THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ATTENDANCE IN MOBILE |
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Dr. Angela Ferguson & Chase Trautwein |
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Kirk Atkinson & Michael H. Johnson |
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Mobile welcomed AlabamaGermany Partnership and all our supporters with open arms (and beads and Moon Pies)! The attendance, enthusiasm, and support for the AGP 24th Annual Celebration Dinner, reception, two days of company visits, and tour of the Port of Mobile were overwhelming. THANK YOU!
The historic Battle House Hotel proved to be an outstanding venue, allowing for a boisterous yet productive networking reception, competitive silent auction, and enjoyable seated dinner. The Second Line band heralded the arrival of the parade, enticing everyone to venture outside to celebrate the old Mobile tradition of Mardi Gras; it was a special treat for us all.
Congratulations to Chase Trautwein, recipient of the Barbara Fischer Education Award for Excellence. AGP recognized Chase for his contributions to German language education in Alabama, and for the passion and excitement that he brings into the classroom as a German teacher at the Liberty Park Middle School/Vestavia Hills City Schools.
The highlight of every AGP Dinner is the presentation of the Rainer Bauer Award. Our recipient that evening was the Honorary German Consul to Alabama, Michael H. Johnson. His outstanding accomplishment, dedicated service, and loyal friendship to the AlabamaGermany Partnership are something we experience on a daily basis. Congratulations again to Michael, and his many contributions to AGP and its mission!
Four German companies were recognized for their 2021 expansions in Alabama:
- Evonik Corporation, Mobile
- ID Plastics L.P., Auburn
- REHAU Automotive LLC, Cullman
- Straehle + Hess, Inc., Auburn
More than 420 people attended 4 different events over 42 hours in Mobile. Thank you again to ALL that came out to support AGP including VIP guests and presenters, volunteers, the AGP board of officers and directors, and our sponsors! Your dedication and support are what make AGP possible.
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AGP Stammtisch in Birmingham |
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This is a great opportunity for German expats to meet and for other German-speaking/practicing to improve their German. Speaking German is encouraged but not required.
What does "Stammtisch" mean? A Stammtisch is an informal group meeting held on a regular basis, and also the usually large table around which the group meets. A Stammtisch is not a structured meeting, but rather a friendly and casual get-together.
Join us:
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Carrigan's Beer Garden, Birmingham
Carrigan's Beer Garden has a great selection of beverages and food for purchase. Family, kids, and dogs are allowed.
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Evonik plans to invest $176.5 million in an expansion project at the Mobile area facility |
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Photo Credit: Evonik
Right before the AGP 24th Annual Celebration Dinner, Governor Kay Ivey announced that the German specialty chemicals company Evonik is launching an expansion project at its Mobile area manufacturing facility that will bolster its animal nutrition business line while also reducing the site’s carbon footprint. Evonik shared the news at the dinner and also showed their commitment to AGP by being the event's top sponsor. Many attendees enjoyed a tour of Evonik's facility earlier that day.
Plans call for Evonik to build a plant at its Mobile County site to produce methyl mercaptan, which is used to manufacture its MetAmino (DL-methionine) product. Methionine is utilized in livestock farming to feed animals in a healthy, efficient, and sustainable manner.
Evonik plans to invest $176.5 million in the Alabama expansion project. The new plant is scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2024.
“Evonik was one of the first German companies to set up an operation in Alabama, and it’s great to see that its Mobile plant is once again playing a central role in this world-class company’s global growth plans,” said Governor Ivey. “The significant investment Evonik is making in Alabama will not only solidify its industrial presence in Mobile but also allow us to continue to build on this long-standing partnership.”
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Mercedes opens Alabama battery plant, adding up to 600 jobs |
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Photo Credit: Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz has opened a new electric vehicle battery factory near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that will create up to 600 new jobs.
The German automaker said Tuesday that the plant in Bibb County opened a few months before Mercedes plans to start making two all-electric SUVs at a large assembly plant in nearby Tuscaloosa.
The new plant will supply batteries for the EQS and EQE SUVs, which will be built for sale in the U.S. and for exports, the company said in a statement. Mercedes said it spent about $1 billion on the battery plant and to upgrade the assembly line in Tuscaloosa to make electric vehicles.
The Alabama battery plant will make lithium-ion batteries with advanced chemistry that contains nickel, cobalt, and manganese, Mercedes said.
It is one of six battery factories that the company plans including two in Germany, one each in China and Thailand, and one in Poland. Mercedes plans to build EVs at seven plants on three continents.
Mercedes already employs about 4,500 people at the Tuscaloosa assembly plant, which made about 260,000 SUVs last year. The plant can build internal combustion engine vehicles on the same line as electric vehicles, Mercedes said.
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First Airbus A321neo aircraft for Delta |
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Delta Airlines has taken delivery of the first of a planned 26 new A321neo aircraft from Airbus, with a 155-plane purchase commitment through 2027. The A321neo will be built in Mobile, Alabama, and Hamburg, Germany. Click below to see how A321neo is built:
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Dankeschön to our PATRON Members: |
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By Birmingham Business Alliance |
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Photo Credit: HardwarePark.org
MBN Automotive Inc., an automotive machining company headquartered in Germany, has opened a sales and customer support office in Birmingham’s Hardware Park. The company manufactures assembly line machines in Germany for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen. The company plans to grow its sales team in Alabama.
Christian Gerlach, Managing Director of MBN GmbH, said the company has established itself as the leading supplier of equipment for chassis assembly for many Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz plants. This, along with the increasing shift in the United States towards electric mobility and the company’s “Fastener Loader” specifically designed for electric mobility, provides the foundation for the start and development here.
“Birmingham offers perfect conditions with its training centers, universities, the possibility to recruit employees, and the central location between existing and potential new customers,” he said. “Likewise, the startup structure and access to a qualified supplier base appear to be very good. In addition, the Birmingham Business Alliance convinced us right from the start with their commitment and willingness to support us in our start and development in Alabama.”
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Alabama’s 2021 exports surpassed pre-pandemic levels |
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Alabama’s 2021 exports increased more than 21.8% over pre-pandemic levels in 2020.
“We are very pleased to see that our optimism at this time a year ago was well-founded,” Governor Kay Ivey said. “Alabama’s export numbers in 2021 exceeded those of 2019. This is a promising sign that demand for Alabama-made goods and services remains strong and that Alabama has an integral role to play in the worldwide recovery.”
In 2021, Alabama businesses exported to 189 countries. The top five destinations were Germany ($3.7 billion in exports), Canada ($3.4 billion), China ($3.2 billion), Mexico ($2.5 billion), and South Korea ($922 million). Others in the top 10 were Japan, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil.
Top export categories included transportation equipment ($10.4 billion), chemicals ($2.3 billion), forest products ($1.5 billion), primary metals manufacturing ($1.3 billion) and non-electrical machinery ($1.1 billion).
Exports to Germany, in particular, showed substantial growth during 2021. One of the main drivers powering that increase was Alabama-made motor vehicles, which increased 91% to reach $2.8 billion. Other notable upticks occurred in exports of minerals and ores (388%), chemicals (54%), paper (103%), and fabricated metal products (187%).
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Dankeschön to our SUSTAINING Members: |
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Please help us welcome our new members:
REGULAR MEMBERSHIP
Martha Bozeman
President
Agency54 is a robust communications and strategic public affairs firm whose innovative yet inclusive approach to advertising, digital marketing, and public relations delivers impactful results.
They focus on delivering specialized expertise that facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships with their clients, stakeholders, and key public figures.
What distinguishes them from the rest is their multi-faceted approach and our adherence to their mission, which is to create innovation, inclusion, and impact on a global scale.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
Brian Henry
For over 50 years, Park Moving and Storage has been helping homes and businesses relocate within Alabama, throughout the U.S., and around the world with ease and confidence. No matter the size or scope of your move, their moving team has the optimal plan to complete it. By choosing them, you can work with a moving company dedicated to making your relocation dreams a reality.
They are an A+ member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), in addition to being an agent of Atlas Van Lines. This means you will enjoy a capable, versatile service backed by a worldwide network that helps them expertly handle any move.
As an AGP member, you can connect with them through the AGP membership database.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP
Jonathan Curry
Montgomery, AL
Julie Adams
Asheville, NC
FAMILY MEMBERSHIP
Raymond Adams
Mobile, AL
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Save te German-made Vintage Guns |
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By Kathy Hagood for Yellowhammer News |
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Photo Credit: T&G German Gun Imports
Dr. George Inge and his German business partner Tobi Nisse
Dr. George Inge got his first look at a German three-barrel combination rifle-shotgun as a 12-year-old during an annual family deer drive in Clark County.
His cousin harvested a buck by using the combo firearm, and for Inge, it was love at first sight. “The gun was so different from anything I had ever seen,” he says. “I didn’t know then it would become my favorite type of hunting gun.”
Now, more than six decades later, the well-known fertility specialist with The Center for Reproductive Medicine in Mobile is importing vintage German combo firearms. “These fine, precision-made guns might otherwise be torn apart and melted down because of modern German gun restrictions,” Inge says.
He and his partner in Germany, Tobi Nisse, sell the guns through their company T&G German Gun Imports. “The guns are of great interest to collectors and hunters in this country who appreciate the versatility of a light-weight firearm that can be used both as a shotgun and a rife,” Inge says.
Inge’s German partner is a gunsmith and dealer located in the Saurlands Region of central Germany. A fan of vintage combo firearms, Nisse spent 12 years in the German army and is a hunter.
The major impetus for the formation of their company came in 2017 when Inge acquired a 1902 Hollenbeck drilling firearm from an aunt and needed it restored. During his search for the right gunsmith, Inge connected with Nisse, who was trying to find a way to sell vintage German firearms in the United States.
The company’s motto is “Save the fine guns.” That’s because Germany’s gun laws have gotten more restrictive, and without a permit, firearms may be confiscated. “The widow of a hunter, for example, has only so long to sell her husband’s guns before she legally must turn the gun over to the police to be destroyed,” Inge says.
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German Journalist Praises the Birmingham Spirit |
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By Katrin Brand for Comebacktown.com |
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Last year, on a bright October day two German travelers arrived tired and weary from their long car drive through the south.
They were late, opening hours were almost over, but they were allowed half an hour to roam around.
The sun was already low, and in front of them, the derelict reminders of the long-gone age of iron and steel were glowing in a bright and rusty red under a clear blue sky.
What a beautiful sight!
The two travelers were my husband, Jörg, and I and the place where we were was Sloss Furnaces. What might surprise you is we immediately, in a nostalgic kind of way, felt at home.
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The part of Germany where we´re from – the Ruhrgebiet – has experienced the same boom and bust history of coal and steel as Birmingham, the need to reinvent ourselves, and the question of what to do with the remnants of its industrial past.
As a reporter, I was curious: how did Birmingham, Alabama, cope with all of that and what kind of spirit would I find here when I came back and dug deeper?
I came back some months later and – spoiler alert! – I found confidence, pride, a lot of energy, dynamic and historic awareness, serenity, resilience, and different shades of faith.
What did I do to reach that conclusion?
I spent a day at Protective Stadium for the Alabama High School Football Championship; I witnessed the re-opening ceremony at Legacy Arena and talked to Cornell Wesley of the Department for Innovation and Economic Opportunity; I had a very nice lunch a Helen´s and got a bit tipsy at the Shu Shop.
I had a long talk with David Sher, who showed me some scenic neighborhoods; I spent not enough time at Jim Reed´s Museum of Fond Memories; I visited the sites of the Civil Rights Movement; I went jogging at Railroad Park, and well, a lot more.
What I found were a lot of people who loved what they were doing and whom they were doing it for. Take Emily and Rob McDaniel, the couple behind Helen´s. Opening a new place in the midst of the pandemic, not losing faith, and making it an immediate success. How amazing!
As a German, that´s the spirit I wish we had in my homeland.
Germans tend to be overly cautious, pessimistic, and concerned about everything. We clearly belong to the glass-half-empty-faction of the world, just the opposite of what I experienced in Birmingham. So kudos to you all: this was a really uplifting and educational adventure!
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AGP Mailing List Spam - BE AWARE |
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We have been made aware there is a spam mailing that is "selling" the AlabamaGermany Partnership Email List. Please don't purchase!
IT IS A SCAM!
WE WOULD NEVER SELL OR SHARE THE INFORMATION OF OUR MEMBERS OR SUPPORTERS!
The only way to stop receiving these emails is to mark them as SPAM so future emails from that sender will go directly into your spam mail.
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COVID-19 RELATED NEWS AND RESOURCES |
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Key Information for Travelers to Germany from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Visit CDC Website.
RESOURCES
We have collected a list of resources that can provide information and assistance during these challenging times. You can find them on our website under Helpful Resources.
AlabamaGermany Partnership:
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AlabamaGermany Partnership 1900 International Parkway Drive, Suite 105
Birmingham, AL 35245 www.AlabamaGermany.org
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