Top Investments in Hessen, 2017

©Christof Mattes Fotodesign / HTAI

The year 2017 is coming to an end and, once again, many foreign investors have decided to invest in the economic hub of Hessen. We are delighted to introduce you to some of these top investments.

This past year, many companies have once again decided to establish a presence in Hessen. In particular, these have included enterprises from the IT, logistics, pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, which also represent some of Hessen’s core industries. The editors of the newsletter have decided to introduce you to the top investments for 2017.

 

Dexerials Europe B.V.

Dexerials is a chemical company headquartered in Japan. The opening of its office in Frankfurt was executed by its subsidiary from the Netherlands. Dexerials is specialized in the manufacture of chemical components, many of which are used in medical technology devices, entertainment devices and in the automotive industry. The office in Germany mainly focuses on customers in the automotive sector. In this area, Dexerials sells products such as anti-reflection foils for car displays, special adhesives for cameras in self-driving vehicles, and adhesive tapes with guiding characteristics to German automobile suppliers as well as directly to car manufacturers. The company set up shop in April 2017 with five new employees.

 

OVH GmbH

The French IT company OVH commissioned its first German data center for around 45,000 servers in April 2017 in the central Hessen city of Limburg. The decision to move to Limburg was finalized in fall 2016. This site is situated directly next to a transformer station. For OVH, the construction of the data center plays an important role in the corporate strategy due to the excellent economic conditions in Germany, the strict data protection measures in place and the reliable supply of energy. With around 260,000 servers, OVH is the European market leader and one of the leading providers of IT infrastructure around the globe. The company operates 20 highly sophisticated data centers in Europe and in North America along with its own fiber-optic network with a total bandwidth of 7.5 TB/s and 32 points of presence (POPs) across three continents. Additionally, OVH maintains a stand-alone server production operation. This owner-run family company has branch offices in 19 countries across the globe and currently employs around 1,500 staff members. OVH has been in the German market since 2006. OVH invested around 8 million euro for the construction of the Limburg data center and created around 20 new job positions.

 

Prologis Germany Management GmbH

In the year 2017, the US company Prologis, Inc. developed a 35,200 m2 logistics center in Ludwigsau, near Bad Hersfeld in Northern Hessen, for DHL Paket. In cooperation with DHL, Prologis concluded a long-term rental agreement for the use of the new real estate. This property comprises storage as well as handling areas. The transshipment areas alone measure 10,000 m2 in size. Due to ongoing growth in e-commerce, DHL Paket requires additional capacities in Ludwigsau. From here, goods can be sent to end customers throughout all of Germany in just 24 hours. Additionally, DHL has extended its current rental agreement with Prolongis for the existing space at the Ludwigsau site measuring 37,500 m2. With the commissioning of the new premises, the site now encompasses nearly 73,000 m2, situated on a property covering over 21 hectares. The start of constructions took place at the end of April 2017; transfer shall take place on a step-by-step basis starting in November 2017.

Further information about the economic hub of Hessen can be found at www.invest-in-hessen.com.