North Rhine-Westphalia’s location marketing campaign “We love the new…” is being launched in India / Around 100 Indian companies already present in North Rhine-Westphalia
Pune, 8 March 2010 – North Rhine-Westphalia is soliciting investments in India. At a press conference marking the start of a trip to India lasting a several days, Christa Thoben, Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, introduced the region’s location marketing campaign, “We love the new…”, with a view to interesting Indian companies in North Rhine-Westphalia as a location. The Minister’s trip to India will also include stops in Mumbai and New Delhi.
Innovation and a cosmopolitan approach are the focal point of the campaign, which was launched in October 2008 and positions Germany’s most densely-populated federal state as a leading economic region within Europe. India is one of the campaign’s target countries. “India is an important trading partner for North Rhine-Westphalia,” said Minister Thoben at the press conference in Pune. “And we intend to keep strengthening that trade and investment in the future, making an already close collaboration closer still.” In 2008, external trade between India and North Rhine-Westphalia came to around 3.5 billion euros, and has tripled over the past eight years. “There remains considerable untapped potential here.”
On 9 March 2010, during the course of her trip, Minister Thoben is due to open Renewtech India 2010, a trade fair at which the very latest products and technologies from the fields of renewable energies, energy-efficiency and alternative fuels will be presented. “Renewable energies are among the areas that are particularly rich in opportunities for cooperation for Indian companies and research institutions,” said Thoben.
North Rhine-Westphalia is not just the commercial centre of Germany – it is also Germany’s leading location for energy, and Europe’s leading region in energy terms. Together with a dense network of research institutions, a large number of companies who offer energy-related products and services, all designed to help the user boost energy-efficiency and make use of renewable energies, are domiciled in North Rhine-Westphalia. One focal point here is electric mobility. Thanks to the Rhine-Ruhr region and the Münster and Aachen Competence Centers, North Rhine-Westphalia has become a model region for electric mobility. Our aim is to press ahead with research and development in this sector, and to turn North Rhine-Westphalia into Europe’s first large-scale model region.
There are more than 10,000 Indians living in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 100 Indian companies have already invested in North Rhine-Westphalia, including well-known names like Amtek, Essar Steel, Kalyani Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, McNally, Sona, Suzlon and Tata. “North Rhine-Westphalia is becoming a favourite location for investment for Indian companies in Europe,” says Petra Wassner, C.E.O. of NRW.INVEST. And plenty of noted North Rhine-Westphalian companies already have offices in India, including internationally-known groups and medium-sized companies such as Bayer, Dorma, Henkel, Metro, Oetker, Pierburg, SMS Siemag or ThyssenKrupp.
To introduce itself and mark the launch of the campaign “We love the new...” in India, North Rhine-Westphalia is bringing in an English-language website, an image film and ads in influential Indian media. In addition, Michael Schumacher, seven times Formula 1 World Champion, will also feature in print ads tempting Indian investors to come to North Rhine-Westphalia.
For more information about North Rhine-Westphalia’s location marketing campaign, please visit: www.welovethenew.com