Alas, after almost two weeks in Germany, on Friday evening (Oct. 2nd), I put my feet on U.S. soil once again. Luckily, my travel back to the States went very smoothly (no delays and no cancellations....which can sometimes be rare these days)! Nevertheless, I had quite a bit of time to reflect on the trip (approximately 12 hours when you count the time in flight and transfer between airports). So, I thought it would be a good idea to write down a few observations from this mission - since I had so much time on my hands, anyway!
Overall, I think this was by far, the most productive trip I have ever taken to the Federal Republic of Germany. It is important to remember these missions abroad are long term commitments that require continued follow up. Between my previous employment at the Boone County EDC and now at the Partnership, I have been to Germany a total of five times (three of which have occurred in the last 12 months). Again, to truly have a successful FDI attraction program, you have to make a long term commitment and you have to be consistent with frequent visits (at least 2 times per year). You also have to be committed to frequent follow-up and touches throughout the year when you're not meeting with people face-to-face.
Though I cannot disclose company names, I can say the majority of this trip consisted of company meetings. This is very exciting because it is very difficult to get into meet with companies. Most of the companies our group met with were medium-sized manufacturing companies in various stages of growth. A few companies we met with will undoubtedly result in some form of investment in Indiana as they are much further along with their U.S. investment plans. These companies have already been evaluating various locations in the U.S. and they were already somewhat familiar with our State and Region. However, most of the company visits we made were very preliminary. These prospects had little or no knowledge about the State of Indiana, let alone the Indianapolis Region. Therefore, we accomplished our goal of raising awareness about the Region and our business advantages. The good news is that we can continue to monitor these prospects throughout their growth continuum. This means when they are ready to take the next step, we will already have a long-term relationship built with them. Germany is no different than the U.S. in that people like to do business with people they know and trust. As long as we can continue to foster a good relationship and provide useful and beneficial services to our new friends, it is all the more likely they will want to make their next move with us.
In addition to company meetings, we filled in the rest of the trip with valuable meetings with industry trade organizations. In Germany, industry organizations are very powerful and influential - much more-so than similar organizations here in the U.S. For instance, in the State of Bavaria, there is an organization called Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschafte (vbw) which represents the social, political and economic interests of its more than 1600 member companies in the electrical and metalworking sectors. Vbw is an employer association in Germany that actually represents their member companies in collective bargaining agreements and other labor negotiations. When you compare U.S. verses German manufacturing companies in the mid-sized range, German companies appear to be much leaner from an administrative and management perspective then their U.S. counterparts. That is why employer organizations such as vbw are so important. Their staff and experts (most of which are labor attorneys) actually step in and serve the needs of their members. This frees up senior management to focus on running the business rather than being too involved in labor issues. In addition to meeting with vbw, we also met with representatives from some of the following organizations:
-IHK Munich (Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
-Network of Automotive Excellence (NoAE)
-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)
-VDMA Munich
-Ministry of Economics in Bavaria
-Strategic Partnership for Sensor Technology.
Finally, our team attended four different trade shows in the last two weeks. If there were moments of downtime, our group was walking the trade show floors at the European Photovoltaics Solar Show, MOTEK, Renexpo and FachPack. Though we had little downtime on this trip, it is always smart to try and schedule a trade mission in conjunction with a major trade exhibition to ensure that you cover as much ground as possible. These trade exhibitions are also very educational. At these shows, you can really learn who the major players are in the industry and you can see first hand which companies may be launching new product lines.
It has been a very hectic two weeks. In that short amount of time, we met with 15 different companies, 10 industry/trade organizations and visited 4 trade shows across 11 German cities and towns. Now, the hard work begins. Now we must revisit our notes from our trip and follow up with our new German friends in a meaningful way that will add value to their operation. If we can do that, then we can honestly say, "Mission Accomplished!"
Overall, I think this was by far, the most productive trip I have ever taken to the Federal Republic of Germany. It is important to remember these missions abroad are long term commitments that require continued follow up. Between my previous employment at the Boone County EDC and now at the Partnership, I have been to Germany a total of five times (three of which have occurred in the last 12 months). Again, to truly have a successful FDI attraction program, you have to make a long term commitment and you have to be consistent with frequent visits (at least 2 times per year). You also have to be committed to frequent follow-up and touches throughout the year when you're not meeting with people face-to-face.
Though I cannot disclose company names, I can say the majority of this trip consisted of company meetings. This is very exciting because it is very difficult to get into meet with companies. Most of the companies our group met with were medium-sized manufacturing companies in various stages of growth. A few companies we met with will undoubtedly result in some form of investment in Indiana as they are much further along with their U.S. investment plans. These companies have already been evaluating various locations in the U.S. and they were already somewhat familiar with our State and Region. However, most of the company visits we made were very preliminary. These prospects had little or no knowledge about the State of Indiana, let alone the Indianapolis Region. Therefore, we accomplished our goal of raising awareness about the Region and our business advantages. The good news is that we can continue to monitor these prospects throughout their growth continuum. This means when they are ready to take the next step, we will already have a long-term relationship built with them. Germany is no different than the U.S. in that people like to do business with people they know and trust. As long as we can continue to foster a good relationship and provide useful and beneficial services to our new friends, it is all the more likely they will want to make their next move with us.
In addition to company meetings, we filled in the rest of the trip with valuable meetings with industry trade organizations. In Germany, industry organizations are very powerful and influential - much more-so than similar organizations here in the U.S. For instance, in the State of Bavaria, there is an organization called Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschafte (vbw) which represents the social, political and economic interests of its more than 1600 member companies in the electrical and metalworking sectors. Vbw is an employer association in Germany that actually represents their member companies in collective bargaining agreements and other labor negotiations. When you compare U.S. verses German manufacturing companies in the mid-sized range, German companies appear to be much leaner from an administrative and management perspective then their U.S. counterparts. That is why employer organizations such as vbw are so important. Their staff and experts (most of which are labor attorneys) actually step in and serve the needs of their members. This frees up senior management to focus on running the business rather than being too involved in labor issues. In addition to meeting with vbw, we also met with representatives from some of the following organizations:
-IHK Munich (Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
-Network of Automotive Excellence (NoAE)
-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham)
-VDMA Munich
-Ministry of Economics in Bavaria
-Strategic Partnership for Sensor Technology.
Finally, our team attended four different trade shows in the last two weeks. If there were moments of downtime, our group was walking the trade show floors at the European Photovoltaics Solar Show, MOTEK, Renexpo and FachPack. Though we had little downtime on this trip, it is always smart to try and schedule a trade mission in conjunction with a major trade exhibition to ensure that you cover as much ground as possible. These trade exhibitions are also very educational. At these shows, you can really learn who the major players are in the industry and you can see first hand which companies may be launching new product lines.
It has been a very hectic two weeks. In that short amount of time, we met with 15 different companies, 10 industry/trade organizations and visited 4 trade shows across 11 German cities and towns. Now, the hard work begins. Now we must revisit our notes from our trip and follow up with our new German friends in a meaningful way that will add value to their operation. If we can do that, then we can honestly say, "Mission Accomplished!"
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