Extract from "CANADIAN GERMAN TRADE", Vol. 14/3 June/July 2002 - Source: NRW`s Economic Development Corporation (GfW)

NRW: The economic powerhouse of Europe The dynamic region in the heart of Europe intensifies its activities in North America

NRW: These three letters stand for the state's name - Nordrhein-Westfalen. With its 18 million people the region at the junction of the rivers Rhine, Ruhr and Weser is located directly in the heart of Europe. The most densely populated German state, it is a dynamic region with tremendous economic potential. In a comparison of gross domestic product, NRW ranks eleventh on an international scale with a GDP of EUR 459.6 billion (2001) - ahead of the "fifth continent" Australia and important European partners like the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden. The 3 year-long NRW/North America Initiative was established in May 2001 to intensify the state's commitment in the United States and Canada. It was here that the industrial heart of Europe used to beat to the rhythms of the coal and steel industry. Today it is the service sector that makes up two thirds of the region's gross production and defines the character of the economy.

Though 23 of the top 50 largest German companies (banks and insurance companies not included) such as Bayer, Deutsche Telekom, ThyssenKrupp and the media giant Bertelsmann are based here, NRW is still a state of and friendly to small and medium-sized businesses along with young and innovative start-ups. Particularly future-oriented sectors like the TIME sector - Telecommunications, Internet, Media and Entertainment -, biotechnology and medical technology companies as well aslogistics and mobility have been experiencing an enormous start-up boom for years and were supported by the state's government through economic development programs and initiatives. In previous decades, the State Government of Nordrhein-Westfalen has been specifically supporting the structural conversion from coal mining and steel industry to a service-oriented economy and the termed "new economy". No other region in Europe has been experiencing such a rapid development in the media and communications sectors. Many of the leading German telecommunication providers have chosen NRW as the location for their businesses' headquarters. Among them are global industry giants such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and E-Plus. On their coattails thousands of new providers and supplier firms have emerged, small and medium-sized businesses in the services sector such as service providers and hardware manufacturers. It is here that international success stories begin, such as that of the Dortmund-based software company Materna GmbH, which has 1,400 employees and was able to generate a turnover of EUR 181 million in 2001.

Call center operating businesses, young and innovative software suppliers, and e-commerce firms successfully engage their markets from locations throughout Nordrhein-Westfalen. Furthermore, Nordrhein-Westfalen is Germany's number one in the information and communications sectors. Approximately 300,000 employees generate an annual turnover of more than EUR 100 billion in this area. Movie and TV production, broadcasting station giants such as the "Westdeutsche Rundfunk" (NRW's regional station) and "RTL", young music TV channels such as VIVA and also global players such as Bertelsmann can be found here.

In addition, the state ranks clearly first as far as the advertisement industry is concerned. Approximately 1,000 advertising agencies make NRW's capital Düsseldorf Germany's advertising capital. Among them, the three leading German agencies with the highest turnover in Germany, the BBDO Group, Publicis FCB Group and Grey Group. In the future-oriented life sciences sector, especially in the biotechnology and medical technology areas, Nordrhein-Westfalen rates a top performance among European countries. The state has worldwide the densest network of health care institutions. The highly developed medical infrastructure offers unique opportunities in technology development and in the sale of products and services. Compared to other European regions, NRW has the highest number of physicians and dentists. There are 141,300 beds in 450 general hospitals. Additionally, there are 16,518 beds in psychiatric and neurological institutions along with 22,000 beds in hospitals providing preventive care and rehabilitation. The health care system of Nordrhein-Westfalen employs 500,000 people, among them 70,000 physicians who specialize in 30 different fields. Of the EUR 16.35 billion that are spent annually by the state government, EUR 2.18 billion are allocated to the health care system.

Throughout Europe, the Federal Republic of Germany ranks first in the biotechnology industry - with Nordrhein-Westfalen as the driving force behind this development. Back in 1977 the Institute of Biotechnology was founded in the Research Center Jülich, in 1982 the world-famous Cologne Genetic Center, incorporating the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and the Max Delbrück Laboratories, followed suit. In 1984, Qiagen, now one of the most successful biotech companies worldwide, was founded as a spin-off of the University of Düsseldorf and today employs 1,500 people throughout the world and generated a worldwide turnover of US-$ 284.9 million in 2001.

That is an increase of 22 per cent compared to the previous year. Other outstanding representatives of Nordrhein-Westfalen's biotechnology industry are the global pharmaceutical company Bayer Group and the adhesive-manufacturing giant Henkel - which are both committed to and active in this research-intensive future-oriented sector. As a region well known for its trade fairs, Nordrhein-Westfalen is an exhibition site for suppliers from all over the world. In 2000, the fair and exhibition grounds in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Dortmund and Essen attracted more than 5 million visitors. Each year about 100 specialized trade fairs of worldwide importance take place, positioning NRW among the world leaders in this field. Nordrhein-Westfalen is also a top location for international investors. In 2000, EUR 85.7 billion of foreign capital was concentrated there - 30.2 per cent of all foreign investments in Germany. The top five investors are the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and France. They make use of the crucial advantages NRW offers as a business location. Nearly 150 million people live within the radius of a one-day truck ride around the state's capital Düsseldorf - 40% of all consumers in the EU.

You can reach any European capital by plane within three hours. In addition, there is a highly developed infrastructure with Europe's most comprehensive educational network and large numbers of highly skilled workers. "The economic powerhouse of Europe" - that is the motto of NRW's Economic Development Corporation (GfW), which is in charge of the state's business location marketing. A study, conducted among the 560 US companies maintaining branches or joint ventures in NRW, clearly showed the advantages NRW offers as a business location: it is centrally located in the heart of Europe and consequently close to all major markets.

More "hard" business location factors playing an important role in the decision to set up business are the excellent infrastructure, the nearby Ruhr district and the large numbers of highly qualified workers. Since May 2001 Nordrhein-Westfalen's economic development has been focused on the North-American market. The NRW/North America Initiative, which was launched in May 2001 and will continue for the next three years, is supposed to increase the state's commitment in the United States and Canada. The initiative's objective is to integrate the North American partners of various industries and different regions of NRW into an alliance. Giving greater transparency to activities, putting together resources and advertising NRW as a blanket brand to the US market are the priority areas along with attracting US firms to set up business in NRW. The initiative focuses on future-oriented industries like biotechnology, medical technology, the TIMES* industry, the chemical industry and logistics and is being supported by targeted media and PR work. Not only is Nordrhein-Westfalen a first-class business location, it is also a good place to live. A study, conducted among French entrepreneurs with businesses in NRW, revealed the cultural scene, the excellent restaurants and bars as well as the architectural attractions and beautiful natural setting of the state as main factors for attracting people. In addition, there are plenty of attractive leisure, entertainment and sports facilities as well as friendly people who are by tradition sociable and open-minded. In the well-known metropolitan area Ruhr District, people from 80 different nations live and work together. World-famous cultural and architectural highlights of the state include attractions like the Cologne Cathedral or the so-called "imperial city" of Aachen, the dance theater of Pina Bausch in Wuppertal and the Bochum theater "Schauspielhaus". Volcanic crater lakes, the so-called "Vulkanmaare", in the Eifel region, old industrial monuments in the Ruhr District, the Rhine valley and the thousand hills of the low-mountain region "Hochsauerland" - Nordrhein-Westfalen has a lot to offer to its visitors.

Annually approximately 14.4 million people from all over the world experience and enjoy the diversity of this dynamic European region, which does not stop setting records, even when it comes to beer. Each year, approximately 30 million hectoliters (approx. 800 million gallons) of beer are brewed in the more than 120 breweries of NRW, which means more than a quarter of all the beer consumed in Germany comes from the region at the junction of the rivers Rhine, Ruhr and Weser. Included are specialty brews like the so-called "Altbier", a top-fermented, dark beer that is especially popular in Düsseldorf and the Lower Rhine region, and "Kölsch", a pale beer brewed only in Cologne. About two dozen traditional breweries in the Cathedral City of Cologne brew this top-fermented beer, which is, like Champagne or Chianti, recognized by the EU as a "Registered European Regional Specialty". * T=telecommunications, I=information technology (IT), M=Media, E=Entertainment, S=Security