German Cloud descends on London

Thirteen German IT and cloud companies came to London mid-June, to find UK partners, distributors and other useful business contacts. Long time partners, Milton Contact had been invited to assist Mark Dodsworth of Europartnerships http://europartnerships.co.uk/ , who was managing the project for the BMWi http://www.bmwi.de/EN/root.html.

 The visiting companies were:

• B & IT Solutions www.buit-solutions.com 
• Filespots GmbH www.filespots.de 
• Foss-Group GmbH www.foss-group.com 
• HOB GmbH & Co. KG www.hob.de 
• IQSoftware® Vertriebs GmbH www.iqsoftware.de 
• Jedox AG www.jedox.com 
• KMS Computer GmbH www.kms-computer.de 
• Knowledge Intelligence AG www.ki-ag.com 
• Moving Image 24 GmbH www.movingimage24.com 
• Novadex GmbH www.novadex.com 
• Seneca Business Software GmbH www.seneca-control.com 
• 7 Business Consulting AG www.7bc.net 
• TIQ Solutions GmbH www.tiq-solutions.de 

On the Monday, Jane Thomas and I found ourselves taking the London train and then walking from bustling High Street Kensington station to the quiet leafy Kensington Square.  Briefly distracted by the film crew shooting a motorbike scene, we arrived at St Jame's house where Goodwille had made their rooms available http://goodwille.com/.

Petra, Nora, Carolina and team were running a hectic schedule, trying to meet the needs of visitors, guests and language support.  Mark was already on the road with one of the companies with a meeting outside London.  Jane, new to this type of event and providing German-English facilitation, was understandably apprehensive.
"Be your usual sensible self and simply spread calm!" was my advice, and so it proved that Jane soon complemented the skills of our multinational team of Germans, Colombians, American and Brits.

Our German companies all had exemplary English skills and were able to represent their businesses and offers coherently in the one to one conversations with British companies. Our skills were in assisting understanding with fast speaking and unfamiliar (to Germans) UK accents, and in facilitating the flow of the business meetings.

Wednesday’s events were held at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, 44 Belgrave Square http://www.ipa.co.uk/.

The day comprised a morning of 16 presentations plus Q&As before lunch and one to one free networking in the afternoon. Mark delegated me as chair for the presentations. In advance,  I had advised the German Cloud and IT companies to:

• Prepare an informative 7 minute presentation
• Use no more than 7 slides
• Send presentations to us in advance so we could plan a seamless delivery

Full credit to our German guests who kept to time on the day, making this an interesting and varied program for the audience.  We had presentations ranging from business support software, though totally secure cloud hosting, to specialist software for the steel industry. It was with good humour that I noted the imaginative interpretation of "7 slides" to mean any number between 5 and 17, or seven slides but with multiple click actions.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. So we also ensured a good time together in the evenings in the pub or restaurant. Our Columbian contingent certainly provided us with laughter and entertainment to break the ice on the first night in the  Star Tavern, Belgrave Mews http://www.star-tavern-belgravia.co.uk/.  Relaxed conversation filled the air at the Del Aziz Restaurant on Tuesday http://www.delaziz.co.uk/.

Amongst my charges were Sebastian Schulze of KMS, Hans Peter and Andreas of Novadex and Britta & Dirk von Pechmann od Seneca Business Solutions.

Sebastian and I made an excursion to the Science Museum, where we had an interesting time in the basement with the Google interactive exhibit. My handsome face managed to confuse the drawing software that sketched portraits in sand from snapshots of visitors.

Hans-Peter and Andreas were lured into a meander across the centre of London, starting at the Royal College of Surgeons (where they had attended a Postal Exhibition with my my good friend Richard Wishart in attendance), via St Pauls, the Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern to the Restaurant.

Dirk, Freiherr von Pechmann  and Britta, Freifrau von Pechmann  introduced me to their intriguing family history as knights created during the 17th Century, after the battle for Budapest. Their knighthood was awarded both in the Holy Roman Empire and in Hungary (http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz94335.html).

As ever, London always provides me with fascinating photographic opportunities and you can see the results of my occasional diversions or views on the way in the picture slideshow here.
If you cannot see the slideshow, visit the album here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/GermanCloudITVisitEuropartnerships?authuser=0&feat=directlink


After the three full days, we said goodbye to new friends, shared a farewell drink with Mark, Petra, Nora and Carolina, before making our way back home to Cambridge on the train.

Some of the Europartnerships Team

The UK EU Relationship: Divorce, separation or reunion? Discussions at the GBF

I’ve been concerned about the singular lack of any real debate on the proposed UK referendum  on Britain’s role in the European Union. Thus, this year’s annual conference of the German British Forum (www.gbf.com) was a real magnet to me. The topic was “The European Single Market and the Future of British Manufacturing”. High level keynote speakers from both Germany and the UK promised some real relevant information.

The event took place in Stationers’ Hall, a stone’s throw from St Pauls. A little gem in itself, there is an article on the Hall with photos available here: http://miltoncontact.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/stationers-hall-brief-visit-to-london.html

The event covered four main sections:

1. Competitiveness challenges in the European automotive sector – German and UK industry strategies
2. The vital place of the single market in the new Europe – Keynote speech by Rt Hon Lord Owen
3. The European economy and the importance of the single market
4. The future of the Euro area – What kind of Europe do we want? What kind will we get?

Looking back on my notes, the insights gained came in a slightly different order.

1. The future of the Euro area

There was one clear message here: The current economic crisis was on the one hand pushing the Eurozone harder towards centralisation and on the other, revealing the stress fractures between and within nations. Indeed, there was a clear fear that under the pressure to survive, the Eurozone was dropping economic elements of “competitiveness” and “subsidiarity” and replacing them with a political “harmonisation”. At one particular point I was reminded of the poem by Baldrick of Blackadder fame: “Doom, Doom! Doom, Doom, Doom…”.

This was of course contrasted with the economic realities in the UK and Germany.

2. Competitive challenges in the European Automotive sector

Speakers from major automotive companies and their 1st and 2nd tier suppliers actually had a more optimistic note now after the harsh recession in the past decade. Transport is one of the major industries in the European single market. The German automotive sector is on the up again and Britain’s suppliers to the industry are also increasing trade. Three aspects were seen as of major importance to the future of the industry:

• Major investment in Research and Development
• Training of highly qualified staff
• The need for a period of political stability and longer term thinking.

Moving on, we considered the broader aspects of the UK’s benefits of being within Europe

3. The European Economy and the importance of the single market

This session began with great humour by our Eurosceptic UK delegate, John Redwood; Joking that where before he was seen as on the far right and now he is being criticised for being too middle of the road.

However the highlight for me was the presentation by Dr Rebecca Harding of Delta Economics. Her talk was full of more real data than I could record. Here are just some of the key points:

• 34% of world trade originates in Europe ($55 trillion).
• Europe predominately exports to itself.
• New accession countries like Poland and the Czech Republic are undergoing dramatic growth
• The economics of scale affect logistics and supply, thus the EU dictates patterns of trade in pharmaceuticals, cars and oil globally.
• The EU uses its union to strengthen its global supply chains . 

The remainder of the session echoed the need for longer term political and economic stability. The proposed UK referendum on Europe and the current negative political agitation were introducing a level of uncertainty.

So what was the solution that would address both concerns of the UK’s Eurosceptic majority and allow businesses and the UK economy to benefit from the European single market?

4. The vital place of the European market in the New Europe. A Solution?

Lord Owen’s speech suggested a practical and welcome solution (see further down). Taking us back through some of the EU’s history, Lord Owen reminded us that the current “In or Out” black and white perspective of the EU was inaccurate. The different nations within the EU had always had a plethora of sometimes conflicting attitudes and required solutions. This was reflected by the different agreements in place; from the Schengen free trade area, the EU Customs Union, the Eurozone to the European Economic Area.

Wikipedia has this excellent graphic illustrating this point by author Wdcf:

Lord Owen recognises that

• All European countries benefit from the single market.
• A number of EU countries are working towards political and economic union, as the Eurozone.
• The UK and some other countries wish to retain control over their own political and economic affairs.

The proposed solution is:

• To use the current framework of existing agreements to strengthen the membership and voice of countries within a restructured European Economic Area, as the single market.
• Whilst allowing the economic and political union of the Eurozone members to continue as one major bloc within the restructured EEA.

This requires strong but constructive negotiation by the UK prior to the proposed referendum.

At the meeting itself, I was initially sceptical of the proposal.  This was primarily because it may be difficult to get the message across to a Eurosceptic electorate. The current public thinking is simplistic in terms of “in or out of the EU referendum”.

Now, I am gradually coming around to the idea.

Conclusion

For the UK business community, it is essential that we give our political leaders a clear message: The UK economy is far better off within a European single market with a UK voice, than out on a limb on our own.

This meeting of the 18th Annual Conference of The German British Forum was a timely event prior to the run up to the future UK referendum on Europe.

Recommended reading: “Europe Restructured” by David Owen- For a more considered view of Lord Owen’s arguments than could be presented here. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00994MZS8

Germany-EoE links via Tollé Green Architecture

A flat-lining EU economy, the construction industry in crisis. This is not a good time for an architect's visit to the UK, you might think. So why did Sandra & Leif Tollé come to Cambridge seeking meetings and with plans for a UK architectural practice (Tollé Green Architecture)? Add to this, their underlying ethos of social responsibility.  Surely this was a no-brainer in the free-market UK economy currently led by a right-leaning government!



The answer as to why the visit was successful has four parts:

1. German green retrofitting and new-build expertise

Britain has international obligations regarding global warming. Domestic fuel prices are increasing. And greener building regulations by the present and past governments have been implemented. These factors are slowly seeping into the consciousness of the UK construction sector. Our usual British reaction is to put off any changes until they are unavoidable. It is only in the past few years that green construction ideas and technologies have begun to be taken seriously.

This contrasts with a much stronger and longer green tradition in Germany and Scandinavia. Experts reckon that these countries have a lead in green construction of between 10 and 25 years.

The existing housing stock in the UK also provides significant challenges with regards to retrofitting. A previous article about Ecobuild 2012 mentions hard to treat properties in the UK http://miltoncontact.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/looking-back-on-ecobuild-2012.html.

The Green Deal is expected to accelerate green practices in the UK.

In all our appointments with UK partners, expertise was seen as the key advantage provided by Tollé Green Architecture. This comes from a German parent practice with decades of experience in dealing in major industrial construction. There is also considerable retrofitting expertise, not only in single houses but also in multiapartment blocks (see: Practical examples of retrofitting in Verden, Germany http://miltoncontact.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/practical-examples-of-retrofitting-in.html).

2. Taking an international perspective

Leif & Sandra Tollé see Tollé Green Architecture not just as a local UK company. The intention is to establish practical regional links at several levels, e.g. between North-Rhine Westphalia and the East of England. One level includes the exchange of craftsmen and women, training or retraining in the skills of the green construction sector. Another looks at collaboration in research.

Tollé Green Architecture is looking for UK partners and locations to work with. They came with a clear proposal, including potential German institutions as partners.  Preliminary contacts were made through Milton Contact Ltd, the British Consulate and UKTI.

The East of England is an ideal location for forging such links. This is due to the combination of universities (Cambridge, ARU, UEA) and  green networks (Cleantech, UKCEED, Enterprise Europe East). There is a training centre with existing European connections (Smartlife Low Carbon). Furthermore, in this region, companies like HSA Accountants have a familiarity and competence in assisting companies with EU connections.

3. Social perspectives

Sandra & Leif Tollé of Tollé Green Architecture take the role of the architect within society seriously.  They have made it a core part of their ethos. As Sandra reiterated at each meeting, the architect does not simply raise a building. They also create an environment which impacts on the people who work, rest and play within it for decades.

The social element of the company was the one that received a mixed response. It was irrelevant in some meetings and struck a strong chord in others. With Triodos Bank, it was essential, as they are an ethical and social bank.

A social philosophy is not incompatible with good business in construction, as shown by Scansca's successful Seven Acres development in South Cambridge (Trumpington http://homes.skanska.co.uk/Projects/Seven-Acres/).

The current economic climate is also changing the social fabric within the UK. The private housing market has seen a shift towards staying put and improving existing properties. Prices and circumstances are pushing more people to rent rather than house buying. The rise in fuel prices has exacerbated fuel poverty. The National Housing Federation quotes 4.5 million people in housing need in the UK with 1 million children in overcrowded accommodation. Many housing associations are experiencing increasing financial pressures.
Conversations with Peterborough based UKCEED and Cambridge's Eclipse Research revealed that UK policy makers and cities are therefore looking for solutions. They wish to achieve improvements in the environmental-, social- and economic aspects of an area.

4. Constructive partners 

Above all, the UK visit by Sandra & Leif Tollé of Tollé Green Architecture was successful because of the individuals and organisations we met. They were willing to listen, to provide constructive feedback and to give us insights into their respective areas of expertise. We were also directed to useful future contacts and events.

The world and its economies may seem to be globalised. However each country and region has its cultural, social, economic and construction related customs and regulations. Armed with their expanded knowledge, Sandra & Leif Tollé will find UK partners for their European collaboration in the short term. In the longer term they will establish Tollé Green Architecture as part of the UK's green construction expertise.

Practical examples of retrofitting in Verden, Germany

A talk on a practical German example on the benefits and practical ways of retrofitting communal housing stock, as successfully applied in Verden.

This was a talk given at a wider Anglo-German meeting of a group with a common goal of ethical and energy efficiency in construction . Our hosts and organisers were Sandra and Leif Tollé. The talk was followed by a team building exercise at Bredbeck House, an hours drive from the city. My visit took place during the extremely cold period in February 2012, with outside temperatures reaching minus 15 degrees Centigrade.

Verden (Aller) is a small Cathedral city famous for being the site of a major battle (massacre) by Charlemagne, for its long links with mounted regiments and with the British Hannoverian Crown.

The slideshow features Verden and the participants in general,

The Anglo German delegation attended a talk by Olaf Heitkamp of Verden's communal housing company, Kreisbaugesellschaft des Kreises Verden mbH (http://www.kreisbau-verden.de/). It was held in a cosy venue within the Holzmarkt, a historic military stables, renovated and converted into a cultural and shopping centre for the city.

The company has been in existence since 1922, providing housing stock for rent and of which some includes social housing. Currently, they are responsible for 1050 flats in houses. In Germany, properties are sized by the number of rooms, in contrast to the UK where we just count the bedrooms. The flats are described as being mostly three to four rooms in size, with an average of 2 residents per property.

They began retrofitting for energy efficiency in 1989, initially using wall insulation. However, this created problems with mould and so a full package including windows and roofs was included from 2011. Note that the lofts of these houses were 3m high and usable, the houses, like other German properties also have usable cellars.

From 2006 to 2010, the energy savings were already 37%.

Further specific examples were given. Base (or plinth) insulation and external insulation of nine houses with 6 flats each showed dramatic savings in heating oil use, from 104250 L in 2000 to 44000 L in 2010. Another project of six homes with five flats each that were heated using a gas fuelled generator for hot water and electricity reduced the 2010 gas use from 422000 cubic meters to 202800 cubic meters in 2011.

Another key lesson was whether it was better to retrofit or to demolish and rebuild. One project of three houses was costed at EURO 1.3m to retrofit, it was simply more economic to rebuild at the highest current standards, with the residents being offered housing elsewhere.

With the German national government giving subsidies for energy efficiency to the tune of EURO 1bn, the communal housing association is building more properties to an anticipated high standard, “EnEV 2012”.

The talk was extensive, with more examples. The overall tenor was of considerable experience in retrofitting and new-build to the highest energy standards suitable for each site or situation.

For more information and contact with author chris@miltoncontact.com.

For UK examples or Green build and retrofitting, see the following articles:

Miltoncontact: Can German Craftsmen give UK's Heritage a facelift?

Miltoncontact: NRW Green Building Services Companies on a ...

Historic buildings and future-proofing the skills to restore them: DE and GB experts meet in London

Cheers to Gregor Scholz – A farewell

From Wordle-images

This Sunday, I received the sad news that Gregor Scholz of Bestwinus had passed away. This struck a particular chord as Gregor’s visit to the UK was one that I remember well.

Gregor was a shining example of how determination and self-belief can help you achieve your goals in life.

The idea was to visit some of the premium wine purchasers amongst the top class hotels and restaurants in London to raise interest in Bestwinus’s first class fruit wines, brewed and quality controlled by Gregor himself.

Before he arrived in the UK, we had great fun trying to find English equivalents for his imaginative fruit wine names – from Autumn Flame (a rose-hip wine) to Druid’s Magic (a cider). I do not drink but I was fascinated nonetheless.

Gregor’s passion for brewing had come at an early age, through his father, I believe. He would only use the finest ingredients and had expanded to create wines from fruits as exotic as prickly pear and drinking vinegars from beetroot (something we later learnt as of great potential to the Far Eastern market).

When he landed in Gatwick, I had made all sorts of preparations because I heard that he was almost blind. I needn’t have worried. He came with a friend to accompany him but Gregor coped just fine. I soon forgot about his “disability” as we confidently moved through the bustling metropolis that is London. What else should I have expected from a man who single-handedly brewed, bottled and labelled his own elite vintages!

At meetings, he would bring out his sample bottles and arrange them in order ready for the presentation and from there on he was off the starting line - professionally offering samples and discussing the finer flavours with top wine buyers, chefs and Cocktail experts alike. Martin Straus, a UK wine expert accompanied us on all our visits and we all made an excellent team as we moved from venue to venue.

It was only when we had walked to the Dorchester through half of London, because it was easier than braving the traffic, that Gregor’s companion pulled me to one side and said “you do realise he has a heart problem!” that we understood that he was even more remarkable than we had originally thought. That extra bag with the discreet white tube leading under his jacket was his portable life support.

As I said I do not drink, so the most memorable moment for me was when we visited one of London’s renowned cocktail bars. The conversation and tasting by the resident Cocktail expert had almost finished when he asked for another one or two samples and then invented a cocktail using Gregor’s wines as a flavour on the spot. A visual feast, even I had to taste them.

At the end of our visit, Gregor, his companion and I relaxed in an upmarket Indian restaurant, overlooking one of the renovated yachting docks on the Thames. I asked Gregor “How did you come to run your own successful business?”

“Well,” he replied with aplomb and a smile “Once I’d finished my education, I realised that any potential employer would just see my health issues and write me off on the spot. So I thought I would do what I had always enjoyed, making high quality fruit wines, and make a success out of it!”

I am saddened by his passing away but also feel privileged to have met him.

I raise my glass in your memory Gregor, you have been an inspiration!

Why do Robin & Holly feature at Christmas and other facts

Merry Christmas!

This year, I was inspired to paint a robin with holly leaves and berries - a traditional motif, though in Victorian times, the robins were occasionally portrayed as dead, with delightful messages such as "Sweet messenger of calm decay".

So why is the robin an enduring feature of UK Christmas cards? Here are three possible explanations.

1. It is a distinctive native bird overwintering in the UK;
2. Local mythology is that a robin landed on Christ’s head and tried to remove the crown of thorns, splattering his blood on its breast.
3. Victorian postmen wore red and also delivered on Christmas day, becoming affectionately known as “Robins”.

For even more explanations, see http://christmas-celebrations.org/202-robin.html

Holly has a long tradition – beginning with its association with the Roman “Saturnalia”. In the UK, the Celts used holly as a protection against evil spirits by placing it around their houses. I did find one reference claiming that the holly was also used to provide a home for fairies(!) Holly was then taken into Christian symbolism, possibly representing Christ’s crown of thorns and blood.

With my personal and business interests linking the UK and Germany, what are our Christmas connections?

Whilst we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, the German Christmas greeting is Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch, which translates as Merry Christmas and a Good Slide (into the New Year).

Christmas Markets were popular in the UK until Oliver Cromwell banned them, along with Christmas . They remained a German tradition – and have become a tourist attraction for visitors from the UK. The combination of wooden stands, gluehwein (mulled wine), gingerbread hearts and Christmas decorations is a major introduction to the festive season. German Christmas Markets are being introduced in the UK but are as yet pale imitations of the real thing. However several cities are intending to improve the offer in coming years.

We also have the German’s to thank for the tradition of the Christmas tree. It was introduced to the Royal family by George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in the early 19th century and later became popular due to its adoption by Queen Victoria.