Location

The population of the cities and the districts of the Rheinland has a significantly greater purchasing power than the German national average and will grow, contrary to the European trend, by more than 10% by 2030. Approximately 120,000 students are enrolled at Cologne and Bonn universities and the 14 specialist colleges here. Many pupils also attend the international schools such as St. George‘s in Cologne or the École de Gaulle in Bonn. The region has one of the highest concentration levels of educational facilities in Germany and offers a highly qualified workforce.

Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany and the largest in North Rhine-Westphalia. Over 1 million people live in the city, over 2 million in the Cologne economic region. Every leading industrial sector is represented here: in addition to the automotive industry, large international chemical and pharmaceutical firms are also prominent here, as well as the electrical and mechanical engineering industries and food production industries.

As a former Hanseatic city, Cologne can look back on a long tradition as a centre for trade. For decades it has been an established location for the insurance sector as well as a venue for trade fairs. More than 10,000 companies focussing information technology services are situated in the district of the Cologne Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, growth in the media branches has been particularly dynamic: Cologne is Germany’s leading city for film, radio and television production. A high export ratio (more than 50%) and the attractive trade location make the region a magnet for entrepreneurs as well as investors. Differently from the comparable cities, Cologne shows positive demographic developments also in future.


Regional marketing

In 2003 the city of Cologne established, together with a series of other communes and institutions, the »Region Köln/Bonn e.V.« association. This includes the cities of Bonn and Leverkusen as well as the districts of Rhein-Erft, Rheinisch-Bergisch, Oberbergisch and Rhein-Sieg; the three regional savings banks, the Cologne/Bonn regional business initiative, the Chambers of Trade and Commerce and, since 2009, also the Rhenish district of Neuss. »Cologne Bonn Business« has been responsible for the area’s marketing since 2005 and also acts as contact for national and international investors.

Transportation Infrastructure

Cologne’s outstanding transport infrastructure sets it apart from every other German city. Cologne Bonn Airport - and Düsseldorf airport, only 55 km away - provide for worldwide connections. Over 200 destinations around the globe can be reached from these airports. Cologne’s main railway station, sporting a brilliant new look since 2000 follow­ing major renovations, is one of the most important railway junctions in Europe, with high-speed inter­national routes to London, Paris and Amsterdam. The 55 minutes high speed connection to Frankfurt via Cologne Bonn Airport has been completed in 2002.

The motorway ring that completely encircles the city is considered exemplary throughout Europe. Eight bridges span the Rhine river, and in Cologne’s six harbours, over 10 million tons of goods are currently transferred each year.

Bonn – home to many internationally orientated service providers

Bonn has reinvented itself: many international businesses have, meanwhile, located to the former state capital and these have brought with them numerous service providers to the area. Other
industry sectors located here include IT and communications, the health industry and related
service providers.

The success of the region is proven by attractive site factors. The foundation for the positive development of Bonn: future orientated economic structures with a knowledge intensive service sector, the highest forecasted population growth rate in North Rhine-Westphalia, above average purchasing power, a highly qualified work force potential with 20% academics and an excellent education and college system. With this, Bonn and the surrounding region is best equipped for a positive future development.

Bonn is the German UN city and hosts international congresses on future global issues. The federal city function is a further important pillar for the region with ministries, important top level federal authorities and numerous associations and lobbyists located here. There are more than 200
scientific facilities and institutions in the Bonn region including Bonn University, the Caesar
Research Centre, the Fraunhofer and Max-Planck institutes and the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg which all network, from here, knowledge and innovations worldwide.

Business power and quality of life

Not only Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen, the large cities of the region, provide
attractive locations for the establishment of businesses.

Idyllic landscape and an active economy – the Rheinisch-Bergisch district is an attractive
location for businesses and for living. A special advantage of the region is the close proximity to the Rhein/Ruhr urban area with around 14 million inhabitants. There are also many colleges and universities here which provides a further educational benefit. The businesses located in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district therefore have customers and markets practically on their doorstep as well as an excellent choice when it comes to employee recruitment. Another benefit is the transport connections with the nearby cities via the A1, A3 and A4 motorways, a dense rail network and Cologne/Bonn and Düsseldorf airports – which all makes logistics easier for businesses. Rental costs in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district are also much lower than in the cities and this makes the area, with its high standard of living, attractive not only for employers but also for employees. The Rheinisch-Bergische Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft mbH (RBW), which promotes the economy of the region, is a partner of the local businesses and communes. It markets the region and supports the economy here in many different ways. The RBW and the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and its communes offer businesses plenty of room to grow.

In the Rhein-Erft district – once dominated by opencast brown coal mining – numerous innovative and future-oriented industries have established themselves, for instance in the areas bio-engineering, environmental technology, IT and telecommunications. Within the »Cologne Chemical Industry Belt«, the district plays a central role thanks to the Knapsack Chemical Industry Park and the town of Wesseling. Today, more than 70 companies from the media sector can be found in Hürth – including more than 30 film and television studios, in which a large part of all German film and TV productions are made.

The Oberbergische District has become famous for its above-average power of innovation; the number of new patent applications per thousand inhabitants even exceeds that of cities like Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen. The manufacturing sector is strongly represented, especially rubber and plastics production – which continues to grow here bucking the general trend in Germany – and mechanical engineering. The regional economic development agency brings together existing potentials and regional core competences in the »Competence Field Initiative Oberberg«.

For 40 years, the Rhein-Sieg District has been one of the most successful German administrative districts not only because of its future-oriented economic structure. Science and research are a top priority in the »Kragenkreis« surrounding Bonn, attracting young professionals and their families. A pleasant consequence of this is the rising birth rate: already a few years from now, the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis will be the Germany’s most strongly populated administrative district.

The Rhein-Kreis Neuss is Germany’s largest fashion sales location. In addition, the district hosts global players from almost all lines of industry including Hydro Aluminium, L’Oreal, Mitutoyo, Toshiba or Yamaha. The administrative district generates the highest growth rate across North Rhine-Westphalia.