American High-Tech Companies Find Success in Eastern Germany

10/16/2009

Berlin – Germany is an important business hub in Europe and the first stop for investors looking to establish branches on the continent, according to AmCham Germany. Successful American companies in the eastern federal states Applied Solar and Quantum Technologies share their success stories at the "How Far East? Rethinking Californian Corporate Presence in Europe" road show organized by Germany Trade & Invest in Redwood City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on October 20th.

The sheer amount of American businesses in Germany supports this conclusion. According to AmCham, there are over 3,000 American companies with more than 800,000 employees in Germany. Driven in large part by the eastern federal states, investments by American firms in Germany have risen steadily since 2004. One reason is the robust high-tech landscape and continuing growth potential of the region. Investor interest has concentrated heavily on growth sectors that are active in Eastern Germany. These include the IT, healthcare, and renewable energies branches. Representatives of both companies speaking at the event excel in solar, an industry Germany leads worldwide.

Jonathan Pickering, Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development for the Solar Business Group of Santa Clara-based Applied Materials, Inc., outlines his company’s success in Eastern Germany at the event. Applied Materials has a business center in Dresden and conducts research in Alzenau and Heimstetten. Applied Materials’ achievements in Germany are a testament to the region’s cutting-edge high-tech industries.

Dr. Neel Sirosh, Chief Technology Officer at Quantum Technologies Inc. of Irvine, California, also details the opportunities available in Eastern Germany. Quantum’s affiliate, Asola, recently opened a new facility in the Eastern German city of Erfurt to produce crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic modules.

The event serves potential American investors looking to do business in Eastern Germany. The Redwood City stop also includes a keynote speech by Peter Franz Josef Rothen, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in San Francisco. The road show event was preceded by similar stops in Toronto and Chicago in June and will be followed by an event in Montreal on October 22nd.