August 2021 Thuringia Focus. Intercord dedicates new R&D center Mühlhausen has long been a produc- tion hub for technical yarns, espe- cially for the automotive industry. Its footprint is now set to grow: A new development center was officially com- missioned on Intercord’s Mühlhausen premises in mid-June. The company en- larged the research department, too. Intercord will conduct tests at the new development center, while customers and suppliers will have an opportuni- ty to perform material testing of their At the laying of the foundation stone for the new building of Carlisle in Waltershausen. Photo: Carlisle own. Intercord’s Managing Director Ra- mazan Yasbay believes the center will provide a comprehensive overview of On the growth track: US investor Carlisle the products and materials that custo- mers want. The CEO described the sale expands operations in Thuringia of the company last October to US- based Beaver Manufacturing Company (BMC) as a “lucky thing” and called the Plastics specialist Carlisle is growing 25 new jobs and increase the Thuringian family-owned company a good choice. and investing around EUR 50 million in site’s total internal area to 17,000 square Electric mobility, too, is an important a new production facility in Waltershau- meters. The company will also buy new issue for Intercord. New engines will sen, Thuringia. The expansion is proof equipment for producing its special wa- mean new requirements for technical positive that Thuringia’s excellent site terproofing membranes. These products fibers. The company and its 90 em- conditions and all-round service make a are a runaway success since they can be ployees appear well prepared. Its next compelling case even in times of crisis. laid on almost all substrates and welded investment is already in the pipeline: with a heat gun – no open flame required. Intercord plans to build a new factory The company, a specialist in modern roof The group parent is Carlisle Construction on an adjacent plot in 2023. (maa) waterproofing, laid the cornerstone for Materials, which is based in the United the additional facility at the Gothaer Stra- States and has gross annual sales of al- ße industrial estate in Waltershausen in most four billion US dollars. LEG has been July. “We have made Thuringia a key part guiding and supporting Carlisle’s busi- of our growth strategy: It is an important ness trajectory in Waltershausen for eight production site with a promising future. years as part of its full service offering This is where we have put down roots and for investors interested in relocating and where we want to continue to grow,” said expanding. Carlisle Construction Materi- Christian Steyrer, VP Operations CARLIS- als GmbH has invested more in western Ramazan Yasbay, Managing Director Intercord and LE CM Europe. The new facility is planned Thuringia than in any other site in Europe. Michael Dubin, President & CEO BMC at the new to start production in 2022. It will add (gro/hw) development center. Photo: Intercord News Investor Maximator builds plant for Business delegation travels to Aus- hydrogen fueling stations tria and Slovakia Late last year, ground was broken into innovative hydrogen technologies Around 30 participants visited Salz- on a nearly 3 ha plot in Nordhausen and battery systems. One of the applied burg, Graz, Vienna and Bratislava un- for two factory buildings in which research center’s goals is to advance hy- der the leadership of the Thuringian hydrogen refueling stations will be drogen production through large-scale Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefen- manufactured. Thuringia will soon stack technology and the industrial use see in July 2021. Workshops and co- boast the largest production faci- of hydrogen. According to Economics Mi- operation talks were held during the lity of its kind in Germany. nister Wolfgang Tiefensee, much scientific five-day event. There were also visits and technological groundwork is needed to companies including EVER Neuro Maximator is sought after all over the before hydrogen technologies can actu- Pharma, the Familux hotel group, ams, world for its highly sophisticated hyd- ally play a central role in the energy eco- Andritz, Magna Steyr, VW Slovakia and rogen refueling and storage systems. nomy, especially with regard to making hy- MicroStep. An investor dinner was held The company describes its refueling sta- drogen production and use economically to showcase Thuringia as a business tions as the most effective worldwide. viable. (gro) location along with meetings with re- presentatives of ACstyria, a mobility In addition to Maximator the Thuringian cluster; various tourism associations state government, too, is investing in the in Austria; and several research ins- cutting-edge technology. For example, it titutions. The Thuringian delegation is providing more than three million euros included representatives from the au- in funding to establish and expand the tomotive, robotics, biotechnology, me- new “HySON Institute for Applied Hydro- chanical engineering and measurement gen Research” in Sonneberg. Another EUR and sensor technology sectors. The trip 10.3 million is going toward the Fraunho- was organized by LEG, which provides fer Battery Innovation and Technology The use of hydrogen holds great potential. Photo: iStock/ Thuringian companies with the full Center BITC in Arnstadt for its research style-photography range of services aimed at optimizing their international operations. (hw) Horsch Maschinen GmbH expands in Eastern Thuringia Horsch held a groundbreaking cerem- meter site. HORSCH expects to double ony back in February 2021 as part of a its current sales in the future as a result drive to continue expanding its Ronne- of the expansion. As the company grows, burg site. This is clear proof that Thu- so will its staff numbers. The company, ringia is an attractive industrial center which has been at the East Thuringian Company visit at EVER Neuro Pharma in Unterach. where companies can grow successfully. site since 2007, plans to focus more on Photo: LEG Thüringen employee health and satisfaction going Horsch Maschinen GmbH is investing forward. It wants workplaces to be bright, Successful year for Thuringian startup around EUR 17 million to expand its site in modern and healthy. “We are all incredibly Ronneburg, Thuringia, located directly on grateful to the owner family for their deep rooom AG, a Thuringian startup, has the A4 highway, an important east-west confidence and willingness to invest in the successfully completed a Series A fun- link. By spring 2022, this global leader Thuringian site and in the local workforce, ding round: The Jena-based specialist in innovative agricultural technology will which is doing excellent work,” said Dr. for digital and hybrid events, augmen- build a new assembly hall and a new of- Cornelius Weiß, Site Director in Ronne- ted and virtual reality (AR, VR) and 3D fice building on a roughly 11,000 square burg. (gro) solutions now has another four million euros at its disposal. It intends to use these funds to grow the company and enter the US market, where it plans to provide its innovative solutions for the creation and use of 3D business content. Demand for interactive online events and platforms increased last year due to the worldwide pandemic. rooom AG benefited significantly from this trend and increased its headcount to 70 in 2020. (gro) Horsch offers state-of-the-art solutions for agriculture, e.g. for soil cultivation. Photo: Horsch/Daniel Brandt Next generation of microchips Technology news developed in Thuringia Thuringia gains in patent applica- tions Ultraviolet light with extremely short cheaper, more powerful and more ener- wavelengths is the secret to EUV litho- gy-efficient. Bright Thuringian minds continue to graphy’s success. It powers the produc- drive up the number of patent appli- tion of next-generation microchips. New EUV lithography technology is lar- cations filed in the state: Thuringia gely supported by corporate researchers is the per-capita leader of Germany’s Our world is getting smarter all the time: at Zeiss and Trumpf as well as academic eastern states. It ranks in the midd- a connected home where the refrigera- researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute le nationwide with 606 applications tor knows that it is about to run out of for Applied Optics and Precision Engi- and notched up an increase of 18 milk, adaptive robots that can control neering in Jena (IOF). The core of the percent in 2020. Most of the patent important production processes in com- technology consists of sensors jointly applications come from Thuringia’s panies, self-driving cars, you name it. developed by the Ilmenau University of medical equipment sector, followed All these new applications of informati- Technology and Micro-Hybrid Electronic, by the optics industry and applica- on technology and artificial intelligence a company based in Hermsdorf. Micro- tions for electrical machines or de- systems generate vast amounts of data Hybrid Electronic specializes in minia- vices. The German government has that need to be processed in ever-shor- turized electronic circuits and infrared responded to this welcome trend ter timeframes. That’s not a problem for sensors. The innovative microchips have by significantly expanding its Pa- a new generation of microchips. These been used by leading manufacturers of tent and Trademark Office in Jena. It chips are based on innovative EUV litho- smartphones and semiconductor pro- plans to create around 110 additio- graphy, which uses ultraviolet light and ducts for just over two years, with more nal jobs and three new departments makes the chips significantly smaller, added every day. (gro) in the City of Light by 2024. (gro) Thuringia’s Leibniz Center for Photo- nics in Infection Research (LPI) gets millions in funding The current pandemic is teaching us just how dangerous infectious disea- ses can be for mankind. That high- lights the need to vigorously promote the development of new diagnostic and treatment tools.