Germany’s Largest State Makes Its Case to Atlanta Investors, Incubators

Seeing is believing when it comes to expanding into Europe via Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia — and traveling there is just the first step — tech companies and business boosters told Atlanta companies during an August forum. 

While many U.S. companies looking at the European market opt for better-known locales, the state known as NRW is trying to make the case that it’s “Europe’s heartbeat,” the true advanced industry and tech center of the continent. 

NRW is the most populous state in Germany, and with a GDP of more than $871 billion, its economy is larger than Belgium, the Czech Republic and Romania and many other European nations. 

Even a place like the Netherlands, a draw for many American headquarters, can present challenges for companies that end up wanting to build large factories or do business in the continent’s largest economy, boosters said.

“The Germans don’t like to call a Dutch phone number,” says Daniel Dueren, NRW’s trade and investment representative in Atlanta. “But on the other hand … (the Dutch) don’t have any issues with calling the German phone number. It’s just something on the cultural side to be aware of when you open your firm over there.”

Mr. Dueren and others at an August forum focused on busting myths about expanding into Germany and showcasing NRW as a launchpad for what the event called “Transatlantic Takeoff.”  

Doing business in Germany, especially sealing deals with top executives, will probably require some German language proficiency and a bit more tolerance for regulation than in the U.S., said CMS Law Partner Kai Westerwelle.

And while regulation can initially seem less onerous in places like the United Kingdom, it can be helpful to start with the “gold standard” first.

Doing so can help keep a firm from the cycle of continually “upscaling” its compliance as it expands further into Europe. Due to Brexit, for instance, the U.K. is no longer in the European Union. 

“That’s the good news here. Yes, we do have high standards, but if you meet the German standards, you meet all the standards,” Dr. Westerwelle said. “It’s like New York, right? If you can make it here, you make it everywhere, and you want to be in New York.” 

Mr. Westerwelle noted that German tech companies are very pro-American and are continuing to seek deals, with the prospect for some venture capitalists to find “cheap tickets” among undiscovered German firms that are technically skilled but haven’t yet pitched the right investor. 

“Germany is very tech-friendly and is very interested in having this business connection to the U.S. Despite what you might hear, there is a very positive attitude toward the U.S.,” Dr. Westerwelle said.  

Sander Biehn has experienced that first hand. The CEO of Atlanta’s Ready for Social, which uses automation to keep sales teams active on platforms like LinkedIn, saw the red carpet roll out when he expressed interest in setting up shop in Düsseldorf. 

“I was whisked around an shown the wonders of what I could get out of that region,” he said, but he noted that this required his American firm to take the first step and reach out. 

“It’s sort of like dating a little bit, and you definitely have to show some interest,” Mr. Biehn said, adding that while financial incentives are helpful, a receptive local team invested in your success is even more valuable. 

NRW graduates more than 100,000 students per year from 68 universities like RWTH Aachen and operates five digital economy hubs and incubators and research centers in likeBIO NRW in life sciences, ZBT in batteries, H2.NRW in hydrogen and more, says Daniel Dueren, who has represented NRW in Georgia for the last four years. 

But seeing is believing, said Mr. Dueren, who urged Georgia companies and accelerators to approach him for help setting up a visit, whether independently or around major industry events like Medica, a health trade show where companies from Cobb County and other Georgia locales have exhibited. 

An investment of a “couple thousand bucks” on a plane ticket could make the difference, he added. 

“We’ll just show you what we have to offer, but you have to see it with your own eyes. I grew up between Cologne and Düsseldorf, and when we have the NRW reps’ meeting, we get shown different areas of the state where I haven’t been yet, and I’m just every time impressed how much knowhow we really have in that state.” 

Mr. Dueren added that ample NRW companies in Georgia and Alabama, like TKE, Miele, Evonik and Bestar Steel, can be potential partners, especially for those American firms that already have already scored some domestic business with them.

Next year, UPS will celebrate 50 years of operating in Germany and 40 for its air hub in Cologne, which employs 4,000 of the 20,000 people UPS has hired across Germany, said Vice President of Strategy for Europe and the Americas Kiel Harkness.

Having an ear to the ground in a dynamic state like NRW has helped UPS innovate to build new tools like UPS Global Checkout, which simplifies cross-border trade for customers.

“These tariffs are complicated, and the trade environment is not getting any simpler,” Mr. Harkness said, noting that much of UPS’s innovation out of NRW is coming on the customer side, not the operational side.

Dr. Westerwelle, meanwhile, noted that events like this forum, sponsored by NRW.Global Business and hosted at the law offices of Burr + Forman in Midtown, can help build bridges for Georgia companies toeing the waters across the Atlantic.

“If you go over there, you don’t want to be alone — and you don’t have to be.”

For more information, contact Daniel Dueren, economic development representative for NRW.Global Business via email here or on LinkedIn here.

• Learn more: How Germany’s Top Tech Hub Helps Atlanta Companies Expand Into Europe