SOUND: Champagne clinks
Officials from Akron and Chemnitz recently toasted the arrival of a new German presence in Northeast Ohio.
LIEBERTH: Today, we have our first business from Chemnitz, hiring people here, and hopefully expanding.
Akron Deputy mayor Dave Lieberth took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that welcomed the Chemnitz-based materials testing firm AMTEC, which has just opened it's first U.S. office in the Akron Business Accelerator, located in the former B.F. Goodrich headquarters on South Main Street. This cross-Atlantic connection is a result of a sister city relationship developed a decade ago by Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic while on a trade mission. Visiting Chemnitz mayor Barbara Ludwig said the two cities are both industrial towns, trying to rebuild their economies.
LUDWIG: Sister City relationships give good opportunities to learn from each other.
AMTEC's clients include Shell Oil and Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble. The company plans to hire a small office staff early next year.
