welcome to the nano cosmos - AHK USA

Transcription

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WELCOME TO THE NANO COSMOS
Carl Zeiss SMT: Enabling
the Nano-Age World
Otto Gourmet
exports Wagyu Beef
Renewable Energy
Conference Syracuse, NY
Monthly Cartoon
GACC • 75 Broad Street, 21st Floor • New York, NY 10004 • USA
MAGAZINE OF THE GERMAN AMERICAN
CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
VOLUME 19 · NUMBER 7 · $5.00
8/20/08
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AVL. MEASU REMEN T AN D TEST SOLUTION S
A S VERSAT ILE AS A KALEIDOSCOPE.
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of measurement and testing technology at the highest level: Solutions to increase productivity
and reduce development times. The extraordinary technology competence, the long-term
experience in all ﬁelds of application and distinct customer orientation enable AVL
Instrumentation & Test Systems to offer tailored solutions, reﬂecting the innovative
strength of the company. Fascinating and diverse, just like a Kaleidoscope.
Comprehensive know-how regarding the overall engine and powertrain development process,
profound project experience, and related products turn AVL into an approved partner of the
automobile industries worldwide. www.avl.com
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C O N T E N T S
INSIGHT
Helium-ion technology, that’s the new groundbreaking technology from Carl Zeiss
SMT. It’s used in nanotechnology, a world of atoms and nanostructures. Read more
about it in the Cover Story.
GACC NY’s 4th German American Renewable Energy
Conference brought together 250 industry specialists from both
T R A N S AT L A N T I C T I C K E R
sides of the Atlantic.
German American Company News
In the second part of the Business Tools series on differences
between the working styles of Germans and Americans, dissimilar-
4
SPOTLIGHTS
ities which can make or break a deal are described. While wonder-
Carl Zeiss SMT:
Enabling the Nano-Age World
ing how to find those that know both cultures and are bilingual,
GACC NY Focuses on Renewable Energy
8
13
take a look at the DEinternational Special Report: GACC’s
Recruitment Services, which helps to find the perfect match.
G AT O N - S I T E
Like gourmet food? Then read the Dream Catcher story and
Dream Catchers Series: Part 7
Otto Brothers
see how three brothers made the American dream a reality. In
the Member Profile, persolog north america corporation is introduced, a company that
uses a unique approach called persolog Personality Factor Model.
14
SPECIAL REPORT
DEInternational Recruitment
17
Last but not least, read the Board Talk Commentary, in which Teri Simmons, Partner
at Arnall Golden Gregory discusses the effects of the Visa Waiver Program changes on
BUSINESS TOOLS
transatlantic travels.
Work to Live or Live to Work? Part 2
22
Enjoy reading!
Janka Pieper – Assistant Editor, Chicago
[email protected]
MEMBER PROFILE
persolog north america
28
FROM THE REGIONS
GACC Highlights for July / August 2008
30
EVENT CALENDAR
Future Events, Delegations & Trade Fairs 33
B O A R D TA L K
Teri Simmons, Arnall Golden Gregory
Exclusive cartoon by Heiko Sakurai www.sakurai-cartoons.de
34
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Travel authorization
needed before U.S. entry
The Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has initiated an
Electronic System for Travel
Authorization (“ESTA”) for
screening passengers before they
begin travel to the United States.
Effective January 12, 2009, this
travel authorization becomes
mandatory for all U.S. visitors
(business/tourist) who wish to
enter the United States under the
Visa Waiver Program. The travel
authorization must be filed
online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov
at least three days prior to departure. This website provides an
automated form that can be filled
out by the traveler or a third party. The travel authorization is
valid for two years from the date
of authorization or until the passport expires. • Press Release
GfK expands Custom
Research Network in the USA
The German based GfK Group
acquired 100% ownership of US
company Arbor Strategy Group
(ASG), a leading strategic brand
innovation consulting firm, will
trade under the name of GfK
Strategic Innovation in future.
The takeover contributes to the
growth of GfK Custom Research
North America and will see new
GfK locations of ASG offices in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. The GfK Group is the
No. 4 market research organization worldwide. • Market Watch
Solon in $500 million deal
with U.S. cell maker Suniva
into the development of a new aqua
culture facility on the US eastern
seaboard. This new location signifies CAVIAR CREATOR’s ever
growing dominance in the U.S.
market, which represents 45% of
the world’s caviar consumers. The
new aqua culture site will have 300
basins with 33 cycles, which can
produce a maximum of 40 tons of
caviar a year. Construction of the
new facility is scheduled to cease at
the end of this year and will be
home to 148 employees. • PRLog
ZF to acquire Cherry Corporation
German solar module maker Solon
AG has signed a $500 million supply contract with U.S. solar cell
maker Suniva Inc. In an interview,
Suniva Chief Executive John
Baumstark said the deal would
allow the two companies to collaborate on driving down the cost of
solar power, while improving the
efficiency of generating electricity
from the sun’s rays. • Reuters
Caviar Creator:
New U.S. East Coast location
ZF Friedrichshafen AG is further
expanding its leading worldwide
automotive supplier position for
Driveline and Chassis Technology. ZF will acquire the Cherry
Corporation, headquartered in
Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Pending
government approval, Cherry
will continue as an independent
business unit of ZF Electronics in
the ZF Group. • Market Watch
Siemens benefits from growth
driver renewable energy
Caviar Creator has recently invested
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said Theo Kitz, a Munich-based
analyst at Merck Finck & Co.
“Renewable energy is clearly a
growth driver.” • Bloomberg
Find the latest news on
www.gaccny.com
8/20/08
3:57 PM
Evergreen Solar opens
a new facility in Devens
Evergreen Solar, Inc., a GermanAmerican manufacturer of String
Ribbon solar power panels with
its proprietary wafer technology,
officially opened its new, 160megawatt production facility in
Devens, Mass. Evergreen Solar
will employ 700 new employees
at the Devens facility and provide
salaries and benefits in excess of
$44 million. • Press Release
Sennebogen to open
Lincoln County plant
Sennebogen North America will
open a 48,000 square foot parts
distribution, training and technical support center in eastern
Lincoln County. The 50-year-old
family-owned company from
Straubing, Germany manufactures
specialized bulk material-handling
equipment. The center represents
capital investments of $5.1 million. Sennebogen expects to bring
25 new jobs to the facility within
two years. • Gaston Gazette
Auburn company
under German ownership
One Auburn manufacturing
company is now under new ownership. German-based Borbet
Group has acquired Auburnbased ATS Light Alloy Wheels
Alabama Inc. Borbet is one of
Europe’s leading manufacturers of
light metal alloy wheels for the
automobile industry. The company is scheduled to produce
approximately 14.2 million alu-
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minum wheels in 2008, generating sales of approximately 680
million EUROS. • The Auburn Villager
Element-Systems sets sights on
North American residential market
Element-System of Germany, a
manufacturer with a half century
long legacy of producing commercial display and storage
systems for the retail fixturing
segment, is expanding its reach
into the home storage sector in
both Canada and the United
States (US). The Canadian and
American expansion is managed
by Texas-based Modern Living
Products, the Element-System
agents for the Americas since
2007. Over 30 Element-System
dealers have been chosen and
products are on sale across the US
and Canada. • Press Release
Jenoptik to boost
North American traffic-camera sales
Jenoptik AG, Europe’s largest maker of traffic cameras, plans to
double sales of the equipment in
North America next year to challenge Redflex Holdings Ltd.’s lead
in that market. Installations will
rise to 300 cameras in the U.S. As
the traffic-safety market in Germany becomes saturated, Jenoptik
is expanding in the U.S. Illinois
and Maryland are among states
that have passed laws allowing
authorities to use photographic evidence of traffic violations. • Bloomberg
Magnum Group receives
2008 Best of Philadelphia Award
Each year, the U.S. Local Business
Association (USLBA) identifies
local companies that have
achieved exceptional marketing
success in their local community
and business category. Magnum
Group, Inc’s selection as a 2008
Award Winner was determined
by its successful multilingual
communication efforts through
service to its customers and the
community. • Press Release
TÜVRheinland aquires
Unified Testing Services in Alabama
TÜVRheinland, the world
leader in independent testing
and certification services, has
acquired Unified Testing Servic>>
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Insurance Services, Property and Casualty
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Real Estate
8/20/08
3:57 PM
es, Inc. (UTS), a full-service
testing and consulting engineering firm based in Woodstock,
Ala. The acquisition folds a variety of new services into
TÜVRheinland’s portfolio and
makes UTS a standalone member of TÜV Rheinland of North
America Group. • Press Release
Bertelsmann sells
North American book club
Bertelsmann AG says it is selling
its North American book club
business to U.S. private investor
Najafi Companies, based in
Phoenix, Arizona. The Germanybased Bertelsmann says that the
deal is expected to close during
the third quarter. • Herald Tribune
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Fresenius pays $3.7B
for U.S. drugmaker APP
Fresenius SE said it has agreed to
buy U.S. generic drug maker APP
Pharmaceuticals for $3.7 billion
in cash in a deal that will give the
German health care company
more opportunities in the North
American market for drugs
administered intravenously. APP
will be combined with the U.S.
subsidiary of Fresenius Kabi, the
companies said. • PR-Inside
WALA Heilmittel
could increase sales 8% in U.S.
Worldwide sales of WALA
Heilmittel, the maker of the cosmetic products line Dr.
Hauschka, have more than doubled in the last five years, to
nearly $150 million. About 8 percent of that has been generated in
the United States. • New York Times
Rampf invests
$1 million in U.S. production
The Rampf Group, Inc., the subsidiary
of
the
German
Rampf-Gruppe is enhancing its
presence in North America. The
company invested about 1 million
dollars into their production site in
Wixom, MI. The current capacity
is about 1,000 Tones per year.
From now onwards, the Rampf
Group, Inc. will be producing liquid materials for foam gaskets on
GAT
their premises. • Press Release
Be a smart car winner!
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8/20/08
3:57 PM
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8/20/08
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S P O T L I G H T S
WELCOME TO THE
With a push on the button Dr. Dirk
Stenkamp, Frank Averdung
(Carl Zeiss) and Dr. Bernd Rinnert
(German Deputy Consul General),
officially open Carl Zeiss SMT´s
new headquarters
T
here is a world so small, it is
almost invisible – even with
a microscope. That world is
the field of nanotechnology, the
realm of atoms and nanostructures. A nanometer (nm) is
one-billionth of a meter, smaller
than the wavelength of
visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human
hair. Making structures with
nanoscopic dimensions visible
and analyzing their physical and
chemical properties are the core
competencies of the Nano Technology Systems division from
Carl Zeiss – an international
group of companies founded 160
years ago in Jena – Germany.
In April of 2008, the new headquarters of Carl Zeiss SMT for
North America were opened in
Peabody, Massachusetts, near
Boston. Representing an investment of more than nine million
dollars, the new 53,000 square
foot facility houses the research,
development and production
center for the unique ORION™
helium ion microscope product
line. In addition, the facility
serves as the North American hub
for sales and service for the complete family of ZEISS particle
beam instruments and houses the
Carl Zeiss Nano Solutions Center
Peabody. This center is a comprehensive demonstration and
application development facility
hosting six of the latest generation
electron- and ion-beam systems
for nanoscale imaging, analysis
and structuring.
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S P O T L I G H T S
NANO COSMOS
Technologies
CARL ZEISS SMT
Enabling the
Nano-Age World®
With their property of resolving
even the most minute structures,
particle beam microscopes are
unique tools for global basic
research, the development of
innovative products, and the production or quality-relevant
process control in a wide variety
of disciplines such as materials
research, the semiconductor
industry and biomedical technology. And particle beam
microscopes provide the key to
understanding the physical and
chemical processes in the nano
range, thus enabling the development and implementation of new,
ORION Helium Ionen Microscope
trendsetting materials and technologies in an area that is rapidly
gaining importance throughout
the world: nanotechnology.
Scanning electron microscopes
use highly accelerated, tightly
bundled electron beams to scan
the surface of specimens. When
the electrons strike the specimen
a number of so called interaction
products are generated, which
are then discovered using a highly developed detector system and
permit precise conclusions on
the surface and the chemical
composition of the specimen.
The transmission electron microscope (TEM) uses electron
translucent specimens with
images directly projected on a
screen or camera. The
image of the specimen is
then magnified 1,000,000
times using electromagnetic lenses, stored by
means of a high-resolution
CCD camera and supplied
for further processing. As a
result of the latest technology
developments, it is now possible
to achieve local resolution below
1 Angstrom (0.1 nm) – which
means resolution down to the
>>
atomic level.
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S P O T L I G H T S
Interview with Frank Averdung
President of Carl Zeiss SMT
GAT: What were your motives
to invest and centralize your
efforts in Massachusetts?
AVERDUNG: North America has
positioned itself at the forefront of
nanotechnology for advanced
materials, life sciences and semiconductor research and development.
We anticipate that we will continue
to grow our organization in
Peabody, making it the gold standard of customer sales and service
for North America. Being located
near Boston, with its world
renowned Universities like Harvard
and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology provides an ideal cultural and scientific environment to
stimulate imaginative and creative
thinking for ongoing product and
application development.
GAT: What does
this mean to your customers?
AVERDUNG: We are now positioned better than ever to provide
a world class
experience in nanoscale imaging,
analysis and structuring for our
North American customers –
from academia to research and a
wide array of industries. This
includes joint research and development programs, applications
development, sales and customer
service and support activities.
GAT: Zeiss developed
a groundbreaking new technology:
Helium-ion microscopy. What
are the benefits of this technique?
AVERDUNG: The ORION™
Helium-ion microscope uses a
beam of Helium ions, rather than
electrons typically used in scanning electron microscopes
(SEM), to scan the surface of a
specimen and generate the signals
to be measured and imaged. It is
a disruptive technology that will
enable our customers in semiconductor manufacturing, materials
and life science applications to
further push existing technical
boundaries and to meet their
“
• Semiconductor International Magazine
2008 “Best Product Award”
Dr. Dirk Stenkamp
Member of the Board at Carl Zeiss SMT
A 100% subsidiary of Carl Zeiss
A M E R I C A N
T R A D E
S E P T
AVERDUNG: First customers
using the groundbreaking Heliumion technology number among the
most reknowned and distinguished
research facilities and institutes
worldwide. Harvard University
uses the Helium-ion microscope in
its Center for Nanoscale Systems
(CNS) at the University’s Faculty
for Arts and Sciences (FAS). The
very first customer has been the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD where research at the
limits of physics is carried out on a
daily basis.
• Wall Street Journal
“Technology Innovation Award” 2007
”
G E R M A N
GAT: Who uses
Helium-ion technology?
“Award-winning technology”
These awards
challenge us to keep
moving forward, creating
new tools to help
conquer new frontiers
in nanotechnology.
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roadmap requirements beyond
the current decade.
0 8
• 2008 R&D 100 Award
from reputable R&D magazine
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S P O T L I G H T S
CARL ZEISS NANO TECHNOLOGY
SYSTEMS (NTS) DIVISION
www.smt.zeiss.com
The more than 500 employee strong Nano Technology Systems (NTS) division
develops, produces and distributes market leading electron as well as ion
optical end customer systems and OEM products for material analysis, life
sciences and applications in the semiconductor industry around the globe.
• With more than 60 years of experience in the industry, the company is a pioneer
in electron optics and continuously has set standards for revolutionary innovations
• Located in Oberkochen, Germany, Cambridge, UK and Peabody, USA
• More than 40 additional distributors and service teams worldwide
• The Peabody based US Headquarters employs more than 150 scientists, engineers, sales and service specialists
• US headquarter has opened with an investment of more than US $9 million
• Two main customer segments: Industrial enterprises in the segments semiconductors, material technology, automotive,
avionics, energy supply, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology and public and private research
GAT
institutes such as the NIST, Harvard University, national research labs, universities, hospitals, etc.
V I S U A L I Z AT I O N F R O M M A C R O S C O P I C T O AT O M I C R E S O L U T I O N
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WINDSPEED IS MEASURED IN
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S P O T L I G H T S
GACC NY Focuses
on Renewable Energy
By Patti Schultz
and Sebastian Göres
I
n today’s “clean energy” age it is
common knowledge that fossil
fuels are environmentally
unsound, highly toxic and downright dirty. What are the
alternatives? From a renewable
energy standpoint, the utilization
of biomass for power production
has become a commercially
proven option. The term “Biomass” power is describing the
conversion of organic material
into usable energy, either by burning it directly or by harvesting
combustible gases or liquids. Biomass currently provides about
four percent (7,500 megawatts) of
all the electricity produced in the
U.S. The vast majority of this
energy source comes from approximately 350 biomass power plants
that utilize direct combustion
boiler/steam turbine designs.
U.S. community leaders and economic developers have realized
the potential of biomass and are
looking for optimal technological
solutions to tap into this renewable energy source.
In this context all eyes have turned
to Germany, as one of the world’s
leaders in renewable energies,
including biomass technology.
Germany currently has 50,000
professionals employed in the biomass sector with annual revenues
of 9.1 billion euro in 2006.
Hence, many U.S. businesses are
eager to learn the latest German
innovations and developments in
the biomass industry.
To satisfy this demand, the German American Chamber of
Commerce, New York (GACC
NY) has focused on this hot topic. According to Sebastian Göres,
renewable energy specialist at the
GACC NY, “U.S. firms are genuinely interested in current
German biomass technologies
and projects. As for the German
firms, the most inquiries we get
at the moment are about partnering with U.S. companies in
renewable energies.”
Against this background, the
GACC NY organized the “4th
German American Renewable
Energy Conference: Biomass:
Power, Heat, and Fuels” in Syracuse, NY, on June 24, 2008. The
conference was a full-day event
with 24 lectures, discussion sessions, and arranged business
meetings. German companies
involved in biomass as well as
U.S. companies and industry
associations (SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry,
NYSERDA, Cornell University,
New England Wood Pellet among
others) gave presentations to an
audience of 250 attendees. This
number, according to Göres, was
“…overwhelming! We expected
100 people from the industry to
4TH GERMAN AMERICAN
RENEWABLE ENERGY
CONFERENCE: BIOMASS:
P O W E R , H E A T, A N D F U E L S
Organized by: German American Chamber of Commerce, New York
When:
June 24, 2008
Where:
National Grid Building in Syracuse, NY
Attendees:
250
Highlights:
• 49 arranged one-on-one meetings between
German and American biomass companies
during week of Conference
• Six conference presentations
from German biomass companies
• Ten technical presentations form biomass experts
• Broad recognition in the press
(e.g. Post-Standard), TV (e.g. News 10),
radio (e.g. 570 WSYR) and important industry
publications (e.g. Biomass Magazine)
participate. However, 250 specialists attended to hear speakers talk
about U.S. and German biomass
markets and technologies.”
The conference was seen as a great
success and received broad coverage in the press (e.g. Syracuse Post
Standard), TV (e.g. News 10),
radio (e.g. 570 WSYR) and
industry publications (e.g. Biomass Magazine). GAT
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O N - S I T E
German Entrepreneurial
Spirit in the United States
Part Seven tells the story of White Plains based
PART SEVEN
Stephan Otto from Heinsberg, Germany.
PERSONAL
BACKGROUND
M
y brothers, Michael, Wolfgang, and I were born in
Heinsberg, a town 30,000
close to the Netherland’s border
and in between the cities of
Aachen and Düsseldorf. Crossing
the border to the Netherlands
always gave me that cool international feeling when going
shopping or enjoying night life. I
also was always attracted by bigger cities which in my view are
melting pots of interesting,
adventurous people.
Why America
I was always attracted by foreign
countries, so was my wife. She
had already spent one year in
Japan, when I met her at the university of Marburg we both
attended. So after getting the
THOMAS RUHL, WWW.PORT-CULINAIRE.DE
www.otto-gourmet.de
Although I could never imagine
living in my hometown Heinsberg, I always wanted to do
something with my two brothers.
I always had the feeling that as we
each have different personalities
and interests, this would be a great
combination to start a business.
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G A T
O N - S I T E
Biggest Challenge
The 3 Otto brothers: Michael, Wolfgang and Stephan Otto.
Cultural Surprises
is much more emphasized in
America. America is still today a
country of immigrants. Immigrants come to make their luck –
mostly financially. Immigrants
take much higher risks in order to
achieve their goals as most of them
have nothing to lose. This immigrant lifestyle is somehow still in
most families who are in our
neighborhood 2nd or 3rd generation. So the grandparents can still
tell the kids how adventurous it
was when they came to the U.S.
We came in April 2001 only six
months before the tragedy of September 11 happened. My first
surprise was how proud the Americans are of their country, how
they showed the empathy with
flags at every car and house. Then,
the second surprise was how positive thinking and self confidence
Personally for me, this resulted in
the experience that when I started thinking about my own
business in 2004, my American
friends were all about encouraging me to go ahead with my idea.
On the other side my German
friends told me to stop this crazy
idea with all the risks it had.
opportunity from my former
employer Droege & Comp. (a
Düsseldorf-based International
Management Consultancy), to
join the New York office, it was
no question that we would go.
That it turned out to be New
York happened by accident. If I
would have had the opportunity
for another country, I would have
done it, too.
The biggest challenge going to
another country was to integrate
the family into our new environment. When you come for work it
is easy, as you have immediately
contact with your colleagues and
other business relationships. For
the family it is not that easy, especially if your kids don’t go to
school. So we moved twice before
we found a perfect neighborhood –
one with a lot of friends – and, now
that our kids are in school, it is easier to broaden the social network.
Greatest Inspiration
One inspiration is definitely the
opportunity to be almost independent in what I am doing. I
can live where I want. I can
substantially infuse our company with my values, vision and
strategy thoughts.
In order to do this today, I use
what I’ve learned from my parents, from former colleagues and
also business coaches, who
helped me to focus on the things
>>
I really want.
FA S T FA C T S O T T O B R O T H E R S L L C
Names of Partners:
Hometown:
Stephan Otto; Michael Otto & Wolfgang Otto
(partners in affiliated company Otto Gourmet)
White Plains, NY & Heinsberg, Germany
Age of Partners:
42, 41,40
Locations:
91 Woodcrest Avenue, White Plains, NY 10604
Industriestrasse 33, 52525 Heinsberg, Germany
Year Founded in the U.S.: 2004
Business Activity:
Export/ Import and Marketing/ Distribution of high quality meat
Number of Employees:
9
Revenue in 2007:
US$ 2.3 million (year 2007)
1 5
G E R M A N
A M E R I C A N
T R A D E
S E P T
0 8
G A T
8/20/08
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Page 16
O N - S I T E
BUSINESS
BACKGROUND
After studying business administration in Marburg, I joined DIC
Deutsche Industry Consult, at
that time the management consulting company of WestLB
Westdeutsche Landesbank. After
two years, in 1996, DIC was
merged with Droege & Co. In
2001 I joined the Droege & Co.
team in New York. In January
2005 I started working full-time
at my own business.
I have always believed that knowing a function in a company or the
principles of how business works
is more important than industry
expertise. As a management consultant I got the opportunity to
learn about companies, e.g. strategy, operational excellence, and
process optimization. I learned the
tools used to analyze markets in a
very short time. My industry
focus as a management consultant
was always the financial industry.
So for most people it was a surprise that I started a business in
the meat industry.
1 6
G E R M A N
A M E R I C A N
T R A D E
S E P T
0 8
Reason for Starting Business
I always wanted to start a business - preferably one together
with my brothers. At the end of
2004 we had a lucky situation.
We had a topic – meat – which
was of interest to all of us, and
the three of us were looking for
new challenges in our life. So it
was a no-brainer.
The actual start of the business
was in October 2004. I participated in a sales seminar and one
of the group exercises was to sell
the other team member an interesting product for real. So I sold a
vegetarian a Wagyu/ Kobe-style
steak. She wanted to have it as a
Christmas gift for her father who
lives in Germany. After the sales
seminar I looked for a supplier,
and found the Morgan Ranch
who is today our trusted partner
for Wagyu/ Kobe-style beef and
American beef. I didn’t manage to
deliver the Christmas present that
Christmas. We delivered the
package in summer 2005.
Currently, we serve high-end
restaurants and consumers with
outstanding meat products in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Source of Start Up Capital
I invested my own money in the
company. As we needed more
capital for growth my family supported me and the business. My
brothers and I keep most of the
earned money in the company.
After two years we were able to
get a bank credit line based on
shown business success.
Biggest Obstacle
Obstacles change during the
course of business. Currently the
biggest challenge is finding the
right members for our constantly
growing operation in Heinsberg
– people who can align to our
mission and business goals.
Future Goals
Growing the business with exciting projects. Building a
customer fan base for our company not only in Germany, but
in Europe. After bringing high
quality meat from America to
Germany, we are now looking
for applications like original
American Barbecue, which
we can bring to Germany.
Introducing pork shoulder smoked for fourteen
hours or pork ribs smoked
for two hours to German
customers, and seeing the
great joy they have with it is
the fun I also want to enjoy in
the future. GAT
8/20/08
3:58 PM
Page 17
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 of New York (GACC NY) presents
Recruitment Services as a special service of DEinternational.
DEinternational Special Report
8/20/08
3:58 PM
Page 18
SPECIAL REPORT
RECRUITMENT
W
hile expanding a business in the
U.S. perhaps these significant
questions may rise up: How much
knowledge and experience of both the German and the American business culture
should an employee possess? How important
are bilingual skills? The right combination in
one person can make or break business in the
U.S. – but where to find such a person? In the
pool of applicants it is quality, not quantity,
that is important – and the question is not so
much where to find them, but rather who to
find them for a company?
Whether searching for a General
Manager for a start-up in the U.S., or
an executive assistant for a North
American subsidiary, DEinternational
Recruitment Service has been in the
U.S. for several years, filling positions
starting at entry level up to management and executive branches.
With German businesses in the U.S.,
the demand for highly qualified, bilingual, and interculturally experienced
candidates has constantly, even
urgently, risen for years. The Recruit-
ment Service of the GACC NY has been
able to consistently meet this demand
as evidenced by the unique position
the German American Chambers of
Commerce hold in the U.S. market:
The GACC NY is the first contact for
Germans and German-speaking candidates living and authorized to work in
the U.S., and at the same time serve
as a primary resource for German
businesses in need of such candidates
to build their personnel. The GACC NY
handles both sides of the equation,
expertly and efficiently bringing
together supply and demand.
The DEinternational Recruitment
Service leads and supports clients
throughout the entire recruitment
process. For new businesses, the consultations consider all aspects involved
in making a fresh entry into the U.S.
market: interview process, specific cultural aspects, job description,
compensation and benefits structures,
legal framework, and other factors that
are individual – and significant – to a
PRODUCTION & APPLICATION
TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR
JUNIOR EQUITY SALES
MANAGER
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
8/20/08
3:59 PM
Page 19
SPECIAL REPORT
A SPECIAL SERVICE OF
personnel search in the U.S. Once ready
to begin the recruitment process, DEinternational Recruitment Service works
closely with the clients to define the
work ethics and environment they wish
to maintain. With these in mind the
Recruitment Service methodically identifies the criteria which will be central
to the search for solid candidates and,
ultimately, the perfect employee.
While each case and search is individual, the process covers all bases
starting with a pre-selection stage and
a course of structured interviews that
ensure to meet those candidates with
the highest potential for a match with a
firm – at which time the GACC NY can
also schedule and coordinate personal
interviews.
The beginning of 2008 saw the official launch of an exciting innovation in
Recruitment Service of the GACC NY. To
manage the ever-expanding talentpool, and to streamline the path by
which firm and personnel meet, the
online application tool jobXchange was
created. About two years ago, the
GACC NY, initiated and spearheaded by
the Director of Consulting Services,
Julia Arnold, conceptualized this tool
for job postings and applications. In
close collaboration with IT specialists
she developed a platform tailored to
the demands of personnel recruitment
within the German American intercultural dynamic. After the successful
implementation she promoted jobXchange internationally. Currently more
than 25 German American Chambers of
Commerce are implementing jobXchange. In addition to accepting and
managing online profiles, explains Martin Kolb, Recruitment Manager of the
GACC NY “jobXchange acts as a bulletin
for job openings – as soon as we get a
commission from a company, we are
able to immediately cast a wide net for
potential candidates.”
The DEinternational Recruitment
Service is offered by the GACC offices
in Atlanta, Chicago and New York. For
contact details see next page.
8/25/08
2:07 PM
Page 20
SPECIAL REPORT
GERMAN AMERICAN CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE OF THE MIDWEST, INC.
Sabine Klensch
Manager, Career Services
Transatlantic Program
401 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3330
Chicago, IL 60611
Direct: +1 (312) 494 – 2166
Fax: +1 (312) 644 – 0738
[email protected]
www.gaccom.org
CONTACT
OF COMMERCE, INC. NEW YORK
Julia Arnold
Director Consulting Services
75 Broad Street, Floor 21
New York, NY 10004
Direct: +1 (212) 974 - 8853
Tel: +1 (212) 974 - 8831
Fax: +1 (646) 405 - 1017
[email protected]
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
[email protected]
www.gaccsanfrancisco.com
OF COMMERCE OF THE SOUTHERN
UNITED STATES, INC.
Steffen Bayer
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
[email protected]
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
[email protected]
www.gacctexas.com
GC_Ticke
8/20/08
3:59 PM
Page 21
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B U S I N E S S
8/20/08
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Page 22
T O O L S
How are you doing?
Mind your own business.
A Crosscultural Eyewitness Report
By Anita Russwurm
Part Two of Two: Communication Style
Formal Germans
vs. informal Americans
The most obvious
difference between
German and American work environments is how people
address each other.
One does not have to
spend a significant
amount of time in a
German or American
office to notice that Germans are very formal and
Americans quite informal. In
the United States, it is customary
to be on a first name basis with
one’s coworkers or even the boss.
This is unimaginable in Germany, where employees call each
other by their last names. Men
are referred to as “Herr Smith”
(Mr. Smith), while the appropriate form of address for women is
“Frau Smith” (Mrs. or Ms.
Smith), regardless of the
woman’s marital status. Being on
a last name basis at work is done
predominantly out of respect for
2 2
G E R M A N
A M E R I C A N
T R A D E
S E P T
0 8
someone’s position within a hierarchy or his or her seniority but
also to ensure distance and privacy from one another.
It may come as a surprise to
Americans to see Germans, who
have worked together for several
years, to still be on a last name
basis. Yet, in German society,
where there is a clear distinction
between work and private life, it
is nothing out of the ordinary.
First names are used mainly
when talking to family
members, close friends
or children. In addition, titles are of
importance in Germany because they
signal one’s academic
credentials.
Thus,
someone
with
a
Ph.D.
should
be
addressed as “Herr/Frau
Doktor Smith”. It should
also be noted that being on a
last name basis in Germany, also
means using the formal you,
namely “Sie”, instead of the
informal “du”.
When doing business with people
from other countries, it may be
best to ask how they would like to
be addressed. Generally, Germans
are aware that Americans are on a
first name basis at work and most
likely will not mind being called
by their first names.
Another important aspect of German business etiquette is the
8/20/08
3:59 PM
Page 23
B U S I N E S S
T O O L S
Intercultural Quiz: U.S.-German Business Relations
www.agcc.de
by Patrick Schmidt, founder of American-German Cross-Cultural Consulting (AGCC)
and author of “Understanding American and German Business Cultures”
1 Germans give you lengthy explanations,
going back to the beginning
of every matter because:
Take this quiz and measure how much you
know – or don’t know – about your cultural
counterparts. For each statement, choose an
answer (there may be more than one), and see
the answer key at the end of the quiz to tally
your score and rate your intercultural knowledge.
handshake. While Americans
shake hands mainly when being
introduced to someone for the
first time, Germans also shake
hands when entering meetings or
other people’s offices, for example. Shaking hands is very
common in the German business
environment and viewed as proper social conduct.
Straightforward Germans vs. “beating around the bush” Americans
One of the “typical German” traits
is being direct and explicit when
communicating with others. Germany is a so-called low-context
society, meaning that the words
convey exactly what a person
wants. This is very different from
the communication style of Americans. For instance, in the United
States asking someone how he or
she is doing is just a friendly
expression with no real meaning.
By asking that question, an American is not necessarily interested in
finding out how the other person
is really feeling; it is simply an
>>
7 An American tells a German co-worker, in passing,
“We should get together this week.” This means
the American wants to
A
B
C
D
2 American communication tends to be
concise and overly-simplified because:
A they are raised to be pragmatic: the shortest distance
between two points is a straight line
B are inclined to be lazy when it comes to thinking
C they have never admired intellectuals
D they watch too many soap-operas on TV
3 When Germans communicate, they
subconsciously want to be perceived as:
A
B
C
D
distant and formal
brilliant
credible and objective
methodical perfectionists
5 German persist in using family names long after
Americans would use first names because Germans:
6 In a business introduction, Americans may ask
you to call them by their first names because:
A some last names are hard to pronounce
B they’re not really serious about doing business
A say, “OK, thanks. How are you?”
B explain to him how hard it is to work
after the fight you had with your spouse
C discuss your current health problems
D ask him if he/she has time to listen to a long answer
A Germans have a schizophrenic relationship
with co-workers
B Germans can’t control their emotions,
but make up afterward
C Germans purposely put on a scene
to throw off the Americans
D Germans separate their private/emotional sphere
from the public/professional sphere
playful and optimistic
likeable and popular
ambassadors of the greatest country in the world
laid-back and cool
A are standoffish and arrogant
B have no savoir-faire when it comes
to casual or business relationships
C are not casual about friendships
and shy away from familiarity
D draw a line between public and private spheres
8 An American calls and asks,
“How are you doing?”. You should:
9 During a U.S.-German meeting, two German
executives yell at each other about a fact.
After the meeting, they drink a beer together
in a pub. As an American you understand
their behavior to mean:
4 When Americans communicate,
they subconsciously want to be perceived as:
A
B
C
D
invite the co-worker home for dinner.
be invited to the co-worker’s home for dinner
have lunch with the co-worker at the office cafeteria
get to know the co-worker better
10 An American tells his colleagues their new company
policy for success: “Get in there, go for the kill,
and then get the hell out!” As a German you
understand this as:
A Americans use unconventional methods
B Americans, being individualistic in nature,
are not too worried about the long-term
consequences of their actions
C Americans are willing to ‘kill’ others for success
D Americans like using colorful and emotional language
to get their message across
Answers: 1c 2a+c 3c 4b 5c+d 6c+d 7d 8a 9d 10b+d
How well do you know Germans or Americans
in terms of their behavior in business situations?
A they like to hear themselves talk
B they feel most people are uninformed
and need the explanation
C Germans unconsciously fear uncertainty and
overcome this by seeking extensive information
D they believe quality work begins
with total comprehension
C Americans believe in “egalitarianism”.
D they want to be comfortable and move
to an informal stage of discussion.
2 3
G E R M A N
A M E R I C A N
T R A D E
S E P T
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3:59 PM
Page 24
authoritarian
and confrontational compared to that
of Americans.
Consequently,
Germans may
come across as offending and threatening.
Small talk at work:
Less important to Germans
vs. very important to Americans
Small talk is a significant characteristic of the American work
environment and Americans are
very good at making small talk.
Conversations about family or
Not only is the communication
style of Germans direct and
explicit, but it is also much more
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addition to saying hello. On the
other hand, a German will never
ask someone how he or she is
doing, unless the German genuinely cares. Moreover, Americans
have a tendency to talk around the
issue and need a longer time to
make a point, which again could
be ascribed to their heavy use of
polite expressions. Communicating with Americans requires
therefore a lot of reading between
the lines to understand the message, which can present quite a
challenge to Germans.
A U T H O R
T O O L S
A B O U T
B U S I N E S S
8/20/08
German born Anita Russwurm
has been working as a Financial Analyst in
the machinery industry in the United States
for three years. She specializes in conducting
financial studies to quantify savings and
value derived from machines and product
innovations specific to mining. She is also
a Junior Achievement volunteer where she
has helped educate local 8th graders about
the global business world.
weekend experiences are common practice at the work place
and, in part, are seen as an effective way to form work
relationships. Not so in Germany. As previously mentioned,
Germans draw a clear distinction
between work and private life. As
a result, they tend to be very private while at work and like to
have a less personal relationship
with their colleagues. The general
attitude is that one does not need
to be friends with someone in
order to do business. In addition,
it is seen in Germany that nonwork related conversations
distract from the job. It should
not come as a surprise then that
the chattiness of Americans can
be quite overwhelming for the
reticent Germans.
It is also interesting to note that
business meetings or negotiations
in American organizations rarely
start without some sort of small
talk. Where Germans would get
right to business, Americans first
spend a few minutes discussing the
weather or another subject to get
everyone comfortable. Furthermore, laughter and humor during
business negotiations or meetings
in the United States are very com-
8/20/08
3:59 PM
mon. This is unlike Germany,
where participants remain very
quiet and serious. Besides, it is
quite normal for Germans not to
smile or show any other emotion
when in a business environment.
Because of that, Americans may
find it hard at times to read their
German counterparts.
Self-contained Germans
vs. praise-needing Americans
Another
major
difference
between Germans and Americans
is their need for praise. In the
American work environment,
employees are regularly given
praise. There is a need for receiving positive confirmation for
what one does. When Americans
do criticize, however, they are
very keen on criticizing tactfully
and without offending the other
party. Usually, they start and end
with something positive, e.g.
“you have done a great job,
BUT…” Many American organizations spend tremendous time
and money training managers
and supervisors on how to validate the work of their employees.
This is almost non-existent in
Germany. There, people not
only are rarely given praise, but
also feel quite uncomfortable
receiving praise. Furthermore, it
is not unusual to receive openly
expressed criticism during a business meeting. Generally, unless
they hear otherwise, Germans
assume that they are performing
well at work. Validation for one’s
routine tasks is not required.
Page 25
Multilingual Germans
vs. English-only Americans
Many Germans are multilingual.
They are fluent in at least one foreign language, which, in general,
is English, and often also speak a
second foreign language. Americans, on the other hand, generally
only communicate in English.
Because one party has to speak in
a foreign language, it is only natural that language barriers
emerge. Unless a German, for
instance, has lived in the United
States for a long time, there is a
tendency to translate directly
from German into English, which
can sound awkward or rude and
cause confusion and/or conflict.
In addition, Germans are taught
British-English in school, which
means that there are American
terms with which they are not
familiar. The result of all this is
that
messages
may
be
misunderstood. To avoid misunderstandings, confusion or even
conflict, it may be of benefit to
confirm with the speaker that
what he or she said was in fact the
message he or she was trying to
convey. It is important to keep in
mind that someone communicating in a foreign language may just
have selected the wrong words to
get his or her message across.
Naturally, all these characteristics
mentioned above and in the previous article are generalizations.
Depending on the industry and
business one is in, one will find
Germans who are fast decision-
makers, very optimistic, etc. and
Americans who are not. There
should be no doubt, however,
that there are many differences in
the German and American work
environments.
Knowing about the various
issues may shed more light on
the complexity of cross-cultural
collaboration. Yet, the impact of
German and American work differences cannot be completely
understood until, for example, a
German is placed in a situation
where he or she has to work with
Americans, and vice versa. One
has to go through this experience to truly comprehend all of
these differences. GAT
8/20/08
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Page 26
8/20/08
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Page 27
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M E M B E R
8/28/08
7:40 AM
Page 28
P R O F I L E
Back to the Roots
Collaboration within an organization can only succeed if employees
are compatible both professionally and personally. This is where
the persolog Personality Factor Model can make a difference.
W
ith the launch of the persolog North America
Corporation, the persolog
success story has come full circle.
It’s a story that began in Minnesota, where Prof. John G. Geier first
created the personal development
concepts on which the persolog
Personality Factor Model is based.
Following its successful transfer to
Europe and beyond, persolog is
now returning to its roots.
About the Personality Factor Model
Human Resource Managers are
constantly faced with the challenge of supporting employees as
they work together. People
express their personality through
their behavior. Successful people,
moreover, are familiar with their
behavioral tendencies and know
what influence those tendencies
have on others. As a result, they
are capable of adapting to the situation at hand. Thus, the secret
to success is being aware of one’s
own personality – and the persolog Personality Factor Model
helps people know themselves.
Eberhard Jung
Persolog CEO
2 8
G E R M A N
A M E R I C A N
T R A D E
S E P T
0 8
The model identifies an individual’s personality based on four
behavioral types – dominant (D),
influencing (I), steady (S), and
cautious (C) – but does so without
reducing complex personalities to
stereotypes. Instead, it generates a
personality profile by taking into
account the strengths and weaknesses each individual has. The
analysis includes not only interpersonal and intrapersonal factors,
but social aspects as well. The ultimate aim is to improve a person’s
ability to understand and accept
him- or herself and to interact well
with others. Not only does the
individual benefit, so does the
entire organization.
north america
Persolog is a global provider of state-of-the-art training tools.
Train to use the Personality Factor Model and an EIQ recruiting
tool in order to increase the effectiveness both in own
personal activities and within an organization.
Areas of application include:
• Personality development
• Management
• Coaching
• Team building
• Communication
• Recruiting
persolog is also available directly as personal
and organizational consultants.
8/20/08
3:59 PM
Page 29
M E M B E R
P R O F I L E
The secret
“
to success is being
Originally
called the
DISC approach, the
model
was
developed by Prof.
John G. Geier at the
University of Minnesota.
He and Prof. Dorothy Downey
spent the next 40 years jointly
researching and developing the
model, testing it on the basis of the
latest scientific findings. Since
DISC is now applied to a range of
products, the model is now trade-
Stuttgart and
Heidelberg.
The company’s mission is
to help organizations further
develop themselves
by focusing on the individual personality traits that
influence employee potential.
Once they encountered them,
managers at persolog GmbH were
immediately won over by Prof.
Geier’s concepts, thanks to their
ease of use and enormous benefit
to both individuals and organizations.
Unsurprisingly,
the
innovative personal development
tool from the United States also
met with great success on the German market.
aware of one’s
own personality.
Professor John G. Geier
marked as the persolog Personality
Factor Model, and since 2004, persolog has been its exclusive licensee.
persolog A Great Concept Goes Global
Persolog GmbH is a midsized
company with headquarters in
Remchingen, Germany, located in
the idyllic landscape nestled
between the Black Forest,
”
Persolog has continued to expand
beyond Germany, finding an
audience in other European
nations, as well as Asia and Latin
America. Now, Eberhard Jung,
president and CEO of persolog
North America has brought the
company’s products back home
to the United States. The detour
was worth it, since in the many
intervening years the joint
research carried out by Prof.
Geier, his associate Prof.
Dorothy Downey and persolog staff has taken the
model to new levels of quality and effectiveness. As a
result, it continues to win over
numerous customers, both in
academia and business.
Professor Dorothy Downey
The target group includes trainers and coaches, both corporate
employees and freelance consultants, HR and human capital
managers and executives interested in ongoing personal
development. Additionally, the
persolog academy certifies trainers
in use of the persolog Personality
Factor Model. GAT
persolog north america corp.
75 Broad Street, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10004
United States
Toll Free: +1 866 622 6501
email: [email protected]
www.persolog-na.com
www.persolog-na.com
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R E G I O N S
7/24 Luncheon
with Dr. Beckmann,
Honorary Consul of the Federal
Republic of Germany
GACC SOUTH’S FIFTH
ANNUAL GERMAN BIERFEST
8/23 The GACC South’s Fifth Annual German Bierfest drew 4,000
Atlantans to sample 30 different German beers this August in Woodruff
Park, the Bierfest’s new downtown location. Fest-goers enjoyed music
7/14 Solar Symposium
8/5 Luncheon
with William Drozdiak, ACG
featuring hits from the US and Germany. Local vendors provided döner
kebobs, German sausages and American food. Guests were treated
San Francisco, CA
to everything from time-tested German favorites to brews that most
had never heard of before. Fortunately there was plenty to go around
and all guests were able to sample enough Löwenbräu, Dinkel Acker
and Spaten to be satisfied until next year’s German Bierfest.
GACC Highlights
July / August 2008
>ĞĂĚŝŶŐŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐĮƌŵǁŝƚŚϯϬǇĞĂƌƐĞǆƉĞƌŝĞĞŶĐĞĨŽĐƵƐŝŶŐŽŶ
>ĞĂĚŝŶŐŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐĮƌŵǁŝƚŚϯϬǇĞĂƌƐĞǆƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞĨŽĐƵƐŝŶŐŽŶ
'ĞƌŵĂŶďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƐŝŶEŽƌƚŚĂŶĚ^ŽƵƚŚŵĞƌŝĐĂ͘
'ĞƌŵĂŶďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐŝŶ
ƚĞƌĞƐƚƐŝŶ
ŶEŽƌƚŚĂŶĚ^ŽƵƚŚŵĞƌŝĐĂ͘
JRB&ŽŵƉĂŶ
ŽŵƉĂŶǇƐƵƉƉŽƌƚƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ͗
ǇƐƵƉƉŽƌƚƐĞƌǀŝŝĐĞƐ͗
ͻZĞƚĂŝŶĞĚǆ
ͻZĞƚĂŝŶĞĚǆĞĐƵƟǀĞ^ĞĂƌĐŚ
Ă
ĞĐƵƟǀĞ^ĞĂƌĐŚ
ͻŽŵƉĞŶƐĂƟŽŶŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ
ͻŽŵ
ŵƉĞŶƐĂƟŽŶ ŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ
ͻŽĂƌĚŽĨŝƌĞĐƚŽƌƐ
ͻŽĂ
ĂƌĚŽĨŝƌĞĐƚŽƌƐ
Boston
Boston
ϳϴϭ͘ϮϮϵ͘ϱϴϬϰ
ŚŝĐĂŐŽ
ŚŝĐĂŐŽ
ϲϯϬ͘ϮϬϯ͘ϮϭϮϬ
Miami
ϱ
ϱϲϭ͘ϵϱϱ͘ϬϬϭϮ
8/20/08
3:59 PM
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F R O M
T H E
R E G I O N S
7/9 Trainee Fraternity Stammtisch
Minneapolis, MN
7/23 Ableton Seminar
7/25 Annual Reception at GermanFest
Milwaukee, WI
New York, NY
Chicago, IL
7/16 YEC
Monthly Stammtisch
7/29 Lake Michigan
Harbor Cruise
7/25 Charity Concert
8/20 YEC
Monthly Stammtisch
7/31 YEC Social Mixer
Atlanta, GA
7/10 Business Seminar
8/19 Olympic Social Mixer
with The Mulling Corporation
7/22 New Member Reception
sponsored by Hoffmann & Krippner
8/28 “A Taste of Germany”
Pfifferling Gourmet Dinner
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2:23 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
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,-)
Single copy: US$ 5
U.S. postmaster send address changes to:
German American Trade, 75 Broad Street,
21 Fl., New York, NY 10004.
© Copyright 2008 German American Trade
GAT Editorial Team
I
C
A
N
Philadelphia
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
[email protected] • www.gaccsouth.com
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
[email protected]
www.gaccphiladelphia.com
Editor
[email protected]
Houston
Barbara Afanassiev GACC NY, Philadelphia Branch
[email protected]
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
[email protected] • www.gacctexas.com
Stefanie Jehlitschka GACC South
[email protected]
Anja Nemitz GACC NY, California Branch
[email protected]
Janka Pieper GACC Midwest
[email protected]
Julia Zimmermann GACC South, Texas Office
[email protected]
New York
Design and Production
German American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
75 Broad Street, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10004
T 212-974-8830 F 212-974-8867
[email protected] • www.gaccny.com
Editor & Advertising Coordinator:
Nicola Michels • [email protected]
T 212-956-1770 F 212-974-8867
328 Commerce Street
Hawthorne, NY 10532
T 914-741-0445 F 206-203-3640
[email protected]
www.thinkersdesign.com
3 2
S E P T
R
Atlanta
of the Midwest, Inc.
401 N. Michigan Avenue, #3330
Chicago, IL 60611-4212
T 312-644-2662 F 312-644-0738
[email protected] • www.gaccom.org
Publication date of this issue: Sept 2008
T R A D E
E
Chicago
Office of publication: New York
A M E R I C A N
M
THE MAGAZINE OF THE GERMAN AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Application to mail periodicals postage rates
is pending at New York, NY and additional
mailing offices.
G E R M A N
A
TRADE
Reproduction in whole or in part of any
article is prohibited without permission.
Nicola Michels GACC NY
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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
[email protected]
www.gaccsanfrancisco.com
Washington, DC
AFFILIATED ORGANIZATION
Representative of German Industry and Trade
1776 I Street NW, Suite 1000
Washington DC 20006
T 202-659-4777 F 202-659-4779
[email protected] • www.rgit-usa.com
8/25/08
2:23 PM
EVENT CALENDAR
from September 30 - October 11, 2008
Page 33
Sep. 4
Sep. 11
Sep. 12
Young Professional Networking
Houston, TX
IMTS Reception
Chicago, IL
2016 Chicago Olympics Breakfast
Chicago, IL
Held by GACC South
www.gacctexas.com
Held by GACCoM
www.gaccom.org
Held by GACCoM
www.gaccom.org
Sep. 16
Sep. 16
Sep. 17
Sep. 18
Conference: “Solar Energy Boom
North America”
Berlin, Germany
“After Hours”
Business Networking
Atlanta, GA
YEC Monthly Stammtisch
at Überstein
Chicago, IL
Breakfast Meeting:
Economic Outlook - Panel Discussion
New York, NY
Held by GACC South
www.gacctexas.com
Held by GACC South
www.gaccsouth.com
Held by GACCoM
www.gaccom.org
Held by GACC NY
www.gaccny.com
Sep. 19
Sep. 19
Sep. 23
Sep. 24
Monthly Golf Outing
Atlanta, GA
Biergartenfest
Morrison, CO
Cross Cultural YEC Seminar
& Networking Reception
New York, NY
Held by GACC South
www.gaccsouth.com
Held by GACCoM
www.gacc-co.org
Business Dinner:
“Myth and Reality
in the Oil & Gas Industry”
Houston, TX
Held by GACC South
www.gacctexas.com
Held by GACC NY
www.gaccny.com
Sep. 25
Sep. 27
Sep. 29
Sep. 29
Business Luncheon
with Deutsche Bank:
“Green Investment”
Houston, TX
13th Annual Gala
& 30th Anniversary
Chicago, IL
“Towards Sustainable
Consumption - Is It Feasible
or Just an Illusion?” Discussion
Chicago, IL
“Filling the Manufacturing
Pipeline: Building the Next
Generation of Skilled Workers”
Conference
Chicago, IL
Held by GACC South
www.gacctexas.com
Held by GACCoM
www.gaccom.org
Held by GACCoM
www.gaccom.org
Held by GACCoM
www.gaccom.org
Sep. 30
Sep. 30
Oct. 1-3
Oct. 6-11
Seminar Mergers & Acquisitions
with Synnecta
New York, NY
Wine Tasting
Philadelphia, PA
Business Delegation
from Lower Saxony
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Business Delegation from Saxony
San Francisco, CA
Reno, NV
Portland, OR
Held by GACC SF
www.gaccsanfrancisco.com Held by GACC SF
www.gaccsanfrancisco.com Held by GACC NY
www.gaccny.com
Held by GACC PHL
www.gaccphiladelphia.com
For all GACC Events
www.ahk-usa.de
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T A L K
US Changes to the Visa Waiver Program
How the Implementation of the Electronic System for Travel
Authorization (ESTA) Program affects International Business Travelers
GAT: You have been a director
on the board of the GACC
Atlanta for one year. How do you
see the role of our chamber and
how can our members benefit?
SIMMONS: Based on the size
of the Chamber and the standing
it enjoys in our region, it serves
as a critical voice to support
changes in laws and their implementation which support its
member companies.
ABOUT ARNALL
G O L D E N G R E G O RY L L P
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP is an Atlanta law firm
with 150 attorneys that serves the business needs
of growing public and private companies.
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I
R
E
D
M
E
M
B
[email protected]
A
O
Our national AILA CBP Liaison
Committee is currently working
with CBP to develop the best
implementation system possible.
Teri A. Simmons
Partner, Director, International and Immigration
Practice Groups at Arnall Golden Gregory
(404) 873-8612
R
The implementation of the program will cost international carriers millions, and VWP travelers’
time and money, including the
cost to obtain a travel authorization and/or the cost and burden
to obtain a visa if a travel authorization is denied. US embassies
processing times may also be
affected for all visa applicants.
B
SIMMONS: The DHS/CBP is
publishing a new interim final
rule to establish a pre-registration
requirement for VWP travelers
with an effective date no later
than January 12, 2009. The rule
will implement ESTA requirements for foreign nationals who
wish to enter the US under the
VWP. Once ESTA is mandatory,
all VWP travelers must either
obtain travel authorization in
advance of travel under ESTA or
obtain a visa prior to traveling to
the US. VWP travelers will pro-
N
F
GAT: How will the Department
of Homeland Security / Customs
& Border Protection implement
changes to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP)?
vide the same information to
CBP electronically before departing for the US as they currently
provide on the Form I-94 W, i.e.
name, birth date, passport information, flight and US address.
CBP is working with airlines on
the development and implementation of messaging capabilities
for passenger data transmissions
that will enable DHS to provide
the carriers with messages pertaining to a passenger’s boarding
status. Each travel authorization
will be valid for a period of no
more than two years. By automating the I-94W process and establishing a system to provide VWP
traveler data in advance of travel,
CBP will be able to determine the
eligibility to travel to the US and
whether such travel poses a law
enforcement or security risk. The
goal of the program is to increase
security and reduce traveler delays
upon arrival in the US.
O
Teri Simmons is a Partner with
Arnall Golden Gregory. She
directs AGG’s International Practice Group which specializes in
working with German owned
companies and individuals in
connection with Corporate,
Employment, Real Estate, Litigation, Intellectual Property and
Immigration matters. She is a former Chair of the American
Immigration Lawyers Association,
where she has served on its Board
and on its national Customs &
Border Protection and Investor
Visa Liaison Committees. GACC
asked her to share her perspective
on the impact of the changes to the
Visa Waiver Program on International Business Travel.
8/20/08
4:00 PM
Page 35
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8/25/08
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