008 Henkel acquired
the adhesives and electronic materials business
D
M
Prominent businesses of Henkel in North America
B
were 2.5 billion euros with over 6,000 employees.
M
outside of Germany. 2007 sales in North America
E
55,000 people worldwide, 80 percent of which work
I
O
the Fortune Global 500. Henkel employs more than
R
KRUG: I have been a board
member
of
GACC
in
Philadelphia since its founding in
1989 as the German American
Business Association. Interest in
events in Germany was extremely
high at the time with the fall of
the Berlin Wall and the developments leading to German
Unification. Over the years
GACC has built a solid following
and has become the premier business organization here not only for
people with German-American
business interests but beyond for
people with international perspective and interest in international
business. Of particular interest to
me is GACC’s annual scholarship
program: supporting the next generation of business leaders by
investing in education. GAT
and operating profit of 1.344 million Euros. People
A
GAT: You have been a Director on
the Board of the German American
Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia for 20 years. How do you see
the role of our chamber and its
impact in the business community?
O
KRUG: Non-profit organizations exist in large numbers in
each and every sector of the economy. The international chamber
organizations are a very good
example. Their purpose transcends that of individual companies. They create opportunities
for networking and a forum for
exchange and sharing information and enliven the local business scene. They promote international business, commerce and
trade and contribute to international understanding and working relationships. They are professionally managed while at the
same time rely on the input and
support, including financial support, of their respective boards
and memberships. Volunteerism
is a genuinely American characteristic in that many people feel
called to serve beyond their ordinary job duties in an organization
whose cause they passionately
support – be it an international
trade organization, a professional
association, human service or
charitable group or arts and culture. Non-profit organizations
have 9.4 million employees and
4.7 million volunteers*) working
in the economy nationwide –
that’s 10% of the American
workforce – and make a significant, largely unmeasured contribution to the Gross Domestic
Product. Especially in these
gloomy and troubled economic
times, non-profit enterprises and
volunteers provide a bright light
in the economy.
B
GAT: Please share your perspective on the role of the non-profit
organizations in the US in comparison to Germany.
of National Starch from Akzo Nobel.
Monika Krug
German Connections
krugmonika@comcast.net
2/20/09
12:05 AM
Page 35
Globe
Inventor: Martin Behaim
Germany, 1492
Overview. Made in Germany.
Beyond all borders.
The globe helps to capture the world at a glance. Landesbank Baden-Württemberg supports you in the global
competitive environment and wants to be your preferred
partner in the key financial centers all over the world.
LBBW New York Branch is your gateway to the US Financial
Markets and provides tailor-made solutions and a wide
range of products and services for subsidiaries of small
and medium sized German companies. Partnership begins
with a good talk: Please contact our German Desk at
+1 212 584-1700 or visit us at www.LBBW.com
Banking – Made in Germany.
101261_AZ_GLO_178x256 1
17.02.2009 7:49:59 Uhr
2/20/09
12:05 AM
Page 36
Personal attention that begins before check-in.
Individual care to see you through arrival.
An airline that always goes a little further.
All for this one moment.
For an enticing preview of the service
that makes Lufthansa Europe’s #1
airline, visit lufthansa.com/moments.
Enjoy the real experience, flying to
any of over 170 European destinations.
SM
There’s no better way to fly.

Why German Companies in US can look to the Future with Confidence

Transcription

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