Baden-Württemberg

Hidden behind Baden-Württemberg's (THE LÄND) romantic picture is Europe’s innovation region No.1 and Germany‘s export machine. THE LÄND is the third-largest federal state and situated in the German Southwest. Almost six per cent of its GDP go to R&D, and the region files more patent registrations per citizen than any other state. Alongside the industrial giants – such as Daimler, Bosch, Porsche, and SAP – which are based in THE LÄND, thousands of small and medium-sized companies drive the economy. Key industries include mechanical engineering, the automotive industry as well as the health care sector and information and communication technologies. As a location of the future, Baden-Württemberg is strong in artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, quantum computing as well as energy and environmental technology.

US pharmaceuticals group Pfizer invested almost EUR 300 million to expand its plant in Freiburg into one of the world’s most modern pharmaceuticals production facilities based on Industry 4.0 standards. The new ‘HighCon’ plant, which was opened in 2022, allows the production of up to seven billion additional pills and capsules over an area of 13,500 square metres. This constitutes a 140 per cent increase in the capacity of the location, making it one of the highest-performing production facilities in the global Pfizer network. As a company, a business partner and an employer, Pfizer maintains close links to the Freiburg location and to Baden-Württemberg. The headcount at the plant has doubled over the past 10 years, making Pfizer one of the largest private-sector employers in the region.