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Georgia organizations, do you have a connection with or an interest in Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)?
NRW.Global Business, the state’s trade and investment organization, is inviting groups to share the positive impact of their business and cultural relationships with NRW by hosting a business reception, art exhibition, musical event or other cultural encounter through next June during the “NRW–USA Year.”
If you do business in Germany or Europe more generally, it’s likely you have encountered NRW. More than 1,800 American companies, from logistics and automotive companies to aerospace and sustainable energy ventures, have settled in NRW.
Just as Germans are discovering Atlanta as an alternative to Silicon Valley for tech startups (Atlanta is the fourth-largest startup hub in the U.S.), Georgia companies are looking beyond places like Berlin and finding NRW to be an economic powerhouse ripe with investment opportunity.
Called “Europe’s heartbeat,” NRW is located at the center of the continent. It is Germany’s most populous state with 18 million inhabitants, and investors there have the potential to reach some 150 million consumers within a 300-mile radius. The largest cities are Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Essen.
With a $740 billion GDP, NRW accounts for 4.5 percent of the European GDP (EU-27), making it one of the most important economic regions in Europe. In the international ranking, NRW is ahead of other European countries such as Poland, Sweden and Belgium.
And NRW is open for business. Part of the purpose for the NRW–USA Year is to spread awareness among economic developers, trade representatives and U.S. companies about the advantages of investing in NRW to reach German and European markets.
The other purpose of the NRW–USA Year is to showcase NRW companies’ activities and influence the U.S., including in Georgia. NRW-based companies, like Thyssenkrupp Elevator, GEDIA and others, have important operations in Georgia.
The NRW.Global Business office that opened in Atlanta in 2022 is one of the German state’s three offices in the United States and is charged with attracting U.S. investment to NRW and facilitating NRW trade with the U.S. South. Financed by the state of NRW, the Atlanta office’s trade and investment services are free of charge for American companies entering the German market.
The Atlanta staff hosted two delegations from Germany at the end of May. The first, led by NRW state secretary Silke Krebs, met with representatives of the State of Georgia, Metro Atlanta Chamber and other Atlanta organizations during a reception hosted by Norfolk Southern. The group also heard from four Georgia companies interested in expanding to Germany during an event held at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Kendeda Building.
The second NRW delegation was composed of seven German automotive businesses accompanied by the American Chamber of Commerce from Düsseldorf, German-American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S. (GACC South) and NRW.Global Business. They visited tier 1 and tier 2 German automotive manufacturers in Georgia and South Carolina to understand the advantages of investing in the U.S. Southeast.
The two visits created awareness for investment opportunities in NRW and demonstrated the German state’s commitment to nurturing relationships with Georgia officials and organizations that facilitate trade and investment, said Daniel Dueren, NRW.Global Business’s Director of Economic Development Southeast, who heads up the Atlanta office.
“We want to support state international trade offices, including Georgia’s trade offices in Atlanta and Munich, to help U.S. companies expand to NRW,” he said.
The NRW–USA Year is an opportunity to further expand relationships between NRW and Georgia. Georgia companies, organizations and individuals can reach out to Mr. Dueren on LinkedIn or contact the International Offices of NRW.GLOBAL Business (nrwglobalbusiness.com).
Visit the NRW–USA Year website to gather ideas and to submit proposals for receptions, concerts, exhibitions or other events that strengthen and celebrate the 340-year history of close ties between NRW and the U.S. The events will be promoted via the site through June 2024.
Apply here to host an NRW-USA Year event.
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