Thuringia Focus

01/2016

Thuringia Focus

News

Merbelsrod – Pump maker Nidec GPM, which became part of Japan’s Nidec Group last year, has announced that it is expanding its production. Already one of Thuringia’s biggest employers before it was taken over by Nidec, with a staff of more than 1,000, the automotive supplier has extended its production area with the shop floor 9 by more than 3,700 m² and added a further 1,000 m² of office space. Around 60 new jobs will be created in the process. Its statement of faith in Thuringia as a place to do business is evidenced by the fact that it is planning other projects too.

Gotha – Enercon, an international wind energy installation fitter from East Friesland that has been involved in Thuringia since 2012, recently opened a new training center for service technici- Power engine first hand: the President of the Thuringian Parliament Christian Carius (right at the ans here. The new building cost around back) and the Thuringian Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (right at the front) at the launch €20 million and features a nacelle that of the new production line of MDC Power (Daimler) in Kölleda/Thuringia. Picture source: MDC Power / will be used to train people to make re- Photographer: Dirk Wächter pairs safely at extreme heights. In fu- ture, around 20,000 technicians from Latest Mercedes engines from Thuringia all over Europe, as well as from Cana- da, Costa Rica, Japan and Taiwan, will MCD Power GmbH, named ‘Best Factory’ in 2014, lived up to its reputation as a key dri- come to Gotha for training. All this new ver of the Thuringian economy in October by investing about €200 million in its plant activity in the city will boost the hospi- in Kölleda. A fully owned Daimler subsidiary, the company is to build two new produc- tality industry and grow the tourism tion halls where a new series of four-cylinder diesel engines will be manufactured. infrastructure in the surrounding area.

The two halls will cover an area the size sive “success story” and that the com- Eisfeld – Long-established precision of 11 soccer fields. A total of 250 new pany had become “an engine for growth technology company Feintechnik Eis- jobs will be created, as more staff will and the region’s biggest industrial em- feld GmbH has undergone rapid growth be needed to help make the new gene- ployer.” “MDC is known within and bey- since US start-up Harry’s got involved, ration of high-performance diesel en- ond our state as the ‘poster child’ for with new sales channels including on- gines, which comprise approximate- quality workmanship from Thuringia,” he line retail the main ingredient in its re- ly 200 separate parts and will be used said. MDC Power’s current staff of 1,100, cipe for success. Now it has invested a in several Mercedes cars and ‘Transpor- or 1,700 counting service center staff, is whopping €40 million in new facilities, ter’ vans. Thuringia’s Minister of Econo- already large for a town with a populati- including a new production hall. Fifty mic Affairs, Wolfgang Tiefensee, who was on of just over 6,000. The recently laun- new employees have been brought on at the site to see the first engine come ched recruitment campaign to find more board, so the company now has a staff off the production line, said he was de- skilled workers features the theme ‘We’re of 420 making razor blades and razor lighted to witness MDC Power’s impres- the engine – You’re the heart’. (td) systems. THURINGIA INVEST/THURINGIA INTERNATIONAL

Thuringia sets its sights on NAFTA markets News Thuringian businesses will soon be ex- Additional 23 ha of industrial land porting more goods and services. At There are constant enquiries from the 9th Thuringian Außenwirtschafts- companies interested in the in- tag (Exporter's Day) in Weimar around dustrial estate at Eisenach-Kin- 160 decision makers representing local del in the municipality of Hörsel- government and business were offered berg-Hainich in western Thuringia, an interesting seminar and workshop pro- but there is almost no land left, gram by experts in NAFTA subjects. It is so the local council recently de- planned to make more business contacts cided to extend the estate. Alt- and develop inward and outward trade hough utilities still have to be with partners in Canada, the United Sta- installed for the 23 ha being deve- tes and Mexico, the three markets that si- loped, the first sod could be tur- gned the North American Free Trade Ag- ned in 2017. The many advanta- reement (NAFTA). ges the industrial area has to offer Thuringian businesses have a lot to offer is an excellent location next to the the NAFTA countries in the way of state- A4 highway and the interstate road of-the-art technology in sectors such as ‘Bundesstraße 84’ and close to Ei- optics, engineering, medical technology, senach-Kindel airfield. The large plastics, automotive industries and more. number of automotive suppliers al- Presently, more than 300 Thuringian com- ready based on the estate, inclu- panies are exporting goods and services Andreas Krey, Chairman of the Board of Ma- ding Rege Motorenteile, Continen- to the US, while the number of companies nagement of the State Development Corporati- on of Thuringia, highlights the opportunities for tal Emitec and South African heavy exporting to the NAFTA region as a who- Thuringian companies on the NAFTA markets. equipment manufacturer Bell ma- le is 450. Source: LEG Thüringen / Photo: Thomas Abé kes the area around Eisenach a very important one for the automotive industry. The estate is also in a ‘border triangle’, close to the sta- Prospecting for investors in the United States tes of Hesse and Lower Saxony. If you are interested in a site in this Already 70 US-companies have inves- man Unity Day (the anniversary of reunifi- industrial estate, please contact ted in Thuringia and thus created about cation) provided a further opportunity to the State Development Corporati- 11,000 jobs, that makes the US the largest keep the state of Thuringia uppermost in on of Thuringia (Landesentwick- foreign investor to the state. Now, the Sta- people’s minds. In the presence of 2,500 lungsgesellschaft Thüringen mbH). te Development Corporation of Thuringia of Washington’s ‘movers and shakers’, (LEG Thüringen) recently held workshops Germany made the most of the opportu- in Santa Clara and Rochester to showcase nity to position itself as an innovative in- the technological expertise of the Thurin- vestment location in the heart of Europe, gian optics sector and make contact with and the State Development Corporation companies considering developing a base of Thuringia highlighted the region’s ad- in Europe. A reception at the German em- vantages as a business location and the Dates bassy in Washington on 3 October, Ger- full service for investors.

>> 25 – 28 January 2016 Arab Health, Dubai World Trade Centre Thuringia around the globe

>> 16 – 18 February 2016 One of the main ways of telling the world on of Thuringia attended 12 trade fairs Photonics West, The Moscone about the top-flight competence of Thu- in Germany and other countries last Center, San Francisco, USA ringian companies in sectors with strong year and handled the administration for growth and attractive target markets is shared stands at ARAB HEALTH in Dubai, >> 14 – 16 March 2016 to have a presence at trade fairs, which Photonics West in the United States, La- Laser World of Photonics China is why the state’s latest export strate- ser World of Photonics in China and India Shanghai New International Expo gy includes plans to involve more com- and the Medipharm-EXPO in Vietnam. At Centre panies and beef up its trade fair profile. home in Germany, it facilitated shared Last year saw a repeat of the proven ap- Thuringian stands at the Hanover Trade proach of sharing stands at trade fairs, Fair, the IAA, EXPO REAL, the Frankfurt with many companies keen to partici- Book Fair and Fakuma, a plastics proces- pate. The State Development Corporati- sing trade fair in Friedrichshafen. TECHNOLOGY / CLUSTER

2015: Silver jubilee year for East German companies Technology News Injection of funds for Thuringia's tertiary institutes Thuringia’s tertiary institutes are to receive approximately €160 million in extra funding from the state by 2019, the state’s Cabinet decided recently in its draft framework agreement for tertiary funding for the 2016 to 2019 period. “A four- percent increase, four times, is a huge boost and a clear political sig- nal from the state government that it values and wants to support Thu- ringia as a knowledge and educa- Analytik Jena AG is a global leading manufacturer of analytical and bioanalytical systems for tion state,” says Minister of Econo- industrial and scientific applications. Source: © Analytik Jena AG mic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee. The funds will be used for specific aca- Thuringia’s commercial ‘landscape’, dotted with small- and medium-sized busi- demic purposes and to cover wage nesses, also has a rich and interesting history. After the reunification in 1990 many increases. There will also be a stra- companies have been founded. We owe much of Thuringia’s economic strength – tegy and innovation budget for im- and numerous silver jubilees this year – to the entrepreneurs and innovators of the proved learning environments, nineties. ‘Thuringia Focus’ would like to introduce you to some of the key players. more research activity and pub- In this issue: Analytik Jena. lic relations and profile-building for the institutions. (maa) Analytik Jena was the 27th company to to 90 countries. “I don’t see that growth be entered in the commercial register coming to an end any time soon,” says Super laser from Jena after East and West Germany became Berka. “If we can invest intelligently in Jena company Active Fiber Systems one, something that is a matter of pri- developing our structures, we’ll have an has set a world record with its ul- de for its founder and chief executive, even greater share of the market.” About trashort pulse laser, the most po- Klaus Berka, to this day. With initial ca- two years ago, Analytik Jena became werful laser in the world, which is pital of 6,000 East German marks and part of Swiss group Endress+Hauser, attracting great interest from biolo- the help of two colleagues, Berka set up which is providing a significant level of gists, medical researchers and geo- the measuring instrument company as support as it grows. In 2011, Berka was logists. To make the laser so po- soon as the Berlin Wall went down. To- awarded the prestigious Ernst Abbe Pri- werful, the team at Active Fiber day, Analytik Jena is a star on the world ze for his energetic efforts developing Systems split the laser beam into scene. After 25 years of research and de- such a successful company. We wish different channels, which were ca- velopment in the field of analysis tech- him all the very best and continuing suc- refully enhanced individually before nology it exports laboratory analysis cess. (td) being combined again in such a way as to precisely superimpose the pulses. A pilot system is now under construction. The small team is a New redox flow battery from Thuringia spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institu- te for Applied Optics and Precision In order to speed up the energy turnaround, electricity is increasingly being genera- Engineering (IOF) in Jena and plans ted from renewable sources like sun and wind. While this is a good move, these sour- to continuously grow by taking on ces are subject to natural fluctuation, and ways must be found to store the electricity new projects. (maa) they produce. The decided disadvantage of the redox flow batteries that have so far been used for this purpose is that they use expensive metals and aggressive acids.

Now the research team associated with battery based on polymers and a harm- operating life – in the early tests without Professor Ulrich Schubert at Friedrich less solution of table salt. The most losing too much charge. It has an energy Schiller University in Jena has taken us promising thing about the battery is that density of 10 watt-hours per liter. Ever all a step further toward a redox flow it is cheap to manufacture, yet still per- ingenious, the research team is already battery that is easy to use, safe and eco- forms almost as well as its conventional working on even higher-performing suc- nomical. The Center for Energy and Envi- counterparts. It successfully clocked cessor systems. (maa) ronmental Chemistry and JenaBatteries up as many as 10,000 charging cycles GmbH in Jena cooperated to develop a – approximately equivalent to 20 years’ CULTURE

A quarter century of world sports in Oberhof Dates Top athletes from more than 30 countries and biathlon fans from all over >> 18 March – 10 April 2016 Germany will descend on the winter Thüringer Bachwochen sports center of Oberhof in the Thurin- (Bach Weeks) gian Forest again from 7 to 10 January Music festival with for the Biathlon World Cup. There will 53 concerts in 11 places be individual as well as a mass start races, and the competition promises to >> 16 – 17 January 2016 serve up some exciting moments in the Luge World Cup Oberhof DKB Ski Arena. This will be the 25th time Oberhof has hosted the annual event, In January 2016, the Thuringian city of Oberhof which attracts around 100,000 people. will host again the Biathlon World Cup. Source: Tourismus GmbH Oberhof Numbers were down in the 2014/2015 season due to the mild winter and a low-pressure system over the area on In 2013, the International Biathlon the weekend of the competition, but this Union (IBU) decided to run its world cup year’s crowds are expected to be as big in Oberhof until 2018. The town will also as ever. The snow cannons are perma- host the Biathlon world championship nently on duty producing a gorgeous again in 2020/21, for which it will invest white environment so everything looks €35 million in upgrading and extending , mi set for a fabulous event. its sporting facilities. (td)

Online Reformation Portal Thuringia The ‘Reformation Portal’, one of cen- Reformation in 2017, it is a real treasu- tral Germany’s largest digital archi- re trove for interested amateurs and ves, has been offering fresh online professional researchers and writers. insights into the Reformation era since In just a few clicks, they can travel November 2014. More than 35,000 back in time and see how the spiritual historical documents were preserved renewal movement unfolded between digitally and curated by experts for the 1517 and 1648. (gro) portal, a joint project of the states of Thuringia, Hesse and Saxony-Anhalt. Publisher: In the run-up to the anniversary of the www.reformationsportal.de State Development Corporation of Thuringia (LEG Thüringen)

Editorial Staff: Dr. Holger Wiemers (V.i.S.d.P.), Theresa Dunkel, Olivia Großmann, Christine Maas Copy Deadline: 15/12/2015 Thuringian chefs earn spot at culinary olympus Translation: experTEXT, Heinz von Bockelmann Foodies are spoilt for choice in Thuringia kings. New names on the list for Weimar Layout: formation ERFURT GmbH Printed by: WAISSRAUM – Druck- und wherever they dine. Be it Weimar, Jena, are Andreas Scholz from ‘Anastasia’ and Veredelungsmanufaktur Erfurt, Mühlhausen or Eisenach, you’ll Sten Fischer from ‘Alt-Weimar’. But the get your money’s worth, with plenty to food in Jena is equally delicious: Christi- Contact: tickle the taste buds. Gault & Millau, the an Hempfe wields the wooden spoon at influential French restaurant guide, han- the ‘Scala’, producing taste sensations Dr. Arnulf Wulff – Senior Vice President Member of the Management Board ded out top marks to numerous chefs in that are renowned well beyond the city Dept. Investment, International Business their latest edition, including five in the limits. With 15 points and two Gault-Mil- and Cluster Promotion city of Weimar alone. Claus Alboth from lau chef’s hats, he is in third place in the Mainzerhofstrasse 12, ‘Alboths’ in Weimar and Marcello Fabb- Thuringian gastronomic ranking. (gro) 99084 Erfurt, Germany ri from ‘Anna Amalia’ received 16 of the Phone: +49 (0) 361 5603-450 Fax: +49 (0) 361 5603-328 20 coveted points and can continue cal- Email: [email protected] ling themselves Thuringia’s culinary www.gaultmillau.de Internet: www.invest-in-thuringia.de