6/24/2010

Martin Zeil, Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs opens ‘Zulieferer Innovativ’ congress

 MUNICH / INGOLSTADT Martin Zeil, Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, opened the 12th annual ‘Zulieferer Innovativ’ congress at the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt today. On his tour of the exhibition he was able to form an impression of this branch of industry and praised the innovative power of the companies acting at national and international levels: “I am particularly pleased that the focus of the exhibition and the ‘Zulieferer Innovativ’ congress this year is once again on innovations. After all, the sustainable innovative power of our companies is crucial to our future as an industrial location. Thanks to our targeted economic and technological policies we are promoting sustainable developments and helping to speed up innovative breakthroughs.” Safeguarding the future of the companies was especially important, particularly after the crisis year 2009, he said.

In 2009, the German automotive industry had to contend with declines in sales of altogether approximately 22 percent, and the German automotive suppliers with drops of around 28 percent. The decrease in sales of Bavaria’s automotive industry amounted to around five percent, and that of Bavarian automotive suppliers to around nine percent. “We have the farsightedness of Bavarian entrepreneurs to thank for the fact that the decline in sales of the Bavarian automotive industry is well below the national average. At the same time, it is also proof of the good political and locational framework conditions that companies find in Bavaria”, Minister Zeil explained.

One important topic of this year’s ‘Zulieferer Innovativ’ congress was the climatic and environmental compatibility of today’s and tomorrow’s vehicles, Zeil continued. The industry was systematically exhausting all energy-saving potentials in the field of combustion engines. At the same time manufacturers and suppliers were working at full stretch on the introduction of electromobility. Said Zeil: “When it comes to drives and energy storage there is still a considerable need for research and development. Bavarian economic policy got involved here at an early point in time and formulated its objectives clearly: The aim is for Bavaria to become the No. 1 electromobility state. Research and development activities must be expedited even more swiftly. We need to find new approaches and take new steps towards accelerating the market launch of electric vehicles. “The Five-Point Strategy adopted by the Bavarian Cabinet in May is yet another kick-start to the topic of electromobility in Bavaria. Its components are the development of the Bavarian research landscape, the support of the existing Munich and the Allgäu electromobility regions, the selection of a model electromobility town in Bavaria, new within the framework of the Bavarian cluster strategy, the support of beacon projects as well as a package of rapid market-launch measures.

Another part of the strategy was the preparation of a Bavarian e-Mobility Competence Atlas. “The Bavarian e-Mobility Competence Atlas will be a compilation of Bavarian competences in the field of electromobility, from research to industrial implementation. Its particular purpose is to help Bavarian companies to form project consortiums quickly and in a targeted manner and to accelerate development activities and cooperations. At the same time it will serve as a basis for an analysis of the strengths and potentials of Bavaria as a technology location”, so Zeil. The competence atlas is already in preparation. The plan is for it to be available online in the late summer of 2010.

The ‘Zulieferer Innovativ’ exhibition and congress are organised as part of the BAIKA Network – Bavarian Innovation and Cooperation Initiative for the Automotive Suppliers Industry, which was initiated by the Bavarian Government in 1997 and is located at Bayern Innovativ GmbH. The BAIKA network comprises more than 2,000 companies and scientific institutions from 50 countries, of which 1,100 alone are from Bavaria.

Source: Invest in Bavaria

For more information about establishing a location in the State of Bavaria, please contact Jan Danisman, phone: 212-317-0588 or email: info(AT)bavaria.org.