North Rhine-Westphalia
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Duplication without permission is prohibited 12 THE JAPAN TIMES A SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2006 Special Economic Reports (3) WORLD EYE REPORTS NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA A look at 50 years of success Officially the first Japanese firm to register at the trade control in Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi The Economic Development Corporation International established itself in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1955 to tap into its strong steel (Gesellschaft fu¨r market and be at the forefront of trade in a burgeoning postwar industrial region. Wirtschaftsfo¨rderung Nordrhein-Westfalen mbH or GfW) pro- vides potential investors from other parts of Germany and More than 50 years later, Du¨ s- comes to North Rhine-Westpha- facilities near Du¨ sseldorf, which abroad with a one-stop service ranging from information on seldorf and the surrounding re- lia. Approximately 10 percent of will be 100 percent owned and locations and site searches to organizing and supporting ne- gion have grown into what has the tax income in this area operated by the company. gotiations and approval procedures. First contact for Japa- affectionately become known comes from Japanese compa- While many companies use nese investors is GfW’s subsidiary in Japan, NRW Japan K.K. among the Japanese business nies,’’ says Toshio Kunikata, Ja- the region as a German base, www.nrw.co.jp community as the ‘‘Little Tokyo pan’s consul general to North many use their offices as staging on the Rhine.’’ Rhine-Westphalia. points toward the East. With the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Besides the accommodating eastward expansion of the Euro- Information about the state infrastructure, Japan’s long histo- pean Union, Germany has be- and government of NRW is available on this official Web site ry in the region now allows for ‘‘a come a natural area for the Japa- (German only). www.nrw.de very large business influence in nese to study investments in Po- Europe.’’ land, the Czech Republic and City of Du¨ sseldorf The Web site of NRW’s capital includes ‘‘Many have a European base Hungary. WER information about the city, government and tourist attractions Germany and Japan, playing a friendly match held in Leverkusen before the summer’s FIFA here that they also want to use to Trade will continue to flourish (German, English and Japanese). www.duesseldorf.de cover the Middle East and Africa. between the two regions as a World Cup, look forward to the financial rewards gained from the largest sports event in the world. D u¨ sseldorf has always been and new wave of investment comes Cologne Chamber of Commerce and Industry will remain a European business from Japan. has set up a hub for the Japanese compa- ‘‘The trend today is that small- Web site that features a comprehensive overview of the eco- nies,’’ explains Japan External to medium-sized are beginning to nomic infrastructure of the Cologne Economic Region (Ger- Trade Organization (JETRO) invest in the region,’’ explains combined with the World Cup he says. ‘‘After the ‘Year of Germany in man and English). www.cci-cologne.de D u¨ sseldorf’s Director General Yuoka. ‘‘Because of the proven being held in Germany means Peter Glaessel, the president Japan,’ my expectation is that Kazuaki Yuoka. stability of the region and suc- we expect more and more Japa- of North Rhine-Westphalia’s in- the relationship will be enforced The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) p r ovides cess of larger companies, SMEs nese tourists and investors to vestment board GfW, stresses and even if it won’t be a spectac- information and resources related to bilateral trade (German Established companies reaffirm have the confidence to invest in come to North Rhine-Westphalia that this is a relationship that ular and rapid development, we and Japanese). www.jetro.de commitment to region this area.’’ in the future. This is especially consistently needs to be rekin- can expect it to remain strong for MINISTRY OF THE ECONOMY Companies such as Hitachi true among younger Japanese,’’ dled. years to come,’’ he says. x Christa Thoben, North Rhine- Power Europe, which was offi- New investments Westphalia’s minister of the cially established in April of this and opportunities economy year after going through several The amount of new Japanese incarnations in the past 30 years, investment in the region contin- Realizing the potential of Japa- will set up its new office building ues to grow as new SMEs look nese investment in the region, and headquarters in the inland toward Europe. It is an evolution- the German state aggressively ary shift wherein some larger EU eastward expansion benefits Japanese logistics provider wooed investors in the 1960s companies like Sony move out through tax breaks and econom- but are replaced by SMEs that With the eastward expansion of the European Union in 2004, the ideal logistical center of Europe also shifted in the same direction. Today, the German state of ic incentives. As a result, the Jap- invest in Germany and grow by North Rhine-Westphalia accommodates 85 percent of all headquarters of all logistics companies in the country. And in the middle of it all, in a suburb of the anese population in the region buying out local distribution and state capital Du¨ sseldorf, sits Nippon Express Europe. surged from 269 in 1961 to over production partners. 1,000 by the end of the decade. To accommodate and in- ‘‘This is the true heart of Europe,’’ says Ulf Eric Chrambach, assistant general manager of Eventually, the city had stores, crease this exposure, the two na- Nippon Express in Europe. ‘‘The center of gravity and demand has shifted, and the expansion of restaurants and even barber tions organized the ‘‘Year of Ger- the EU has made the Eastern bloc all the more accessible.’’ shops that catered to Japanese. many in Japan,’’ which just con- ‘‘It just makes sense to operate from this area, especially as Germany, being the largest market And in the early 1970s, the Japa- cluded this past April. in Europe, has the highest complexity of any other European market. If you can serve Germany, nese International School ‘‘Knowledge among the Japa- you can serve other markets with lower complexity,’’ he adds. opened. nese about Germany is decreas- Managing Director Katsumi Sato agrees. ‘‘The concentration of our customers is highest in this Today, Du¨ sseldorf and the sur- ing, especially among the region. Our customer base is currently more than 60 percent Japanese. Many have their European rounding region have the third- youth,’’ says Kirsten Teicher of headquarters in this area. So, it is optimal for us to service them from this location,’’ he says. largest Japanese population in the German-Japan Business Or- This is also why Sato is not only in charge of German operations but the entire Europe, Middle Europe, with about 6,500 Japa- ganization (DJW). ‘‘There is a East and Africa (EMEA) region. nese residents working in over WER very strong relationship but it ‘‘These companies do not go for one large logistics provider but they use a network of smaller 400 Japanese subsidiaries. Toshio Kunikata, Japan’s lacks the hype. This is another companies that are highly specialized to exactly fulfill their outsourcing needs,’’ he explains. That Trade ties between the two plac- consul general to North reason the ‘Year of Germany in requirement fits right into the operations of Nippon Express, which prides itself in not being the es have expanded from steel Rhine-Westphalia Japan’ was held.’’ largest company but in being the one most capable of delivering specialty needs that require and raw materials to consumer The Japanese consul general flexibility. goods and high-technology R&D. port city of Duisburg. agrees that added exposure will Sato points out recent global trends have seen much consolidation within the logistics industry, ‘‘As far as direct investment Kyocera Mita also announced ultimately help the relationship. leaving many to compete for a limited amount of business. While this development may bother that comes to Germany, half of it recently that it will move to new ‘‘The success of this past year, other logistics companies, Nippon Express Europe sees it as a further opportunity to show the company’s emphasis on customer service. ‘‘We’re not trying to be the largest company,’’ explains Sato. ‘‘We want to service our customers NIPPON EXPRESS in the best way possible. We always look for ways to serve them better.’’ x Nippon Express Europe’s sprawling center of operations in Germany www.nipponexpress.net also acts as the company’s nerve center for the entire EMEA region. dSPACE strengthens its commitment to Japan Fact File Germany’s dSPACE, a top producer of integrated electronics and software systems for the development of electronic control units and mechatronic controls, recently opened its GERMANY subsidiary in Japan to better service its second-largest market. OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Republic of Germany CURRENCY: euro ‘‘Since Day in 1991 and drive to be innovative in meeting AVE. EXCHANGE One, we always immedia t e l y customer needs. RATE: $1 = 0.80 euro wanted to en- realized how ‘‘Our primary goal is to make sure that this demanding the products and services that are North Rhine-West- company had market was. good for our customers. We think phalia an international We found of revenue as a good result of CAPITAL: focus, and this good custom- producing high-quality products. Du¨sseldorf subsidiary sym- ers soon after- It is a result and not our primary LAND AREA: 34,084 bolizes our com- ward and grew goal,’’ he says. sq. km mitment to one with them over The future looks bright for P O P U LATION: 18.1 of our most im- the years.