NRW – The Number One Logistics Location in Europe

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North Rhine-Westphalia – Home of the Global Players

North Rhine-Westphalia is the economicallystrongest metropolitan region in Europe. If itwere an independent nation, it would be one ofthe strongest export countries in the world.Even compared to the other German states,this region between the Rhine and the RuhrValley enjoys a leading position

A total of 34 of Germany’s 100 largest compa-nies and nine of Europe’s 100 largest compa-nies are based in the Rhine and Ruhr region. Inaddition to these there are more than 723,000SMEs. Five of the top ten logistics companiesalso have their headquarters in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Logistics is the most importantservice sector in NorthRhine-Westpha lia. Noother region in Eu-rope boasts such an

efficient and tightly knit network of motorways,roads and railways. Around 24,000 logisticscompanies are located in North Rhine-West-phalia, employing 260,000 people.

Including those employees who perform logis-tical activities in the manufacturing and trade industry, there are around 600,000 people activein the logistics sector in North Rhine-Westphalia.This makes logistics one of the largest sectorsin North Rhine-Westphalia and thus the back-bone and driving force behind its economic success.

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Logistics State NRW – Lifeline of Industry

North Rhine-Westphalia is the heart of theWestern European goods hub. Almost 40 per-cent of the EU population who generate some45 percent of the purchasing power within theEuropean Union live within a radius of 500 kilo-meters around the state capital Düsseldorf.

In total, just below 18 million people live inNorth Rhine-Westphalia alone. The largest cityin the state is Cologne, which comes just belowthe million mark with 995,000 residents, follow -ed by Dortmund (587,000), Essen (582,000) andDüsseldorf (581,000).

North Rhine-Westphalia is the center of themanufacturing industry in Germany. Here, 23per cent of those employed in the German manufacturing industry generate 22 percent ofGermany’s industrial turnover. The real grossdomestic product currently totals EUR 484 billion. This represents a share of almost EUR56,500 per person in employment.

With its four trade fair sites in Düsseldorf,Cologne, Essen and Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia has become one of the most impor -tant trade fair locations for international trade inEurope and the world. Some 50 leading tradefairs with over 6 million visitors annually areproof positive of the outstanding position enjoyed by North Rhine-Westphalia in the inter -national trade fair sector.

NRW Transport Network – Consolidation Point in Europe

With direct transport links to Belgium, theNetherlands, Spain, France, the UK, Switzer-land and Austria, North Rhine-Westphalia connects Europe’s major seaports with Scan-dinavia, the Baltic states, Russia, Poland, Hun-gary, the Czech Republic and Romania.

For intercontinental goods flows from and toAsia and North America, North Rhine-West-phalia is the first port of call in continental Europe and a constantly growing location forEuropean distribution centers. More than 25%of all distribution centers in Germany can befound in North Rhine-Westphalia. With around400 direct connections from eight airports,goods and passengers can reach all metro -polises within and beyond Europe in just a fewflying hours.

The state has around 7,100 kilometers of motorway and 22,500 kilometers of countryroads. Almost 500,000 trucks are registered inNorth Rhine-Westphalia. Furthermore, NorthRhine-Westphalia has the largest inland port inEurope in Duisburg. A total of 720 kilometers ofwaterways and 120 ports enable access to the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Atlantic, theMediterranean and the Black Sea.

The region also boasts a dense railway net-work with a length of around 8,000 kilometers.Altogether, some 175 million metric tonnes aretransported by rail per year in North Rhine-Westphalia in full-load transport. The large num-ber of intermodal logistics sites and terminalsfacilitates the use of the railway system for logistical chains. The most important hubs arelocated in Duisburg, Cologne and the easternRuhr Valley.

North Rhine-Westphalia is connected to Rotter -dam port via the Betuwe route. There are plansto invest EUR 3 million in North Rhine-West-phalia’s railway network in the coming years.

Right in the Middle – Logistics Regions in NRW

Logistics is an essential function of modern industry. Therefore it is a key economic factor inall regions. The following regions of North Rhine-Westphalia have developed particular compe-tences in logistics:

� The Cologne/Bonn area is one of the state’s core logistical regions and is especially strong when itcomes to the fields of trade and chemical logistics.In addition, the region is home to Germany’s mostimportant intermodal terminal and Germany’s sec-ond most important freight airport, Cologne/BonnAirport.

� The Duisburg Lower Rhine region includes Duisburgas well as the districts of Wesel and Kleve. As wellas the Rhine as the lifeline of this region (ports ranging from Emmerich and Wesel to the most important inland port in Europe – Duisburg), contractlogistics companies can be found here for a widerange of tasks. The University of Duisburg-Essenhas developed a specialty in logistics (Center for Logistics and Traffic).

� The eastern Ruhr Valley includes the strong loca-tions Dortmund, Unna and Hamm. Not only does thisregion represent the logistical beating heart of theGerman trade logistics sector, it is also the locationof Europe’s most important research institute for logistics: the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flowand Logistics (IML).

These core logistical regions are complementedby other regions with particular logistical com-petences:

� The central Ruhr Valley (Herne, Recklinghausen dis-trict, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Ennepe-Ruhr district)is the preferred location for last mile logistics. At thevery heart of the Ruhr Valley, first-rate distributioncan be conducted from the sites in this area.

� The central Lower Rhine (Neuss, Krefeld, Mön chen -gladbach) has established itself as a location forprominent logistics service providers and offers cut-ting-edge services in the field of textiles logistics.

� The Münsterland region offers logistical sites withgood transport links and is particularly strong in thefood, mechanical engineering and vehicle cons -truction industries. The region is the gateway to theRuhr Valley and bridge to the Netherlands.

� The Bergische Land region is of particular signifi-cance from a transport logistics point of view be -cause of its location between Cologne/Bonn andthe Ruhr Valley. For this reason, this region has developed a strong logistics industry.

The Aachen region is logistically interesting not onlybecause of its proximity to Belgium and the Nether-lands, but is also home to a research and develop-ment heavyweight in the form of RWTH TechnicalUniversity Aachen.

The Sauerland and Siegerland regions are amongthe most important locations for mechanical engi-neering in Germany and are therefore a key sourceof logistical value creation.

� The Ostwestfalen-Lippe region is one of the mostthriving regions in the state of North Rhine-West-phalia. Furniture manufacturers, the food industryand a strong base of SMEs make this an importantlocation for logistics companies.

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Innovation State NRW – Focus on Knowledge

With 61 colleges and universities, 470,000 students and more than 50 non-university research institutes, North Rhine-Westphaliaboasts Europe’s densest scientific and researchlandscape. Five of Germany’s ten largest uni-versities are located in North Rhine-Westphalia.

By 2015, North Rhine-Westphalia is going to beGermany’s number one innovation state, inother words the state with the most patents, themost employees and the highest investments inresearch and development.

North Rhine-Westphalian innovation policiesare based on three pillars:

The higher education policy opens up newcreative leeway for colleges and universities,thus creating optimum conditions for teach-ing and research.

The specific funding of research and tech-nology specialties focuses on future fieldswith particular potential as well as the devel-opment of innovative business ideas and future trends.

The promotion of knowledge and technol-ogy transfer strengthens interaction betweenthe worlds of science and economics andtherefore creates a network between the important leading sectors.

One key instrument to achieve these objectivesis the formation of clusters. For this reason, 16clusters have been established in the most important leading sectors in the state.

Logistics is one of these clusters as an essen-tial cross-sectional industry. LOG-IT Club together with the Association of the TransportIndustry and Logistics NRW (Verband Ver -kehrs wirtschaft und Logistik NRW) has taken onthe task of cluster management.

Furthermore, in the past few years numerousprojects and initiatives have been started on behalf of the logistics location North Rhine-Westphalia which all pursue the goal of im-proving the location’s competitiveness.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow andLogistics (IML) in Dortmund is the place to gofor all issues surrounding holistic logisticalprocesses. The Institute supports new tasksand requirements, develops new solutions andoptimizes internal and external logisticalprocesses. North Rhine-Westphalia thereforeboasts most likely the world’s most renownedresearch institute for logistics.

In early 2008, the logistics cluster “Logistik-Land NRW” initiated a process that aims atforming cross-company networks and infor-mation platforms as well as strengthening andmarketing North Rhine-Westphalia as a logisticslocation.

The cluster’s activities are financed by partici-pating companies and members from NorthRhine-Westphalia themselves. The project isbeing actively funded by the state governmentof North Rhine-Westphalia, supported by theEuropean Union.

The cluster association (LOG-IT Club e.V.) isgrowing continuously and unites companiesfrom a wide variety of fields of logistics, such asintralogistics, the real estate industry specializingin logistics, security technology, logistics IT ortraditional logistical services. Furthermore, the3,000 members of the shipping and logisticsassociation VVWL (Verband Verkehrswirtschaftund Logistik Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V.) are in-cor porated in the activities as indirect clustermembers. It goes without saying that contacts toother inter-sectoral clusters are also constantlyexpanded and cultivated within the network.

Solutions for the current and future challengesin the logistics sector are developed in sectorgroups, sector forums and numerous jointevents with partners from the region. This aimsat promoting a dialogue between the economyand science and assisting companies in im-proving their competitiveness. This is alsohelped by constant market observation by theNRW/Logistics Index and the opportunity totake part in trade fairs or training cooperations.

The aim is for modernization and growth in logistics companies in North Rhine-Westphalia,in order to establish the state as Europe’s num-ber one logistics location.

Logistics Cluster NRW – Competence Network

Contacts in the Region – Cluster Management

LOG-IT Club e.V. Märkische Straße 120 44141 Dortmund Clustermanager: Peter Abelmann Tel.: +49 (0)231 5417193 Fax: +49 (0)231 5417387 Mobile: +49 (0)173 5644420 Email: p.abelmann@sci.de

Verband Verkehrswirtschaft und Logistik Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. Haferlandweg 8 48155 Münster Clustermanager: Dr. Christoph Kösters Tel.: +49 (0)251 6061410 Fax: +49 (0)251 6061414 Email: verband@vvwl.de www.vvwl-transport.de

NRW.INVEST GmbH Völklinger Straße 4 40219 Düsseldorf Contact: Klaus-Peter Dietzel Tel.: +49 (0)211 13000-169 Fax: +49 (0)211 13000-154 Email: Dietzel@nrwinvest.com www.nrwinvest.com

LogistikLand NRW www.logistik.nrw.de