North Rhine-Westphalia Awards Foreign Companies for Successful International Expansion and Investment in Sustainability

As Germany’s number one investment location, North Rhine-Westphalia is in demand with foreign investors worldwide and is also home to numerous companies with global growth potential. Economics and Climate Protection Minister Mona Neubaur and Felix Neugart, Managing Director of the state-owned company for the promotion of foreign trade NRW.Global Business, sign the US clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss, the Indian IT group Tata Consultancy Services, the Turkish software Specialists Gizil and the plumbing and heating technology company Viega from Attendorn with the NRW.Global Business AWARD. With the award, the state recognizes significant investments by foreign companies in North Rhine-Westphalia and particularly successful international expansion activities by North Rhine-Westphalian companies.

Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy: “The North Rhine-Westphalian economy is in the middle of an ambitious transformation process. We can only manage the major task towards the energy transition and a climate-neutral future together. Our goal is to diversify our economic relationships more and to advance the energy transition and the climate-friendly transformation of our economy with the help of international partnerships. On this path, future-oriented companies with their know-how and their technologies on site are a valuable support. We honor this contribution by national and international companies in North Rhine-Westphalia with the NRW.Global Business AWARD.”

Felix Neugart, Managing Director of NRW.Global Business: “The economic power of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with its strong export and innovative corporate landscape goes hand in hand with the attractiveness of the location for foreign investors and creates the best prospects for digital and sustainable technologies. It is not for nothing that we advertise North Rhine-Westphalia abroad with the slogan ‘Europe’s Heartbeat’ – as a pioneer and international hub in the heart of Europe. Our award winners are outstanding ambassadors for the location worldwide.”

The honored companies:

Levi Strauss: The US clothing manufacturer from San Francisco is building in Dorsten on an area of ​​around 70,000 square meters its European distribution center. The innovative, green logistics facility will be built and operated on a former colliery site according to the principles of recycling, resource conservation and zero waste. The aim is to make the ecological footprint as positive as possible and to ensure a continuous circular economy with the “Cradle to Cradle” approach. With state-of-the-art conveyor technology, the company, which is best known for its denim products, will be distributing up to 55 million items per year for the European market in full operation from May 2024.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): The Indian IT group has been active in Germany since 1991 and, as a provider of IT services and consulting services, drives the digitization of companies. The services range from application development and system integration to digital business transformation. Among other things, TCS has more than 200 sustainability solutions that support companies in the implementation of ESG priorities. TCS has been operating a regional delivery center in Düsseldorf since 2008, and this year another one was added in Bonn. The company is also active in Leverkusen, Aachen and Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia. The IT specialist is seeing significant growth at the site: A total of 1,300 people are employed at the five NRW locations, and 265 new jobs have been created.

Hidden: The young Turkish technology company offers software solutions for industrial companies and energy suppliers and opened its first foreign branch in Düsseldorf in 2022. Gizil’s specialty is the creation of digital twins of complex power generation and industrial plants. This allows the status of a system to be tracked in real time and all processes to be digitally traced – for example by simulating production, planning maintenance or training for incidents. The company’s range of services covers the entire life cycle of such systems, so that processes can be optimized and costs and CO2 emissions reduced. Technologies such as laser scanning, smart modelling, virtual and augmented reality and gamification are used for this.

Vega: The family business from Attendorn in the Sauerland region is a supplier of high-quality installation technology. With almost 5,000 employees at ten international locations, Viega has developed into the world market leader. Today the company exports to over 75 countries and is Production facilities in USA, China and India as well globally present with its own sales organizations. This year, the family business also opened a particularly sustainable, smart seminar center in Attendorn, thereby setting new standards for innovative construction. The products from Viega can be found in buildings, industrial plants, in shipbuilding and in supply technology and carry the North Rhine-Westphalian brand Viega into the world – for example in the Pentagon in Washington DC or in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

You can find images of the winners and the award ceremony here from June 13, 2023, 11:00 a.m.