It’s precision work. Six hands align the shiny engine block, gradually move it into place and then carefully fit it into the brackets on the frame. They pull, tighten, push, then connect cables. The two-cylinder engine is now firmly attached – the combination of black tubing and aluminium engine block finally begins to look like a motorcycle. In industry jargon this production step is known as the “wedding”. A lot of these marriages take place at the BMW motorcycle factory in Berlin. Last year alone, its assembly workers fitted more than 100,000 two- and four-cylinder engines to motorcycle frames – more than ever before. R 1200 GS and F 800 ST are the top-selling models created in the hands of these meticulous specialists.
The motorbike workers in the Spandau district are not only building two-wheelers, they are also developing the future of the Berlin-Brandenburg economy. Every one of the motorcycles assembled in the capital city region adds greater impetus to the economic boom “Made in Berlin”. During the first half of 2007, Berlin’s industry received 12% more orders than in the same period last year. Exports are also booming: while companies sent just 22% of their goods abroad in the year 2000, the figure had risen to 30% by 2006.
Just three kilometres from the BMW plant, the boom is reaching an even greater scale. The Siemens Group is building power plant turbines in Berlin with an output of up to 1,200 megawatts – they are among the most powerful in the world. With a workforce of more than 14,000 employees, Siemens is by far the largest industrial enterprise in the Berlin region. The global player also secures an additional 10,000 jobs in the German capital with purchases from local suppliers. Berlin is no ordinary location for the global player: it was here, precisely 160 years ago, that Werner von Siemens founded the business that is now one of the world's largest technology groups. Siemens delivers gas turbines, switching stations, measuring devices, data transmission equipment, mobile networks, incandescent lamps and washing machines all over the world from Berlin. Of all the products bearing the group logo that are made in Berlin, 90% are exported. The company invests 250 million euros a year in local research and development departments. As a result, Siemens facilities in Berlin produce an average of two new inventions every working day.
The Berlin-Brandenburg region is seething with enormous creative and inventive potential. Berlin is the “ideal location for the world’s talents”, says Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit. Firms easily find new specialist and managerial personnel among the region’s more than 180,000 students. 42 technology parks and business incubators have formed a closely knit network with industry. They represent an enormous opportunity for businesses, explains Kai Bindseil, Director of BioTOP, the central contact and coordination office for biotechnology firms in Germany’s capital city region: “Nowhere else in Europe is there so much outstanding research and close cooperation between business and science.” Berlin-Brandenburg ranks second in the European innovation index. Foreign Direct Investment, a British magazine belonging to Financial Times Group, named the German capital European City of the Future – Germany 2006/2007. The honour is awarded every year to the regions and cities that offer the best prospects for foreign investors. The central European location is convincing growing numbers of international companies. Rolls-Royce Germany makes aircraft engines, General Electric develops transport and medical technology, and Bombardier Transportation, the world market leader in the rail transport industry, directs its global activities from its World Headquarters in Berlin.
Seventeen years after reunification, Berlin’s economy is more competitive than ever before. Some 2.6 million people work in the capital city region. As a result of the structural transformation of recent years, new jobs have been created primarily in the industries of the future: telecommunications, microtechnology and energy and environmental technology. Global pharmaceutical groups like Bayer Schering Pharma, Berlin-Chemie and Sanofi-Aventis have been internationally successful with innovative products. The transport sector is represented by the largest employer in the Berlin-Brandenburg region: Deutsche Bahn has 19,000 employees. The group coordinates its global operations from its headquarters at Potsdamer Platz. Air Berlin has achieved one of the most impressive success stories of the post-reunification era. Since 1991 the company has become Germany’s second largest airline. In 2006, 20 million passengers flew in its red-and-white aircraft.
It is a service industry, however, that has risen to the top of the growth league table – without any research and technology. Now 231 call centres employ more than 20,000 people, which makes the capital city region a European leader in this economic sector. The reason for this is explained by Volker Gabriel, Chief Executive of telegab GmbH: “Our agents communicate in 17 languages, ranging from Swiss German and Turkish to Flemish and Scandinavian and eastern European languages. We can only do that because Berlin is a multicultural city.” And a centrally located one, too. All major European markets are only a one-day truck drive from the German capital. That’s good for BMW – the motorcycle manufacturer’s export quota is 76%. It is already becoming clear that it will be another record year for Berlin’s economy: during the first half of 2007 sales already increased by 5.6% compared to same period last year. A good sign.
