Here to Stay
Hessen is a popular choice of location for international companies. The state has ranked high in Germany’s FDI league table for years now. This shows the most common destination states for investors establishing a presence in Germany.
And they also seem to be here to stay: More and more foreign firms are investing in Hessen for the long term. The number of expansion investments made by international enterprises in Hessen has increased steadily over the last years – from 19 in 2016 to 64 in 2019. And almost one in four of such investments made in Germany last year took place in Hessen. This is particularly gratifying. It shows that investors are satisfied with the decision they made to opt for Hessen, and that they intend to leverage the competitive advantages offered here in the future, too. Overall, more than 90 percent of international investors stay in Hessen for at least five years.
Swedish company Klarna is a poster child for this trend: The payment solutions provider relocated from Linden to Giessen in June 2020. The Giessen offices are now home to around 105 employees, although there is room for more. As Site Lead Frank Dutenhöfer clearly said at the opening of the new location in Hessen: “We are going to be here for some time.”
In addition, global biotech company CSL Behring has again demonstrated its commitment to the state. The company has announced plans for a EUR 185 million expansion in Marburg, already the home of its largest research and production facility, to meet increasing demand. "With an efficient, seamless production chain and the new, state-of-the-art plant, we can once again significantly increase our production capacity. This puts us in a very good position for the future," said Managing Director and Site Manager Michael Schröder.