Munich Sister City Association of Cincinnati

Munich Sister Cities Association of Greater Cincinnati

Business
Mission Statement
A primary purpose of the Munich Sister City Association is to assist business people in making the proper contacts in Cincinnati and Munich. The Association works closely with the Economic Development Department of the city of Cincinnati, as well as the Chamber of Commerce in both cities; the German American Chambers of Commerce; and the States of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Bavaria.
1996 Delegation to Munich
In October 1996, Cincinnati mayor Roxanne Qualls led a business delegation to Munich with the goal of finding new investment opportunities. Some of the activies in Munich included:

A formal presentation to the Munich tourism industry about the interesting points of interest in and around Cincinnati.
A visit to a famous brewery in Munich by Cincinnati economic development executives. The brewery is interested in investigating investment opportunities in Cincinnati.
A meeting and discussion was held with a major conglomerate which is interested in expanding their operations in Cincinnati.
John Mcaslin, Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, conducted a distributor search for a local Cincinnati company and was able to secure a qualified distributor.
Kurt Meier, Ft. Thomas, Kentucky lawyer and businessman, went to find a source to sell Corvette parts in Munich. He was successful in finding a representative. He also began discussions with the Munich Corvette Club to begin an exchange program with the Ft. Thomas club.
Delegates from the Cincinnati Economic Development Department secured a commitment from Mr. Spitzner, Secretary of State of Bavaria, to come to Cincinnati with an official trade mission.
These exchanges continue to open doors for Munich business people looking to invest in Cincinnati and Cincinnati businesses selling their products and services in Germany.
1997 Events
A seminar on "Doing Business in Bavaria" was held Thursday, May 1, 1997. The seminar was held at The Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Services, Inc., 1111 Edison Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45216. The seminar was presented by The Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati, The State of Bavaria and the Export Assistance Center U.S. Department of Commerce.
Mrs. Karin Ludwig, a representative from the Hofbräuhaus in Munich visited Cincinnati on Sept. 16th and 19th - 21st. The purpose of her trip was to visit sites for a possible Hofbräu brewery, restaurant and beer hall. The company is interested in a location in the new entertainment center that is being discussed to be built next to the new football stadium. Mrs Ludwig looked for possible sites with the objective to open soon in order to establish their presence before the new river-front building is completed. Her trip was arranged by Ute Päpke, president of the Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati. Dave Prather, from Cincinnati’s Economic Development Department took her to various locations in Cincinnati.
The Hofbräuhaus has existed in Munich since 1644 and is a legendary tourist attraction for the city of Munich. It also has a regular, loyal clientele and typically, as in all Bavarian restaurants, it has a wall of beer steins, personalized and locked away for their owners who sit at a special reserved table labeled “Stammtisch.” Hofbräu beer was served this year in a special German beer tent at Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest Sept. 20th and 21st.
The Hofbräuhaus has locations in 25 countries. Cincinnati will be their first location in the U.S.
1998 Events
In February 1998, a seminar on "Doing Business In Ohio" was held in Munich. It mirrored the seminar given in Cincinnati in 1997. Business executives and government officials from Bavaria and Cincinnati made the presentation.
On May 15, Hofbräu München (HB) representative, Mr. Maximilian Erlmeier, Director of International Business, announced that the first HB Hofbräuhaus to be approved by Hofbräu München for North America, will be built in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Erlmeier made the announcement just prior to the take-off of Delta Flight 77, the inaugural flight of direct non-stop Delta service between Munich and Cincinnati. Upon arrival of the flight in Cincinnati, Mayor Roxanne Qualls greated officials of HB. Mr Erlmeier, durring a ceremony at the airport, signed a Declaration of Intent with City officials. Final site selection and ground breaking are planned to be undertaken within a year.
Mr. Erlmeier also announced that the genuine HB brand of beers is now being imported and sold in select areas of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Munich and Cincinnati have been "Sister Cities" since 1989. "The relationship with the City of Cincinnati has been one of the most sincere and positive in the company's history," stated Mr Erlmeier. "The active support and cooperation of the Cincinnati-Munich Sister City Association and the City of Munich has made this project a reality," said Mayor Roxanne Qualls. In concluding, Mr Erlmeier observed, "The Hofbräuhaus München is an irreplaceable element of the culture of Munich and Bavaria and a worldwide symbol of the Bavarian hospitality known as "Gemutlichkeit." With the creation of the Hofbräuhaus Cincinnati, we hope to share a special part of our world with our Sister City."
1999 Events
On Friday, Oct. 1st., Association President, Dr. Max J. Keck and Vice-President, Ingrid Thomas departed Cincinnati with a group of about 40 people from the official delegation headed to Munich to celebrate our 10th Anniversary.
A total of approximately 140 people consisting of government officials, educators, business executives, students and association members celebrated the 10th Anniversary of our official Sister City relationship that was established in July 1989 in Cincinnati and signed on September 18th in Munich. Leading the delegation for the Oct. 2 - 6 celebration in Munich was Mayor Roxanne Qualls.
The massive amount of arrangements and scheduling for the trip were under the capable direction of Ute Paepke, immediate Past President of the Munich Association. Many meetings and discussions were held by the delegation participants to further business, governmental, educational, cultural and exchange activities between Munich and Cincinnati.
Among some of the noted Government officials in addition to Mayor Quails were: Tom Neyer, Jr. - President Hamilton County Commissioners and Paul Zito from Brusselsrepresenting Governor Taft. Some of the noted business executives were: Bruce Rose - Cinergy, Chuck Miller - Fifth Third Bank's Brussels office, Danny Fore - Tri-Ed., Patrick Sheeran - Downtown Council, A. M. Kinney - A.M. Kinney Company, ArthurHupp - Glaser Associates, Kirby Richards - Richards Industries. Judy Ingram and Robert Holscher - Greater Cincinnati Airport, Dr. Kathy Stevie - Neonatologist, Mike Wilson - President, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Neil Hensley - Chamber of Commerce, and Cliff Peale - Cincinnati Post. Educators included: Gayle Elliott - UC International Global Studies, Dr. John J. Hutton - Dean of the UC Medical School, Dr Steve Thomas - Physicist at U.C. Medical School, Dr. Michael Klembara - Director of International Studies at NKU and President of the Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati, Dave Distel - Superintendent, Hamilton County Schools and Dr. Max J. Keck - Professor of Physics at Xavier University and President of The Munich Sister City Association.
A 38 member choir from Xavier University, led by Dr. Helmut Roehrig entertained at various locations throughout Munich during the Anniversary Celebration and performed for the guests at the dinner given by Oberbuergermeister Christian Ude of Munich.
Also, at the Munich Mayor's dinner, Ute Papke received the "Muenchen Leuchtet" award, the highest civilian award given by the city of Munich. It is given only on rare occasions to honor exceptional individuals for service to the city of Munich. This was the second prestigious award given to Ute Papke during 1999. The first was in September when she was awarded "The Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland," the highest civilian award given by the German government.
Plans and supervision of the banquet given by Mayor Qualls were under the direction of Wilhelm Gottenbusch, owner of Servatti Pastry Shops and Georg Fraundorfer, owner of The Black Forest Restaurant. They presented an “American” dinner, complete with: Salad & stone crab; pumpkin soup; steak with corn, paprika and baked potato and desert of bread pudding with Kentucky Bourbon sauce. Over 200 German and American guests attending the banquet were also entertained by 6 students from Northern Kentucky University Tour Troupe accompanied by pianist Sergl Polushmiak and directed by Dennis Davenport. Plans for this troupe were made by Chris Neyer.
In addition to the meetings and banquets, the delegation was treated to a city tour of Munich that included a visit to the Nymphenburg Palace, King Ludwig's summer Palace. On the last day of Oktoberfest, reserved seats for over 100 delegation participants were provided by Hofbraeu at their busy Festzelt. Mayor Qualls and Oberbuergermeister Ude joined the group to participate in the grand celebration.
Internships
The Munich Sister City Association helps arrange internships for business people who wish to work in companies both in Munich and Cincinnati. The internship is tailored to meet the individual person's specific needs to help them round out their business experience. For further information contact Chris Daly, phone: 731.2469
Business Development Consulting
The Economic Development Consultant for the City of Cincinnati is Ute Päpke who will set up contacts for companies wishing to do business in the Tri-State as well as in Germany (E-mail: utemunich@aol.com).