It’s been another busy week at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce. On Wednesday we had the chance to say “Willkommen in Stoke-on-Trent!” to a delegation of German visitors from Stoke-on-Trent’s twin city, Erlangen.
A twinning partnership was established in 1989, with the aim of enhancing technical exchanges at various levels, including university contacts, youth exchanges and joint cultural programmes.
We invited a group of member businesses to join us in a roundtable discussion with Erlangen’s Oberbürgermeister, Florian Janik and two of his colleagues, when we discussed the opportunities for Staffordshire businesses in Erlangen and the wider metropolitan region of Nuremberg.
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany, approximately 100 miles to the north of Munich. Some world-recognised brands have made their home in the wider metropolitan area, including Adidas and Siemens.
During a whistle-stop tour of The Potteries, our German guests also visited KMF Group, joined a skills roundtable with key delegates from local universities, colleges and schools, and dropped in at Port Vale FC.
Earlier this month, Tom Nadin, Head of Projects and Business Services here at Staffordshire Chambers, travelled to Erlangen with a group of business leaders, so it was great to welcome our German friends to the UK. A couple of interesting facts from Tom’s visit to Erlangen:
- In Germany, all registered companies in industry, commerce or service are required by law to be a member of a Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
- There is a street in Erlangen called ‘Stoke-on-Trent Street’ or ‘Stoke-on-Trent-Straße’
Here at Staffordshire Chambers, we’re determined to reignite this partnership and have started to work on a series of activities to help bring the cities closer together. Our discussions also focused on the need for further development of trade links and the important role that developing skills and language could play for both cities.
On the theme of developing trade links, we’re hosting an Exporting Networking event on Tuesday 9th April, with the chance for both novice and experienced exporters ro come together. You can share your experiences and ideas so we can together learn from each other and build stronger businesses. Watch this space for further details!
Our International Trade forum will look to raise issues impacting barriers to export with relevant strands of local and national government to ensure we give our businesses and organisations in our region every chance to succeed and prosper. If you would like to get involved, please contact:
declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
…and don’t forget that Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce offers a customs declarations, export documentation and translation service. Allison Tomlinson and her team are one of the top-performing teams in the country, despite Staffordshire’s lack of a port and airport! For further details, please contact:
Exportmailbox@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
