Top Investments of the Year 2020

At the end of every year we ask the economic development agencies of the German federal states to tell us about their most interesting investment projects of the last 12 months. Read the answers below.

Top Investments 2020 in Baden-Württemberg

300 million euros in funding for VARTA

In 2020, the Baden-Württemberg-based company VARTA AG received a funding of up to 300 million euros within the framework of an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI). With this funding, the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWi) and the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg are supporting the battery industry in Germany and Europe, stressing the importance of the sector for the future. VARTA will add the same amount by itself on top. The funding programme, which lasts up until the end of 2024, will help to further expand VARTA's lithium-ion technology, accelerate the development of the latest generations, and bring new products to market. It is a milestone also for the German Southwest on its way to a centre for research, development and production of batteries in Europe. The main focus will be on the transfer of VARTA’s lithium-ion technology to larger battery formats, which can be used in a variety of products, such as energy storage systems or autonomous transport systems, to name but a few. The technology company headquartered in Ellwangen (Baden-Württemberg) has already started to build a pilot line for the new battery format. Production of the first samples is planned to start by the end of 2021. In addition, VARTA will continue to invest in research and development activities for battery cells in special formats, which are increasingly in demand. VARTA is a leader in technology and innovation in the field of lithium-ion cells. The company, which employs 4,500 staff around the world, is expanding its facilities at the Ellwangen and Nördlingen (Bavaria) plants to house even more cutting-edge production capacity.

Essity: 40 million euros for paper tissues based on straw

The global hygiene and health company Essity is investing 40 million euros in an innovative production unit at its Mannheim site, which allows the production of sustainable tissue from wheat straw. The pulp is to be used in the manufacture of high-quality tissue paper products such as handkerchiefs and kitchen paper towels and will improve the eco-balance of these products. Essity is thus setting completely new standards in the tissue paper industry. In total, the plant covers an area of 8,000 square meters across several buildings. A new straw storage facility, covering an area of 10,000 square meters behind the plant, completes the 40-million-euro investment. The hygiene products made with straw pulp will be launched in the second half of 2021. Mannheim is home to Essity's largest European plant with many years of experience in the production of pulp and hygiene products. Founded in 1884 as “Zellstofffabrik Waldhof”, 220,000 tons of pulp are already produced there from certified wood fibers. Starting in the middle of next year, an additional 35,000 tons of straw pulp will be added to replace externally purchased pulp. A special feature of the Mannheim mill is its integrated production: the entire manufacturing and converting process through to the finished tissue paper takes place at this site. The Mannheim mill employs around 2,000 people. This makes it one of the largest employers in the region. The new pulp production facility will create additional jobs and secure existing ones.

Fanuc builds new development centre near Stuttgart

Robotics and automation specialist Fanuc is further expanding its site in Neuhausen close to Stuttgart. The robotics leader is investing more than 20 million euros in a fourth building at the site as well as in a parking garage to accommodate the increased number of employees, customers and business partners. Fanuc has been located in the German Southwest for almost 30 years and is growing steadily. In the past three years, the number of employees at the site has increased by around 100 to about 400. The expansion in Neuhausen near Stuttgart, where the German headquarters and some Europe-wide functions are located, will take place over three years. In the first construction phase, a multi-story parking garage with 270 parking spaces is being built. It will be equipped with a photovoltaic system and e-charging stations for electric cars. Completion is scheduled for spring 2021. In a second step, the previous parking site will be used for the construction of a European development centre. After its completion in 2023, the development centre will provide space for 120 employees. Headquartered in Japan, Fanuc employs more than 7,000 people worldwide with global sales of equivalent to 4.2 billion euros in the past fiscal year.

Roche Diagnostics Automation Solutions GmbH relocates its headquarters in the Stuttgart region

Roche Diagnostics Automation Solutions GmbH is relocating its headquarters to Ludwigsburg close to Stuttgart to create a new basis for future growth, ideas and innovations. At the same time, the first 80 employees have been moving into the new campus in June 2020. This was the starting point for the gradual consolidation of the company's current three sites in the Stuttgart metropolitan region, which is considered Roche Diagnostics' centre of excellence for the development and production of laboratory automation systems. The consolidation of the three sites is expected to be completed by 2022. Roche employs around 16,700 people in Germany in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. In Baden-Württemberg, the company is represented at three sites: in Grenzach-Wyhlen (Roche Pharma AG), in Mannheim (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Roche Diagnostics Deutschland GmbH, Roche Diabetes Care GmbH and Roche Diabetes Care Deutschland GmbH) and in the Stuttgart metropolitan region (Roche Diagnostics Automation Solutions GmbH). Roche is clearly committed to its German sites and has invested more than 2.7 billion euros in these locations over the past five years.

Cross-Industry-Innovation Possibilities shape the Top Investments 2020 in Bavaria

2020 has been a special year. It has panned out rather differently than foreseen and the global crisis, naturally, has influenced foreign direct investment markets. In the face of this, companies focused on growth opportunities in familiar locations. Thus, among Bavaria’s top investments in 2020 expansion schemes or new projects by companies with an existing base in Bavaria or Germany are noticeable. Bavaria, again, proved to be an attractive location for the mobility sector, with projects ranging from battery technologies to aerospace applications, whereby Bavaria’s strong interdisciplinary networks helped facilitate cross-industry-innovation.

Bavaria, the perfect spot for cross-industry-innovation approaches

Today’s buzzword driving most truly significant developments across different sectors in Bavaria is cross-industry-innovation. Identifying analogies, trends or approaches from specific industries and applying them to others forms the key element of the approach. Companies benefit from a wide range of networks and sectoral diversity within the Free State that enable disruptors and start-ups to create and apply path-breaking technologies and solutions with long-term effects to change entire industry sectors and themes. The 2020 top investments reflect this, in particular in the mobility sector.

From Lithium-Ion cells to aerospace technologies: Bavaria’s thriving mobility sector

Bavaria drives and is driven by mobility. There is of course the classical automotive sector with global players like BMW, MAN and Audi. But it encompasses a much wider range of companies and technologies from battery production to aerospace and a number of the top 2020 investment projects  bear witness to that.

VARTA Microbattery GmbH expanded its plant Nördlingen, introducing new manufacturing technology for mass production of lithium-ion cells that power, among others, autonomous transport vehicles. AVL Software and Functions GmbH, a unit of Austria’s AVL Lift, opened a brand-new facility at Roding near Regensburg, comprising an ADAS/AD sensor test competence center with a standardized test field for highly developed sensors and energy-efficient autonomous mobility solutions.  

Germany’s belated but now all the more powerful focus on e-mobility is behind the decision of Israel’s SolarEdge group to set up its SolarEdge e-mobility unit at Nuremberg. The new division will centralize the group’s global e-mobility activities in Bavaria, in particular research and development. By 2025, SolarEdge expects to employ several hundred people at its e-mobility hub.

Among a range of start-ups, two companies, Toogethr from the Netherlands and India’s ZyenaLabs are noteworthy among investment projects in Bavaria.

Toogethr provides a range of products and solutions to make commuting a more sustainable and comfortable operation for employees and employers alike.

ZyenaLabs develops software technologies and solutions for various application fields such as XR, health and safety, operations and trainings for aviation and aerospace, transportation as well as manufacturing. ZyenaLabs, a beneficiary of the “Ois Easy” soft landing package jointly operated by Invest in Bavaria and BayStartup, is based at the brigk makerspace in Ingolstadt, one of Bavaria’s digital hot spots.

The fact that the all-new IAA, the world’s largest motor show, is coming to Munich from 2021 onward, is also a clear indicator that Bavaria is very much a key and future-proof location for advanced and innovative mobility solutions in Europe and worldwide.

Top investments 2020 in Bavaria from the aviation and aerospace sector include a new facility of HPTex GmbH in Upper Franconia and their high-tech reflective metallic “mesh” that is used in the international aerospace technology.  With its base in Upper Franconia HPTex can access the resources and know-how of the Fraunhofer Application Center for Textile Fiber Ceramics TFK at Münchberg as well as the University of Applied Sciences Hof nearby.

A new arrival in Bavaria is Joby Aviation, a California pioneer of electric aviation, especially with its electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft. At its new base at Unterhaching near Munich, its first in Europe, it is close to the University of Munich with its Institutes of Flight Systems and Transportation and Spatial Planning, a potential source of top talent and technological expertise.

AI, Insurtech and the medical sector

Outside the mobility sector noteworthy projects in Bavaria included the AI, Insurtech and medical sectors.

Zelros, a French Insurtech start-up and a further beneficiary of the “Ois Easy” program (Falls möglich, bitte verlinken auf https://www.invest-in-bavaria.com/en/how-we-can-help/ois-easy-start-up-package.html), connects data with insurance models to match artificial intelligence (AI) to the insurance branch. The strong presence of leading insurers and the thriving start-up community in Munich were the key factors in Zelros’s decision to locate in Bavaria.

Ambu Innovation, a unit of Denmark’s Ambu A/S mediacl group, a manufacturer of opto-electronic one-way endoscopes, is expanding its existing operations in the Augsburg region with the establishment of a centralized R&D unit at Augsburg Innovationspark that is to create some 100 new high-quality jobs over the next few years.

A crisis-proof and secure business location

During this extraordinary year, Bavaria and Germany have shown themselves as secure, fast-reacting and crisis-proof locations for businesses. While it is far too early to predict developments in a post-Covid-19 scenario, companies’ experiences in 2020 have shown the desirability of resilient business models. Security, stability and a resource base that enables agile responses to shocks should stand Bavaria in good stead as a suitable business location.

Brandenburg – Driving the Shift to Sustainable Mobility and Energy

Brandenburg is becoming one of the leading locations of Germany’s mobility and energy transition. This attracts more and more investments to the state. The biggest will be the TESLA Gigafactory for electric cars in Grünheide, near Berlin. TESLA now wants to expand on this with a battery factory.

TESLA announces second major investment in Brandenburg

TESLA, global number one in modern e-mobility, is now planning to manufacture batteries as well as electric vehicles in Brandenburg. Construction of the TESLA Gigafactory for electric vehicles is progressing rapidly. The first Y models should be rolling out of the new factory in Grünheide, near Berlin, as early as summer 2021. “Germany rocks,” said Elon Musk on a visit to the construction site. “This is not just a new car factory, it’s a radical new vehicle manufacturing method!” Musk announced the plans in November 2019, with a second major announcement following in 2020 – the entrepreneur stated that he would establish a battery factory in Brandenburg, with a step-by-step increase in capacity and jobs. A real Gigafactory – and the most significant company investment made in Brandenburg since German Reunification.

BASF produces cathode materials for electromobility

Chemical corporation BASF is also part of the German mobility transition. The company is currently building a manufacturing plant for battery cathode materials in Schwarzheide. It also announced the construction of a battery recycling plant at its location in the energy region Lusatia.

US company Microvast wants to produce fast-charging batteries

Microvast Corp., specialising in fast-charging batteries for transporters, sports cars and off-road vehicles, is building a factory and creating up to 250 jobs in Brandenburg’s Ludwigsfelde – and is moving its European headquarters here from Frankfurt too.

Growth Market Defies Corona Crisis

New challenges, new work environments, new needs: in Bremen, as in many other regions, 2020 will go down in history as the year of digital change. Despite the crisis, Germany's smallest federal state recorded 40 foreign direct investments (FDI) with around 252 jobs created last year.

Respectively six and five settlements came from Bremen's focus countries China and Vietnam, in the areas of sales, marketing and services. Asia has great potential as a growth market - and the Far East sees many opportunities in Bremen. Due to the ideal connection to Bremerhaven as one of the largest ports in Europe and the Freight Transport Center Bremen (GVZ) as Europe's leading logistics hotspot, the state is the ideal starting point for Asian companies to do business on the continent.

Goodman also sees in Bremen the ideal location for logistics. The Australian logistics project developer built a logistics hall with an office building. With a total area of ​​around 12,000 square meters, 13 loading units and 3 jumbo bridges, the building is designed for the growing needs of the industry.

Markus Meyer, Head of Business Development Northern Germany at Goodman, emphasizes: “Our cooperation with the Bremen Economic Development Agency concerning the second largest European freight transport center is based on long-term, partnership-based dialogue. The trimodal location offers excellent connections for numerous industries, including contract logistics, the light industrial and automotive sectors and urban distribution, for which we have already planned and built objects. We have developed a total of more than 170,000 square meters of logistics space in Bremen and in the GVZ in recent years and look forward to further projects in this strategically important region.“

About Bremen

Bremen is one of Germany’s largest industrial hubs and specialises in logistics, automotive manufacturing, aerospace, the maritime sector and wind energy. The federal state in northern Germany is home to 670,000 people and is a magnet for investors from abroad – centrally located within Europe, with great connections by sea, land and air, modern infrastructure and a renowned research landscape.

www.bremen-invest.com

Top Investments in Hamburg 2020

Due to the complex effects of the Corona crisis, Hamburg Invest's international relocation business has changed significantly. Travel activities, participation in trade fairs, roadshows with seminars, presentations and one-on-one discussions were completely canceled throughout 2020. By hosting and participating in webinars for different target groups in different source markets and regions, it was only possible to establish new contacts to a limited extent.  Delegation visits by international investors to Hamburg couldn’t take place either. However, despite all these difficulties described above, the following companies – beside others - were able to settle in Hamburg in 2020.

Archiclad GmbH

The Turkish company is active in the construction industry as well as acquiring stakes in other companies. The company was founded in Hamburg to realize projects in the construction and installation of windows and facades made of aluminum. In view of climate change and the energy transition, the company uses environmentally friendly technologies.

Ascent Aerospace

Ascent Aerospace is an American group  with headquarters in Michigan and around ten locations worldwide, including France, England and Germany. The company designs and integrates assembly lines for the aerospace industry. After an initial meeting with Hamburg Aviation at the Salon du Bourget (Paris Air Show) in 2019, Hamburg Invest supported the company to set up shop in town, in cooperation with the cluster.

China Communications Construction Co. Ltd.

This very important Chinese state-owned company, which has long been based in Hamburg with its subsidiary ZPMC (port cranes), has now also established its central procurement office for Europe in Hamburg.

Chuango Security Technology

Smanos is a brand new security systems brand that was developed, designed and conceived in Europe by the Chinese company Chuango Security Technology. Since 2001, Chuango Security Technology has been a global innovator and developer of wireless "smart home" solutions in the field of "do-it-yourself" security systems, complex home controls, and AI-based health management.

EnergyNest

The startup EnergyNest, headquartered in Oslo, has developed a thermal battery made of steel and concrete. It is intended to help energy-intensive companies with decarbonisation and thus make a contribution to the energy transition. A unique selling proposition compared to competitors is the commercial product maturity. Siemens Energy recently entered into a long-term partnership with the  company. On the basis of EnergyNest's battery solutions, standardized thermal storage systems are to be developed for industrial customers.

Farmann GmbH

The parent company in Turkey has over 25 years of experience in pet food and care. The profile of the subsidiary in Hamburg is the purchase, sale, manufacturing, import and export of pet food and additives for pet food, disinfectants and stable equipment.

HQW Precision GmbH

The company develops, manufactures and sells ball and roller bearings of the highest quality. In addition to mechanical and plant engineering, the clients of the company come  from the automotive industry,  aerospace and medical technology as well. HQW is of Chinese origin and, in addition to the company headquarters and the logistics center in Hamburg, has its own development and production facilities in Kürnach near Würzburg and in Plymouth in the south of England. The network of branches and sales partners extends from Italy to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

Lushang (Germany) GmbH

The Chinese company is from Shandong Province and the parent company is the Lushang Group. The company’s profile is the import, export and trade of new and used vehicles as well as auto parts and accessories and the provision of related services.

Lyric Automation Germany GmbH

The company's profile is the import and export of high-precision equipment with automated alignment such as industrial robots, batteries for e-mobility, high-speed trains etc. The office in Hamburg conducts research, sales and development worldwide. The parent company is Guangdong Liyuanheng Intelligent Automation Co. Ltd.

MingYang Wind Power Group Limited

The company is a leading wind turbine manufacturer in China. It already has a branch in Denmark and has now established a business and engineering center in Hamburg. Further expansion at the Hamburg location is planned for 2021.

SmileDirectClub Inc. (Nasdaq: SDC)

The US company operates an innovative direct-to-consumer medical technology platform. It is  world market leader for the direct sale of invisible aligners. In aligner therapy, patients wear transparent aligners for up to 22 hours a day to correct slight misalignments of teeth. More than a million customers worldwide already have the opportunity to visit an SDC shop and have a model of their jaw created there by means of an intraoral scan.

Representative office of the Occitanie region

The Occitanie region in southern France decided on Hamburg as the location of the first representative office in Germany. The goals of the office are to maintain and develop the relationships between Occitanie and Germany in the areas of economy, education, research, culture and sport. They have further offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Casablanca, New York, London and Brussels.

Vässla

The number 1 electric scooter manufacturer in Sweden decided to expand to Germany in 2019. The German market is now processed from Hamburg. Vässla promises to solve the problems of urban mobility “with style”: Swedish design, paired with a powerful electric motor and a long-lasting battery.

Top Investments in Hessen 2020

Google is Building New Data Centers in Hessen

The rapid digitalization developments in everyday life as well as in science and research call for an expansion of the technical infrastructure in the form of high-performance data centers.

Google is expanding with three projects in the FrankfurtRheinMain region and is looking for more space. The company has purchased two properties in Erlensee/ Main-Kinzig County (250,000 square meters, 50-60 jobs) and in Dietzenbach/ Offenbach County (around 58,000 square meters). The construction of data centers is planned at both locations. The US project developer Hillwood was commissioned for the construction in Erlensee and the laying of power lines has already begun.

Additionally, Google rented 4,600 square meters of office space for around 200 employees in April 2020 at Opernplatz in the Global Tower.

Almost forty percent of all capacities in German colocation data centers are located in Hessen, and Frankfurt has DE-CIX, one of the world's largest internet nodes. The generally good accessibility of the region also makes Hessen attractive for large IT companies such as Google.

US Online-Company Wayfair Invests in New Logistics Center in Lich

Wayfair, one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home and every items which has something to do with the home, decided to invest in Hessen.

This greenfield investment of EUR 100 Million on a total area of 200,000 square meters will create 90,000 square meters floor space for logistics.  About 500 new employees will be hired.

Wayfair Inc.. founded in 2002, is an American e-commerce company that sells furniture and home-goods.  Their digital platform offers 14 million items from more than 11,000 global suppliers. The online company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

AMG Invests in Battery Pilot Plant

The Dutch AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V.  announced in November 2020, that AMG Lithium GmbH Frankfurt has invested in a solid state battery (SSB) pilot plant to complement its state-of-the-art battery materials laboratory located in Frankfurt, Germany.

SSBs are on the verge of revolutionizing the lithium battery market for electric vehicles by enabling an increase in energy density on the battery cell level. In addition, compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, SSBs have better safety characteristics due to their utilization of solid electrolytes.  Our team of experts has developed a unique proprietary process to manufacture customized sulfidic solid electrolyte materials.

AMG is a global company with about 3,000 employees worldwide.

Volvo Dietzenbach Modernized

Volvo is strengthening its presence in Germany: After extensive new construction and renovation work, the traditional Volvo location in Dietzenbach, Hessen, with the Consumer Relations Center and the Competence Center is now fully functional.

On the 24,100 square meter area with two building complexes and large open space, a new service center has been built over the past year and a half and the existing training center has been extensively modernized.

With an investment in the high single-digit millions and the establishment of around 200 jobs, the German importer of the Swedish premium automobile brand is setting the course for future tasks in these important areas as well.

Swedish Klarna Opens New Office in Giessen

Internet service provider Klarna has inaugurated its new rooms in the old telegraph office and in a  new building beside it in Giessen. After decades of vacancy, the old building is being used again, and thus, history and future are connected there in a special way. Due to the corona crisis, employees followed the opening from their home office via video conference - the internet service provider decided not to hold a celebration because of the pandemic.

The rooms at the previous location in Linde not far from Gießen had not enough space. A technology mile is now being built in the Gießen train station area, also with the arrival of Klarna. The Internet service provider not only establishes new technologies, but also forms of work, such as the "New Work philosophy".

Klarna is one of the globally responsible payment providers and a licensed bank that maintains the payment experience for buyers and merchants. Headquarter of Klarna is Stockholm, Sweden 

Posco Europe Moves to Hessen

After more than a quarter of a century in North Rhine-Westphalia, POSCO moved its office to FrankfurtRheinMain, following LG Electronics’ similar move three years ago. Now all famous Korean companies are united in FrankfurtRheinMain. From its location in Eschborn the company will monitor the European market and its European subsidiaries. The number of jobs created is 30.

Founded in 1968, Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) is a South Korean steel company with headquarters in Pohang. The company is the 4th largest in Korea by turnover (2019) and one of the largest steel producers in the world. It has several locations worldwide and employs about 30,000 people.

Top Investments in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2020

Toshiba (Japan) will be manufacturing hybrid locomotives in Rostock

The Japanese technology group Toshiba has plans to start manufacturing its hybrid locomotives in Rostock. The preparations for the assembly of the same (in the DB Cargo maintenance workshop) are scheduled to commence in 2021. 100 vehicles have been ordered by the subsidiary of the national German railway company. The investments in this project originally lay in the mid single-digit million range, and several dozens of job opportunities will have been created. The production is expected to commence in 2022.

Together with Toshiba, with the alternative drive concept acknowledged with diesel and batteries, there were new standards established in a decisive future technology, remarked Sigrid Nikutta of the DB Group Board for freight transport and DB Cargo. "We are now saving energy at a rate of 30% and at a million litres of diesel a year." Locomotives are employed mainly in shipping yards.

Polish food producer builds factory in Anklam

The Polish food producer Vici Polska will be manufacturing breakfast products for the Asian and East European markets, in Anklam (Vorpommern-Greifswald). The company has invested 18 million Euros toward the building of a factory. It is scheduled that the construction of it will begin in early 2021; it is scheduled that its production work will begin in early 2022. 110 jobs will be created.

One reason for the decision to head to Anklam, can be explained in the words of the managing director Ireneusz Ozga i.e. the label "Made in Germany". Ozga claimed that the products are unique and of the highest quality – products for savvy consumers. He commented: "We want to emphasise this via the location in Germany and the label "Made in Germany" ".

The Vici Polska group of companies was founded in 2012; it is a leading exporter of food products for the Asian market. This is a company that has experience trading breakfast cereals and dairy products with China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. But it has also established itself in Lithuania, Romania and Ukraine. As for its activities in the commercial and industrial sector in Anklam (South East), there is scheduled the construction of a zero-emissions building with a production and storage area 4,000 m2 in size.

Norwegian investor has plans for a yoghurt factory

Vegan yoghurt, desserts and drinks will be manufactured in Anklam soon. The main investor with this is Norway’s Rønneberg Group, its managing director Harry Rønneberg. But Vici Polska also is one of the shareholders of the new company (Plant A).

As per a modular structure, the first thing to be expected with a plant such as this is the opportunity to produce high quality food based on vegetable raw materials which resemble dairy products, these including yoghurt, drinks and desserts made from soy, almond and coconut milk. When it comes to perspective, production from oat milk in particular will be expanded, thus also ensuring that raw materials can be obtained directly from the region. This involves people working closely with the Neubrandenburg College. With this, the products are then expected to be distributed on the German market.

The total investment will be initially around six million Euros. Building is expected to start as soon as 2021; following that it is expected that the first production work could start after eight months. It is expected that 25-30 highly qualified jobs will be created in the factory.

Center Parcs will build a new parc in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The interest existed since year – and it has always been a mutual interest. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern always achieved is ambitious goals in tourism and still is tourism destination No. 1 in Germany. But a holiday parc in a dimension like Center Parcs does, was always missing.

The gap will be filled as negotiations between Center Parcs and the State have been finalised successfully. Close to then peninsula Darss a new parc will be built for some 220 Mio. € investments from Center Parcs. The State supports the investment with additional infrastructure in the region.

The investor chose a former military base close to the city of Ribnitz-Damgarten for his strategic growth in Germany. The founder Gérard Brémond chose the site himself while a visitation in January 2020.

The investments will provide more than 175 direct jobs within the holiday parc and will create additional indirect jobs in the region.

Top Investments in Niedersachsen 2020

Niedersachsen´s coast attracts major investments

China Logistics investing Euro 100 Mio in JadeWeserPort

China Logistics, one of China’s largest logistics companies, signed a leasehold contract for 20 hectares in the freight village (GVZ) of JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven on 20 February. By 2021 Germany’s only deep water container port will see the construction of the “China Logistics – Wilhelmshaven Hub” offering 40,000 m2 of hall space plus 110,000 m2 of open storage area for handling Chinese goods. A second building phase is planned for a further hall providing 20,000 m2 of space. The project has an overall investment volume of around Euro 100 million.

The signing of the leasehold contract between China Logistics and the state-owned JadeWeserPort Marketinggesellschaft is a major success for Wilhelmshaven. The planned investment by one of China’s largest logistics companies emphasises the international standing of JadeWeserPort and of Niedersachsen as a maritime location. The freight village directly adjacent to Germany’s only deep water container terminal offers ideal conditions for internationally active logistics companies. The decision by China Logistics for Wilhelmshaven will act as a signal for further settlements at the JadeWeserPort and also have positive effects for the line service at the Eurogate Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven.

The portfolio of goods to be handled at the “China Logistics-Wilhelmshaven Hub” will include the sectors automotive (man area), stone products for DIY markets, food and consumer goods imported to Wilhelmshaven for temporary storage and distribution. The long-term goal of the Chinese partner is to raise turnover to around TEU 100,000 per annum.

The decisive factor in the location choice was the availability of sufficient space in the vicinity of a seaport terminal plus existing development potential. Wilhelmshaven was not the only site considered by China Logistics managers, who also studied and evaluated other port locations in Europe, for example Antwerp.

Titan Wind Energy acquires production facilities in Cuxhaven and moves into the offshore foundations market  

Titan Wind Energy (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. today officially has acquired an Ambau GmbH facility in Cuxhaven in Germany. The acquisition is an important strategic step for Titan Wind Energy to expand its market position, by adding a new line of business, making foundations for offshore wind turbines and thereby enhance its global production capacity. 

Titan Wind Energy is a global supplier of towers for onshore and offshore wind turbines, having its European headquarters in Varde, Denmark, under the name of Titan Wind Energy (Europe) A/S. The takeover of the facility will be through the newly established Titan Wind Energy (Germany) GmbH, and will be a 100% subsidiary to Titan Wind Energy (Europe) A/S. 

With the acquisition of the Ambau facility in Cuxhaven, Titan Wind Energy now ventures into the market for offshore wind turbine foundations. 

President of Titan Wind Energy (Europe) A/S Michael Buus Nielsen says “Ambau has been playing an important role of supplying foundations for offshore wind turbines in the North Sea area and has an ideal location for the future demand within the offshore wind industry”. Furthermore, he adds “With the experience from the facility in Cuxhaven and the many years of experience from tower production in Denmark, we will be able to utilize the synergies and knowhow to create a strong set up for the future”. 

Ambau in Cuxhaven has mainly provided offshore products to the key players in the market and Titan will pursue to secure the future cooperation with key customers in the coming years demanding and expanding offshore market.

The state of Lower Saxony, the EU, and Cuxhavener Hafen Entwicklungsgesellschaft have invested more than 250 million euros in the port and onshore infrastructure of the Deutsches Offshore-Industrie-Zentrum Cuxhaven since 2006. The offshore industry’s investment in production facilities reached EUR 390 million by 2018.

In addition to its central location for the offshore wind farms in the North Sea, the Deutsches Offshore-Industrie-Zentrum presents its offshore and heavy-duty terminals right on the Elbe coastline, a multi-functional port, heavy-duty storage and logistics areas as well as RoRo ramps, and a 500-tonne gantry crane. Industrial and commercial sites near the port, a high level of maritime expertise and comprehensive measures in the area of professional qualification ensure an optimal basic structure for port and offshore industry activities at the Cuxhaven location.

Top investments of the year 2020 – North Rhine-Westphalia | NRW

North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's No. 1 investment location. Around 20,000 foreign companies have already invested here and control their German or European activities from North Rhine-Westphalia. The state maintains a consistently high level of foreign direct investments – a few highlights to be named here:

Infosys – bringing digital transformation to life

With 14,000 employees worldwide, Infosys is the market leader in next-generation digital services. At the end of 2019, the Indian IT service and consulting company opened its new technology and innovation center with up to 300 IT specialists in the state capital Düsseldorf.

They support customers in their digital transformation in areas such as IoT, 5G, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Moreover, Infosys supports and promotes young digital talent through partnership agreements with the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences and the WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management. They organize joint training courses, research projects and scholarships and build a bridge between the business community and local educational institutions.

247TailorSteel – AI automated manufacturing

The Dutch manufacturer opened a state-of-the-art smart production plant modelled on Factory 4.0 and revolutionized an entire industry with this innovative approach.

With the help of specially developed and automated machines, the company will produce high-quality metal products such as cut sheets, tubes and folded parts in a customized, fast and efficient manner – ordered online around the clock and delivered within 48 hours. 247TailorSteel creates 130 new jobs in Hilden in the medium term.

Thanks to its outstanding technological expertise, 247TailorSteel will strengthen North Rhine-Westphalia as a location for applied artificial intelligence.

OrCam Technologies – Israeli unicorn coming to Europe

Having started with a high-tech innovation in Israel, OrCam is now expanding into the European market from North Rhine-Westphalia. The company is considered a pioneer in the field of artificial vision and its camera-based visual aids for blind and visually impaired people. The product is a camera that records texts, people and products, analyses them with artificial intelligence and reads them out loud or describes them. 

In order to further establish the product on the European market, OrCam built its new European headquarters for marketing, sales and personnel management in Cologne.

DPD Deutschland – creating sustainability in NRW

The logistics group with its French parent company has launched its largest parcel sorting center in Germany in Hamm with a new, fully automated sorting facility of 7.5 kilometers. DPD Deutschland creates 800 new jobs and will handle up to 200,000 parcels per day here.

The logistics expert DPD is once again breaking new ground in terms of digitalization and sustainability with this extremely efficient sorting facility – from low-consumption machinery to climate-friendly heating and cooling of the building.

Top Investments in Rhineland-Palatinate

Report of the Investment and Structural Bank Rhineland-Palatinate (ISB)

Dynamic Development of the Business Location: PSA / Opel and Amazon Invest in Kaiserslautern

Thanks to new settlements, business models and processes, the Kaiserslautern economic region is developing dynamically. The two largest projects in the coming years: The commis-sioning of battery cell production for electric cars by Opel / PSA and the establishment of a logistics center for Amazon.

Probably the largest gigafactory in Germany is planned on the Opel site in Kaiserslautern: From 2025, drive batteries for electric cars are to be produced at the site, with which up to 500,000 vehicles can be equipped annually in the final construction stage. By 2030, around 48 gigawatt hours should be covered for up to one million electric cars. In order to realize this project, the Opel parent company PSA founded the joint venture ACC together with the energy company Total. With funding from the German and French state governments, around five billion euros are to flow into the project and up to 2,000 new jobs will be created at the site.

The global logistics group Amazon already operates around 15 large logistics centers across Germany, and another one is to be built and put into operation in Kaiserslautern by 2023: From mid-2021, the construction of a 48,000 square meter logistics center on the site of the former Opel forest in the Einsiedlerhof district of 18 hectares begin. Compared to the logis-tics center in Frankenthal, an investment of 100 million euros can be expected. According to Amazon, at least 1,000 new jobs will be created.

Top Investment in Saarland 2020

Saarland impresses: Chinese high-tech company invests up to two billion euros

Saarland is the ideal for anyone seeking the perfect location to boost their company’s performance and enable them to swiftly serve the western European market. Here in Germany’s Saarland, this southwestern region is just a stone’s throw away from the French and German borders, and companies based here enjoy optimum transport connections with access to European road networks as well as rail, flights and waterways.

The region also has a fantastically qualified workforce with industry experience. In addition, local companies have access to world-renowned institutes at the cutting edge of research right on their doorstep.

Winner out of over 30 regions

These are just some of the elements that impressed the global high-tech company SVOLT Energy Technology Europe when they were looking for the perfect European location: after reviewing more than 30 regions across Europe, this Chinese corporate group opted for Saarland.

The SVOLT group, a spin-off from Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall Motors, develops and produces high-quality lithium-ion batteries and battery systems for electric vehicles, as well as energy storage systems and the corresponding software solutions. In Saarland it will be producing battery cells, modules and high-voltage batteries (packs) for electric vehicles. The company is planning a total investment of up to two billion euros, and wants to create up to 2,000 jobs by the Saar during the final phase of expansion.

To do so, the company is investing in two Saarland locations: in Heusweiler, a module and pack factory is being built on the 50,000 m² site of a disused laminate production facility. The plan is to reuse the existing infrastructure as sustainably and flexibly as possible. Production is due to start in mid-2022.

Überherrn will be gaining a cell factory with a production capacity of 24 GWh during the final phase of the expansion. This represents batteries for 300,000 to 500,000 electric vehicles per year. The two sites are just 30 km apart, typical of Saarland’s short distances.

Kai-Uwe Wollenhaupt, President of SVOLT Europe & Vice President of SVOLT Energy Technology: ‘We ultimately opted for Saarland. Firstly, it offers highly qualified staff. In addition, we were impressed by the central location at the heart of Europe’s economic area, the excellent infrastructure, and the thriving and inspiring environment with internationally successful companies.

SVOLT has entrusted the construction and turnkey delivery of both factories to SHS Strukturholding Saar. This state-owned holding company (to which the gwSaar Saarland Economic Promotion Corporation also belongs) is the perfect partner and door opener for international investors from all sectors when it comes to activities on the German market. Its comprehensive range of services ensures that foreign companies such as SVOLT are fully supported with their move: from initial location advice through to developing turnkey real estate.

strukturholding.de/how-we-accompany-you

Germany’s Saarland – the modern industrial site of the future…

Given its links to the business centres of Europe and in particular its perfect location on the French border, Germany’s Saarland is the perfect base for serving the entire European market in under 18 hours’ driving time by truck.

…with excellent research

Leibniz, DFKI, Max-Planck or Helmholtz – our research institutes are world leaders promoting outstanding developments. They also produce highly-qualified graduates for the labour market, as industrial tradition and cutting-edge technologies go hand in hand here. This is what makes business in Saarland so diverse and exciting.

SAXONY:  Top Investment of the Year 2020

The successful structural development of the Lusatian lignite mining district is one of the key tasks of the Saxon State Government.  Initial achievements are already clearly visible.  In addition to the business setups of new, primarily international companies in the region, the Saxony Economic Development Corporation (WFS) also supports the growth of existing companies located here.

A fine example of this is the SKAN AG Group which was able to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for the next big expansion of its corporate site on the premises of the former lignite mine Görlitz/Hagenwerder in October 2020.  The construction of two new production halls and two office buildings is now on the agenda.  Thus, about 10,000 square meters of additional production space will be built.  This translates into about one and a half soccer fields.  SKAN Deutschland will, thus, more than double its hall space.  In addition, the office buildings will have a total floor space of about 4,000 square meters.  This creates the prerequisites for welcoming at least 100 new colleagues to the SKAN Deutschland GmbH team within the next two to three years.

Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer notes on the scheduled company expansion:  “SKAN Deutschland is a dynamically growing company with a huge potential for the future.  This is aptly demonstrated even now, during the corona pandemic.  Görlitz is the place where isolators and cleanroom equipment are produced which are used for the development of new drugs and vaccines which, in turn, explains why this equipment is so highly coveted by the pharmaceutical industry.  It’s a strong signal for the business venue Saxony that SKAN is investing so vigorously into the expansion of its corporate site in Görlitz.”

Thomas Horn, the Managing Director of the Saxony Economic Development Corporation, adds:  “SKAN’s decision to further advance its business in Görlitz is a positive sign right in the middle of the structural change process.  Examples like these confirm and affirm what we perceive from our numerous corporate contacts:  The region offers superb development opportunities for companies and has skilled employees which is why investors are increasingly expressing interest in this region.”

The German branch office of the Swiss pioneer for isolators and cleanroom equipment, SKAN AG which is headquartered near Basel, was founded in Görlitz/Hagenwerder in 2013 and has been growing continuously ever since.  The Swiss parent group accompanies the entire life cycle of drug manufacturing, ranging from research all the way to mass production.  Görlitz is specifically responsible for the production of isolators and control cabinets.  Dr. Sascha Pawel, CEO SKAN Deutschland GmbH, points out:  “Our site in Görlitz produces the majority of SKAN’s pharmaceutical isolators for the international market.  It has been growing continuously right from the start at high double-digit numbers.  Through an initial scale out and several expansions, the site has assumed a leading role in our supply chain network only a few years after its founding on the greenfield.  This success is made possible by our fantastic professional team and by the excellent business conditions found in the Lusatia region.”  So far, 18 million euros have been invested into the expansion of the corporate site Görlitz.  Only in May 2020, another office building had been completed.  The Lord Mayor of Görlitz, Octavian Ursu, notes:  “For us, economic growth enjoys top priority which is why I’m particularly happy that SKAN Deutschland is expanding its corporate site Görlitz and, thus, creating new jobs here.  That’s a powerful commitment to our city, and we’ll continue to be a reliable partner for SKAN Deutschland also in the future.”

Currently, SKAN has about 185 employees in Germany and approx. 900 employees around the globe.  In addition to its branch office in Germany, the company which was founded in 1968 has subsidiaries in Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the USA, and Japan.

Top Investment in Schleswig-Holstein in 2020

Latvian Maritime Digital GmbH Moves from Riga to Lübeck

The startup for maritime digitization relocated its headquarters to Lübeck in August 2020. “Moving is not an easy process: It's about a new country with new rules and traditions, with new laws and new people. “For us, it began with a warm welcome meeting with the WTSH team, and competent, effective support during a complicated process,” says company founder Ivan Ladan. "The way in which the WTSH team supported us is a very positive example of best practice."

The Marine Digital GmbH deals with everything around digitization and artificial intelligence in the maritime industry. The latest innovation: an AI-based system for fuel optimization on cargo ships. This software system enables shipowners to track, measure and display the exact amount of fuel used. External parameters that influence fuel consumption, such as weather or currents, can also be collected and used to analyze fuel consumption. Based on all this information, the system creates the optimal route for the ship. The solution should be integrated into the required systems already installed on ships and can show a number of possible routes to save fuel.

For MD, Lübeck was the logical choice as a strong maritime location with port and port logistics. In addition, there is a strong AI competence at the University of Lübeck, so that possible future collaborations are possible. “We chose Lübeck for several reasons, says Ivan Ladan. “On the one hand because of the advantageous maintenance costs for our company, on the other hand because of the good access to potential customers, such as ship management companies. We also have the opportunity to recruit students and doctoral candidates from the local universities. “For us, these are the best steps towards growth.” The young founder was also impressed by the ferry service to the Baltic States and, last but not least, the company founder Ladan finds that Lübeck is very livable.

www.marine-digital.com

Digitization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the maritime industry are among the most important, greatest challenges in the industry. There is no doubt that the maritime industry also needs more investments in digitization and AI in order to be internationally competitive in the future. From port logistics to software to fuel savings, there are many areas of application for digitization in the maritime economy that are already visible. The need to implement digitization measures and the use of AI in the maritime industry will increase - and with it the need for service providers. From now on, decisive know-how and service for this will come from this aspiring young start-up from Lübeck.

Top Investments in Thuringia in 2020

Attractive despite the crisis: Thuringia remains premier investment location in Europe’s heartland

Thuringia stands out as a blockbuster investment location in Europe’s heartland, even in years as turbulent as 2020. Local and international businesses turn to Thuringia for their investments and expansions. Thuringia, in short, remains a popular destination for investors.

Companies all over Thuringia have responded swiftly to the uncertainty and changing conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrated that they can handle the crisis with flying colors. A quick review of the Thuringian economy shows that success can come in many shapes and forms depending on the industry; however, it always involves the kind of dedication, creativity and innovative ideas that Thuringia is known for: Southern Thuringian company BINZ has developed a groundbreaking innovation to combat deadly pathogens: An LED light system installed in the ambulance’s headliner emits UV light that kills 99.99 percent of bacteria, viruses and other germs in just under ten minutes. Other cutting-edge innovations that have proven extremely popular during the coronavirus pandemic include the rapid test for COVID-19 antibodies developed by Senova in Weimar and the Sterybot disinfection robot invented by MetraLabs in Ilmenau. The robot cleans closed rooms in schools, hospitals, restaurants or similar buildings, killing 99.99 percent of all the bacteria and viruses found there. It operates autonomously and disinfects room air as well as floors, walls, tabletops, chairs, door handles and light switches.

Thuringia is still renowned for its storied track record of innovation in optics and photonics. The latest example: Thuringian researchers won the German Future Prize at the end of 2020 – one of the best-endowed awards for innovation in Germany. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded the Award for Technology and Innovation to a team of experts from ZEISS, Segment for Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT), TRUMPF Lasersystems for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena, for their project “EUV Lithography – New Light for the Digital Age”.

International investors, for their part, keep viewing Thuringia as an attractive site for their business ambitions, expanding and positioning their companies for the future with regard to megatrends and structural challenges. “We have attractive sites with fully developed free plots and excellent traffic links and can support investors with one-stop service, from establishing their first site in Thuringia to expanding their current operations,” said Dr. Arnulf Wulff, Senior Vice President and Head of Department Investment, International Business and Cluster Promotion at the State Development Corporation of Thuringia (LEG).

These advantages have not been lost on Antennentechnik Bad Blankenburg (ATTB): It belongs to Chinese group SV Desay Automotive and is building a development center for the automobile of the future in Weimar. Between 20 and 30 highly skilled experts will be designing solutions for smart antenna systems, electronics and software in Thuringia. ATTB used to specialize in supplying auto parts for commercial and special purpose vehicles, but the new development center marks its entry into the carmaking market. The new building is being constructed in close cooperation with LEG and expanded into ATTB’s future state-of-the-art research and technology campus – a place where big-name manufacturers’ pre-production vehicles, a.k.a. “development mules”, will drive in and out.

British fiber optic specialist Emtelle is also expanding its microduct production capacity in Thuringia and will be producing fiber optic cables in Erfurt. Since taking over Moore GmbH in October 2017, the Emtelle Group has completely repositioned the company and generated tremendous growth. It now employs 82 employees here, with more to come. To increase its manufacturing capacity even more, the company is investing a healthy seven-digit sum in a new storage/testing facility and a production expansion. According to Emtelle, it will soon be the only manufacturer in Germany to manufacture and combine both of the technological components needed for fast internet: microducts and fiber optic cables.

Daimler has also decided to site its Daimler Truckstore in Thuringia, which boasts a central location in Germany, namely in its largest industrial district, the Erfurter Kreuz,. A stone’s throw away, innovative packaging specialist Papacks Sales GmbH is building a ten-million-euro gigafactory. The award-winning company has replaced nearly 2.5 million kilograms of plastic – the weight of ten jumbo jets – by making sustainable packaging. The Cologne-based firm meets the growing demand for sustainable, eco-friendly packaging solutions with a wide product range, from transport and industrial trays to packaging for food and medical or cosmetic products to refill caps, advent calendars and much, much more.

Plastics processor Röchling Medical has set its sights on expansion: The company is investing 50 million euros in a factory building and production equipment in Neuhaus am Rennweg in southern Thuringia, adding around 30 new jobs to its current payroll of 350. Röchling made this move to set up its Medical division for further growth.

Auto parts supplier Robert Bosch Fahrzeugelektrik, which has called Eisenach home since 1992 and produces sensors and other components with a team of 1,800 employees, has decided to serially produce 48-volt batteries. It will be investing EUR 80 million in its site; it has already constructed a factory building and is currently preparing for series production. This innovative energy storage technology – the driver of 48-volt hybrid systems for motor vehicles – has already been developed in Eisenach. Bosch has been steering this cutting-edge project in Thuringia for four years. Its Eisenach factory recently won the competition to be the European production site, which means the second, more powerful generation will enter series production in summer 2021. Bosch is sourcing the battery cells used in the 48-volt batteries from Chinese company CATL, with whom it has established a long-term relationship.

Current expansion projects are moving full steam ahead – including the one of the Chinese battery manufacturer CATL. After the groundbreaking in October 2019, construction on the 24-hectare site in the Erfurter Kreuz industrial park has made considerable progress. The initial production lines are currently being installed in the already existing factory building which has been purchased in 2019. Another milestone in Thuringia’s evolution into a region of battery excellence is the opening of the Battery Innovation and Technology Center (BITC) in Arnstadt. This Fraunhofer center of competence and innovation, located nearby and cooperating closely with CATL, conducts research into energy-efficient, eco-friendly battery manufacturing methods.

Marquardt’s project is also going well; however, the southwestern German auto parts supplier decided to expand its presence in Thuringia and purchased an additional 15-hectare site where it plans to invest an eight-digit sum in the production of battery management systems.

Thuringia offers innovative, forward-looking companies manifold opportunities to evolve and expand, with its technology and tradition, economic dynamism, cultural diversity and soft locational factors. With the State Development Corporation of Thuringia (LEG), you will have a strong partner who will provide full-service support for your journey to Thuringia.

Are you also looking to write your success story in Thuringia? – LEG Thüringen will support you on your way to the Free State with a full service:

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