On September 7, Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt lead a small team to visit and show the support of Pell City to three companies who are headquartered in Germany that have locations in Pell City.

The team visited the headquarters of WKW Erbsloeh Automotive GmbH, Eissmann Group Automotive GmbH, and Oerlikon Balzers. Combined these three companies employee over 1,150 people directly and have invested over $140 million in Pell City. 

Pruitt stated, “These three companies have been part of our manufacturing family for over a decade. As local leadership positions change at these companies, as well as City Hall, it is important to reestablish and create those new, personal relationships. This cannot be done by e-mail. Two of these companies are now among our largest employers in Pell City. This fact, combined with the amount they have invested in our community in the past and, hopefully, in the future was reason enough to make this visit.”

Don Smith, Executive Director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council (EDC) stated, “The EDC and Goodgame Company have had a strong relationship with these companies dating back to when they were recruited to our community over a decade ago. We were happy to use our relationship to strengthen the bond between the City and the company’s top leaders.”

After flying into Stuttgart, the team made the approximately four-hour drive northwest to Wuppertal, the home of WKW Erbsloeh. Monday, the local contingent which included Pruitt, Smith, Jason Goodgame, and Jason Roberts, met with Peter Kruft, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Monika Kocks, Vice President of Communications at WKW. 

“We spent an entire day meeting with WKW’s management learning more about their worldwide operations and their growth prospects,” said Pruitt. “They were very gracious with their time and gave us a tour of their plant that is part of the Pell City location’s supply chain.”

Pruitt presented Kruft with a Key to the City and thanked WKW for their partnership with the Pell City community. The team also had the opportunity to meet with Martin Lietz with the Wuppertal Economic Development Council, to compare and contrast economic development practices in Germany and the United States.

“On Tuesday, we drove back down to the Southern Part of Germany to Schopfheim to meet with Mr. Philip Read and Michael Zumkeller with Oerlikon Balzers,”said Pruitt. 

The group was able to tour the Schopfheim facility and discuss their operations, business prospects, and witness how they are able to form and harden their unique tools.

On Wednesday, the team traveled to Bad Urach to meet with executives from Eissmann Group Automotive as well as  Burgermeister (Mayor)  Elmar Rebmann of Bad Urach. The Pell City contingent was welcomed by Claudia Eissmann, Chairman of the Board;  Ingo Wirth, Chief Operating Officer;  Carola Berger, Controlling & Treasury;  Rolf Niquet, Director; and Ulrich Brinkmann, CEO of Eissmann Individual GmbH.

“We had a great meeting at Eissmann. We were able to learn more about their global operations, their expansion opportunities, and their plans for the October ribbon cutting for their latest expansion in Pell City,” said Pruitt. 

Pruitt and Burgermeister Rebmann also had discussions about Pell City and Bad Urach possibly establishing a cultural exchange between the two cities that might lead to a Sister City program with student exchanges and workforce development opportunities. 

“The company leaders were all very generous with their time, sharing their long term plans, and explaining how their locations in Pell City play an intricate role in NAFTA markets. We look forward to hosting them in the future,” said Pruitt.

“It was a long trip.  Flying coach and driving about four hours a day between meetings is arduous, but it is important to show the community’s commitment to our international companies and gratitude for their investment and partnerships with our community,” added Smith.