The American-Danish Business council, in association with NACC, SACC, FACC, SelectUSA and the U.S. Department of Commerce hosted a Nordic Trade Council event at the Danish Embassy on March 15th 2016.

The U.S. Department of Commerce highlighted their services to Nordic companies entering the U.S. market as well what services they provide to Nordic companies already established here. The presentation also included informative material for U.S companies looking to expand into the Nordics.

The presentations by the Department of Commerce and SelectUSA were followed by presentations from 2 Nordic companies who have successfully penetrated the American market.

The first presentation came from Mr. Vidar M. Skjelstad, President of KONGSBERG Defense Systems USA, a subsidiary of the Norwegian KONGSBERG Gruppen presented one of the “Nordic Success Stories”. Mr Skjelstad gave a presentation on what challenges and cultural differences potential Nordic investors must overcome and realise in order to successfully conduct business in the U.S.
Mr. Skjelstad used his company KONGSBERG as an example whilst highlighting the strategies used for creating trans-Atlantic business opportunities.

The Swedish tech solutions company TACTON delivered a success story courtesy of Mr. Christer Holmberg the VP of sales for TACTON. The presentation titled “A successful U.S. market entry – a coincidence?” delved into the intricacies of cross-cultural communication and the importance of it in relation to creating successful business relationships. The key Mr. Holmberg proclaimed, is cultural understanding. Once that has been achieved then business can be conducted in a more successful manner as it is a crucial part of negotiating and networking, which Americans place a lot higher on the scale than the Nordics tend to.