Deputy Prime Minister Bode visits V-LINE
Sehnde, Germany, 08/25/2010
“Travelling for Niedersachsen” – this was the journey’s motto when two delegations of business executives and state officials started for South Africa and Brazil.
The delegations headed by Jörg Bode, Minister for Economics, Labour and Transport and also Deputy Prime Minister of Niedersachsen, visited Johannesburg, Capetown and the province of Eastern Cape in November 2009. In March 2010 Minister Bode led another group of business executives to the Brazilian metropolises of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Porto Alegre.
Detlev Daues, founder and managing director of the V-LINE GROUP was part of both of these delegations. Recently, he invited all participants for an August 25th review meeting at V-LINE headquarters in Sehnde, near Hannover.
Minister Jörg Bode opened the meeting with a short introductory speech and invited the attendants to describe their experiences with both journeys.
Dr. Bruno Kaesler, managing director of Lohmann Animal Health GmbH & Co. KG, Cuxhaven, and Mr. Axel Schulz, managing director of Hamelin-based engineering company Schub`s Antriebstechnik GmbH provided a very positive view on Brazil’s buzzing economy. Both reported some concrete sales contacts as a result of the discussions with Brazilian business executives. Dr. Kaesler pointed out that he underestimated the market potential of Brazil so far and that his company will henceforth put much more effort in its local sales activity.
As opposed to Brazil, the participants of the delegation to South Africa provided a mixed picture of the business potential in this country. Ulrich Herfurth, Partner of the law firm Herfurth & Partner, Hannover, felt that there was a dynamic economic upswing in the run-up to the World Soccer Games in the summer of 2010, yet he was struggling to find the right partner during his discussions with law firms in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Also, other participants reported that it is very hard for them to break into the South African market. On
a positive note, one businesswoman announced a sales order that was initiated during the journey the year before.
After the official part of the event, Mr. Daues invited all of the guests to proceed with the discussion informally accompanied by tasty Brazilian and South African finger food.
About V-LINE
The V-LINE group of companies was founded in 1979 and has its group headquarters in Sehnde near Hanover, Germany. It is one of the most important global providers of original spare parts direct from the manufacturer to industrial plants, working with more than 20,000 suppliers. The use of original parts guarantees optimal handling and the longest possible equipment service life. The use of the innovative E-procurement-solution V-Ware™ ensures considerably less transaction and procurement costs and guaranteed transit times, and regular collective dispatches keep storage needs to a minimum. V-LINE, in addition to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, has operations in Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil and the USA. For further information please visit V-LINE’s website at: www.v-line.com or call by phone—Saudi Arabia: +966 (3) 3407940, EMEA: +49 (5138) 7008, USA: +1-732-919-0190, Japan: +81 (66) 675 3001, Brazil: +55 (11) 66712958, China: +86 (10) 84920049, Mexico: +52 (2222) 536396.
Copyright Verification: The pictures in this article originate from V-LINE EUROPE GmbH.
