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Germany

Germany Trade Facts
http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/bus_stat/busind/trade/prf-Germany.asp

The relationship between Germany and Canada is strong. With approximately 2.8 million Canadians having Germanic heritage, the liaison of history and cultural is long standing. Linked by active involvement in international bodies and with a growing trade economy, Canada looks to Germany as a strong partner for development.

The Okanagan Valley boasts a high number of residents of German background and the language is still dominant in the area, being one of the most spoken in the Valley (Stats Canada). Because of this demographic the Valley has many companies that provide products and services that reflect German interests.
Okanagan Valley businesses have developed strategic partnerships through several business to business links including participation in CeBit 2005.
Foreign skilled workers from Germany have been successfully recruited through ZAV and have relocated to the region.
Many companies, such as Valley Comfort Systems Inc., Slimline Manufacturing Ltd., and Normar Industries have or are in the process of actively pursuing business possibilities in Germany.
The beverage industry in the Okanagan Valley has flourished as a direct result of German influence, from direct immigration to the Valley to residents travelling to Germany for training.
The tourism sector is well represented in Germany with several private resorts and small businesses offering sporting activities and outdoor wilderness adventures, which s very popular with the German traveler.

A Few Business examples

Okanagan Spirits
Okanagan Spirits is a premium distillery located in Vernon. The distillery utilizes 100% BC fruits to produce twenty five different types of world class fruit spirits. Owner and master distiller, Frand Deiter, moved from Germany to Canada in 1989.

Frank Deiter
info@okanaganspirits.com
www.okanaganspirits.com
tekmar Control Systems
tekmar Control Systems is Vernon’s largest technology company. The company manufactures products for the hydronic heating industry. Their controls are researched, developed and manufactured in North America. The company originated in Germany before opening a separate operation in Vernon. The two companies continue to have a strong relationship.

Don Gibbs
www.tekmarcontrols.com
info@tekmarcontrols.com
8^th Generation Vineyard Bernd & Stefanie Schales brought their family tradition of winemaking, training and experience from Germany to the New World, and created this ultra-contemporary winery in the community of Summerland in the Okanagan Valley
Stefanie Schales- 250.497.1110
info@8thgenerationwinery.com
www.8thgenerationvineyard.com
SwimPond Landscape Design
Markus Winkler has had a lifelong interest in wellness and aquatic life systems and discovered that the concept of swimponds was almost unknown in North America. He is enthusiastic about bringing his swimpond knowledge and experience from Germany and Austria to North America.

With ancestral roots in Austria, Markus was born in Munich, Germany and now resides in Kelowna, BC where SwimPond Landscape Design Inc is headquartered.

Markus Winkler – 250.764.9102
info@swimpond.com
www.swimpond.com
Max Voets Coffee Roasting
Max Voets Coffee originated in Krefeld, Germany in 1929. Proprietor Max Voets relocated the company to Vernon, BC in 1983. Today, the Gourmet coffee roasting facility specializes in Fair Trade Certified Organic Products. THe most recent success is with the launch of their Tribal Java Organic Coffee.

Guy Hoffman
Voets_coffee@cnx.net
www.voetscoffee.com
Maple Leaf Spirits
In August 2001 Jorg Engel and his wife Anette immigrated with their 3 children to Canada from the Stuttgart area in southern Germany. In March 2006 they formed Maple Leaf Spirits.

Maple Leaf Spirits, a traditional German Distillery located in the South Okanagan. Using a German copper pot still and centuries-old traditional methods, Maple Leaf Spirits creates single-fruit eau de vie: colorless, traditional European brandies distilled from unsweetened, fermented fruit juices.

Maple Leaf Spirits produces fine single-fruit eau de vie from cherries (Kirsch), apricots and Williams (Bartlett) pears, as well as liqueurs based on same fruit brandies and grappa, the traditional Italian grape brandy.
www.mapleleafspirits.ca