Feature Articles / Investment Awards in Germany's Biggest Investment Region
Investment Awards in Germany's Biggest Investment Region - Every year, Germany’s most populous region announces the North Rhine-Westphalia Investment Awards, in the categories of innovation, expansion and new investment.

Investment Awards in Germany's Biggest Investment Region

Every year, Germany’s most populous region announces the North Rhine-Westphalia Investment Awards, in the categories of innovation, expansion and new investment.

NRW Investment Award 2011

North Rhine-Westphalia is the economic centre of gravity in Germany and one of the largest recipients of inward investment in the world. In addition, the region is the world's top trade fair location. Every year, over 60 events, including the investment awards, attract almost 6 million visitors. The awards are used to demonstrate the strong position the area enjoys in terms of investment attraction. In 2011, companies from Japan, Poland and USA received the honours.

The American firm Edgetech Europe won the award for innovation. The company has been present in North-Rhine Westphalia since 2010 but opened up its operations for the first time in May 2011. The innovation of Edgetech has produced an energy saving system for insulating glazing. It is one of the fastest growing companies in the world within the field of environmental technology.

In the category of expansion investment, the award went to the Japanese company Denso Automotive Deutschland GMbH. Denso has been present in Germany for seven years but expanded rapidly in 2010. The number of employees has increased from 30 to 100, and the space taken up by their operations has also tripled, from 2 000 to 6 500 sq. m. The company plans to develop electronic and electrical systems to for applications in the field of electric mobility.

In the New Investment category, the award went to the Polish company Secespol, which has been located in Düsseldorf since March 2010. Secespol is a supplier to the metal and industrial sector, district heating supply, energy technology, refrigeration technology and the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, the company occupies a leading position in the field of high-performance heat exchangers. Secespol was chosen to represent the whole body of Polish investors in the region. With 200 Polish companies currently in operation in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state can lay claim as the most important location for the Polish economy in Germany.

The 2010 awards went to Australian fuel cell company Ceramic Fuel Cells, Japanese machine tool manufacturer Makita and a trio of investors: Danone Waters, Garbe Logistic and Reiner Bohnen Internationale Spedition.

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia has itself been the recipient of accolades. In 2010, the World Bank awarded the state the world’s best performing logistics location. Between 2004 and 2009 there were around 450 foreign investors in the region, creating more than 7,800 new jobs. For most of the companies, the logistical environment was the key attraction in terms of investment.

In total, more than 11,700 foreign companies are controlling German and European activities from the Rhine and Ruhr regions. These include firms such as 3M, BP, Ericsson, Ford, LG Electronics, QVC, Sany, Toyota and Vodafone.

A zone within 500-km radius of Düsseldorf, the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, captures a population of almost 150 million people. That represents around one third of all consumers and 45% of all purchasing power in the EU.

For further information, please see our pages on NRW.INVEST, Economic Development Corporation of North Rhine-Westphalia, or the Dusseldorf Economic Development Agency.