Here to stay

Based in Limburg an der Lahn, biovis Diagnostik MVZ GmbH researches innovative forms of laboratory diagnostics and offers customized treatment options for diseases. The company, which is part of the Australian Sonic Healthcare Group, has built on its strong growth and invested more than EUR 20 million in a state-of-the-art headquarters complex with excellent links to the Frankfurt region. And it made a conscious choice to stay in Limburg, a multifaceted and important business location in Hessen.

Global AI and software company Infervision chose Wiesbaden as the site of its European headquarters due to the city’s optimum conditions for the company and its international staff. No less than three German economic development agencies helped with the location process.

At its base in Kassel, Northern Hessen, Norwegian firm Hexagon Purus is developing and manufacturing hydrogen high-pressure systems that are used to sustainably power buses and trains in the state and around the world. The expertise available at this location has convinced this global player to invest in expanding its operations there and to establish a technology center complete with campus.

The European headquarter of Japanese specialty chemicals company Kuraray is located just down the road from Frankfurt Airport. But it’s not merely the location that makes the Rhine-Main region ideal for this sustainability- and socially-oriented company – the area is also home to one of Europe’s largest Japanese communities.

90 percent recycling rate, up to 92 percent lower CO2 emissions than the industry average and continual innovation: The Finnish company Outokumpu is the most sustainable stainless steel producer in the world. Its plant in Dillenburg, Hessen, is an important global interface – and home to the company’s 19,000 honeybees.

Biotech company Chr. Hansen develops and produces bacterial strains in Pohlheim, Hessen, providing a sustainable way to make food last longer and thereby reduce food waste. Thanks to the ideal local conditions, the site was recently expanded – and production was more than doubled.

British group RS has massively expanded its distribution center in Bad Hersfeld in response to Brexit. State-of-the-art systems now deliver products efficiently and sustainably to customers all across Europe from Hessen. A visit by HTAI CEO Rainer Waldschmidt and representatives of Hessen’s economic development network marked the start of even closer cooperation with regional enterprises.

Essity is the producer of such famous brands as Tempo, Zewa and Tork. Their facility in Wiesbaden is the first worldwide using green hydrogen in the drying process. The example shows that even energy-intensive industries can be made sustainable. The state of Hessen is actively supporting this pilot project e.g. with funding from the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF).

Lilly, founded in 1876, is a global, research-based pharmaceuticals company. Since 1960, their German headquarters is located in Hessen. In our Interview with Oliver Stahl, Head of Corporate Affairs at Lilly Deutschland GmbH, we talked about the advantages they gain from being located here over the decades.

Have you ever heard of HCL? HCL stands for Hindustan Computers Limited, a leading lT service company headquartered in India. From their European Headquarter, located in Eschborn in Hessen, they service many of Germany’s Top 40 companies as well as clients in Austria and Switzerland. We wanted to know why the company opted to locate in Hessen and talked to Dr. Rolf Frank Fehler, Senior Vice President & Country Head Germany at HCL Technologies. Not only did the conversation cover HCL’s strategic location decision, but we also learned about their cricket team and a cow named Elsa!

Chinese automaking group Geely opened its Lotus Tech Innovation Centre in Raunheim in Hessen. We visited the place where the new Lotus sports car will be developed and had a discussion full of superlatives, touching on Germany’s largest Chinese community, the most expensive potholes in Hessen, and the region’s largest EV charging park.

Klarna was founded in 2005 in Sweden and came to Central Hessen in 2014. When it outgrew its premises here in Linden the company leased the Old Telegraph Office in Giessen and converted it. The results of the process are worth seeing: A building that combines old and new. And a bank that has graffiti on its walls.

How did a global player from Japan like Dexerials find a home away from home in Frankfurt, Hessen? Donald Schaffer, Director Sales & Marketing Europe and Head of Dexerials' Automotive Solution Business Unit Europe, talks to us about finding the right location, his experience in Frankfurt and coping with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japanese community in Hessen is highly active. More than 2,000 Japanese live in the city of Frankfurt, many Japanese companies are also based here. Such as the "N Store", a pop-up store by Yoshihiro Horikawa. Read here why Yoshi is so fascinated by Frankfurt and discover his extraordinary mobile boutique.

ATC is a data center and logistics company, established in Ireland in 1979. Today, ATC works from bases in Dublin, London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Find out why the company would choose Hessen again as a business location and get some useful advice for foreign investors who want to establish a business here.