International Business Week Begins Monday in Lincoln

Germany, Japan and Austria are in Lincolnton’s backyard. Monday begins International Business Appreciation week, a week devoted to showing the community the importance of international companies and to thank them for being here. “We thought the best way to do this was to donate a week to it,” said Barry Matherly, executive director of Lincoln Economic Development Association. “A lot of our new companies are international and we hope to add more in our community.” International Business Appreciation Week has grown out of the original business appreciation week which has been going on for three years in Lincolnton. “For a week in the spring we stop and thank general businesses for what they do,” Matherly said. “Since we have such a global marketplace we decided to have an international week.” The idea surfaced in January and has taken roughly two months to put together. Each day of the week will feature a different country. Monday will focus on Germany, Wednesday will focus on Japan and Friday will focus on Austria. A flag ceremony will begin the week Monday at the courthouse. “We want the community involved by coming out and seeing the flags,” Matherly said. “It is a good way for them to learn about the international companies.” Monday will spotlight on the two German companies in town, Robert Bosch Tool Corporation and Hof Textiles. Robert Bosch Tool Corporation has a distribution and manufacturing division and specializes in power tool accessories. The company also focuses on automotive accessories such as anti-lock brakes and safety systems, but does not do this at the Lincolnton location. David Lee, general manager for the Accessory Division of Bosch, said the week is a great concept. “I think it is a good thing so that the community will learn from one another’s culture and understand what’s behind the company’s beliefs,” he said. “It is also interesting to note how different parts of the world look at business.” The second German company, Hof Textiles, has two product lines, automotive and apparel. The apparel line is all non-woven material, which is used inside of garments to hold the fabric together in collars and waistbands. In automotives the non-woven material is lined in the engine compartment to silence the engine and also in other parts of the automobile such as the trunk. Thursday will feature an international luncheon, which all the companies can attend. “This event will allow us to thank the companies directly,” Matherly said. “This will be a fun event.” Wednesday the spotlight is on Japan, which has two companies in the area, Cataler North America and Kawai America. Cataler is based out of Shizuoka, Japan and manufactures and distributes automotive catalysts. These devices are used to protect the environment by reducing harmful substances found in exhaust gas. Kawai is based out of Hamamatsu, Japan and is named after the inventor who introduced pianos to Japan. Koichi Kawai designed and built a complete piano, and his success has expanded internationally. Friday will feature an Austrian company, Julius Blum. Blum has been in Lowesville since 1979 and makes drawer slides and hinges. Matherly plans to expand International Business week by adding more activities each year. “Next year we hope to have an international cooking day where we will have authentic dishes from each country,” he said. “We want to add more events over time.”