Foreign companies
in the Rhineland
INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLISHERS
Published by Hamburg
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Aachen, Germany; Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK)
Bonn/Rhein-Sieg, Germany; Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Düsseldorf, Germany;
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Köln, Germany; Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK)
Mittlerer Niederrhein, Germany; Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Wuppertal-RemscheidSolingen, Germany; Niederrhein Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Duisburg-Wesel-Kleve,
Germany (Contacts and addresses see on page 14)
Authors | Editors:
Daniel Boss, Düsseldorf; Manfred Meis, Meis Medienservice, Nettetal; Claudia Masbach, IHK Aachen;
Armin Heider, IHK Bonn/Rhein-Sieg; Robert Butschen, IHK Düsseldorf; Christoph Hanke, IHK Köln;
Jörg Raspe, IHK Mittlerer Niederrhein; Beatrice Achim, IHK Wuppertal; Dr. Thomas Hanicke,
Niederrheinische IHK Duisburg-Wesel-Kleve.
Editor-in-chief:
Robert Butschen | IHK Düsseldorf
phone: +49 (0)211 3557-217 | fax: +49 0211 3557-412 | email: [email protected]
Translation:
RSH Management & Consulting GmbH, Düsseldorf, Gemany
Design:
360° Design, Ulrike Wiest, Krefeld, Gemany
Printed by:
Druckstudio GmbH, Düsseldorf, Gemany
As at: December 2016
Bremen
POLAND
GERMANY
Berlin
Amsterdam
The Hague
THE NETHERLANDS
Rotterdam
Duisburg
Krefeld
Antwerp
ACCESSIBLE
(within a radius of 500 km):
approx. 150 million consumers
Wuppertal
Düsseldorf
Cologne
Brussels
Aachen
Bonn
BELGIUM
Frankfurt
CZECH REPUBLIC
Luxembourg
FRANCE
OBJECTIVE
This survey is designed to show that the Rhineland is truly international due to the large number of foreign companies that are members of the
­Chambers of Commerce and Industry, which are collaborating in the „Rheinland Initiative“, in this case the Chambers of Aachen, Bonn/Rhein-Sieg,
­Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Köln, Mittlerer Niederrhein and Wuppertal-Solingen-Remscheid. The foreign companies associated with the Chambers of
­Commerce and Industry are made up of foreign companies registered in the official commercial register and small businesses led by foreign nationals.
The Chambers of the „Rheinland Initiative“ are promoting the enhancement of the traffic infrastructure, regional concepts to create qualified jobs and
a future-orientated policy on industry and real estate. They support the optimizing of networks with R&D institutions and the increase of potentials in
manufacturing industries, trade, logistics, tourism, hotel and catering industry, trade fair and event business. All this contributes to the promotion of
the Metropolregion Rhineland as a national and international business location.
Paris
Stuttgart
Rhineland Region
Munich
SWITZERLAND
SOURCES
MARKUS database of Creditreform AG, Neuss, Germany, 2016
Databases of members maintained by Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Rhineland, Germany, 2016
Ausländische Bevölkerung in Nordrhein-Westfalen am 31. Dezember 2015
Landesbetrieb Information und Technik Nordrhein-Westfalen (IT.NRW), statistics division, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2016
Konjunkturbarometer Rheinland Herbst 2016
Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Rhineland, Germany, 2016
All the information provided in this brochure has been collated and drafted with the utmost care. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Düsseldorf
does not provide any guarantees in respect of the accuracy and completeness of the content nor is it liable for any interim changes. Reprints, including
extracts, are permitted only if the source is acknowledged. Specimen copy requested.
2
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
Fig. 1
AUSTRIA
Location of the Rhineland within Germany und Europe
CONTENTS
Foreign companies in the Rhineland: Key facts
4
The Rhineland: A strong economy and truly cosmopolitan
5
Trade comes first: both for registered companies and small companies alike
8
Remarkable diversity: Companies come from over 160 countries
10
Close-up: The districts covered by the seven Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Rhineland
12
Contacts and addresses
14
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
3
FOREIGN COMPANIES IN THE RHINELAND:
KEY FACTS
THE RHINELAND:
A STRONG ECONOMY AND TRULY COSMOPOLITAN
The seven Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Rhineland have 539,602
member companies. Of these 55,475 have a foreign shareholder or owner.
Or put another way, more than one in ten companies is foreign-owned.
populated areas within the state with almost 50 percent of the latter figure, i.e. 8.6 million inhabitants.
Kleve
Kleve
District
Wesel
Some 1,246,900 inhabitants of the Rhineland (14.5 percent) are from abroad, compared to 12.3 percent for
NRW.
Wesel District
Of these foreign companies, 13,055 are entered in the commercial register,
while the remaining 42,420 are small companies.
The capital and the businesspeople themselves come from more than
160 nations, spanning the globe from A for Australia to Z for Zimbabwe.
Duisburg
Krefeld
Viersen
District
Mönchengladbach
The Netherlands tops the list of foreign companies registered
followed by the USA and Switzerland.
With respect to small companies, Polish entrepreneurs have a slight edge over Turkish
business people, who in turn are more numerous than the Italians, Romanians and Greeks.
Preferred sectors for those companies registered are trade (4,312) and freelance, scientific
and technical services including legal advice, tax consultancy, market research etc. (2,377).
Trade is also the top sector for small companies (10,193), followed by
construction (6,996) and the hotel and catering industry (6,327).
Neuss
Rhine
County of Solingen
Neuss
Heinsberg
District
Aachen
Cities Association
of Aachen
Mettmann District
Düsseldorf
Düren
District
Leverkusen
Rhein-Erft
District
Cologne
Wuppertal
Remscheid
Bergisch-Gladbach
RheinBerg
District
Oberberg
District
Rhein-Sieg
District
Bonn
Euskirchen
District
Rhine
In the context of this brochure the Rhineland is defined as the districts covered by the Chambers of
Commerce and Industry for Aachen, Bonn / RheinSieg, Düsseldorf, Köln, Mittlerer Niederrhein, Wuppertal-Solingen-Remscheid and Niederrhein IHK in Duisburg. The main cities in this economically powerful
region are Aachen, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Moers,
Cologne, Leverkusen, Bergisch Gladbach, Krefeld,
Mönchengladbach, Neuss, Wuppertal, Solingen and
Remscheid.
The economic strength of the Rhineland is impressively documented by official statistics. With a gross
domestic product (GDP) of € 332 billion (2014) the
Rhineland generated more than 11 percent of the Federal German GDP (€ 2,916 billion). Furthermore the
productivity of the 3.2 million people in employment
(03 / 2016) lies at approximately 10 percent above the
German average. This is reflected in the disposable income. For example, figures produced by MB-Research,
an international market research company, show that
purchasing power stands at 4 percent (2016) above
the Federal German average (104 to 100).
Germany has a total population of approximately 82
million and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
(NRW), the country‘s most populous state, 17.9 million. The Rhineland in turn is one of the most densely
4
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
The Turks, with approximately 262,800 inhabitants
(more than 20 percent), make up the biggest community amongst the non-German population. They are
followed by Poles (105,400), Italians (85,600), Greeks
(55,300) and the Dutch (48,700). These five groups
together account for almost half of all foreigners living in the Rhineland area.
Tab. 1 Foreign national residents in the Rhineland
REGION
IHK Aachen
Städteregion Aachen
Düren District
Euskirchen District
Heinsberg District
IHK Bonn / Rhein-Sieg
Bonn
Rhein-Sieg District
IHK Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Mettmann District
IHK Duisburg
Duisburg
Kleve District
Wesel District
IHK Köln
Cologne
Leverkusen
Rhein-Erft District
Rhein-Berg District
Oberberg District
IHK Mittlerer Niederrhein
Krefeld
Mönchengladbach
Rhine County of Neuss
Viersen District
IHK Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Solingen
Remscheid
Rhineland total
North Rhine-Westphalia
POPULATION AS AT 31.12.2015
Non-Germans
Total
NUMBER
%
144,800
1,240,400
11.7
78,900
533,900
14.8
25,600
262,800
9.7
11,100
191,200
5.8
29,200
252,500
11.6
108,800
915,000
11.9
51,500
318,800
16.2
57,300
596,200
9.6
205,200
1,095,500
18.8
144,100
612,200
23.5
61,100
483,300
12.6
175,300
1,264,200
13.9
93,400
491,200
19.0
40,200
462,700
8.7
41,700
310,300
13.4
354,200
2,247,000
15.8
214,600
1,060,600
20.2
24,400
163,500
14.9
62,800
466,700
13.5
26,500
282,700
9.4
25,900
272,500
9.5
154,400
1,232,800
12.5
34,500
225,100
15.3
37,300
260,000
14.3
57,400
450,000
12.8
25,200
297,700
8.5
104,200
618,200
16.9
62,000
350,000
17.7
17,700
109,500
16.2
24,500
158,700
15.4
1,246,900
8,613,100
14.5
2,207,200
17,865,500
12.3
Source: IT.NRW – statistics division. Düsseldorf 31.12.2015)
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
5
THE RHINELAND:
A STRONG ECONOMY AND TRULY COSMOPOLITAN
There are many sound reasons for the Rhineland`s internationalism. For example entrepreneurs can safely
assume that they will find a first-class infrastructure
with a comprehensive network of motorways and railways, efficient inland ports and three international
airports operating out of Düsseldorf, Cologne / Bonn
and Weeze. What‘s more, neighbouring countries,
such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and
France, are just a stone‘s throw away. State-of-theart data connections complete the outstanding infrastructure of the Rhineland. Universities, higher education institutes and research centres in Aachen, Bonn,
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
Tab. 2
TYPE OF COMPANY
BREAKDOWN
Number
%-value
Small companies
42,420
76.5
11.6
Companies registered in the
official register of companies
13,055
23.5
7.4
55,475
100
10.3
Total
Fig. 3 Rotterdam
Kleve
Wesel
Weeze
A 57
A 40
E 34
Duisburg
A 52
Krefeld
Antwerp
Netherlands
A 52
Mönchengladbach
Brussels
Düsseldorf
Wuppertal
A4
E 25
Brussels
A1
Bergisch-Gladbach
A 61
Maas
Cologne
A 555
Aachen
A 59
E 40
Bonn
A 565
A1
Turkey
8,077 | 350
Poland
8,160 | 160
Netherlands
1,825 | 2,823
Italy
2,872 | 363
Romania
2,422 | 28
Greece
2,158 | 61
United Kingdom
505 | 923
Greater China*
524 | 889
USA
201 | 1,163
Bulgaria
1,219 | 20
Belgium
A 59
A 46
A 44
Top 20 foreign registered companies and small companies in the Rhineland
A 44
Neuss
E 314
Düsseldorf and Cologne are also the venues for many
of the world’s leading trade fairs. Finally, the high
standard of living should not be overlooked. This is a
great place to live with a wealth of culture and diverse landscapes – not to mention the famously friendly
and fun-loving Rhinelanders.
Source: Creditreform, IHKs and own calculation
Fig. 2 Infrastructure in the Rhineland
Belgium
Ratio of foreign companies
to all companies
in the Rhineland in %
Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Jülich, Krefeld, Mönchengladbach and Wupper­
tal maintain close links
with industry and some businesses also run their own
research facilities.
A3
Small companies
Registered companies
349 | 799
France
437 | 662
Switzerland
156 | 938
Russian Federation
803 | 277
Austria
600 | 457
Croatia
918 | 8
Iran
722 | 106
Serbia
606 | 17
Spain
535 | 238
Ukraine
591 | 75
Other countries
8,740 | 2,698
* China, Hongkong, Macao, Taiwan | Source: Creditreform, IHKs and own calculation
6
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
7
TRADE COMES FIRST:
BOTH FOR REGISTERED COMPANIES AND SMALL COMPANIES ALIKE
Fig. 4 Top 10 industry sectors of foreign registered companies in the Rhineland
Fig. 6 Top 10 industrial sectors of foreign small companies in the Rhineland
Trade 10,193
Trade 4,312
Others 2,444
Others 797
Arts, entertainment and recreation 906
Provision of other services 333
TOTAL
Building and construction 351
Transport and warehousing 1,768
Provision of freelance, scientific
and technical services 2,377
13,055
Provision of freelance, scientific
and technical services 3,138
Information and communication 641
Provision of financial and insurance services 748
The No. 1 business activity is trade (wholesale, retail
and commercial agencies) with 4,312 companies, followed by freelance, scientific and technical services
(2,377) and manufacturing (1,335).
Top 10 countries - showing origin of foreign registered companies in the Rhineland
Switzerland
Greater
China* 889
938
France
Japan
662
432
Provision of other
business services 4,262
Provision of other services 3,384
Provision of other business services 871
The seven Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the
Rhineland have 539,602 member companies. Of those
companies 175,457 or about 32 percent are noted in
the Commercial Register. The total number of registered companies from abroad (13,055 out of 55,475)
account for more than 23 percent of all foreign businesses.
2,823
Hotel and catering industry 6,327
Manufacturing and processing industry 1,335
Real estate and housing 862
Netherlands
TOTAL
42,420
Health and social services 2,013
Transport and warehousing 428
Fig. 5 Building and construction 6,996
Information and communication 989
The remaining 364,145 companies (68 percent) are
small businesses. Companies led by foreign nationals
comprise 77 percent of these businesses (42,420), far
higher than the proportion of registered firms. Trade
once again claims top spot in the list of sectors in
which small businesses from abroad are active (10,193
businesses); it is followed by construction (6,996) and
the hotel and catering industry (6,327).
Fig. 7 TOTAL
13,055
Top 10 countries - showing origin of foreign small companies in the Rhineland
Poland
Bulgaria 1,217
Russian Federation 803
Greece
Italy
8,160
2,158
2,872
OTHER COUNTRIES 13,246
OTHER COUNTRIES 3,606
USA
1,163
United Kingdom
923
Belgium
799
Austria
457
Italy
363
* China, Hongkong, Macao, Taiwan | Source: Creditreform, IHKs and own calculation
8
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
TOTAL
42,420
Turkey
8,077
Romania
2,422
NL
1,825
Iran 722
Croatia 918
Source: Creditreform, IHKs and own calculation
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
9
REMARKABLE DIVERSITY:
COMPANIES COME FROM OVER 160 COUNTRIES
Of the 13,055 foreign firms registered in the Rhineland, the undisputed frontrunner with a share of more
than 20 percent is the Netherlands with 2,823 having a majority Dutch ownership. In second place is the
United States (accounting for 9 percent with 1,163); then comes Switzerland (938), the United Kingdom
(923) Greater China (889) and Belgium (799). Here is an overview of some of the important nations doing
business in the Rhineland:
NETHERLANDS
The Dutch are lucky to have a massive market right on
their doorstep and use the Rhineland as a springboard
into North Rhine-Westphalia and Germany as a whole.
Examples are the biotechnology firm Qiagen in
Hilden, dairy giant FrieslandCampina (which has its
largest German site in Cologne), the parcel delivery
firm TNT in Troisdorf and at Cologne/Bonn Airport,
the mail company Postcon in Ratingen, the furniture
manufacturer Leolux in Krefeld and LeasePlan in
Neuss. In the construction sector, the project developer Kondor Wessels has a base in Wuppertal. The
chemical group AkzoNobel has locations in Düren,
Hilden, Köln und Leverkusen.
USA
One of the first examples of American investment in
Germany began in 1908 when International Harvester was established in Neuss and started manufacturing agricultural machines. Sometime later in 1930 the
Ford Motor Company established a base in Cologne
and produces cars till today. Over a period of 60 years,
the German headquarter of multi-technology group
3M in Neuss, with sites in Hilden and in Jüchen, has
expanded to become the firm‘s second largest outside
of the USA. Other big names include the food producer Mars in Viersen and Procter & Gamble, manufacturer of sanitary products in Euskirchen. Logistics
specialist United Parcel Service (UPS) directs its fleet
of vehicles from Neuss and uses Cologne/Bonn airport
as its hub for Europe. Havi Logistics runs large operations in logistics for the food and retail business from
Duisburg. Ford and Microsoft meanwhile maintain
research and innovation centres in Aachen. The paint
specialist Axalta has a plant in Wuppertal. Johnson &
Johnson, producer of healthcare and other consumer
goods has a subsidiary in Neuss. Eaton operates globally providing diversified power management services
with sites in Bonn, Lohmar, Meckenheim, Nettersheim
and Neuss. Cook Medical, suppliers of minimally invasive medical devices, has its European distribution
10
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
centre in Baesweiler. General Electric, one of the world‘s
largest conglomerates, is represented in Solingen with
the European headquarters of its ultrasound division.
SWITZERLAND
A number of Swiss businesses located in the Rhineland
are world famous, including master chocolate maker
Lindt & Sprüngli with production facilities in Aachen,
whilst the Nestlé Group has locations in Neuss
­(“Thomy” delicatessen products) and Euskirchen (pet
foods). Switzerland, with its reputation as a provider
of insurance and financial services, does considerable
business through the Zurich Insurance Group with its
German headquarters based in Bonn. The personnel
­recruitment services company Adecco maintains its
German headquarters in Düsseldorf, while textiles firm
Christian Fischbacher has a base in Remscheid.
UNITED KINGDOM
British companies tend to focus on the districts
around Düsseldorf and Cologne. Examples include
Vodafone (telecommunications), Castrol/BP (lubricants), HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt (banking) and
BBDO (advertising). However Wilkinson Sword, renowned for its shaving and cosmetic articles, has its
German subsidiary in Solingen.
GREATER CHINA
Companies from Greater China (including China,
Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan) are displaying an increasing interest in the Rhineland. Its figure increased
to almost 900 during the last years. Chinese IT giants
Huawei and ZTE oversee their European operations
from Düsseldorf, construction machinery manufacturers XCMG has its European headquarters and a
development ­
centre in Krefeld while Sany has a
­factory in Bedburg. The autotomotive supplier Kiekert
in Heiligenhaus has been taken over by a chinese
group. NGC distrubutes since recently drives through-
out Europe from Duisburg while Dong Feng sells
­agricultural machines from Wuppertal. Finally there is
Lead in Cologne, whose main activities are the development, production and distribution of PC-components.
JAPAN
The area around Immermannstrasse in the state capital
Düsseldorf is often referred to as ‚little Tokyo‘, and with
good reason. Ninety percent of all Japanese companies in North Rhine-Westphalia are based in the city
or the neighbouring districts of Mettmann and Neuss.
Japanese companies represent numerous sectors Including the automotive industry (Toyota, Nissan),
IT / communications (Canon, Epson, Kyocera, NEC),
photo­graphy (Canon, Fuji), mechanical engineering
and steel (Komatsu, Mitsubishi, Nippon Steel), high
tech material (Toho Tenax) and cosmetics (Shiseido).
In 2014 Futec settled down in Duisburg, a manufacturer of inspection systems for the printing industry.
BELGIUM, NORWAY, SWEDEN
AND MANY MORE
Scores of other big companies from almost every
country in Europe and many other corners of the
globe have chosen to set up in the area.
The Belgian presence include UCB Pharma in Mon­
heim and Rheinkalk in Wülfrath, where is limestone
mining and processing.
Examples from Norway are Hydro Aluminium with
operations in Neuss, Grevenbroich and the energy
supplier Statkraft, which organizes the business in
Germany from Düsseldorf and runs a power plant in
Hürth.
Ericsson, the Swedish manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, has its German headquarters in
Düsseldorf along with research institutes in Aachen
and Herzogenrath. Meanwhile the security services
provider Securitas and the tool maker Sandvik are
based in Düsseldorf.
France has a high profile in the Rhineland with the
German head offices of car producers Renault in
Brühl and Peugeot/Citroën located in Cologne, while
those of cosmetics company L’Oréal are to be found
in Düsseldorf and Neuss. Other examples of french
companies are the Axa insurance with headquarters
in Cologne and Targobank with ist headquarter in
Düsseldorf and a service center in Duisburg.
The Santander Group from Spain focuses its banking
activities in Germany in Mönchengladbach. Edscha
Holding GmbH, part of the Spanish corporate group
Gestamp is a global market leader for hinge systems
based in Remscheid.
The presence of Korean companies increased significantly during the last years, including the German
headquarters of LG Electronics in Ratingen and several operations of the Doosan group in Dormagen and
Ratingen.
Since Tata Steel took over the Corus Group, India has
been represented by the steel businesses Hille &
Müller in Düsseldorf and Degels in Neuss.
A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF SMALL
COMPANIES ARE FROM POLAND
AND TURKEY
The most active nation when it comes to establishing
small companies is Poland: 8,160 people from the
neighbouring state not far to the east have acquired a
trading licence, making up more than 19 percent of all
small companies from abroad. The Turks are in second
place slightly behind with 8.077 companies. The presence of both communities in the Rhineland is underlined by an increasing number of registered companies, which are now 350 companies from Turkey and
160 from Poland.
The third, fourth, and fifth place of small companies
are taken by the Italians (2,872), ­Romanians (2,422)
and Greek (2,158).
After the takeover of Thyssen Krupp Nirosta by
­Outokumpu, there is a major company from Finnland
located in Krefeld with a stainless steel mill.
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
11
CLOSE-UP:
THE DISTRICTS COVERED BY THE SEVEN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
AND INDUSTRY IN THE RHINELAND
AACHEN
It is perhaps not surprising that Aachen is
a particularly international and cosmopolitan city as it is situated right where
the borders of Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands come together. Major companies and research facilities around the
world are highly appreciative of one of
­Europe‘s most research-intensive regions.
The industrial scene is dominated by mechanical engineering and chemicals as
well as the production of rubber, plastic
goods, paper and food. The region is also
home to innovative firms working in such
future-oriented sectors as energy, engineering services, IT, life sciences, automotive and environmental engineering. The
IHK covers the region of the Städteregion
Aachen as well as the districts of Düren,
Heinsberg and Euskirchen.
BONN/RHEIN-SIEG
The economic structure of the region is
determined by the service sector. In particular the area accommodates the information and telecommunications branch,
the logistics sector and other providers of
production related services. The manufacturing sector also has a strong presence in
the Rhein-Sieg District, especially the
plastics industry, mechanical engineering
and automotive component suppliers.
Nine­teen UN bodies and around 150 international organisations and NGOs are located in Bonn, helping it to enjoy considerable international networking in the
fields of renewable energy, sustainable
resources ma­
nagement and cooperation
with development projects. The city also
offers world-class facilities for organising
international conferences, meetings and
other events and ranks as an outstanding
science and research hub.
COLOGNE
Proud of its Roman origins, the city of Cologne has over its long history developed
into one of Germany‘s principal logistical
12
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
centres and is now home to one of the
country‘s largest freight depots and possesses the second largest inland harbour
and cargo airport in Germany. Cologne is
also a hub for the insurance industry, creative industries and the media sector. Industry as a whole has established strong
international links with an export ratio of
over 50 percent, yet Cologne is also an innovative, research-intensive academic region with several institutes of higher education. The IHK Köln District incorporates
the urban districts of Cologne and Leverkusen as well as the districts of Oberberg, Rhein-Erft and Rhein-Berg.
DÜSSELDORF
The capital of North Rhine-Westphalia is
one of the most international cities in Germany. The region profits from the proximity
to all national and European markets and
the services of Düsseldorf Airport and the
Messe Düsseldorf. The city‘s Japanese business community is one of the largest in Europe. In recent years, a constantly growing
Chinese presence underlines the strong
Asian character. Düsseldorf today is a business hub for leading industrial firms as well
as the telecommunications, advertising, finance, legal advice, management consultancy, fashion and life sciences sectors. The
area covered by the Chamber includes the
Mettmann District where business activity
focuses on the automotive supply industry,
pharmaceutical industry as well as keys,
locks, and security technology.
DUISBURG AND THE
LOWER RHINE AREA
The district of Niederrhein Chamber of
Commerce and Industry comprises the
city of Duisburg and the districts of Wesel
and Kleve. Logistics is a significant field of
competence in this region. Many national
and international logistics companies settled down especially in the port of Duisburg – Europe’s biggest inland port – but
also in other cities nearby. Likewise, mate-
rial technologies are of big importance as
you find in Duisburg the biggest production of iron and steel in Europe. Other
main sectors are the chemical industry, IT
technologies, Energy and environment,
food processing and tourism.
MITTLERER NIEDERRHEIN
The region – which includes the cities of
Krefeld and Mönchengladbach, the Rhine
County of Neuss and the Viersen District
– extends from the Rhine in the east to
the Dutch border in the west. With an extensive motorway network and conveniently located airports and inland harbours,
the region is superbly connected. No wonder so many international companies –
which now account for a significant proportion of the region‘s 50 percent-plus
export ratio – have based themselves
here. The main industries in Mittlerer
Niederrhein are chemicals, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, steel, aluminium, lignite mining, energy supply,
textiles and (semi-luxury) foods.
WUPPERTAL-SOLINGENREMSCHEID
The Bergisch tri-city district of Wuppertal,
Solingen and Remscheid is traditionally
known for manufacturing and accounts
for a share of around 36 percent. ­Industries
include the production of metal products,
mechanical engineering, the electrical industry, metal production and processing,
the chemicals industry, automobile manufacture, the food and animal fodder industry and the rubber and plastics sector.
Over time numerous companies from
abroad have settled in the area with a
view to exploiting local know-how. With
an export ratio approaching 50 percent,
the business community of the Bergisches
Land has excellent international links. Another mainstay of the region is the services industry, which focuses on trade and
business services.
Tab. 3 Number of foreign companies in the Rhineland
registered companies
country
number
AACHEN
1 Belgium
459
2 Netherlands
433
3 USA
94
4 United Kingdom
65
5 Switzerland
65
6 France
50
7 Greater China*
45
8 Luxembourg
45
9 Austria
37
10 Italy
33
Other countries
200
Total
1,526
BONN/RHEIN-SIEG
1 USA
86
2 Switzerland
81
3 Netherlands
60
4 United Kingdom
48
5 Greater China*
46
6 Luxembourg
38
7 Austria
35
8 France
32
9 Italy
27
10 Belgium
24
Other countries
235
Total
712
COLOGNE
1 Netherlands
299
2 USA
288
3 Switzerland
269
4 France
218
5 United Kingdom
215
6 Greater China*
137
7 Austria
130
8 Turkey
121
9 Belgium
109
10 Luxembourg
96
Other countries
809
Total
2,691
DÜSSELDORF
1 Netherlands
581
2 USA
431
3 United Kingdom
405
4 Greater China*
385
5 Switzerland
268
6 Japan
256
7 France
236
8 Austria
148
9 Sweden
129
10 Russian Federation
116
Other countries
1,354
Total
4,309
small companies
country
number
Turkey
Poland
Netherlands
Romania
Greece
Italy
Bulgaria
Belgium
Serbia
Russian Federation
Other countries
Total
837
795
557
404
248
245
170
163
109
103
1,585
5,216
Poland
Turkey
Italy
Romania
Greece
Bulgaria
Iran
Russian Federation
Austria
Netherlands
Other countries
Total
657
580
280
253
205
149
127
99
84
81
1,657
4,172
Poland
Turkey
Italy
Romania
Bulgaria
Greece
Iran
Croatia
Russian Federation
Ukraine
Other countries
Total
2,983
2,616
986
709
482
428
278
264
226
194
3,588
12,754
Poland
Turkey
Greece
Italy
Romania
Croatia
Bulgaria
Russian Federation
Ukraine
Netherlands
Other countries
Total
2,257
1,274
669
639
422
280
239
231
193
189
3,147
9,540
registered companies
small companies
country
number country
number
DUISBURG AND THE LOWER RHINE AREA
1 Netherlands
904 Turkey
1,489
2 Switzerland
103 Netherlands
555
3 USA
91 Poland
277
4 United Kingdom
86 Italy
245
5 Turkey
48 Greece
122
6 France
41 Romania
84
7 Greater China*
38 Bosnia Herzegovina
77
8 Luxembourg
38 Croatia
74
9 Belgium
26 Serbia
65
10 Austria
23 Bulgaria
59
Other countries
227 Other countries
964
Total
1,625 Total
4,011
MITTLERER NIEDERRHEIN
1 Netherlands
485 Turkey
1,163
2 Greater China*
151 Poland
1,145
3 USA
125 Romania
547
4 Switzerland
99 Greece
435
5 United Kingdom
83 Italy
422
6 Japan
73 Netherlands
269
7 Italy
69 Serbia
149
8 Belgium
57 Croatia
123
9 Turkey
57 Bulgaria
116
10 France
56 United Kingdom
111
Other countries
420 Other countries
1,730
Total
1,675 Total
6,210
WUPPERTAL-SOLINGEN-REMSCHEID
1 Greater China*
87 Turkey
118
2 Netherlands
61 Italy
55
3 Switzerland
53 Greece
51
4 USA
48 Poland
46
5 Austria
29 Maroc
21
6 France
29 Ukraine
18
7 Turkey
26 Russian Federation
17
8 Italy
26 Serbia
17
9 United Kingdom
21 Croatia
10
10 Belgium
12 Vietnam
10
Other countries
125 Other countries
154
Total
517 Total
517
* China, Hongkong, Macao, Taiwan
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
13
CONTACTS AND ADRESSES
IHK Düsseldorf
Ernst-Schneider-Platz 1
40212 Düsseldorf
Germany
www.duesseldorf.ihk.de
Niederrheinische IHK zu Duisburg
Mercatorstr. 22–24
47051 Duisburg
Germany
www.ihk-niederrhein.de
Robert Butschen
phone:+49 (0)211 3557-217
fax: +49 (0)211 3557-412
email:[email protected]
Dr. Thomas Hanicke
phone:+49 (0)203 2821-284
fax: +49 (0)203 2821-356
email:[email protected]
IHK Wuppertal-Solingen-Remscheid
Heinrich-Kamp-Platz 2
42103 Wuppertal
Germany
www.wuppertal.ihk24.de
Duisburg
Düsseldorf
IHK Mittlerer Niederrhein
Friedrichstr. 40
41460 Neuss
Germany
www.mittlerer-niederrhein.ihk.de
Jörg Raspe
phone:+49 (0)2131 9268-561
fax: +49 (0)2151 635-44561
email:[email protected]
IHK Aachen
Theaterstr. 6–10
52062 Aachen
Germany
www.aachen.ihk.de
Claudia Masbach
phone:+49 (0)241 4460-296
fax: +49 (0)241 4460-149
email:[email protected]
Aachen
Beatrice Achim
phone:+49 (0)202 2490-515
fax: +49 (0)202 2490-999
email:[email protected]
Wuppertal
Neuss
Cologne
Bonn
IHK Köln
Unter Sachsenhausen 10–26
50667 Köln
Germany
www.ihk-koeln.de
Christoph Hanke
phone:+49 (0)221 1640-552
fax: +49 (0)221 1640-559
email:[email protected]
IHK Bonn / Rhein-Sieg
Bonner Talweg 17
53113 Bonn
Germany
www.ihk-bonn.de
Armin Heider
phone:+49 (0)228 2284-144
fax: +49 (0)228 2284-225
email:[email protected]
14
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
Foreign companies in the Rhineland
15