magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen
magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen
magazine for business and investment - Innovatives Niedersachsen
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Images (4): Wolfsburg Marketing GmbH<br />
Wolfsburg<br />
Modern Wolfsburg<br />
Wolfsburg is a town in <strong>Niedersachsen</strong> undergoing change,<br />
from one of the legends of the German economic miracle to<br />
a young exciting town in the countryside.<br />
by Juliette Rahn<br />
Wolfsburg. A modern wind is literally blowing in this young<br />
metropolis in eastern <strong>Niedersachsen</strong>. A spirit of optimism has been<br />
unleashed in a town which has long shed its image of a pure industrial<br />
district which trans<strong>for</strong>med itself into a “ghost town” during<br />
holiday periods. Wolfsburg is reinventing itself without losing sight<br />
of its history in the process. It is presenting itself as green, dynamic,<br />
family-friendly, innovative <strong>and</strong> cosmopolitan. According to a study<br />
from the Medizinische Hochschule in Hannover, Wolfsburg is the<br />
town with the highest quality of life in <strong>Niedersachsen</strong>. Primarily<br />
families are attracted to the green town on the southern edge of<br />
the Aller glacial valley. This was not always the case, as <strong>for</strong> decades<br />
Wolfsburg conveyed a totally different picture. The Volkswagen<br />
plant was the main employer of the people of Wolfsburg <strong>and</strong> was<br />
almost the only attraction of the town. Joachim Schingale, Managing<br />
Director of Wolfsburg Marketing GmbH, confirms: “Wolfsburg<br />
has developed in seven decades from a mono-structural industrial<br />
town into a modern <strong>and</strong> innovative town with a sense of adventure.”<br />
Retrospective. Nearly 75 years ago the town was founded<br />
as a residential district <strong>for</strong> the employees of the Volkswagen plant<br />
located nearby. With the mass production of the VW-Beetle, the<br />
head office of the Volkswagen Group in the early post-war years<br />
advanced to become a prime example of the German economic<br />
miracle. And the young metropolis is still one of the most important<br />
centres of the <strong>Niedersachsen</strong> economy today. Its opportune geographic<br />
location at one of the most important European east/west<br />
transportation axes <strong>and</strong> the good infrastructure still make Wolfsburg<br />
one of the most dynamic economic locations of the Federal<br />
Republic of Germany. Its 16 trading <strong>and</strong> industrial areas alone,<br />
which cover approximately 400 hectares, provide a lot of space <strong>for</strong><br />
successful innovations. In addition to the automotive suppliers, it is<br />
primarily trading, servicing <strong>and</strong> craftsmanship companies which are<br />
based here. Wolfsburg is famous <strong>for</strong> its cosmopolitan outlook. The<br />
town has partnership <strong>and</strong> town twinning agreements in the UK,<br />
France, Italy, Russia <strong>and</strong> Pol<strong>and</strong> to name but a few. Cosmopolitan<br />
also underpins the spirit of the International Suppliers Fair, (IZB),<br />
Europe‘s leading trade fair <strong>for</strong> the automotive supplies industry