The German Business Club Transylvania (DWS) was founded in 1998 in Sibiu as a non-profit association. The Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Harald Gehrig, who was in office at the time, founded a group, which German entrepreneurs who were active in Sibiu joined. The group was the predecessor of today's Business Club. The group consisted mainly of smaller companies that had their first experiences with Southeastern Europe and hoped for mutual help and a lively exchange of experiences, which they also found there.
As the group grew steadily and the tasks increased, it became today's German Business Club. Since the members always met in Sibiu and no one should have felt excluded, because there were also members from Brașov and Cluj-Napoca at the meeting, the name „Deutscher Wirtschaftsclub Siebenbürgen”/„German Business Club Transylvania” (DWS) was chosen without further ado.
18 years have now passed since the Club was founded and registered in the Sibiu Registry of Associations, and the Business Club has continued to develop well in terms of structure and quality. The DWS also opened up to entrepreneurs from other German-speaking countries who are active in Transylvania – mainly in the Sibiu area. Today, the DWS has around 200 active member companies, which also include institutions such as the German Democratic Forum in Romania, the German-Romanian University, the Sibiu Administration School and the German-speaking media, Hermannstädter Zeitung and Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung.
In addition to the DWS, there are 7 other German business clubs in Romania, namely in Arad, Bacău, Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Mureș, Satu Mare and Timișoara. In total, around 800 German companies are organized in the German clubs.
The German Consulate in Sibiu is an important and traditional founding member of DWS. It forms the interface between business, culture and bilateral cooperation on several levels. According to the articles of association, the respective head of the German Consulate in Sibiu, currently Mr. Consul Hans Erich Tischler, is the honorary chairman of the Business Club.
As a contact point for companies from German-speaking countries, the DWS makes an active contribution to the development of economic relations between the countries of origin and Romania. At the same time, the DWS fulfills its role as on-site representative of the interests of these companies.
Exchanging experiences between the member companies, providing information for the member companies and maintaining a constructive dialogue with political representatives and representatives of the public administration, are all central to the activity of the DWS. To this end, the DWS organizes regular members' meetings as well as numerous other events in which public figures and representatives of local business take part.
The DWS makes the DWS conference room (with over 40 seats) available to all of its members free of charge!
Text source:
www.dws.ro