magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen

Companies
Niedersachsen Global 17
Image: WIN Wirtschaftsförderung GmbH / Henniges
Gears needed to work
Not only in the big automobile centers Emden, Wolfsburg, Hanover and Osnabrück, also in more rural
regions one can find important companies that are needed to keep the automobile industry working.
Niedersachsen‘s centers of the automobile industry are
located around Emden, Osnabrück and Hanover as well as
Wolfsburg, of course. But even apart from these big cities,
the automobile industry is noticeable: along the river Weser,
especially in the economic region called Mittelweser, a flourishing,
versatile landscape of enterprises with a certain importance
for the automobile construction exists. The spectrum
is as wide as the value-added chain is deep: from the service
of the North German gas station net “Classic” through the
construction of in-house transport services up to the classic
supplier, producing rubber gaskets, window glasses, synthetic
leather covers for cars can be found here.
In the middle of Niedersachsen between Hanover and
Bremen, more than a dozen companies are working in the
field of automobile industry. Automotive - is only one of the
five main branches there - but an important one: “On the
one hand we have direct suppliers, on the other hand we
have niche enterprises offering special services. They have
a good basis for the next years’ development, because of
their innovative potential” says Uta Kupsch, Manager of WIN
“Wirtschaftsförderung im Landkreis Nienburg / Weser GmbH”
(Economical Aid Nienburg / Weser Corporation). “The development
of the last years shows that enterprises with strong
focuses on niches endured the crisis better than other ones.”
A few examples show of regional diversity: one of the
biggest regional players is Henniges Automotive. 500 employees
produce exclusively for the car market in a wide product
range: the consumers reach from Audi, Bosch, BMW, and
VW to Elring, Kautex and Yazaki. The product assortment is
also wide spread: clogging for doors and rears help to keep
the interior dry, isolations prevent disturbances from sound as
well as strong movements and finally the tank opening is used
by every driver. Considerably less visible for the end consumer
is CT data technology. The Nienburgers develop software
and computer systems for rubber production control, used
within classic tires - or also noticeable through a feeling while
hitting the brake when the brake covering is forced to work.
The consumers of CT-Technologies are widely spread: from
Henniges “just around the corner” to South Africa, China and
the US. The engaged 15 employes at CT made the enterprise
a leading software engineer for rubber production.
Again, the Lühmann Group is totally different. Beyond
the big oil companies like Aral and Shell, Lühmann runs nearly
100 gas stations in an area between Schleswig-Holstein,
Osnabrück and Hanover as well as around Mainz - called
“Classic”. “We concentrate on the more rural regions” states
Fritz Lühmann, Manager of Lühmann Group. “That´s where
we come from. Here we know the consumers. Furthermore,
these are locations that are uninteresting for the big oil companies.”
The oil distributer Lühmann is one of the big lubricant
suppliers in North Germany and provides commercial
end consumers with fuel, for example. The more rural location
is rated positively by Fritz Lühmann: “In 130 years of our
company history we never had an occasion that would have
made us move away. From the city Hoya we need 30 minutes,
in every direction to reach our clients. Besides this, the joint
community supports us very well. If we have a concern within
a day all interested parties are assembled. At a highway joint
connection we would be only one among many others.”
Contact
Wirtschaftsförderung im
Landkreis Nienburg / Weser GmbH
www.win-nienburg.de