Belmont Abbey College Honors German American Chamber
of Commerce
Abbey Professor to Discuss European-U.S. Trials of Innovative Security Device
July 27, 2005
BELMONT, NC --- Belmont Abbey College’s International Business Program will host a special reception honoring the German American Chamber of Commerce on Monday, August 8, 2005 at 6:00 PM in the Haid Theatre at Belmont Abbey College.
The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern United States, Inc. (GACC South) is the official, authorized representative of German industry and trade for the southern United States. The Atlanta-based, nonprofit organization serves 11 southern states and promotes bilateral trade between the United States and Germany.
Dr. Jim Giermanski, director of the International Business Program at Belmont Abbey College and chairman of Powers International, Inc., will also make a presentation updating guests on the progress of Powers’ European-U.S. smart container trials.
Earlier this week, Powers International – North Carolina-based developer of container and trailer security solutions – officially announced the beginning of the first phase of long-term trials of its "smart box" system.
"Smart boxes," now under development through several government and private-sector programs, utilizes various technologies to track ocean containers, identify their contents, and alert users to security breaches anywhere in the world.
The Sea-Cure Satellite System (SCSS), which combines RFID (radio frequency identification) and satellite technologies, was selected for trials by Germany's Bremer Innovations-Agentur GmbH as a preparatory program under the auspice of the EU's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) program as part of efforts to enhance container and port security in Europe. It will also demonstrate higher efficiency in the supply chain by using smart containers in cooperation with EUROGATE, Europe's Leading Terminal operator. The first SCSS-equipped container will be shipped in August to Bremen, Germany, for static display and breach-detection demonstrations. Ten others, retrofitted in North Carolina, will depart for Europe in late August or early September.
According to Giermanski, the SCSS system directly responds to that need by electronically capturing shipping data, the identity of the person supervising the stuffing of the container at the point of origin, and the identity of the person with first access to the container at destination. SCSS also tracks the container, detects breaches at any point in the box, and reports those breaches via satellite, thus monitoring the integrity of the container on a door-to-door basis.
"Having successfully demonstrated the RFID portion of the system under a U.S. Department of Energy contract last year on the U.S.-Mexico border, and the combined RFID/satellite version in Charlotte, N.C., in April, we expect that in the coming months we will successfully demonstrate the enriched SCSS application between the German Port of Bremerhaven and a U.S. port to be selected," says Giermanski.
A former Regents Professor at Texas A&M International University, Giermanski currently serves as a professor and director of international business studies at Belmont Abbey College. He is a member of the International Practice Analysis Committee of the NASB ITE Task Force developing a national International Trade Specialist Certificate, through the Professional Examination Service (PES) and Bradley University. He also served as director Transportation and Logistics Studies, The Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade, Texas A&M International University.
Giermanski, a retired colonel from the Office of Special Investigations of the United States Air Force, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Belmont Abbey College, M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, M.I.B. from Florida International University, and a Doctor of Arts, University of Miami.
Last year, Giermanski was named the 2004 International Trade Educator of the Year by the North American Small Business International Trade Educators (NASB ITE). He is also a former co-chairman of the Texas Transportation Committee of the Task Force to prepare for NAFTA, has also served as a member of the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Transborder Trucking International Working Group and the Research Advisory Committee on Management and Policy, Technical Advisory Panel, Texas Department of Transportation.
Giermanski often serves as a consultant on international transportation, border logistics, and trade matters involving Mexico. He frequently testifies before the U.S. Senate and House, the Texas Senate and House, the EPA, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. He recently assisted the Arizona Department of Transportation in improving border-crossing activities in the Port of Nogales.
The author of over 85 articles, books, and monographs, Giermanski has been interviewed by over 40 national and international publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes Magazine, The Financial Times, and Christian Science Monitor. He has also appeared on the FOX News Channel, CNN, NBC, CBS, NPR, BBC, Voice of America and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, along with many local and regional news affiliates.
Ranked one of the best liberal arts colleges in the South by U.S. News and World Report, Belmont Abbey College celebrates excellence and virtue steeped in its 128 year Catholic Benedictine heritage. It is home to students from over 34 states and 17 countries and welcomes everyone from any background or tradition committed to this vision of excellence and virtue. The campus consists of the College, the Monastery and the Abbey Basilica, which can be found on its sprawling 650 acres of picturesque landscape.
Just minutes from Charlotte, NC, the nation’s second largest banking center, Belmont Abbey College offers students numerous internship opportunities and career placement.
The College believes in development of the whole person – mind, body and spirit. By offering a wide array of clubs and activities including Division II athletics, theatre, publications, and study abroad, Belmont Abbey College invests in the personal growth of its students.
Founded in 1876, the College celebrates its heritage and is inspired by the Benedictine monastic tradition. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the College and Abbey Basilica greet thousands of visitors each year.
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at (704) 461-6848.
