ChamberBrief

German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc - GACCoM

Christkindlmarket Chicago

on Daley Plaza

Nov. 25 - Dec. 24, 2009

 

Market hours:
Sundays through Thursdays	11am - 8pm
Fridays & Saturdays	11am - 9pm

 

 

Get an impression of the Christkindlmarket as featured on Chicago's WGN TV-station

Current Openings at GACCoM:

 

Director, Membership and Chamber Development

GAT November/December 2009

Economic survey finds optimism among German companies in the US – 81 percent do not plan further layoffs for 2010

In the fall of 2009, the German American Chambers of Commerce (GACCs) in cooperation with the Representative of German Industry and Trade (RGIT) and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, conducted a survey among German companies in the Unites States. The results are now available: 

"While 43 percent of German companies reduced their headcount in 2009, 81 percent do not foresee further cuts in 2010 – an early indicator that the major wave of lay-offs is ebbing.  Almost three quarters of the firms maintain a positive outlook and expect moderate growth for 2010.  Industries, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and infrastructure show the greatest potential for further growth.

The German American Business Outlook, a new annual survey evaluating transatlantic trade relations and assessing German investors’ projections for the U.S. economy, addressed over 1,600 German subsidiaries in the U.S. 10 percent of senior management responded, 75 percent of which belong to the German Mittelstand..."

Read the full article and a summary of the survey results.

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Also, don't miss our Annual Economic Forum in Rosemont, IL on January 28, 2010, where experts will present and discuss their economic outlooks for the year 2010.

Confirmed speakers inlcude: Michael Backfisch, Handelsblatt; Prof. Dr. Hans Heinrich Driftmann,  DIHK - President and President & CEO of Peter Koelln KGaA; Caroll Neubauer, Chairman & CEO of B. Braun Medical, Inc.; and Matthias Schoenberg, CEO of Continental Tire North America.

Vetter Dedicates New Facility in Suburban Chicago

12/01/2009 - The new state-of-the-art facility is strategic to Vetter’s plan for worldwide growth. Founded 25 years ago in Ravensburg, Germany, Vetter employs 2,200 people. The Skokie site, Vetter’s first U.S. facility and its first outside Germany, will eventually employ 50 to 60 highly skilled professionals. Read full article...

Schwabe investing $10M, creating 100 jobs in Green Bay, WI

11/24/2009 - Schwabe North America announced in October it would invest more than $10 million in Green Bay,WI  establishing a distribution center, expanding existing operations and creating 100 jobs. Read full article...

REpower to supply 9 more turbines for Michigan wind farm

11/23/2009 - Wind-energy company REpower USA Corp., which recently moved its U.S. headquarters to Denver, CO, announced it has signed a contract to supply nine wind turbines for a Michigan wind-farm project. Read full article...

German energy companies tour Colorado

11/23/2009 - Colorado caught the attention of several German companies involved in Europe’s wind energy manufacturing industry when their representatives visited the state in a mid-November scouting trip organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc. Read full article...

E.ON-US and Murphy Catton, Inc. partner in developing Energy Education Center

11/23/2009 - MurphyCatton, Inc. was chosen by E.ON-US, the U.S. subsidiary of the German based energy company, to partner in the development of a ‘first of its kind’ Energy Education Center in Louisville, KY.  The Center will provide an array of learning resources and will focus on educating the general public on energy conservation. Read full article...

German transformer maker to open first US site in Colorado

11/22/2009 - Starkstrom Geraetebau, a Regensburg-based company that makes transformers to convert electricity from renewable energy sources to the grid, plans to open its first U.S. plant in Wheat Ridge, CO in January. Read full article...

HAINBUCH Christens Mequon, WI Manufacturing Facility

11/10/2009 - HAINBUCH America, an innovator in workholding solutions, has moved into its new North American headquarters in Mequon. Manufacturing will commence at the new facility for the first time ever in the U.S. beginning in the first quarter of 2010. Read full article...

Kimball Electronics Group, Inc. of Indiana wins contract with German leader in medical and safety technology

Germany and Illinois shine at the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon

10/16/2009 - Germany and the state of Illinois demonstrated state-of-the-art skills in the green building sector and secured the first and second rank at the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon. The German team from the Technical University of Darmstadt created a high-tech bungalow covered on all sides with solar cells and came in slightly ahead of the Illinois team that focused on local architecture and suppliers for its project. Read full article...

U.S. unit of juwi GmbH plans 50-MW Ohio wind project

10/13/2009 - A unit of German renewable energy company juwi GmbH is planning a wind generation project in Hardin County, Ohio, with about 50 MW nameplate capacity. Read full article...

GACCoM WindEnergy event featured on German television

10/13/2009 - Radio Bremen accompagnied our American business delegation on its visit to wind energy facilities throughout northern Germany. Follow this link to watch the video online (in German):

http://www.radiobremen.de/mediathek/index.html?id=019280 

Take a look at selected pictures from our many events throughout the Midwest and beyond, such as the Annual German Wine Dinner, WindEnergy Business Conference, Green Building Lecture Series, German Design and Manufacturing Night or the Germany after Election Day Panel Discussion. For our picture gallery, please click here.