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Dankeschön to our PATRON Members:
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What to do in Alabama
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March 2- Oct. 26
Huntsville
March 25
Elberta
March 31- April 2
Huntsville
April 1-29
Birmingham
April 1
Rainbow City
April 7-8
Dothan
Please note that the dates are shared to the best of our knowledge. If you plan to attend any of the events - please make sure to check information directly with the host of the event. Thank you!
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Save the Dates
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March 22, 29
Tuscaloosa
March 23, 30
Birmingham
March 27
Birmingham
April 2
Tuscaloosa
April 6
Talladega
April 7
AGP German Company Visit
Pell City
Please note that the dates are shared to the best of our knowledge. If you plan to attend any of the events - please make sure to check information directly with the host of the event. Thank you!
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AGP's New Members
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D. Chad Goodson
Charles McClellan
Member Upgrades
Corporation/Sustaining
Bobby Ingram
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Dankeschön to our SUSTAINING Members:
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German Word
of the Month
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"Geduldsfaden"
Do you ever have those moments where your patience is so thin that you could snap? Germans would say that their Geduldsfaden is tearing.
The word Geduldsfaden comes from Geduld ("patience") and Faden ("thread"). Everyone has a Geduldsfaden, but some people have a thicker thread than others. A Geduldsfaden describes someone's level of patience. If someone has a lot of patience, their "patience thread" is more durable than someone with very little patience. Of course, everyone has a limit.
When you are getting close to that limit, your Faden becomes tighter and thinner. When that limit is reached, your thread snaps in two pieces.
Perhaps it's screaming children, perhaps it's a nagging friend or maybe it's your incompetent employee who causes your Geduldsfaden to snap.
One of the first records of the term is found in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's autobiography Dichtung und Wahrheit (in English: From my Life: Poetry and Truth). The Brothers Grimm also used the term in their works.
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German Idioms
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"ein Streit um des Kaisers Bart"
Literal translation: "an argument over the emperor's beard"
The English equivalent for this German phrase is "to split hairs." That is, to make overly small and fine distinctions over a matter that is of no significant importance.
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Events & Seminars Offered by AGP Members
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March/April
GACC South Events
April 3
German Mittelstand - Southern SME Forum
GACC South
April 10-14 ATN
April 20 ATN
June 11-16
GACC
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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Chair
Dr. Anna Gramberg
Auburn University
Vice Chair/Chair Elect
Brian Hilson
Birmingham Business Alliance
VP Education
Dr. Wolfgang Kneer
SWJ-BREILMANN U.S. LLC
VP Business Development
Jo Bonner
The University of Alabama System
VP German Business
Albert von Pelser
REHAU Automotive, LLC
VP Communication
Devin Dolive
Burr & Forman LLP
VP Culture
Dr. Thomas Fox
University of Alabama
VP Membership
Kirk Atkinson
Adah International, Inc.
Secretary
Bobby Ingram
JamisonMoneyFarmer
Treasurer
Arnold Servo
Rödl & Partner
Immediate Past Chair
Warren McCullars
Retired from Alagasco
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AGP Affiliates
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Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Detlev Ruenger Marquis Two Tower Suite 901 285 Peachtree Ctr Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30303 Phone: (404) 934-5474
Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany for the State of Alabama Michael Johnson Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Phone: (205) 250-8335
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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Executive Director
Tine Hoffmeister
Office
205-943-4772
director@alabamagermany.org
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Join Our List
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| Germany Company Tours in Pell City | |  
AGP is offering an unique opportunity to visit 2 German companies in Pell City, Alabama - Eissmann Automotive North America Inc. and WKW Erbsloeh North America LLC.
As a bonus, AIDT (Alabama Industrial Development Training) are offering you a look into the Mobile Robotic Training Lab that will be parked on site that day.
Join us:
Friday, April 7, 2017
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Pell City, AL
Please note we have a max. on this event. Registration will close when we reach max. Reserve your spot TODAY!
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| The Shape and Future of Auto Growth | | |
By Business Alabama
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| | Eissmann Automotive in Pell City |
Last June, Eissmann Automotive, a vehicle parts supplier headquartered in Bad Urach, Germany, announced that it would invest $14.5 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Pell City.
The company wants to make room for a new manufacturing process. The expansion will include a new 130,000-square-foot building, as well as the installation of new advanced manufacturing equipment. Company officials say the expansion would also result in the hiring of at least 200 more employees at the facility.
Workers at the Pell City facility manufacture products such as vehicle interiors and trim components for automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Tesla, Jeep, Porsche and Volkswagen.
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Get Your Ticket and Fasten Your Seatbelt!
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Join us for AlabamaGermany Partnership's 19th Annual Celebration Dinner:
April 6, 2017 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. International Motorsports Hall of Fame Talladega Superspeedway
We have a great night prepared. Reception starts at 5:30 pm. Enjoy moonshine tasting offered by local Raven Rock Distillery, networking and silent auction. We have wonderful silent auction items waiting, to name a few:
- Mercedes-Benz Off Road Driving Experience for Six People
- Hot Laps by Porsche Sport Driving School
- Several Hotel Stays
- Footballs signed by Coach Malzahn and Coach Saban
- Moonshine & Whiskey
Our keynote speaker is flying in from Germany. Dr. Johannes Mayr, Vice President and Head of Economic Research, Bayerische Landesbank. Dinner program will include Barbara Fischer Education Award, Rainer Bauer Award, and 14 New & Expanding German Company recognition's.
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Meet Our Keynote Speaker
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We are pleased to announce that Dr. Johannes Mayr of the Bayerische Landesbank/Bayern LB (Bavarian State Bank) will be the keynote speaker at the AlabamaGermany Partnership's 19th
Annual Celebration Dinner.
Dr. Mayr is vice president and Head of Economic Research.
Dr Johannes Mayr joined BayernLB in July 2011 and has headed the Bank's Economics team ever since, concentrating on the eurozone and the ECB. From 2006 to 2011 he worked as a researcher at the Ifo Institute where he was in charge of the International Economics department for North America. Dr Mayr studied business and economics at both the University of Augsburg and the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He received his doctoral degree at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. In 2015 his team won 1st place in Bloomberg's global ranking of exchange rate forecasters, as well as being awarded both StarMine trophies in the Reuters international ranking for the best economic forecasters for Germany and the eurozone.
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How Moonshine Bootlegging Gave Rise to NASCAR
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By Smithsonian Magazine
Even before Prohibition, erstwhile distillers were gathering in secret locations throughout rural areas in the south, brewing up homemade spirits to sell under the radar and away from alcohol taxes and bans. The drinks were made under the light of the moon, in hopes that no one would detect smoke rising from the stills and ultimately bust the operation-a practice that earned the booze its name "moonshine."
Moonshining dates back to the 1700s, when officials imposed taxes on liquor sales. Farmers and immigrants throughout the south took to making their own batches to sell for extra money, tax free, to counteract the effects of extreme poverty in the region. And with the introduction of Prohibition, production skyrocketed, creating a thriving black market business for secretly distilled hooch.
Read Smithsonian Magazine's Full Story Here
Please join us for local moonshine tasting by Raven Rock Distillery in Fruithurst, Talladega County - at AGP's 19th Annual Celebration Dinner during the reception. The family owned business have 6 generation history of making moonshine.
Raven Rock's distiller Dylan Laminack is finishing up moonshine as we speak.
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Knowledge-based industries crucial to Alabama's economic future
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By John M. Mason Jr., Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Auburn University and President of the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation via AL.com
The state of Alabama has welcomed and benefited from new industries over the decades and now looks forward to the knowledge-based economy of tomorrow. To maximize our potential, it's incumbent that we invest in our workforce and nurture government, business and industry partnerships, especially those in sectors building upon advanced technologies and new ideas.
For many years, state and local economic development programs relied on offering tax breaks and other incentives in a sort of arms race to see who could give the most generous package. While financial incentives have their place, our future as local communities and as a state rests on enhancing investments in three economic pillars - a trained workforce, new technologies and entrepreneurship - as the recipe for a sustained, secure and prosperous future. The immense ability of our state's educational institutions to provide impactful research and a workforce able to fulfill the promise of next-generation technologies is undeniable and appealing, nationally and globally. More strategically focused partnerships among four-year universities and the Alabama Community College System will ensure we can supply high-tech companies with a talented workforce.
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American Schools vs. German Schools
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American schools and German schools have many notable differences. Anke Jahn with Mind Your Culture, a GAC Foundation volunteer (and AGP member), recently sat down with Isabel Schueppel, a 16 year old student who has attended both American and German schools to discuss differences between the two systems.
The Subjects Taught
In the United States, students customize much of their education, especially at higher grade levels. They must study "core curriculum," like math, English, and science, but also can choose what language they take, whether they take art classes or shop class, and so forth. They make decisions about what interests they wish to explore, and they can change that decision if they discover they do not care for it.
German students have a much more prescribed curriculum and are not able to explore as many of their own interests in the classroom. German students learn many of the same basics as American students, but their education paths diverge earlier than students in the US. Starting in 6th grade, students are divided into those who go to Gymnasium, Realschule, or Hauptschule. Each of these has its own focus and curriculum, which is pre-determined for the students.
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Mercedes-Benz suppliers will hire 2,400 workers in Tuscaloosa Co.
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By ABC3340 News
The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama projects 2,400 automotive jobs will be available in Tuscaloosa County within the next 18 months. All of those positions are being created by suppliers for the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International plant in Vance, due to Mercedes' ongoing $1.3 billion expansion.
"Within the next two years there will be a lot of hiring in different phases. They range anywhere from logistics companies, all the way up to advanced manufacturing, paint and body, and maintenance companies," said Donny Jones, COO of The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.
Mercedes suppliers will fill more than 16 different job types. Salaries range from $23,000 to $143,000.
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Why Germans don't give compliments
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Why Germans don't give compliments and how an American learned to deal with it.
The absence of criticism can be taken as praise in Germany, Courtney Tenz learned the hard way. On World Compliment Day she explains why she misses "superficial" American compliments, but appreciates the German approach.
As a young girl growing up in the US, I took compliments for granted.
If I put on a dress, family members were sure to coo over how pretty I looked. If I got good grades in school, I was told how smart I was. Even if I polished off an entire birthday cake, I was complimented on my healthy appetite. Born between the "I'm OK, you're OK" generation and the "every little thing you do is magic" generation, I was given what I felt was a healthy dose of compliments - enough to encourage my self-esteem without people going unrealistically overboard.
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