Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 37

MARKETS & MOVERS 35
logistics center alone. At the end of 2007,
30 medium-sized companies from the
logistics and assembly industries, em-
ploying 3,200 people, had located in the
state-of-the-art industrial park.
Success is attractive. More and more
people are being drawn to Ingolstadt.
No other major city in Bavaria is grow-
ing faster, and more than 123,000 peo-
ple now live in the city on the Danube,
including a disproportionately large
number of young people. Forecasts pre-
dict a population of about 135,000 by
the year 2020. While the declining birth
rate means that many other towns no
longer know what to do with their
schools, Ingolstadt is investing in school
building measures (98 million euros
over the past twelve years alone).
Young entrepreneurs also find the
business climate in Ingolstadt favorable.
With 69 companies and about 220
employees, Ingolstadt’s new business
center is running at full capacity.
According to managing director Norbert
Forster: “99 percent of businesses can
hold their own in the marketplace.”
The best thing is that each year, an aver-
age of twelve companies need to move
out because they run out of space. Some
now employ more than 100 people.
One reason for the success are the
close links to business, politics and the
authorities. Forster regards this as a
major advantage of Ingolstadt – people
know each other. Ingolstadt combines
the opportunities found in a big city
with the manageability of a small town,
which is why its economy boasts many
success stories. Not only Audi, blazing
from one sales record to another.
Another local company which is now a
global player is the Media Saturn Group.
The textile industry features the well-
known medium-sized enterprises
Bäumler and Rosner. And part-time
employment agency TUJA was also
founded in Ingolstadt.
This booming community has also
continued its university tradition.
Here is where Bavaria’s first university
was founded, transferred from Ingol-
stadt to Landshut in 1800 and later to
Munich. Today, the faculty of business
administration of the Catholic Uni-
versity of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the
local University of Applied Sciences
each enjoy excellent reputations. Only
in 2007 Bavaria’s state Ministry of the
Economy agreed to increase the number
of student places in the city by 1,500.
City hall spokesman Gerd Treffer
believes the city’s policy of integration
is its biggest success, one example
being the newly built mosque. “The
climate here really is cosmopolitan,”
he says. This is one reason why many
foreigners have chosen to make
Ingolstadt their home. •
Karin Michaelis grew up in Ingolstadt and
writes for Automobilwoche as well as for
technology magazine Innovate.
ocated on the Danube, and
home to the Audi headquar-
ters, the city is a well-kept secret – for
now. Whether we’re talking dynamic
economy, unemployment, prospects for
the future, quality of life or research –
Ingolstadt scores top marks in many of
the latest statistics, studies and forecasts.
Take the rate of unemployment for
example: Barely three percent in the
region. There are around 100,000 jobs
in the city. Audi is by far the largest em-
ployer: Around 32,000 of its more than
53,000-strong global workforce are
based in Ingolstadt. In 2007, the car
manufacturer hired 600 high school
graduates, 150 more than the previous
year. The company will also hire 800
university graduates in 2008. Hardly
surprising then that Audi ranks highly
among the most popular employers.
“When it comes to employment,
Ingolstadt really does offer good pros-
pects,” says Werner Richler, managing
director of the municipal economic
development company IFG. For years,
the city has been making its own contri-
bution. Since 1995 IFG has invested a
total of 200 million euros in the local
L
Ingolstadt is home to123,000 people, 27% more than 20 years ago.
About 100,000 jobs are based in the city. The region’s unemployment rate
is less than 3%.Ingolstadt is a powerhouse.
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WATCH THE MOVIE
On www.audi.com/ar2007/ingolstadt,
Ritchie Herbert takes you on a trip
through “his” Ingolstadt.