North Rhine-Westphalia honors foreign investors

On 25 June 2012, NRW.INVEST and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia presented the NRW.INVEST AWARDS in the presence of approx. 450 international guests from business and politics. The state honors companies with these awards in the categories New Investment, Expansion Investment and Innovation for their bold and innovative investments in North Rhine-Westphalia

(from left): Christoph Kleine, CEO Kleine Logistik GmbH; Consul General Janice G. Weiner, US Consulate General Düsseldorf; Dietmar Lackmann, General Manager Logistics, IT and Corporate Quality; 3M Deutschland GmbH; Lothar Dähn, CEO GYS GmbH; Bruno Bouygues, Managing Partner GYS Group; Prof. Peter Loosen, Vice Director Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen; Petra Wassner, CEO NRW.INVEST GmbH; Marcel Philipp, Mayor of the City of Aachen; Garrelt Duin, Minister for Economic Affairs, Energy and Industry of the State of NRW and Dr. Marc Corthout, President XTREME technologies GmbH.

The NRW.INVEST AWARD in the New Investment category goes to the French manufacturer GYS in Aachen. The company specializes in inverter welding machines, battery service machines and car body shop equipment. It has invested 3.5 million euros in its own building to expand its administration and logistics capacities. Last May saw the groundbreaking ceremony for the company's new service, logistics and training center. With this investment, the firm plans to increase its staff from 40 to 60 employees. The French parent company has been focusing on investments in innovative technologies for several years.

In the Expansion Investment category, NRW.INVEST is presenting the award to the American 3M corporation and its German partner Kleine Logistik. 3M has its German headquarters and its technology center in Neuss, its European distribution center in Jüchen and further locations in Hilden and Kamen. The company generates sales of 2.2 billion euros in Germany and employs approx. 5,500 people.

In 2011, 3M planned to expand its European distribution center in Jüchen, from where half of its European end customers were to be supplied. To implement this project, a medium-sized German then became involved: Kleine Logistik in Grevenbroich. In a construction period lasting just seven months, the logistics specialist built a 40,000 square meter warehouse which leaves nothing to be desired: The new warehouse contains 3.5 kilometers of materials-handling technology. The amount invested came to 25 million euros. 3M's expanded European distribution center now covers an area of 72,000 square meters. 3M continues to focus on growth in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The award in the Innovation category goes to the Japanese company XTREME technologies GmbH in Alsdorf. At its location in Alsdorf, the innovative company produces light sources which generate EUV light. This extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light is used in cleanrooms and is required in lithography machines. It is the key to a major technological advance. Thanks to this light it will be possible in future to manufacture even smaller electronic circuits with many billions of components on a silicon wafer. The parent company of the award winner is the Japanese Ushio Group. It employs 5,300 people worldwide and generates sales of 1.3 billion euros. In 2010, the subsidiary invested in a 1,400 square meter cleanroom area in Alsdorf. Since then, 200 jobs have been created, 80 of which are involved in development and research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology and RWTH Aachen University. In 2011, the company supplied the first light sources. Mass production of the semi-conductors is scheduled for 2014.