When the Savannah Economic Development Authority established the World Trade Center Savannah in late 2011, one of the first goals for the new organization was to identify countries with the potential for strong business and economic ties to the Savannah region.
WTC’s yearlong in-depth and ongoing analysis used more than 20,000 points of data and covered a wide range of factors, including existing trade agreements, regional businesses with partnerships abroad and relationships the city of Savannah and other regional partners had been cultivating.
It came as no surprise that Germany emerged as one of WTC’s five target countries.
Since then, SEDA has been focusing marketing and sales efforts on attracting regional investments by German companies as well as helping area firms find opportunities to do business in Germany and the other target countries – United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan and Canada.
SEDA president and CEO Trip Tollison and SEDA consultant Craig Lesser recently returned from the organization’s third trip to Germany this year, where they met with government and business leaders.
Michael Hoffmann, a German business development consultant working with SEDA to help advance Savannah’s interests in Germany, accompanied Lesser and Tollison to promote Savannah companies wishing to expand in Germany as well as to identify and connect with German companies planning expansions into the United States.
A veteran of the German aerospace engineering industry, Hoffman also serves as president of Aviabelt, the aerospace industry association in Northern Germany.
“Savannah is a great place to build business in the United States for several reasons,” Hoffman said. “It has great transportation infrastructure, proximity to the airport, a strong economic development support system and a beautiful city center,” said Hoffmann.
“Savannah and Bremen have some similar industries, which will help us to find the right partners and create successful relationships in both directions.”
In addition to its trips to Germany, SEDA has also played host in Savannah to Bremen Invest, a group of economic development professionals from Bremen.
Among them were Bremen Invest CEO Andreas Heyer and Andreas Gerber, director of international affairs for the group, as well as Kirk Atkinson, business development manager of BLG Logistics, one of the world’s largest logistics companies headquartered in Bremerhaven, Germany.
“We were honored to host this group in Savannah, some of them for the third time,” Tollison said. “It is a reflection of the continued commitment of these partners and of SEDA to build long-lasting relationships that result in meaningful business investments.
“One of the things we have learned in our international business development efforts is that you must be consistently present to demonstrate serious intent. We are pleased to see that serious intent being expressed on both sides of the relationship.”
Gerber agreed.
“The relationship between Bremen and Savannah is certainly special,” he said. “Due to our similar logistics and aviation industries, we see Savannah as a strategic location for Bremen businesses to expand and prosper in the United States.
“Through our office in Atlanta, and now Savannah’s representative in Bremen, we also hope to identify and develop expansions for Savannah area businesses in Europe.”
Germany has long been an active business partner with both the Savannah region and the state of Georgia. Savannah boasts such German-based businesses as EMD Millipore and BASF, and has had many prospective businesses from Germany visit the region, Tollison said, adding that Savannah even has its own honorary consul general, Denis Blackburne.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development has operated a trade and investment office in Munich since 2001.
Tollison said he is happy with the progress SEDA and WTC Savannah have made.
“Today, more than ever, our world operates as a global economy and it is imperative that we attract jobs and investment for Savannah not only in the United States but internationally as well,” Tollison said.
“Savannah has industries, advantages and an infrastructure similar to Germany, making it an ideal location for German companies to expand in the United States. In addition, Germany is a good fit for many Savannah businesses.
“Business development trips such as these only increase the opportunity and likelihood for these investments to happen.”