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 be- fore it was taken over by Nidec, with a staff of more than 1,000, the automoti- ve 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 automo- tive 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 mil- lion in extra funding from the sta- te by 2019, the state’s Cabinet deci- ded 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.