bbw_regions

Neckar-Alb / Ortenau / Heilbronn / Franken / Tuttlingen / Ulm / Rhein-Neckar / Oberschwaben / Freiburg / Schwäbisch Gmünd / Karlsruhe / East Württemberg

Regions

16 Busin ess Baden-W ürt t emBer g

Clust er s & in it iat ives

t ex t ile in dust ry

Intertwined With the RegionThe textile industry in the Neckar-Alb region has deep roots

in the Heart of Baden-WürttembergIt is not just world-famous fashion labels that have prospered in the long-established Zollernalb textiles region, a number of specialist technical textiles manufacturers are located here, too. Germany is the world’s leading exporter of technical textiles, followed by the USA and China.

t ex t Daniela Sandmann

The Neckar-Alb region is located in the heart of Baden-Württemberg, south of Stuttgart, and it is a major player in the pan-European textile sector. It is even Germany’s leading apparel manufacturing region. For several years now technical tex-tiles have also been making major inroads into the market. A large number of compa-nies now generate an impressive amount of value-added in this segment. “the Neckar-Alb region is very well-positioned in the textile sector. 60 percent of Germany’s apparel manufacturing capacity is located here. We have benchmark facilities that others simply cannot compete with. the factory outlets in Metzingen — the outlet city par excellence — are one example. And the likes of hugo Boss and MarcCain have implemented sales strategies, which serve as paradigms and are emulated by other firms”, is how Dr. Stefan Engelhard, head of “Innovation and Environment” at reut-lingen CCI describes the textile region. the strength of this economic zone lies in the interaction of the various textile segments, which in the Neckar-Alb region also in-cludes manufacturers of textile machinery and chemical additives. this network is of major importance to the manufacturing and innovation process. the textile machin-ery manufacturing and textile subcontract-ing infrastructure in Neckar-Alb is ideally suited to deliver innovations. A range of research organisations and universities, specializing in the textile industry, such as Albstadt-Sigmaringen university, where

students can take degree courses for exam-ple in textile Product Engineering /tech-nical textiles, are located in reutlingen and Albstadt-Sigmaringen. the region is also home to some 220 textile and clothing companies, such as hugo Boss, MarcCain trigema, rösch, Sanetta and Einhorn.

A Long Traditionthe barren soil of the Swabian Alps was sheep farming country for a long time. For this reason there was always a plenti-ful supply of wool, a perfect foundation for the textile industry to establish. there were around 72 master linen weavers on the Alb in 1732, and a spinning mill was estab-lished in reutlingen in 1828. Nowadays, there are now more than 60 techtex busi-nesses located in the region. they develop and manufacture products for the automo-tive, medical and aerospace sectors.

Technical Textile InnovationClose cooperation with regional automo-tive, mechanical engineering and medical technology clusters is a key location ad-vantage for the forward-looking technical textiles market in the Neckar-Alb region. A hitherto unirivalled innovation is located in Albstadt-lautlingen on the Zollernalb: Groz-Beckert’s textile-reinforced concrete bridge. this structure highlights the po-tential of technical textiles, as this textile-reinforced concrete bridge is considerably lighter and more durable than conventional ferroconcrete bridges. At a length of ap-proximately 100 metres the bridge is the longest of its kind anywhere in the world. Designed as a footbridge, it consists of six prefabricated sections, each featuring a maximum length of 17.20 metres and a superstructure height of just 43.50 metres. A major advantage that textile-reinforced concrete bridges have in comparison to

C MarcCain

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t ex t ile in dust ry

conventional solutions is that textiles are not susceptible to corrosion. All in all, this textile-reinforced concrete bridge can be regarded as a first-class technological in-novation — and it’s very impressive to look at. this flagship project is intended to il-lustrate what modern textile manufactur-ing is capable of and also serves as a signa-ture landmark for Albstadt and the region as a whole. Many other sectors besides the construction industry, e.g. the medical and environmental engineering sectors, the automotive industry or the mechanical engineering sector, are set to increase their use of technical textiles. Companies in the Neckar-Alb region can only benefit from this trend. the “Expertenforum textil” — a network which enables people in the tex-tile business and professionals working at universities and research organisations in the Neckar-Alb region to communicate, also plays an important role. the market for technical textiles can be segmented into medical, mobility, protective, industrial and functional textiles.

Medical Textilesthere is a wide range of textiles for medical and orthopaedic requirements on the mar-ket, ranging from uniform clothing as used in doctors’ surgeries via cleaning textiles through to stents, vascular implants and bandages. Products also include operating theatre sheets, dressings and bedding. Spe-cial fibres and finishes are used to manufac-ture these products. A large number of tex-tile enterprises in the Neckar-Alb region, e.g. Mattes & Ammann or Peter Müller, are active in this segment and cooperate closely with the local medical engineering sector.

Mobility TextilesMobility textiles are used for all modes of transport. the first items you would think of in this respect are seatbelts, airbags and seating fabrics, such as those manufactured by Mattes & Ammann, which manufactures seating fabrics for trains. Yet textile tech-nologies are increasingly being applied to load-bearing components. In his presenta-tion entitled “From the artificial vein to the

A380”, Prof. Dallmann, vice-President of reutlingen university, explains that the ultra-modern A380 widebody jet consists to around 40 percent of technical textiles. the vehicle manufacturing industry in par-ticular makes major use of textile products from the Neckar-Alb region. Manufacturers include Gaenslen & völter or raiss-textil.

Protective TextilesEver since, clothing has protected us from the elements. however, these days it can do so much more. Protective clothing facili-tates human freedom of movement and at the same time guards against hazards such as heat or injuries. Such textiles are fre-quently used in sport, for example in fenc-ing outfits. Protective clothing is also used extensively in many professions, such as the fire brigade, the police or the armed forces. And such clothing is frequently developed in the Neckar-Alb region, for example by Fuchshuber or Seiz.

Industrial TextilesExisting applications of textile products are just as varied as industrial production itself. Some examples from the Neckar-Alb textile region include reutlingen-based Kullen Gmbh & Co. KG, which manufac-tures industrial brushes. Companies such as villforth also manufacture industrial tex-tiles. Functional finish textiles are also re-ferred to as weather-proof fabrics, breathable

fabrics or functional-finish apparel. they are defined as textiles which are structured along physiological lines and are primarily designed to protect the human body against moisture. Ideally, they do not let water or air to pass through from the outside, yet fa-cilitate the expulsion of water vapour, e.g. in the form of perspiration. Mountaineers, winter athletes, runners or cyclists — there is hardly any group of sportspeople which doesn’t attach importance to functional clothing. the necessary know-how for this “smart” clothing is based for example on the hohenstein Institute’s skin and climate models. Manufacturers of functional appar-el in the Neckar-Alb region include Erima and uhlsport. 8

Mattes & Ammann manufacture seating fabrics for trains like the ICE C Mattes & Ammann

From cotton yarn to the finished T-shirt — everything happens under one roof C Trigema

The headquarters of the textile company MarcCain C MarcCain

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22 Busin ess Baden-W ürt t emBer g


W r o

FAcTS WITHOUT THE PEOPLE AND THE COMPANIES IN THE ORTENAU REGION ....

› the airbags of Daimler, Ford and BMW would not be sure to go off (PWO)› there would be no Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland (Herrenknecht)› the Airbus and Boeing aircrafts would be poorly maintained (Hydro)› the doors of Berlin’s Reichstag and those of the Strasbourg EU Parliament would not have been bazooka-proof (Blasi)

› there would be no FOCUS and only one Hamburg monopoly (Burda)

thinking ahead The economic region of Ortenau: Where working and living go hand in hand …

A Pretty Place to LiveHomeland is there where memories and thoughts are at home. And when Hubert Burda, native of Of-fenburg, stands at the top of the Media Tower and looks out over the Rhine Valley, wherein the Orte-nau region lies, it must be true when he says: “There is only one other valley in the world that was and is as innovative as here: Sili-con Valley in California”.

The first time visitor to the Ortenau — the region between Basel and Frankfurt — will probably not recognize the region’s eco-nomic prowess. Offenburg, the largest city and capital of the Ortenau, counts about 60.000 inhabitants. And even though the Ortenau with its 1,861 square kilometers is the largest county in Baden-Württem-berg, only 420,000 people live here. But low unemployment, a vibrant economy and high quality of life draw an ever increasing number of people to live and work in the region.

Quick Accessthe magazine “Stern” ranked the region among Germany’s best places to live and to invest. the latest trend: French citi-zens are increasingly moving to the Orte-nau — drawn to the region by attractive jobs and low real estate prices. After all, the Ortenau shares a 60 kilometers long border with France and new bridges over the rhine guarantee quick access.

With the 6-lane motorway A5 and the ICE and French tGv-high-speed train line three of the most important traffic arteries run through the region. the river ports in Kehl and Strasbourg enable the easy trans-port of heavy and bulk goods, while the re-gional Airports in lahr, Baden-Baden and Strasbourg an the international airports in Frankfurt and Basel ensure quick connec-tions. the arrival of the tGv-Est in Stras-bourg was celebrated on both sides of the rhine — Paris now being just a quick two hour train ride away. this excellent infra-structure attracts many companies to the Ortenau.

Strength Through UnityBut in today’s competitive environment, companies demand more than just excel-lent transport links. the region’s universi-ties in Ortenau and Strasbourg, the Euro-pean capital, currently count approximately 60,000 students. the number of students continues to grow, while the study courses are targeted to the needs of local companies. In addition, comprehensive support for ex-isting and future investors is provided by

Ortenau shares a 60 kilom-eters border with France and new bridges over the Rhine guarantee quick access C WRO GmbH

Busin ess Baden-W ürt t emBer g 23


W r o

Herrenknecht has become the world leader in tun-neling solutions. Be it the Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland or the construc-tion of the Guangzhou metro network in China.

the Wirtschaftsregion Offenburg / Ortenau (Economic region Offenburg / Ortenau; WrO). the communities of the Ortenau and more than 150 of the region’s larg-est companies have joined together in the WrO to make outsiders aware of the excel-lent opportunities available in the region.

the WrO region, is the economic core of the upper rhine a most significant site for industry and commerce in the country.

Proud EngineersYet far more people in the Ortenau region work in the mechanical engineering and construction fields — more than twelve thousand. this diversity is characterized by companies that have experienced great suc-cess by means of their niche strategy, even to become world market leaders. Whether it has to do with the manufacturers of commercial dishwashers such as Meiko or hobart, or the motor home manufacturer Buerstner: their strong market position has been acquired through great innova-tion and customer proximity. Brand names known by everyone come from here: From vivil to Weberhaus and on to sanitary ware by Duravit, which is sold mainly in foreign countries and continually becoming more successful.

the Ortenau is proud of its mechanical engineering companies. Products made in the Ortenau can be found almost anywhere in the world. Be it Zehnder radiators or herrenknecht. take the example of her-renknecht: Established in 1975, the com-pany has become the world leader in tun-neling solutions. Be it the Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland, the construction of

the Guangzhou metro network in China, or the 4th Elbe river tunnel in hamburg, Ger-many — almost everywhere tunnels are con-structed by using mechanized techniques, herrenknecht machines are being used.

Embedded in this environment is the university of Offenburg, which is consid-ered to be one of the most reform-happy and innovative universities in all of Ger-many. Only by profiting from the techni-cal infrastructure of the university can the transfer of technology to the companies take place successfully through the development of new applications in collaboration with professors and students as, for example, in the production of prototypes.

the innovative force in the region, how-ever, can most visibly and vividly be sensed in the media landscape. the Burda hold-ing, now hubert Burda Media, is not only the largest employer in the Ortenau region but acts, due to its variety of business fields and skills, also as an impetus and locational factor for the region.

Nature and TourismEven though the Ortenau has successfully branched out into new sectors, forestry remains important for the region. With 84,000 hectares covered with forests, the Ortenau is the biggest timber supplier in Baden-Württemberg. And the beautiful Black Forest is one of the reasons for tourists to come. Besides the Black Forest itself, the region has many attractions:the vogtsbau-

ernhöfe, an open air museum that consists of up to 400 year old farmhouses and presents how people used to live and work in Black Forest farmhouses; but also castles such as the Schloss Staufenburg in Durbach.

Naturally, the Ortenau region does not include all of the upper rhine valley, which is advancing to become a European model region, along with the Alsace and North-West Switzerland. In any case, with six million people and 175 billion Euros in economic strength — so weighty as Nor-way — the Ortenau region is far more than just a piece of the rhine valley. 8

For further information [email protected] www.wro.de

The Ortenau is proud of its mechanical engineering companies C WRO GmbH

The Badische Stahlwerke is one of the most productive electric steel plants C WRO GmbH

Products “Made in the Ortenau” can be found all over the world C WRO GmbH

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22 BUSINESS BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG

The first time visitor to the Ortenau — the region between Karlsruhe and Freiburg — will probably not recognise the region’s economic prowess. Offenburg, the largest city and capital of the Ortenau, counts just 59,000 inhabitants. And even though the Ortenau with its 1,861 square kilometres is the largest county in Baden-Württem-berg, only 417,000 people live here. But low unemployment, a vibrant economy and high quality of life draw an ever increasing number of people to live and work in the region.

Quick AccessIn April 2006, the magazine “Stern” ranked the region among Germany’s best places to live. The latest trend: French citi-zens are increasingly moving to the Orte-nau — drawn to the region by attractive jobs and low real estate prices. After all, the Ortenau shares a 60 kilometre long bor-der with France and new bridges over the Rhine guarantee quick access.

With the motorway A5 and the ICE high-speed train line two of Germany’s most important traffic arteries run through the region. The river ports in Kehl and Straßburg enable the easy transport of heavy and bulk goods, while the Black For-est Airport Lahr, the Baden Airport near Baden-Baden and the Strasbourg Airport ensure quick connections. The arrival of

Border crossingSitting at the crossroads of Germany, France and Switzerland, the Ortenau region has always been outward looking. Its com-panies are increasing their international activities, while more and more out-siders discover the excel-lent business opportunities available in the region.

TEXT Hans Seidenstücker

Bridge to the Future The Ortenau benefits from close links to its neighbours

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Bright ProspectsOffenburg continues to grow

Why is Offenburg an attractive location?

We have a diversified economic structure. We are not dependent on a single sector and between 1998 and 2005 the number of jobs grew by 6.2 percent — as compared to 1.3 percent job growth rate in Baden-Württemberg as a whole. Offenburg is very family-friendly, we have many kinder-garten places and we offer many opportuni-ties for continuing education. 20 years ago, Offenburg founded the Technology Park Offenburg/Ortenau (TPO) as an incuba-tor for start-ups. The TPO has been a very successful venture and does not depend on

Talk of the townEdith Schreiner, Lord Mayor of Offenburg, talks about the city’s positive economic development, and the strengthening of Offen-burg’s competitiveness.

INTERVIEW Hans Seidenstücker

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The Mimram bridge, linking Kehl and Strasbourg, brings the Alsace and the Ortenau closer togetherC flickr

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BUSINESS BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG 23

Hubert Burda Media Park: With its 2,800 employees Hubert Burda Media is Offenburg’s largest employer C Offenburg

Nussbaum lifts make the iconic Smart Towers possible C Nussbaum

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THE ORTENAU-REGION

— not only with the communities but also with businesses.

How important is the proximity to France?

People live and work on both sides of the Rhine and we continue to grow closer. During the weekend, Offenburg is full of French guests who come here to shop. The whole region, including the retail indus-try, benefits from the proximity to France. We begin to notice increasing French in-terest in real estate and our companies are increasingly working with French firms. We notice that German craftsmen are in high demand in the Alsace. The French employment agency, the Maison d’Emploi, includes the German side in its regional employment analysis because it has real-ised, that this is where the jobs are. And last but not least, the arrival of the TGV-Est in Strasbourg connecting the Alsacian metropolis with Paris was celebrated on both sides of the Rhine.

The newest project to increase cross-border cooperation is the planned establishment of the Upper Rhine European Metropolitan Region. What is the aim of this project?

We have begun to discuss the establishment of an Upper Rhine European Metropolitan Region which is to stretch from Karlsruhe in the north to Basel in the south. It will

include the German communities on the Upper Rhine, the Alsace in France and the Canton Basel in Switzerland. In an era of increased global competition, metropolitan regions play an ever more important role. But we do not have a big city like Munich or Stuttgart in our region, making it dif-ficult to be internationally recognised as an economic powerhouse. By binding the region together — a region with more than five million inhabitants and with a GDP exceeding 180 billion euros — we hope to improve our competitive position and at-tract more companies to our region. 8

subsidies. In addition, our university of ap-plied sciences has 2,300 students. It is tar-geted to the needs of local companies and offers study courses in technology, science and media.

International competition continues to in-crease. How difficult is it to keep companies from moving to low-cost countries?

We certainly face increasing competition. But I also believe, that we witness a change of heart. Companies have begun to differ-entiate and closely analyse which products to manufacture abroad and which products to manufacture here at home. Many global-ly active companies continue to manufac-ture in Offenburg and benefit from highly qualified employees and the know-how available here.

How do you strengthen Offenburg’s competitiveness?

We actively promote economic develop-ment. We are always willing to assist companies and meet their needs. We have established the Wirtschaftsregion Offen-burg/Ortenau (WRO, economy region Of-fenburg/Ortenau). Almost every commu-nity in the Ortenau district is a member of the WRO as are more than 100 companies. We jointly promote the Ortenau and are very proud that we have cooperate closely

“We are always willing to assist companies”, says Edith Schreiner

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Many globally-active companies continue to manufacture in Offenburg and benefit from highly qualified employees and the know-how available here.Edith Schreiner, Lord Mayor of Offenburg

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ContactWirtschaftsregion Offenburg/OrtenauIn der Spöck 1077656 OffenburgPhone: +49 781 968 67-30Fax: +49 781 968 [email protected] us on EXPO REAL 2007: Area B1, Booth 030

the TGV-Est in Strasbourg was celebrated on both sides of the Rhine — Paris now be-ing just a quick three hour train ride away. This excellent infrastructure attracts many companies to the Ortenau.

Strength Through UnityBut in today’s competitive environment, companies demand more than just excel-lent transport links. The region’s three uni-versities in Offenburg, Kehl and Lahr cur-rently count approximately 4,000 students. The number of students continues to grow, while the study courses are targeted to the needs of local companies. In addition, com-prehensive support for existing and future investors is provided by the the Wirtschafts- region Offenburg/Ortenau (Economic Region Offenburg/Ortenau; WRO). The communities of the Ortenau and more than 100 of the region’s biggest companies have joined together in the WRO to make out-siders aware of the excellent opportunities available in the region.

Proud EngineersThe Ortenau is proud of its mechanical engineering companies — many of whom have become world leaders. Products made in the Ortenau can be found almost any-where in the world. Be it shower heads and faucets made by Hansgrohe (see pages 25-28), sanitary ware made by Duravit, Zehnder radiators or Herrenknecht’s tun-nel boring machines. Take the example of

Herrenknecht: Since its establishment in 1975, the company based in Schwanau has become the world leader for tunnel boring machines. Be it the Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland, the construction of the Guangzhou metro network in China, or the 4th Elbe River Tunnel in Hamburg, Ger-many — almost everywhere that tunnels are constructed using mechanised tech-niques, the machines made in Schwanau are being used. Or the Nussbaum GmbH which has approximately 1,000 employees in Kehl. It is not only a specialist for auto-matic parking systems but also a supplier of car towers. Without its automotive lifts the iconic Smart Towers, key marketing tool of DaimlerChrysler’s Smart brand, would not exist. Today, Nussbaum has expanded into new fields and manufactures lifts for heavy vehicles such as trams and trains.

Most outsiders are probably surprised to find the headquarters of one of Germany’s largest media companies in the region. Hu-bert Burda Media employs 2,800 people in Offenburg and stays committed to its roots: In 2005, the company invested 30 million euros in a new printing plant in Offenburg which churns out up to 600 million pages per day. The newly renovated Hubert Bur-da Media Tower has become Offenburg’s landmark.

Natural BeautyEven though the Ortenau has successfully branched out into new sectors, forestry remains important for the region. With 84,000 hectars covered with forests, the Ortenau is the biggest timber supplier in Baden-Württemberg. And the beautiful Black Forest is one of the reasons for tour-ists to come. In 2006, almost 2.8 million overnight stays were registered in the re-gion. Besides the Black Forest itself, the region has many attractions: The Europa-Park Rust, Germany’s largest amusement park; The Vogtsbauernhöfe, an open air museum that consists of up to 400 year old farmhouses and presents how people used to live and work in Black Forest farmhous-es; castles such as the Schloss Staufenburg in Durbach.

Both the high quality of life as well as the excellent opportunities continue to at-tract not only tourists, but also companies and employees to the Ortenau. With its economic growth set to contiue, the Orte-nau remains optimistic about its future. 8

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Hydro supplies aircraft maintenance technologyC WRO

Ortenau seeks to become a centre for renewable energyC Offenburg

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The Audi AG plant at Neckarsulm is the largest employer in the Heilbronn-Franconia region. In 2006, a total of 262,851 cars rolled off Audi’s assembly lines at NeckarsulmC Audi AG

Medium-sized and small villages and towns meander the rivers Neckar, Main, Tauber, Kocher and JagstC Andreas Scholz

The fi rst jeans to be produced outside of the US were made in Künzelsau. Today, the family-run company Mustang is one of Europe’s leading jeans brandsC Mustang

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NUMBERS EXPORT CHAMPION

them are Würth, Weinig, Marbach, Läp-ple, Schunk, Huber, Illig, Fibro, Landerer, Dieffenbacher, R. Stahl, Bausch + Ströbe-le, Groninger, Voith, Schubert, Sigloch, Kärcher, Wittenstein and Bosch.

Earlier this year “Wirtschaftswoche”, Germany’s leading business magazine, de-cided to research how competitive German industrial locations actually are. The results were surprising: it turned out that Heil-bronn-Franconia’s Künzelsau, the heart of the region, was one of the towns which fi g-ured at the top of the national ranking, and this in most categories.

Strong Local TiesThe sheer number of global leaders crowd-ing this one spot, its export ratio and em-ployment rate, low public debts as well as the low crime rate — many factors spoke in favour of the small town. This in turn was perceived as good enough a reason for the Düsseldorf-based magazine to send its jour-nalist Lothar Schnitzler — used to check-ing out growth centres in India or China — to the region. This is where the Rhine-land reporter met companies’ founder and

directors and where he found himself taken by surprise looking around factories, ware-houses and local cultural institutions which support the companies. “Short distances, personal networks, a daring entrepreneur-ial attitude and industrious employees”, is how the “Wirtschaftwoche” sums up the region’s secret of success.

Though, neither the regional public administration nor the local companies have forgotten that the rise to the current top position is a relatively recent one. The founding of companies, persevering and eventually growing in this pastoral coun-tryside which had known rural exodus and emigration — these shared experiences do leave their mark.

There is a basis of prime importance for the functioning of the Heilbronn-Franconia network: strong local ties — ties between neighbours and frequently ties linking in-dividuals, families and companies, also ties to the location, the land where a generation of founders grew up together — all these factors play pivotal roles. Here networks work, in practice, they are not just an in-gredient of some cluster theory.

But it is not only the stories of how com-panies were founded and gradually grew which speak of the region’s long road to economic development and success. A look at the preceding decades’ export figures clearly shows the excellent integration into the world market, an integration which has distinctly stimulated regional growth.

Importance of DialogueOver the years, the region has joined a Eu-ropean network of business promotion en-tities, local marketing agencies, universi-ties and industrial federations. A backbone of the integration has been a limited com-pany, the Wirtschaftsregion Heilbronn-Franken GmbH, headed by its chairman, Heilbronn mayor Helmut Himmelsbach, and by the agile general manager Steffen Schoch. The idea is that small and medi-um-sized companies may also benefi t from the bigger companies’ personal contacts and networks. When it comes to develop-ing tools for this new networked world, the region’s companies and business pro-motions entities are certainly not short of new ideas.

Exports of the manufacturing industry between 1973 to 2001:Baden-Württemberg + 704

Heilbronn-Franconia + 1,139

Export quota of the Heilbronn-Franconia region in 2004:

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we get involved in controlling and we also provide strategic advice”.

Business promotion agencies and local authorities have — successfully — counted on the loyalty and the personal commit-ment of the successful founders and their families. Most global leaders have excel-lent connections to the foreign markets. Why not utilise them for the benefit of the region? It is yet again Würth that acts as a model, this time promoting companies of the region. The manufacturer serve the Italian market from their Swiss Arlesheim location and it is there that, on the occasion of suitable company events, Würth ap-proaches potential partners and investors, thus offering new and interesting contacts in the European core market Switzerland/Northern Italy to the companies at home.

Given that in the booming region, en-gineers are beginning to get scarce, the region supports the recruiting process with a graduates’ job fair — in the snow. The regional job fair business promotion agency — which is the largest of its kind in Germany -— reports 1,000 vacancies. To remedy the situation, the agency now invites company representatives and gradu-ates of the majority of German universities of applied sciences to the South Tyrolean glaciers. During a weekend of skiing and snowboarding at the foothills of the Ortler mountain, participants are expected to con-nect not only with glacial snows and Glüh-wein, i.e. mulled wine. The Heilbronn-Franconian networkers intend to secure for themselves the best brains, for a global future. 8

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To this effect, local companies join forces making direct use of synergies. The plastics industry, for instance, offers a platform al-lowing members of the sector to exchange information or to discuss possibilities for cooperation — the Kunststoff-Dialog. The Controlling-Dialog discusses growth strat-egies. There is the Gründerarena, too. The “Founders’Arena” is an association of tech centres, “foundation centres” — i.e. centres providing support for start-ups, as well as centres for technology transfer — aim to market ideas and innovations.

A Novel IdeaThe Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn GmbH & Co. KG (ZFHN) for instance invests in local companies with ideas which promise a good market potential; companies pre-pared to move to the Heilbronn region are considered as well. “We are no classi-cal venture capital fund”, explains ZFHN’s general manager Thomas R. Villinger. “We are interested in a long-term coopera-tion with the companies in our portfolio, cooperations that last at least seven to ten years, and we are ready to give them our full support.” The fund focuses on national as well as on European and other interna-tional companies promising to grow; sec-tors range from industries, automation, op-tics, to life sciences, material sciences and energy. The fund’s capital does not come from investment funds, banks or the state but from private investors. Villinger un-derlines, “we see ourselves as partner entre-preneurs who provide support in terms of capital as well as via our regional networks,

Mahle supplies the world’s automotive industry with air filters made in Oehringen C Mahle

More often than not busi-ness success stories are set against a scenic backdropC Andreas Scholz

ThyssenKrupp Drauz Not-helfer: supplier of carbody manufacturing equipmentC ThyssenKrupp

The Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn invests in local companies with ideas which promisea good market potential.

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“A Vibrant Curiosity”Succeeding through own initiative

Globalisation 2.0The specialist company for assembly materials Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG has pioneered internationalisa-tion. As early as the 1960s the Künzelsau firm started founding subsidiaries abroad. This pioneering attitude has, however, not affected the company’s ties to the region and its people. “We do owe very much to the region and it is a matter of course for us tocombine our visions with concrete actions and to take on social responsibil-ity”, says Bettina Würth, chairwoman of the Würth-Group’s advisory council.

INTERVIEW Stefan Brunner

In our times globalisation, global networks and increasing competitve pressures predominate. How do you manage to remain competitive in Künzelsau?

The Würth-Group does not perceive glo-balisation as a danger but as an important opportunity. Very early, in the 1960s — people did not talk about globalisation then — we started founding subsidiaries abroad. Today we do business on all con-tinents. To always be one step ahead of our competitors is one of our ongoing aims. Frequently it is the countries themselves which signal us ideas that lead to the foun-dation of subsidiaries, and when it comes to developing these subsidiaries, our local managers work independently and act on their own initiative. We think that this pronounced decentralisation is a basis of our success. Only in this way can we re-main flexible, adapt to the markets and to customers’ requirements as best as we can, and this is how we manage to stay competi-tive. This decentralisation also enables us

to take into account different cultures and mentalities. Top quality, fast service and a sense of commitment are inextricable parts of our standard — no matter in what coun-try.

“Continuous innovation” is part of your company’s philosophy. How do you promote creativity on a day-to-day basis in your company?

As far as our product range goes, Würth uses a number of elements in parallel to promote innovative management — our product advisory council and the customer advisory council are just two of them. We have a range of over 100,000 products and every year 8,000 new products are added to our product line. A great number of products gets modified, improved and relaunched, slow-moving lines are aban-doned. All our products are subject to stringent quality control — this is what the strength of our brand rests on. We con-stantly keep an eye on customers’ needs, and our attentiveness ideally enables us to offer a solution before a problem on the customer’s side even arises. To this end, it is vital for us to be totally alert and open to our customers’ suggestions. Our success is obvious: about 40 percent of the Würth-

Group’s turnover is achieved with products less than five years old. At the end of the day, though, our innovative strength does not only rely on management decisions, we also benefit from the imagination and crea-tivity of our over 60,000 employees. This is why we keep motivating our employees through our philosophy which emphasises openness and a sense of “a vibrant curios-ity” — the motto we have been following in 2006 and 2007. We want people to act on their own initiative.

Is the Heilbronn-Franconia region an innovative home?

Heilbronn-Franconia is characterised by pronounced economic activity. On the whole, what used to be Baden-Württem-berg’s poorhouse has turned into one of the most attractive industrial locations in Southern Germany. And, at present, future trends seem to continue to be positive. In addition the attitude in the region is very down-to-earth. From my point of view this has been an absolutely decisive factor for the success of the Würth-Group, our corporate culture is characterised by this down-to-earth way of being.

How do you feel tied to the region?

We owe very much indeed to this region and we do consider it as a matter of course to combine our visions with concrete ac-tions. In this sense we as human beings and as a company take on social responsibility. This has resulted in the Würth-Group’s commitment on behalf of the arts, culture, education, social work and sports. 8

Every year 8,000 new products are added to our product line.

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CLUSTERS & MORE

WÜRTH — A VIBRANT CURIOSITY

C Würth


CLUSTERS & MORE

TUTTLINGEN

Tuttlingen Surprises… Global centre of medical technology

Tuttlingen is a prime business location with more than 300 years of tradition and perfect prospects. More than 20,000 jobs underline its economic strength — Tut-tlingen’s unemployment rate is less than half the German average. Upon closer in-spection, one realises that Tuttlingen not only develops and manufactures medical technology. Instead, there is a healthy sec-toral mix with distinct strengths in techno-logically-demanding research, development and production. The large and continu-ously increasing number of medium-sized companies is striking.

Global PlayerThe “global centre of medical technology” has a 130 year long tradition and is among today’s global players in terms of innova-tion, trends and advances in medical tech-nology. Tuttlingen has formed a unique cluster in medical technology, whose foun-dation was laid by the company Jetter & Scherer which established the fi rst medical technology factory in Tuttlingen. Today, the world-famous company operates under the name Aesculap AG & Co. KG — a sub-sidiary of B. Braun Melsungen since 1999. Other well-known Tuttlingen-based com-panies followed and further strengthened the city’s role as one of the prime locations for medical technology: Among them, the Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG, the world’s leading manufacturers of endoscopes, the Henke-Sass Wolf GmbH, the Berchtold GmbH & Co. or the Gebr. Martin GmbH & Co. KG — just to mention a few.

Today in Tuttlingen and its districts Möhringen, Nendingen and Eßlingen ap-

proximately 400 businesses are directly in-volved in the manufacture of surgical and medical devices. In addition, numerous companies such as toolmaking, polishing or galvanising companies serve as suppliers. Today as in the past, the continued success of Tuttlingen’s businesses on the national and international markets is based upon the high level of quality and the development of innovative high-quality technological products and manufacturing processes.

Due to the importance of the medical technology sector and to ensure the sector’s future, the city has undertaken a number of steps. For instance, in fall 2003 in close cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Reutlingen, leading companies, and the city and county administration a Master of Business Administration in “Medical Devices and Healthcare Manage-ment” was established in Tuttlingen. This study course is specially designed to com-municate management expertise to junior staff in the medical technology and health-care sector.

Successful TransformationThe successful transformation of Tuttlin-gen into the prime address among business locations is fi rst of all the result of the work of determined entrepreneurs, resourceful engineers and highly-qualifi ed employees. The city of Tuttlingen creates business-friendly conditions — and offers more than just commercial real estate and low taxes: Through comprehensive support of modern educational institutions, the city plays en-sures that its sectors of the future can count on a new generation fi t for the future. 8

Healthy outlookTuttlingen, the modern and family-friendly city, is well-known both as future-oriented business location as well as a rising cultural centre in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg region.

ContactStadt TuttlingenWirtschaftsförderungRathausstraße 178532 TuttlingenPhone: +49 7461 99-0Fax: +49 7461/ 99-410wirtschaftsfoerderung@ tuttlingen.de www.tuttlingen.de

Tuttlingen’s picturesque city centre with its market square and city hallC Stadt Tuttlingen

Today, approximately 400 business are directly involved in the manufacture of surgical and medical devicesC Stadt Tuttlingen

With the Stadthalle, Tuttlingen has one of the most modern congress centres in Baden-WürttembergC Stadt Tuttlingen

companies involved. There are, for example, problems at customs; time and again obsta-cles pave the way to certifying and licensing products, and procedures for applying for work permits are complex. As a neutral and independent organisation, the Chamber of Commerce Germany-Switzerland works hard all year round to help overcome exist-ing and potential obstacles opposing the ex-change of goods and services. Every single difficulty deserves to be paid attention until it is overcome.

Yet it is good not to lose sight of the overall situation, but to consider the foreign balance of trade and compare the situation to the difficulties that access to many other international markets presents. One then

reaches the conclusion that, thanks to the free trade agreement and to bilateral agree-ments, Switzerland is one of the most open export markets for German companies, and this right at our doorstep. So commitment does pay off.

Thanks to the free trade agreement and to bilateral agreements, Switzerland is one of the most open export markets for German companies, and this right at our doorstep.

“

”

LOCATIONS

SWISS CONNECTIONS

Ralf J. Bopp, Director, Chamber of

Commerce Germany-Switzerland

Chamber of Commerce Germany-Switzerland


Science CityUlm has more to offer than just cathedrals and romantic spots

LOCATIONS

ULM

The city of Ulm is first and foremost known for its many tourist attractions such as Ulm “Münster” Cathedral with the highest church spire worldwide, the romantic fish-ermen quarter or the beauty of nature in the close Swabian Alp. And not to forget about the traditional events such as the yearly fishermen joust at the Danube. But the city of Ulm also enjoys a good reputation as Sci-ence City. Science meets research and econ-

omy — since 20 years, the Science Park in Ulm is a matchless recipe for success.

Establishing a Science City

How it all began. Ulm has undergone an economic crisis in the mid-eighties. Indus-trial companies such as Videocolor, Iveco Magirus and AEG-Telefunken dramatically reduced thousands of jobs. The city tried to find a way out of the recession and to revive

Science is Ulm’s future

The public knows the city

of Ulm as attractive loca-

tion for short-term tourists

which are fascinated by the

many historical buildings

such as Ulm “Münster”

Cathedral. But the city

owns an unique science

park as well. Here, science

and economy are deeply

cross-linked thus ensuring

a steady growth of innova-

tion and jobs.

Text: Andreas Scholz

the job market. What could be done? One agreed to be not totally dependant from the branch of industry any longer. Baden-Württemberg’s former prime minister Lothar Späth, the earlier Lord mayor Ernst Ludwig, Theodor M. Fliedner from Ulm University and Edzard Reuter, the former chairman of DaimlerChrysler, were just one of the driving forces of turning Ulm into a service and science centre. They intensively discussed about the possibilities of cross-linking science and economy in Ulm.

Soon they found the adequate location for the ambitious project: The spacious area of Ulm University seemed to be the right place for establishing a Science City. Con-servationists and the Greens were at first afraid of this idea. The establishment of a large Science City could probably cause harm to nature. Moreover, some opinion makers predicted the worst case that com-panies will only abuse the university in-cluding its skilled scientists and students as supermarket for high tech solutions. In the end, the city’s vision prevailed. The vision of constructing a significant part of Ulm’s future economic power was seductive.

Twenty years later, the area ‘Oberer Es-elsberg’ with the Ulm University as central figure is still growing. Nowadays, the Sci-ence City unites the Ulm University, the University of Applied Sciences, extra-fac-ulty research facilities, industrial research, several clinics and the Science Park I+II. Moreover, there are schemes to even realize the Science Park III which is thought to ex-tend to approximately 40 hectare! This is largely due to the positive effect of Science City’s first boom in the 90s. More than 100 millions of euros have been invested in Sci-ence City so far. All this turns the Science City into a real agglomeration of compen-tence, innovation and know-how. The repu-tated Ulm University and Ulm’s Univer-sity of Applied Sciences with its motivated students, highly-equipped laboratories and modern research facilities — companies highly profit from this knowledge transfer, of course. DaimlerChrysler and Nokia un-fortunately for bad news at present if you

The Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft

Ulm mbH was founded to help

companies find appropriate

locations for their businesses

C Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft Ulm mbH


The Science City has many requests from small start-ups in research as well as from established medium-sized development companies.C Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft Ulm mbH

“

”

LOCATIONS

ULM

think of Bochum — the Mobile telephone company provides successfully installed re-seach centres in the Science Park. Further target groups of Science City are software manufacturers, dental product firms, service providers which concentrate on research and development and companies doing business in the fields of information technology, en-ergy technology, biotechnology and traffic technology, for example.

The Individual Modules of Science CityUlm University is the core of Science City. Its main focus lies on interdisciplinary cross-linking of research. Nowadays, the interdisciplinary cross-linking of research exists under one umbrella. Medicine, den-tistry, physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics make up the most significant component parts of Ulm University. New faculties have been continuously introduced in recent years — such as the computing faculty or the engineering department. Moreover, fresh field of studies like electri-cal engineering or biomedical technology sharpen the university's profile even more.

In addition, the University of Applied Sciences decided for upgrading the branches energy management, mechanical engineer-ing and communication technology. The study course business economics — offered by the University of Applied Sciences in Neu-Ulm — just complements the field of studies of the neighbored city Ulm.

Nextly, extra-faculty research facilities run practical research in cooperation be-tween economy and university. Support-ing organisations in private enterprise and the state push the steady development of the extra-faculty research facilities. Fields of activities of the extra-faculty research facilities are solar energy, laser technology, media research and finance, for example. The recreational value of the science park is made up by the generous botanical garden of Ulm university. On request, biologists offer a deep insight into the flora und fauna and explain interested tourists and students current ecological coherences.

Daimler Strongly Operates Here

What is more, the Science Park offers a lot of space for industrial research. The Daimler research centre with 900 employees is the largest centre on the ground. The former AEG research centre has therein been in-

tegrated. Here, the Daimler company and scientists try to develop tomorrow's intel-ligent car systems among other things such as systems engineering in fuel cell, safety systems, surface engineering and query-reply systems. Other companies on the grounds deeply cooperate with scientists in the fields of microelectronics, basic materi-als, environment, information technology and energy research — there really seems to be no limit for the Science City's fields of research.

The Science Park I and II are two further characteristic modules of Science City. They both stand as synonym for commercial zones within the city’s science orientated sectors. Roughly 50 companies with approximately 2.000 employees are doing business here — little innovative companies as well as research and development companies. The Edison-Center in the neighbored bavarian city Neu-Ulm documents the large offer of useful areas in the Science City.

The university hospital marks a further important basis of the Science City in addi-tion to the universities and the Universities of Applied Sciences. Roughly 5.500 em-ployees, 1.100 beds, modern medical equip-ment and competent medical scientists provide for the patient’s upgraded medical care. The university hospital’s medical full supply is complemented by the cooperation

with the rehab hospital, the DRK’s central agency for blood donation and the Federal Armed Forces Hospital.

Pushed Location Marketing

To summarize, the Science City provides for tremendous potential capacity. Further-more, approximately 8.500 places of em-ployment have been created in the Science City so far.The city of Ulm is the most im-portant promoter for the continous growth of Science City, of course. The city council tries to offer flexible administrative solu-tions for companies interested in settling down in the Science Park, for example.

So the Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft Ulm mbH, a civic association, has been founded with great foresight to boost com-panies in finding the appropriate location for its businesses in Science City right from the start. “We have many requests from small start-ups in research as well as from established medium-sized development companies. All this provides for a balanced industry mix”, says Christian Bried, Pro-jektentwicklungsgesellschaft Ulm mbH, marketing and leasing. This is documented by companies such as the japanese Takata Corporation, a producer of passenger pro-tection or the finnish company Nokia, a global player in the mobile telephony industry — they all want to profit from ›


Science City’s vast know-how. “Ulm’s geo-graphical position between the big cities Stuttgart and Munich is perfect if you know that the automobile industry both delivers DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart and BMW in Munich. So Ulm is close to both custom-ers”, confirms Otto Sälzle, chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce and Head of organization at Ulm Innovation Region.

In addition, the city of Ulm continu-ously improved the infrastructure over the years. The city’s favourable geographical position of being located in the heart of Eu-rope and its proximity to the metropolitan regions Stuttgart and Munich strengthened its state of being an important junction. The spacious and modernised rooms of

LOCATIONS

ULM

Further information

www.innovationsregion-ulm.de

We knew beforehand that we were well positioned in the examined areas. But now we have it in cold print,” explains the Dis-trict Administrator and Chairman of the In-novation Region, Heinz Seiffert. According to the study the Innovation Region has five central competence areas in which a total of 59,000 people were employed in 2005: the metal, mechanical engineering, commercial vehicle assembly, logistics, and pharmaceu-ticals/health industries. This equals a share of 35 percent of the total number of people employed in the region.

The competence area pharmaceuticals/health with almost 20,000 employees is among the competence areas with the high-

Well PositionedInnovation Region Ulm

At the top in the South

A current Prognos study

proves it: The Innovation

Region Ulm, founded in

1997, is excellent in many

respects. On the occasion

of the tenth anniversary the

Innovation Region assigned

the renowned research

institute to field a compre-

hensive examination of the

industry and competence

areas in the region.

est employment rate within the Innovation Region. In the period between 2000 and 2005 the number of employments rose by 1,109 or six percent. The national average employment increase of 4.4 percent is sig-nificantly lower. On a federal basis there are only eight administrative or urban districts with a higher number of employees in this field.

High Employment Rates

The Innovation Region Ulm is also very well positioned in the metal and mechanical engineering industries. 11,500 and 11,800 employees respectively put the region in eight place in the German employment

ranking for each industry. In other words: More than one in hundred employees in the metal or mechanical engineering industries is employed in the Innovation Region Ulm. Another finding was that contrary to the regressive industry trend in the period ana-lysed employment could be secured in the Innovation Region.

The commercial vehicle assembly indus-try is closely tied to metal and mechanical engineering industries. In this competence area the region possesses highly specialised companies which along with production take up an important function in develop-ment and service. Going by the numbers of employees the Innovation Region ranks behind 25 other districts; the industry frequency is significantly higher than the national average and the average of many districts.

Logistics is a very similar case. Ranked 25th in this area is also a little further down than in the metal, mechanical engineering and pharmaceuticals/health competence ar-eas but is still worth noting. Another fact is that the employment in the Innovation Re-gion developed superiorly compared with the national average. Due to the favour-able location — centrally located region between the Stuttgart and Munich metro-politan areas, good transport connections — and the strong position in the metal and mechanical engineering industries, which are important logistics users, the generally positive forecast for this industry is particu-larly positive in the Innovation Region. 8

the city’s fair grounds allow the perform-ance of international trade fairs, congresses and events such as the ITP. Together with the city of Ulm, the city of Neu-Ulm, the neighbouring rural districts Donau-Alb and Neu-Ulm, the Ulm Chamber of Industry and Commerce founded the “The Innova-tionsregion Ulm — Spitze im Süden e.V.” — an association for local marketing.

This association holds a key function in the Science City’s track record as well. Its marketing actions contributed to Ulm’s top position in innovation in the southern part of Germany. Moreover, its starter cen-tre, a one-step-agency for start-ups helps in financial matters and working out detailed business plans. Furthermore, the city of

Ulm regularly organises exhibitions and events to keep the citizens informed and to interest young people for the sometimes complex, but promising formation Science City. Indeed, the Science City is proud of its unique scientific landscape. There is really no lack of junior staff in Science City.

After finishing their studies, most of them want to stay in Ulm. Science City of-fers sufficient prospects for personal growth — and Ulm city and surroundings offers a sufficienct quality of life and recreation as — against the national trend — the stead-ily increasing population figures show. 8

›

Ulm.We don’t need many words for one of our most successful regions:

We walk the talk in the Ulm

Inno vation Region. The region is a

stronghold of the pharmaceutical

in dustry, biotechnology, fuel cell

research, commercial vehicle produc-

tion, and mechanical engineering. Ex-

perience the pleas ure of working and

living in and around Ulm by clicking

on www.baden-wuerttemberg.de or

www.innovationsregion-ulm.de

24 Business Baden-WürttemBerg

Clusters & more

rhine-neCkar metropolitan region

Regional TrioIn the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region the future will be shaped together. The region is among the best thanks to its unique trio consisting of an innovative economy, outstanding science and a high quality of life.

Rhine-neckar Metropolitan RegionRegional development as an opportunity

The competitive edge is increasingly real-ised on a regional level. the upcoming glo-bal challenges can only be met if economic, scientific, political and administration forc-es are committed to cooperation. For the rhine-Neckar area the “European Metro-politan region” award therefore means that the cooperation of the regional players has reached a new dimension in recent years.

01

one of the most important conurbations in all of Germany will no longer only be per-ceived as an organic living space, it will be present as an economic area on the map be-yond its own borders.

Top in Germanya number of leading international corpo-rations such as BaSF, SaP, heidelberger

Druckmaschinen or heidelbergCement, a broad range of reputable medium-sized companies such as lamy, Sigma or Welde- bräu and innovative start-ups such as Cy-tonet or BraIN aG have turned the rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region to one of the most important business locations of the Federal republic. altogether the region comprises more than 130,000 busi-

Business Baden-WürttemBerg 25

Clusters & more


›

the Port of Mannheim was able to han-dle 4,600,731 tonnes of cargo in the first half of the year 2008. this is an increase of 383,534 tonnes in the cargo handling com-pared to the first half of the year 2007 with 4,217,197 tonnes. Especially the handling of black coal (1,427,764 tonnes), foodstuff and animal feed (934,316 tonnes) and chemical products (725,900 tonnes) has contributed to the high number of goods handled in the first six months. these goods make up nearly 65 percent of the to-tal cargo handling. In the year 2007, a to-tal of 8,346,029 tonnes of cargo have been handled in the Port of Mannheim.

Mannheim — Heart of the RegionDue to its status as the most populated city Mannheim plays a central role in the rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region. the city of squares alone currently attracts investments in the range of 800 million euros. these investments are not only a commitment to Mannheim, but rather to the entire re-

02 03

The port centre Mannheim/Ludwigshafen is the second-largest inland port in EuropeC Photocase

Prof. Heinrich forces cooperation of economy and scientific researchC MRN

gion as an economic location. In addition, the Planken street of Mannheim belongs to the top shopping addresses in Germany and the city also offers cultural highlights. an outstanding brand, “Mannheim” with an attractive und incomparable profile strengthens the region’s reputation — and a strong international reputation of the rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region in turn promotes the image of Mannheim. Both benefit — this is the core element of think-ing regional.

Outstanding Sciencethe economic success is closely connected with another of the regions’s strengths: world-class science and research. hardly an-other region exists in which striving for sci-entific insight has a similarly long tradition as in the metropolitan region. Germany’s first university was founded in heidelberg in 1386 — today more than 81,000 stu-dents are enrolled in the 21 facilities of the region, among them the university of excel-

Excellence in R&D, outstanding potential for innovation and convincing strengths in the areas life sciences and health — we do have what it takes to be among the top players in the European regions' champions league.prof. Claus e. Heinrich, Board Member of SAP and Chairman of ZMRN e.V.

”

“

nesses and over 770,000 employees subject to social insurance contributions. the gross value creation in 2005 was 61.6 billion eu-ros. More than 56 percent of the goods pro-duced in the region are exported — proof of the international orientation and com-petitiveness of the regional economy. the gross domestic product is 29,000 euros per capita, roughly 2,000 euros above the na-tional average.

thanks to its central location within Europe and its outstanding infrastructure the rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region’s accessibility is ideal. Mannheim’s Central Station, the second largest ICE hub in Ger-many, provides optimal service to the do-mestic and European express traffic network with approx. 160 long-distance connections daily. the rhein-Main airport in Frankfurt is only 31 minutes away by rail. the Mann-heim shunting station, second-largest of its kind in Germany, and the port centre Mannheim/ludwigshafen, the second-largest inland port in Europe, are pivotal switching points in European commercial transportation.

Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region at the Expo Real 2008 in MunichC MRN


Clusters & more


heidelberg or the Centre for European Eco-nomic research in Mannheim are biotopes for innovation and progress. the rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region employs more than double as many people in the research field than the German average.

the region has generated 15 Nobel Prize winners — most recently Prof. harald zur hausen, who received the award for his path-breaking research work on the forma-tion of uterine cervix cancer.

Successful Clustersa key factor of the common regional devel-opment work in the rhine-Neckar Metro-politan region is the setting up of clusters. Examples for successful cluster initiatives are the “Forum organic Electronics” and the “Cell-Based & Molecular Medicine” cluster. Both MrN cluster applications are

among the five winners of the first round of the top cluster competition by the Federal Ministry of Education and research will be sponsored with more than 80 million euros in the next five years.

Within the 2nd Baden-Württemberg Cluster Forum on 3 November 2008 in Stuttgart, the Minister of Economic affairs, Ernst Pfister also announced the winners of the regional Cluster Competition 2008. among a total of twelve award winners were the cluster “Energy & Environment” of the rhine-Neckar Metropolitan region and “nanovalley.eu”, in which the MrN is participating. Both award-winning projects will each receive a total of 300,000 euros of aid money over an initial period of three years from the European regional Develop-ment Fund.

among others the healthcare sector is another area with promising cluster-related initiatives.

Further cooperations between university and non-university institutions and com-panies such as the joint catalysis laboratory Carla of heidelberg university and BaSF, the competence centre “Modern Production Systems” by Daimler, John Deere and Freu-denberg at the technical College Mann heim or the cooperation between DKFZ and Sie-mens supplement the clusters. they act as points of contact between the economy and science and support knowledge transfer and innovation.

But the region has much more to offer: Worms as a centre of the saga of the Nibe-lungs, the imperial Cathedral at Speyer,

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Dr. Peter Kurz, Lord Mayor of Mannheim, wants to attract creative minds C Inka Ziegenhagen

Mannheim, secret capital of pop musicC Staatsministerium

NUMBERS eMpLOyeeS (30 JUNe 2007)

ManufacturingTrade, Hotel and Catering, Traffic

Other Services

Agriculture and Forestry

Total

Mannheim 52,358 37,686 68,245 0,356 158,785

MRN 272,482 166,444 325,003 8,456 772,709

NUMBERS gROSS vALUe CReATiON ANd iNdUSTRiAL ReveNUeS

Gross Value Creation in million euros (2005)

GVC1) per capita in million euros (2005)

Revenue in million euros (2007)

Foreign sales (2007)

Export quota in % (2007)

Mannheim 13,311 43,232 13,514 8,280 613

MRN 61,616 26,108 63,859 35,913 5624

Source: MRN, 1) GVC = Gross Value Creation

›

02

lence heidelberg. Numerous national and international rankings keep proving time and again the outstanding quality of the re-gion’s academic establishments.

a multitude of internationally renowned research institutions, such as the European laboratory for Molecular Biology and the DKFZ (German Cancer research Centre) in

Clusters & more

upper sWaBia


text: Andreas Breyer

globalised CountrysideUpper Swabia doesn’t need big cities to be successful in business terms, and to be an attractive place to live. The re-gion prospers due to its unique mixture of a beautiful landscape, the people with their special attitude towards life, and with mostly family run compa-nies who manage to compete in the globalized world.

C Mende


Clusters & more upper sWaBia

Secrets of the prosperous region Upper Swabia

the Sky is the Limit

Let’s face some facts first: an unemploy-ment rate of around 3.5 percent in the re-gion, a spending power clearly above the nation-wide average, a life expectancy over a year higher than in other parts of the country, just to name some of the hard facts. they go along with a high employment rate among the older workforce, arguably one of the best school systems in Germany and a comparatively good child care. Got your at-tention? then let’s try to dig a little deeper and explore the mystery of the economic success of a region called upper Swabia.

Where are We?In order to put the region on the map we look at Baden-Württemberg from the bird’s eye view, go all the way south and then to the east. once there, we can roughly follow two rivers: the Danube — because further to the west, the Swabian alb already begins — and the Iller, which marks the boarder to the region of allgäu on the eastern side. and since the inhabitants of the city of ulm prefer not to be acknowledged as true upper Swabians, we can here draw a line for the northern direction. the most visible and at the same time most beautiful border is in the south: the lake Constance, at its shore the southern center of the region, the city of Friedrichshafen. From here, we travel north again and find the two other major cities ravensburg and Biberach along the road. Situated to the left and right are the towns with the famous thermal springs, spas and therapeutic baths, such as Bad Waldsee, Bad Saulgau, Bad Buchau, Bad Wurzach and Bad Schussenried, all lovely embedded into a beautiful landscape. a landscape that

is not deserted, but well populated also by younger people. Especially young families enjoy to live in the small villages with na-ture just around the corner and their place of employment in driving distance nearby. Migration of the younger into the cities is not an issue, though. and people do some-thing for their wellbeing, as we will see.

Success Factor No.1: PeopleDrums everywhere! Some with the support of flutes, fanfare horns or even bagpipes, some drumming — unison or together with the heavy looking bass drums. Each group has a different and mostly ancient outfit. Where are we, on a Scottish military campus?

By no means! this is upper Swabia in summer, which means it’s “Fest“-season. and there is no town in the region of upper Swabia which doesn’t have its own, mostly historical “Fest“ that lasts at least over the weekend and in some cases as long as nine days, including parades, packed beer gar-dens and of course marching groups with their drums, pipes and horns.

But that’s not all: a visitor to the re-gion in wintertime might wonder about the strange rituals people execute during the “Fasnet“, the upper Swabian version of carnival. Parades are at the center of the cel-ebrations here, too. only this time, people disguise and wear masks (e.g. as witches) which allow them to behave a little crazier than usual. Many of those disguises and masks have a long history and their origin reaches back centuries. obviously, people in upper Swabia keep their traditions alive and know how to celebrate. If this was the

only odd thing to mention about the re-gion we could say: “have a good time and see you maybe next year at your Fest“. But there’s more to it, as we know from the eco-nomic facts. one factor that positively af-fects the economic success of the region is the mentality of the people living here. So let’s find out what makes a real upper Swa-bian:

there are many things people here have in common with other members of the Swabian tribe, like the typical traits dili-gence and thriftiness one can also encounter in Stuttgart. Plus, with their talent for in-vention they highly contribute to the lead-ing position Baden-Württemberg holds in terms patent applications.

What makes these people special, is a form of rootedness and local patriotism that can hardly be found anywhere else. It is expressed in the already mentioned cel-ebrations in summer and winter, but also in ceremonies being performed due to the still predominant catholic faith. a visitor will find the religious testimonies in the beau-tiful churches along the “oberschwäbische Barockstraße“ and in processions that take place in Weingarten and Bad Wurzach. In Weingarten, on the day after ascension Day, some three thousand horse riders and several marching bands gather together with monks, priests and altar servers for a majestic procession in honor of the holy Blood relic that is preserved in the basilica throughout the year. It is said that the relic contains a drop of blood from the lord. the “blood ride“ attracts over fifty thousand pil-grims each year. Besides this unique proces-sion, the “regular” catholic holidays seem ›


Clusters & more oBersChWaBen

Outdoor expert VAUDE delivers professional equipment for mountaineers and other outdoor enthusiastsC VAUDE, M. Attenberger

Liebherr gear cutting machine. A sample of the company’s wide product rangeC Liebherr

to be celebrated more intense than in other parts of the country, e.g. with processions on the Feast of Corpus Christi and on Palm Sunday.

Christian ideals have also influenced the dense structure of health care institutions in the region, in several ways. Says Dr. Kurt Widmaier, District administrator for the region around ravensburg: “In comparison to the multitude of rehab institutions, here in upper Swabia we are something like the welfare center of the whole country of Baden-Württemberg. historically, this has something to do with the conversion of the monasteries after the process of seculariza-tion. a responsibility the upper Swabians are willing to take even nowadays.”

Transformation into a Top RegionStill, it took the region some time to dis-cover its richness. Back in the 19th cen-tury, upper Swabia was seen as a sleeping countryside with nothing more than cows and grain to get from. only after World War II, when it was cut off from the capital of Stuttgart in the French zone of occupa-tion, people in upper Swabia began to find a new self-conception and responsibility towards their home land. Nowadays, their attitude can best be described as “concerned with traditional values“, with a good por-tion of persistence and a certain amount of stubbornness — the latter one sometimes maybe a little bit too distinctive. Perfect conditions for political conservatism, and thus, upper Swabia is one of the strongest bastions for the conservative party in Ger-many, with an almost guaranteed absolute majority at every election.

the attitude of upper Swabians towards strangers ist not as cordial as, say, in Co-logne, but once they are convinced of the friendly character of their counterpart, their new friendship lasts even longer. and — much like the Bavarians — they manage to live in balance with tradition and innova-tion.

Success Factor No.2: Naturethe second key factor in the economic suc-cess of the region are the specific geologi-cal and geographical conditions. they have always played an important role in the predominantly rural countryside around the three major cities. Some of these par-ticularities went through a deep change in terms of importance and usage over the past centuries, like the huge peat deposits near

Lifestock farming is deeply rooted in Upper Swabia, as this historic picture from a cattle market proves.C Rupert Leser, cattle market in the city of Bad Buchau, 1966

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Bad Wurzach in the “reed of Wurzach“. these were already exploited as a source of energy back in the 17th century. after the black coal came into the region with the finished railroad tracks leading from ulm to Friedrichshafen in the late 18th century, the application of the gained peat changed. Now, the material was used as litter in the growing number of stables, since the use of the acres had altered from agriculture to livestock farming. Nowadays, both applica-tions are not used anymore. Peat, though, is still gained in upper Swabia, but now for clinical purposes in the various therapeutic baths located in the towns which carry the title “Bad“ — meaning therapeutic bath — in their names. together with the thermal springs, the peat formed the base of the reputation these clinics have nowadays. a reputation that is not self-evident at all, ac-cording to Dr. Widmayer: “one important task is, that we don’t miss the trend towards extensive wellness-packages. the new de-mand is not only for the respective baths, but a holistic approach, where gastronomy, sports and culture play an equal role.”

Apple Trees and Other PlantsStill on the trail of the traditional use of the land and its richness, we go just a lit-tle further to the south and enter a region that is not only affected by geologic condi-tions but also by the climatic impacts of the nearby lake Constance. the lake works as a temperature corrective and warms the countryside in winter but also cools the mi-cro climate down in hot summer days. Plus, there’s the ideal amount of rainfall to culti-vate exquisite plants.

Starting with the ones you can eat right from the tree, the brand “obst vom Bod-ensee“ or “fruit from the lake Constance“ is known all over the country and beyond. In the triangle between ravensburg, Stock-ach and lindau (Bavaria), on over 8,000 hectares the “fruit region lake Constance“ marks the second largest connected grow-ing area for apples in Germany. 281,000 tons of apples were harvested here in 2007. that makes the region the second largest planting area for apples in Germany.

But that’s not all: among insiders, the region is even more famous for a plant in which you better don’t bite right after hav-ing picked one. Plus, you might have some difficulties in trying after all, if you don’t have the figure of a giraffe. a more pleasant way to enjoy the fruits of this plant would

be to drink a local beer in — let’s say — Boston/u.S.a., tokyo/Japan or just around the corner in one of tettnang’s restaurants. Breweries all over the world prefer the “tet-tnang aroma hops“. the special quality due to the unique climatic conditions make it coveted all around the globe. two thirds of the yearly production volume of about 1,424 tons the 176 farmers produce go into export. that makes the region number six among the planting regions worldwide.

again, the railroad played an important role in the development of the business. With the connection to ulm and from there onwards into a multitude of destinations, the basis for the international success of tet-tnang hops was laid. Nowadays, over 160 years of tradition in planting hops make the people around tettnang proud of their most famous product. Every two years, a queen

of hops, accompanied by two princesses, is elected. they represent the tettnang hops nationally and internationally, e.g. at fairs or celebrations from breweries. and yes, of course the people also celebrate a fest in summer and worship the plant with special masks and outfits during carnival.

Allergic to Lactose? Don’t Despair!Staying just a little longer in the field of agriculture, there is one more product that deserves to be highlighted in this context: Milk, which plays an important role in the region, despite all discussions of overpro-duction and falling prices within the Euro-pean union. again Dr. Widmaier: “What we have here are ‘power-farmers’, who run their farms on a highly professional, mar-ket-orientated basis. they now very well whether and how they should go for mod-

“Fruit from the Lake Constance” is well-known in Germany and beyond its borders.C Rupert Leser, 1979, Kurt Laib WLZ-Obstmarkt Tettnang

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ern dairy farming, or maybe switch to certi-fied organic cultivation.“

Even here, the upper Swabians found their own approach. Founded in 1929, the ravensburg located oMIra is the largest dairy in Baden-Württemberg, with a con-solidated turnover of 457 million euros in 2007, and with a unique structure of own-ership: It is owned by the roundabout 4,100 farmers who deliver the milk every day. this guarantees shared interests between farmers and dairy, and a milk price for the farmers that is clearly above the nationwide average.

Still, the company remains competi-tive and innovative. the newly developed product line called “minusl“, a whole range of lactose-free milk products, could play a major role in the future of the company. Bearing in mind that in Germany about 17 percent and in asian countries up to 90 percent suffer from intolerance to lactose, the future for these products looks bright.

leaving agriculture behind, some 20 kilo-metres to the south, Friedrichshafen, the only true industrial cluster of the region, is situated on the shore of the lake Constance. the twin towers of the Schlosskirche are the baroque landmark of Friedrichshafen and one of the few remains of the historic city. Since its industrial significance was already high during the Second World War, the city was target of several bomb attacks and destroyed for the most part. the mixture of the almost Mediterranean flair on the lake Constance close to the alps, and the attractiveness due to the international com-panies located here make the city popular anyway, for the 58,000 inhabitants as well as for tourists. In the nationwide ranking of all 440 regions in Germany, Friedrichshafen and its surroundings score number eleven, in the ranking of the number of patents even number four.

Internationally successful companies such as the producer of heavy motors Mtu Friedrichshafen Gmbh (with the parent company tognum aG as a public listed company), ZF Friedrichshafen aG as a major supplier of the automotive indus-try and Dornier/EaDS (also public listed) with high competence in satellite construc-tion, defense technology and airship navi-gation are located here. they all had their beginnings in the airship field. thanks to the high-flying plans of Count Ferdinand Graf Zeppelin, the first of the famous Zep-pelins took off on July 2nd, 1900. today, the newly designed Zeppelin Nt (Nt for New technology) follows in the footsteps of the Count’s genial idea. Its construction company, the Zeppelin Gmbh, is owned by the Zeppelin Foundation, as well as the ZF Friedrichshafen aG.

With the boat and ferry connections to Switzerland and austria, the new “Messe Friedrichshafen” fair and the airport Fried-richshafen presents itself as an attractive and international location for business ac-tivities. the “Messe Friedrichshafen“ is a strong economic factor for the region with over 600,000 visitors from 69 countries and 6,000 exhibitors participating in the 20 fairs annually.

The Backbone of the Economythe region outside the industrial cluster in Friedrichshafen is dominated by the high density of medium-sized and family-run enterprises which all found their niche in different businesses. the entrepreneurial

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People in Upper Swabia cherish their traditions, like the carnival processions with masks and disguises in winter.C Rupert Leser, “Narr” during carnival in the city of Bad Waldsee

Upper Swabia is located in the southeast of Baden-Württemberg

MAPS UppeR SWABiA

Ravensburg

Biberach

Sigmaringen

Stuttgart

Friedrichshafen



spirit of the people here made companies flourish and become market leaders or hid-den champions in their business.

Introducing probably the largest one, the history of the liebherr Group began back in 1949 in the small town of Kirchdorf an der Iller on the western boarder of upper Swa-bia. the founder of the company, Dr.-Ing. E. h. hans liebherr, put an idea into prac-tice which had occupied his mind for a long time during the day-to-day work of running a small construction business: to tackle the major task of rebuilding Germany after the Second World War, a tower crane capable of easy assembly and transport was required. From these beginnings an extensive crane programme rapidly emerged, and grew into a construction machinery programme that is unsurpassed in its extent and variety. to-day, the liebherr group employs more than 30,000 employees in over 100 independent subsidiaries on all continents, with a con-solidated turnover of about 7.5 billion eu-ros in 2007. liebherr also supplies product families in other sectors: For cargo handling there are ship, offshore, container and har-bour mobile cranes; in plant and equipment construction, liebherr is a supplier of ma-chine tools and material flow technology; in the aircraft equipment sector, the Group supplies landing gear, actuation and air-management systems and in the transpor-tation technology sector equipment for rail vehicles. In the domestic appliances sector, liebherr produces refrigerators and freezers. the family business is still in the hands of the second generation, and is jointly man-aged by Dipl.-Kfm. Isolde liebherr and her brother Dr.h.c. Dipl.-Ing. (Eth) Willi liebherr.

What often characterizes family-owned businesses is a long-term strategy when it comes to investments. liebherr is not an exemption, here. the company follows a strategy of international growth, but only under the premise that the traditional lo-cations are being secured and strengthened by these activities. therefore, the roots in upper Swabia are still vivid, all but one of the German production sites are based in or close to this region. In the county of Bi-

berach alone, around 6,800 people work for liebherr, not included the plants in Ehin-gen/Donau, Friedrichshafen, lindau (Ba-varia), lindenberg and Kempten.

Hidden Champion on Pharmaceutical and Biotech Scenes Different business, similar success story: “our core business is based in ravensburg“ says thomas otto, Managing Director of vetter Pharma-Fertigung Gmbh & Co KG. he doesn’t see any reason why the company should move from where it was founded by the pharmacist helmut vetter 63 years ago. Initially the company was a manufacturer of solid dose pharmaceuticals. however, in the 1980s the manufacture of these products was stopped and the company concentrated on the aseptic filling of syringe systems. to-day, vetter is a market leader in its field and a true hidden champion. Worldwide clients in the pharmaceutical and biotech indus-try value the exceptional expertise of the company. Drugs for a wide range of uses, from cancer treatment to multiple sclerosis are being filled here. another valued serv-ice are their Development Services, which offer vetter’s customers assistance over the

”

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OMIRA stands for high quality and innovation, such as lactose free milk productsC OMIRA

Outdoor Experts: Antje von Dewitz leads VAUDE towards a successful futureC VAUDE

Jürgen Otto has no reason to complain about the location and market position of Vetter PharmaC Vetter Pharma

The qualification of our employees in Ravensburg is unique. If we expand abroad, it will be done to secure the jobs.Thomas Otto, Vetter Pharma-Fertigung GmbH & Co. KG

”“

complete live cycle of a product. Especially when pharmaceutical companies face up to the challenges of patent expiry, this is be-coming an important issue.

Says otto: “the qualification of our employees here in upper Swabia is unique and many of them are with the company their entire career. In addition, the city of ravensburg is very helpful and invariably allows us the opportunity to realize our expansion plans close to our headquarters. this has helped vetter to grow and to of-fer more employment opportunities to the local population. It also lets our customers take advantage of vetter’s multi-site strat-egy for risk mitigation purposes. Given the fact that we are sole supplier for some of the world’s leading pharmaceuticals, this is a major consideration for our clients and a



tribute to vetter. Quality has always been our key criterion when considering our business — costs are an important element, but not everything.”

vetter does not rule out the possibility of expanding abroad. Says otto: “We oper-ate in a truly global environment and this has to be taken into account considering that China and India will become more in-dustrialised in the next decade. however, if we expand abroad, it will be done always to secure the jobs here in ravensburg and not to substitute them. loyalty to the local area

plays an important role for the descendants of the founder who still own the company.“ vetter Pharma already has a very successful sales office in the united States, which has taken advantage of the burgeoning biotech industry there.

asked about the reasons for the success of businesses in oberschwaben, thomas otto cites the high density of medium-sized and family run companies. they tend to be efficient, flexible and competitive. as a result, this mix of different types of medi-um-sized enterprises makes oberschwaben

overall resistant to an economic crisis. But he admits “that it’s also the mentality of the people here — we have innovative and dedicated workers and this is what makes companies successful“.

Outdoor Expertstettnang was already in the focus earlier due to the famous plant that’s appreciated by all beer lovers. It’s worth to return once more and discover what came out of the fusion between the passion for hiking and mountaining of a certain albrecht von De-witz, and his entrepreneurial spirit.

Beautifully embedded into hills, hops gardens and apple trees, lie the headquar-ters of vauDE, one of Europe’s leading manufacturer for outdoor equipment. the company’s name is nothing else but the ini-tials of the founder pronounced in German.

With a worldwide distributed product range, from functional wear, backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, side bags for bicycles, trekking shoes to hiking sticks, camp-ing stoves, drinking bottles and climbing hardware, the company offers a professional equipment for mountaineers and everybody who likes outdoor activities. 350 people work at vauDE Deutschland and 1,200 worldwide, 60 percent of the turnover is realized in the country and 40 percent abroad.

the spirit of innovation is present every-where, as well as the total commitment to the region. Says antje von Dewitz, head of Marketing and future CEo of the company: “the outdoor-passion of our employees is the basis of the successful vauDE prod-ucts. Plus, we work in a region between mountains and the lake Constance, other people prefer to spend their vacation here. that alone is an ideal condition to bind en-thusiastic employees to the company on a long-term basis and to develop authentic outdoor products.“

and with the “outdoor“, vauDE has its most important international fair each year just around the corner in Friedrich-shafen. Not a coincidence, according to von Dewitz. Friedrichshafen had the most convincing concept for an outdoor fair. the commitment of the fair’s management to the outdoor project, together with the flair of the region, made Friedrichshafen first choice for the annual outdoor fair.

But, not everything is perfect with the location in the countryside, von Dewitz admits. “Negative factors are the relatively

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The photographer Rupert Leser has been going along with the economic and social changes in Upper Swabia for more than 40 years. As a press photographer at the “Schwäbische Zeitung”, he is connected to all the happenings in his home

region. But he is especially connected to the people: he has never arranged them as a motif. He has an intuitive sense of situations and an-tagonisms. Rupert Leser also keeps records of the con-trasts between tradition and modern spirit, between rural life and high society. But he does not only focus land-scapes and people between the Lake Constance and the Danube with his viewfinder. Rupert Leser is an eye wit-ness of the great events of the world: as a young sports reporter he participated at the Olympics in Mexico, he

took pictures of the student activism in 1968 and the fall of the Berlin wall. At home, in Bad Waldsee, the 75 year-old Leser is recently sorting out more than one million of negatives. They will soon be at the disposal of the “Haus der Geschichte”, an institute for the history of Baden-Wuerttemberg, in Stuttgart. Illustrated books with Rupert Leser’s black-and-white shots are out of stock but they are still available at the second-hand bookshop at the Mehlsack, a tower in Ravensburg, or in the Internet.

RUPERT LESER THe eye WiTNeSS

The region is famous for its beautiful landscape. Green hills follow reed lakes and peatland.

A perfect environment to relax and enjoy nature.C Rupert Leser, Bad Buchau am Federsee


weak connections in traffic and communi-cation. Meetings outside our headquarters mostly mean a daily trip for us, we have poor connection for mobile phones and In-ternet. Plus, due to the economic success of the region, it becomes more and more dif-ficult to find qualified personnel.“

the company reacts to that by staying close to the newest innovations in telecom-munication and Internet. Currently, video conferences are being tested. and vauDE puts a strong focus on hr. “When our em-ployees enjoy working with us, the lack of qualified people doesn’t hit us too hard,“ says von Dewitz.

Innovation also in Childcarethis lack is a serious threat, not only for vauDE. Due to the current phase of nearly full employment in the region, qualified personnel becomes hard to find. Due to the demographic development in the country, the struggle to fine qualified people will grow in the future. thus, vauDE makes

big efforts to attract well-educated young women and families. the company has al-ready received several awards for its efforts to make it possible for their employees to combine job and family. Flexible working hours and above all the “vauDE Kinder-haus“, a kindergarden with both children from members of the company and from the town, allow especially young mothers to return to their job quickly. the commit-ment to the region is also expressed by ac-tions like the rescue of the local public out-door swimming pool which was supposed to be closed by officials and is now run by the company. this is true identification with the region and an important issue for a company situated in a rural area.

A Healthy Mixtureof course, even in upper Swabia, not eve-rything is wrapped in cotton candy, includ-ing road construction and the long planned electrifying of the southern railroad to lindau and Bregenz.

But in the end, what characterizes the eco-nomic landscape of upper Swabia is diver-sity, built upon he innovative spirit of its people. together with the beautiful coun-tryside and the mentality of the upper Swa-bians, it is a pleasure to live and work here. and Widmayer explains that there truly is an upper Swabian character. “Diligence, cosmopolitanism and the joy to celebrate are predominate, here. to work hard, to in-vent, but then also to revel — for us all this belongs together. I’m not surprised at all that a recent poll found out that the happi-est people live here in upper Swabia.” the conditions are set to continue the success story. 8

With happy employees, the lack of qualified people doesn’t hit us too hard.Antje von dewitz, VAUDE

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Oberschwaben TourismusTelefon [+49] 07583/331060 · Klosterhof 1 · D-88427 Bad Schussenriedwww.oberschwaben-tourismus.de · [email protected]

The paradise of baroque

Magnificent shapes, colours full of life, architecture representing heaven on earth – that is the Upper Swabian Baroque route. A little yellow putto on green background shows you the way to the commanding monasteries, castles and fortresses between Danube and lake of Constance. Welcome!

071112_OST_DZT_UK_1.0 1 14.11.2007 18:17:50 Uhr


energy Cell

solar City FreiBurg

Energy Cell Baden-Württemberg pt. IV Solar City Freiburg

Catch some raysAnd now the weather forecast for tomor-row: 15 to 18 degrees celsius, and cloudy. the Upper rhine area though is expected to have sunshine with temperatures rising to 25 degrees…” you have probably heard of Freiburg — if only from the weather forecast. the university town on the west-ern brim of the Black Forest gets an aver-age of 1,800 hours of sunshine every year; there is no other german town where the sun shines more often. the Freiburg sun-shine naturally attracts tourists, but there also visitors on business who go sightsee-ing. and they are particularly interested in the city’s roofs. No need to shout it from the rooftops, germany’s uncrowned solar capital paves the way — or builds the roofs, if you like — for what might be the energy supply of the future. leaving Freiburg via merzhauser Straße will take you via the

Schönberg rise to Hexental, the “valley of the witches”. the Sonnenschiff — left-hand side, house number 177 — may indeed be called bewitching. the Sun Ship is where rolf Disch, arguably germany’s best known solar architect, has his office on the second floor.

No magic wand in sight though. In-stead, Disch’s Sun Ship is equipped with state of the art technology — a true mira-cle when it comes to saving and preserving energy. the outer walls are insulated and therefore create a vacuum. In winter the triple-glazed windows let the sunshine in without allowing the warmth to escape. In summer storage batteries built into the ceilings and walls cool down the building down, which means not much running wheels in the electricity meter. When the room temperature reaches 24 degrees, mol-

Solar PowerIn view of the global climate change and dimini-shing fossil fuels, changes in our energy policy are inevitable. Germany’s sunniest city has a vision.

text: Inka Ziegenhagen

Freiburg is the role model for sustainable

energy supply.Rolf disch, solar architect, Freiburg

C Rolf Disch

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Here comes the sun! The heliotrope adjusts its position and turns towards the sunC Rolf Disch

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energy Cell

solar City FreiBurg

A ResearchInternational Solar energy Society (ISeS) Non-governmental organisation, which promotes the develop-ment and technical utilisation of renewable energiesWiesentalstraße 50www.ises.org

B ResearchFraunhofer Institute for Solar energy Systems (ISe) Europe`s largest research institute for solar energy which develops systems, components, materials and processes in the areas of the thermal use of solar energy, solar building,

solar cells, electrical power Heidenhofstraße 2www.ise.fraunhofer.de

c ResearchFreiburg Solar House Germany’s first building to be supplied entirely by solar energy has 145 sqm living space and is not connected up to the mains electricity network Over a three-year measurement period, this demonstration property supplied a great deal of informa-tion on issues relating to energy self-sufficiency and stand-alone energy supplyChristaweg 40www.ise.fraunhofer.de

d Livingvauban district Germany’s first building to be Germany’s most well-known eco-friendly residential area which was developed for more than 5,000 inhabitantswww.vauban.de/info/abstract.html

e LivingSchlierberg Solar estate The residential area (58 apart-ment houses and one living and office block) — designed by the solar architect Rolf Disch — is one of the most modern solar house projects in Europewww.solarsiedlung.de

F LivingOn the Living LaneHeliotrop Solar House The rotating, sun following solar house is designed as a three-storeyed tree house with a photovoltaic system on the roof, generates four to six times the amount of electrical energy consumed inside itZiegelweg 28www.rolfdisch.de

G GovernmentSolar city Hall On the roof of Freiburg’s City Hall a photovoltaic system was installed to stress the importance of solar energy in the city’s energy policyRathausplatz 2-4www.freiburg.de

H WorkingSolar Fashion Story The ladies’ fashion store “Modehaus Kaiser” has been flooted with daylight through a

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Walking on Sunshine Discovering Solar Freiburg

glass roof and a 18-metre-long glass façadeKaiser-Joseph-Straße 172-174

I WorkingSolar Info center The competence centre for renewable energies whichs hosts 45 companys on area of 14,000 sqmEmmy-Noether-Straße 2www.solar-info-center.de

J WorkingPhotovoltaic System Pfizer Pharma The ladies’ fashion store “Modehaus Kaiser” has been flooted with daylight through a glass roof and a 18-metre-long glass façadeMooswaldallee 1www.pfizer.com

K Workingcooperative Sewage Association The new building for the Cooperative Sewage Association was constructed in 1995 in the Freiburg-Hochdorf industrial zone as a low energy building. It is the first industrial property of this type in Freiburg.Hanferstraße 6

L WorkingSolar-Fabrik AG The Solar-Fabrik (Solar Factory) is one of the leading European manufacturers of high-quality solar technology with worldwide trade relations. The company runs three production plants with an overall capacity of 130 megawatts per yearMunzinger Straße 10www.solar-fabrik.com

M WorkingFreiburg trade Fair The roof of Freiburg’s trade fair centre accommodates one of the biggest solar power stations in Baden-Württemberg. On an overall surface area of more than 3,700 sqm, there are 3,800 modules with an overall peak rating of 440 kW — the electricity produced is enough to cover the consumption of 120 householdsHermann-Mitsch-Straße 3www.messe-freiburg.de

N WorkingGanter Brewery On the roof of the private Ganter brewery, a photovoltaic system with an installed peak rating of 70 kW and a module area of 582 sqm has been operating since 1998Schwarzwaldstraße 43www.ganter.com

o WorkingSolar tower At the Freiburg’s new main railway station there is the highest solar power station of Southern Germany — with 240 modules on an distance of 60 metres and a capacity of 24 megawatts per yearBismarckallee 9

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energy Cell

solar City FreiBurg

the impression of the backdrop to a science fiction film. It is the first Plusenergiehaus that was built in germany. Shaped like a cylinder, it is equipped with a photovoltaic plant. Since it has been placed on a wooden pillar, the house can turn towards wherever the sun is, like a flower. the energy used to turn roughly corresponds to that of a DvD player in standby mode.

Disch’s heliotrope and the Solar Set-tlement on the Schlierberg are embedded in Freiburg’s most famous district, the Quartier vauban. the French army used to be stationed in barracks where over the last ten years a residential area has sprung up, which is today considered the epitome of a green and conscious lifestyle. there are no cars in the streets of the 4,800 strong com-munity. 70 percent of all families who live here don’t use cars, 56 percent sold their ve-hicles when they moved there. and there is a reason. In vauban, resident car owners are required to buy a parking space for a size-able 20,000 euros in one of the two collec-tive car parks on the edges of the area.

When it comes to recreation, vauban communal life might seem reminiscent of the 60s — contemporary style. there are flea markets with organic cake on offer, con-certs of classical North Indian music, and parties at which vauban citizens “dance for light”. vauban communal life is of interest to quite a number of visitors, in fact some locals feel that there are too many of them. Over the years, residents have felt increas-ingly annoyed by the arrival of numerous coaches. In order to put a stop to the on-slaught of the curious, the inhabitants of vauban are now planning to circulate leaf-lets and put up signs pointing out rules of conduct, not to be pedantic but in order to protect themselves.

Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)the trend that emerged in some areas of Freiburg is now being used to serve as a model for an entire city in the desert. masdar City is being constructed 30 kilo-metres east of abu Dhabi. It is to become the first city to rely entirely on solar energy

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The Vauban district sets a green example: 80 percent of its 5,000 inhabitants don’t own a carC flickr

Schlierberg Solar Estate: Plusenergy houses produce more energy than they consumeC Rolf Disch

Houses — warm in winter, cool in summer. Modern technology noticeably reduces energy consumptionC Rolf Disch

Two years ago, we were derided by some when we

took the bold step of setting up Intersolar in the USA.

However, we were undeterred because we knew we had

chosen the right strategy.dr. dieter Salomon, Mayor of Freiburg

C City of Freiburg

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“

ecules in the batteries change their state of matter, solids are transformed into liquid, thereby drawing warmth out of the sur-roundings.

and not only do Disch’s houses use very little energy, they are quite literally power stations. the photovoltaic plant on the roof actually generates 36 kilowatt-hours (per annum and square metre) more than the oc-cupants consume.

No Additional Costs, But Additional Income InsteadIt is not just our climate that benefits from this positive energy balance, but also the wallets of home owners. “you can ac-tually get quite a bit of money out of the Plusenergy houses”, says Disch. true, their cost — without solar collectors — is about ten to 15 percent above the price of a stand-ard new building. Still Disch is confident, “the concept will also convince those who just crunch numbers”. the environmental-ly friendly energy supply of the Plusenergy houses as well as the extra income derived from solar electricity have convinced many inhabitants of Freiburg. Behind the Sun Ship, in the “Solar Settlement” am Schlier-berg, 50 residential buildings have already been planned by Disch and realized by So-larsiedlung gmbH.

Disch and his wife live not quite 250 metres away from the settlement — in a he-liotrope. at first the futuristic house gives

›


energy Cell

solar City FreiBurg

and other renewable energy sources with a sustainable zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology. the know-how for this gigantic ecological project is being supplied by the Freiburg Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Sys-tems (ISE). the second largest institute of the Fraunhofer-gesellschaft conducts re-search on and develops technology that is required to supply energy efficiently. this includes the business areas buildings and technical building services as well as silicon and other photovoltaic technologies. It is one of the most well-known solar institutes worldwide renowned, and frequently on the news, for its for its innovative ideas. re-cently, by using new multi-junction solar cells, ISE researchers established an all-time record for the transformation of sunlight into electrical power by reaching a degree of efficiency of 41.1 percent. Conventional solar cells are able to transform only twenty or so percent.

Know-how for Abu Dhabithree ISE spin-off companies have become involved in masdar. One of them is Con-centrix Solar gmbh, a company that split off from ISE four years ago. located on an industrial estate near ISE, Concentrix pro-vides so-called concentrator power stations for sunny locations. While the market is dominated by conventional flat-plate pho-tovoltaic modules made from silicon, the company uses a concentrating optic, i.e. mirrors or lenses, to bundle and focus the sunlight on very small solar cells which then convert the light into electricity, the concentrator photovoltaic technology (CPv). In 2007 the development of CPv earned Concentrix the Innovation Prize of the german Economy.

another bud produced by Freiburg’s creative hotbed is Solar-Fabrik, a company which rubs shoulders with Concentrix on the Haid industrial estate. as early as the 90s, when the solar industry started to boom somewhat hesitantly, georg Salva-moser, in Freiburg, set out unfalteringly and built one of the world’s most modern plants for solar modules. In just ten years, Salvamoser managed to turn the company

03

Recently ISE researchers established an all-time record for the transformation of sunlight into electrical power by reaching a degree of efficiency of 41.1 percent.

kW/year 12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

2000 2003 2006 2009

FIGURE PHotovoLtAIc IN FReIBuRG

60.9 kilowatt-hours of solar energy per capita — in the German Federal Solar League, the Solarbundesliga (big cities), Freiburg ranks second. Source: Town of Freiburg›


energy Cell

solar City FreiBurg | intersolar

A Powerful PreviewThe trade fair Intersolar is the window of the energy supply of tomorrow

Intersolar — trade Fair for the Solar Industry, 9 - 11 June 2010 www.intersolar.com

Solar Ideas Made in GermanyOnce a year in summer the Intersolar Fair in Munich presents the latest innovations in photovoltaics and solar thermal energy. Since 2007, solar products made in Germany have also been on show in California.

Every year in early summer the latest de-velopments and solutions of this growth in-dustry are being presented at the Intersolar fair. last year, on three days, over 60,000 visitors from 155 countries flocked to the world’s largest solar technology fair which focusses on photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies and the use of these technolo-gies in construction. With 1,417 companies exhibiting on a surface area of 104,000 m², the number of exhibitors has increased five-fold since 2003.

Intersolar’s unprecedented success story began in the early 1990s, at a time when solar technology was still in its infancy. markus Elsässer, founder and managing director of the Baden-Württemberg based Solar Promotion gmbH, organized Solar91 in Pforzheim, Intersolar’s predecessor. the response from exhibitors and visitors was overwhelming. Within a few years, the exhibition area had to be expanded, the trade show moved first to Freiburg, later to munich. Since 2000, the Freiburg based

Wirtschaft touristik und messe gmbH (FWtm) supports the organization by managing logistics and technical issues. the cooperation of the two organizing part-ners organizers has also proven to be suc-cessful on the international stage. last year Intersolar was held abroad, in San Francisco for the first time. Plans for exporting the fair to asia are in the pipeline. 8

In 2012 the Baden- Württemberg solar industry

expects to achieve a turnover of 5.5 billion euros

C Solar Promotion GmbH

from a supplier of solar modules only into an international, listed solar technology company covering a wide range of solar products. the fully integrated solar com-pany covers all levels of value creation in the photovoltaics sector. today there are no doubt larger competitors on the market, yet Solar-Fabrik still has its place in history as one of the most important pioneers of the german solar industry.

100 PercentSalvamoser, who was born in 1950, has left the Solar-Fabrik board, and is now, to-gether with architect Disch, spinning a new vision. the aim is to supply the region of Freiburg exclusively with renewable energy by 2035. the founder fathers of the solar industry and the wind energy supplier an-dreas markowsky founded together with other Freiburg companies the aptly named “100 Prozent gmbH” association for this purpose. mayor Dieter Salomon has prom-ised to act as its curator.

as a matter of fact, the city of Freiburg has already supported the vision for years. the recently initiated “freesun” project al-lows the inhabitants of Freiburg to check whether their roofs are suitable for collect-ing the energy of the sun. the project uses airborne laser scan data, and the informa-tion is available on the municipal website. So far, just about one percent of the town’s energy consumption is met by solar panels (12.25 mW). according to a survey by the karlsruhe based company Smart geomat-ics, there is scope for at least 26 percent.

In the so-called german Federal Solar league for cities with more 100,000 inhab-itants, Freiburg, with a production of 60.09 watt per inhabitant, ranks second behind the winner Ingolstadt. yet this near miss is not casting any shadows on the sunny dis-position of the citizens of Freiburg. For one thing, Freiburg stands excellent chances of regaining the leading position. and besides, underneath its numerous high tech roofs, the town also boasts a very picturesque old town centre. a stroll through its cobbled streets is sure to make for a sunny mood, even more so beneath a cloudless sky. 8

›


energy Cell


Energy Cell Baden-Württemberg pt. V: MRN

new Energy

emission-free energy In the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, the two young enterprises GeoEnergy and ergion develop innovative con-cepts for an environmental and emission free energy supply.

text: Inka Ziegenhagen

15 kilometres to mannheim and Speyer, ten kilometres to Heidelberg… right in the heart of rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, one of germany’s biggest economic urban centres, the municipality Brühl is lo-cated. the municipality counting 14,000 inhabitants has a perfect location, not only geographically but also geologically. In a depth of 3,700 metres, approximately 160°C hot thermal water is boiling — this geothermal energy shall soon be turned into electricity and heat energy in the projected geothermal power plant in Brühl. this will provide energy for approximately 10,000 four-person-households.

70 percent of geothermal energy is gen-erated via natural radioactive decay in the mantle and the core of the earth, 30 percent are residual heat from the time of the for-mation of the planet. Since the beginning of the last century, geothermal power is used as a source of energy. It is the only reliable renewable energy source, since it is perma-nently available and independent from

weather and time. Furthermore it is envi-ronmentally friendly. “geothermal power is a form of energy which does not produce any waste, neither emissions nor nuclear waste”, explains Dr. ralf göck, major of Brühl, at the ground-breaking ceremony for the new power plant in march.

GeoEnergy the hydrothermal power project in Brühl is being planned and implemented by the karlsruhe based geoEnergy gmbH. With the application at the board of mines in mainz for searching a location, the huge project was started four years ago. Initially, the ideal place for the future geothermal power plant had to be found. With the help of seismic measurements, which can be compared to the process of developing a medical sonogram, the engineers from geoEnergy produced a geological stereo-scopic profile. In the next step, drilling will show how much thermal water is available in the soil. If the drillings are successful,

Hot Water out of the depth

The Karlsruhe based company GeoEnergy intends

to use thermal water for electricity and heat energy supply. 10,000 households

could be provided with the scheduled geothermal

power plant in Brühl.C GeoEnergy

99 percent of the earth is hotter than 1,000° C. Geothermal heat is a renewable form of energy which is irrespective of the weather, time of day or season.›


Clusters & initiatives

design Cluster sChWäBisCh gmünd

Finding Future Forms

Creative placeSome 150 offices of design, advertising and multimedia agencies, architects and other creative service providers are based in Schwäbisch Gmünd and turn the region into a hotbed of design competence and innovative potential.

text: Esad Fazlic

In Schwäbisch Gmünd, they have worked on design for 600 years now. For insiders it is the secret capital of creativity.


Clusters & initiative


Schwäbisch Gmünd is located in the re-gion of east Württemberg in the heart of Southern Germany, some 50 kilometres from the state capital of Stuttgart. the city centre features historic buildings from eight centuries; its market place and the Mün-sterplatz count as being two of the most handsome spots in Southern Germany. one would not be surprised if the beautiful set-ting had provided inspiration for the town’s creative industry. For quite some time now the town has been considered Germany’s se-cret capital of design.

design offices with over a dozen of em-ployees as well as lone creative freelancers have contributed to the development of Schwäbisch Gmünd into a sort of Silicon Valley of design. a fair number of na-tionally and internationally renowned of-fices and agencies have received numerous awards for outstanding design; some of them are working for world-famous compa-nies. 150 of these agencies and offices are located in the Schwäbisch Gmünd region; in total they number 240 in east Württem-berg where they offer a very wide range of design-related services.

one of the best-known is .molldesign, an agency that has been showered with over 100 international prizes, including, repeatedly, the much-coveted Good design award conferred by the Chicago athenae-um. the list of design offices and advertis-ing agencies also includes names like Hens-sler & Schultheiss or eberle Brand design. they, too, have been honoured with prizes such as the iF design award or the red dot design award. Nubert electronic, a reputa-ble producer of speakers, has gained vari-ous sought-after design awards as well. Not least there are companies whose founders have learned the creative trade in Schwä-bisch Gmünd and who are now putting their knowledge and experience to good lo-cal use. one example is the young, Heiden-heim-based company GuBe, a specialist for the construction of innovative furniture.

awareness of the region’s excellence in design is reflected by the geographical ori-gin of the sector’s clients. only about 20 percent of the Gmünd design offices’ cus-

tomers are located in the region itself, 70 percent of orders originate in other parts of Germany and ten percent of them are placed abroad, both in and outside europe. the sector employs a total of approximately 1,700 artists and other employees who cre-ate a turnover of well over 100 million eu-ros. a school for drawing for goldsmiths and silversmiths was founded in Schwäbisch Gmünd as early as 1776. as the name im-plies, at the time the institute focussed on the work with gold and silver. In 1972 the school became the Hochschule für Gestal-tung Schwäbisch Gmünd (HfG), the uni-versity of design, a university of applied sciences. the university set into motion a development that has turned Schwäbisch Gmünd into the region with the highest per capita number of designers in europe, as far as figures go. the university of de-sign’s best known graduate is no doubt Prof. Hartmut esslinger, founder and Ceo of frog design, one of the most noted com-panies for product design and digital media worldwide.

All about Design at the university of design it is all about design. the dynamic hotbed for design right in the heart of Baden-Württemberg is widely known and highly valued for its exemplary education and training. the most recent addition to the curriculum, in 2007, was the subject of Interaction

design, complementing the courses Com-munication design and Product design. Interaction designers are called for when it comes to making increasingly inscrutable appliances, which we might be in day-to-day contact with, easier to understand. the designers act as mediators between the new technologies and the requirements of users. they develop and design digital tools and information systems like, for example, mo-bile services and media installations (such as for example, hands-on installations in museums) availing themselves of state-of-the-art technology, material and methods in order to create the services of tomorrow. three years from its inception, the course is almost fully booked, proving that there is much interest in Interaction design. the bachelor degree course is complemented by two master programmes, Communication Planning and design as well as Product Planning and design.

Schwäbisch Gmünd design offices and students are regularly awarded with prizesC nubert

The reputable producer ofspeakers Nubert is well-known for both top qualityand impressive designC nubert

01 02

›

Design offices with over a dozen of employees as well as lone creative freelancers have contributed to the development of Schwäbisch Gmünd into a sort of Silicon Valley of Design.


Clusters & initiatives


01

02 03

The students of the University of Design benefit from the excellent reputation of the schoolC HfG

The fem institute has dedicated itself to the research of metals science and surface technologyC fem

The best-known graduate is clearly Prof. HartmutEsslinger, founderand CEO of frog designC frog design

A basic goal of the education at the University

of Design is to not only teach mere technical knowledge but

to lay the foundations for comprehensive wisdom.

› Design has a Future

Problems in the sector are not limited to technical issues nowadays. today develop-ments in society, science and technology and their impact on the environment have become tremendously complex; they call for an understanding of the interrelated-ness of things, seeing an ever bigger pic-ture, and they require appropriate action. the university of design, therefore, aims at preparing and qualifying its students for a wide range of issues in interaction, com-munication and product design, to enable graduates to find innovative solutions to current and future challenges. In this con-text a basic goal of the education is to not only teach mere technical knowledge but

to lay the foundations for comprehensive wisdom. For this reason, the Gmünd Model does not only incorporate the tuition of general knowledge of design, studies and practical work based on scientific research and method work. It also includes the pass-ing on of sound technical knowledge as well as themebased project work — an excellent basis for its graduates’ professional future.

International Competencean optional term abroad is an important part of education and training at HfG. It tends to open up new perspectives, enrich-ing the students’ own creative potential; this tends to result in better job prospects. about two thirds of the students take this opportunity, opened up by HfG’s dense in-ternational network and its close links with international exchange organisations. there are partnerships with 44 universities in eu-rope, the u.S., Canada, South america and asia.

Next to these international partnerships, another key to the university’s success lies with regional co-operations, with compa-nies, institutions and on an academic level. Many a project work and final assignment has turned into a concept ready to be intro-duced on the market. Some of it has been recognized for its benefits in research and is being funded accordingly haptICS and hap- teCH are such projects that are sup-ported by the Federal Ministry of educa-tion and research (BMBF); they have arisen from a co-operation between daimler aG, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial en-gineering (Iao), Faurecia Interior Systems GmbH and Göbel audio, to name some of the partners. another research project is currently being realized in collaboration with the design research lab of deutsche telekom laboratories, Berlin.

the university also relies on a very close co-operation with Paul Hartmann aG in Heidenheim and oberkochen-based Carl Zeiss aG and there are strong links with the Schwäbisch Gmünd university of edu-cation, aalen university (HtW), exper-imental-or (“the operating room for the future”) at tübingen university and the


04 05

The University of Designhas a long history — its origins go back to the18th centuryC HfG

The city’s market place is considered one of themost handsome spots inSouthern GermanyC Schwäbisch Gmünd

department of Health Care Informatics of the German Centre for Cancer research dKFZ. the Institute for applied research that was inaugurated at the university of design earlier this year is likely to provide new momentum. the quality of tuition at HfG is not least mirrored by the numer-ous awards and prizes its students have received. When course work and final-year assignments are presented at competitions, the Gmünd work is often found right at the top in the respective categories. In the past, prizes like the iF Concept award, the lucky Strike Junior design award, the red dot award, Mia Seeger Prize, the Bavarian State Prize for Young designers and the adobe design achievement award have gone to HfG students.

Famous for Gold and Silver Schwäbisch Gmünd is, we have said it, fa-mous for its gold and silver work. For some 600 years, gold and silver in particular have been made into jewellery and related ob-jects. over 50 workshops of goldsmiths and silversmiths as well as jewellery designers have their workshops in the town. Some 20 factories and manufacturers and numerous traders are also located in Gmünd. these numbers clearly show that the tradition continues — jewellery and related objects made from precious metals, especially gold and silver, still play an important part in the city today. Precious metals are, as

mentioned, used not only in jewellery but also in a number of other industries. this is owed to the metals’ characteristic quali-ties but also to the existence of a timehon-oured establishment, the Institute for the research of Precious Metals and Metallo-chemistry, fem, in Schwäbisch Gmünd. the independent and nonprofit Institute has dedicated itself to the research of metals sci-ence and surface technology since 1922. It focuses on the application of various surface technologies, electrochemistry/plating, an-odization and finishing of light metal sur-faces as well as plasma surface technology (PVd, PaCVd). fem also has comprehen-sive facilities allowing the Institute to carry out in-depth examinations of material and coatings as well as materials testing. 8

More information about the Design ClusterWirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbHRegion ostwürttemberg (WiRo)Universitätspark 1D-73525 Schwäbisch GmündPhone: +49 7171 92753-0www.ostwuerttemberg.deStadt Schwäbisch GmündMarktplatz 1, D-73525 Schwäbisch GmündPhone: +49 7171 603-0www.schwaebisch-gmuend.deHochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd (HfG)Rektor-Klaus-Straße 100D-73525 Schwäbisch GmündPhone: +49 7171 602-600www.hfg-gmuend.de

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clusters & initiatives

karlsruhe

Knowledge TransferKarlsruhe has excellent innovation networks consisting of universities, research institutions, and companies.

The free transfer of goods and services in globalised market economies as well as the fact that markets tend to be saturated pose increasing challenges for the local industry as well. The companies intend to combat markedly higher competitive pressure with their own innovation power. But innova-tions do not simply grow on trees. Success-ful innovations depend on the proper bal-ance of use of human, resource and financial capital, but even more on knowledge. ac-cording to studies about 60 percent of the total economic growth is built on invest-

increasing competitivenessInnovation networks increase the competitive-ness and thus strengthen a business location in the long term. In Karlsruhe, the Automotive Engineer-ing Network Südwest (AEN) and the Energie-Forum Karlsruhe are good examples of successful cooperation.

ments in research and development. Inno-vation networks consisting of universities, research institutions, and companies, such as the automotive engineering Network Südwest, which has been initiated by the economic Development agency karlsruhe, or the energieforum karlsruhe, contribute very significantly to increasing the compet-itiveness of the local economy.

for two years, the automotive engineer-ing Network Südwest has had in Dr. klaus Neb a chairman who as the former Manag-ing Director of Michelin Deutschland has

considerable experience in the automotive sector. But there is also another reason why 2008 was an important year for the aeN: the network performed so well in the state-wide competition to strengthen regional clusters that it now receives eu funding. The aeN is open to all companies which operate in the automotive industry, but are not yet members of the network. among these are the classic suppliers, but also out-fitters as well as mechanical engineering and engineering services companies. The aeN offers direct contacts among members and initiates specific projects. The focus of innovation in the next few years will be in resource conservation, with the key topics being light-weight construction, more effi-cient drives, and alternative drive concepts, among others. additionally, connections between companies and research institu-tions will be consolidated and members will be supported in the hiring of qualified manpower. The aeN is also represented at events such as the commercial vehicle trade fair NufaM or the Mechatronic karls-ruhe.

Expert Forum Counsels Company Leadersfour years after being founded by the eco-nomic Development agency karlsruhe, the energieforum karlsruhe — an association made up of 30 research and development institutions and 60 commercial enterprises from the energy sector — today represents the know-how and experience of far more than 220 experts from a wide range of spe-cialist disciplines. conceived as a network for technology transfer from universities and research institutions into companies, the forum now operates as a competent con-sultant for all issues related to active and passive energy generation and energy uti-lisation.

correspondingly, the interest of the members to intensify their collaboration and broaden the perspective of their own enter-prises is very high. Therefore the economic Development agency karlsruhe has kicked off the “hot Spot Tour energy” project. The project offers periodical excursions to

Economy and research — as shown here at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology — work closely together in Karlsruhe: an important location factor for the economic area.

Wenn es um die passende Gewerbeimmobilie in Karlsruhe geht,dann bietet Ihnen die Wirtschaftsförderung die bestenPerspektiven: Mit einer umfassenden Datenbank und vielenAngeboten an Büro-, Hallen- und Serviceflächen schaffen wir Raum für Visionen und ein günstiges Klima für Wachstum.Tel. 07 21/133-73 00, www.karlsruhe.de/Wirtschaft

Hier zählt nicht nur der Blickwinkel.Hier geht es um die besten Perspektiven!

wifoe_spiegel_wirtschaft_#21A93 28.02.2005 14:36 Uhr Seite 1

BBW_270910.indd 22 27.09.2010 15:27:42 Uhr

clusters & initiatives

karlsruhe

successfully realised projects in and around karlsruhe. here interested persons can get information on technology and profitabil-ity as well as on practical experience. The first hot Spot Tour “Solar energy” led the participants to the solar roof of the Stadt-werke karlsruhe and the new administra-tive building of the Volksbank karlsruhe, which is outstanding from an architectural as well as energetic point of view. But non-members can also find out more about the activities of karlsruhe-based companies in terms of using renewable energies and in-creasing energy efficiency. for example, the energieforum’s homepage on the web shows and describes the energy hot spots in karlsruhe on a virtual map. Within the network, companies have joined forces to form an expert roundtable focusing on en-ergy, which reconstitutes itself depending on the kind of queries by investors, project developers, and house builders. In the proc-

ess the energy experts advise and support the planning of new commercial buildings, expansions, and overall refurbishments. The advantage: interested parties are be-ing advised comprehensively and receive all services from a single source.

Providing Energy Consulting ServicesThese are mainly entrepreneurs who intend to invest in new locations or production fa-cilities, or plan extensive restorations of ex-isting buildings or plants, and are looking for systemic turnkey solutions. In order to serve this demand the energieforum karls-ruhe, with its energy expert roundtable based on occasion and customer, has estab-lished itself as a provider of energy turnkey solutions. The consulting services, which are provided free of charge, are arranged us-ing a cross-system and comprehensive ap-proach according to the desires and plans of

the entrepreneur. In other words, the expert roundtable may consist of experts in project and energy management, in photovolta-ics and solar energy, thermal energy, wind and hydro power, or biomass as well as of architects and planners. furthermore local banks as the financing institutions are in-cluded from the very beginning. If needed, even the university of arts and Design can be involved in the planning process — ei-ther to harmoniously integrate the energy technology in the building structure or to consciously highlight the antithesis of con-ventional forms. The panel of energy ex-perts is currently supervising a planned new building designed to be supplied with envi-ronmentally friendly energy with an invest-ment volume of about two million euro. 8

For further informationwww.ae-network.dewww.energieforum-karlsruhe.de

Wenn es um die passende Gewerbeimmobilie in Karlsruhe geht,dann bietet Ihnen die Wirtschaftsförderung die bestenPerspektiven: Mit einer umfassenden Datenbank und vielenAngeboten an Büro-, Hallen- und Serviceflächen schaffen wir Raum für Visionen und ein günstiges Klima für Wachstum.Tel. 07 21/133-73 00, www.karlsruhe.de/Wirtschaft

Hier zählt nicht nur der Blickwinkel.Hier geht es um die besten Perspektiven!

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East WürttembergRegion for talents and patentsIN COMBINATION WITH an excellent infra-structure, sectors such as mechanical en-gineering, process and coating technology make East Württemberg fit for the future. One in five employees work for automo-tive suppliers. These companies benefit from the proximity to important suppliers and numerous OEMs. Three motorways connect East Württemberg with all large centres in southern Germany and make the region an attractive location for production and logistics.

Fit for the futureEast Württemberg is well known as “Pho-tonic Valley”. Photonics is regarded as one of the key technologies of the 21st century. Experts reckon that more than 30 percent of all electronic technologies will be re-placed with optic technologies. More than 50 companies with the global player Carl Zeiss at the centre cover the entire value added chain. They benefit from a unique network of research institutions, skills cen-tres and universities. Companies in East Württemberg not only benefit from the

Stronghold for innovationEast Württemberg is a stronghold for patents. Behind Stuttgart and ahead of the high-tech region Munich, East Württemberg is in second place when it comes to the number of patents per 100,000 inhabitants. The consul-tancy Prognos AG recently underlined the excellent prospects of this “region for talents and patents”.

proximity to the markets, but also from the integration into a network of com-panies characterised by cooperation and healthy competition. Around 600 actors have joined together in the “Zukunftsini-tiative Ostwürttemberg” (Initiative for the Future of East Württemberg) to make East Württemberg fit for the future through 60 concrete projects in the fields of innovation and technology, education and knowledge, labour market and continuing education, infrastructure and regional development as well as economic promotion and location development initiatives.

Its good transport connections, its inte-gration into capable networks and its nu-merous educational institutions make East Württemberg a highly attractive location. With innovative courses such as photon-ics or automotive the local University of Aalen’s course offerings are targeted to the needs of local businesses. In addition, local companies also benefit from the graduates of the University of Cooperative Educa-tion Heidenheim. The university combines secondary education with practical work

ContactWirtschaftsförderungs-gesellschaft mbH Region Ostwürttemberg (WiRO)Dr. Ursula BilgerUniversitätspark 173525 Schwäbisch Gmünd Phone: +49 7171 927 53-0 Fax: +49 7171 927 [email protected]

Stadtverwaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd Wirtschaftsförderung Klaus Arnholdt Marktplatz 1 73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd Phone: +49 7171 603-1020 Fax: +49 7171 603 -1019 klaus.arnholdt@ schwaebisch-gmuend.dewww.schwaebisch-gmuend.de

Visit us on EXPO REAL 2007: Area B1, Booth 222

MEETING POINT

EXPO REAL SPECIAL

01

The Carl Zeiss SMT AG in-vested more than 450 million euros in its new facilities in OberkochenC Carl Zeiss SMT AG


experience. With its University of Design, its University of Education, its Centre for Distance Learning and its State School for the Gifted, Schwäbisch Gmünd is a centre of education.

Numerous investment decisions not only by small, but also by large, globally-active companies document East Württem-berg’s attractiveness — not least because licensing procedures are quickly taken care off. For instance, the Carl Zeiss SMT AG located its most modern development and manufacturing centre for lithography op-tics in Oberkochen. The company invested more than 450 million euros in the new factory. Voith spent 75 million euros on the Voith Paper Technology Center (PTC) combining several research divisions in a unique manner. In 2008, the company’s new, futuristic head office is to follow. And in Aalen MAPAL underlined its commit-ment to the region by building a new ser-vice centre and investing 20 million euros in new facilities for production and logis-tics. The same is true for the electric power tools manufacturer Fein, which relocated its headquarters from Stuttgart to Schwä-bisch Gmünd and created 140 additional jobs in the city. In the same location the Weleda AG intends to invest more than 30 million euros in new factories for the pro-duction of cosmetics.

Opportunities for Project DevelopmentIn future many projects will continue to be developed in East Württemberg. For these, suitable real estate is immediately available. More than 60 companies have located in the industrial and business park “Gewerbepark Gügling” in Schwäbisch Gmünd — with 140 hectares one of the largest industrial and business parks in the region. Large industrial and business parks with direct access to the motorway exist in Ellwangen and Giengen/Herbrechtingen. In addition, a large number of diverse in-dustrial objects and commercial space is for sale or rent. And with its “Zukunfts-initiative Ostwürttemberg” attractive new projects such as the establishment of a pho-tonics park, a knowledge world and the

expansion of the University of Cooperative Education Heidenheim are being tackled. These are just a few of the projects on East Württemberg’s long list.

Schwäbisch Gmünd Changes its FaceLarge investments will change the face of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The city, which is part of the Metropolitan Region Stuttgart and has a catchment area of 150,000 peo-ple, is undergoing a transformation. On an area of 10 hectares surrounding the train station, a new entry to the city, a conven-tion centre and the city park will emerge. A shopping centre with direct links to the city centre will also be built. Also on the drawing board is a comprehensive develop-ment in the area of the train station with a hotel, leisure and service centres. In ad-dition, luxury living quarters are also pos-sible. These plans are being drawn up in light of the implementation of the Landes-gartenschau 2014 (Garden Festival 2014). In the coming years, these are to be realised on the basis of an investor invitation to ten-der. 8

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Advanced research on metals is carried out at the fem Institute in Schwäbisch GmündC fem

Voith’s new head office will change the face of Heiden-heimC Voith

The planned “Gamundia Stadtentree” on an area of ten hectares surrounding the train station will transform Schwäbisch GmündC Stadt Schwäbisch Gmünd

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Documents

textile region

regionthe textile industry

various textile segments

paneuropean textile

heart of baden

technical textiles

head of innovation

major importance