About the Chapter

Alabama has a long history of German companies moving to the state. Degussa Corporation (now Evonik Degussa) has been one of Mobile’s biggest employers since the early 1970s. Mercedes-Benz opened a production facility in Tuscaloosa in 1997. Currently, almost 60 German companies call Alabama their home.

The AGBC chapter in Mobile, Alabama was founded in August 2008 due to the influx of German families moving to the area with the new ThyssenKrupp Steel and Stainless USA facilities under construction now in North Mobile County. Klaus Jeschke, a long-time member of the Duesseldorf AGBC chapter, who lives in the United States and has his business in Alabama and Mississippi, started the Mobile chapter with a few influential business people in South Alabama. In the short amount of time since the club’s inception, the AGBC Mobile chapter has grown to more than 65 corporate and individual members.

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama - a picturesque community with more than 540,000 residents living and working in the metropolitan area that covers 2,828 square miles located at the mouth of the Mobile River and the edge of Mobile Bay, leading to the central Gulf of Mexico.

Rich in history, Mobile began as the first capital of colonial French Louisiana and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was founded by Jean Baptiste LeMoyne of Bienville in 1702 and the French, English, Spanish and Native American influences have blended to create a unique culture. While Mobile is the only seaport in Alabama (ranked as the 10th largest port in the U.S.) with all the elements of a fast-growing, successful business community, the Mobilians are also internationally known for having the oldest organized Carnival ("Mardi Gras") celebrations in the United States.

In 30 minutes you can be on the sandy-white beaches of Dauphin Island in south Mobile County, or ferry from there across Mobile Bay to Gulf Shores in a few minutes more. The mountains of northern Alabama are within a few hours' drive.