Team Alabama’s first overseas trade mission in more than three years successfully connected a diverse group of growth-minded state companies with counterparts in Germany, potentially setting the stage for new opportunities and partnerships.

Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said the five Alabama companies on the mission operate in fields including the life sciences sector, microgrid power systems, next-generation EV charging strategies and international project management services.

“Trade missions like the one to Germany have long been an important component in our strategy to strengthen Alabama’s international business ecosystem and uncover new trade and partnerships for our companies at home,” Canfield said.

“We want to generate opportunities for companies across Alabama to grow, so they can thrive and create new jobs,” he said.

Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, right, speaks during a meeting in Germany between the Alabama trade delegation and Gabriel Esparza, associate administrator for international trade, U.S. Small Business Administration. (contributed)

Company representatives began the mission in Munich with business appointments arranged by the U.S. Consulate and facilitated by the Alabama District Office of the U.S. Export Assistance Center and the Alabama Department of Commerce.

The group then traveled to the IHK Schwaben in nearby Augsburg for the 11^th installment of the E.U.-U.S. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Best Practices Workshop, where several Alabama representatives made presentations during panel discussions.

Kirk Atkinson, president of Adah International, an industrial engineering and project management services firm, said the trade mission unearthed new possibilities for his Birmingham company.

“The Made in Alabama team put together an immersive trade mission for us in Germany. We not only met but also began collaboration with new German customers and partners,” Atkinson said.

“At the IHK Schwaben EU-US SME workshop, we exchanged current challenges of being small and medium international businesses and learned what our state and the German chambers of commerce can do to help,” he said. “We returned with a fresh outlook, and new opportunities, for the future of Alabama: German trade.”

Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield speaks at the IHK Schwaben EU-US SME workshop in Augsberg, Germany. The trip was the first foreign trade mission organized by Alabama trade officials since 2019, before the pandemic. (contributed)

Christina Stimpson, director of the Department of Commerce Office of International Trade, said the SME workshop concluded with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representatives announcing the 12^th annual workshop will be held in Alabama. Details are being worked out, but the event is expected to happen next fall.

The Germany business development trip was the first Commerce-led trade mission since September 2019, when an Alabama group traveled to the United Arab Emirates.

“After two years of supporting virtual connections, trade shows and trade missions, it was great to lead Alabama companies to Germany for our first trade mission post-COVID,” Stimpson said.

“With Alabama’s strong existing ties, Germany made a great market for our five small businesses to explore business opportunities and participate in the 11^th Annual EU-US SME Best Practices Workshop to better understand the wider opportunities in the European Union,” she said.

Besides Adah, other Alabama companies represented on the trade mission were Gene Capture, BLOC Global Group, Domestique and Ashipa Electric Limited.

Senior officials from USTR, @CommerceGov, @SBAgov, and the @EU_Commission opened the 11th U.S. – E.U. Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Workshop. They were joined by local government and Chamber representatives in the Schwaben region of Germany to discuss 🇺🇸-🇪🇺SME trade. pic.twitter.com/PdADhYmdtC

— United States Trade Representative (@USTradeRep) September 30, 2022

Read more about the Germany trade mission.

This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.