Miller & Martin PLLC attorney Thomas J. Harrold Jr. has had longstanding relations with the German community in the Southeast. Last year at the annual meeting of the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States Inc. (GACC South) he was elected vice chairman of its board of directors.
In 2014 he also presented the opening remarks at the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in a ceremony in Atlanta. In 2003, he initiated a key Unification Conference that brought to Atlanta former President George H.W. Bush, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to commemorate their contributions to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the restoration of a unified Germany.
He is a member of the board of the Goethe-Zentrum/German Cultural Center and has received Germany’s highest civilian honor – the Cross of Merit.
Mr. Harrold’s commentary follows:
The announcement by Mercedes-Benz USA President and CEO Stephen Cannon that the company will be moving its U.S. headquarters from Montvale, N.J., to metro Atlanta was a win-win for Georgia.
Gov. Nathan Deal and his economic development team deserve the highest accolades for successfully completing a journey of investment in Georgia, which began many years ago.
The German government opened a consulate in Atlanta in 1904, primarily for the promotion and sale of German high-quality machinery and equipment for the textile industry, which had begun to move from the Northeast to the South. Since 1904, the consulate office was closed on two occasions but is very capably headed today by German Consul General Christoph Sander.
In October of 1978, the German American Chamber opened its first office in the South, headed by an outstanding individual Dr. Eike Jordan who, with his wonderful wife Irmela and son Bjorn, remain in Atlanta and are very important and well-respected members of the Atlanta German business community.
At the time of the opening of the German-American chamber office in Atlanta, there were 32 German companies with facilities in the state and today there are more than 429 German companies who employ in excess of 21,200 Georgians. The German American Chamber for the Southern United States, which stretches from Texas to North Carolina, now has almost 700 members under the skillful leadership of CEO Martina Stellmaszek.
The Mercedes announcement further confirms that Atlanta is viewed as the capital of the South, which has become the dominant region for automobile manufacturing in the United States.
In 1992, BMW announced plans to construct a major automobile manufacturing facility in Greer, S.C., followed in 1993 by the announcement by Mercedes-Benz of the construction of its facility near Tuscaloosa, Ala.
In 1998, Porsche North America moved its headquarters to Sandy Springs, Ga, led by Fred Schwab, predecessor to the current CEO Detlev von Platen, who recently announced the new $100 million headquarters in Hapeville, adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., began operations in April, 2011. The automobile industry in the South has been further enhanced with the location of the Kia plant in West Point, Ga, Hyundai’s plant in Montgomery, Ala., the Honda plant in Lincoln, Ala., and the Nissan plant in Smyrna, Tenn.
All of these international automobile manufacturing companies have been a magnet for suppliers, which have also located in the South and created thousands of new jobs.
It is a fitting tribute to Atlanta as the capital of the South that Mercedes has chosen our state for the relocation of its U.S. headquarters. Mercedes is one of the most prestigious global companies.
The very first automobile was invented by Gottlieb Daimler in 1886. Karl Benz also worked on an automobile invention in 1886 in his home of Mannheim.
From the very outset, both Daimler and Benz were committed to the highest quality standards of engineering and were fierce competitors but quite ironically, never met. The Daimler Company and the Benz Company were merged in 1926 and adopted the 3-pointed star in a laurel leaf, which is the iconic Mercedes trademark.
And we may see this trademark on the top of a building in metro Atlanta in the not too distant future similar to the Mercedes-Benz star on the top of the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) in Stuttgart.
Gov. Deal and his economic development team deserve congratulations for crossing the goal line with the Mercedes headquarters announcement but this would not have occurred without the determined leadership of his predecessors.
Gov. George Busbee was one of the most devoted and effective economic development governors the state has ever had, with his major emphasis on recruiting international companies, airlines and banks, which further enhanced the reputation of Atlanta.
In April of 1986, then recently retired Gov. Busbee joined with Mayor Andy Young and a delegation from the Atlanta chamber and took the very first Delta flight from Atlanta to Stuttgart.
Carol Martel, who spoke fluent German and was head of International at the Atlanta chamber, worked with Dr. Jordan with the German American chamber to plan an outstanding trip, which was highlighted by our visit to meet with Stuttgart Mayor Manfred Rommel, the son of the famous German general.
The meeting took place at City Hall (which in German is translated as Rathaus, which I always thought was an ironic name for a facility occupied by politicians).
Carol Martel and I both wondered what we would talk about with Mayor Rommel but our apprehension evaporated quickly when Andy Young and Manfred Rommel began an i- depth discussion on the philosophy of the famous German author Immanuel Kant.
My admiration for Andy Young arose immensely and continues to this day. Gov. Busbee and I were not exactly sure if we had read much of Kant’s philosophies, but it was a great meeting and established a wonderful person to person connection between the mayor of Stuttgart and the mayor of Atlanta.
The Delta non-stop flight from Atlanta to Stuttgart has proven to be a big success. The flight is known as the “Mercedes Express” with passengers in business class noticeably reading luxury car magazines and an occasional Crimson Tide football media guide. In Germany, futbol is what we call soccer – and the Germans play good futbol (just ask the Argentinians and the Brazilians).
There were many other outstanding pioneers for whom we should be eternally grateful for their work in establishing our vibrant German Atlanta business community, including Eike Jordan, Claus Halle with the Coca-Cola Co. (the classiest gentleman I have ever known), Wolfgang Hartert (with Siemens), Peter Halpaus, Hans Damp, Dieter Elsner, Uwe Hinrichs and the current chairman of the German American Chamber Board Martin Richenhagen, CEO of AGCO.
Pioneers from the U.S. side, included Carol Martel, George Berry from the Atlanta airport and former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Industry and Trade; Harry Huff with Lufthansa; Mike Eskew, former CEO of UPS; Robin Spratlin with Georgia Power;Teri Simmons with Arnall Golden and Ron Allen with Delta.
All of these outstanding leaders have contributed significantly to the bond of friendship and good business between Georgia and the German business community.
In addition to Gov. Deal and Commissioner Chris Carr of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, these pioneers deserve our congratulations for their hard work in establishing the strong foundation that has attracted the Mercedes-Benz headquarters to Atlanta.
Mr. Harrold has more than 35 years of experience in assisting foreign and domestic companies who locate manufacturing and distribution facilities in the southeastern United States. He has been particularly successful helping these companies obtain beneficial tax exemptions and governmental incentives, in addition to handling all aspects of the site selection process. He has advised business operations and joint ventures in Europe, Asia, South and Central America, utilizing the World Law Group network of 52 law firms in 40 countries.
He represents clients from Germany, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Switzerland advising them on the many legal issues that arise when a company from overseas conducts business in the United States and vice versa. Mr. Harrold served as Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Revenue from 1976-1978.
His commentary first appeared in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
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