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Dankeschön to our PATRON Members:
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Dankeschön to our SUSTAINING Members:
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What to do in Alabama
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April 10-11
Dothan
April 11-12
Opp
April 17-19
Guntersville
April 18-19
Cullman
April 24-26
Birmingham
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Save the Dates
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April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Tuscaloosa
April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Birmingham
April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Birmingham
April 1, 16, 30
Auburn
April 3
Tuscaloosa
April 18
Birmingham
April 21
German Business Committee
Birmingham
April 23
AGP Board Meeting
Montgomery
April 30
Huntsville
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AGP Membership 2015
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To all our 2014 members and supporters -
THANK YOU!
In order to continue to grow our program, we hope you will renew your membership for 2015. Your support will help us keep provide new
programming
and our ability to connect businesses, organizations, governments, and individuals.
Still not an AGP member? Please consider joining our organization today and enjoy the many benefits that comes with AGP membership. For more information on corporate membership and benefits
click here
!
Click Here to renew or sign up for membership! |
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German Word
of the Month
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"Katzenwäsche"
You overslept and don't have time for a shower - what do you do? In Germany, a Katzenwäsche would be your solution! The German word Katze means "cat" and Wäsche means "washing" (or "laundry", depending on the context). Literally translated, it describes a cat's daily process of licking itself clean. But in the human context, a "cat wash" is a quick clean-up that is not entirely sufficient. It is often used for children who do not take a bath every day - but can also be applied to adults in a hurry. If you don't have time for a shower, you might wash yourself in the bathroom sink - a procedure that would be considered a Katzenwäsche. A typical Katzenwäsche does not use much water and does not get you very clean. It typically just involves washing your face, brushing your teeth or applying deodorant - and often even less! You might be more presentable, but you still won't match up to the days that you fit in a shower.
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How Not to Embarrass
Yourself in Germany
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Garbage
Always recycle! Proper garbage disposal is extremely important to the Germans.
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Southern Sayings
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"I'm finer than frog hair split four ways"
Southerners mostly use this phrase to answer, "How are you?" Even those below the Mason-Dixon know frogs don't have hair, and the irony means to highlight just how dandy you feel.
The phrase reportedly originated in C. Davis' "Diary of 1865".
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New AGP Members
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Corporation / Patron
Lisa M. Miller
Manager of Communications and Marketing
Corporation / Regular
David Masingill
Account Manager
Andreas Hackstedt
CEO
Corporation / Associate
Mark Langner
Vice President Government Programs
State Agency
Amy Brabham
Economic Development Director
Current Members Upgraded to:
Corporation / Sustaining
Alabama Power
Corporation / Regular
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
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AGP
Member News
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Latest News From:
German companies: please send us your news link to [email protected]
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Events & Seminars Offered by AGP Members
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Are you a corporate AGP member in good standing that would like to share an event or seminar hosted by your company?
Please e-mail us a link to the event.
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AGP
Executive Committee
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Chairman
Warren McCullars
Alagasco
Vice Chair/Chair Elect
Dr. Anne-Katrin Gramberg
Auburn University
VP Education
Dr. Wolfgang Kneer
SWJ-BREILMANN U.S. LLC
VP Business Development
Brian Hilson
Birmingham Business Alliance
VP Communication
Devin Dolive
Burr & Forman LLP
VP Culture
Dr. Thomas Fox
University of Alabama
VP Membership
Claudia Zimmermann
Alabama Power Company
Secretary
Kirk Atkinson
BremenInvest
Treasurer
Arnold Servo
Rödl & Partner
Immediate Past Chair
Bryan Winter
Lewis, Smyth, Winter & Ford, LLC
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AGP Affiliates
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Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
Christoph Sander
Marquis Two Tower
Suite 901
285 Peachtree Ctr Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 659-4760
Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany
for the
State of Alabama
Michael Johnson
Butler Snow LLP
Phone: (205) 297-2200
German American Chamber of Commerce of the
Southern
United States
Martina Stellmaszek
1170 Howell Mill Road
Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: (404) 586-6800
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Contact Us
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Office
205-943-4772
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Join Our List
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2015 Annual Celebration Dinner
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By Tine Hoffmeister
As executive director of AlabamaGermany Partnership (AGP), I want to give thanks to all of you who attended, participated and sponsored AGP's 17th Annual Dinner Celebration. Mobile is home to Alabama's oldest German company, Evonik Industries, which was the presenting sponsor of the night. They will be celebrating 42 years in Alabama later this year.
We did not expect a wind chill of 28 degrees that night, that made the venue a "little" chilly but we did receive a warm welcome from Mobile by Gina Gregory, President of the City Council and Mobile County Commission President Connie Hudson. MC for the night was Troy Wayman, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and AGP board member. Remarks were made by Bryan Winter, AGP's Past Chair; Christoph Sander, Consul General of Federal Republic of Germany and Greg Canfield, Secretary of Commerce. Our guest speaker this year was Guy Hicks from Airbus Group.
AGP presented awards to 19 new and expanding German companies:
- Advanced Carries Products, USA, Enterprise
- Aluminum Technology Schmid NA, Inc., Auburn
- Ausy North America Inc., Mobile
- BASF Corporation, Huntsville
- Bolta U.S., Inc., Northport
- Eberspaecher North America, Northport
- EBZ SysTec Inc., McCalla
- Eissmann Automotive North America, Pell City
- Evonik Industries, Birmingham
- Evonik Industries, Theodore
- JENOPTIK Optical Systems, LLC, Huntsville
- Kemmerich USA, L.P., Auburn
- Kommerling USA, Inc., Huntsville
- Mercedes Benz US International, Inc., Vance
- Rausch & Pausch, L.P., Auburn
- REHAU Automotive, Cullman
- Star Publishing USA, Inc., Vance
- SWJ - BREILMANN U.S. LLC, Tuscaloosa
- ZF Chassis Systems, Tuscaloosa
We were proud to surprise this year's Rainer Bauer Award winner with the help of AGP's past chair Bryan Winter and Mr. Rainer Bauer himself. Mr. Al Reisz, with Reisz Engineering and past AGP chair, received the Rainer Bauer Award, in honor of his outstanding accomplishments, dedicated service and loyal friendship. Mr. Reisz was an engineer that was involved in the development of the Saturn V rocket that took the Americans to the moon.
The next day many joined us for the Business Forum at the new AIDT's Aviation Training Center in Mobile. We learn how Mobile has worked with Airbus to find and educate workforce for the new Airbus plant. After opening remarks by Consul General of Federal Republic of Germany; we heard from Lynne Chronister, University of South Alabama; Lee Hammett, South Alabama AIDT; Stephanie Burt, Airbus; Kenny Steed, Airbus and Kyle Cook, Alabama Aviation Center.
Please click here for all pictures.
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| THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS |
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AGP's Annual Celebration Dinner would not be possible without our many dedicated volunteers and generous sponsors of the event: 
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German Company Visit: DIEHL Aerospace, Inc.
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By Tine Hoffmeister
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| Dr. Gerardo Walle - Christoph Sander - Jean-Noël Barrère |
A while back, a German flag caught my eye while driving down Highway 280, passing through Sterrett, AL. The flag is still there and belongs to DIEHL Aerospace, Inc, which I got to visit last year and then again February to celebrate their expansion. Jean-Noël Barrère is president and CEO, and Joe Sherman, CFO. I also had the pleasure of meeting the only German working in Sterrett, Dieter Ruethemann whom has since retired.
The company was established in 1987 and in 1992 they moved to Sterrett where in February 2015 celebrated their 3rd expansion. Among many distinctive guests for the celebration of the expansion were Christoph Sander, Consul General of Federal Republic of Germany and Dr. Gerardo Walle, CEO of DIEHL Aerospace GmbH and Chairman of the Board of DIEHL Aerospace, Inc. DIEHL Aerospace is Germany's leading provider of extensive range of products and services for avionics systems and lighting concepts for both civil and military aircraft. Well-known manufacturers such as EADS, Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Eurocopter, and Embraer use technology and systems from DIEHL Aerospace in their aircraft.
Click here for full story.
DIEHL Aerospace, Inc. is a part of DIEHL Aerosystems that is a corporate division of DIEHL Stiftung & Co. KG. DIEHL Stiftung & Co. KG is a worldwide operating industrial group based in Nürnberg, Germany. More than 13,500 employees develop, manufacture and market DIEHL products at over 80 locations in approx. 20 countries on four continents. The DIEHL Group is divided into the corporate divisions DIEHL Metall, DIEHL Controls, DIEHL Defense, DIEHL Aerosystems and DIEHL Metering, comprising forty subsidiaries and joint ventures. The company has been family-owned since its foundation in 1902.
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| Biergarten benefiting AGP |
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Come on out to support AlabamaGermany Partnership on April 30th at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center has chosen AGP to be the featured nonprofit organization at their German Biergarten. They will make donation to our organization by contributing a portion of food sales the evening of April 30. The Biergarten is in the Saturn V Hall at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Davidson Center for Space Exploration every Thursday evening from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. through October 22, and features authentic German cuisine crafted b the Center's renowned chefs, David Oreskovich and Jason Williams. Enjoy the festive atmosphere with imported and domestic beers and delicious wines from the German region. REGISTER FOR APRIL 30 TODAY!
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Not Your Dad's Old Bumper or Paint Job
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By Business Alabama
Business has never been better at the REHAU automotive plant in Cullman. Sales will set a record in 2015, the facility will add at least 120 workers to the 850 it already has, and REHAU will open a $2.5 million technical and research center - the only facility of its kind that REHAU has in North America. And all of this comes on the heels of a $115 million expansion completed early last year.
"This plant will have the best year since production began here in 1996," says 50-year-old Albert von Pelser, manager of the REHAU (pronounced ray-How) plant. "Our main customers - Mercedes, BMW, all of them - are forecasting record numbers for 2015 that we haven't seen since we started supplying parts for them. We actually had to give some business away to create capacity for other business that we got because we're completely maxed out. We'll probably have 25 percent more business in 2015."
REHAU's success and growth has not come without challenges. According to von Pelser, "The biggest challenge in 2015 will be 100-percent worthy personnel. It will be difficult to find 120 or more new employees and train them. With the unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, it's becoming more difficult to find people who bring the necessary knowledge to our facility."
Founded in the Bavarian town of Rehau in 1948, the family-owned company employs more than 18,000 worldwide. Among its earliest works was the production of sideboards and arm straps for the Volkswagen Beetle, and it also produced silicone tubes used in Germany's first heart operation. It is now known for polymer-based solutions for the construction and automotive industries.
Click here for full story in Business Alabama.
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State wants to sell workers on need to acquire skills
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By TimesDaily.com
Mark Heinrich, chancellor of the state's 25-school community college system, says he regularly gets calls from manufacturers around the state. They are looking for skilled employees.
"I hear from the automotive industry, and their suppliers, on a regular basis," Heinrich said on Wednesday. "I hear from the aviation area about the demands there. I hear an awful lot from the allied health area, particularly nursing. That trajectory is as steep as any. "On a monthly, even weekly basis, we have a demand for more welders."
Aligning the state's education institutions with business and industry and their needs is a goal of the Alabama Workforce Council, created last year. This week, the council gave Gov. Robert Bentley a report containing its recommendations on how to better coordinate education and industry. "This is one of the most important things we can do to bring industry to Alabama and help companies grow," Bentley said. Several of the recommendations involve better coordination within the state's current workforce development network and marketing and promotion. Heinrich said that often, parents and students don't know that there are good-paying jobs available that don't require a four-year degree. Some require less than two years at a community college.
"When you start talking about jobs in the $40,000- to $100,000-a-year range, you usually get their attention, but we find that they usually (haven't heard) that," Heinrich said. "So, that's on us; we just haven't done a good job. With the backing of the Workforce Council, I think we'll be able to push the word out there in a better way." Bentley said that on Tuesday, he spoke with representatives from a company interested in coming to Alabama - he wouldn't say who it was or where it was looking - but the first question asked was about workforce skills. Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said industries expect trained workers.
For TimesDaily.com's full report, click here.
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Germans came to build cars, but they got a lesson on Alabama
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By AL.com
When Mercedes engineers were working with American engineers on cars to be sold to the American public, cup holders were a contentious issue.
"The German engineers said, 'Who would drive a car and drink coffee? It's not safe,'" said Bill Taylor, former President and CEO of U.S. Mercedes Benz International. "We would fight about the need for not just one cup holder, but many cup holders."
But when you're driving 100 miles per hour on the autobahn, the cultural expectations for safety are different, Taylor said.
Taylor, now the President of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, spoke at the Birmingham International Center's Spotlight on the People's Republic of ChinaBusiness Roundtable on Friday. He said had hundreds of similar stories as the German Mercedes workers meshed with Alabamians.
Alabama's auto industry represents German, Japanese and Korean cultures - and you never know what cultural differences you're going to encounter, Taylor said. But that's essential to international business, he said.
"It's about respecting each other's differences and learning about these differences and why there are differences," Taylor said.
That's one of the reasons that Mercedes started a program for its international employees in Alabama where it set international families of similar ages and makeups with local families. Employees helped each other in the factory, but the real culture shock came outside of work.
Click here for full story on AL.com
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